Quest for Fire

[Erok]

Thur., 12/13. 225#. Pot pie, bacon, those candied nuts that magically appear in offices around this time.

GHR: 2x10,
cuffs 2x20,
ab wheel 2x15.

SQ: 45x..., 165x6, 225x6, 290x4, 360 x 3,3,2,3. 5 minute rests made these extra hard.

CGBP, 3"board: 45x..., 145x6, 170x5, 185x5,5,5, 195x5. whole shebang done in 12 minutes.

Sumo DL: 185x6, 205x6, 225x5, yeah that's enough of that.

DB Curlz: 25x8, 30x8, 35x8, 40x3, 35x3, 30x3, 25x3, 20x8, 15x10. ride's here.


Bachelor Chow: ground bison in creamy, spicy tomato sauce with rice, peas, fried eggs.

[Erok]

Sat., 12/15. coffee & B vitamins - it's early morning training today. 11:00.

F Sqt: 45x..., 125x5,5, 165x4,4,4,4.

DL: 245x6, 305x4, 372.5 x 3,3,3,3. 8 minute rests. 1st set was the hardest, 2nd set was easiest, 3rd set I was too pumped up to remember, 4th set felt like I was gonna break something. But didn't.

Brotmeal (instant oatmeal with whey powder), then brunch with friends: roast pork/fried egg sandwich with fries.


Sun., 12/16. coffee, coffee coffee. Also an early-ass session. 12:00. On a Sunday.

SLDL: 45x..., 95x6, 115x6, 135x5, 170x5,5,5. no rest.

OHP: 45x..., 95x6, 115x6, 150x4, 175 x 3,3,3,3. best press workout in recent memory. Seems like the secret to pressing is extreme aggression? I've always approached it from the other way. Hm.

Picnic lunch of deviled eggs, sandwich and chips, then meet up with a friend for Hurts Donuts, followed by a 5 mile hike. OH, sugar.

On the way home, we pass by the gym. I offhandedly suggest "Hey, wanna go do arms?" To my great surprise, wife says "Sure!" She's a keeper.

Arms Circuit:
Lat Pulldowns 80x8, 90x8,8, 80x12.
Side Delts: 25x8,8,8, 20x20.
Tri Pushdowns: 40x8, 50x8, 60x8, 40x21.
BB Curlz: 45x10,10,10,23.

Done in 12 minutes, just before the gym closes at 6pm. Home for some real food: rosemary basil chicken thighs with roasted sweet potatoes over wild rice with squash cream sauce.

[BrooklynJerry]

Spring will be here soon, time to get arms in shape for tank top season.

[Erok]

Yes! As well as Atlas Stones. This will be the year I don't zero out at the local strongman comp.

[Erok]

Tues., 12/18. Oh, wow, it's deload week! Minimal rest periods!

HiBar Paused SQ: 45x..., 185x6, 205x6, 217.5x5,5,5,5,5. really working on rep speed. Which is easy to do, cuz it's y'know, light.

Paused Bench: 45x..., 105x6, 145x6, 170x5, 185x5,5,5,5.

Deficit DL 4": 185x6, 205x6, 225x5, 245x5,5,5. 4" deficit puts the bar 1/2 " above my foot. what the hell was I thinking? rep speed is good, tho.

Seated DB OHP: 35x8,8,8,12.


breakfast tacos - actually a huge bowl of scrambled eggs with cheese, salsa and guac and sour cream, scooped up with tortillas.

[Erok]

OH, man, so far behind. I even forgot what day it was. Let's clear out the backlog:


Fri., 12/21. 223#. coffee, 1 mi walk.

GHR 2x10,
5# cuffs 2x20,
ab wheel 2x15.

SQ: 45x..., 165x6, 225x6, 270x5, 290x5,5,5,5. 16 minutes for work sets.

CGBP, 2" board: 45x..., 145x6, 160x5, 172.5x5,5,5,5. another 16 minutes.

Sumo DL: 185x6, 205x6, 225x5, 275x5,5. 17 minutes for all sets.

Row: 155x8, 160x8, 165x8, 170x8.

Hammer Curlz: 30x8, 35x8, 40x8-very cheaty, 30x8.

1 mile walk, then you take a pork chop, melt cheese over the top, then put a fried egg on top of that. It will sustain you until supper, when you have a pizza.


