11-2 - 235.3

Overhead Press 5's + Volume (TM 190)

wu Triple Shoulder Raises 6x12
wu Hammer Curls 22x35
wu Zottman Curls 16x35
wu NG Chinups Ladder 1->5
wu Pushups
wu Bent Over Chicken Wings 3x20

Z Press 20x45
1-Arm Arnold Press 8x35s
Z Press 5x95, 4x125 @9
BTN Press/Push Press 3x140/3x140
Overhead Press (clean grip) 2x150 @7, 1x160 @8, 5x160 @10
BTN Press 5x140 @10
Overhead Press 2x5x140 @9, 9.5
1-Arm Arnold Press 8x55s @9.5

Archer pullups 2x8
Archer pullups one-sided 6x5
25-pound Plate Raise (nonstop) 1x100
Armpit Rows 8x40s
Dumbell Skullcrushers 4x8x55s
Upright Rows 10x45, 8x75, 8x85, 8x90, 8x95
NG Frenchies 3x2
Ab Wheel Rollouts 3x12
Decline situps 2x12
Kettlebell Angled Press 12x10, 12x20

I was planning on running + yoga today but medical stuff ran long early and late so decided I could manage this lightish workout tonight (I mean If I were going for heavy triples or something I'd probably wait an extra day after the dips that I feel a tad sore from). This one was pretty tiring and took about 90 minutes.

That first block is basically all OHP just in different variations. I'm largely taking this OHP program and adding it to the 5/3/1 prescriptions, and spicing it up with a little variety razzamatazz. No tempo notation today because I was trying this out for the first time and wasn't sure how I'd fatigue with the additional sets and generally less rest than I usually take. The last rep was generally a slow eccentric.

Archer pullups because I seem to be too weak on grip for towel pullups. Trying to concentrate on using as little of the support arm as possible, while pacing for 5 reps. Overall, slightly more draining than the weighted pullups as evidenced by only getting 2 frenchies afterwards.

Did not like armpit rows at all. Upright rows feel ok so I'll probably stick with them and just be careful on weight and form.

And just like that I am at the ten pounds lost mark. I may be beginning to see a little muscle where fat used to be.

11-3 - 234.8

Easy Run (slight hills) 3.38 Miles in 35:24 (10:28 pace) 614 alleged calories


If the goal of yesterday's program was shoulder DOMS, then mission accomplished Rough overnight and missed my windows for yoga in the morning and afternoon--usually wouldn't do a late "easy run" but figured it was better than nothing as I certainly did not feel up to any gym stuff today!

11-4 - 235.4
11-5 - 234.4

Easy Run (slight hills) 3.24 Miles in 31:28 (9:43 pace) 604 alleged calories

This might be even better than it looks given it was...exactly the same route as Friday. Turns out running is easier when I'm not going after leg day. Good to know.

11-6 - 234.7

Deadlift 5's (TM 455)

wu Hammer Curls 20x35
wu Overhead Squat (53X3) 8x45
wu Goodmornings 20x45
wu NG Front Raises with Y Band Pull Aparts 10x15

Front Squats 135x5 @7 (53X1), 185x5 @7, 225x5 @8, 255x4 @9.5
Trap Bar Deficit RDL (83X1) 8x135, 5x205
Trap Bar DL 5x255, 5x305, 5x365, 7x390, 5x415 @9.5, 4x415 @9.5
Front Rack 8 Second Holds 3x345

Had medical stuff in the morning so had to skip the early workout. Went with trap bar because I thought it might be a little easier on my shoulders. Felt fine.

11-7 - 234.7

Morning Run (track):

10 minute warmup (to)
1.1 mile in 9:03 (8:10 pace): 446m splits (lane 7) 2:14, 2:19, 2:09, 2:21
2.3 miles cooldown (from)

4.29 miles total in 44:43 (10:25 pace) 787 alleged calories

A little hotter and sweatier than I expected, and while not quite under an 8:00 pace I was also not quite going ballsout expecting the longer route back home plus was just 14 hours removed from deadlifts. Plus, forgot my watch again so was fumbling a bit to pull my phone out each lap. I can keep coming up with excuses all day, if necessary.

