Entry #720

Earlier, I went to the track, but the gate was locked, so I came back and did hill sprints. They felt like death. Good sign, I say.

Entry #719

I saved the power rack. I've been leaving the weights in it unracked each time because nobody uses it. Apparently, someone took notice that it was seeing action, and it's now in a permanent spot, sans "For Sale" sign.

We did it, my Love.



If I was a wuss, I would do one of those stupid emoticon hearts.

Also, they brought in some kettleballs. They don't really offer much that you can't get from dumbbells, but they look interesting to try.

For this week, I'm replacing ME with a dynamic day in the interest of bringing myself back up after taking a week off.

DE upper

Speed bench + bands:
10 x 3 185 lbs.
> The fastest I've done. I'm striving very much for overcompensation after reading some EliteFTS articles.

Barbell skullcrushers:
4 x 8 145 lbs.

Lateral raises:
3 x 8 50 lb. dumbbells

JS rows:
4 x 8 215 lbs.

Alternating dumbbell curls:
3 x 12 50 lb. dumbbells

My legs still hurt from Sunday's cramps, and the bridge of my nose is a little sore from getting hit. Also, I'm working with a good keyboard, finally.

Officially endorsed by Satan.

Entry #718

Figures I have a broken keyboard on my best training day of the year. Will try to be as thorough as possible without driving myself mad from editing every word error.

Met up with George and tried to get into the gym. He's not a member so it was a no-go. We got him in last time on a free trial thing, but the same lady was working today and she recognized him. Should have worn a disguise. Went to the tennis courts instead. Took turns having one man box, the other evade. Allowed countering. Went pretty typical.

George expressed frustration at not being familiar enough with boxing, so we sparred using whatever we wanted to, with just kicks. He wanted to stay on a straight line, TKD style I guess, but I told him I move laterally a lot, so he shrugged and said okay. I quite enjoyed doing this. I took the Muay Thai stance I learned at AKA and continually hit him with shin kicks. A couple of times I nearly hit him in the groin, so must watch out for that. Make a clear mental distinction before hitting: high or low. Not middle.

Made an attempt to grab one of his kicks and he said they don't do that in TKD. I told him I'll do it if I find a really obvious opportunity for it. To be honest, I was getting annoyed by all these arbitrary settings, but whatever. He landed good shots, which I blocked. Much of time they missed from me simply moving to the side.

Eventually he noted that the shin kicks were starting to bother him. We stopped by that time. I, myself, took several breathers to ease out cramping in my legs. I felt pretty good about it, but he said it wasn't very productive because of how different our styles are. We had a small exchange on this.

Afterwards, we went  on about a four-mile run to the park and back. I warned him that my ankles have been hurting on just a quarter of that distance because of my weight, and that I've mostly been doing HIIT to condition them. He said it's fine, we can stop when they do. So we started. I adopted a slower pace than him from the start to conserve my stamina, so he was getting a bit ahead of me, but slow and steady, I reasoned. Turned out to be a good idea. I made it all the way to our destination, the park dam. Didn't expect to make it half that far. Ankles felt perfect and I wasn't out of breath at any point. Biggest problem was cramping in my...quads? Weird. I don't usually cramp just from running, and when I do it's in my calves. It came within the first ten minutes, but I ignored it and it went away. On the way back, though, I stopped to go to the bathroom and the pain was so bad I could barely walk. I fought through it again. George remarked that he had a cramp, too. We walked up the hill away from the park and then jogged back to my place. Jogging was okay, but walking was nearly impossible for some reason.

I block too much with my forearms:

Entry #718

Keyboard is broken. Cannot type efficiently. That first sentence came out "Keyvb5oard is vb5rokemn6." So I have to edit everything. Entries will be brief and to the point until new keyboard arrives in mail.

Did not lift this week. I hate Christmas. Have been doing HIIT regularly. Sparring George tomorrow.

Entry #717

Today was abysmal. I attempted to do ME on the new bench for the first time. Its locks are set too low, so one either has to pin press the barbell to get it set up, or drag it off and let it drop down as it is, at that height. The problem with the former is obvious. I thought I could get away with the latter, but going up was incredibly slow. Cutting the down portion essentially negates any role the stretch reflex plays in the eccentric/concentric transfer, so performance suffers (interestingly, this may prove to be a good thing for DE).

