Training sesh 5/27: Into some new stuffs, herp derp, and new Crowbar

I can't remember if I had mentioned it here yet or not but over the past however long, as various lifts' progress has been slowing and feeling the need for a little more rep work, I had been contemplating switching up from the standard "fives" linear progression and diving into Jim Wendler's good ol' 5/3/1 for Powerlifting. I have done regular 5/3/1 in the past and liked it a good bit, made some decent progress on it.

Having come from the conjugate/block world fairly recently and then with the "fives" progression prescribed previously, however, I have been digging the "A/B" schedule concept, though, so of course I had to mess with the program a bit.

As Wendler would tell you, and I am pretty sure he wrote in the book- the program, then, is no longer 5/3/1.

And I concur. So much so that I didn't buy the book (chill the crap out, I bought the original and second edition) and ran forward with what I perused in a sample of the ebook I had on my Kindle.

Which is, of course, not the full program.

Ignorance being bliss, I went ahead with my programming concept, defiantly, and went to the gym for bench and deathlift day. Here's what occurred:

• Warm up, traction, etc - about 10min
• bench  - 5xbar, 5x95lbs, 3x135lbs, 3x155lbs, 4x170lbs, 3x10x135lbs
• deathlift, sumo edition - 5x135lbs, 5x225lbs, 3x265lbs, 3x290lbs, 6x335lbs
• Tbar row, paused, high elbow - 3x8x55lbs
• Reverse hyper, HITO - 3x10x90lbs
• Shoulder series - x2

My grand plan, since I had neglected to make myself an expert at 5/3/1 for Powerlifting (but have no fear, I read the sample on my KINDLE!), the plan was to go for threes as I noted one of the main differences between standard 5/3/1 and 5/3/1 for Powerlifting was the 3/5/1 progression to allow for heavy singles afterward.

However, one of the philosophies of 5/3/1 is that you intentionally use a training max lighter than your actual one rep max so that you can really push and get more reps on the last working set. But one of the tenets of 5/3/1 for Powerlifting is that you do not push the last set on certain days so that you can push into heavy singles.

Keep in mind that I did not buy the book, nor borrow it, or in any other way facilitate the inclusion of all of the knowledge that makes up the program.

Hey! I'm not unusually proportioned, I'm big boned!

The result? I got half retarded in my head (don't get offended, Captain PC, it's a legitimate word when that is what describes the situation) on the last set of bench and did four, which is neither only getting the day's prescribed reps NOR going all out for max reps.

It would help if I read the book, but I'll get to that later.

Bench vid, last set:

Not bad, looking kinda sexy. Stability is decent at that weight, will push more later.

Deathlift vid, last set:

Not my best work, but certainly not my worst. As the reps go on, the form loosens up and I default to that almost stiff legged deadlift. Need to work on getting that back set and the hips down a little more.

Groovy.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo like I said, I didn't read the book before I started programming which, of course, left me with the previously mentioned confusion on some of the programming.

What to do... what to do...

Oh yeah. Maybe buy the book and read it.

 Thanks again, Red. Always an inspiration.

So after reading a few reviews on it (because I obviously needed further convincing), I went ahead and dropped the ten whole dollars (American) on the Kindle version and read it in one sitting. The book is well worth it, Wendler's writing is almost always entertaining and the information contained therein, while pretty basic, is pointed and useful- it's not rocket surgery, it's powerlifting.

I won't get into the particulars of the program (go buy the damn book if you want the program, eh), but needless to say, even with my modifications, changes need to be made. My questions were answered, fallacies brought to light, etc. Was also reminded of some accessory work I can switch out from time to time.

Alles ist gut, we have time.

In the meantime, enjoy the new offering from Crowbar. This is "Walk With Knowledge Wisely" off of their new album, Symmetry in Black. Crowbar owns.

Go forth and destroy.

Quick training update, Memorial Day stuffs, etc

Howdy, y'all!

Been a minute but, yes, I'm still here and kicking. Somewhat unintentionally took the better part of a week off of training and got a little loose with the diet, but it has been a pretty decent week+ since last check in.

