Deadlifts

Up to 500 x 3, 10 shrugs on last rep

405 x 10 (half touch-n-go), 10 shrugs on last set

* After not pulling heavy for several weeks and losing weight from COVID AND feeling rundown just yesterday when all upper-body work felt like a million pounds this was shockingly light. Those reverse hyper leg curls did a great job keeping my hamstrings strong while sub-100%.

SSB front squats super-set with SSB back squats

150 x 10

150 x 10

* I'm squatting frequently during my first real week back and this was enough. Looking forward to going back up in the 200s again soon.

Reverse hyper leg extensions

6 plates x 30

35 lb dumbbell curls superset with band lateral curls for 5 sets

Finances are dead tight as I look for another job and got no sick pay while I was out for 2 weeks but might do something for Canada Day tomorrow by packing food I have at home and going to the beach. There are still ways to live.

Axle clean once and press

130 x 10, 10, 7

-

Super-set with neutral grip chin-ups

10, 10, 10

* Had to push-press the final rep to get 7. 3 minutes rest between each set. 

Dips

10, 10

50 x 10, 11, 10

-

Weighted dips were super-set with wide-grip chin-ups

10, 12, 12

Another early night but I got this knocked earlier than yesterday and in an hour. Looking to bring that time down for this amount of volume, but knowing me I'll keep the time the same and just do more.

 Woke-up for my first early shift in several weeks and had time to hit 50 push-ups and 40 squats before heading to work. Downed a leftover weightgainer shake from last night with some coffee and a multivitamin right after for an instant breakfast.

Hectic and busy day yesterday. Had the plan to train after a job interview and before going to work, but the interview (which went very well) lasted 2 hours. No matter, I made time to lift in the evening after work and before bed.

Yukon squats
320 x 16

Reverse hyper leg curls
6 plates x 30

Ab wheel slow rollouts
5

Reverse crunches, ab swivels

It's humbling to not be able to rep out 20+ anymore on those squats, but I'm crawling back up. 2 better than last week.

Since this was just an hour and a half before bedtime and my sleeping schedule has been 2 or 3 hours later than the work-week during my sick time, I popped an edible right after to ensure falling asleep early. Ended up getting a good night of rest. I crushed this day.

Swiss bar bench press

260 x 5

225 x 8, 6 -> drop-down to 205x4

205 x 7, 11

-

Super-set with dumbbell rows

115 x 8, 10, 10, 10, 10

Skullcrushers

45 x 20, 20

-

Super-set with various curls

The top set, while 5 lbs better than last time, was harder than I figured it'd be. Definitely have strength to reclaim but I must also note my cough is preventing me from breathing deep on my sets. When I consciously made an effort to breathe on the 225, I got 8 easier than I expected while last week I grinded out 6. 

Dips 

10, 10

50 x 10

75 x 10

90 x 10, 9

-

Super-set with chin-ups

10, 10, 10, 10, 12, 12

Bradford press

65 x 8, 8

-

Super-set with kb lateral raises

15s x 10, 10

Axle curls

40 lbs x 50

Dips x 20

Major coughing attack near the end of this, almost had to shut it down to go rest. Always bring cough drops out to the gym.

Afterwards a cough drop, hot water, hot bone broth, and sitting in the bathroom with a hot bath steaming everything brought it down while I sipped my protein shake.

Yukon squats
320 x 14

First squat session with COVID. Happy with this considering I'm ill. Like usual, my hacking cough is suppressed during the actual exercise, which is just fucking cool, but after this set it really attacked me for a good 10 minutes. Had to sit down and nurse some hot water and a cough drop before I could continue with hamstrings.

Chose the Terminator theme because I can only be slowed, but not stopped.

Good mornings
140 x 15

Reverse hyper leg curls
6 plates x 20

Cough has really sucked today. Lame that it was appearing to get better.

 Swiss bar bench
Up to 255 x 5
225 x 6
205 x 8, 8, 10
-
Super-set with dumbbell rows
115 x 8, 8, 8, 8, 10

Lateral raises
15s x 12

Dumbbell curls
35s x 15
50s x 8

Band pressdowns
30

Most substantive workout with COVID yet. Looking lots smaller now. It's a challenge to eat with this cough but weightgainer is a massive help. Definitely made the right call ordering it.

Strength is still there. It was quite an experience to be hacking my lungs out under the bench, taking a moment, and then powering through some heavy bench sets. Felt very invigorating. The plague cannot snuff out this power.

Was coughing a ton during this session and afterwards. It was fairly exhausting. At one point my ab muscle actually cramped up and I had to stand and hold it firm. A steamy shower helped bring it down. I'm running my little humidifier in my room tonight. As of 11:17pm right now, it's an annoying cough but not what I would call a coughing attack.

Funny observation: whenever I would bench press heavy, any sensation to cough went away. Maybe something about the weight constricting my diaphram. The iron cures all.

 Did some barbell training the last 2 days. On Sunday, did 50 total reps with 135 on the Swiss bar bench and 15 chin-ups. Yesterday, went up to 225x5 on the Swiss bar and did 20 chin-ups.

