Wolf's Log: From Cub to Direwolf

[Pramod Reddy]

Wolf, I took a couple of strength cycles at Solace with you and it is too bad the environment got worse. I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of opportunities in the NYC area, but thought I'd drop in a line here. Across the river from Manhattan, Jersey City is literally exploding with population growth in the 20-35 demographic - might be worth a look for your next move. The gym I go to at Grove street has 7 squat racks now and you can deadlift anywhere in the gym. The gym is packed every evening with people doing barbell training!

[Michael Wolf]

Sorry that things went the way they did. I think that it is the gym's loss that you won't be there teaching anymore.

In fairness, the guy in charge of running the gym is not happy about this either. He's a good guy and really wants me to stay. But there's a bunch of political factors involved with the investor/owner board tying his hands Not to get into too many internal politics, but at least it's good to know not everyone there is as moronic as it seems, but the end-result is still that it's not a place I want to work at anymore.

Where are you headed next?

My patience has been waning for some time, both with NYC and with Solace. But I have no immediate plans. This was a jump first, figure out a plan later type deal. I just couldn't take it anymore.

Wolf, I took a couple of strength cycles at Solace with you and it is too bad the environment got worse. I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of opportunities in the NYC area, but thought I'd drop in a line here. Across the river from Manhattan, Jersey City is literally exploding with population growth in the 20-35 demographic - might be worth a look for your next move. The gym I go to at Grove street has 7 squat racks now and you can deadlift anywhere in the gym. The gym is packed every evening with people doing barbell training!

Hey Pramod - I'm sure you can recall a few days where the crossfit classes spilled over into our area. Despite speaking to the managers and coaches over and over and over again, that hasn't stopped and if anything has gotten worse, and more frequent. Now there is also equipment being stored back there, that squeezes the space even further. It's too bad, but it is what it is.

[Michael Wolf]

Erg Intervals Today

20/2:00 x 8
First 7 all at 1:25-1:26, last one at 1:20.

Then 250m / 1:15 rest x 3 @1:52-1:53.

[Michael Wolf]

Edit: decided no need to air more grievances so publicly. I’m sure not many ppl actually read this - and that was my original thought - but theoretically anyone *could* so I’m gonna grin and bear things till I’m out.

Press - 4" belt + wraps
255x2, 270x2x2, PR @8, 8.5
Notes: This wasn't a surprise, I planned it and could have hit it last spring as well, just never did. Still nice to get a press PR. Second set, second rep wrists unlocked or else they'd have both been 8s.

270x2x2 Press PR on IG

Bench Press - beltless, no wraps
307.5x5x5 @6-6.5
Notes: Pretty EZPZ. Felt strong.

Deadlift - 3" belt
455x5x2 @5.5-6
Notes: Ease of these sets was a big surprise. A very pleasant and welcome one. Should be heavy enough to count as work accumulation, but holy sheeeet did they move fast! I was not rushing at all to finish fast but the sets still only took about 15-16 seconds from first squeeze-up to last lockout.

I've written a few times here how it's been much harder for me to regain previous strength levels in the DL, without the symbiotic strength driving of the squat. I don't know if today was just a fluke or I'm getting my groove back, but it felt good! Still well over 100 lbs less than my old 5RM, but the way this moved made me think that I might eventually make some DL PRs again, I haven't had one in quite a while.

Bro Work
Hammer Strength High Row
4 plates and a 25 / side x6x4

Leg Press
90x8, 180x8, 230x8x3

Tricep Rope
3x12

Cable Reverse Fly
3x12

[Michael Wolf]

CGBP
255x5x3

Press - dead stop, strict
155x5, 170x5x2

BB Row
275x5x3

DB Curls
45x10x2

Once again ran late into CF class time so did almost the same KB superset as last week, slight shift in emphasis/numbers.

5 rounds, 1 min rest
15 swings @ 32kg
4 snatches / arm @ 24kg

[Kyle Martin]

I had a day like yours today. Two girls carrying a gymnastics mat bumped into me mid pull at 430. The rage! The rage is real, it's not that hard to just have even an ounce of common courtesy.

[Michael Wolf]

I had a day like yours today. Two girls carrying a gymnastics mat bumped into me mid pull at 430. The rage! The rage is real, it's not that hard to just have even an ounce of common courtesy.