11-7

Bench Press 3's (TM 315)

wu NG Front Raises with Y Band Pull Aparts 12x15
wu Hammer Curls 20x40
wu 1-Arm Arnold Press 8x35
wu Goodmornings 20x45
wu Overhead Squat (53X1) 5x45
wu Bench Press (53X1) 20x45, 5x155
wu Pendlay Rows 20x45

Bench Press 3x225 @8, 3x245 @9, 3x265 @10, 4x225 (53X1) @9.5
Pendlay Rows (01X1) 12x135, 10x205, 2x8x235
T-Bar Rows (50X1) 10x90, 2x8x135
Incline Dumbell Press (L5) 17x45, 15x45, 12x45
Seated French Press 2x8x80
Lateral Raises 2x12x20
Bent Over Laterals 2x12x20

Today I realized I needed to DROP DOWN A BELT NOTCH!!! And it was good. Had a pretty weird sequence lead to a rushed session and cut Bench a little light so I could get through it without full rest and get to my overhead accessories. Still had to skip the last set but better than nothing. Incline dumbells felt a bit awkward in my left shoulder but I'm pretty sure with some more rest I'd have still gotten to 50 reps in 3 sets--will just redo the same weight next time and if it feels easy just slow eccentric/pause the last couple of reps.

Also having some weird discomfort under my right knee that feels exactly like a bruise but I can't remember whacking it any time recently. No effect on running or OH squatting.

Congrats on the belt notch reduction How dare people scoff at those waist minimisers!

To be clear; I mean my lifting belt.

11-8 - 235.1

Morning juggle run (trails/severe hills) 4.41 miles in 57:08 (12:57 pace) 760 alleged calories


It's like an easy run on the legs but a medium effort on the heart. Not sure what my schedule's going to be like for the next couple of days--seems like everyone I know is in the hospital (except wife) atm.

11-9 - 235.8

Hot Yoga

11-10 - 236.5
11-11 - 234.4
11-12 - 236.1

Squat 3's (TM 379)

wu Overhead Squat (53X1) 6x45
wu Goodmornings 12x45
wu SSB Squat (53X1) 6x155, 3x245

SSB Squat 3x285 @8, 3x325 @9, 2x1x360 @10, 3x340 @9, 3x265 (53X1)

I forgive myself and will explain below, but I was a ****ing idiot and forgot the SSB weighs 65 lbs so thought I was really weak today all the way through the second 360 single. Program was supposed to be 3x265, 3x305, 3x340. "Damn, why does 340 feel so heavy? Maybe this cutting is eating away my muscle..."

Thought it might be the life situation mostly living out of the hospital waiting room this week. Looks like my "2 workouts per day" diet is in trouble as my mother has been diagnosed with mesothelioma which, improbably, is worse than it sounds. I guess we'll see how things unfold, and thankfully wife seems to be in a nicely healthy and stable groove recently. It is difficult to imagine any fat-loss progress as long as a lunch like yesterday's ("good" local place, 8 pcs spicy fried chicken (dark meat), 2 lbs liver & rice, and let's just call it 6 portions of peach cobbler) is on the board, granted there was also a football game on. Been a high-stress couple of days so glad to be able to get to the gym today and I do intend to avoid other long dry spells and allow myself to forget how much a safety bar weighs.

I'm really sorry to hear about your mum. Does she live near you? Distance makes things so much harder at times like this and they are horribly hard anyway.

Hugs. One of my biggest fears that something will happen to my mom. It is hard.

Thanks. She lives about an hour away. At times it's a difficult distance for us to make with wife's condition but in general it's doable. We are postponing the Atlanta program indefinitely as a result and will get back into the local program for a while. I am ok. It's kind of a reminder that "normals" aren't used to disaster and act weird around it and don't just constantly remind themselves that bad stuff may happen at any moment. Everybody wants to make soup for some reason.

