Sending out good vibes for your wife's recovery

Thank you for the good vibes. It appears she is getting better now. That means I should be able to start working out again on Monday. Gonna go back to SS, walking, and keep on my food intake. I have cut out alcohol and junk foods (weigh-ins next month). Keeping protein intake high along with fresh veggies/fruit. I'm feeling pretty good right now, although I think I may have lost some strenght from being out of the gym for so long.

Plan for Monday's workout:

Squat: 285 x 5 x 3
Bench: 175 x 5 x 3
DL: 325 x 5 x 1

Today's workout

Squat: 285 x 5 x 3
Bench: 185 x 5 x 3
DL: 325 x 5 x 1

Weight: 221 even

DL's were good today, even being off for a month. Squats were a little tough. Did warmups and first set of working sets low bar. Left shoulder felt a little too tight after that set so I tried stretching it a little more. Didn't want to screw it up so I went to high bar for last 2 sets. Will continue working on flexibility and my low bar form. If you read my last post I was planning on doing 175 for bench. Got under the bar and it was tough, more than I thought it was going to be. Finished all 3 sets without a problem (last rep a little slow). Was taking the plates off when I realized I was doing 185, not 175. First day back after almost a month is my excuse on that one.

Next workout I think I will squat at the same weight. Something in my form wasn't feeling right (in both low bar and high bar) and don't want to add anything until I figure it out.

Weigh ins are in a month and after that I will be hunting (up in Maine, first week in Nov). I plan on walking T/Th on the treadmill: 3.5-4mph, 0 incline, 30-40 min for the rest of Sep. This is to increase my cardio capability while not fully killing my gains in SS. Sometime in Oct I will change it up a little to include hills to make sure I don't have an issue hiking during my hunting trip. I am also assistant coaching my daughter's soccer team with practices M/W/and sometimes Th. Usually I'm not doing much except demonstrating, but sometimes I participate. Shouldn't effect my SS since I don't do too much.

Eating habits are back on track and I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I know my diet wasn't great before and especially so while I was out. I blame that on stress (worrying) and no drive to eat better (possibly due to the stress). Now that things are getting better for my wife and I'm back into a workout schedule, I have the drive again to eat better. I plan on keeping alcohol out until after weigh ins since I feel that effects my ability to shed inches off my waist.

So the two "mistakes" you made this workout were high-bar instead of low bar squatting (high-bar is harder) and accidentally benching 10lbs more than you planned without failing?

**** you.

Yes, those were the "mistakes". Sucks getting back into working out after a month, my mind isn't always there. Although I find high bar easier (have done 315 HB before) since that is what I started with. Still haven't gotten the sweet spot for the low bar yet. Hopefully soon I will get it down.

Another thing that happened this weekend: Met a father of 2 girls on the soccer team. He and I didn't see eye to eye at first (I was trying to keep the sidelines positive, he didn't see my point of view). We met up at the end of the game and peacefully discussed what happened (tough to do during the game since I was tyring to figure out what to work on next practice). It came to a different style of coaching that our coach has than what he is used to. All ended well and I got invited to see an MMA fight he is promoting. Come to find out he is a pro MMA fighter and has a local MMA promoting business he owns. Should be a good time. May try to get his take on local gyms I could lift at when I don't go in to work and possibly my wife when she is back to normal.

Today's workout

30 min on treadmill @ 4mph (2 miles walked). Didn't feel bad doing this after yesterday's workout. Thought my legs would be worse off than they were since I am just getting back. I think I will stay at this time and pace for Th.

Forgot to mention the guy I saw working out today. Seems like he was fairly strong, but I had to chuckle watching him workout. Had a belt on the whole time (except during his stationary bike cool down) going from machine to machine, although he did do some type of a good morning/deadlift type move. It was like a straight leg deadlift, although he never went all the way to the ground nor did he keep his legs 100% straight. Actually saw him doing leg machine (lie on your belly, curl leg so foot goes towards your but) with his belt, for about 1/2 ROM. I did realize that walking on the treadmill gives me way too much time for people watching. Hopefully next time I can get a good view of the TV.

Probably was doing Romanian deadlifts.

Just looked them up. It seems like he was trying to do them, but his form sucked. Forgot to mention his back was rounded in the down position and I think he was going lower than he should (based on what I read on the exercise) but otherwise I think you are correct in the Romanian Deadlift being what he was doing. I figured it was an actual lift, just hadn't seen it done before. Thank you for the info.

Just put my food intake for today into FitDay. Pretty happy the way things are looking. So far today I have had :
Cals: 1,210
Fat: 45.4g
Carbs: 40.6g
Protein: 156.6g

I will have a snack in about 2-3 hrs, guessing around 20 g protein within that snack. Dinner is chicken breast (not sure how my wife is cooking it, but will taste good), brocoli and carrots. Carbs are coming in some milk (have skim milk [don't crap on me, that is what we have at the house] with protein shake) and veggies.

