Puttering along

[hector_garza]

Not feeling it today. Lifted late, too many things going on. Just did my warmups and headed home to cook dinner.

Close grip bench
140x15
240x12
255x9 sets of 3
Bent row
135x5
155x2 sets of 5
175x2 sets of 5
Ab wheel
15 kneeling
1 standing

After reading your log I made myself do the ab wheel yesterday. So terrible! Which means probably useful too.

And thanks for posting about watches. Reading your thread lead me to this watch which I'm going to order and am excited to try.

Amazon.com: Seiko Men's SNZG15 Seiko 5 Automatic Stainless Steel Watch with Nylon Strap: Seiko: Watches

[Oldster]

If you're new to the ab wheel, GO EASY to start! I can't stress that strongly enough.

Glad you found a great watch and my thread was the catalyst!

Here is the one I finally went with and have worn it for three days now:

Amazon.com: Seiko Men's SKA366 Stainless Steel Two-Tone Kinetic Dress Watch: Seiko: Clothing

Absolutely love it. Was worried about my wrist being too big. When the band locks, it is barely big enough. Not enough to add a link, but man, it's close.

[Oldster]

A pretty good day all alone in the weight room!

Close grip bench
140x12
240x10
300x5 sets of 5
Military press (supersetted with hammers)
115x10
135x10
175x5
Hammer curls
45sx10
65sx3 sets of 10
Ab wheel
15 kneeling
4 standing

CGs felt great! Four reps standing ab wheel were easy. My abs and body are strong enough, gotta take it easy for my elbow

[Browndog]

Again, impressive work as you continue on the come back trail. Nice Bench work.

[Oldster]

Thank you, Mr. Dog! Things are coming along nicely, there is nothing I feel that makes me worry. Other than I can't seem to use proper bar speed.

[slowmotion]

Nice work.

I'm considering starting with the ab wheel too. Going to be very careful, tho.

[codger]

Those are some jaw-dropping numbers, Oldster! I can only fantasize about getting into your range. I've been using the ab wheel two but can't quite get a standing one yet.

[Oldster]

Nice work.

I'm considering starting with the ab wheel too. Going to be very careful, tho.

Thanks. I hate sounding like a broken record, but we have to be careful with the ab wheel. I equate it to a big squat.

Those are some jaw-dropping numbers, Oldster! I can only fantasize about getting into your range. I've been using the ab wheel two but can't quite get a standing one yet.

Keep working, Yoda, you'll get there. If you're getting close to doing one standing, it's coming.

[codger]

Did you progress directly from kneeling to standing rollouts with the ab wheel, Oldster? Or did you use some sort of ramp set up?

[Oldster]

I personally believe a ramp holds lifters back, Yoda. I've watched a lot try to make gains that way but it almost never works.

My standing reps came after about 18 months of working up to a couple sets of 50. One on Monday, the other on Friday. Even that was pretty easy, taxing, but still easy. Too many sessions per week were the killer for me. Finally I told my lifting partner to back away and cover his face, I was going to try one standing. When you stand at the top of your first attempt to see how bad it'll be, I assumed guts would splatter our weight room.

Lo and behold, I was able to control myself to within about 8" of the floor before I collapsed, keeping most of my guts inside. The lightbulb popped on and I started doing just one negative after my regular set. Then came the day I could finally control myself to the floor. After that, I added a second and third, continuing for a few more months.

Then one day I was feeling a bit frisky and told Baby Bear to look out, blood'n'guts were going to drip from the ceiling and walls. I was going to use momentum and bounce hard enough from the floor to get a bit of rebound. I was determined! An odd thing happened, knowing I was committed, I actually controlled myself to the floor and made the turnaround, coming back up. Well, hell, if I can do one, I can always add another later! Sure enough, over the months, going slow and easy, I made it up to 15 standing, without a break, on Monday.

Fridays I did something different and played with decline(?) ab wheels. I brought a 2"x12"x8' board in and set one end up on two 45 lb rubber bumper plates, making it about 8" off the ground. Yeah, it doesn't sound like much, but standing on it with a wheel in my hand, it looked like straight frickin' down! Eventually I would use Fridays for only 5 on the decline and anywhere from 6 to 15 on the flat wheel day.

Hope I've helped! Can't wait until I build back up again. Slow and smart wins the race.