11-14 - 232.2

Overhead Press 3's + Volume (TM 190)

wu Zottman Curls 20x35
wu Hammer Curls 16x35
wu NG Chinups Ladder 1->5
wu NG Front Raises with Y Band Pull Aparts 12x15

Z Press 20x45
Dumbell Z Press 5x50s
Z Press 4x125 @9
BTN Press/Push Press (clean grip) 3x150/3x150
Overhead Press 2x160 @8, 1x170 @9.5, 2x170 @10, 5x150 @9.5
Fat Bar Overhead Press 2x5x150 @9.5, 10
NG Cable OH Press 2x8x115 @9, 9.5

Archer pullups x6
Archer pullups one-sided 8x3
Dumbell Skullcrushers 4x8x55s
Close Grip Upright Rows 10x50, 8x80, 3x8x95
25-pound Plate Raise (nonstop) 2x50
Ab Wheel Rollouts 3x12
Decline situps 2x10x+25
Kettlebell Angled Press 3x10x20

Another block that could just read "Overhead Press" if not for jazzing it up a bit. All felt great except 170 surprisingly heavy and 150 is probably too much for BTN press right now. Archers X 3 felt...close, actually.

Realized I mismarked my last skullcrushers as 55s when they were 50s. I think after today I'll probably switch to the EZ Curl bar for them.

Surprised by today's low weigh-in.

10-15 - 231.7

Morning Easy Run (slight hills) 4 Miles in 41:24 (10:20 pace) 726 alleged calories

Hmm...another low weigh-in. Kept effort a little light since it's been a week between runs and I *may* be able to get to the gym for deadlifts tonight.

10-15

Deadlift 3's (TM 455)

wu Goodmornings 20x45, 12x85
wu Overhead Squats (53X1) 5x45, 3x85
wu Hammer Curls 20x35
wu NG Front Raises with Y Band Pull Aparts 8x15

Front Squats 135x5 (53X1), 3x185, 3x230, 1x275
Trap Bar Deadlift 5x225, 3x315 @7, 3x365 @7, 3x415 @8, 3x435 3 Rep PR @9.5, 3x415 @9.5
Facepulls 3x20x30

Upper body just did not like the front squats, and likewise passed on shrugs. Knee still has some pain on contact but the swelling has gone down and it's hurting less and less, so I just decided to use trap bar again, and now I'll probably just finish this 5/3/1 cycle with it as well.

10-16 - 230.6

wu Overhead Squats (53X1) 10x45
wu Goodmornings 20x45
wu Bar Snatches/Muscle Snatches/Upright Snatch Grip Rows

Split Snatch 2x4x95, 2x3x115, 4x2x125
Power Clean 3x115, 3x135, 3x155, 3x165, 2x175, 2x2x185, 3x165

Missed the last yoga class and had a frustrating day *not* getting biopsy results and hearing about lots of delays and waiting and **** that I don't really have time or patience for. Hence, olympic-ish lifts.

Not sure about the rapid weight drops--I'm now trying to fit in extra carbs the rest of the day and generally pigging out except not GOMAD. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

11-17 - 233.3

Morning Hot Yoga

---------------------------

Bench Press 5/3/1 (TM 315)

wu Zottman Curls 12x35
wu NG Front Raises with Y Band Pull Aparts 12x15
wu Reverse-Grip Bench Press 20x45, 6x95
wu Goodmornings 20x45, 14x65

Bench Press 5x145 (53X1), 3x195, 5x235 @8, 3x270 @10, 1x300 ties PR, 5x225 (53X1) @10
Pendlay Rows (01X1) 10x135, 10x205, 10x235, 2x8x245
T-Bar Rows (50X1) 10x+115, 2x8x+145
Incline Dumbell Press (L5) 3x17x45
Standing Dumbell French Press 6x85, 8x80, 6x80
Lateral Raises 3x12x20
Bent Over Laterals 3x12x20
Facepulls 2x20x40
Incline Hammer Curls 10x35

Long day and by the workout felt tired but managed to push through. The last rep of 270 was super hard and slow and the 300 harder than last time but probably to be expected given I've had trouble hitting all the top sets this cycle and just doing mostly minimal bench work. Meh, still managed to get it and may just re-run this same TM.

