Lifting to Live

[Fred J]

Yes I have that track downloaded also. He makes it look so effortless. Too bad he tried to keep the party going for too long. RIP

[Bill Anders]

2/15/24 - Thursday
SQ - L @ 5' 300x5x3
OP - L @ 5' 150x5x3

2/16/24 - Friday
DL - L 315x5
BP - L @ 5' 240x5x2

Notes —
- Light sessions after an almost 2-week break to get the movements going again. Those two weeks were not restful, and recovery was poor, but they had to be done.
- Both sessions done in SS OKC, between classes.
- The two weeks were mainly getting an elderly family member squared away, then taking up residence in one of the spare rooms. Primarily, I'll be here for a while assisting them as the past few years have been very hectic for them. Secondarily, we're less than five miles away from the SS OKC gym, where I have just started to apprentice. Yep, I'm coming out of retirement to become an SSC at a different location as soon as that location gets up and running.

[Fred J]

The two weeks were mainly getting an elderly family member squared away, then taking up residence in one of the spare rooms. Primarily, I'll be here for a while assisting them as the past few years have been very hectic for them.

It's a great thing for your family to have you. Not all family are that close.

Secondarily, we're less than five miles away from the SS OKC gym, where I have just started to apprentice. Yep, I'm coming out of retirement to become an SSC at a different location as soon as that location gets up and running.

Congratulations Bill. I am sure you will do well seeing how you break things down on your log for discussion.

[Bill Anders]

2/19/24 - Monday
OP - L @ 5' - 155x5x4
BP - L @ 4' - 240x5 + 240x4 + 225x5

Notes —
- OP - Smooth and steady.
- BP - Continuing the trend of not enough stress/frequency.

2/20/24 - Tuesday
SQ - L @ 5' - 305x5x3
PC - L @ 3' - 140x3x5

Notes —
- SQ - Felt heavy AF, which makes sense considering how much time I am spending on my feet and moving during the gym sessions. Plus, right after I walked my third set out of the hooks, I looked down to make sure my stance was right and I was still wearing my street shoes. Mind you, they are New Balance Minimus, so it's not like I have a thick, squishy sole, but I didn't not have the heel lift that my lifting shoes provide.
- PC - This was a reset, since I know my form is off. The first sets were rough (see SQ above), but everything loosened up and went fine after that.

2/22/24 - Thursday
BP - H @ 4' - 250x2 + 250x2x2 + 235x3x3
OP - V @ 2' - 150x2x12

Notes —
- BP - As expected, once I got under the watchful eye of an SSC, there were quite a few corrections to be made. One comment was "you really don't know what you are doing", specifically related to getting my back tight and compact. Because of that, my bar path is all over the place (which is why I expected this). A reset will be done here more than the rest as the next cycle continues.
- OP - I do like these Volume double sessions, although it can be a long half hour, especially towards the end. Apparently my warmups looked like crap, but no corrections were made during the work sets. I'll take that.

2/23/24 - Friday
SQ - L @ 3' - 300x5x3
PC - L @ 3' - 118.8x3x5

Notes —
- SQ - These light sets still don't feel light. Granted, sleep wasn't great the night before and this was towards the end of a long morning shift at the gym, so the cumulative effects were felt. But hey, at least I remembered to put my lifting shoes on.
- PC - Another reset, and a complete switch over to Olympic bumper plates, hence the odd weight (54kg). Form was better, although too much arm pull. I will get these under SSC eyes soon (depending on the day, I either hop in on an empty platform if the class session is very light, e.g., 1-2 clients, so I can lift, get critiqued, and observe the other clients, or like today, I lift during a long break between class sessions, so the gym is empty as the coaches have other things to do.

Keep at it, everyone!

[Bill Anders]

2/26/24 - Monday
DL - H @ 8' 380x5
SQ - L @ 5' 305x5x3

Notes —
DL - First heavy pull >315lbs since 2/2/24, so just over three weeks, which introduced a bit of trepidation. Everything felt fine warming up and the 335x1 was strong and smooth, so I strapped up and went for it. The first four reps were solid, but I was anxious to get that last rep in, so I rushed the setup and yanked on the bar, which softened my back and made the rep much tougher than it needed to be, but it went.
SQ - Light sets across that felt heavy, as always, after that pull. All good.