Sun., 12/23. 226.4#. pancakes, omelette, hashbrowns.

F Squat: 95x8, 135x5, 155x5, 177.5x3,3,3,3.

Med Grip BP, 2" board: 45x..., 105x6, 145x6, 172.5x5, 185x5,5,5,5.

DL: 245x6, 275x5, 292.5x5,5,5,5. 15 minute work sets.

Cable Row: 100x8, 110x8, 120x8.
Facepulls: 30x20,20.

Chicken Strudel, New York Strip.


Mon., 12/24. 223.4#. coffee.

SLDL: 45x..., 95x6, 115x6, 135x5, 157.5x5,5,5.

OHP: 45x..., 95x6, 115x6, 130x5, 140x5,5,5,5.

3/4 Squats: 185x6, 205x6, 217.5x5,5,5,5.

Lat Pulldwons: 100x6, 110x6, 120x6,
Side Delts: 20x8,8, 25x8,
Tri pushdown: 40x8, 50x8,8,
DB Hammer Curlz: 30x8, 35x8, 30x8.

KB grip holds: 80kg x 4 holds.

Oyster Stew.


Fri., 12/28. 224.2#. pork chop, bacon, eggs, coffee.

GHR: 2x10,
5&8# cuffs: 2x20,
ab wheel: 2x15.

Hi-Bar Paused SQ: 45x..., 185x6, 205x6, 235x5, 260x5,5,5.

Bench (Competition Style): 45x..., 115x6, 155x5, 195x2, 225x2, 235x1. Man, that pause on the chest really kills ya.

Seated DB OHP: 35x8, 40x8, 45x8, 50x8.

Rice, eggs, broccoli, rest of the oyster stew.


Sat., 12/29. training log just says: "Sugar".


Sun., 12/30. 226.6#. coffee, nut bar.

SQ: 45x..., 185x6, 225x5, 295x3, 365x1, 385x1,1,1,1, 315x3,3.

GM: 95x5,5,5.

Leg Press: 200x31. wife wanted me to try it. why not? (because it made me walk funny for two days, that's why not)

Leg Curl: 80x10, 90x10,10,
Leg Xtend: 80x10, 90x10,10.

crab legs, butter, probably some other stuff.


Tues., 1/01/19. 226.4#. Finally got enough snow to shovel - about 2-3" of powder over an inch of frozen slush. Good warmup.
Coffee, coffee, coffee, and to the gym an hour before it closes at noon. Yep, we were those people.

F Squat: 45x..., 95x5, 135x5, 155x3, 175x3,3.

DL: 225x5, 315x1, 365x1, 405x1. went up really nicely. bar was one of those thin, whippy Oly ones.

Cable row: 90x20,
GHR x20,
Facepulls: 30x..., 40x30.

leftover pizza with eggs and crab butter.

[Erok]

Thurs., 1/03. Diet begins: Roasted rosemary chicken and sweet potato. Could be worse.

SLDL: 45x..., 95x6, 145x5, 170x5,5,5. Using no plate bigger than a 25 and wearing my squat shoes, for that stupid, stupid stretch.

OHP: 45x..., 95x6, 115x6, 150x4, 180x2, 190x1 - awful. I spent too much time getting set, then got to the sticking point and dipped my knees. Felt a little faint, but perfectly okay. I started to think maybe I should call it and move on, but then I realized: if not now, when? I KNOW how to fucking press. I know what not to do. So:

OHP: 200 x 1. Finally. Fucking. Happened. Got tight right away, hip thrust good, bar floated up to eye level. Press was smooth from there up to just above the head, where it stuck. I then had another conversation with myself, where I recounted all my tricep training over the last year. Got the bar squoze into a slow, but steady grind to lockout. Wanted to hold it as long as I could, but could feel the oxygen debt catching up to me, so maybe I held it one second. Long, tight exhale on the eccentric, vision going grey and starry, arms tingling, but I reracked no problem. Too bad nobody in the gym noticed. I was surrounded by over a dozen bodybuilder women, too.

Went to put all my stuff away, texted wife in celebration, had a long drink of water, then remembered I had the rest of the session to complete.

3/4 Squats: 185x6, 205x6, 235x5, 260x4,4,4.

