lovestolift training log

[rbtrout]

So you're Canadian. I was wondering where you were from. How do you stand the cold? I'm in Michigan and cannot wait to move south.

Yep, too bad. It's about 65 here in So. Cal right now. It's actually supposed to get cooler and possibly rain over the weekend. It was sooo cold last night, I think it got down to 50.

[pagangoddess]

I'm very jealous. It was 20 degrees this morning. Daytime high today is 44.

Summer of 2010 is when we plan on moving. We just have to finish fixing up the house so we can sell it.

[rbtrout]

Oh, that's too bad. It was about 78 here yesterday afternoon. To be honest, I'd rather live some where that got colder and even some snow. Family will keep me here, though.

[lovestolift]

@pagangoddess- I am right across the river from you, technically I am further south than you are, so ha-ha. I live in Windsor, Ont. I go to school over there at HFCC in Dearborn. I too cannot wait until I move south. My Dad and his fiancee are in Florida now. She just got a full time job in Miami. She's a nurse. They still have to settle everything here, but for all intents and purposes they are living there. I have to fly down in May to stand up in their wedding (I'm the best man).

@ rbtrout- I appreciate the encouragement. You are one of the Big Boys around here, and to hear how you went from scrawny to beastly, it's very inspiring.

[pagangoddess]

@pagangoddess- I am right across the river from you, technically I am further south than you are, so ha-ha.

Figures. And here I thought someone had it worse than I did.

I have to fly down in May to stand up in their wedding (I'm the best man).

Enjoy. Hubby, kids and I are going to Clarksville TN first full week in April. That's where we plan on moving in 2010. Hubby has a cousin that lives there. Most of our families are here in MI but I just can't live here anymore. I hate it here. Always have. Luckily the important members of the family understand and are supportive.

[lovestolift]

I went to the walk-in clinic to have them check out my back. The Doctor asked how I injured it and I said squatting. He asked if I was squatting in a Smith machine - to which I vehemently denied. He proceeded to tell me that the Smith machine was safer and that I should use it or the leg press instead of free weights. Judging by his withered physique, I think it's safe to ignore that advice.

The long and short of it, in his opinion, is that I simply pulled a muscle. No spinal problems. He gave me some free pills and even wrote a doctors note for work (which usually cost $35 around here, not all of our health care is free). He told me to take the next two days off, but I can't really afford to so I'll probably just slack like everyone else at work does. The pills he gave me were Artrotec 75's. Here's a description of them.

[MrWalk]

Ha. "Safer". What a subjective concept. Like many loads we lift in nature are precisely fixed in trajectory.

Abstinence is "safer", but forget that.

The back tweakage sucks. Use the Force and get better quickly.

A little rest will probably help everything else and you'll jump back strong.

[lovestolift]

The back tweakage sucks. Use the Force and get better quickly.

A little rest will probably help everything else and you'll jump back strong.

I hope so, it was just demoralizing. Here I was just ready to go, I even thought about adding a few more pounds to the bar. I was ready to let the beast out on this workout. I'll have to open the cage a bit more cautiously next time.

[rbtrout]

Man, that sucks, but I understand. I was squatting heavy (a while back) and had my right hip pop out for no apparent reason. Thank God for the safety bars. I was done for about a week. Visited the chiro (a friend of mine and fellow lifter) and he put me back together. Relax, take it easy for a couple of days and come back stronger.

[Mouse]

I counted up my weights today and I can load up to 330 lbs including the bar. I am not sure what I'll do after I reach that, as frankly I'm not certain the cheap non-Olympic bar I have will hold that much.

I'm the same here - thinking of splashing out on an oly bar and some weights.
Seen a nice bar rated to 1500lbs and was thinking of 8x20kg, 2x10kg, 2x5kg, 2x2.5kg and 2x1.25kg plates - that should do for a while!!

There's one last thing to mention, I've been thinking about setting some long term goals lately. The one that I've got in my mind is pretty ambitious:

I want to deadlift 500 pounds.

Obviously this is not going to happen anytime soon, but I've got it in my mind that pulling 500 pounds is a pretty admirable thing to do. Even as a 1 rep max I think it's a lofty goal. Any opinions on this?

Nice goal - think i'll join you in that one - hope that back sorts itself out soon

[lovestolift]

I got a good nights sleep last night and I must say I am feeling much better today. The back is around 90% right now, with only a slight dull ache, almost not worth mentioning. I had to let work know last night whether or not I would come in today, and judging the pain last night I said no. I wish I hadn't because now I feel a lot better. The pills that he gave me did very little for the pain, they just made it so that I didn't care that I was in pain. I should be good to go for Monday.

[rbtrout]

Cool, glad to see you're doing better.

[lovestolift]

I want to thank everyone for their input and support this past weekend. It's appreciated.

Onto the topic at hand:

03/23/2009
Friday-Workout B
Squat- 145/5,5,5
Press- 100/4,4,3
Deadlift- Warmup only, no worksets. (120/2/5, 160/1/3, 225/1/2)
Negative Chinups- bw/5,5,5

Well I got through the squats without any issues. The back pain is mostly gone. I felt a twinge or two, but more like my body complaining than any type of further injury. I justify it like this: Rest two or three days, then get back under the bar. If I let my back think it's on permanent vacation it's going to get lazy. Fuck that. I feel a deload coming again on the press. It was worse than last time. I may need a hard deload if I get less reps again. I went through the warmup for the dealift with no problem. I loaded the bar for 265 lbs, but I knew I wasn't in good enough shape for a PR. I like deadlifting too much to risk a long term layoff just to satisfy my ego. I started the first pull, but it didn't feel right. I will see how it feels on the next session. I added in the negative chinups, and I will alternate with the negative pullups.

[lovestolift]

I need to eat more. Maintenance is just not cutting it. I want to lift more, and this is not going to happen without more food. I'm not sure how much more, but I'm going to decide before Monday. It's a tough decision because I want to get rid of my love handles, but I also want to lift bigger weights. The weather is warming up and I can't cover the fat with hoodies for much longer..... but after the colossal failure on the bench today I am prioritizing the lifts.

03/25/2009
Wednesday-Workout A
Squat- 150/5,5,5
Bench Press- 155/3,3,2
Barbell Row- 140/5,5,5
Pushups- bw/10,7,7

Squat was good. Bench was hard. Fucking hard. I could barely get the three reps on the first set. I felt weak. I was unsure about the rows since the back angle bothers the injury, but I got through them fine, though they were tough for the first time. The pushups were pathetically hard. A very unpleasant experience.

[MrWalk]

I'm in the same boat, man. I see the fat I've accumulated and want to shed some, but I DO NOT want to stall on lifts. I'm going to try to limit carbs harder and I've cut back on the milk now, but I've got to press on with eating groceries like an animal. We don't want rbtrout laughing at us while our skinny asses get weaker.

You can be jealous of my press that is gonna stall all the time now if you want, but I'm gonna envy your bench. You're squatting and coming back up and you'll get that bench next time. Drive on!