2/27/24 - Tuesday
OP - H @ 5' 160x5x4
BP - L @ 3' 240x5x3 240x4x3 + 240x3

Notes —
OP - Heavy sets across. Minor corrections by SSC Phoebe. All good.
BP - Light sets across. This lift, of no surprise to me, required significant correction by SSC Phoebe. I really wasn't keeping my upper back tight correctly, so my bar path was all over the place. Plus, I had been having issues with this lift before the move down here and I hadn't been consistent with this lift over the previous week. This informed my reset for this three-week cycle, which for this lift would start on Friday.

2/29/24 - Thursday
SQ - H @ 5' 310x5x4
PC - L @ 3' 122.5x3x5 65x3x6

Notes —
SQ - Heavy sets across. Minor corrections by SSC Phoebe, mainly my setting the knees too early on the descent, then exaggerating my reaching back with the hips. Now that I see it in some of the clients, I can see the issues that it creates. All good.
PC - Light triples across. My programmed 122.5x3x5 was a reset from the previous week's 140x3x5 because I knew that my form was all over the place. I did my initial warmups at 65lbs and that's where this session remained as SSC Phoebe worked out my many issues, mainly removing the arm pull that I knew was there, but also working on my upper body extension during the jump phase. More work to be done.

3/1/24 - Friday
BP - H @ 5' 230x5x4
OP - V @ 2' 152.5x2x12

Notes —
BP - Heavy sets across. This was the new reset weight to resume training from here. I focused on the issues that SSC Phoebe pointed out on Tuesday and these four sets went up much smoother than the sets that day.
OP - Volume doubles across. All good.

Keep at it, everyone!

[Bill Anders]

3/4/24 - Monday
OP - I @ 5' 170x3x4
BP - L @ 3' 215x5x3

Notes:
OP - Intensity Triples across. All good. Worked on timing.
BP - Light sets across. All good.

3/5/24 - Tuesday
SQ - I @ 5' 330x3x4
PC - L @ 3' 75x3x3

Notes:
SQ - Intensity Triples across. All good. Worked on knee movement w/ SSC Chase. I was freezing my knees too early then reaching my hips back, which has worked for some pretty heavy weights, but it wasn't as efficient.
PC - Light re-learning Triples across. Still re-learning this lift, working on eliminating the arm pull and timing.

3/7/24 - Thursday
BP - I @ 5' 240x3x4
OP - V @ 2' 155x2x12

Notes:
BP - Intensity Triples across. Re-working the upper back tightness and keeping everything tight. I had been using bands on the bench for grip, but have removed them for now to focus on keeping everything tight.
OP - Volume Doubles across. All good, with some minor timing tweaks.

3/8/24 - Friday
DL - H @ 8' 385x5
SQ - L @ 5' 290x5x3

Notes:
DL - Heavy set. I screwed up the warmup on this. I usually do the SQ warmup 45-225lbs, then start the DL warmup. But I squeezed this workout in between sessions, after five hours of guiding clients (I would not call what I'm doing right now "coaching") and the last session for me for the day. I was rushed and went straight to the DL warmups, which felt tough. It wasn't until I finished the work set that I realized why. The workset went well, but could have been better. I dropped my hips on the third rep, which made it tougher than it needed to be. Otherwise, all good.
SQ - Light sets across. Rushed, as the next session was looming. Matter of fact, I racked the last set just as the clients pulled into the parking spot in front of the gym and SSC Chase opened the back door and turned on the lights. So that didn't help my focus as we started to get them in the racks and warmed up for their workouts.

[K.Diesel]

Deadlift before squat is always tough IMO, rushed or not. Salute for getting it all done just in the nick of time.

[Bill Anders]

Deadlift before squat is always tough IMO, rushed or not. Salute for getting it all done just in the nick of time.

It has been interesting to go from working out in the garage with no time constraints to having to get it done either during a 90-minute session or during a 90-minute break between sessions. Mind you, my garage workouts didn't go much longer than that, but now having the external drive to get it done adds a new dimension for me.

Life's all about learning and adapting, right?

[Mr. Bingley]

Crap, I thought it was about bourbon!

[K.Diesel]

Life's all about learning and adapting, right?

Absolutely!