Quest for Fire

[Erok]

Fri., 6/10. 222.2# Heat index is 96 today. Fortunately, the gym has AC.

Front Squats: 45x12, 95x5, 135 x 5,5,5.

DL: 135 x 2, 225 x 8, 275 x 12 (straps).

Rows: 135 x 8,8,8.

food. can't remember what, cuz my brain was all jelly. Maybe it was BBQ chicken & ribs.

[Erok]

Mon., 6/13. Been catching up on all the Jim Steel blog posts I've been missing. Feeling motivated.

Squat: 45x..., 95x10, 135x8, 245x5,5,5,5,10.

Pullups: 3,3,3,3.

OHP: 115 x 8, 155 x 3,3, 160 x 3,3,3, 135 x 8, 6.

Wife squats 160 for triples, and presses 75 for doubles. Double Ego Boost: The cool female trainer came up to her and said, "your form is excellent!" And I'm standing over here, all like, "well, no duh."


Bourbon Brown Sugar Beef Back Ribs were on sale. Man, I don't know why beef ribs aren't more popular. You've got this big, greasy handle, and tons of fatty-fat-fat beefy chewiness. So much fun to eat, and then lick off your hands and face. Happy as a clam, as my mom would say.

[Erok]

Wed., 6/15. 221.6#.

SANTA CLAUS IS IN MY GYM, YO! He's not wearing those ridiculous red clothes (heat index is 92), and his beard is a bit shorter (off-season), but it's DEFINITELY him - little wire rim Teddy Roosevelt glasses, round torso, jolly demeanor. About 6'0", a bit south of 400#, and he benches 465 x 3 x 3. In a t-shirt, no wraps, no sleeves. HO-HO-HO-lee shit. How have I never seen this guy here before?

Pumped. I'm gonna ask him for GainzZz this X-mas.

Front Squat: 95x..., 115 x 5, 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 195 x 5,5.

DL: 135 x 8, 225 x 8, 315 x 8 (straps)

Rows: 135 x 8,8,8,8.
Lat Pulldowns: 70 x 15,15,15.
DB Shrugs: 60x20, 65x20.


Special treat: 1/2# of sushi-grade salmon! slice it up, serve with avocado, cucumber, rice, and plenty of wasabi.
Chicken & mushrooms in cream sauce over the rest of the rice for second course, with a lemon tart for dessert.

[Erok]

Mon., 6/20. 223.8#*. Had a great weekend. Got to crew a 36' Catalina in a race across Green Bay. Holy smokes, was that fun! Grip and pulling strength was used (along with copius *BEERS).

Squat: 45x20, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 255 x 5,5, 265 x 5,5,10.

CG Bench: 45x12, 95x-Hey, where'd all the 25s go? 115x5, 135 x 5,5,5,5,8.

DB Incline: 25x12, 30x12,12.
Cable Crossovers: 20x15, 30x15,15.
Drag Curlz: 35x12,12,12,12.

Steak & brussels sprouts.

[Erok]

Wed., 6/22. 223.2#.

Clean(x1) into Front Squat(x5): 135x5, 155 x 5, 175 x 5. Got some wrist wraps - very nice for this.

DL: 225 x 8, 275 x 4, 315 x 2, 355 x 4 (straps).

Rows: 135 x 10,10,10,12.
Lat Pulldowns: 70x15,15,20.
DB Shrugs: 110 x 20,20. straps! straps on dumbbells! THIS is how you do it. I love these now. re-racking's a bitch, though.


to the taco shop! platters of tacos, nummy dirty rice, & refried beans. found something called a Santa Claus Melon at the store. deee-licious!

The bloat, though. Ohhh, the bloat. Bloaty McBloatface. Bloated Bloaterson. Bloatski Bloatowski. Blo-Ti Blo-Tai-Gu. Bloatasa Bloatanala. Blosé Bloatminez.

[Erok]

Fri., 6/24. 221.8#.

OHP: 45x15, 95x5, 115x5, 135 x 5,5,5,5,8. bar speed is good - as it damn well better be, at 135.

Z Press: 45x15, 65x15, 75x15.
Lat Raises: 10x15, 15x15.
LTE: 20x..., 40x15,15, 50x15.
Tri Pushdowns - on the old lat machine, which is way heavier than 100# on the cable x-over machine: 40x15,15.

Squat: 45x20, nope,nope, nope. not today. upper body pump gets me all nauseated. I got my sights set, tho. gonna work up to it.


Saturday: playing caterer, on a farm, outside, in 96 degree sun. don't know what the heat index was, and I don't want to know. Didn't even drink alcohol, that's how bad it was. Woke up earlier than normal to report for jury duty Monday, and that pretty much wiped me out. Tuesday, though - I'm back.

[Erok]

Tues., 6/28. 223.6#. Sleep. Just as important as Lifting and Food. My T-shirts will say: Lift, Eat, Sleep, Repeat.

Squat: 45x..., 115x8, 185x5, 225x5, 265 x 5,5,5,5,9.

CGBench: 45x15, 95x10, 115x5, 145 x 5,5,5,5,8. I think I still remember how to do this. I'm so worried about my R shoulder falling off, my upper body is extra-super-tight. Feels fine, though, and my erector spinae only cramped once.

DB Incline: 30x12, 35x12.
Cable Xovers: 30x15,15.
Drag Curlz: 35x12,12,12,12.

Wife hit two PRs, squatting 160x3x3 and pressing 75x3x5. Hawt. She even got a complement on her squat form from the resident IPF guy. I guess that's good. Maybe. (He & I had an interesting discussion on what a shit-show that recent Texas meet was.)

Grilled chicken thighs, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, and a plum. Grilled plum is super tart.

[Erok]

Fri., 7/01. 225.4#.

Clean into Front Squat: 75x8, 135 x 5,5.

DL: 225 x 10, 255 x 5, 295 x 10 (straps)

Rows: 145x8,8,8,10.
Lat Pulldowns: 80x15,15,15.
BB Shrugs: 315x8,15,15,12 (straps). These tend to pull my shorts down. Otherwise, they're great.

PorkyPork, crisped up carnitas style, with avocado & other stuff.

[Erok]

Sun., 7/03. 220.8#. water weight. I know this 'cuz we just went paddleboarding in the sun for an hour.
Oh, and paddleboarding is waaaayyyy easier than it used to be. I know this because when we got the car loaded back up, I said: "To the gym! that was good exercise, but I need to TRAIN! They close in 30 minutes!"

Clean into OHP: 75x10, 135 x 5,5,5,5,5. My clean still sucks.

Tricep Pushdowns: 30x15, 40x15,20.

dinner party! grilled steak, cabbage salad, potato salad, and I get to make my now-famous coconaut shrimp.

[Erok]

Shrimp - peel & de-vein (or whatever - if you like shells & extra vitamins & minerals, that's great), rinse & pat dry.

set up three bowls, containing:

1. flour (coconaut flour, natch.)
2. 1 egg, beaten with 1-2 T water
3. shredded coconaut (could also add red pepper flakes)

get skillet hot with a lot of oil - cococnaut oil, lard, butter, etc.

shrimp goes in bowls 1, then 2, then 3. (Pro tip: have a pair of tongs dedicated for use in bowls 2&3 only.)

fry 'em up in batches, then reserve on paper towels and sprinkle salt over them.
If you want to be fancy, whip up some hot sauce & mayo, or garlic-lemon aoli.