Rows felt good. T-Bars with slow eccentrics are the real burn--the real burn.

11-20 - 233.5

Squat 5/3/1 (TM 380)

wu Overhead Squat (53X1) 8x45
wu Goodmornings 20x45
wu HBB Squat (53X1) 5x135, 3x225

HBB Squat 5x285 @8, 3x325@8, 2x345 @9.5, 1x365 Ties PR @10
Anderson Squats L9 w 30 sec rests (5-X0) 3x1x225, 3x1x245, 3x1x265, 3x1x275

A rushed session, so no hip thrusts but happy to get in a little over the 360 goal single (since I accidentally did a couple of those last week) and a good bit more on the Anderson squats this time.

Ever watch Curb Your Enthusiam? The last episode I saw was Larry taking a Hot Yoga class and getting kicked out of it natch. I thought of you the whole time.

That's funny, I just started. I'm on ep 4 and it sure seems like everyone else is a jerk to that guy a lot.

11-21 - 231.6

Morning Easy Run (slight hills) 4 Miles in 40:19 (10:05 pace) 709 alleged calories

****ty overnight, ****ty morning, felt ****ty on the run after squats (not sore, just weak) about to spend a ****ty afternoon with my ****ty mother talking about ****ty options and the rest of my ****ty family while skimping on the ****ty therapy work wife and I should be doing. Other than that things are OK.

I know how difficult this ****ty time can be. I'm so sorry you're going through it. All you can do is be present and focused for your mom. Just being there really helps even though you may feel helpless. Take care.

Where are you and your needs in all that? Asking not to make you feel sorry for yourself but to realistically evaluate.

Well today I got a couple of workouts in and tomorrow is more of an off day. Mom going back to doctors tomorrow and we needed to look through her Medicare options during open enrollment with chemo in mind, and I prefer her to travel to elite facilities than settle for the local bumpkins. Just walk her through it and show her it's really not a big difference in cost and generally understanding how the billing would work for what they'll be telling her about. I could do it today on sleep deprivation or do it at 3 A.M. on the phone some random night in the middle of a panic attack. It's an investment in me time.

11-21

Overhead Press

wu Zottman Curls 12x35
wu NG Chinups Ladder 1->3

Z Press 20x45, 5x105, 4x125
Overhead Press 3x150, 2x160, 1x170 @9.5, 1x180f, 1x180 @10, 3x3x160
BTN Press/Push Press (clean grip) 2x(5x140/3x140)

Archer pullups x8
Archer pullups one-sided 2x5, 2x3, 6x1 (1-arm eccentric)
Dumbell Skullcrushers 8x55s
Close Grip Upright Rows 10x95

Ran out of time as all those sets took quite a while. It actually *is* kind of hard to press evenly right after supersetting a 1-arm eccentric as hard as you can. May try to make up those skullcrusher & upright row sets tomorrow if I'm not too sore and find an opening.

11-22 - 232.5

Morning Airdyne; ~60 whatchamacallits per minute for 25 minutes (500 alleged calories)

Close Grip Upright Rows 12x45, 8x95, 8x115, 2x8x125
Dumbell Skullcrushers 12x20s, 10x45s, 6x60s, 7x60s
Cable Rope pushdowns 2x12x80
25 lbs Front Plate Raises w Top Squeeze 2x30
25 Meter Prowler Pushes 2x+50, 2x+100, 2x+150, 2x+195, 2x+240

Close enough to getting it all in last night, and may still be able to make it to yoga tonight. Forgot about switching skullcrushers to the EZ Curl bar.

loco; please note in this workout I combined cardio and lifting with no dire heart or sudden onset illness results. Granted, not the major lifts.

I don't know what airdyne is.

I regret combining both, ended up spending over 5k to prove I just have weird Electro cardiograms.