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Thread: Stuffed Superdud: Bumpy road to respectable lifting

  1. #921
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    Quote Originally Posted by stuffedsuperdud View Post
    Fun cue that I never actively did before, nor do I know if it is in The Book. Pan-Am (can press 55kg for a single at 55 y/o and around 80kg bw) told me she always clenches her glutes before each rep, which I consciously did for the first time ever and found it helpful.
    I kind of accidentally stumbled on this cue a couple months ago combined with flexing my quads. For heavy (relative) sets it's the difference between making all the reps and missing a couple. If I forget about it I might get 3 or maybe 4 out of my current 5's progression. With it, I'm almost guaranteed all 5 reps.

  2. #922
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    I missed training last Th/F due to an insane work schedule. That Jack fella from here and sometimes thread of suck put me on his team on contractor status so that I could make rent (to him...sheister...) while waiting on the feds. He's the Director of R&D for a small biomedical microdevices operation and wanted me to be his #2, i.e. the bad cop who yells at the techs and does high-level grunt work, e.g. writing up technical reports. Basically I am supposed to be a glorified secretary with a PhD that will never be worth the opportunity cost...but this is kind of a nice break from research. As Jack puts it, "Research is miserable 99% of the time, and that 1% where shit works isn't worth it, usually. At least here, at the end of the day, paper was pushed!" Well, unfortunately, that lasted about a week: now the company is embroiled in various legal issues due to misconduct on the part of Jack's predecessor, and both of us are wasting tremendous amounts of time and energy trying to put out fires. He gets through his days by titrating various uppers and downers, but it means an extremely erratic schedule for the rest of us. Doubly so for me since he knows where I am about 95% of the time, i.e. I can't sneak off to train...

    Today I did:
    Snatch
    20kgx many
    40kgx3x2
    50x3x2
    60x3x2
    70x3x2
    75x1
    60x4

    Coach was like, "Hey not so bad! 3RM PR is like 80, right? Only 10 kilos off!"

    Snatch pulls:
    60kgx4
    80x4x4

    Muscle snatch + OHS 3+1
    40kgx1x2
    50x1x3

    Front squat:
    20kgx5 Blah! Such pain in my wrists/elbows and knee!
    60x3
    65x3
    75x3
    Ugh...tendonitis/tendonosis in my left knee returned with a vengeance, messing up my OHS and FS. Lots of rolling followed. Hopefully it's just junky tightness in my left IT band and nothing more nefarious.

    A wise man (Ron Swanson) once declared that the three most important people in a man's life are his barber, his butcher, and his lover. Well, I'd like to float the notion that his tailor, the person entrusted with how he presents himself to the world, is just as critical. In fact, when mine, a positively sleazy Old World Italian guy who furiously complimented women on their bodies while pinning their dresses, was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer a few years ago and died only a few months after, it was as of I had lost a dear great-uncle. Alireza, that obnoxious Persian-Armenian coworker referenced some time back, actually came through big after that and recommended his guy, an equally sleazy Armenian known only as "Vic." I knew he was legit when the first time I went over there, I walked in on him and three other equally crusty Armenians smoking hookah, drinking whiskey, and playing backgammon in the middle of the shop; all of them were wearing the mandatory measuring tape around their necks. Hallelujah! He shuffled over, straightening out his tie and and jacket as he did, and did the whole "Come in come in my friend show me what you need I take good care of you" thing that overly friendly Middle Easterners are known for. I told him my situation and he went, "Oh yea so sorry to hear about Salvatore he was good friends with my brother and me, and he knew my father back in the 1970s when they were the only two real tailors in LA/OC area!"

