BenchTuesday

Clarity - That's what it takes to get a good spotter. My instructions were, and I quote, "I just need a lift off, then you're just there for safety. If you touch the bar, my rep doesn't count so only help if I am dropping it. I'll tell you if I need help."

Guy was great. I pushed through 5 reps, was grinding on my 6th for too long and couldn't lock out, but my spotter waited til I called for help. Well done young man. 


Bench
205# x 3
235# x 3
265# x 5

Pullups
4 x 2,2,1,1

Dips
3 x 11, 10, 8

Mobility:
Couch stretch. hammies

Conditioning: 
20/10 Intervals on the treadmill. 8 Minutes

Diet:
Continue to eat cleanish, but definitely eating better and less than I was. 

Monday Swim

Since my soon is at basketball tonight I'm taking advantage of the proximity of practice to my gym to take on a quick swim. Its my first in ages, and I felt pretty buoyant. Maybe it was the salt water pool, or maybe my fatness to swoleness radio is off.

Not really worried tho, working on it.

Overall pretty enjoyable. After a short (15 minute) swim I hit the hot tub and spent ten minutes getting a middle aged investment advisor to check out MobilityWOD and take responsibility for his "right, knotty" legs. I might have freaked him out when I jumped out to show him the couch stretch, but hopefully I planted the seed.

Either way I'm looking forward to basketball season.

Monday Squats

Monday and I feel great! Slow start because of course I didn't sleep enough last night and this "Frankenstorm" had everyone driving at rickshaw pace. Traffic and late start means my morning workout gets delayed to lunch and it's a crap shoot as to whether I will make it or get called into a meeting. Obviously not an ideal situation. 

Luckily today I got to train:

LBBS
265# x 3 
300# x 3
335# x 6

Good Mornings
115# 3x12

Dumbbell Curls for the Girl
40# x 10
50# x 6 (Bit off a bit much, stopped when I started dropping my shoulder to get under it.)
40# x 8

Mobility 
Couch stretch feels so good now. 

Conditioning: 
Skipped. Mondays are short workouts, especially at lunch. 

Diet: Getting back on track after the weekend. I was full this morning from all the overeating so I pretty much skipped breakfast, just Greek yoghurt and protein instead of a full meal. Lunch was a little fatty, ground beef with homemade gravy, sweet potatoes and broccoli. I'll get some fresh veggies in with my snack. 

Supplements: 

• Multivitamin: One a Day Men; AM
• Glucosamine: Usana Procosa II; x2 AM & PM
• Omega 3's: Webber Naturals 900mg Omega 3 softgel; x1 AM & PM
• Carnitine & Leucine: Revolution Nutrition Carnitine Cooler; 1 scoop AM & PM
• Pre-workout: Rivalus Powder Burn; 2 scoops before the gym
• Post Workout: Rivalus Post Rx; 2 scoops after the gym
• Protein: Rivalus Promasil; 1 scoop for breakfast

If this seems like a lot, I'll explain later. 

Garbage

Yo I was garbage on the weekend. Ate like garbage, slept like garbage, lifted nothing. 

However, I made my attempt at the 10 minute squat. Learned a lot about what I have to look at next. This week I'll be researching and working the following issues:

• My toes were pointed firmly at 30 degrees, when I would stand and turn them, they would turn back out. 
• The outside of my shins (tibialus anterior) were so sore afterwards. 

Morning workout delayed because of rain and slow commuting traffic. Lunch workout engaged in 29 minutes. 

Final note, I realised I was missing my supplementation on my log, so starting today I'll list everything I'm taking. Post about supps TK.

Friday, Friday

I lost it on a trainer at my gym this week. He was on the leg press and I shouted, "When you train people don't you tell them they have to put their weights away?!"

He laughed it off and I joined him but seriously, people need to take care of this. \

My gym needs a culture change and it starts with the staff. LA Fitness Burlington has a (cheesy) announcement every hour asking the staff and members to put away some equipment. Neither staff nor members have to bear the brunt of 100% of the cleanup, and everyone takes part. 

