Played ultimate today for the first time in a month. I definitely need to get out there, or run if I can't make it, more often. Was fun and I'm glad it was windy because everyone had issues throwing (which I always do regardless of wx). Tommorow's workout is at the local gym, hopefully will have some observations from there.

Weight: 226.4

Forgot to put these up the past couple days. I had to shave for work on Monday after 2.5 - 3 weeks of not shaving. Figured I would snap a couple pics to see what I would look like with different styles. These were taken at 0430 on Monday 7 Feb 2011. Didn't think of getting full beard in there.

First:


Second (told by a family friend that I look like a prisoner here):


Last (70's pornstar/cop show star?):

Today's workout
Squat: 310 x 5 x 3
Press: 155 x 5 x 2, 1 x 1, + 4 Push Presses
Row: 170 x 5 x 3

Worked out at local gym today. Squats were fine. Decided to do 2 pause reps last 2 sets to make it a little more challenging. Think I was a little too cautious with the starting #s for squats. Press sucked. Definitely picked too high a # on those to start with and plan on dropping down next time. First set was tough, but not that bad. 2nd set I barely got the last rep so I made sure I took an extra long break. 1st rep on last set felt worse than the last rep of 2nd set and I knew I wasn't getting anymore so I decided to do push presses for the last 4. I barely got up the last one of those. Oh well. Rows were fine.

Observations: Had a few people in there today (got there around 1230). Most people were on cardio machines. 4 people ended up working out in the free weight section. 2 guys (guessing college aged) doing a brotastic workout. As I left they were supersetting calf raises on the leg press machine and preacher curls with the EZ bar. 1 guy doing random stuff. Last guy I was somewhat impressed with. As I was warming up on squats he got on the smith machine and did some squats with that. Then moved on to the calf raise machine. Not all was lost because as I was doing my rows he did full ROM back squats, in the rack! Only did 2 plates before taking off which I am guessing was a light workout for him since he looked like he could do more. At least that is what I am hoping.

Like look #3

how long have you been out of the navy for?

Forever

I am still in the Coast Guard though. I was out of the office (telecommuting) from 11 Jan to 7 Feb due to taking care of my wife after surgery. I figured that if I didn't need to go to the office I can let it grow out. I didn't let it grow out the whole time due to a funeral and other things I went to. I will be getting out of the CG 1 July.

Today's workout
Squat: 285 x 5 x 3
Bench: 205 x 5 x 3
DL: 375 x 5 x 1

Dips @ BW: 10 x 1; 6 x 1

Weight: 228.6

Squat was fine, as expected. Dropped bench down due to issues w/Press last workout. Probably should have dropped it further down as I barely got my last rep up this time. Elbow is killing me. It started bothering me mid 2nd set, but I pushed through it. Think it is time to reset bench and press while it heals. Thinking of dropping press down to 115 and bench down to 175 or so. DL was great. Tried to use hook grip on my first warmup set but it didn't feel good to me. Went back to regular double overhand grip (bar on fingers, just not hooked). If my grip becomes an issue I will probably switch to over/under grip for DLs.

Wanted to start doing some dips to help with press/bench. Plan was for 10 x 3. First 10 were ok (a little pain in elbow) and only pushed out 6 on 2nd set. Elbow started hurting too much so I stopped. Plan is to try and do 5 x 3 next workout, then try and increase 1 rep each set per workout after that. once I get up to 10 x 3 I will add weight. This will all be dependent on my elbow though. Looking forward to the weekend off. Next 2 workouts will be at local gym since I am staying home M&W next week to take my wife to more DR appointments. Hopefully some good observations there.

Observations: First time witnessing someone actually being totally unaware of their surroundings. Was putting weight on the bar for my squat warmups and a guy (not new to the gym, seen him working out for a while) loaded up the smith machine w/a plate a side for some high pulls. Nothing super wrong yet, but he needs a place to put his water bottle. Floor? Nope. Somewhere on the Smith Machine? Nope. Bench next to smith machine? Nope. Guess the best place to put a water bottle is on the safeties of the rack when someone is about to do some squats. Granted, I didn't have much weight on the bar. But he doesn't know if I'm injured or am having some issues that day. Could have been funny if I ended up dropping it on the bottle, but I didn't. Funny thing is between his sets he got the bottle, swigged a little, and proceeded to put the bottle back on the safeties! He knew I was doing squats since the smith machine faces the rack. Not sure what was going on in his head, but I wouldn't have felt bad if it broke. I didn't say anything to him since it was back a little farther (couple inches) than the bar path so it wasn't really in my way. There was also 0% chance of dropping the weights either, but I may say something if he does that when I'm going for a PR.

