Lifting to Live

[Fred J]

That's a lot of flashbacks for sure. Some great and others I would just as soon forget as not my type of music eclectic as it is. Good find. Oh and nice squats!

[Bill Anders]

Isn't it funny how, after all these decades, there's some appreciation for songs that you hated back then. Then there are those that you still hate?

Like you, my music tastes are quite eclectic and I can appreciate most of the songs, for different reasons. But there were several that I was glad that the reminder lasted only a few seconds.

Thanks Fred!

[Bill Anders]

4/6/23 - Thursday

BP H @ 5'
45x5x3
95x5
135x3
185x1
210x1
235x3x4

OP L @ 3'
45x5x2
75x3
105x1
125x5x3

Music — Maximum The Hormone, Utsukushiki Hitobito; Crossfaith, Monolith.

Notes —
- BP - Heavy triples across. Smooth and steady. Not easy, by any stretch of the imagination. Just smooth and steady.
- OP - Light sets across. All good.

[Bill Anders]

4/7/23 - Friday

RP H @ 8'
65x5x3 pc
135x4 pc
185x2
225x1
275x1
315x1
375x1 h
415x5 s

SQ L @ 5'
45x5x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
265x1
295x5x3

Music — Firebreather vs Twisted Sister, The Beast; Megadeth vs Judas Priest, Delivering The Goods; Kelly Shaefer/Steve DiGiorgio vs Alice In Chains, Rotten Apple.

Notes —
- RP - Heavy set. For some odd reason, the number started getting in my head, even though the 410x5 two weeks ago went well. Warmups today were fine, although the 315 started peeling out of my DOH grip, leading to a more rapid than usual dropping of the bar onto the safeties. No issues with the 375 hooked warmup rep. Just to get the crap out of my head before the work set, I watched Rip & Chase's video to reaffirm what I knew I needed to do. The first rep wasn't quite the lie that I was expecting, but it wasn't quick and smooth either. The next four reps were quicker and smoother, for the most part. Definitely close to a limit set, as my headspace attested to, so I guess that means that I was right where I needed to be. All good.
- SQ - Light sets across. Usual "not light, blah, blah, blah." All good.

[Bill Anders]

4/10/23 - Monday

OP H @ 2'
45x5x3
75x3
105x1
125x1
145x1
160x1x5

BP L @ 3'
45x5x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
205x5x3

Music — Bad Brains, Send You No Flowers; Chicago, 25 Or 6 To 4; Faction vs The Mamas and The Popas, California Dreamin'; The Exploited, God Save The Queen; Circle Jerks, Coup D'etat.
Notes —
- OP - Heavy singles across. Smooth and steady. All good. Matches my 5x1 PR set last August (8/8/22) before I tweaked my shoulder, then matched again on Halloween (10/31/22), although that was at a globo-gym with who knows how accurate the weights are plates. Since this is my first cycle of this training year, these are looking good thanks to a solid maintenance season.
- BP - Light sets across. All good.

[Bill Anders]

4/11/23 - Tuesday

SQ H @ 4'
45x10x3
95x5
135x3
185x1
235x1
295x1
335x1
370x1x5

PC @ 3'
65x5x2
105x3
125x1
140x3x5

Music — Paralex, White Lightning; Girlschool, Demolition Boys; Metallica vs Discharge, The More I See.

Notes —
- SQ - Heavy Singles across. All good.
- PC - Heavy triples across (standard NLP programming). The fourth set was a hot mess with arm pull, for some odd reason, inducing too much back arch that led me to catch the bar on my belt on the second rep; even with a complete reset, reps 2 & 3 of that set were all over the place. Focus Pinky. Which I did for the final set. Too much, which I realized as I pulled my fifth rep off the floor. All done.

[Bill Anders]

4/13/23 - Thursday

BP H @ 3'
45x5x3
95x3
135x1
185x1
220x1
245x1x5 5x1 PR

OP L @ 3'
45x5x2
75x3
105x1
125x5x3

Music — Frozen Soul, Glacial Domination; Black Sabbath, Symptom Of The Universe; Black Sabbath, Into The Void; Slayer, Raining Blood.

Notes —
- BP - Heavy singles across. Smooth and steady. All good. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I wasn't going to mark rep PRs this year, although I am keeping track. But I will this one, as this 245x1x5 eclipses the 232.5x1x5 set back on 9/1/22, which was right after I my shoulder tweak that sent me on a 4+ month rehab using CGBP. So this one is quite pleasing, back to regular grip and cruising right along.
- OP - Light sets across. All good.

[Bill Anders]

4/14/23 - Friday

HDL H @ 8'
65x5x3 pc
135x4 pc
185x2
245x1
225x1
295x1
330x8

SQ L @ 5'
45x5x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
255x1
295x5x3

Music — Discharge, Protest And Survive; ZZ Top, La Grange; Diamond Head, Am I Evil?; Imelda May vs Metallica, The God That Failed; Metallica, The Frayed Ends Of Sanity.

Notes —
- HDL - Heavy set. Slight oops on the warmups and didn't make the big 60lb jump early between 185lbs and 245lbs to stay on track for a 90% (295lbs) last warmup, so I had to make that big 70lb jump to 295lb, which understandably felt quite heavy. The workset went well, with a nice, smooth, quick tempo for the first six, slowing for the seventh, and an extra breath or three for the last, which would have been my last no matter what. All good.
- SQ - Light sets across. All good.

[Bill Anders]

4/17/23 - Monday

OP H @ 5'
45x5x3
75x3
105x1
125x1
142.5x5x4

BP L @ 3'
45x5x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
207.5x5x3

Music — Generation X, Kleenex; Slaughter & The Dogs, Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone; The Buzzcocks, Boredom; The Slits vs Gladys Knight & The Pips, I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

Notes —
- OP - Heavy sets across. Smooth and steady. A bit surprising, as the shoulders were tired through all of the warmups thanks to Saturday's all day session teaching trail building and maintenance skills to a large group. The arms and back just weren't used to those movements this early in the season. All good.
- BP - Light sets across. All good.

[Bill Anders]

4/18/23 - Tuesday

SQ H @ 5'
45x10x3
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
275x1
305x1
335x5x4
335x5x3 + 335x3

PC @ 3'
65x5x3
105x3
125x1
142.5x3x5

Music — Elvis Costello & The Attractions, (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding; Black Flag, Nervous Breakdown; Adolescents, No Way; Circle Jerks, World Up My Ass; The Gears, Let's Go To The Beach; The Offspring, Why Don't You Get A Job?; Suicidal Tendencies, Send Me Your Money.

Notes —
- SQ - Heavy sets across. The last few warmup reps sure felt heavy, so going in to the first work set I reminded myself that it would be a lie. It wasn't, although the last rep was a bit of a grind. I just had to remind myself that I did 350x3x4 just two weeks ago, so the weight wasn't an issue. The second set went fine, although a bit grindy at the end. The third set was the same, although during the descent on the third rep, there was an audible snap and sensation on the lateral side of my right quad; it was distracting for the rest of the set, but I knew that it wasn't a crucial movement muscle for this lift. I walked it out during the rest period, walked the stairs, and talked to the resident massage therapist about it before heading out for the fourth set. There was enough sensation in that area that I over-compensated during the first rep, shifting my weight over my left foot, which I corrected on the second, although I continued to drive more with the left leg after the bounce out of the hole. Same with the third rep, which was still unbalanced. I racked it at that point, not keen on really hurting something due to poor form. Now we watch and see how it goes overnight and the next couple of days.
- PC - Sets across. All good.