When last we trained, 'twas a bench sesh, so this last one on Saturday was about time to get to squattin'. Here's what occurred:

• Squat - 5xbar, 5x145lbs, 5x235lbs, 5x285lbs, 5x325lbs, 4x365lbs
• Good mornings - 10x145lbs, 10x195lbs, 10x215lbs, 10x165lbs
• Lat pull down, fat straight bar, wide grip, paused - 3x10x110lbs

Not awful coming off the deload, using Wendler's 1RM calculator we get a 414lbs 1RM. With wraps, that should be over 450lbs. With deathlift of at least 405lbs and the bench at a paltry 205lbs, looks like I might be able to get a little bit done by November. If I can pull and squat around 500 each and bench 250 by then, I would be reasonably happy with that. Time to start planning a meet cycle. If I can keep to 3x/week sessions then we'll call it a 16 week conjugate/block periodization training cycle, so July would be time to start kicking.

And after last night's diet tomfoolery, about 35lbs still to lose if I want to lift at 220lbs.

Let's do dis.

So last night's diet tomfoolery- we had a Memorial Day Eve grill for some family type folks and I somehow managed to gain (no shit) six pounds by end of day. Yeah, a lot of that was water weight from all the freaking beer (all four of those bottles) and, well, water, with the crazy amount of sodium involved, but I can't really expect to lose or maintain weight when I am taking in about 4500 kCals in a day.

You sure you want that many empty calories in your diet dere, brudda?

So speaking of Memorial Day... you know, today, Memorial Day... take yourself a hot second and remind yourself of what we are celebrating. I am sure if you are reading this then you have some sort of presence in social media, the internet in general, etc, so you have probably already been inundated with memes and posts, etc, but really, do yourself and those that made the "ultimate sacrifice" for our country a favor and just

remember.

If you don't do anything else today, just remember. Bear in mind that, regardless of your lot in society and how you feel about war, what our government spends on defense, how much you like or don't like Obama, or how much you admire Miley Cyrus or how cool you think you are, men and women have died to make sure you get to do what you do on a daily basis. 

And while I won't tell you to NOT thank a veteran for their service, remember that today is about the folks that didn't make it back home. As my brother, a retired Marine, posted on his Facebook page a few years ago- don't wish them into an early grave! Living veterans have a day coming up, too. Use this day to remember those that gave their lives in service of the United States of America.

Now get out there and do something good with yourself. Do something American. Honor our departed warriors with a little goodness in your life. That's what they died for.

The aftermath of a good day about town.

Go get it done.

Training Sesh 5/17: Bench, sumo deathlift mit PR, shoulder and back work, kaiju and burgers, metal

As discussed in a previous bench sesh, bench is somewhat stalled out, and as I and others have pointed out...

So I decided to switch things up a bit for the bench sesh. Yes, I intend to get in with David and start on back work with him to get this shit... fixed... but until then, here is what occurred:

• Stretch, warm up - about 10min
• Bench - 5xbar, 5x95lbs, 5x135lbs, 3x7-8x155lbs
• Deathlift, sumo - 5x135lbs, 5x225lbs, 3x275lbs, 3x315lbs (with shenanigans), 3x365lbs, 1x405lbs
• Straight fat bar lat pull down, wide, paused - 3x10x110lbs
• Shoulder series x 2
• Tbar row, high elbow (upper back -centric), paused - 3x8x45lbs
• Reverse hyper, heels together/toes out - 3x10x90lbs

As indicated, I have broken off the max 5s programming for bench as I need to get all the stabilizers and little shizzles stronger before I can really progress the bench from a numbers perspective, but I still need to train the lift and get a littel triceps work in. The 3x8 felt decent at that weight, pretty well fatigued the weak ass shoulders by the last set.

Good.

Moved on to el sumos, as they were neglected in the last sesh. Worked on Brian's cueing tips some more, as was described in a previous sesh, but still don't quite have it down. It's getting there, and set up is feeling pretty good.