My LA Fitness doesn't get this, and every day I have to put away or search for weights at every step of the way. 

Press
115# x 5
135# x 5
155# x 5

(You'll notice my weights aren't exactly based on the calculation against Base weight. I adjust to make my time in the Land of the Lost Weights easier. There are four 2# plates in my gym and you can never find them.)

Pull-ups
4 x 3,2,1,1

Curls (easy bar)
90# 3 x 8

Push-press
185# 3x3


Conditioning: 
I wouldn't call it conditioning. I rode a stationary bike for 15 minutes at a leisurely pace and read Twitter on my tablet. Lame, I know. 



Mobility
COUCH STRETCH! It feels really great. 
Foam rolling the hell out of my legs and upper back tonight. 
10 Minute Squat Test

Diet:

Ate well all week. More good food, more butter, more breakfast. Today I ploughed into a cheat burrito for lunch (Thank you Mucho Burrito, it was incredible as always). 

Weight: 262.5# (down 3.5lbs this week) Amazing what a proper diet can do for you. 

Pull it

I have decided I need better grip strength. I prefer the double overhand grip when dead lifting, but on my third work set I usually have to change to a mixed grip after 3 reps. Hence the farmer's walk today. 

I've since read I shouldn't have done the farmer's walk on dead lift day. Still going to include once a week. 

Deadlift
265# x 5
315# x 5
350# x 5

Pendlay Rows
225# 3x5

Farmer's Walk
100# dumbbells, one lap around the weight room (about 50 ft) x 2
One drop on each walk: first walk dropped about 90% of the way, second walk about 75% of the way. 

Mobility: 
Look I'm trying to do a Couch Stretch every day, OK? 

Conditioning: 
Not today bro.

Diet:
Still logging and eating well. 

Does two days make you consistent?

Hey I'm logging a second day in a row. 

How do you teach a-holes at the gym how to spot?

On my last 1+ Week 3 set I was pushing 365#. I clearly said, "I just need a lift off, then don't touch it unless I drop the bar on my chest." Instead of letting me grind out my fifth rep the bro spotting me grabbed the bar the instant I struggled, robbing me of a rep. 

Today a co-worker spotted me. He's a little older and more intelligent and respected the grind. Great spot Mike. 

Bench
190# x 5
225# x 5
250# x 5

Pullups
5 x 2,1,1,1,1

Dips
3 x 16, 8, 7

Mobility:
Couch stretch. I gotta get more creative. 

Conditioning: 
Tabata Rowing Machine

Diet:
Continue to eat cleanish, but definitely eating better and less than I was. 

Restart

Alright it's time to get this log back on track.

It's Day one of my "fifth" 5-3-1 cycle. I put fifth in quotes because I've actally been doing a bastardized LP version. Week 1 was 3x5 at 85% of Base, Week 2 was 3x3 at 90% of Base, then Week 3&4 were normal 531 programming. 

I went with the hybrid because the program suggests you start slow, but I didn't feel like I was doing enough work at the end of the three work sets. It worked for a while but I've been feeling like I'm not lifting close enough to my max; in my previous cycles I've been hitting 5+ reps in my 1+ sets in the third week. 

In order to sort this out and stop with the Frankenstein programming this I made a jump in my 1RM  used to calculate my Base. Instead of 5#/10# to Bench&Press/Squat & Deadlift I added 15#/30#. 

So far the effect has been good. Today's sets didn't feel like I was overdoing it, but I felt like I was doing a more appropriate amount of work. We'll see how this progresses throughout this cycle. 

LBBS
255# x 5 
295# x 5
315# x 6

Good Mornings
95# 3x12

Mobility 
Couch stretches and tack & floss my hammies. 

Conditioning: 
Skipped.

Diet: Eating clean this week and logging every bite. Noticed my usual breakfast of a protein scoop in milk and veggies is a paltry 250-300 calories. Gonna have to eat more breakfast.