Coupla days behind. I did back and bicep on Tuesday. I am still not tracking food, but I feel like the few months of it improved my eye and for sure corrected some miscalculations I was making both in under and overvaluing some of my regular rotation meal portions. The Chili is a perfect example, I was not eating enough of that or the turkey taco bowls that we have several times a month, the cheese omelet I eat is lower cal than I guessed, but the milk I use in coffee or occasionally drink alone has way more sugar and calories than I gave it credit for.

My left shoulder aggravation that seems to have been started when I changed bar position without care a few weeks back and was continually mildly bothered by poor mattresses on vacay is clearing up quickly this week after a couple of gym sessions with full warm-ups. For the last 9 months to a year or so I added a few light sets of reverse dumbbell flys to add a little more external rotation and help balance my anterior delt dominance. I switched that to band face pulls about three months ago with a close grip on the band and pull apart after reading an article about that specific movement showing the most activation on both posterior and lateral delt on the self EMG test this one trainer performed. I threw two sets in the warm-up I do on all three upper-body days. I really like it and highly recommend as both pre and rehab.

Strength is lower on everything still, but I feel really good. I also stopped taking creatine while on vacay (started again this week) so that might be having a small effect as well.

Weight: 154

Back and Biceps

Warmed up on the Concept 2

Seated Cable Row (45-60 second rest)
135x20
205x5
205x5
205x5
205x7, 190x3, 175x4

wide grip pull-ups (45-60 second rest)
BWx6
x6
x6
x6
x6, red band assist x6

Straight arm pulldown (on inside cable stack which has an extra pully making it light)
100x14
120x10
120x9
120x9

Jettison bicep curl (found out this is the term for the variation I have been doing for the last while.)
40lb bar black band, three sets to three X failure

Spider/incline dumbbell curl super sets with fat grips
15lbs three sets

Standing hammer curls with fat grips
15lbsx4 sets

Leg day. Still tryna get my back flatter on the deads, with some success but just not as much as I would like. From watching the recordings I have come to the realization that I have a pretty clear pelvic tilt. My prelim research on what that is about and what to do about it is mixed...some saying it is no big deal and common for lifters/athletes, some saying it should be addressed through specific movements. It really becomes pronounced at lockout and intuitively it doesn't seem like a good thing to be that out of alignment. I plan to do more research on it and maybe try some corrective things as if I don't have enough to do in the gym. I really want to start yoga again as well. Did a shorter, ease back into session again, but I think I am going to go back to the previous volume next week. I feel pretty good.

Weight 155

Deadlifts
65x10
155x5
235x5
235x5
235x5

KB Goblet Squats
22kgx10
22kgx10
36kgx7

Donkey seated calf raise (30 second rest)
100x10
100x10
100x10
100x8
100x10

Leg extension
bilateral three sets
unilateral 2 rep clusters one set

Continuing to lose gains from the hiatus. Ah well.

Weight 154

Shoulder/Tricep

Standing OHP (1 minute rest)
45x20
45x15
95x10
135x5 (felt a little tenderness in the left shoulder so backed off)
95x10
95x8
95x7,3

30-degree incline close, neutral grip dumbbell bench (1 minute rest)
50x15
60x10
60x7
50x8,3

30-degree incline dumbbell skull crusher (1 minute rest)
20x10
20x8
long additional (2-3 minute) gap jawing with a fellow trainer here
20x10
20x8

Reverse-grip tricep pushdown superset with BW dips and hanging leg raises
4 sets

Evoken style lateral cable raise
1 set--then the articulated station opened so grabbed it

Kneeling reverse cable fly
2 sets high to low, 2 sets low to high

Standing cable lateral raise
3 sets

prison push-ups to front raise with 10lb ball
ladder to 10

Legs. I was planning on going for a heavier squat day as a first move but the racks were backed up, so I started with deadlifts again. I decided to add some weight to the bar and continue to work on my form at the same time instead of expecting some perfection with a light working weight before I move on. I think it was the right choice as not only did my form not seem to suffer at the moderate weight I still made incremental progress while enjoying getting closer to the kind of effort that makes you feel alive. My wife is continuing to progress faster than me like she does in everything else. She did a triple for 135 yesterday after 5x115 when her previous heaviest was 95lbs. She weighs right around a buck right now.