Some visual evidence for that ass:

• 3x275lbs

• 3x315lbs w/shenanigans - this is what happens when you get out of position and drive incorrectly

• 3x365lbs

• And finally... first sumo single at 405, sumo PR. Go me.

All in all felt pretty good. Lock out could have been more solid on that 405, and as Christian pointed out, I did cue a little differently on it than my others. Don't know why exactly, but you will note that I didn't get my back quite as tight and had my hips starting higher than the other pulls, making it almost a stiff legged deadlift. 

Weird.

Need to set the back better and drop the hips a little to get the torso more vertical before the pull. As I get the back and shoulders strengthened I am sure this will get better, as well. Also going to keep pulling without a belt for as much as possible as this appears to be helping a bit and it seems to be easier to get into position without it.

Also, fat belly. Working on that, too. Should be under 250 in the upcoming week. Yay.

And yeah, I don't know exactly what happened in that set at 315, but shenanigans abounded. 

No, not the place with all the goofy shit on the walls...

At any rate, there you go. Moved on to back and shoulder stabilizer work as we know is needed and called it a day.

Afterward, hit the house, took a shower, and my wife lady and I went out to see the new Godzilla flick and grab a burger. Godzilla was decent, exactly what it needed to be- a fun summer movie with gigantic monsters battling it out gainst the backdrop of insignificant humans and their habitats, and the fact that they were there was largely humanity's fault. Definitely glad we saw it on the big screen. 

Puny humans LOL

Burgers were good, we took a trip out to one of Memphis's outlying towns, Arlington, and visited Off the Hoof Burgers. I got the Pat Lafrieda Chopped Steak burger, wife got the Kobe burger. Both were solid burgers, but the standout was really the Buffalo Bread - flat bread topped with mozzarella, bison meat, and wing sauce. Really tasty stuffs.

We grabbed some beer on the way home, daughter was in bed asleep already (bonus!), and watched some TV to wind the night down. I, however, was winding down too fast, as I was apparently busy cultivating some sort of virus. Didn't even think about beer after we got home and woke up this morning hacking up a lung with lymph nodes so swollen my tongue and molars hurt.

But on the bright side, Machine Head is apparently working on new stuff.

Shenanigans and Machine Head. Clever words and metal.

Go forth and destroy.

Training Sesh 5/14: Squats and stuff and things

All in all decent squat session. Hit the numbers I was looking for, and switched up the accessory work a bit to work on some weaknesses.

But first, the occurrence:

• Squat (paused) - 5xbar, 5x145lbs, 5x195lbs, 5x235lbs, 5x285lbs, 5x325lbs
• Squat - 5x355lbs
• Good mornings - 10x145lbs, 10x195lbs, 10x215lbs
• Thoracic extensions w/chain - 3x10 w/two chains

And a video of the last set - 

And here's a picture of two rainbows:

So what? you may ask yourself.

Well, they're about as curved as my back during those last few reps, that's why. BUT unlike the majority of that set, they are parallel.

So there are a few things to work on- upper back and parallel. These can be aided by a lot of the same work- for me, I have chosen thoracic extensions to add into the mix, along with some good mornings and other back work.

Because back work.

The thoracic extensions are really much more simple than the explanation- on a 45° back extension, set the pad high, like mid abdomen or a little higher. Grab a plate or some chains- I like chains because I can just throw them over my neck and they can stay on between sets, but watch the beard, folks! Get yourself all situated like a normal back hyper, but instead you will be actively curling/rounding your upper back over the pad, then straighten/extend the spine up to your start position or a little more. The trick, a lot like standing cable or band crunches, is to isolate the movement so that you are not using your hips and legs at all- this is back only so dew it right, eh.

Another thing, as mentioned in the rehab post, I apparently didn't dedicate nearly enough time to warm up before the sesh as the skee watts, especially the last set, really got my left shoulder fried. Like painfully so. Live and learn, dew work and warm up better.

Hopefully Adult Swim won't sue me. Because this shit is funny.

