You see this in combat sports all the time: the dudes who AREN’T the fighters are always Billy Badass in class, pushing the sparring way too hard, moving too quick through drills, putting partners at risk, etc. These dudes wanna be bullies when no one will stomp on them for it, but refuse to actually step up to someone that will take their lunch money. Good on you for setting things straight.
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You nailed it. I always love the way you turn a phrase too. At this point I just hope they don’t make us stop playing, but I don’t think we’re that bad yet. Some of the younger dudes (20s) were talking trash to each other about how much money they make in real life - that was actually pretty funny and certainly not something I remember from my glory days.
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@pettersson do you have any recommendations on topical arthritis gels for those of us trying to control our blood pressure? I try to avoid NSAIDs because they do impact my blood pressure, but I’m wondering if you’ve come across anything you trust for a little pain relief?
Ah, your log is delightful! How am I just now seeing it?
Feed that fat kid some protein brownies! 
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Ha - thanks! I like to change the title every couple months to throw off the black helicopters
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It’s easy to find your log though, just google ‘best arms on t-nation’ and you pop right up with the guns, you’ve got Jack Johnson and Tom O’Leary!
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Thanks for asking! Arnica gels seem to do the trick according to this review.
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I’m scared to actually try this. I prefer to just believe that it’s true.
Thanks @pettersson - I’ll check this out!
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Ok best friends and @Andrewgen_Receptors - here is this morning’s update.
I haven’t done anything but light cardio the last two days… and I’ve slept like a champ. I do look back and notice when I go too hard too often (did I do a joke?), it’s when my sleep gets pretty extra horrific; @FlatsFarmer has been sage enough to point this out as well. I’m not 100% sure where the breaking point is, and I’m sure it’s moved over the years, so I’ll play with it a little going forward. I definitely don’t want the answer to be to do a ton less, because I get antsy and cranky and that does not bode well for folks stuck working with me and/ or living in my house. God forbid I do what every single coach recommends and actually control my intensity/ frequency/ volume… I say that without a hint of irony.
Today is legs, so we’ll see if I sleep at all tonight/ tomorrow. I don’t think the “crash” is actually that acute, so we’ll see what happens over the coming days. Easy cardio seems to help in its own right, even though it’s boring and makes @simo74 laugh at me. On the other hand, I haven’t done a pure gun show in like 3 weeks so I’m basically a D1 athlete.
Why did legs not happen this morning? I’m glad you asked - my daughter is somehow sick again! We’re headed in for the strep test in a couple hours; she literally finished her antibiotic cycle for her last strep bout a week ago. This poor girl has had back to back flu and now, potentially, back to back strep (if not strep, it’s probably flu again); rough year. I don’t know what my son is doing right, but dude has got nothing. I know @Spock81 and I punted it around a couple weeks ago, but I’ve been taking I-Well and survived all of these and I’ve been the parent at home the most lately; maybe it works.
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I feel attacked
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I deal with this too unfortunately. I try (not always do) to keep the training within my limits that allows me to sleep. It took some time to figure out where that is. My limits aren’t as high as I’d like, but enough to progress.
I find very high intensity (percent of 1RM) to be terrible for sleeping. Close to max lifts on big compounds have a strong stimulant effect on me which keeps me up.
I bought a slingshot a few years ago. I found I just can’t use it and sleep after. I think it’s because I could do sets with 30-40 lbs more. I am guessing it’s CNS stimulation that I wouldn’t normally get. I still have basically all the weight at the top.
High volume also does this too though. The way I feel after either type of workout is like a runner’s high. I hate runner’s high. I mean I like the feeling before trying to sleep, but I’ve gotten to the point that if I feel it, I am thinking shit, I am going to have a rough night.
I find that if I keep my number of exercises on lower body days to about 5, and upper about 7, I usually don’t have issues unless some of the exercises are heavy or lots of volume. I think this is enough to progress.
Training earlier helps, but isn’t practical for me. Lowering the amount of caffeine helps too, but I don’t like it. I have done that mostly though. I used to do about 200 mg preworkout, now about 100 mg.
