Wolf's Log: From Cub to Direwolf

[Michael Wolf]

Wolf, that was awesome. Not only because you miraculously fixed my squat, but mostly because you are fun to hang and talk shop (and knee sleeves) with. Thanks for being so accommodating and thanks for the great cueing. Really a pleasure. Hope it doesn't take 3 1/2 more years before we lift in the same room again.

It was a lot of fun Rob, and you're right - even though we've hung out at various times, I don't think we ever did actually lift together until yesterday. Agreed on not waiting another 3.5 years!

[Michael Wolf]

The Wolf-o-meter was low today. Whether it was just an off day, or because I had to train in the morning (which I dislike), because I knew today's workout wasn't building towards anything because I won't be able to train for the next week, or a combination of all three, I had my "C- Game" with me today. I also forgot my knee sleeves, which isn't a huge deal, but my left knee decided to be grumpy today. That, combined with an already lackluster mojo rating, and today kind of sucked. Oh well. Hopefully the week off will be decent recovery, and then I can begin the climb to new PRs when I am able to resume training.

Squat
405x5, 427x3, 449x1, 405x5
Notes: Meh. Left knee was twinging just enough to be annoying and make me apprehensive on the latter half of the descent. Softer bounces ensued.

Deadlift
476x5
Notes: The work set wasn't bad, but was about an 8.5; considering it's 100 lbs below my 5RM, it should be like a 6 in ideal circumstances; even given the last month's inconsistency due to the cyst issues, it should still be more like a 7. So having it be that difficult was frustrating. I stripped it down to 405 and planned to pull another set of 5. But the first rep was kinda slow, and made my left glute cranky, so I just called it a day. There will be plenty of time to build back up after this week off.

[John Petrizzo]

Hope the week off does you some good and you bounce back strong!

[Michael Wolf]

Hope the week off does you some good and you bounce back strong!

Thanks John. Back from the Dr., everything went fine. But stitches are staying in for two weeks. There is no way I will be able to refrain from lifting, feeling fine and being otherwise healthy, for two weeks. Maybe I'll have a bad-ass scar on my neck.

[kel]

Hope it heals up fast comrade!

[Michael Wolf]

Hope it heals up fast comrade!

Thanks kel. Taking the dressing off in a couple hours. Excited to see my first ever stitches.

[jenica]

I had a similar surgery in April. Once the stitches were out I was totally fine to lift, but they pulled in a 'I'm going to rip these out' kind of way when I tried to lift heavy with them in. The scar tissue still hurts if I hit it accidentally (mine is in the bashing zone for catching poorly executed cleans) and I have a decent size scar. YMMV of course.

I hope you heal up quick.

[Michael Wolf]

Thanks, Jenica. Considering I have another 10 days with them in, I don't think I'll be able to sit around not doing anything. I won't push it though; if they feel like they're going to rip, I'll stop and scale the weight back as much as necessary. My knees and lower back have also been cranky, so it's possible some time off will be a good thing anyway. I'll probably start playing around the the empty bar and seeing how it feels on Sunday or Monday.

Also, in case anyone was wondering if I was going to take this time to do a cut, since I don't have the pressure of eating to fuel workouts, the answer is: I went to Mighty Quinn's today on 6th st and 2nd ave and had a pound of brisket, half a pound of pulled pork, the sweet potato mash, cole slaw, and their pickled cucumbers. It was most excellent. The brisket rivaled Hill Country's, which thus far has been my favorite NYC brisket. Anyway, that's your answer.

[Rob Israel]

Ha-- you got to Mighty Quinn's real fast didn't you! Good work.

[medwards]

"Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn"