Stuffed Superdud: Bumpy road to respectable lifting

[brkriete]

Just figured out my housing situation starting in about a month: I'll be living in a one-story house near DC with three women in their 20s....and am old enough to know how unsexy that sort of thing is in real life. Stories to follow.

Yes, that's probably going to be awful.

I mostly wear Brooks Brothers tailored fit shirts for work, they fit me well, the fabric is very durable, and I have had good luck finding them for around 50% off. I surely wouldn't pay $100+ for them.

[MBasic]

Went to a globo and forgot my chalk, to boot.
70 x couldn't muscle snatch it. Power cleaned it instead and got it onto my back, but without chalk, was not strong enough to grip it overhead and my hands kept on sliding out of the ends of the bar. Screwed it.
.

did you have one of those hex-collar-bars with no knurling on the last 6-8 inches? Or just wore out there from the steel J- hooks?

Anyway, I would TRY power snatches when I was forced to go to LA Fitness with those bars, and I take a fairly wide grip.
So I was like, just take max width to sleeves, that way in the rack, you'd just be pushing against the sleeve collars.
But then at the final explosion of the pull, grip would slide inward, and then pop back to sleeves in the overhead rack.

So I would narrow to where first two fingers and thumb would be on knurling, pinky and ring would be on the smooth, and just give up basically and lighten the load considerably.

Always an adventure! I (almost) dropped 135# on the back my head once, but sort of made it look like intentionally catching on my traps like it was the last rep of the set.

[trick_ster]

Just figured out my housing situation starting in about a month: I'll be living in a one-story house near DC with three women in their 20s....and am old enough to know how unsexy that sort of thing is in real life. Stories to follow.

What about CG?! Is she leaving this sitcom?

[stuffedsuperdud]

I mostly wear Brooks Brothers tailored fit shirts for work, they fit me well, the fabric is very durable, and I have had good luck finding them for around 50% off. I surely wouldn't pay $100+ for them.

Yes, I saw it was good stuff, but at least at the Beverly Hills location, I was definitely paying for the all the mahogany paneling, the posters of attractive Harvard students, and the sexy Jamaican guy calling me "sir," none of which I need. I agree, 50% their MSRP is about fair, which happens to be what I paid for the pants. 10/10 would buy again at that price. My future boss told me though that what I really need are things that won't turn me into a sticky smelly pile of swamp-crotch come the legendary DC summers. Our conversation went like this:

Boss: "Well yea heard was true, to a certain extent. It's not comfortable. But I'm from Baton Rouge, so this isn't that bad compared to what I am used to."
Me: "I grew up in San Francisco where it hits 80°F one day a year or so, and have lived in Southern California for the past several years, where it's about 75°F, dry, and sunny 24/7/365."
Boss: "Ha! Then you are, as we say in Louisiana, you are fucked!"

So I'm currently open to suggestions....

did you have one of those hex-collar-bars with no knurling on the last 6-8 inches? Or just wore out there from the steel J- hooks?

It was actually a nice Pendlay Olympic bar. My hands were just that sweaty, and my grip was just that weak. Also, I like to look for excuses in general to pussy out.

What about CG?! Is she leaving this sitcom?

Unfortunately, yes, it looks like CG will be relegated to a recurring role very soon. She has plenty of friends in Washington DC and Alexandria VA is one of her favorite cities in the world, but it looks like her job will be here for the foreseeable future, and the expats in her family are all in LA, so she's not too keen about leaving SoCal in general anyway. That said, 1. I will be keeping her on retainer as my Advisor on Female Affairs so the running commentary should continue, and 2. I'm doing this partly out of a possibly misguided sense of patriotism (before deciding on DoD civilian research, I was actually in the Navy's queue for NUPOC-subs), but I don't anticipate a long government career, and will probably be looking to transition back to the California biotech industry once this is over. So the good times are just on hiatus.

[Chad Mynhier]

Unfortunately, yes, it looks like CG will be relegated to a recurring role very soon. She has plenty of friends in Washington DC and Alexandria VA is one of her favorite cities in the world, but it looks like her job will be here for the foreseeable future, and the expats in her family are all in LA, so she's not too keen about leaving SoCal in general anyway. That said, 1. I will be keeping her on retainer as my Advisor on Female Affairs so the running commentary should continue

I've only been following this sitcom for a short while, but I have a question related to the above:

Has her advice gotten you laid yet?

[stuffedsuperdud]

I've only been following this sitcom for a short while, but I have a question related to the above:

Has her advice gotten you laid yet?

No, because really, it's a hopeless situation, and she is not magical. But at least these days I look super dapperdandy on first dates. Story: I once crashed and burned on a first date and was done by 8:00PM. Called her to see if she wanted to go see Man of Steel. Went to her in the same clothes, mom jeans that smelled like my Rehband sleeves and a torn Ninja Turtles shirt I had gotten to commemorate the first time I squatted 315. She went, "Dude please tell me you changed between there and here..." and I went, "Uh...no...no I didn't." The next day, we were at the Ralph Lauren store in Beverly Hills, where she forced me to drop over $400 on "respectable" shirts and pants; when I protested, she went, "You cheap bastard, I know you have the money. What are you saving up for, a house for your nonexistent wife and kids??" Le sigh. I walked out looking like if Jose Canseco and one of the store's mannequins had a love-son....and haven't looked back since.

Training:
Ugh....busy week coupled with poor sleep, endless stupid meetings with guys that will probably be out of a job soon, and this damn cold that just refuses to clear out. I had a few minutes today, so I remember Steel going, "Well, just squat and leave then":

Squat:
45lb x5
135x5 no hands!!
225x5 no hands!!
^Always wanted to try this circus trick...
315x3 paused
335x2 paused

Here I did something stupid. It was an unfamiliar squat rack, so I got nervous and raised the safeties an extra hole before attempting 355. at the bottom, the bar hit the safeties and came to a full stop. I crouched at the bottom, the weight off my back, and wondered what to do. Decided to try standing up with it and did:

Pin squats from the bottom:
355x2 RPE 346
Holy shit that second rep was hard.

Fixed the safeties and did:
Squat: 355x5x3 nice and easy

Then called up CG and Rugby and saw the terrible pre-Justice League movie. This had all the ingredients for a great movie, but then cynical Hollywood financiers took over and we're just given yet another paint-by-numbers mash-up of action scenes followed by a reminder that they're making 24 more Justlice League movies right the fuck now! Bleh. Bonus bleh: seems like Ben Affleck didn't want Henry Cavill monopolizing the shirtless scenes, so they included a sweaty montage of Bruce Wayne doing CrossFit in the Beatcave....only to put on an Iron Man esque suit that seems to do all the work for a human anyway....because contrary to what CFHQ says, CF isn't going to give you Kryptonian powers. Double bonus bleh: Apparently they mixed up Bruce Wayne and Frank Castle, because unless I suspend all my disbelief and assume that theirs is a world of naught but less-lethal rounds, it seems like Batman shoots 1000 people to death with everything from small arms to what looks like multiple GAU-8/A Avengers mounted in the Batmobile and the Batwing.

Now drafting a change.org petition for a new franchise starring Wonder Woman and Mercy Graves.

[idlehands]

No, because really, it's a hopeless situation, and she is not magical. But at least these days I look super dapperdandy on first dates. Story: I once crashed and burned on a first date and was done by 8:00PM. Called her to see if she wanted to go see Man of Steel. Went to her in the same clothes, mom jeans that smelled like my Rehband sleeves and a torn Ninja Turtles shirt I had gotten to commemorate the first time I squatted 315. She went, "Dude please tell me you changed between there and here..." and I went, "Uh...no...no I didn't." The next day, we were at the Ralph Lauren store in Beverly Hills, where she forced me to drop over $400 on "respectable" shirts and pants; when I protested, she went, "You cheap bastard, I know you have the money. What are you saving up for, a house for your nonexistent wife and kids??" Le sigh. I walked out looking like if Jose Canseco and one of the store's mannequins had a love-son....and haven't looked back since.

Training:
Ugh....busy week coupled with poor sleep, endless stupid meetings with guys that will probably be out of a job soon, and this damn cold that just refuses to clear out. I had a few minutes today, so I remember Steel going, "Well, just squat and leave then":

Squat:
45lb x5
135x5 no hands!!
225x5 no hands!!
^Always wanted to try this circus trick...
315x3 paused
335x2 paused

Here I did something stupid. It was an unfamiliar squat rack, so I got nervous and raised the safeties an extra hole before attempting 355. at the bottom, the bar hit the safeties and came to a full stop. I crouched at the bottom, the weight off my back, and wondered what to do. Decided to try standing up with it and did:

Pin squats from the bottom:
355x2 RPE 346
Holy shit that second rep was hard.

Fixed the safeties and did:
Squat: 355x5x3 nice and easy

Then called up CG and Rugby and saw the terrible pre-Justice League movie. This had all the ingredients for a great movie, but then cynical Hollywood financiers took over and we're just given yet another paint-by-numbers mash-up of action scenes followed by a reminder that they're making 24 more Justlice League movies right the fuck now! Bleh. Bonus bleh: seems like Ben Affleck didn't want Henry Cavill monopolizing the shirtless scenes, so they included a sweaty montage of Bruce Wayne doing CrossFit in the Beatcave....only to put on an Iron Man esque suit that seems to do all the work for a human anyway....because contrary to what CFHQ says, CF isn't going to give you Kryptonian powers. Double bonus bleh: Apparently they mixed up Bruce Wayne and Frank Castle, because unless I suspend all my disbelief and assume that theirs is a world of naught but less-lethal rounds, it seems like Batman shoots 1000 people to death with everything from small arms to what looks like multiple GAU-8/A Avengers mounted in the Batmobile and the Batwing.

Now drafting a change.org petition for a new franchise starring Wonder Woman and Mercy Graves.

You ending up in dc? I may be traveling more for work soon. We could end up squatting !


Been waiting for news on batman. I am sad. Was hoping for something decent. Sounds like not good.

I am enjoying daredevil at least. I was not stoked for punisher at all and he's my favorite part of this season. Have 3-4 more episodes to go.

