Training Update - 5.1.11

this morning's workout - deadlifts & back

The gym was mostly empty and quiet as a crypt this morning, as Sunday mornings usually are. We started with deadlifts and did a few warmup sets to begin with. My body was feeling really good today. I took Saturday off as a recovery day and I think it was beneficial. My legs felt particularly good as I was warming up, no pain, no kinks, just smooth and strong.

I set up for my first working set and cranked out 5 reps with no problem. I tried using some lifting straps but they were just distracting and got in the way, so I ditched them and just went back to my gloves and an alternating grip. I cranked out two more sets super strong and didn't even need any extra breaths in the last rep or two. It felt great. Last week I felt like I struggled with 195 and today I dominated it. Next round I will put on 205 and try that.

I followed up deadlifts with some barbell rows for my back. I will need to rethink doing these immediately after deadlifts because my glutes and hamstrings were already fatigued. Bending over with the bar made it pretty tough to keep my back straight and not pitch forward or bend my knees too much. I cranked out a few sets and called it done.

I was pretty impressed with my energy level at the gym today. Before we left for the gym I drank about 10 oz of some Diet Mt. Dew, and then at the gym I drank my 32 oz water bottle with 4 scoops of my XTend energy/recovery drink. I'm guessing the caffeine from the Dew and the XTend combined with a little adrenaline from my great deadlift sets all contributed to my elevated energy levels.

I followed up on the treadmill and felt pretty awesome, increasing the incline from my usual 3.0 to 3.5, and my walking speed from the usual 3.5 to 3.7. My heart rate seemed to stay in the 130's, so I think that's where I'd like to be. Hopefully I can continue to make some small gains with my cardio. Tomorrow is intervals and no lifting.

squat - 195 lbs
deadlift - 195 lbs
bench - 160 lbs
press - 85 lbs

Training update - 4.30.11

I measured my waist this morning for the first time in about a week. I was surprised to see that it read 38.25". This is quite an improvement from the 39" it was the last time I checked. While my weight seems to stay about the same on the scale, between 208 and 210, my waist is slowly shrinking. This is ideal to me because it shows that I am slowly burning fat and putting on some muscle at the same time. I just need to stay consistent with my diet, work out hard, and keep doing that blasted cardio at the end of my workouts.

last night's workout - squat, military press, shoulders, 30 min cardio

Friday nights at the gym are always dead and last night was no exception. There was barely five people working out at any given time. I love an empty gym. We tried our new XTend workout recovery drink in our water bottles at the gym. I got the lemonade flavor and it wasn't too bad. It was a little strong at times and would give me a shiver, but I managed to drink it all. I don't know if it was placebo effect or what but I did feel pretty good throughout the workout, plenty of energy.

I started with squats and it went really well. My legs felt great and I powered through my sets with no real problems.

Next I did military press. This is a pretty new movement for me, as in the past I've done it with dumbbells. Pressing the barbell is still kind of awkward so I went fairly light and will continue to do so until I learn the movement and proper form.

squat - 195 lbs
deadlift - 195 lbs
bench - 160 lbs
press - 85 lbs

Training update - 4.29.11

Last night's workout - deadlifts, bench press, triceps, 30 min cardio

I had a decent workout last night. The weather was nice for the first time in about a week so the gym was nearly empty as a result, a total bonus. I started with bench press and did a few warm-up sets. I put on 160 for my working sets and knocked the first two out without a problem. The last set I kind of got stuck on the last rep, but I made it through with what my wife called "a fingernail spot."

My shoulder felt a little tweaked after I finished all my sets but so far this morning it's feeling OK. I've been worried that going back to barbell bench press would tweak my shoulder again. I've previously blamed the barbell bench as the culprit behind the shoulder problems I had a year ago. I'm trying to focus on good form and pressing up from my lower chest, so my arms aren't 90 degrees out from my chest. We'll see how it goes over the next few weeks. I may have to bail and go back to dumbbells.