So at any rate, boom. Ran short on time to get the sumo deathlifts in, will get those in on the bench sesh coming up.

Because bench sesh.

Back work.

Bench sesh back work.

Oh, and Skrew is apparently coming back featuring at one time Memphis metal singer, Marcus Peyton-

Not a bad listen.

Go forth and destroy.

Shoulder rehab... yay

If you can say one thing about me, you can say that I am swift. Yeah, I am freaking quick on the uptake. 

For instance, you may remember that not quite a year ago, I went through a few months of physical therapy with Results Physiotherapy (recommended, by the by) for my back/shoulder issue. This seemed to do quite a bit of good as far as stabilizing the upper back and shoulder and getting the area loosened up.

You may also remember that not too long ago, I started getting some biceps tendinitis that, since I am a medical expert far and above my peers (for some reason that bit from The Pirates of Penzance keeps going through my head), I attributed to shoulder dysfunction. This is typically exacerbated by pressing, and after the other night's squat session seemed to be really flared up. 

 

Note that (the royal) we started the video with crazy eyes. Best.

Yes, that audible click is my shoulder at the "bottom" of every press. 

I also noted the other day, while doing some band pull aparts, that my left shoulder was about a half inch to an inch higher than my right. 

Noice.

So guess who has two thumbs and hasn't been keeping up with his shoulder rehab properly? 

Just goes to show you- just because it feels okay, doesn't mean it is okay. 

So with that in mind, I ran through the initial sets of banded shoulder work last night- basically a 2x20 each of a low row (straight arm), mid row (arms bent at 90°), and a "W" external rotation. In PT, we did these with TheraBand tubes with the nifty attachment set up, but this can easily be replicated in the home with EliteFTS micro and mini Pro bands and an attachment point for MUCH cheaper- though as an aside, the TheraBand set had some much lighter tension bands in it than even the EliteFTS micro pro band, so if you are really jacked up or your joints just aren't strong enough to take it, the TheraBand set up (or even some of their flat bands) would be better. I found that I had to use their heaviest band in my run of "official" PT, even with my injury being relatively fresh. Your mileage may vary.

For these I used the EliteFTS orange micro band passed through the handles on the door of my refrigerator and I pulled at an angle that didn't cause the doors to open. Worked like a champ. I just need to be sure to keep these up, and I will expand it a bit more to get back into the full "routine" from PT over the next week or two, plus shoulder circuit on lift days.

Yay.

Keep up with your rehab and eat your Wheaties (tee em), kids. Admittedly, I did NOT eat any Wheaties (tee em) yesterday, but I did have a little over 3700kCals with 325g + of protein and still managed to drop a pound from yesterday morning. 

Booyah for water weight!

Training Sesh 5/12: More bench, more stall, more work to be done

Short post on the session the other day. Barely worth posting on, but one can learn from every bit of data, draw conclusions from every experience, good or bad. This was not my most favorite of bench sessions in the entire world, but I guess it's bound to happen from time to time.

In short, I think the tight shoulder is getting a bit better (ie, less biceps tendinitis) but not getting much further in the weight progression. 

Here's what occurred:

• Bench - 10xbar, 10x95lbs, 8x135lbs, 5x155lbs, 5x175lbs, 3x190lbs
• Shoulder series x 2
• Klokov presses - 10xbar, 5x65lbs, 5x85lbs, 5x105lbs
• Reverse hyper, heels together/toes out - 3x10x90lbs

Similar issues as last bench sesh, tightness and strength. The upper back is fatiguing quickly and isn't supporting the weight through the entire set, causes the set to deteriorate to the point where more than three reps at that weight isn't happening. Hard to press off of an unstable platform, and I am definitely still favoring one side.

The bueno, she is no. 

Boom. There. Ees okay, just need to keep forging ahead and getting all my support shits stronger. Needs more upper back/shoulder work on off days (shoulder circuit and pull aparts), more triceps work on sesh days, probably some chest work as well. Band flyes on off days with the pull aparts? Mayhaps. 