    Anyway he and his guys have been making my odd-shaped body look good...or at least acceptable...ugh...for the past few years. Well, last week finally came the day that CG would cross into a whole new level of friendzone and follow me into that little boys' club to see what she had been missing out on. (AFAIK all her stuff is super expensive but it's mostly just brand name RTW crap that her family's personal shopper picks out for her....and lot of it just jeans from the boys' dept at Neiman Marcus...heh.....don't tell her I told you guys that). She said she had never been inside any tailor shop before in her life, which was surprising given that I noticed her older stuff from back home was mostly custom made; turns out, her dad had people that would come to their house any time anyone needed anything, and they'd do all the measurements/fittings in the living room, or parlor, or whatever the hell the ultrarich have. Well, she was pretty impressed by the timewarp that one gets from walking into the place, but far from oooohing and aaaahing quietly and sitting still on the couch, she let herself into the back area where Vic's staff was working and started pestering them about what they were doing. She also unabashedly started touching their tools, pulling at all the bolts of fabric on the shelves, flipping through their swatch books, asking them of they made dresses (they don't), because she wanted a "slutty skirt" in green Glen plaid + red overcheck ("Very Christmasy!"), and acting generally 25 years younger than her age. Vic was busy pinning me at the front, but bless his heart, seemed only flattered and amused by CG's antics, and told her to just ask him any questions she had about anything....and to stop embarrassing the old guys in the back. In the end she got Vic's son to measure her out for a pantsuit ("Hillary's got nothing on me"), which should be an amusing change of pace from the overpriced shit she normally sports.

    I don't really know where this story is going, other than that all you guys who don't have tailors should find one, I guess, especially given that you probably have weird shoulder:chest:waist:butt ratios because these things aren't made with squats and deads in mind. Also, CG's a larf and an asshole.

    PS A few days later that weird chick saw me in the new jacket and was like, "Yo you should probably just quit the gym and go on a diet until you fit back into regular clothes or something" because FML.
    Last edited by stuffedsuperdud; 01-26-2016 at 03:49 AM.

  3. #923
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    Had to work late and arrived at training when coach was already thinking about leaving. He set a timer and wouldn't allow me more than 1:30 between sets. Wheee CrossFit. He doesn't know words like "conditioning," but he does know, "Fuck! So out of shape!" so...yea....good thing my skin is thick....

    Hang snatch:
    20kgx many
    40x3x2
    50x3x2
    60x3x4

    Coach was pretty happy about the improvements in my technique, esp. the way I am now finishing my pull instead of rushing to drop under, which are probably what is allowing me to lift despite my severely diminished strength. "Hey no training three months and you forget all the bad habits!!"

    Jerks:
    50kgx3
    60x3
    70x3x3
    Ehhhh baby weights, but we're all about technique right now.

    Squat:
    70x5
    90x4
    110x5x3 LP rhymes with easy!

    Fun: Girl 2 was PRing all day errr'day for a few weeks, and can now do 46/50 (53 for just clean and just jerk), but hit a plateau. Coach was like, "Fuck! Snatch and clean and jerk the same??!?! Means legs are too fucking weak!" and made her squat first (stuff like 60kgx4x6), and then, after she did a few snatches and jerks, banished her to the corner to do press, snatch press, and KB press. Because getting strong makes shit easier, right?

    CG and I went to Vic's shop for her to drop off some repairs and to do a 1st fitting. She found out how much this shit costs (LOL at her for not discussing with him earlier.....and at him for just going with it...I guess he figured from the rest of her that $$ isn't an issue) and lost her shit. To her, it's the brand that determines value, not the actual amount of craftsmanship or American-wage labor, e.g. she'll drop $1000 NBD for a pair of Louboutin shoes, but she'll be damned before paying more than $5 to hem some pants. She actually started yelling, "What??! How dare you!! What are you trying to pull here?!??!" at Vic's poor son...all while wearing the partially assembled suit on top of a t-shirt that said on it "We're all fucked!" which left me in stitches. Seriously, I was already giggling at how short her pants are (she's like 5'3" with a long torso and stubby legs, e.g. perfect for lifting), and was laughing so hard when she flipped out that I cried. Vic's son stood there confused, but Vic's a smooth operator though (he's old now but you know back in the day pussy was not an issue for this guy), and CG came to her senses after a moment anyway when we reminded her that 6 people were spending 10+ hours each on just her, and working with fancypants Italian wool (Loro Piana for you style snobs) + she pays just as much if not more for Chanel garbage.

