Lifting to Live

[Fred J]

1/12/24 - Friday
Outside 0°F / Garage 0°C

FUUUUGE that's cold!

[Bill Anders]

Nowhere as cold as on the other side of the hills. My son, whose in South Dakota, was dealing with -20°F with wind chills of -50°F. I don't mind the latter number if it's still, but with the wind? FUUUUGE that!!!

[Fred J]

Yep those are cold numbers for sure!

[Bill Anders]

1/23/24 - Saturday
Outside 0°F / Garage 33°F

BP H @ 5'
45x5x3
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
245x5x4
245x5x3
245x4
245x1

OP V @ 2'
45x5x2
95x5
135x3
155x2x12

Music — New Order, True Faith; The Cure, Fascination Street; Audioslave, Cochise. Then non-music stuff.

Notes —
- BP - Heavy sets across. Repeat of the start of the last cycle (12/21/23), except +2.5lbs heavier. The reps were heavy and tough, as they should be, but manageable. Then came the very last rep, which stuck about halfway up and I just couldn't drive it to lockout. Time to re-introduce a third pressing day into the training week.
- OP - Volume doubles across. All good.

[Bill Anders]

1/17/24 - Wednesday
Outside 18° / Garage 34°

OP I @ 5'
45x5x3
95x5
135x3
150x1
167.5x3x4

BP L @ 3'
45x5x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
215x1
237.5x5x3

Music — Tones On Tail, Burning Skies; Skinny Puppy, Antagonism; The Naked And The Dead, The Gate; The Cure, The Figurehead; The Sisters Of Mercy, Under The Gun.

Notes — This was to be Monday's workout. We were on the road, racing between winter storms to get a visit in, and while I did have an opportunity to get this workout in while there, I instead kept focus on the reasons for the visit. Two full days of driving in three days may be a negative impact on this workout, as it often is, but I'm moving forward.
- OP - Intensity Triples across. Smooth and steady, which was a bit of a surprise as the 135x3 warmup set felt like it weighed twice that. All good. Also, apparently I haven't been keeping track very well, because the last few cycles have all been rep range (4x3) PRs for this lift.
- BP - Light sets across. They sure didn't feel light at all through all three sets, but they went. All good.

[K.Diesel]

I’m glad to see that you have a log on here! About the garage/outside stats: am I right to guess that you train in your garage? If so, is that temperature just from the structure’s insulation, or do you have anything in there heating it?

[Bill Anders]

Yep, that's the garage temperature, protected only by the insulation (poor that it is). I've only run a heater in there once and found it to be more hassle than it's worth. The bar is cold, but warms up during the warmups, as do I, and for the work sets I pop back before and between work sets. So it's manageable.

It also helps that we keep our house on the cool side all winter long, mostly because we'd rather layer up than turn up the heat, so it isn't a significant shock to go out there when it's right at freezing.

[Cheesepuff]

My garage is not as cold but putting a small electric blanket on the bar takes some of the sting off the cold bar.

[Fred J]

I'm not as hardy as you guys. My garage got up to 70 before I turned the heat off today. The benefits of turning an insulated music room into a gym.

[Bill Anders]

My garage is not as cold but putting a small electric blanket on the bar takes some of the sting off the cold bar.

That's a great idea! Those first couple of empty bar reps can sure be uncomfortable. But the bar warms up quickly. Either that or I lose feeling in my hands.

I'm not as hardy as you guys. My garage got up to 70 before I turned the heat off today. The benefits of turning an insulated music room into a gym.

I would roast and leave huge puddles on the platform! I don't mind the garage temps this time of year. I just wear a hoodie during my warmups and make sure I get it back on soon after the work sets before walking back into the office. The lower level of the house directly off the garage is cool too (sitting at about 55° right now) which is still warmer than the garage. Because it stays that cool, we also set up our master bedroom down here too. The upstairs living area sits about 10° warmer than that, so still not as hot as you heat your garage to, Fred.