And since there is not much else to say than that, you get a video. 

Not of me... God, no.

A video of Fantomas. 

Fantomas doing Slayer, you silly willies.

Go forth and destructinate.

Training Sesh 5/9: Skee watz, deathlifts, getting our learn on, HIIT and happy Mothers Day!

Decent squat day. The methodical approach to squat 5s appears to be working so far, and diet has not seemed to affect it too much. With the decrease in weight for a better parallel, I have determined to stick to the numbers as tight as possible with a 10lb increase each session.

So far so good.

Speaking of diet, as mentioned, I am off the Carb Backloading and looks like as long as I keep it at or around 3,000 kCals/day with higher amounts of protein (neighborhood of 300g/day), the weight will come off and the lifts will keep going up.

SWEEEEEEEEEEEET SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT...

Listen to this while you read, eh

Throw in some HIIT and either the weight will come off faster or the calories can be upped in support of recovery. More developments as they come.

Anyhoo, back to the sesh. Here's what occurred:

• Squat - 2x5xbar, 2x5x145lbs, 5x195lbs, 5x235lbs, 5x285lbs, 5x345lbs
• Sumo deathlifts - 5x135lbs, 5x225lbs, 5x275lbs, 5x315lbs
• Lat pull down, wide handle, paused - 3x10x100lbs
• Cable crunches, paused - 3x10x120lbs

The lesson from this sesh is ALWAYS GET VIDEO. While I, admittedly, don't want to (nor do I have time to) get video of every damn movement and then edit them down to one nice little 5-10min vid for each training session, I really wanted to have video of the last set here to check parallel. Spotters said they were good, but we all know how that can go. I was also pausing everything but the last heavy set of skeewattles at the bottom, so I am sure those were helping to get the hip loosened up and activate consciously at the bottom.

C'est la vie.

On to deathlifts, the second instance in the sesh where I would love to have just had a camera rolling. It kind of all started with this- my pretty man love gym bro home slice Jim missing his lock out:

Part of this is just proprioception- he completed the lift with his hips and knees both slacked, but since he was upright, he felt like he was locked out. The issue he really got into was essentially that he "completes" the lift largely with his back- knees lock out early and the back takes over. With the back upright and legs locked out early, there's not much of anywhere for the hips to go- you would literally have to reset the back to get the hips back in a position to fire and lock in, which would (1) be a red light in a meet, and (2) open yourself up for injury.

Made a few small corrections and here he gets the lock out, if only just:

You can see where he has to pull back to try to fire his hips in and get the legs locked. He gets it without really hitching or lowering the bar, he just has to crank back pretty hard to get his hips under him. Obviously not ideal and there are still tweaks to be made to the lift, but at least I wouldn't red light the lift.

So that led to some discussion about getting into better position, getting the slack out of the bar, etc. Team lifter (with his elite total, may I add), military dude, and all around good guy Brian shared some of his work in this area with us, which got me getting to the bar and keeping the back tight a little better, methinks.

Again, wish I had a camera rolling during this whole discussion, as it really was a good bit of info, the idea being to try to alleviate the setting/arch of the upper back while maintaining or improving tension in the hips. The long and short of it is that you would set your feet to the bar as normal, start the external rotation in the hip, then take your standard grip- one hand at a time- and with your first hand you increase your foot/leg "spread" on that side, pull the slack out with the one set hand with your upper back, then do the same with your other hand/leg while maintaining the tension and set on your other side.

I only got to give it a few goes with this method as I didn't hit that many sets overall in the sesh- not nearly as many technique singles as some previous- but I noted a definite improvement in bar tension and back set. I need to play with the technique some more to get the cues locked in and properly tailored for me

because I, too, am a unique and beautiful snowflake

but I like it so far. Will try to get some video rundown for better demonstration next time around.

That's about it for that sesh. On Sunday I got out the ol' (but new) medicine ball and took it outside for some work while I was getting the grill going for some Mamas Day burgers and chickens.