    Later I saw in Vic's logbook that in the notes section of my measurements, it says, "Thighs: Very big. Seat: Very big. Not mistake." At least someone noticed!

  4. #924
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    Quote Originally Posted by stuffedsuperdud View Post
    Had to work late and arrived at training when coach was already thinking about leaving. He set a timer and wouldn't allow me more than 1:30 between sets. Wheee CrossFit. He doesn't know words like "conditioning," but he does know, "Fuck! So out of shape!" so...yea....good thing my skin is thick....

    Hang snatch:
    20kgx many
    40x3x2
    50x3x2
    60x3x4

    Coach was pretty happy about the improvements in my technique, esp. the way I am now finishing my pull instead of rushing to drop under, which are probably what is allowing me to lift despite my severely diminished strength. "Hey no training three months and you forget all the bad habits!!"

    Jerks:
    50kgx3
    60x3
    70x3x3
    Ehhhh baby weights, but we're all about technique right now.

    Squat:
    70x5
    90x4
    110x5x3 LP rhymes with easy!

    Fun: Girl 2 was PRing all day errr'day for a few weeks, and can now do 46/50 (53 for just clean and just jerk), but hit a plateau. Coach was like, "Fuck! Snatch and clean and jerk the same??!?! Means legs are too fucking weak!" and made her squat first (stuff like 60kgx4x6), and then, after she did a few snatches and jerks, banished her to the corner to do press, snatch press, and KB press. Because getting strong makes shit easier, right?

    CG and I went to Vic's shop for her to drop off some repairs and to do a 1st fitting. She found out how much this shit costs (LOL at her for not discussing with him earlier.....and at him for just going with it...I guess he figured from the rest of her that $$ isn't an issue) and lost her shit. To her, it's the brand that determines value, not the actual amount of craftsmanship or American-wage labor, e.g. she'll drop $1000 NBD for a pair of Louboutin shoes, but she'll be damned before paying more than $5 to hem some pants. She actually started yelling, "What??! How dare you!! What are you trying to pull here?!??!" at Vic's poor son...all while wearing the partially assembled suit on top of a t-shirt that said on it "We're all fucked!" which left me in stitches. Seriously, I was already giggling at how short her pants are (she's like 5'3" with a long torso and stubby legs, e.g. perfect for lifting), and was laughing so hard when she flipped out that I cried. Vic's son stood there confused, but Vic's a smooth operator though (he's old now but you know back in the day pussy was not an issue for this guy), and CG came to her senses after a moment anyway when we reminded her that 6 people were spending 10+ hours each on just her, and working with fancypants Italian wool (Loro Piana for you style snobs) + she pays just as much if not more for Chanel garbage.

    Later I saw in Vic's logbook that in the notes section of my measurements, it says, "Thighs: Very big. Seat: Very big. Not mistake." At least someone noticed!
    I think there needs to be a field on every log book for that. My suit fits decent, but chest/shoulder is a little tight and I could probably hulk out of the jacket if i tried. Wife says, looks good, but they probably did not believe the chest/shoulder measurements and fudged it.

    Glad to see the stories coming again!

  5. #925
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    Apr 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by stuffedsuperdud View Post
    Later I saw in Vic's logbook that in the notes section of my measurements, it says, "Thighs: Very big. Seat: Very big. Not mistake." At least someone noticed!
    Hahaha

  6. #926
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    Quote Originally Posted by idlehands View Post
    I think there needs to be a field on every log book for that. My suit fits decent, but chest/shoulder is a little tight and I could probably hulk out of the jacket if i tried. Wife says, looks good, but they probably did not believe the chest/shoulder measurements and fudged it.