Also will be testing out suit at interview Wednesday. May test hipster barber out first.

[stuffedsuperdud]

Hey good luck, man. I'm guessing you have the IT-security part down pat, but as for your new threads, be sure to take them out for a test run a day or two in advance. Last thing you want is to be uncomfortable and fidgety the whole time. Happened to a buddy of mine, who decided at the last minute to try suspenders for the first time in his life. He ended up setting them too short, and they gave him a giant wedgie all day while he tried to sound smart and useful. It was a long day for him....

Training:
Got off my ass and did:

Clean high pulls + clean + snatch press 2+1+3
40kgx1
50x1
60x1
70x1
80x1 Had to push press this one. My PR for snatch press is like 75x1, so 80x3 was way too much to ask for.

Clean high pulls + clean + BTN push press 2+1+5
40kgx1
50x1
60x1
70x1
80x1

Here, I was interrupted by a PL chick on the next platform whom I had seen a few times but never said hi to. She wanted to bullshit about lifting and whatnot, so much fat was chewed and I unfortunately got cold. Took a crack at PP-ing 90 and botched the first rep so I called it.

Clean high pulls:
90kgx4
120x4
130x4
150x3

Deadlift:
160x1
170x5 felt kinda heavy and I had to really fall back and actively remember the noobie protocol (feet, hands, shins, set, pull)! I don't remember DLs ever feeling heavy and technically never even finished my LP, stopping around 420lbs for 5. But I was running TM at the time and was squatting into the 400s. Guess this is a long way of saying that I'd better get my squat up.


Fun new CG discovery:
When we were in Brooks Brothers the other day she got bored with the menswear but found the one thing she knew: fragrances. BB carries Royall Lyme products, and she started sniffing around. Ended up discovering that their Royall Rugby flavor is pretty awesome and I've been bathing in it ever since. I'm absolutely not a perfumes kinda guy, mind you. The only cologne I've ever owned is a bottle of Jean Paul Gautier that CG got me over two years ago, which has barely been used. But gotta give credit where credit's due: this stuff is good. I even went and added a few drops here and there in my office......to hide the smell of the dirty laundry hidden under my desk.


Went to Vic's shop to pick up the double breasted blazer I found on ebay and he went, "Okay you look good. I do a good job. But I should remind, the double breasted, is usually for tall skinny men. Makes them look fuller. But you are already...no so tall or skinny..... Is okay, every man needs one double-breasted minimum....Just for you, one is enough!" -___-

We got to talking shop and much to my dismay, he said he was at a tailoring convention (LOLWUT?!) in Canada where some Chinese businessman was demonstrating machines for laser-printing cloth from patterns drawn in CAD. "I begin at 10 years old, doing the hems and the stitches with my uncle, no electricity even! We use the pedals to turn the machine! Now they have this laser! Is incredible! Something to take me eight hours, machine does in one second! And they show how they build the shoulders. Amazing! Just like I do by hand. Maybe better. One suit, take men like me 40-60 hours to make, cost you $5000. Now the machine can do in ten minutes, they can sell to you for $200, I make the adjustments, $500 total and you are done." Obviously I was disappointed that guys like Vic and his son might end up cleaning up after a machine, but he seemed pretty excited. "Hey, is cheaper for you, more dollars per hour for me, and the suit is just as good as total custom. Pedals to robots now I can say I see it all!" Behind him, his grandson was playing Minecraft on Vic's computer. Vic pointed at him and said, "Look, he's to be fourth generation tailor if he chooses. Says he's not interested in the tailoring. But maybe with the robot, we get him still!"

[stuffedsuperdud]

Blahhhh. My left quad was irritated all week for some reason, and my work schedule has been annoying anyway, so training took a hit. Today, I did:

Squat:
135x10
225x5
315x4
365x1 Overprime
360x5x3

Set 1 rep 1, I hit the hole a bit too hard and felt a twitch in my right calf. I was able to do all my other reps, and right now it's slightly uncomfortable but not crippling like the last time I strained it, so maybe this is some sort of Grade 0.5 injury. Will Starr-protocol it probably just by walking as much as possible tomorrow, and see how it goes. I paused set 1, rep 5, and it was an RPE 10000. Set 2 was easy. Set 3, I lost my concentration on rep 2 and it slipped out of the groove. Got it up with much effort, and then did the other 3 reps.

[George Christiansen]

My future boss told me though that what I really need are things that won't turn me into a sticky smelly pile of swamp-crotch come the legendary DC summers. Our conversation went like this:

Boss: "Well yea heard was true, to a certain extent. It's not comfortable. But I'm from Baton Rouge, so this isn't that bad compared to what I am used to."
Me: "I grew up in San Francisco where it hits 80°F one day a year or so, and have lived in Southern California for the past several years, where it's about 75°F, dry, and sunny 24/7/365."
Boss: "Ha! Then you are, as we say in Louisiana, you are fucked!"

So I'm currently open to suggestions....

Certainly, in this day and age, there must be some sort of sweat catheter? Some sort of liner you wear under your suit. Spong on the side that touches your skin drains to an ankle bag?