Quest for Fire

[Erok]

OP and BP thrice per week, actually, if you count Light day and variations like close grip bench. I've had good results with Texas Method, and a Smolov Jr. cycle worked really well for the bench, and my presses really suffer after layoffs, so I'm thinking a higher volume/frequency for now, to pump me up. I'll probably lower volume on Heavy days, substitute variations on Medium day, etc.
But, yeah, this could totally crash me. I'm gonna have to listen very closely to all the noises my body makes. All the tweaking could very well eventually turn it into a longer cycle like you mentioned. But I'm motivated for now, and optimism is on my side. Rawr!

[Lakshmi Meadows]

Rawr! GO! GO! GO! Says the girl who just walked out of the chiro office with a fucked clavical and rib!
As you said, listen closely

[Erok]

Sat 12/14. Weekend afternoons at the gym are preferable. 215.25#.

Squats: 95 x 5, 190 x 5, 215 x 5, 245 x 5, 270 x 5,5,5. 215 x 10. These are good. Feeling strong, no belt needed.

OHP: 45 x 15, 90 x 5, 100 x 8.

Close Grip Bench: 50 x 10, 100 x 5, 115 x 5, 130 x 5, 145 x 5,5,5. 115 x 10, 12.

Deadlift: 185 x 5, 285 x 3, 355 x 1,1,1. That's about all I can do. Feeling hiiiigh.

Goodmornings: 45 x 20.

Pork Carnitas!

[Erok]

Tues., 12/17. Going through the motions, in the basement, doing laundry, gettin' it done.

Squats: 70 x 10, 120 x 5, 190 x 5, 215 x 5,5,5. Why are light day squats still so hard? I must be riding the edge of the compensation curve.

Bench: 55 x 15, 120 x 5, 135 x 5, 155 x 5, 170 x 5,5,5. 135 x 8,10. Those work sets are amazing. Top of each rep, I chug one breath like a steam engine submarine. Blow! Pressurize! Dive! Surface!

OHP: 55 x 5,5, 80 x 5, 90 x 5, 100 x 5, 110 x 5, 90 x 7, 70 x 8.

Power Cleans: 75 x 5, 125 x 2,2,2,2,2,2. These suck sooo bad. I can't get under the damn bar! A couple reps, I can't even catch with my shoulders - that's never been a problem before. Maybe my arms are tired, they feel swollen and puffy. I definitely need some real coaching. Perhaps I can find someone at the real gym in my neighborhood (more on that story as it develops...)

A revelation was had tonight. I've always known the bench press requires involvement of the entire kinetic chain (for it is written), but that knowledge has been largely academic up to now. Second work set, I could finally feel it to be true. I was using my lats, my neck, my calves. Last rep of the last set, I got a cramp - IN MY FOOT! It's not just triceps and man-boobs moving that bar, it's the whole. damn. thing! From clenched fingers to curled toes, the bench under my shoulders, the earth under my feet, the full moon pulling, the sun pushing, the center of the galaxy pulsing. The entire universe is swirling around a 170-pound gravity well, with the bar in the eye of the storm, perfectly still.

Supper is my favorite: breakfast! bacon, omlettes, custard, & assorted leftovers.

[Erok]

Fri., 12/20. At the gym. 217#

Squats: 95 x 10, 135 x 5, 190 x 5, 215 x 5, 245 x 5,5,5. 190 x 10.

OHP: 45 x 15, 95 x 5, belt on: 125 x 5,5,7. Ha! Finally. 95 x 10. Oh, hey, Lakshmi - I figured it out: I totally breathe at the top of the press. Out, then in.

Bench: 45 x 25, 95 x 10, 135 x 5,5,5.

RDL: 45 x 10, 135 x 8,8,8. maybe I'm doing these right. they feel ok.

[Erok]

Tues., 12/24. At the gym. 217.4 or 218#, depending on the scale.

Squats: 95 x 5, 195 x 5, 220 x 5, 250 x 5, belt on: 275 x 5,5,5. whew.

OHP: 45 x 15, 100 x 5,5,5.

Close Grip Bench: 60 x 5, 120 x 5, 135 x 5, 155 x 5,5,5, 120 x 10,10.

Deadlifts: 185 x 5, 295 x 3, 365 x 1, 370 x 1. What's five more pounds? I couldn't even tell.

SLDL: 135 x 10. These feel pretty good.