Very frustrating. I feel your pain man. I think I'm especially upset and disappointed because this continues to happen at a gym which is not some unsupervised globo fun-house of horrors, but at a place that so easily could and should - and that I expected to - be so much better than the endlessly frustrating world of the globo gym and globo gym "personal trainer" which I had gotten so fed-up with over 9 years of constant exposure (6 years working at a globo, then 3 more renting space from a "personal training studio" where I had to share space and equipment with - and often wait for squat rack because of - the same sub-standard type of trainers who staffed the local globo gyms, with a few exceptions).
So my disappointment has as much to do with what's actually happened as it does with my expectations and knowing how easily the place COULD be so much better, and how much more pleasant and productive it would be if it were, but it isn't. It's frustrating as hell.

[Kyle Martin]

I completely get where you're coming from. I don't even care if people are doing stupid or useless things in the gym. We're all entitled to our own goals and ideas, and if random gym goer wants to be the champion at bosu ball balance curls, Great! Go have fun with that. Just don't be rude and be unsafe for those around you because it's too hard to walk on the right side of a bench instead of the left side.

Probably the most frustrating thing for me is that generally being considerate is so easy, it's such a small bar to clear, that when people ignore it I get incredibly sad, not just for my training and safety, but because those people don't even realize they're cheating themselves out of a good experience.

If it annoys me so much personally, I can only imagine it has to drive you crazy because you're responsible not just for your own training, but also for everyone who is paying you to get stronger. Maybe you are pedantic and anal, but you deserve to be that way. The alternative is to be ok with stupid ass shit, and that's no alternative at all.

[Michael Wolf]

Probably the most frustrating thing for me is that generally being considerate is so easy, it's such a small bar to clear...

Yup.

If it annoys me so much personally, I can only imagine it has to drive you crazy because you're responsible not just for your own training, but also for everyone who is paying you to get stronger. Maybe you are pedantic and anal, but you deserve to be that way. The alternative is to be ok with stupid ass shit, and that's no alternative at all.

Bad as it is, it's still the best option in Manhattan, which is where I am, for better or worse (definitely worse). Frustrating, hard to swallow, but still better than anything within a 30-45 minute travel time radius. Now that I will soon no longer be tethered to the gym, perhaps my Manhattan days are numbered as well.

[Michael Wolf]

Bench Press - 3" belt, wraps
415x1 @7, 435x1 @8.5, 450x1 @9.5
410x1x2 @9, 1ct paused (technically a PR for paused)
Notes: 415 moved fast, looped 435 a touch making it harder, and 450 actually moved pretty fast but I also felt myself gassing out during the rep so even though it moved, I'm not sure I had another. Could have definitely made 455-460 though. Was tempting to go for a 470 PR but I didn't want to hit a true bone on bone max today so held back.

I'll be hitting heavy singles a bit more regularly, sometimes going harder like today, sometimes staying at lower RPEs but still getting more frequent exposure to 400+ weights. Hopefully I'll have a new 1RM in me in about a month.

410 is more than I've ever paused - 405 at the 2014 RPE heatwave meet was previous PR - but I also haven't trained heavy paused bench at all since then, so it's not exactly an exciting breakthrough, just something I never technically did. Hell, even at the time four years ago, 405 was a conservative third attempt, that just happened to be hard because there were approximately 30 minutes between my 2nd and 3rd attempts that day, in 90 degree heat and July Long Island humidity with no AC and 300 people packed into a space meant for about 100. So ya, not earth shattering true PR here, but I'll take what I can get these days.

415, 435, 450 Bench on IG

Press - 4" belt, wraps
232.5x5x5 - PR, started @8, most sets @8.5, @9 by the last set.
Notes: Based on how fast warm-ups flew up and how easy 225x5x5 was two weeks ago AND that I had done 230x5x5 handily last spring, I jumped straight to 232.5 to get a small PR, but it was much harder than expected. Not so hard that finishing it was reckless, but definitely expected it to be easier. Still, I'll take it.

Deadlift - 3" belt, 1.5" mats
545x1 @7, 495x4x2 @8
Notes: The 545 rep was smooooove, the 495s not as much for some reason. They were alright, just didn't pop.

Bro'd Out
Leg Press
90x8, 180x8, 270x8x3 - knee started feeling it at 270. Not so much to make me stop, but I did adjust my feet a bit to facilitate slightly less knee flexion/extension. Will have to monitor as the weight goes up.

DB Row
90x8, 120x8x4

Cable Row - 1ct pause
140x10x2

Cable Tricep Pushdowns
2x12

The globo gym is really such a shitshow. As much as I'm fed up with the shitshow at Solace, 40 minutes at the globo is enough to let me know how much more of a circus it is.