Pulldowns: 80x8, 90x8, 100x8, 110x8. These are super easy when not supersetted.

Side Delts: 20x8, 25x8, 30x8. These are super hard when not supersetted.

Tri Pushdown: 100x20, 20. no rest for you fuckers.

EZ Curlz: 20x8, 40x8, 50x8,8.


Chicken in a pot, with onion, carrots, celery, thyme. Mmmm.

[granny]

OHP: 200 x 1. Finally. Fucking. Happened. Got tight right away, hip thrust good, bar floated up to eye level. Press was smooth from there up to just above the head, where it stuck. I then had another conversation with myself, where I recounted all my tricep training over the last year. Got the bar squoze into a slow, but steady grind to lockout. Wanted to hold it as long as I could, but could feel the oxygen debt catching up to me, so maybe I held it one second. Long, tight exhale on the eccentric, vision going grey and starry, arms tingling, but I reracked no problem. Too bad nobody in the gym noticed. I was surrounded by over a dozen bodybuilder women, too.

Congrats!!! Happy new year!
In my gym the "bodybuilding" gals can't tear their eyes away from themselves in the mirror, so....

[Erok]

Sat., 1/05. Coffee, nut bar.

My singlet fits! Got the cheapest Inzer one, so the legs are suuper short. Feels a little sexy, looks like I'm walking around on two vanilla pudding pops.

SQ: 45x..., 185x6, 205x6, 245x3, 335x1, 385x1, 405x1, 415x1. PR. the 405 was very deep, and got kinda sticky. I had wife watch for depth on the 415, so I didn't bottom out. Still got a little sticky, but went up fine.

Paused BP: 45x..., 115x6, 145x5, 200x2, 245x1, 255x0, 225x1,1. That damn pause just killed me. When 255 hit my chest, my shoulders were locked in place. Locked meaning frozen, as in: "we're totally checking out here. You can do what you want, but we're not moving."

Paused DB Bench: 30x12, 35x12, 45x8, 55x5. Trying to feel where the shoulders want to lock. I dunno. Squats went well.


Quick snack tacos on the way home, then making dinner for a friend: scallops in white wine cream sauce with toasted bread, venison with drunken mushroom compote & bacon, cheese & toast, brandy.


Sun., 1/06. Breakfast sandwiches, coffee, gummi bears. OH, god, who put gummi bears in front of me?

FSquat: 45x..., 135x5,5, 175x3,3,3.

DL: 225x6, 295x3, 365x1, 425x1, 445x0. well, I got it 2" up. Didn't want to pull myself apart - keep in mind, my midsection is made of gummi bear. Maybe if I restructured my warmup weights, and took similar spaced jumps? like: 245, 315, 385, 445? Fine line between warming up, feeling it out, and burning out.
deload to 135, and DL to the 2" sticking spot, sliding it up and down the shins, feeling what's going on there: lots of low back pump, and the glute medius speaks up. Yeah, I don't know what I'm doing.

Basil fried rice with shrimp, crispy fried egg noodles with pork & veggies, then beef rib roast.

[Erok]

Tues., 1/08. rib roast steak with broccoli (all my lunches this week are prepped!), BCAAs & coffee for pre-workout.

GHR: 15,10,10.
'Tatercuffs: 5x20,20.

OHP: 45x..., 95x7, 115x6, 155x4, 185x1-R foot moved, for some reason. 195x1 - made it, because people were watching, but it was stuck overhead for a long time. Got complimented on how I can get & keep the bar centered over my center of mass, so I got that going for me. Which is nice.

Paused Bench: 135x4, 185x3,

Competition Bench - this means I have a handoff guy, and a person (who happens to be a real USAPL judge) yelling commands at me: 225x1, 245x1 - slow, and both erector spinae cramped. Maybe if I wasn't fucking around with Presses before... Anyway, I'm feeling pretty confident with 245 as an opener. So, I should probably open with 240.

DB OHP: 35x5, 40x5, 45x5, 55x5. moving down the rack, no rest.


Lamb Saag. Oh, that's some good stuff.

Found some Zinc in the back of the cabinet, so took one of those with some Magnesium Citrate before bed. Slept really well, and woke up fully rested right before my alarm. Dang. Hope that's repeatable.