Lifting to Live

[David Hooper]

10/10/21The third set I used the straps, since I couldn't get them working on the deadlift the other day. I realized that I was routing them above and around, not under and around. That's quite a difference in effectiveness.

I did the exact same thing the first time I used straps. If only all lifting issues were this easy to fix.

10/10/21For the next four days, I'll be with a trail crew manually building a bridge over a creek in one of our local state parks. There will be plenty of grip work carrying tons of rocks and dirt, plus moving large dimensional lumber.

Gotta give you this: you have some of the most interesting hobby work I've read around here. I'll pour one out for your lower back, though.

[Bill Anders]

Gotta give you this: you have some of the most interesting hobby work I've read around here. I'll pour one out for your lower back, though.

It is a lot of fun. Especially getting out and working with the crew in the 60's and 70's who go hard day after day after day.

Other than Monday, the lower back was fine. But four solid days beat me up. I had programmed a return to training today, but a solid nap and movie watch occurred instead. As Rip told me once - "It won't kill you to take some time off once in awhile."

[Bill Anders]

So for the past four days I've been with a crew of volunteers building a bridge over a creek in one of our local state parks. While the creek isn't big, it's steep and a bit deep right at the trail crossing with typically slippery slopes, making it a challenge for hikers, bikers, and equestrians. In the winter, the snow gets deep enough for an ice bridge to form, but typically has deep holes in the snow on both sides of the crossing, making it a bit sketchy for folks snowshoeing. So we aimed to address those issues.

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These are progress pictures, starting with the before picture, then a look at the end of each work day. The bridge spans 20 feet and was squared to within 1/16" across that span, all by hand. All of the material was manually moved downhill about 1/3 of a mile, except for some of the rock, which was brought in on a mechanized barrow from downhill; unfortunately it wasn't enough to finish the job, which we'll have to do next spring, as the approach is not sufficient for a horse and rider.

It sufficiently beat me up enough that instead of a training session today, I worked on my napx1 and moviex1 reps.

[carson]

Fascinating work. We train so we can do things like this. You are showing us a great example of that.

[David Hooper]

Nice work on the bridge! That looks like it was a lot of fun to do.

[Bill Anders]

Fascinating work. We train so we can do things like this. You are showing us a great example of that.

That's exactly it, carson. Plus, I get out and work hard with a bunch of folks who are in your age group and a bit younger. They're all a bunch of kids with a lot of experience, which makes it all fun.

Nice work on the bridge! That looks like it was a lot of fun to do.

Thanks! It was a lot of fun, even in as it was snowing, which led to a few nasty slips on the frozen ground and thin layer of snow; being solid helps with the bounce and getting right back to work.

[Bill Anders]

10/17/21 - Sunday

SQ - M
45x10x2
90x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
245x1
275x5x3

OP - I
45x5
75x3
105x1
125x1
140x1x5

BP - I
45x5
95x3
135x1
165x1
190x1
210x5

DL
135x4
185x2
225x1
275x1
300x1
325x5 straps

Music — Cassette-era tunes; pre-workout Bad Brains, 1982's Bad Brains & 1983's Rock For Light, which were originally only released on cassette, but were pressed and released on vinyl this year; 35 years later, still one of the craziest concerts I've ever attended, hands-down; Top Picks from SiriusXM's Liquid Metal, Bloody Roots, Roots of Thrash Demos, 10/16/21 - Legacy (pre-Testament), Burnt Offerings, 1985; Megadeth, Last Rites/Loved to Deth, 1984.

Notes — After a two day break to recover from the 2 straight weeks of training and going right into 4 days of heavy manual labor building the bridge (see above), I get one day to train before being out again for 10+ days. So I focused on Intensity for the pressing and deadlift.
- SQ - Medium weight, nothing to note.
- OP - Intensity singles w/ 1-minute rest; I mis-grooved #4, getting my left hand out in front of me for some reason, so it stuck at the forehead. I reset, reminded myself to get the bar over my shoulders quickly, and #4 and #5 flew up just fine. I did think about adding a few extra singles to get a bit of volume, too, but stuck to the plan to keep fresh for the deadlift. Besides, later this week, I'll be able to get in a quick session at my son's house, where I'll probably do 3x3's (SSC Shipley's suggestion). Unfortunately, my son has only 160lbs total, including bar, so I'll have to focus on Press and Cleans and maybe play with some Snatches while I'm at it.
- BP - Intensity x5. Nothing to note, a comfortable (almost) PR.
- DL - A solid x5. I could have done these mixed grip, but am still getting a feel for these straps, which worked just fine. I probably could have added another 10-15lbs on this, it felt that good, and that would have put me back at June's worksets, but no need to get greedy and strain something.

[rkjohns1]

I vividly remember 32 years ago purchasing "The Yellow Tape" at a small record store in Northampton, MA. I had never heard Bad Brains' music before, but purchased the tape on recommendation from a friend. I popped the cassette into my walkman and sat down on a bench while waiting for my parents to finish their errands and was totally blown away. It remains my favorite album to this day. I couldn't imagine what a concert would be like, where did you see them? DC or NY?

Nice bridge by the way!

[Bill Anders]

Nothing that exciting. In '86 they did a West Coast tour, so I caught them in Reno, which actually had a pretty good scene in those days.

Thanks!

[rkjohns1]

Hi Bill, I was looking at Program 1D in BBRX and was wondering about the pull portion. Program 1C alternates between Workout A and Workout B, and within Workout A, the deadlift and power clean are alternated. Program 1D alternates between Week 1 and Week 2, and within those 2 weeks, there are 2 deadlifting days (W1D2, W2D3) and 1 power clean day (W2D1). I guess I am surprised that the deadlift and power clean are no longer alternated. This loss of symmetry has slightly triggered my OCD Since you have programmed Program 1D for your pulls, how is it going for you?