Need to up the conditioning and had bought the ball last year with an aim to do so, but as is so easy to do, I never got it together to put this thing to good use. The excuse I use with myself is that I didn't have a good surface to slam it on (raw concrete can really tear one of these up), but all that apparently needed to happen was to grab a towel. Took it outside, folded up one of our older towels that looks to be about ready for the linen closet in the sky, and gave it a few rounds of 30 or so slams, so call it 50-60 slams in total. Checked all seams, etc, and so far so good. I was a bit worried about it as I have busted a Dynamex/Elite ball with less, so looks like this one should be good for a minute.

Yay for HIIT!

In closing, I feel it would be remiss if I didn't go ahead and say it, though it be the day following, but happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there! As for mine, well, I wouldn't be here without her, obviously, and I know she worked hard and did a great job raising me and Meine Brüder.

Hippie mom! pic courtesy of Kurteous

As to my wife, the mother of our daughter, in short I love her more than I could ever say and she busts her bum to make sure we are taken care of and helps to make our home more than a house and our family what it is and what it will be. I love them both dearly.

Very serious Mothers Day lunch pic

Go forth and destroy.

And by destroy I mean love someone tenderly.

NBS Fitness Quick Tip: Christian Briefly Explains the Reverse Hyper

Been a minute since I shared a NBS Fitness quick tip, but here's a quick video of Christian explaining the reverse hyperextension machine, one of the best things you can do for your posterior chain

Video from NBS Fitness's Facebook page

Like the man said - live, learn, pass on.

Training Sesh 5/6: In which we bench, bitch about benching, and endeavor to get better

Just a quick report on the day's work - bench day.

The occurrence:

• Bench - 5xbar, 5x95lbs, 5x135lbs, 5x170lbs, 3,2x190lbs, 1x185lbs, 5x155lbs, 8x135lbs
• Tbar rows, paused - 3x8x55lbs
• Klokov press - 10xbar, 7x65lbs, 5x85lbs, 5x95lbs
• Reverse hyper, slow, heels together toes out - 3x10x90lbs
• JM  floor press, EZ curl bar w/chain - 3x10 w/two chains/side 

Not the greatest bench day in the world, from a progress standpoint. Worked with Austin and Matt a little bit on form, seems like my bench has taken a funny turn where I want to start pressing toward the hooks as opposed to straight up- needs more rep work and triceps work. Also needs more back work- bench felt a little more solid than the other day, but between the shoulder acting up and the back not able to stay tight, progress seems to be slowing. Seems like I have been stuck at this weight for these reps for a few weeks and it's still occasionally frustrating knowing that my bench would be 75-100lbs over what it is now had a certain few connective tissues not decided to become inflamed and loosen up at the spine.

Smart work and patience. Woosah.

A few things I noted right off the bat after the bench sets were shoulder tightness and fatigue - my left shoulder still feels a bit jammed up and the bicep tendinitis is playing with me with keeping the bar path correct and not dropping at the bottom of the eccentric portion of the lift. I actually ended up having to reset in the middle of my set at 190lbs, hence the "3,2". Spent some time with the TENS on it last night after I got home, and it is time I get back into the rehab work, to include David's ab fab shoulder circuit -

Hell, I feel bad half the time because unless they get programmed in, I almost never do this series, and it really is good for the shoulders and upper back.

Also note that since I am having shoulder issues, seemed like the perfect time to get back into Klokov presses.

Lolly.

Lolly.

Lol.

As to that funny bit at the end, the JM floor press, Austin had apparently seen it via something ol' Dave Tate at Elite had posted somewhere, so we decided it would be generally awesome to give a shot for a finisher for triceps work.

Here's the official rundown over at EliteFTS.com

I did mine a little differently, as listed, using the EZ curl bar and two chains per side with no plate weight for sets of 10. Even that was pretty nasty as with any chain movement, you need to really press through it to lockout. Think we have a short fat bar (in addition to the standard fat bar) at the ol' jamesnasium, may have to give that one a shot next time.