Cough is relentless. Last night was the worst it's been.

 Did another workout of 60 band pressdowns, 40 curls. Tomorrow I'll expand on this quite a bit. I'd like to try push-ups again, and definitely need to hit legs more.

The pinkeye is annoying but not a big deal, but this cough is crazy. Worse than yesterday even, somehow. We're talking violent full-body convulsions. Both my stomach and head ache from the pressure of hacking up hundreds of lungs all day, and it makes it hard to eat solid food and especially sleep.

There is a fable in old mythology that covers a battle strikingly of man vs the other force, similar to mine. Titled "Predator", it details a classic hero figure, in this story named Arnold "Dutch" Schwarzenegger, as he struggles to subdue a formidable unknown assailant. The imposing monster seemingly has the upper-hand in all ways over what is a mere man, but the age-old lesson is ultimately learned: this human has huge fucking pumped biceps, also he wrecks the shit out of the fiend by dumping a giant log on its stupid head as a trap.

Just a powerful message to take away.

Did another COVID workout this evening:

50 Iron Woody heavy band pressdowns

30 axle curls

20 Hindu squats

Got a nice pump in the arms, missed that feeling. Especially from having to go so much slower on the curls than norm.

Cough is at its worst today. Very violent and body-convulsing. I will take that over the previous phase's swinging fevers, delirium that made it hard to think, and crushing malaise, though.

Stomach has been gurgling and upset again. Previously it could have been from anything, maybe from more medicine and less food, but today it's from a far better source:

So much easier to drink food than eat. Unfortunately, while it has great carbohydrate sources and beef protein is one part of the protein blend, in my feverish haze when ordering I totally didn't see that the first protein ingredient is pea protein, which I've heard people say makes them gassy. It's also an inferior protein, but I spiked it with my Ascent whey from Costco.

Also got a new stock of beef bone broth and chicken noodle soup, which have been wins in terms of digestion so far, especially with lemon.

Trying to amp up my aggression. I'm enjoying metal music again when previously I didn't want to listen to anything but quiet travel shows. Also must mention that this was the first morning I woke-up without feeling like death.

Typing this while the sun sets in the balcony and it's a nice mood.

Woke up miserable again today but some symptoms started to alleviate while others got worse. My appetite is a little better and after a bone broth and hummus breakfast I was able to slowly eat some of my bison-quinoa bowl for lunch. Throat still hurts but doesn't feel like medieval torture to swallow things now. Cough is much worse. Fatigue was there in the morning but got much better later in the day. Then I developed pink eye and completely lost my sense of smell in the same evening. It's a full-on war and I'm just tanking everything that's thrown at me. I cannot be stopped.

Managed to get a light log workout in.

 Currently on day 3 with a gnarly case of COVID. It was definitely from that metal show. Easily the sickest I've ever been in my life. Most of this period I've been in a daze without energy or the ability to concentrate. My throat also feels like I'm swallowing glass and has made sleeping so far extremely miserable. As of today, though, DayQuil has done wonders to bring me down from Walking Dead zombie to "just really sick" levels, and I can actually focus on things again. I also promised myself that no matter what, I'm going to do some kind of training tomorrow.

I've started to get a rhythm down on how to eat, too, since nausea has been incredibly high and the metal spikes stabbing my throat made it extremely difficult (again, DayQuil has helped with that at least). Yesterday I was basically eating almond butter like pudding and washing it down with milk, since it hurt so much to swallow anything. Actually a pretty great idea, but the taste was just inducing more nausea when typically I love that stuff. Today I got some organic chicken noodle soup with lemon and it hit the spot. Also got a bottle of organic beef bone broth and this stuff is a hack (the good kind). It's basically protein tea! I'm going to be buying this all the time from now on. Previously I'd only used it in soups but it absolutely needs to be a staple in my mug.

And finally...I ordered a high-quality weightgainer powder from Universal Nutrition/Animal. I'm so nostalgic for that stuff. Used to be miserable force-feeding myself it every morning as a teenager. Instead of being filled with maltodextrin, this blend is made with sweet potatoes, oats, and even powdered olive oil. Animal is also a brand I have nostalgia for. Used to love their melodramatic, emo bodybuilding zine ads.

I will definitely lose some strength and mass from this period, and that's fine. My enthusiasm to get back under the bar and build again will make up for it.

Block press

285 x 8, 8, 8, 7 -> drop-down to 225 x 8

-

Super-set with unilateral dumbbell rows 

115 x 10
125 x 3 x 10

First time in 4 months I was able to complete an upper-body workout with no elbow sleeves. Elbow has become a lot better.

Giant set:
Swiss bar skullcrushers: 45 x 20
Iron Woody band pressdowns: 20
Poundstone curls x 120 (PR)

Yes, I'm recording a PR for curls. I'd do it again, too.

Later, went on a short but fairly intense uphill hike on a mountain dotted with cows, and then used the ab wheel at night for 5 slow reps for 3 sets, followed by a 1:35 plank.