    Glad to see the stories coming again!
    send dik pix plz

    So what's your plan? You'll at least try fine-tuning the thing at a real life tailor shop, right?

  7. #927
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    LULZ work hours have been insane. Jack and I are pretty overwhelmed putting out fires left behind by the previous guy: we are in meetings for that, both internally and with business partners that he threw under buses, from about 8AM-3PM or so every day, only after which can we begin to do our "real" jobs of running the R&D department. I've a good mind to put the original director up on criminal charges (fraud, mostly, I think...embezzlement?? I am not a lawyer), but there's no way to do that without also raising questions about how he was able to pull his stunts under the noses of the c-suite, so...yea...let's just clean it up and move on.... To cope, Jack has turned his desk into a pharmacy of uppers and downers. We've been sleeping in our offices a lot, so most days he'll boot up at 6AM with a healthy dose of Adderall while I attack the coffeemaker and then work like a maniac (with me in tow) until about 12AM, upon which he'll eat two cans of Chef Boyardee and then knock himself out with a dose of Trazadone. Rinse and repeat. I've been sneaking away to train/shower by telling him I am going to go get dinner, which he'll reluctantly allow....he himself is down to showering once every several days, to the point that some of the team has complained to me. I conveniently told him that we all refresh ourselves with babywipes during the day, and that he should too, and even left a package of the stuff on his desk, to no avail. It's been an interesting several weeks!!....and if nothing else beats bouncing between the old place run by my PhD advisor and the miscellaneous side gigs he threw me at.

    These erratic hours have taken a bit of a toll on training though: last Thursday Jack knocked himself out at 8PM but I was too exhausted to train, and on Friday, when Rachel finally forced him to go home, I was too late leaving the office to get to the gym. I then spent most of the weekend passed out on the couch in the reception area.

    Today I trained..but I was very late getting to the gym due to work and had to rush:
    Snatch:
    20kgx3
    40x3
    50x3
    60x3
    70x3x4
    There was a 5th set but I missed it 3x before hitting it for a single, and stopped.

    Squat:
    60x5
    80x5
    115x5x3
    My knee is still a bit sore, and warmups are rough, but after that it feels better, and the left quad, which has been smaller than the right since 2013 when I hurt myself, is finally catching up ever so slightly...I think??....or maybe the right one just shrank...whatever. In any case, I suspect like this big humbling reset might not be all bad.

    Oooooh haven't gone over movies in a long time...mostly because CG and I have been too busy, but in the past two months, we did make time for Star Wars, Hateful 8, The Danish Girl, and Anomalisa. Star Wars, eh, it doesn't really need any comment, right? The very definition of a safe nostalgic movie meant to sell toys to a new generation of fans. CG was like, "I binged six movies, all of which were okay at best, for this?"

    Hateful 8 should have been a play, but then the shootout wouldn't have been as horrific, I guess. Also, CG, who fell asleep for about half an hour while Tarantino's favorite actors talked to each other was like, "What's a haberdashery?" and then made us go to one the next day, where I found a cool Dopp bag to facilitate my living-at-work-showering-at-the-gym situation. So +1, I guess. This place also had some miscellaneous men's goods + their own clothing line, but $200 for regular cuff links and $300 for a polo shirt??? How is that even a concept??? Everyone knows polo shirts are $8 at Costco. The rich and famous of Newport Beach (as seen in the The OC) could not possibly give fewer fucks though, and some personal shopper named Carlos was there picking up a stack of shirts for his client that added up to over $5000. Man, sure wish I could afford shirts made out of unicorn scrotums....

