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Hey abg,
Just getting caught up on your log. Congrats on progressing with your lifts. I know what you mean about cardio. I started serious cardio when I was in the Marines many years ago. That stayed with me through most of my life. BUT, nowadays I don't really "enjoy" it like I used to. It seems like a necessary evil to control weight as we get older, but is otherwise tedious and boring. I know that conditioning is needed and I myself have to figure out how/when to incorporate that back into my training. You seem to be doing great and progressing, so stay encouraged brother. Good luck on "Mission: Trousers".
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You'll def get your big plates, not sure exactly when, but you will get it. I got frustrated with trying to get to 5 across for 135, now I'm at a single top work set and then 2 back offs. It will nice to get the 135 (should happen within the month) for the high set, but the real celebration will be when it's the back off sets that cross that line. We'll celebrate together ;-)I've never got that high (130 was about it before), and the idea of pressing a big plate on each side is exciting.
✓ Member
Friday, January 11, 2019
Squat: 255x5x3
Press: 110x5, 5, 6
Power Clean: 125x3x5
Squat was good and definitely moving on. I got in my head and was a bit aprehensive about squatting 255 today, but in the end it wasn't too bad. Press was solid. 110 is where I got stuck last time, missing it pretty badly my first time, then by 1 rep each of the next 2 times, so I reset to 95 and have been coming up by 2.5 lb increments. Today I came back to it, and as you can see, I did 1 extra rep on the last set to basically kiss 110 goodbye, and I definitely had a few more reps in me so this was very good. It was harder than I expected, but it was good. Power cleans felt pretty solid today. First set I had to redo 1 rep, 2nd set I had one rep that was shaky, and the last 3 sets were solid. I pulled and racked each of those last 3 sets like it was a warmup weight.
This was my first session with the new bumper plates, and it was nice having more than 10s with some smaller steel plates on the bar. I've also confirmed what I thought was the case for a while - the 10 lb bumpers are starting to bow a bit out of shape. I never was comfortable with adding 30 lbs to each side with them, but necessity required it.
I went and ordered a belt today. Ended up getting the Dominion one (40-50") because I'm not always patient. So now I get to receive it next week and wait a bit longer to use it. I did check what I can pull it all in to now, and that's 51" with shirt on, so hopefully I'll be wearing the belt sooner rather than later.
✓ Member
Monday, January 14, 2019
Squat: 260x5x3
Bench: 175x5x3
Deadlift: 305x3
BW: 309.4 (-0.1 from last week)
Waist: 52" (-0.5" from last week)
Today was an interesting day. First, I got my belt in today. It's sized 40-50", but I figured I'd be foolish not to try it. I was able to get the 50" easily, and lifted at the 49" hole. For squats, I would have liked it just a bit tighter, and for deads just having the belt there was weird. I did the last warmup set or two of each with the belt so it wasn't new with the working set.
Body weight is on me. I broke down and had some home made nachos on Saturday. Used 93% lean beef, but chips + cheese is a killer on calories. I did my best to estimate, and then did a lower fat lower calorie day on Sunday to counter some of the impact. Still, I'm not surprised to see 309.4. However, I am surprised to see the 52". I measured a few times, and kept getting this, so I'm calling it good. I've gotten a bit lazy on my walks, and this weekend wasn't the best for calories, so I am recommitting to both this week (calories overall have been good, but felt like I was slipping a bit). Work took about 2 hours longer today, so no walk today, but I was good on the diet with fat being a bit lower than planned, so carbs were a bit higher, which isn't a bad thing.
Squat felt solid. Really really solid. So solid, I was wondering if I had the right weight on the bar. I don't know if I should attribute this to the extra calories over the weekend, the belt, 72 hours of rest vs. 48, or all of the above. I will be gladly moving to 265 on Wednesday. Bench press, on the other hand, was tough. I'm still debating if I will do 177.5 or 180 on Friday. Deadlift was great for the warmups, but 305 was just heavy. I don't know if it's the weight, or I just didn't have gas in the tank. I usually have some pre-workout protein made with milk and a banana to give me some carbs. I usually have that less than 30 minutes before lifting, but with work running late, I had my pre-workout about 3:00 pm and started lifting about 5:00 pm. I think by the time I got to deadlift, it was gone. I will do 305 again on Friday, and expecting (hoping?) it to go up.
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This is great news to see, keep up the good work!Squat felt solid. Really really solid. So solid, I was wondering if I had the right weight on the bar. I don't know if I should attribute this to the extra calories over the weekend, the belt, 72 hours of rest vs. 48, or all of the above. I will be gladly moving to 265 on Wednesday.
✓ Member
Yesterday I felt like crap, progressively worse throughout the day. Ended up having a light fever (high 99, which is atypical) and really achy. Also had stomach discomfort, though I still got my 2300 calories in at the right macros, and this may be related to getting my fiber up starting this week, but it was new discomfort, so thinking it was related to the fever & aches. I took it easy (was all ready for a walk, too :|), and by the time I went to bed the fever was gone. I am thinking this was lingering on Monday already, and is part of the reason I just couldn't get 305x5 on deadlift. I think I ran out of gas and just wasn't recovering.
For today I am going to see how things go, as I lift at about 3:00 PM. Even if I feel like crap, I plan on lifting something, but how I feel will determine if I'm doing 265 or something a bit lighter. So if lifts look light today when I post, I felt like crap. If I feel ok, I'll be pushing for the target weights.
Member
Good on you for the determination to get in and make the attempt. Past illness has frequently been something that gets me off track. It's a balancing act between feeling like total crap and working through it versus being sick enough that bed rest is the only reasonable thing to do. Even if you don't make the attempt, sharing about it here keeps you connected, so bravo on that as well.
Member
Hope you start feeling better. Hey, 265 dead is great to me. I had difficulty pulling 250 yesterday and my back has a dull, pervasive ache today from the dead and the squats. I may never even make 265, LOL.Originally Posted by abg
✓ Member
Not lifting today. Seems like this is a stomach flu, and I was going to lift, but having a hard time thinking I can focus on form when my stomach and intestines keep cramping on me to varying degrees of pain. Hopefully better by Friday, otherwise I'll repeat Monday next week and move on from there.
✓ Member
My whole house has this. Except for me. Lord, don't let me get it ...
Take the needed layoff, come back healthy. No shame in it.
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