Back home. That was intense traveling, my friends. Back and forth coast to coast, finishing dinner meetings to take a flight in time for the next breakfast meeting. Obviously I deserve a medal for corporate valor and heroism.
I weighed the exact same this morning when I got in as when I left. I’ll count that as a win, even though I felt like I ate well enough I should have shed a little.
Today was legs, and it was soul-crushing. My wife went with me, which is always my favorite. I forgot my knee sleeves, which made me nervous, but my knees felt fantastic!
Seated Leg Curls
40/20
70/15
100/14
125/12
130/10
70/35 - brutal
Someone was camped out on leg extensions, so we had to save those for later.
Leg Press
Feet low and in the middle
-/10
2pps/10
4pps/10
6pps/15 x 3
These were really miserable in a fun way!
SSB Squats
Chains for all sets
45/6
135/6
185/6 x 4
That was the most I could do and still be explosive without bouncing the bottom. Legs were heavy at this point.
I’ve never had knee problems but I’ve noticed that starting out with the leg curls eliminates that cold feeling and the cracking noises on those first few sets of squats for me.
It definitely helps a lot. I still like the sleeves because I feel like they make my movements smoother. I would love to feel comfortable going without them, though. First, because they’re smelly and it’s more to bring around. Second, because I feel like it’s got to be better to bring up all the little stabilizing musculature to use less support
Chest and shoulders this morning! I actually started this workout yesterday, but everything felt terrible, so I decided to just do cardio and abs and pick it back up today. Wise choice, I think. I wasn’t any stronger today, but my joints felt better.
DB Bench
Did every rep with a full pause and a full flex - made these tough! My elbows felt great without sleeves, though, so that’s a win.
30/20
50/10
75/15
75/10
75/10
I’m one day off my schedule (I let work get the best of me), but had a pumptastic arm day today! Tomorrow will be legs.
We had some plans fall through, but had already taken vacation, so we’re doing something to a staycation with basically an outing each day. Tomorrow is a murder mystery brunch, Monday is zip lining, and Tuesday is an escape room. I’m super excited - I think everyone will like the stuff, it’s not overwhelming, and there’s no big travel component. This could be a winner!
We did one of these as a family when we visited my daughter last weekend. It was really fun and awesome to watch the kids working together to solve the clues.
We’re about to go to brunch, where I’ll play my favorite game of how much eggs and coffee can I stuff into my system without creating an emergency during the following show.
This morning was an absolutely brutal leg day, even with going lighter.
Lying Leg Curls
Every rep from a dead stop at the bottom
40/15
65/15
80/12
95/10
110/8
110/8 + 95/8 + 65/8 + 60/8
Leg Extensions
40/20 x 2
40/20 2s flex at top
70/12 3s flex at top
85/5 5s flex at top
SSB Squats
I felt really fast on these for the first time in a long time!
Chains for all sets
45/6 x 2
135/6
185/6 x 8
60s between sets
Leg Press
Red bands for all sets
3pps/8
4pps/8
5pps/8 x 3
Chest and Shoulders today
I was way not into it, but we got it done. Felt really weak on everything this morning, even though I actually slept plenty.
DB Bench
Kept these very controlled. Ended up getting into a pretty solid position so my left shoulder didn’t feel like it was playing its own game. Maybe the little stint with one arm at a time cleaned this up. Something to go back to if I start feeling wonky again.
35/12
55/10
75/4
90/8 x 3
Incline
45/8
135/8
185/8 x 3
Machine Press
3 x 8
Dips
BW to failure then dropped down and repped out on pushups
Triset
DB Lateral
DB OHP
DB Rear Delt Swing
I was ready to leave, so I grabbed 20s and did 3 rounds of the above as many as I could each set.
My son had a little sniffles this morning, and is a nervous kid anyway, so he didn’t want to go do the zip lining. He went on a long dog walk with me and now we’re watching Halloween shows and we’re headed to the Halloween store (this is, by far, his favorite holiday - he starts early).
Sorry I haven’t been updating team. I have been doing the workouts. I’m about to head out on the road for a week and a half, so we’ll see what I can cobble together in hotels.
In good news, we’ve filled 3 openings - so I think I’ll get a little more time back soon. I’m excited about the folks, too; high talent.
We rolled into volleyball season (again) today. My daughter looked pretty comfortable out there, so that was great to see.
We split a side of beef with the neighbor and are now getting a dozen eggs a week from the same farm! Good start to fall!
Finally got home and did a full leg workout. I’m here for a week, then gone for a little over 2. I’m screwing around and getting some activity in, but working on figuring out “a plan.”
Man…that whole needing to feed the family thing can really get in the way of the jacked and tan lifestyle.
Seriously, I bet if you saw a post like yours in another thread, you’d reply with something like: “In your case, does it really matter if you just screw around for a while?”
For a longtime lifter, extending yourself some grace and not worrying too much about having a plan isn’t going to make any difference over the long-term; having one less thing to stress over short-term might.
I appreciate it and you’re quite right. The lifting just helps to have something I’m doing that’s not work, if that makes sense. More for mental headspace.