Today's workout

Squat: 285 x 5 x 3
Press: 125 x 5 x 3
Row: 155 x 5 x 3

Weight: 219.2

Weights felt pretty good today. I thought I was going to have a bit of trouble due to bad night of sleep (got 4.5 - 5 hrs last night). A little tired on the last rep of Press, but managed to get it locked out. Ended up doing HB squat again. Tried low bar for first workset but still felt off. After re-reading my log, I may need to reposition my elbows (seemed to work in one of my earlier posts). Will try that at 290 on Friday.

I am still surprised how fast the first 2-5 lbs come off when getting back to eating right and working out. I know it is water weight, but it still surprises me since I have been eating when hungry, just making sure it is healthier than before. Ended up eating a Chick Fil-A chicken strip salad last night. Kids had a "school spirit night" there and begged us to go. Tonight should be the chicken breast, broccoli and carrots since they weren't cooked last night.

Observation of the day: One of the regular guys who has a typically bro-type workout actually did deadlifts today. Looked about 255lb and fairly good form. Looked like his starting back position was a little bit rounded, but otherwise solid. He was doing them while I was doing my squats. He also did his typical bro workout with some 1/2 "squats" in the smith machine including the p-pad. This is the first time I have seen him DL, so hopefully he is changing his ways.

Today's workout

30 min on treadmill @ 4mph (2 miles walked). I forgot how boring this crap is. Hopefully it will be worth it (not being tired while hunting). I did get an ok night's sleep last night, about 6.5 hours without waking up in the middle of it. Hopefully I can do that again tonight so I am good to go for tomorrow's lifts.

Question: Is it normal to feel hungrier on non-lifting days? I always seem to be hungrier the day after lifting and not so much the day of actually lifting. During the week (M-F) I eat pretty much the same time every day. The amount of food doesn't change, but on T/Th I always seem to want more food. Thoughts?

Today's workout Subtitled: The Good?, the Passive Aggressive, and the Tard.

Squat: 295 x 5 x 3
Bench: 195 x 5 x 2, 4x1
DL: 335 x 5 x 1

Weight 220.1

The Good?

I completed all sets (warmup and work) in low bar. After reading through my log I realized I needed the cue: chicken wing. Thank you again DWarrior for that. I realized my elbows were not up and back (forming a chicken wing) which didn't allow me to get the proper bar placement. As for the ?, well it still feels wierd/awkward. I think that is due to this being a new/different movement than the high bar. I'll see how it goes. Going to 5 lb increments starting next week.

The Passive Aggressive

As I was doing squats I saw a guy doing tricep extensions (laying down on bench, using ez bar) who I think tends to leave the weights on the bar. He was finishing as I was just about to put the 295 away. He started walking away, leaving weights on the bar as I thought he was going to do. I figured I would just slam all of my weights back onto the rack to see what he did. I don't normally slam the weights around and it made more noise than I thought it was going to. I decided this was the best way so I wouldn't be forced to either give him a KITN or punch to the throat (he was taller than me and I wasn't sure I could get a good head shot in). Yes, I was in a bad mood this morning because the place was a mess. Weights were left out, on the floor, on bars, etc. I was hoping he got the message and clean up after himself. Figured it wouldn't be too hard for a grown man in the military to realize that there isn't a maid in the gym. He did get the message and I didn't have to talk to him/resort to violence to get my point accross.

The Tard

Yes, as you can tell all of these subtitles are directed at me. I am a tard. If you look at my bench I did 5x2 and 4x1. I shouldn't have missed the last rep. I got the 4th rep up and knew the 5th wasn't going to happen. Being a stubborn arse that I am, I went for the 5th anyways. Got it half way up, and slowly lowered it back down. Tried again and got about half way up again and bailed. Brought it safely down to my chest (I don't use a spotter) and angled the bar to drop the weights (no clips on bench for me, glad I recently made this change). Made a pretty good noise, but I didn't see anyone look over or have a concerned look on their face. Guess I didn't look too distressed/in trouble. This is my first failed rep, but am not too concerned that I am stalling. I think it was the lack of rest between the reps. Not sure what happened, maybe just got a little impatient and wanted to move onto my DLs (which I highly prefer to bench). I had plenty of sleep last night (fell asleep on couch around 2000, giving myself around 7.5 hrs of sleep) and plenty of rest (barely breaking a sweat after walking yesterday).


Upcoming: Wife has an appointment with the surgeon again on Monday to look at things, so next workout is Wednesday. Going with 5 lb increases on squat and press. I think I can squeak out 1 or 2 more 10 lb increases on the row, we'll see if I am just too optimistic on that. Will stick with 10 lb increases on next Friday's DL, but have a question on the bench. Should I re-do 195 or go with an increase? I planned on 5 lb increases on that from here out anyways, so it would be 200 next Friday if I go with an increase.