Elbow pain...if it's tenodonisis/tendonitis, pushing through it really not an option, and dips would probably be a bad idea.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tendinitis and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tendinosis for descriptions and treatment.

Thanks Soulman. I know something is wrong, but don't feel the need to go to the DR to figure it out yet. I'm guess rest, ice and light work might help out since it stopped hurting last time I did it. We'll see. If it continues to hurt at the lower weights I will probably just skip out on the press/bench parts for a while and then slowly get back into them using low weights.

At least my squats and DLs aren't suffering from my elbow hurting. Thought it might affect my grip on DLs, but didn't feel anything when I DL'd today.

Plan is to Squat/Press/Row M&W next week since I hate DLs at the local gym. I will DL on Friday, back at the work gym. Going for a PR in DL the week after that (390 5 x 1). Might need to break out the Driveline T for that!

Update on gear: I use my belt for squats above 3 plates. Just feels right doing that. I use wrist wraps (nothing else) for worksets of bench, press, and all dips. Nothing used for rows. Chalk used for DLs above 3 plates. I haven't gotten the belt to reel right on DLs, so am not using it as of now. Will look at getting lifting shoes in the future, but not sure if/when I will get them. Chucks seem to be working for now so it is not a pressing need.

I having DoWins that I use for squats and they're great for squats, but I hate them for DLs and RDLs. Keep using your Chucks for DLs. You dont want a heel for DLs because that forces you to bend over more and pull the weight higher.

The elbow pain is probably caused by adhesions in your triceps, biceps and/or forearms. I'm finding out that basically all the tendon pain I've had has been caused by muscle adhesions pulling on tendons. Apparently, that's what usually causes tendon issues.

If ART is feasible for you, I suggest that. Either way, massage your triceps, biceps & forearms a lot.

Using a lacrosse ball as I type this.

Check your squat grip. Elbow/shoulder tendinitis from the low bar position is very common. It's less likely for you since it doesn't hurt, but I wouldn't rule it out, and decreasing the load on the elbows couldn't hurt.

Unfortunately I use HBBS and haven't had issues with my elbow hurting on squats since I ditched the LBBS. Today it started hurting only during bench, not during squats like it did when I tried LBBS. I have an issue with my left elbow, but am way too stubborn to go get it checked. Pborably why I needed so many surgeries to fix fairly benighn problems. I will keep an eye on it on Monday's squat though just to make sure.

Do some light weight curls and forearm work (reverse curl type might possibly help) and see if it helps.

This^ and continue rolling it yourself. If you decide to see a profession about it, see someone who is certified at the biomechanics level of ART, imo.

Lots of unnecessary surgeries are done when the issue that caused the joint pain was muscle related.

Looking forward to skeletor observations of his own curlz.

I will probably do the curls at my house so I don't have to totally bro it up and feel inclined to stare at myself in the mirrors (no mirrors in my basement, where I have enough crappy weights for curling). I also don't want the other gym goers to think I do something useful like curls.

I am going to try and wash the sand out of my box tonight so I can workout tomorrow. I have been sick this week and haven't had the energy/ability/whatever to workout. Fun thing now is that they gave me some meds, I don't sleep much at night so I am lacking conentration during the day. Really makes it hard to post coherent thoughts. I think I am averaging 3 hrs a night since Tuesday (way off my normal). Doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon, but I am feeling better otherwise.

Plan will be to squat (285) /bench (185) /DL (365) tomorrow morning. Elbow isn't hurting right now, but doesn't feel normal either. I am still rolling arm with the lacrosse ball and resting it, but not much else. Figure I will try to bench and see how it goes from there. Assistance work will be determined after I finish the above and see how I feel. Guessing back extensions and dips (elbow might tell me no). I want to DL tomorrow since Monday is a holiday and I will be using the local gym that day. Hopefully I can get the motivation to get back into the gym tomorrow.

Today's workout
Squat: 275 x 5 x 3
Bench: 185 x 5 x 3
DL: 365 x 5 x 1

Back Extensions @ BW: 10 x 3

Weight: 227.8

Felt tired throughout the workout today, but I pushed through it anyways. I think I may have cleared out all of the sand.

Forgot what I wrote yesterday for squat, so I went with 275. Went fine as expected. Bench felt pretty good. Elbow bothered me the closer I have my elbows to my body during warmups. Felt good ~70 degrees, so I kept them about there for my work sets. I think I will keep the weight the same for a while and maybe add reps/sets until it stops feeling off. DLs were good, except I felt like I was going to yak at any minute while doing them. Haven't felt like that the whole time I've been sick, so I'm guessing the added stress of working out just caught up to me while doing them.