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Thanks for putting all that out! It’s truly unfair that our bodies won’t just operate the way we demand.
I haven’t really noticed a relationship to time of day, for me, but I almost always go in the morning so I don’t really have a variable group there.
I don’t have a ton of desire to change the overall structure of my workouts, so that leaves me frequency and intensity to play with. I’m kind of experimenting with backing off just a little and playing in a tiny bit higher rep range, which was really about my joints anyway. I don’t know if that’s enough to notice any differences, so it will really probably come down to me actually taking more “cardio only” days in the week.
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Thanks for the tag in mate. Sorry to hear that your daughter keeps getting sick it really sucks when the little ones are not well.
Good to see you are still doing something, and it seems like you have reduced your arm work maybe to give me a change to catch up, so thanks for that.
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Thanks man. She did end up with strep again, but we caught it fast this time so she should start feeling better quick. She’s just been under the weather since Thanksgiving (late November) it seems like.
A bit of an experiment to see if I trained “right” (less bro stuff, reduced volume and frequency, more circuit-style stuff) would I lose arm size? I think I legitimately did. We shall quickly right that wrong.
I am absolutely falling apart, team. Yesterday was legs, and I’m certainly not sore from my little bit of balling anymore, but my knee that has had the ACL repairs still really hurts. I tried my normal leg curls to warm up, and didn’t really get anything going but it also didn’t hurt. Then I went to squats and did a billion warmups and backed up and down and could never get it to feel anything muscular - it was all joint. Just super uncomfortable. I even tried them to a box (but not with a fox). I got to 225 + chains for 6 or 8 or so, felt terrible, and called it there. Then I tried a few sets on leg presses, which still was all joint, so I called the day there. It hurts right on top of the graft and radiates down my shin. I don’t think I’ve injured anything; I think I’m just wussy. Our “season” has like 6 weeks to go, so we’ll see what comes of it. I’d like to still keep playing recreationally when it’s over. I’ll be a little smarter with strategies like immediately icing when I’m done this week. It doesn’t hurt when I just shoot around or drill or play a little pickup or whatever, but I guess 40 minutes of relatively competitive play is a little much for my deconditioned body.
Last night I slept wrong, because apparently I can screw that up even when I do sleep; I woke up with a really sore left trap/ rear delt. It wasn’t a huge issue, but it made some of today uncomfortable. Toward the end, I just moved most everything to machine work to get a little relief.
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10m incline treadmill
-
DB Bench
20/12
40/10
60/8
80/8
90/8
100/8 -
Smith Incline
45/6
135/10 + 8
155/8 +5
165/6 + 4 -
Bench
Pause on chest
135/8
155/8 x 2 -
Machine Flye
100/10 x 3 -
Machine Rear Delt
55/25
60/25 x 2 -
DB Side Raise
25/12 x 3 -
Machine Press
85/8 x 3 -
Machine Crunch
4 x 8 -
Airdyne x 10 minutes
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I’ve done this too recently. I slept on my back with my head full on to the side and woke up sooooo sore, guess we are getting old.
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Today finally felt like a normal workout, so that was nice. The kids are feeling better and my daughter has her first cheer competition today (she’s allowed to be around other people after a full 24-hour cycle of antibiotics; we made it with 12 hours to spare). I’m just ready to get through this season and into softball.
Today was back:
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10 minutes incline treadmill. This feels really good on my knees lately and I’m able to get my heart rate up. I go relatively high on the incline (8), but not crazy, so maybe it counts for calf work as well.
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HS Low Row
Was supposed to be Meadows Row, but I didn’t want to
-/8
1pps/8
1.25pps/8
2pps/8 x 3
2pps/16 -
Pull-ups
4 x 6
Wide, strict, paused in stretch
It was around this time Skin by Rascal Flatts came on my headphones, so I damn near needed to chalk my hands because they were soaking wet from wiping my eyes. -
Rack DL
135/3
225/3
315/3
405/3
455/3
These felt good too. I was able to get a lat pump. Speaking of wiping things, these and squats often result in a real debate of whether it’s time to tie my sweatshirt around my waist. Does that happen to anyone else? No? Me either; I was talking about another guy I used to know. -
Cable Rows
3 x 12 -
Banded Hyperextension
2 x 12 or so -
Crunch Machine
A different one!