Did a bench press workout yesterday, hit good numbers but felt like the weight seemed heavier than normal, chalked it up to my body recovering from an insanely physical moshpit on Friday...and then suddenly remembered oh yeah, I did a quick press workout on Saturday I completely forgot about! So to progress on my bench numbers after having trained the same muscle groups the day before is rad.

So yeah, went to a metal show Friday and spent most of my time in the pit. Actually got fairly sore from tanking blows to my body, which felt no worse than minor muscle soreness from a workout, but fell on my knees at one point before springing right back up and those hurt the worst the next day, though again nothing serious. Feasted on buffalo wings afterwards before driving back home.

Saturday's workout:

5 axle thrusters with 110 lbs
5 pull-ups
5 rounds in 3 minutes

50 push-ups

 On Wednesday night I did a bicep workout. So far, this is the year of high reps, and Poundstone curls have upped my standards. Normally I curl the 50 lb dumbbells for somewhere around 10-12, depending on how strict I go. Now I'm doing them for 20-25 with a squeeze at the top. Did about 3 sets of this. Next day, I did 50 barbell curls with 60 lbs at work, alongside those push-ups I mentioned before.

Yesterday I shadowboxed and did rounds on the heavy bag before going for a jog and then an evening swim after.

Yukon squats
Up to 505 x 3
320 x 23

Pullovers
25 lb kettlebell x 20

Reverse-hyper leg curls
295 x 35
-
Super-set with
Reverse hyper leg extensions
295 x 20

Wow, 505 felt like just another day in the office. Goal was just a strong single to get my body used to heavy weight again after vacation (the opposite approach many take by easing back into things). Absolutely could have done more. Actual load felt light but stability was a little shaky from being hungry, which always happens. And doing only a triple felt like cheating after pushing rep PRs with heavy weight for much of this year. Awesome stuff.

Woke-up and did 80 total push-ups. About 20 of them were with the handles but was able to do the rest without aid. Elbow has been feeling good. Left shoulder is angry with me - it's been buggy the last few weeks but seemed especially pissed after yesterday's dips. After a deep sleep last night it feels a lot better, though. Bringing in Turkish get-ups would be a good idea.

Dips
50 x 10
100 x 10, 12, 10
Bodyweight x 18
-
Super-set with NG chin-ups
10, 15, 15, 15

Incline dumbbell press
Against bands: 50s x 10, 5 -> drop-down to no bands x 10
-
Super-set with NG chin-ups x 15, 15

Behind-the-neck press
45 x 12
65 x 10

* Felt like avoiding the barbell and hitting dips hard. I'm recovering from being minorly sick the last two days and the dips just about drained everything I had from the head and stomach pressure of straining. Feels good to be back moving weight, though.

Back from a Portland vacation. Did some band pull-aparts in the hotel and started two mornings with 50 push-ups. I normally avoid doing them raw with no push-up handles, but it dawned on me that I should push the progress of my elbow as well as my right wrist (which has been hurting when I do burpees and push-ups with my palms) a little. I managed!

Did a lot of walking and I'm on the ball with eating on vacations now. Ate a lot of outside food but they were quality choices, like chicken wings and multiple orders of deviled eggs at various places. I figured get as much protein as possible because carbs are so easy to come by when travelling. The worst meal was a diner with food that was the absolute pits. My open-faced roast beef sandwich was basically dry meat covered in canned gravy dumped over some white Wonderbread. I almost always eat all my food or take it to go, but for once I opted to only eat the meat and let them throw the bread away.

A cool highlight was coming back from a nightclub after searching in vain for anywhere open with food and whipping out my George Foreman grill at the hotel to make eggs with hummus for everyone. Because of course I left my friends to walk to the grocery store earlier that day to ensure I had food. Someone quipped "Good thing we travel with a buff person."

The next day, we all scored various game meats from a stall at the Saturday downtown market. I picked up alligator tail jerky and elk sticks. George doesn't eat much in general and gave me his wild boar later, which helped at the airport. Also had cans of salmon from the store.

And just to add to the testosterone side of things, the military surplus store we visited on the final day had an old chopper in their yard. We drove there on the advice of a local saying they have tanks, but alas, it wasn't to be.

Also, these were the best wings I've ever had. Half were berry flavored and the other were...I forget, something garlicky. I'm craving them bad as I eat my bison at work typing this.

'

 

Seriously, I ordered deviled eggs at restaurants so many times George started commenting on it. 

 

 

A final shot of saving the world, Rambo style.

 

 

Last night I came home from work and did 30 reverse hyper leg curls, which made my hamstrings cramp badly and I had to sit for 5 minutes. Staggered up and then uses the Prowler with about 200lbs loaded on it.

Woke-up today and did a test-run of ABCs, warming up with 15 lb kbs x 10. Elbow did not like the 50s being swung up to press, though, so I shut it down. Still, it's improved enough that I can do push-ups so I busted out 50 reps and then 100 Poundstone curls. Then breakfast and getting ready to travel. A lot of great training crammed into the last few days, gotta eat big while away.