I'm ridiculously hungry, so I hit the Culver's on the way home for a Triple Bacon Deluxe. Ever heard of a burgergasm? That's me, in my car, going NOM NOM NOM NOMMMM-OOOOOOOHHHH. I'm like Cookie Monster, but with burgers.

[Lakshmi Meadows]

You're on a roll! Love following your progress!

[Erok]

Sat. 12/28. 219#

Squats: 95 x 5, 135 x 1, 195 x 5, 220 x 5,5,5. 135 x 15. feeling strong, even though it's just light day.

Bench: 60 x 15, 125 x 5, 140 x 5, 155 x 5, 175 x 5,5,5. Ooohhhh, Yeeeeaaaah! (Channeling my inner Randy Savage - we all have him in there somewhere.) 140 x 10, 12.

OHP: 45 x 10, 85 x 5, 100 x 5, 115 x 4, 3, 85 x 8,8. whew! arms tired.

Power Cleans: 65 x 3, 85 x 3, 105 x 3, 125 x 2,2,2,2,2,2. These go pretty well. I'm convinced that I can't do these in my basement anymore. Gotta have that spinny olympic bar.

[Erok]

Mon., 12/30

It's my last day at Anytime Fatness. I go to turn in my key fob, and the manager says, " naw, hang on to it. Keep it on your keychain, think of us whenever you look at it, and maybe you'll be back." Hm. Yeah, I just love having useless stuff on my keychain. Oh, well. It will look really nice in the kitchen junk drawer. Goodbye, silly gym contract.

Weigh in at 217#. Goodbye, crappy gym scale.

Squats: 95 x 5, 195 x 5, 220 x 5, 250 x 5,5,5, 195 x 10. Goodbye, stupid mirrors in front of the squat rack.

OHP: 45 x 10, 95 x 5, 130 x 5,5,5. 95 x 8, 45 x 15. Wow. Considering all the trouble I had with 125, I'm surprised 130 went up this smoothly. Goodbye, lifting plateau?

Fitting for my last day: As I move in to hog the rack, there's a nice, kinda cute, young lady setting up for deadlifts in the only space available. She must be new. She asks "Am I gonna be in your way here?" I say, "No, absolutely not at all. It's just great to see people deadlifting, and I don't want you to feel restricted in the slightest", or something along those lines. We continue with our respective sets. I decide on belting up for my second and third work sets, and, lo and behold, in the second set, at the bottom of rep three, I let out a tiny, insignificant little parcel of gas. Never done that before. Little did I know, that when one is belted up, with the whole body tight as a bratwurst, and the posterior thrust back like the prow of a ship, even the smallest release of pressure will amplify like a pet duck being drowned in a puddle of rainwater. And then, I heard it echo. By the time I finished the set, she was gone to the other side of the gym. Didn't even get to say excuse me. Goodbye, persecuted deadlift girl. Hope I didn't scare you away from the best corner of the gym forever.

Goodbye, rubber-coated, 15" plates. I did enjoy your built-in handgrips.
Goodbye, bosu balls. I hardly knew ye.
Goodbye, elliptical machines with basic cable. Couldn't endure you for five minutes.
Goodbye, kettlebells made of bouncy medicine balls. I never did find out what would happen if I dropped you.
Goodbye, dangerously skinny girls, cleaning and pressing your plastic 5# weights with rounded spines. You can haz Cheezburger.
Goodbye, smug personal trainer who doesn't know how to coach KB swings. I'm glad I didn't crush your windpipe when I felt like it, for you may still see the light before all your clients become permanently disabled.
Goodbye, guy who does nothing but calf raises, chinups, and planks. You look much better in sleeveless shirts than I do.

All in all, the place wasn't THAT bad. I got a helluva lot stronger there. Time to move on, though.

[Erok]

GOALS FOR 2014

Posted this in the other place to make it more public, but I should put it here as well, so that I may be constantly reminded to revel in my triumphs and wallow in my shame.

1. Remain injury free.
2. Join a real gym.
3. Keep the clothing budget within limits / get to the middle hole in my belt (very possible if the new gym has a prowler).
4. Deadlift 2 x BW (440 - 450#)
5. Squat 315# like a boss. (at least 3 x 5)
6. Bench 225# like a boss.
7. Get Press up to 150#.
8. Power Clean like I know what I'm doing.