Stuck with goblet squats for the second movement as the racks were still all in use when we finished up with deads.

I bought some gin and tequila so I have been back to drinking a few times a week. I may cut that **** out soon, but I may keep it up for a while. Between that and the smoke from the wildfires blocking out the sun and polluting the air quality feel lethargic and ****tier than usual.

Weight 154

Deadlifts
65x20
65x20
95x15
185x10
235x5
275x5
275x7

Goblet Squat
40kgx10
40kgx10
40kgx8
40kgx8

seated donkey calf raise
5 sets

unilateral leg extension
4 sets

DL vids?

I only have the second to last set saved because I was wasn't planning to upload them and deleted them as I went. I didn't record my AMRAP final set either but my wife said it looked better than this one.

I also tried using a single strap instead of doing mix grip and like it better. I plan to switch off to give each hand grip work, but I prefer overhand to mix a lot and find I get set up better using it. I'm too wee to get a good hook grip on the bar so it rolls out. I figure using one strap and switching off is a good compromise.

I was planning on doing back and biceps today but my lats are still sore from deadlifts, more than they really have ever been in my memory. I assume this indicates improved engagement. I did chest instead.

Mrs.Truant is getting stronger and stronger. I am really looking forward to an a-ha moment where she takes the reigns on her own training instead of following my lead so much. I have been encouraging her to break off from me on pressing days as she really doesn't need the volume. She wants to be strong, particularly because she is tiny, but she doesn't enjoy three variations of pressing movements and three fly movements chasing gains. I do, and luckily I don't have the nipple chafing concerns of jogging fanatics that bigger pecs bring up so I can chase the feminine, iconic superhero look that nobody likes except me.

Weight 154
30-degree Incline DB BP (60 second rest)
30x20
30x16
90x7
80x6
70x6,2
70x4 drop to 50x4,3

Flat DB BP (60 second)
95x5
80x7
70x5,4,2

Decline hammer strength (60 second rest, slow negatives)
115sx6
155x6
115x6
70x9,5

Standing cable flys low, high medium height
3 sets each

Johnny did you come to any conclusion about moving to Canada? Does your wife like it there?

Nah, no conclusion yet except we are more mentally prepared to do it after the trip and know we would be fine and make a good life there. There will probably be some catalyst that makes it happen and we still hold out some hope things change here enough we don’t feel the need to do it, at least not before we are ready.

That makes sense.

Well, news flash--buying a bunch of booze and bar tools is conducive to drinking more. I got a muddler and a zester to go with my gin and tequila so I have been making jalapeno margaritas and lemon rosemary G&Ts. It's already doubling on me.

That, staying up late for no reason, and the ****ty air quality with the smoke has got me feeling pretty unmotivated and my whole family grumpy. It is hot, but not sunny. I am not hitting the pool at all, I have not been swimming since the vacation. Kids are starting school this week which gives me flashbacks of end of summer anxiety from my childhood. I am not about this early august bull****. After labor day or gtfo. They are excited tho, which is good.

Anyway, all of this brings me to yesterday afternoon when I was on the fence about hitting my fourth day for the week or making some excuse as to why three would be okay and sitting around instead. I pulled a loco and did the damn thing, and I got to say at the halfway mark of the workout it was the best I felt all week. I toasted loco with my pepper margarita last evening.