This, if I may be so crass, pissed the fuck out of me. I decided to move everything to the off-limits room that's filled with construction equipment so I could bench in the power rack, instead. Ah, my old friend. There you stand in the darkness, presiding over the rubble, neglected but ever vigilant. They are not worth the steel of your very frame. There was a dusty paper sign face down on the floor next to it. I grabbed it and read, "This machine for sale. See front desk." How shameful. How sad. I set the pins up and went back to the previous room to drag a bench over, wondering why I hadn't just done this from the start. I was at 295 on the bar and working up to doing 325x3. That didn't happen. The safety bars were set too high, so on the second rep the barbell clanged sharply against the lock, which threw me off balance and made me fail. At about that time, I noticed it was nearing closing time, so I just left it at that.

It's worth the consideration of actually taking up their offer and buying it. I'm confident it would fit under my patio if I axed the punching bag. Then, I could use the money that was going to this pathetic place for a boxing gym. Plus, there are a few remaining iron plates that I snuck out before renovations started and they replaced everything with the pussy rubber ones. They probably don't want those, so maybe I could get a deal on some 45s and a bar. I'm liking this idea - a lot.

Entry #716

Well, today ruled. George and I went hiking up at Castle Rock. It got dark early, so I kept running into things and slipping off ledges. I'm pretty sure I almost killed myself on more instances than one, which is the mark of a worthwhile day. We didn't run into any wolverines or anything, but we did get fined by the ranger when we emerged for staying past dark. I had to restrain myself from saying "Awesome" when he was lecturing us on how people have died here. What a wuss. Dying builds character.

Entry #715

I weighed in at 248 today, although I had clothes on and a meal in my stomach from an hour earlier.

DE lower

Speed front squats:
10 x 2   225 lbs.

Good mornings:
3 x 8     225 lbs.

Standing band crunches:
3 x 8

Crush gripper

Entry #714

These fools running my gym almost got to me last week, but I'm feeling more level-headed now. Basically, renovations here mean that almost everything useful is getting dumped.

Both bench press benches are gone (two was already a disproportionate number compared to their rate of usage). The new one that's replaced them is horrible. The pins are set far too low, so you have to pin press the weight to get it set up.
Solution: bench in the power rack.

The power rack is sitting alone and untended to in the off-limits room, which I use anyways. Who knows how much longer it'll stay.
Solution: don't let any construction worker near it.

They got rid of the reverse hyperextension station.
Solution: glute ham raises on one of the many leg curl machines.

Rusty, Soviet-era iron plates have been replaced by wafer-thin rubber ones.
Solution: murder.

ME upper

Floor press:
6 x 3     135, 185, 225, 275, 310, 330 lbs.

Overhead EZ bar extensions:
3 x 8     105 lbs.
Super-setted with:
Bilateral dumbbell curls:
3 x 8     45 lb. dumbbells
> Weights were extremely light in consideration of time.

Bent-over lateral raises:
2 x 16   45 lb. dumbbells

The gym closed at this point, so I went over to the track for pull-ups and ab work.

Entry #713

DE lower

Speed front squats:
10 x 2   225 lbs.

Good mornings:
3 x 8     225 lbs.

Janda sit-ups:
3 x 8

Crush gripper

Entry #712

ME upper

Floor press:
6 x 5     135, 185, 225, 275, 295, 310 lbs.
> Form was superb.

Overhead EZ bar extensions:
1 x 10   85 lbs.
2 x 8     95 lbs.
Super-setted with:
Bilateral dumbbell curls:
1 x 12   45 lb. dumbbells
2 x 10   45 lb. dumbbells
> Weights were extremely light in consideration of time.

Bent-over lateral raises:
2 x 16   45 lb. dumbbells

The gym closed at this point, so I went over to the track for pull-ups and ab work.

Entry #711

George and I did some drills on Saturday. After some persuading, I managed to get him into my gym, which gave access to a bounty of useful equipment. We alternated between me holding the TKD pads he brought for him, and him holding up the boxing mitts for my turn.