Looking forward to relaxing this weekend and watching my daughter's soccer game tomorrow. Team looks like they are improving greatly. Also, I have decided to give in and have a scotch or 2 and cigars tomorrow night with a buddy. My weight isn't concerning me right now since my gut seems to be going in a little. I also feel that the 1 lb gain from Wednesday is from taking creatine again (water retention). I know: "But why are you taking it if you are worried about weigh ins next month?" I always feel better taking creatine after workouts. I think it helps with my recovery. I won't have to weigh in until mid-October sometime and figure I will stop taking it October 1st. That will give me enough time off of it to stop the water retention. Is that thinking flawed (not sure if it is/isn't just what I planned on)? I am flexible with the creatine intake as this is still my first real time going through a weigh in while doing a real workout.

I tend to be a little less hungry when I workout but I blame it on running, which normally decreases my hungry. BTW this is the best titled log ever.

Thanks for the compliment Ook, I thought it was an appropriate title.

I have some questions about measurements and before/after pics. I have failed taking before pics and thought I should get some done this weekend. I know it isn't 100% before, but it would at least be something to copmare progress to. Any suggestions on body position (front, side, back, flexed?, full body, upper body only?). I don't want vanity pics, just stuff to compare to. I never did this before and need some direction.

Also, when doing measurements (neck, chest, waist around navel, hips, thigh, calf, bicep and forearm) are these measurements at rest or flexed? I currently do neck and navel about weekly and the others monthly. All of which are at rest (standing, arms by side). Is that correct? Should I get a frame measurement (around the wrist)? I'm not sure if that is of use at all, but they used to measure that for weigh ins until they recently changed the method. I feel I need to get rid of my belly, but the other measurements I feel are getting by pretty well. The only part of my measurements that somewhat embarasses me is my waist. I can post the pics and measurements once I figure out what I should be doing in that area if you guys want them.

I still can't get lift videos, but I have people in the gym give me form check every once in a while (people who run crossfit who I trust). Maybe someday if I start working out near the house instead of at work I could get videos, but that isn't going to happen as long as I have a free gym to work out in.

You're doing a ton of back and leg work so it'd be a shame to not get those in the pictures.

Another question: My ankle has been feeling really good lately. I still cannot get the bar into a rack position to do powercleans. Should I try to do power snatches instead or maintain my bb rows? I saw the powersnatch video over at starting strength and thought I would ask for an opinion.

Didn't work out today due to wife's appointment. Back to the gym tomorrow. I think I will do a weight session, but not sure yet. Didn't take pics of myself yet, but I do have pics of my dinner (enough for tomorrow's lunch) and this week's breakfast:






I also had my wife tape me today. Arms and legs are of right side, not flexed. Damn, I have a large waist. Need to work on that. Guess I need to eat less for the next few weeks. Here are the numbers in inches:
Neck: 18
Bicep: 15
Forearm: 12.5
Chest: 45.75
Waist: 41
Hips: 42.25
Thigh: 27
Calf: 17

Oh yeah, I didn't end up eating all of that steak last night. I hate a couple bites of the triangular piece and was full. I will try and get some pics this week, just need to get my wife to take them. I know my waist is big, but I think the rest of me is ok and want to get opinions on that. See if I am just deluding myself or if it is a fair assessment.

Going to the gym in a few minutes. Going to squat, press, and row today. As for the next workout, I think I am going to move the bench back to 185 and start doing 5 lb increases after that. I'm not sure if my failure last week was due to insufficient rest (guessing it is) or being too agressive and starting too high. Anyone have thoughts/opinions either way?

Today's workout

Squat: 300 x 5 x 3
Press: 130 x 5 x 3
Row: 165 x 5 x 3

Weight: 221.5*


I went back to high bar today. I can't figure out the proper way of doing low bar, so instead of hurting myself further I decided to go back to high bar. My elbow hurt during my last warmup set and I didn't feel like making it worse by doing my working set low bar. I have no clue what I am screwing up, but I am doing something wrong. Since I cannot figure it out, I will keep on doing high bar until I can find someone to teach me. I know videos would help, but I don't have the ability at this time.

Row is going to 5 lb increases from here on out since I haven't heard anything about my question on power snatches.

*Forgot to weigh myself, so this is an estimation. I feel heavier today than I did on Friday so I upped the weight.

Saw an announcement today that said the earliest I can weigh in is the 5th of October (and sporadic days thereafter). Since I want to get this out of the way I plan on trying to get everything squared away for that day. Therefore I am no longer taking creatine to help reduce the water retention. Possibly going on a great deficit next week to shed some of the circumference of my waist.

Ok, Here are the pics. Not quite before pics since they were taken tonight, but it is the best I can do. I also took a measurement of my wrist (frame size) and got 7.5". Not sure if that is normal or not, just posting the facts. I do not wear those shorts to the gym. They are from the Academy when I played lacrosse (club). Not sure if any other shots are warranted, so I went with the basic front, side and back

Front:



Right Side:



Back:


Heading to bed soon, so I won't see any comments until the morning.

Today's workout
30 minutes on treadmill @ 4mph.

Weight: 220.6

So, does anyone have any thoughts on this? Should I a) re-do 195, b) move up to 200, or c) move down to 185/175 and start over?

As for the pics: I am not sucking in my gut at all, that is how I normally look. Just wanted to clarify.