Back/bicep

Wide grip Pull-ups (60 second rest first sets, 90 last 2 sets)

BW+35lbsx5x4
+35x5, drop to bw onlyx6, red bandx6

Seated cable row (60 seconds)
205x5
205x5
190x5
205x5, 175x6, 140x6

Straight arm pulldown superset with lat pulldown leaning back (30 rest between supersets)
4 sets

Jettison Curls (60 seconds)
50lbs various reps

Incline/spider curl supersets (60 seconds)
15lbs w fat grips x 3 sets

hammer curls w fat grips (60 seconds)
15lbs x10x3

The gym was a god damned zoo today. Crowded, but worse than there were several morons hoarding 2 or 3 single dumbbells of different weights each for their ****ty circuits, and other *******s who left dumbbells all over the gym. I found popular sizes in the opposite corner on different floors from the rack. I just don't get that ****. If you are going to be ridic enough to go hide in some corner with weights you should at least put them back when you are done. It was worse for my wife because it looked like a bomb went off at the small end of the rack. W still got a pretty good workout with a few mods.

weight 156

Shoulder/triceps
OHP (60 seconds)
45x20
45x10
95x10
135x3 (****ing boooooo!)
115x6
115x5
115x4, drop to bar only for a gang more

Flat bench close grip DB press (60 seconds)
75x10
75x7
65x7

Got an incline bench at this point set at 45 degrees
65x4 drop to 50x4
50x8

45-degree Incline DB skull crushers (60 seconds)
25x10
25x9
Switch to flat
25x7
25x6,2

Reverse grip tricep pulldown/bw dip/toe to bar (less than 30-second rest between super-sets)
50x10/bwx22/10
50x6,40x5/bwx14/10
40x8/bwx12/7
40x8 (someone snagged the dip station)

Gravity dip machine
12platesx10

standing reverse cable fly (60 seconds)
4 sets

Lateral cable raises (60s)
4 sets

Prison push-ups with the 20lb medicine ball to front raise
ladder to 10

Rude!

So whatever the reason(s), I'm all outta whack. I suddenly gained a few lbs or I'm retaining water like crazy, My skin broke out, I feel weaker in the gym, lack of fitness motivation, kinda grumpy (more than usual, or maybe just the usual)...I think I may be having sympathy symptoms with my wife's cycle.

Anyway, could be hormones or smoke inhalation. Could be stress from work which is at high but that is standard nowadays. Could be booze. Could be carb increase. Could be birthday carrot cake, and yes it was my birthday this week and no I am not fishing for birthday wishes. Regardless, I am fighting through it.

Good stuff: the kids are loving being back at school. They are both in great moods and are behaving better than usual. I think the time off was getting them stir crazy. Even though I am feeling blah about workouts this week and for sure got softer, I am getting random bro love at the gym the last few workouts which is embarrassing and awkward at the time but has a residual ego boost that lasts for days. BP still in good range. Joints still feeling good, with the exception of the below workout session report which is likely unrelated. And...um...every day above ground is a great day and all that ****.

I went in to do legs yesterday not feeling it and dragging my ass. My loose plan has been to switch off either BB squats or DL as the primary move for the workout and follow up with RDLs on squat day and goblet squats on DL day. This plan has been thwarted the last two workouts because all the racks were occupied upon arrival so I have only been doing DLs first the last three weeks, which I like better for a number of reasons. Well, yesterday the racks were open so I had no excuse not to do squats first. I started with a gang of warm-ups with a plan to pyramid up to 3x5 at 205 but holy **** if 185 did not feel heavy as ****. I realized at that moment that I have not done any BB squats since before vacation which is a long time. So whatever, checked my ego and decided to do my working sets at 185 and got 2x5 done when my knee started to hurt a little. I have never had knee issues before, squatting or in any other capacity, and it was not something I cared to test out too much, so I dropped to 135 and planned to do two sets of AMRAP to finish up. When the lower weight did not help the knee pain I aborted after a few reps and went over to DLs.

I decided, out of frustration, that I was going to crush the DLs willfully ignoring that I had already expended energy on squats. I am somewhat satisfied with the output, but my concentration was off and my form was spotty AF. I am not posting the vids, they are not worth comment. I did get good reps when I was focused, and bad ones when I was not. Pretty clear what needs to happen. I really like the single strap overhand grip thing I am doing now. I hate mix grip and don't want to learn to like it and feel like only using one strap and alternating completely addresses bar roll but allows a more symmetrical setup and some grip work with the unstrapped hand. I have no issue at all with grip beyond the roll of the bar, and I am not planning on competing ever, so **** it, na'mean? I am still working on how to set up while strapped.