Back extensions were fine. Probably will add weight next time I do them. Quesion: Do I hold the weight across my chest or behind the neck?

Hoping my cold clears out soon. Wx here is getting nice and would like to go outside and enjoy some cigars. Unfortunately for me, I don't enjoy them when I am sick.

across chest.

Thanks. That is what I figured but wanted to check before fing something else up on my body.

Today's workout
Squat: 315 x 5 x 3
Press: 115 x 5 x 3
Row: 175 x 5 x 3

Worked out at the local gym today, so no accessory exercises today. Squats felt really good today. Press went great. No pain in the elbow, but it still feels a little off. Figure I will try this weight a couple more times just to make sure then slowly increase along with the bench. Rows were good.

Observations: Saw a typical dude working out today (big upper body, not much in the lower body) doing dumbell incline press while I was squatting. No big deal, except he was having his ~120 lb girlfriend assist by pushing up on this elbows for every rep. Looked like the dumbells were about 60 lbs. Also got to see another guy setup for some DLs next to me while I did my rows. First time I have seen someone there do them other than me. He was warming up as I finished up. Only form issue was he was moving up onto the balls of his feet instead of remaining on his heels. Made me happy to see someone else doing them in there.

Next workout may be another one of these. Depends on if I need to stay home to take my wife to a DR appointment. If I do stay home, it will be another squat/press/row day. If I go to work it will be squat/bench/dl. Hoping I kick this cold sometime soon. Hate having to go into the locker room to blow my nose/hack up some stuff between a few sets.

Also implemented early morning dog walking today. Figured I will take a dog out for about a 40 minute walk when I get up. Used it today for my warmup prior to heading to the gym. Workdays will be prior to heading off to work. Looking forward to doing them, as today was fun.

Yesterday's workout
Squat: 320 x 5 x 3
Press: 115 x 5 x 3
Row: 180 x 5 x 3

Went to the local gym yesterday so I did the S/P/R workout again. Elbow started hurting a little bit while warming up on the squat. I think it has to do with re-racking the weight, which is when I noticed it start to hurt. I think I was lowering the weight unevenly, causing me to stretch it or put weight on it. Guessing I have been doing that before. Didn't really bother me (other than feeling off) once I made sure I lowered the weight evenly while re-racking. Hopefully it will fix itself now that I know the possible cause.

Played ultimate today. Forgot how much it sucked running around when you are sick, coughing up stuff, and stuff running out your nose constantly. Played surprisingly well though.

Edit: Yesterday's press was 115 x 6 x 3

Today's workout
Squat: 285 x 5 x 3
Bench: 185 x 6 x 3
DL: 375 x 5 x 1

Dips: 10 x 2 (BW)
Back Extensions +25 lbs: 10 x 2

Weight: 228.6

Squats went fine. Bench was good, no issues with elbow. I think I am going to start a 5 lb progression starting Friday. DL was surprisingly good. First 3 reps went up super easy. Last 2 were a little harder, but not that bad. Last time I did 375 I thought my grip was going to give out. No issues today. Gonna keep up with the double overhand until it feels like it is slipping. Figured I would throw in a couple accesory exercises. I think I will stick with 10 x 2 for most of the accesory stuff. I don't think I can do 10 x 2 chins, need to work on that on s/p/r day.

Didn't workout on Friday. Wife got an infection on Thursday and the medicine was kicking her butt so I stayed home. I also had an issue with my truck Thursday night. Went to get her medicine and it died in the parking lot of the pharmacy. Not sure what was going on since my gas gauge was saying it still had gas (was going to go get some after pharmacy). Wife came to get me so I could figure it out at home. Ended up pushing it into a parking space while my wife "drove" it (working out is doing some good for me in the real world). Racked my brain to figure it out over night. Next morning I went and put some gas in it to see if the gauge is off, it was. Bastard started right up. Guess I have to keep an eye on mileage now (not sure when I will get around to fixing gas gauge).

Edit: Forgot to mention I wasn't totally sendentary since playing ultimate. Mostly did stuff around the house Friday and Saturday. Ended up going on a hike yesterday with my youngest for about an hour in the woods/around our neighborhood. It was a good excuse not to go shopping with my wife and oldest 2 who wanted to spend some birthday/christmas money and gift cards. Also got up this morning (0330 without an alarm!) and took one of the dogs for a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood. I'm going to try and keep up with this since I enjoyed it and am sure the dog did too.