Time to grab a band and get to work. If you don't have any at home or at your own jamesnasium, do yourself a favor and hit up the ol' EliteFTS and grab a handful of them. One (or a pair) of each of the first few sizes will get quite a bit done around the house.

And when you're done with that, go forth and destroy.

Training Sesh 5/4: Skay watts, deathlifts, and bye bye, backloading

Ah, Sunday. Sunday funday.

This particular Sunday was time to squat. The little lady and the wife lady headed to the zoo to meet some friends and their kids and under the influence of the baby childrens, decided to stay for quite some time.

Sunday being funday, this equaled a little more play time at the jamesnasium.

Here is what occurred:

• Stretch, dynamic warm up, etc about 10min
• Squat - 5x145lbs, 5x195lbs, 5x245lbs, 5x295lbs, 5x335lbs
• Sumo deathlift - 5x140lbs, 10x1x250lbs, 5x250lbs, 5x280lbs 
• Band hip abductions - 3x20 w/doubled over EliteFTS Modest Onyx band
• Lat pulldown, wide handle, paused - 3x10x100lbs
• Cable crunches - 3x10x120lbs

As mentioned previously, I have backed my weight down on squats to work on back and parallel, this being the second sesh of such work. With that being said, I am squatting a little slower to concentrate on pushing back a bit better, etc.

I even got several videos

• 5x145lbs

• 5x245lbs (didn't get the set at 195lbs)

• 5x295lbs

• 5x335lbs (sexy time)

All in all pretty decent. They were all right at or below, I think. Even that set at 335, which I have to admit felt like deuce and I got out of position on a few reps, hence the good morning effect, didn't look nearly as bad as it felt.

Mission accomplished, it was off to deathlifts.

Quick set at 140lbs (heavy collars) to warm up and remember positioning and cues, then off to some technique singles at 250lbs. Hips felt like shit at first from squatting and random tightness, but I had Porter try to pop my hips (to no avail, but it helped) and eventually they worked back out.  The singles eventually felt decent enough that I went ahead at a set of five, went up to 280lbs and ran another set of five. They felt fast enough that I probably should have gone up some more, but I honestly didn't have "max effort" in mind. Will pull more next time.

One of the technique pulls at 250lbs:

Again, not awful, but it could be better. Looking back, wish I would have gotten some video of the sets of five, as I think I was able to lock my upper back in a little bit better than the above. Not sure of the arch and all, obviously, but felt decently fast off the ground, etc.

More pulls, more video, more work. Continuing work on the upper back and the hips.

But one thing I am not continuing is the ol' Carb Backloading. Good ol' blood pressure spike the other day got me a bit edgy, and I honestly think I will lift better with a little more constant flow of carbs throughout the regular day instead of spiking them directly after.

Not saying it doesn't work as a diet, I just don't think it is right for me right now.

I just have to watch the calories.

Go forth and destroy.

A salad with extra chicken.

Training Sesh update: Skay Watts and Benchlings, a decrepit brewery, some stuff and things

It's been a busy week or so for the Hanselopolis.

No, I don't intend to refer to myself in the third person all the time. The royal third person.

Speaking of, the Brit royalty is in town for a wedding. I am a little offended they didn't call, what with me having a world famous blog and the princes' known love for squatting and deadlifting, and then there was that time we shared in a "lost night" painting Las Vegas red...

But that's a story for another time. Suffice it to say, Bill and Harry, I am offended.

Harrumph.

Anyhoo, work has been busy as this past week I narrowly avoided going to the graveyard shift, switched positions and functional areas, and got a whole new team under my oversight. Seems to be a good team overall but there is, of course, work to do, processes to tighten up, actions for which to hold people accountable.

My Lean Six Sigma green belt project was also scrapped, so I am about to start to scramble up and start a new one. Huzzah. Actually, fucking huzzah. Like so much GOD DAMNED HUZZAH IT MAKES MY FUCKING LOINS TINGLE.

Shoon

Pretty happy about it.