Anyway, the workout was not 100% satisfactory but I am really glad I did it. I feel it today and like the reminder that I am alive.

Weight 157

Legs
BB Squats
45x20
45x25
95x12
135x10
185x5
185x5
135x4

DL
65x?
95x?
135x?
185x5
275X5
275x5
275x3

Donkey calf raise
100x10-12x5

Unlucky if you don't want birthday good wishes. Happy happy belated birthday Just as a heads up, it's probably best if you don't tell your wife you're experiencing sympathy symptoms with her cycle. However if you do choose to go down this very brave route please fill us all in

Ha! I did tell my wife and she agreed. I can and do piss her off plenty, but that subject is not a landmine. Now, if I raise an eyebrow when she is driving I had better be ready to cover up.

ETA, and ty for the bday wishes.

Lotta outside forces making it so, but I am on an emotional roller coaster lately and really need the gym to be my rock in the river again. Yesterday was a bit better for motivation but I'm getting impatient waiting for those great, mind cleansing sessions I was enjoying regularly.

Weight 158 (!)
Chest

30-degree Incline DB BP (60-90 second)
30x20
30x15
95x4
85x7
75x7,1
65x8,3

Flat DB BP (60s)
95x4
85x8
65x9,5

Pec Deck (60s)
130x10x4

Decline Hammer Strength (60s)
115sx10
115x7
115x4, 90x4

Gravity ab thingy (45s)
full stackx14
fsx11
fsx8

I found this pic on the wall in a breakfast place on my trip. It is from the archives of the City of Victoria. The Scotch Tug of War team pictured here is obv all on gear, but they still inspired me to go mustache again.

Still sliding into the abyss. It is pretty frustrating to have a couple of pops, a little less discipline on the macros, and a single cream cheese frosted cake in the fridge make such a big difference. It's pretty crazy how quickly discipline can erode once you get int he habit of saying **** it. I bought beer for the first time in a while. Ate candy as described below. got off the sardine breakfast and changed to bready-ass English muffins and all kinds of ill ****. Pulling back tho.

I had the kids solo for the weekend because Mrs.Truant went on a girl's trip to So Cal with her college buddies. We went to the movies, I finally got into the swimming pool and did a gang of yard work that had accumulated since before we went on our trip. Productive and all. I surprised the **** out of the kids by letting them get both candy and popcorn at the movies and a churro and agua fresca with their lunch. Not going to make a habit of it.

Weight-158--gross

Workout yesterday was decent even though there were a couple of interludes that interrupted me. I sliced my thumb on the carabiner attachment when changing handles on the pull-down and started leaking blood like crazy and had to go clean it and get a freaking bandaid. That took over 5 minutes. There was also a strange flow of the crowd that required different adjustments than usual. All three racks were being used by people pulling deadlift in front of them when I got there hoping to do OHP. I have never seen this before, especially since the deadlift platform and another open area where people do DLs were both available with bars. They were not doing rack pulls, just DLs and RDLs. Very weird. I really don't like people very much. Switched to standing and seated DB presses which felt good.

Shoulders/tris
Standing DB OHP (60-90 second rest)
30sx20
30x15
65x7
55x7
(an adjustable bench opened and I wanted it for close grip next so I grabbed it and switched to seated)
45x9
45x8,3,3,2

Close Grip DB BP
45 degree
65x8
30 degree
65x7
Flat
65x9
65x7,3

Reverse standing cable fly
4 sets various angles

Lateral cable raise
4 sets

weighted dips/Reverse grip tricep pull down SS (15 between moves, 30 between sets)
+45x18/50x10
+45x14/50x8
+45x9/50x4,40x4
+45x7, bwx8/40x7,3

prison push-ups to front raise with the 20lb ball which felt heavy af. Had to pause in the 9th set and take a long break before the 10th
Ladder to 10

Forgot that I also did four sets of dumbbell skull crushers after the close grip. Flat, 30 and 40 degree incline.