4 x 8 -
10 minutes incline treadmill
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If I load a machine with 2 plates a side I feel like a boss. But if I’m on a machine and I select 40kg a side (same as 2 plates but on the weight machine with a pin) I feel pathetic.
Very strange, glad you feel more yourself.
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Thanks man.
That’s a pretty funny observation! I do much prefer loading plates on machines. I even throw them on there like it’s a bar and it counts.
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Basketball tonight. I played like hot garbage, got few minutes and am generally very upset with myself.
Okie dokie, good friends; here is today’s ramble:
So I was legitimately upset after basketball Sunday night. I wasn’t a big part of the game and, when I did get the ball, I didn’t reward anyone - I threw up nonsense or promptly turned it over. I couldn’t even pull off a rebound or get the hustle points. I actually want to keep playing, even though it’s so devastating on my old knees, so I figured my choices are to whine and feel entitled to just magically be good because I was good 25 years ago or I can be a human being and put some time into it and see where it takes me. The last couple days I’ve just spent my time doing solo dribble and shooting drills, which is the equivalent of getting your reps in with lifting vs. always trying to max out. We’ve got two weeks before we play again (Super Bowl), so hopefully this makes a little difference by then. I’d like to stay involved and maybe do some 3-on-3 leagues in the summer, which tend to be a couple games a week, so we need to condition my lower body by then anyway.
As always, I can’t do one thing at a time, so I knocked out my NASM certification this year and took the test Monday night. If anyone is doing that one, the real test barely resembles the practice tests - be forewarned. I’m talking to the manager at the gym about what she’s looking for that I can realistically provide (I think she basically wants a guy; I’ve never been on this side of the diversity table). This gym is very focused on youth athletic development and even has some Army recruiters run prep sessions here, both kind of my specific background, so I’m envisioning Saturday clinic sessions where we can put some best practices together while differentiating the setup they have from other gyms. I’m pretty much always home Saturday mornings, so that should work out.
Work is actually pretty cool and I am glad I made the jump over here, although I have to admit I burnt myself out a little with all the changes the last few years; I don’t have all the hate and anger that used to drive me every moment. I’m sure I’ll get it back, but I’m a little soft right now.
The kids are rocking. My son is doing incredibly well since we finally got him the help he apparently needed and he is even inviting friends to play and going over to their houses and that kind of thing; that would have been absolutely unheard of before. He’s also hanging out with me, which obviously I love, but I’m just pleased that he’s more relaxed and happier. Tagging @simo74 for our life PR here. My daughter bounced right out of her most recent strep throat and is back to vying for political power amongst her friends; it appears this week the battlefield will be a Friday evening sleepover at my house - I prefer home games, so I’m good with that.
Sooooo - going forward, the physique goal is still about an awesome upper body and seeing that there may be some abdominal definition underneath. What we’re playing with is how much/ what type of leg work I can do and still play basketball.
Today was arms (duh). I did 10-15 minutes of basketball drills before and after for my “cardio,” which is a keeper. The fail was I tried to shoot after arms, which just had me shotputting the ball and engraining bad habits. Lesson learned there.
Also, does it help anyone when I right out weights and sets and stuff? Sometimes I feel like it, sometimes I don’t, but if it’s useful for folks to get ideas I need to stick with it.
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Seated DB Curl
Slow eccentric
15/15
25/6
30/6
35/6
35/6 -
EZ Reverse Curl
30/12
40/12
50/12
50/12 -
EZ Preacher Curl
60/8
60/8
60/6 -
BFR Cable Curls
Whatever x death -
Rope Pushdowns
4 x 20 -
Dip Machine
205/8 x 3 -
DB Skullcrushers
25/12 x 3 -
BFR Rope Pushdowns
Same ol’ death -
Standing Calf
4 x 10ish
Tibia raises in between -
Machine Crunch
4 x 8
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