    The Danish Girl......yes please. Alicia Vikander was amazing as usual (2015 will be remembered as the year the world found out she is absolutely a movie star), and bared all...again as usual, but it was Eddie Redmayne who, in what will probably go down as the most difficult role of his career, delivered a tremendous performance; I can say for certain that this was the first time any movie has ever moved me (almost) to tears. If he doesn't get the Academy Award for Best Actor (sorry Leo!!), I quit. Halfway through, CG was like, "I'm doing my best but I think I'm going to cry," and then ugly-sobbed her eyes out for the second half of the movie. When the lights came back on, she yelled, "FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK! People back then went through this bullshit and in 2015 ESPN gives Bruce Jenner a courage award? For what? For NOT EVEN BEING A TRANSSEXUAL? For trying to one-up the Kardashians he's hailed as fucking second coming of Jackie Robinson?? FUCK THAT GUY. YES GUY." I stoked the flames with, "....Well....he's not quite a transsexual, but he identifies as transgender...." "OH FUCK YOU TOO. FUCK. I NEED A DRINK."

    We saw Anomalisa mostly for the production values, but found the story to be very disturbing as well, and perhaps a scathing indictment of the narcissism that our culture accidentally encourages. We went with one of CG's extra Spergy co-workers, who was mesmerized by the whole thing and called it "Lost in Translation meets Fight Club." It's a tiny Kickstarter-funded movie that we saw in a scuzzy indie theater, so iono how widely-released it is, but if it's playing near you, definitely make time to go see it.
    Last edited by stuffedsuperdud; 02-02-2016 at 05:22 AM.

  8. #928
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    Quote Originally Posted by stuffedsuperdud View Post
    LULZ work hours have been insane. Jack and I are pretty overwhelmed putting out fires left behind by the previous guy: we are in meetings for that, both internally and with business partners that he threw under buses, from about 8AM-3PM or so every day, only after which can we begin to do our "real" jobs of running the R&D department. I've a good mind to put the original director up on criminal charges (fraud, mostly, I think...embezzlement?? I am not a lawyer), but there's no way to do that without also raising questions about how he was able to pull his stunts under the noses of the c-suite, so...yea...let's just clean it up and move on.... To cope, Jack has turned his desk into a pharmacy of uppers and downers. We've been sleeping in our offices a lot, so most days he'll boot up at 6AM with a healthy dose of Adderall while I attack the coffeemaker and then work like a maniac (with me in tow) until about 12AM, upon which he'll eat two cans of Chef Boyardee and then knock himself out with a dose of Trazadone. Rinse and repeat. I've been sneaking away to train/shower by telling him I am going to go get dinner, which he'll reluctantly allow....he himself is down to showering once every several days, to the point that some of the team has complained to me. I conveniently told him that we all refresh ourselves with babywipes during the day, and that he should too, and even left a package of the stuff on his desk, to no avail. It's been an interesting several weeks!!....and if nothing else beats bouncing between the old place run by my PhD advisor and the miscellaneous side gigs he threw me at.

    These erratic hours have taken a bit of a toll on training though: last Thursday Jack knocked himself out at 8PM but I was too exhausted to train, and on Friday, when Rachel finally forced him to go home, I was too late leaving the office to get to the gym. I then spent most of the weekend passed out on the couch in the reception area.

    Today I trained..but I was very late getting to the gym due to work and had to rush:
    Snatch:
    20kgx3
    40x3
    50x3
    60x3
    70x3x4
    There was a 5th set but I missed it 3x before hitting it for a single, and stopped.

    Squat:
    60x5
    80x5
    115x5x3
    My knee is still a bit sore, and warmups are rough, but after that it feels better, and the left quad, which has been smaller than the right since 2013 when I hurt myself, is finally catching up ever so slightly...I think??....or maybe the right one just shrank...whatever. In any case, I suspect like this big humbling reset might not be all bad.

    Oooooh haven't gone over movies in a long time...mostly because CG and I have been too busy, but in the past two months, we did make time for Star Wars, Hateful 8, The Danish Girl, and Anomalisa. Star Wars, eh, it doesn't really need any comment, right? The very definition of a safe nostalgic movie meant to sell toys to a new generation of fans. CG was like, "I binged six movies, all of which were okay at best, for this?"

