Haha! Your actions have to serve the goal!
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Mostly the stress from your brother’s situation. You can care for someone, support them, and be empathetic but it doesn’t have to drain you. Given the mention of your own relationship woes, I’m not sure if you’re in a good spot to emotionally support your brother.
It’s easy to find a negative common ground with someone and then sit around and gripe about it. That leads to you just focusing on negative things and it can turn you bitter. I see it at work a lot and have to be careful not to get sucked into it.
I have to agree with CL about your ex. If y’all haven’t figured it out by now then I don’t think it’s going to happen.
On a more positive note, I’m happy to see you lay out a training plan that you think you’ll like.
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I agree, with the caveat that the Bible instructs us to bear one another’s burdens and to comfort others with the comfort we’ve received. But relatedly -
Exactly right. Negative attitudes are usually contagious. When helping others in their hardships (and receiving help during our own), we need to guard ourselves from spiraling down into bitterness.
Dating an ex is fraught with potential troubles. I know how I feel about her, but my emotions are only one factor. This time around, I want decisiveness, one way or the other - get married or permanently move on.
Agreed, and likewise! I’ve not posted much in logs lately, but I keep up with them. Your maturing view about training has positively influenced mine, too. We aren’t competing, so we should tailor exercise to fit our personal life needs - heart health, perp handling, whatever they may be. Choosing training regimens that aren’t demotivating or emotionally overwhelming falls under the list of needs in an exercise program.
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5/11/20, Monday
Warm-up supersets
- BPAs - 2x red x 3 x 20
- Laterals, tricep ext, curls x 8lbs x 15
Push Press
- 45 x 10
- 95 x 5
- 115 x 2
- 125 x 4
- 140 x 4
- 155 x 4
- Will go for 5 reps on the working sets next week then increase weight by 5lbs and drop to 3 reps/set.
Standing DB Press
- 45 x 2 x 8, 3-sec negative
Towel pullups / pushups / V-ups
- 4 rounds: bw x 4 / 15 / 15
- Will gradually increase to 8 towel pullups and 25 pushups and v-ups.
Incline bench DB curls
- 30 x 9, 9, 8
Rear delt flyes on incl. bench
- 20 x 9, 9, 9
Incline pec flyes
- 30 x 15, 15
- Moobs no más.
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5/13/20, Wednesday
Warm-up
- 1-leg glute bridges on step, bw x 2 x 15
- single leg plate curls, 20lbs x 2 x 10
Front squats
- 45 x 10
- 95 x 5
- 115 x 2
- 130 x 2
- 145 x 2
- 160 x 2
- 175 x 2
- 190 x 2
- 205 x 2
- 155 x 5
I’m pleased with 205 x 2. It was difficult but comfortable, a good, hard push. I planned to do 2 back off sets at 155, but 205 zapped my energy.
Walking lunges / DB swings / mountain climbers
- 3 rounds: bw x 15 / 15 / 15
To let my knees and hips adjust, I’m going to work up to four rounds, first adding a rep per set per exercise til I’m at 3 x 20.
Single leg calf raises w/ DB
- 25lbs x 3 x 12
Monday and Wednesday were great workouts. I really enjoy doing one or two heavy barbell lifts, calisthenics complexes for volume, and a couple isolation exercises for my closet bodybuilder.
At this point, I may do the ABCD, every-other day type of routine I did last spring. Once gyms reopen, I’ll probably return to two upper and two lower body workouts per week. One day at a time tho!
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I like the new title
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Thanks, me too. I was sick of reading about the 'rona EVERY time I go online. This is where I think about the lifting I love, and the log title is gonna reflect it.
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I saw the job post in TfP’s log. Congrats!
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Thank you! I got fingerprinted today. Now I’m just waiting for an email with my orientation date.
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5/17/20, Sunday
Warm-up supersets
- BPAs - 2x red x 3 x 20
- DB curls, Laterals, tri ext x 8 lbs x 15
Deficit deadlifts
- 135 x 10
- 165 x 8
- 195 x 5
- 225 x 3
- 250 x 2
- 275 x 5
- 275 x 5
- 275 x 5
I did 25 rope jumps after each set of deadlifts. The plan is to walk the working sets up to 3 x 10.
Low incline dumbbell presses
- 45 x 15
- 55 x 10
- 65 x 5
- 75 x 8
- 75 x 8
It’s been a few months since I’ve done these, and they felt good. I took a page from @Frank_C’s book and added a 2.5 lb plate to each dumbbell then gripped farther to the opposite side.
Lateral raises / DB curls
- 20lbs x 3 x 10 / 30lbs x 3 x 13
Goblet squats
- 55lbs x 2 x 15
I was tired and wussed out tonight, hence the dumbbell work instead of calisthenics. If I do this full-body workout next weekend, I’ll probably aim to do towel pullups, walking lunges, and pushups.
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So, I start work with the USPS Wednesday morning! Thank God. I don’t have much info yet, other than the initial training start time.
Aaannnnd now for the obstacle - my car’s transmission started slamming between gears this evening 
I can borrow a sibling’s car for the first day of work, but after that, I’ve no idea what I’ll do. My neighbor said they know a great mechanic, so I’m going to call him tomorrow and hopefully will learn whether the transmission needs replaced or if the problem’s something smaller.
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Good news on the job mate, hope you get your tranny sorted without spending the earth.
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Thank you! I concur about the tranny. Four years ago, it was grinding; ended up being a broken engine mount that mis-angled the drive shaft. A couple hundred bucks set things right.
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Good news TnT happy for you.
Not so happy about the car, hopefully the mechanic can fix it. Some of those dudes really knows a thing or two about cars.
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True that, Mort! And thank you. I’m glad to have guys like you, Rob, J, TfP, and others to share life’s events with.
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Awesome news! I think I’ve heard it’s a good place to work if you can get your foot in the door. Contrary to normal government function, working for the government can have some great benefits in terms of health care and retirement.
During my low days I work, I find myself slightly jealous of the delivery drivers for USPS, FedEx, and UPS.
That’s no bueno. If it is the tranny then hopefully you can find someone to rebuild it. I hear ads around here for that and they claim it’s cheaper than a replacement and most places don’t do it. They like to sell you new stuff even if it’s not necessary.
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Thanks, I’m pleased! I’ll learn next week from the mechanic what’s up with my car.
Day three of post office employment, and it’s good well. I start my shift at 0200, and the biggest adjustment is my sleep schedule. When I get that ironed out, I plan to star lifting again, probably two lifts a day, something to transition int lifting while working on my feet all day.
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What’s your job with USPS? Like sorting mail?
I’m considering trying to become a mail man after school for a while to take advantage of the benefits and figure out what I want to/will be able to do for the rest of my life. I think I’d really enjoy the job.
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I’m a “clerk assist.” I scan boxes and mail an put into crates. Very straightforward. It’s a temp job during the shutdowns. The post offices across the country are SLAMMED. The job starts at $17.94/hour, will run at least through July 17, and everyone is getting overtime, which is time and a half. Everyone’s expecting this temp position to last at least into August. I highly recommend looking into it. I found the posting on the indeed.com app, but I presume it’s elsewhere on the internet.
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I worked a 12-hour day yesterday and am back tonight for probably 10-12 hours. Depending on how tired I am, I’m wanting to return to a bit of lifting and a bit of landscaping. The major difficulty is my start time and sleep schedule - going to sleep at 5pm and wakin up a midnight are somewhat outside of my wheelhouse 
How are y’all doing?