I followed bench with deadlifts. After a few warmup sets with 135 I put on 195, which is the highest I've tried so far. It felt heavy, but my first two sets went pretty well. My last set was tough and I had to take a breath or three between the last three reps. Overall it went OK. I felt a little humbled by the weight but later reminded myself that the 195 pounds was the most I've ever done on deadlift, so it's an overall victory. I think I'll stick to this weight another round or two because I felt my form was sloppy. I'm fairly new to standard deadlifts so I want to try to iron out the kinks before I go too stupidly heavy.

squat - 195 lbs
deadlift - 195 lbs
bench - 160 lbs
press - 85 lbs

4.28.11 - anxious to get to the gym

Anxious to get to the gym. I'm full of energy today for some reason and feeling a tad aggro. I had to skip the gym last night because I had to mow the yard. That's the bad part of Spring, the grass grows so fast I have to basically mow twice a week. That just takes away from my gym time!

Tonight is deadlifts and bench press. I'm moving up in weight on both. Deadlifts I'm not much worried about but bench has always been a weak spot for me.

I'm trying to set up my initial goals for my 1RM weights. So far I'm thinking:
315 - deadlift
315 - squat
275 - bench

I think I'll get to squat and deadlift at a decent pace but that bench is going to take a while. I need to try to hit it twice a week and make some progress. I think I need to eat more and have a more structured approach. I'm thinking of starting protein shakes at work, at least one during the day. Now that we're working out regularly I seem to always be hungry.

Training Update - 4.27.11

weight - 210
body fat% - 21.4%

squat - 195 lbs
deadlift - 185 lbs
bench - 155 lbs
press - 85 lbs

Last night's workout - squats, back, biceps, 30 min cardio

Workouts are going great. We spent nearly 2 hours at the gym last night. When we first arrived we had to wait on the squat rack because some d-bag personal trainer was doing circuit training, tying up multiple stations including the squat rack. The gym was pretty busy, adding to my annoyance with the trainer.

Cardio is going well so far. I realized the other night that the gym has free wi-fi so I was able to fire up Pandora radio on my phone and listen to my Tool station while on the treadmill. I got kind of a cardio high, full body tingly sensation right in the middle of a high point of Metallica's "One." It was pretty awesome I must say. By the end of my slow burn cardio I was dripping wet with sweat.

Ordered some new supplements from Muscle and Strength. I ordered some casein protein for my morning shakes and some XTend recovery drink. I plan on putting this Xtend in my water that I take to the gym.

The Dark Tower - reading

Lately, I have been reading (devouring) the first few books in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. The series came highly recommended by colleague, who happens to be a huge Stephen King fan himself. The series is tough to explain to the unfamiliar. Essentially it is a sort of post-apocalytic epic about Roland, the last gunslinger and his quest for the Dark Tower. It is a twist on the classic grail quest where the noble knight, Roland in this case, quests for his ultimate destiny and encounters many a challenge, adventure, and odd character along the way.

I love to read but I'm not a regular reader, normally I only read in bursts of reading energy. I can go six months without reading a book, then get the reading bug and tear through 3-4 books in a short time. (I guess I have a problem with moderation?) In school I was a nerdy kid in the back who kept to himself and always had his homework done on time. I would normally breeze through my homework during class and then spend the rest of the hour reading. I always had a book with me.

Out of the mist...

Over the past few days it has been very foggy in the mornings as the humidity level is near 100%. This morning was no exception.

I leave for work around 6:30 in the morning so at this time of year sunrise does not occur for another hour or so. My drive to work this morning was in the dark and through the dense fog. Even walking through the parking lot, as if the world had been muffled, muted, just the overwhelming quiet is left.

There is something about a dense fog that puts me in a different state of mind and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. I think it makes our minds reach back into the uncomfortable, primal state of a higher awareness. Our lives are so...safe, secure, that we rarely have to worry about our own immediate survival. The fact that you can barely see 30 feet in front of your self is freightening on a fundamental level. It's no wonder so many legends and myths center around the mist. Wander too far out into the mist and you may never return.