Entry #745

Computer woes seem to be over after a simple cleaning of the air ducts. That's not to say that it took me the entirety of two weeks to figure this out, but when something arises, I seem to get in a momentum of neglect.

I went to Home Depot last week and got a board sawed off into five 2x11s to make a two-board and a three-board for board presses, held together with duct tape. I probably should have had the foresight to make the bottom layer elongated to act as a handle for potential spotters, but I always train alone anyways.

So today, I walk in the gym and Andrew is at the counter talking to the front desk kid, and he approaches me with, "You're late, dude. What're you doing today?"
"Board presses."
"Really? You've got the stuff with you?"
"Yup. In my bag, here."
"Can I see?"
So I show him what I'm sporting, and then we end up trying to explain to the guy working there what it's used for. Ah, how a simple piece of wood can bring like-minded people together. Gross, sentimentality. To be serious, though, I'm really keen on Andrew, whom I've known since 7th grade band, is training here now so I can have someone to nerd out with on powerlifting. He does Westside and pretty much knows all the tricks in the book, although he actually isn't particularly big, himself. The first time I saw him here after so many years and we were matching each other in conversation, though, I was impressed. He's actually invited me to compete in some upcoming competition, but details are too murky to get excited about for now.

Another thing I should mention is that I apparently herniated a disc the last time I overhead pressed. My nape has had fluctuating pain for weeks now. I remember the exact instant on the last set when I felt sudden pain, but it was minor enough for me to finish that and all ensuing workouts thereafter. More fortunately, according to one source "the majority of herniated discs will heal themselves in about six weeks and do not require surgery," but in any case, I can't spar until it subsides, lest I want to seriously escalate the problem to a potentially permanent state.

It was healing up nicely until last week's ME day from straining my neck on the floor. I went into this session erring on the side of caution, but came out with a superb performance to show for it.

ME upper

3-board press:
7x3
135, 185, 225, 275, 295, 315, 340 lbs.
> If I were my coach, I would punch myself for those first few sets. 275 was harder than 340 (literally, it was more of a struggle) for the fact that I was lax and almost sleepy under the bar. When I put my mind to keeping tense and made some Bill Kazmaier faces (wide, possessed-looking eyeballs and puckered lips) to psyche up, the bar felt like air.

Tate press:
3x8
75 lb. dumbbells

Bent-over flyes:
3x8
45 lb. dumbbells
Super-setted with-
Lying dumbbell rows (bilateral):
1x8
1x6
1x5
95 lb. dumbbells

Since I'd run out of time, I went to the track afterwards and did some extra lat work through wide-grip pull-ups, and then an ab circuit.