25x8
20x8
20x8
20x7

On the plus side at least now I am done thinking you're some sort of sardine eating robot alien mix! It will get better and you are definitely not gross It's funny I feel quite upset when I hear people talk badly about themselves but it's something I do myself. I'm really trying to get out of this habit and strongly encourage others to do the same, regardless of your size.

Dodger,
Damn it!

Rexx,

Thanks. I don't really think I am gross because of the weight, it is not a mirror thing at all, but I do feel gross a bit physically. Those couple of pounds and the minor diet changes make a real difference how I feel physically. I suspect there is something else going on as well, it may just be the increased alcohol which frankly is still low to very moderate. It could be the reduced tolerance to ****ty carbs and sugar making me feel it more than normal.

You do bring up a good point though, which is saying **** like gross about my weight in even a semi-serious way is probably only negative EV. I'd be pretty concerned if my kids started saying things like that, especially when we are talking about slipping from lean to just very fit. The fact is I don't feel as good when I eat this way, but I resent that the effort I have put in makes it harder to enjoy an occasional cheat or relaxing of discipline.

TLDR;Waah, ****ing waah.

JT,

Same for me, pretty much. Total abstinence from the stuff I know I shouldn't eat (often) makes me feel better. Anything but total adherence, especially alcohol, leads to rapid backsliding. This is my life now.

Monte,

Kinda miss being happy and fat. Miss smoking. Miss drugs. My only vice I am allowed now is lifting heavier than I should based on my form. So snap city, see ya soon!

With that, here is my gym report for yesterday.

Legs and stuff. The DL platform was pen when we got there which is great because three people came and asked me when we would be done from my first warm-up set on. I offered to let the first two work in with me and wifey, but only had one set left when the last guy asked and I didn't think he would want to go through stripping and adding aaallllll the plates I had stacked up with my superhuman ant strength. The fun thing is after I was done he added 90lbs to my working weight for his very first set pulling sumo. Whatever, bro.

I lost count on my second working set and did 6 instead of five reps. My last set I stopped at four, and I think it was the best reps I have done with any real weight, better than my previous sets at least. I'd love any opinions on that and hopefully some more tips on what the **** I can do besides simply straighten my back more which is basically my entire focus in life at the moment of lift-off. Give me the magic cue that will set me up perfectly, please and TYIA.

Weight-156.5

DL
65x?
65x?
95x?
135x?
205x5
295x5
295x6

295x4

Calf raise seated donkey
110x6 sets

Goblet squat
40kgx10
40x8
40x6

Ugh. Just came in to update yesterday's workout and rewatched my dl vids from Tuesday and man they look uglier when not in the context of incremental improvements in real time. Way less happy with them than I was. I found a few vids on youtube, one on a bracing set up and one on bringing up glute weakness which the guy says is sometimes to blame for back rounding more than a weak back., theory being while it is true that the back is not keeping the load the real issue is too much of the load is being transferred there in the first place by the weak glutes.

Anyway, I am excited to try the bracing that he demos next time and see if it helps. I will also do some glute bridges in my warm up to fire up the ol' ass.

So yesterday was chest and pretty fun. Some of my strength is creeping back. I decided to up my rest periods a little and take lower jumps down in working weight, but I get super antsy waiting longer than 60 seconds between sets. 90 was about all I could tolerate and the extra 30 seconds didn't have much effect, though my overconfidence brought me to actual failure on a few sets which I kinda like sometimes. I kept pushing a bit on other sets to hit a real RPE10 or failure. I used to go to failure or beyond every working set back in the day when we was only kids.

Weight-156.5

Chest
Incline DB BP (90s rest)
30x15
30x12
90x7
90x4 (thought I would get at least 5 here and failed on the 5th)
80x6 (thought I would get 7 and failed on the 7th)
70x6,3,2 (failed on the last one again)

Flat DB BP (90s rest)
100x4 (failed on fifth)
85x8
75x7
75x5,2

hammer strength decline press (60s slow negative)
125sx7
90x10
90x9
90x7

Cable fly (60s rest)
3 sets each low, high and medium arm setting