Frustrating, but there is still some time. Hopefully enough time to get another project done and get my green belt.

So training, right?

Lessee, hurr, Tuesday. Tuesday was squat day. Here is what occurred:

• Some active warm up, air squats, stretch, etc, about 10min
• Squats - 5xbar (Texas squat bar), 5x145lbs, 5x195lbs, 5x235lbs, 5x285lbs, 5x325lbs
• Good mornings - 10x145lbs, 10x165lbs, 10x195lbs
• Cable crunches - 10x100lbs, 10x110lbs, 10x120lbs, 10x130lbs
• Prayer squats - 3x30sec holds

Not an awful session, but after the previous one and game taping video from previous squat seshes, I decided to back the weight up a bit and concentrate on sitting back and getting my hips opened up a bit more, ie, hitting parallel and maintaining form. Lifted with gym bro Scott (thanks fer da cues, yo) with some calls for depth, etc, so everything should have been right on.

Didn't get video, and neither Prince Harry nor Prince Bill were there to attest for it, but just suffice it to say that everything rolled a little better and squats felt pretty good.

Do wish I had gotten video.

Le sigh.

Here's some video. And Meshuggah. It's like a double win, you lucky dog.

Dat Tomas Haake, doe

Thursday was benchling day. The occurrence:

• Shoulder traction, warm up, bout 5min
• Bench - 5xbar, 5x95lbs, 5x135lbs, 5x155lbs, 5x185lbs, 2x1x205lbs
• Bench - 3x10x135lbs
• Tbar row, paused - 4x8x45lbs
• Cable pressdown, left arm only - 10x30lbs, 10x40lbs, 10x50lbs, 10x40lbs, ~20x35lbs

Not the most awesome working sets of recent note, but I did do the 185 without wrist wraps and gpt under the 205. The 205 is the most weight I have benched since the injury occurred, so I guess that is pretty cool. Christian and one of his clients worked in, and Christian noticed I was dipping the bar at the chest the last few inches, ie dropping to the chest instead of controlling all the way down, and maybe overextending at the top of the lift. I am going to have to get more video of my bench to game tape for these issues, but opted to run with more bench instead of OHP to grease the groove, as it were, and work on reps with technique.

Work, work, work.

The other fun thing about Thursday was bleeding into my sinuses on that set of 185 on bench. I had gotten a minor nose bleed earlier in the day at work, which apparently decided to come back on a working set of lifting, go figure. This not an uncommon occurrence in lifting, but it is annoying as crap when you are on your back with a loaded barbell over your chest and you nose tries to drown you while you are lifting.

Come on, face, really? Really?

While David was proud of this instance, I suggested that it might actually be blood pressure related versus effort related, recalling the previous conversation in which we determined that one could be out of shape enough that mere existence was cardio, hence, high blood pressure is actually a sign of health.

Booyah.

Friday was also marked one year since the death of Jeff Hanneman, guitarist of Slayer.

This morning, though, we jumped out of bed bright eyed and bushy tailed at about 8:45AM (and I do mean, we, id est, the wife lady, the daughter lady, and I from the mine and my wife's bed) and headed down to ye olde Memphis Farmers Market, which is always good for some fresh veggies, a cookie for the littlest lady, and some delectable beef treats from Claybrook Farms. Picked up a few small pieces of pottery for the house, moved the car and walked on down to the Tennessee Brewery.

The brewery is a cool old building that is currently under threat of demolition and redevelopment, and the Untapped movement was started to save it and retain it as a historical landmark- it shut down in 1954, and generations of Memphis kids have been sneaking into it and tourists admiring it ever since.

Check out a video here.

What the Untapped folks have done is pretty fun- set up some visiting food trucks, a couple of tap bars, family games, etc. We walked over, wife and I grabbed a couple of beers (I enjoyed High Cotton Brewing's Bier de Garde), and we played all the games they had- cornhole (huh huh huh, cool...), air hockey, and a bit of bolo toss.

Good times.

Go forth and destroy. But not a historical building.

Thanks.