    Hateful 8 should have been a play, but then the shootout wouldn't have been as horrific, I guess. Also, CG, who fell asleep for about half an hour while Tarantino's favorite actors talked to each other was like, "What's a haberdashery?" and then made us go to one the next day, where I found a cool Dopp bag to facilitate my living-at-work-showering-at-the-gym situation. So +1, I guess. This place also had some miscellaneous men's goods + their own clothing line, but $200 for regular cuff links and $300 for a polo shirt??? How is that even a concept??? Everyone knows polo shirts are $8 at Costco. The rich and famous of Newport Beach (as seen in the The OC) could not possibly give fewer fucks though, and some personal shopper named Carlos was there picking up a stack of shirts for his client that added up to over $5000. Man, sure wish I could afford shirts made out of unicorn scrotums....

    The Danish Girl......yes please. Alicia Vikander was amazing as usual (2015 will be remembered as the year the world found out she is absolutely a movie star), and bared all...again as usual, but it was Eddie Redmayne who, in what will probably go down as the most difficult role of his career, delivered a tremendous performance; I can say for certain that this was the first time any movie has ever moved me (almost) to tears. If he doesn't get the Academy Award for Best Actor (sorry Leo!!), I quit. Halfway through, CG was like, "I'm doing my best but I think I'm going to cry," and then ugly-sobbed her eyes out for the second half of the movie. When the lights came back on, she yelled, "FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK! People back then went through this bullshit and in 2015 ESPN gives Bruce Jenner a courage award? For what? For NOT EVEN BEING A TRANSSEXUAL? For trying to one-up the Kardashians he's hailed as fucking second coming of Jackie Robinson?? FUCK THAT GUY. YES GUY." I stoked the flames with, "....Well....he's not quite a transsexual, but he identifies as transgender...." "OH FUCK YOU TOO. FUCK. I NEED A DRINK."

    We saw Anomalisa mostly for the production values, but found the story to be very disturbing as well, and perhaps a scathing indictment of the narcissism that our culture accidentally encourages. We went with one of CG's extra Spergy co-workers, who was mesmerized by the whole thing and called it "Lost in Translation meets Fight Club." It's a tiny Kickstarter-funded movie that we saw in a scuzzy indie theater, so iono how widely-released it is, but if it's playing near you, definitely make time to go see it.
    Good grief 9gag and leo oscar nonsense?

  9. #929
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    I have no idea what 9gag thing you're talking about. Did you adjust your suit?

    Today I did:
    Jerks:
    60kgx3x2
    70x3
    80x3x2
    90x3,1

    90 felt REALLY heavy even when I only had it racked. On the second set, I did a shaky rep and then dropped the next one. Coach cut me off here. In an obnoxious twist, my left (bad) knee felt great, but I was cut down by a sudden bout of patellar tendonitis in the right knee. UGH. Was supposed to snatch and squat but wasn't able to. Time for cissus and fish oil.

    Press:
    40kgx5
    50x5
    60x5x3 Hooray back to the puberty weight of OHP. I didn't need to grind anything, but a few months ago 60kg was a warmup. Bleh.

    No stories for now, but I did get completely shitfaced at work with a chick from customer service last night. Laphroaig FTW! She lives across the street from the office, so we both stumbled back to her place, where, I shit you not, we stayed up, and clothed, and wrote a bunch of erotic lore for a D20 sci-fi world she's making. Later, she passed out on the couch and I went back to my office, drank some BCAA's, and fell asleep on the floor (where Jack found me this morning).

  10. #930
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    starting strength coach development program
    But why fully clothed ?!

    Suit is good enough for me. Don't see how they can adjust the shoulders. Everything else seems ok

    9gag is a meme site time waster. One of the chronic memes there is leo needs an Oscar.

    If I ever cut my hair will get suit picture. It's Conan hair style now so doesn't match suit

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