Monday, March 6, 2017
Cycle 13 (Leader A) Week 2 Day 1
Speed Rope x 350
Agile 8 & Shoulders
Box Jumps 3 x 5
Squat TM 315
Bar x 10
135 x 8
165 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 5
235 x 5
265 x 5
FSL 205 x 5 x 5
SS with BW Pushups = 75 total
SS with Medium Band Pull Aparts= 100 total
Back Raises w/ 25# =35 total
Stationary Bike Sprints :15 x 12 EMOM
Notes: Had to wait 20 minutes for a rack, after a couple of bro’s weaseled in the back way to the far rack while I was waiting. Mondays suck. After I got on a rack, I rolled through the squats/pushups/pull-aparts in about 25 minutes. The time waiting though was poorly spent, giving unsolicited advise to noobs deadlifting at another rack. My bad advise is their punishment for holding a rack for and hour and a half.
I woke up this morning with a flush-face feeling and low-grade nausea…felt like I had a fever, but the thermometer said I was normal. Malaise stuck with me all day until I warmed up…and is starting to come back as I type this.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Cycle 13 (Leader A) Week 2 Day 2
Speed Rope x 300
Simple 6
10# Med Ball Throws x 15
Face Pulls 50lb x 40 total
Bench Press TM 305
Bar x 15
135 x 8
165 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5
230 x 5
260 x 5
FSL 205 x 5 x 5
SS with DB Press (One Arm) 40lb x 50 total per side
During FSL SS with DB Rows 70lb x 50 total/side
Ab Roller 40 total
20 minutes stationary bike zone 2
Notes: One observation about working out in a really crowded gym: If I were to simply sit on the bench, resting in between sets -check my phone, pick my nose, jerk off, eat a sandwich, jerk it again–no one would say a thing. But if I dare pick up a dumbbell in between sets, I will be hassled relentlessly by people wanting my bench. “Are you using the actual bench, um to bench?” I got a little snarky with the third poor bastard (in less than 5 minutes) to bug me with that question -mid set!!! I apologized profusely a few minutes later.
Did the Bench/DB Press/DB Rows sets in under 35 minutes, did the face pulls at the beginning of the workout instead of the end while waiting for a bench.
Music on gym overhead was 80’s pop.
Friday, March 10, 2017
Cycle 13 (Leader A) Week 2 Day 3
Speed Rope x 300
Agile 8
Box Jumps 3 x 5
Deadlift TM 335
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
225 x 5
255 x 5
285 x 5
FSL 225 x 5 x 5
SS with BW Pushups x 75
SS with Medium Band Pull Aparts x 100
EZ Bar Curlz 50lb x 50 total
Kettlebell Swings 30lb x 60 total (30# is the heaviest gym has)
DL/Pushups/BPAs worked thru in efficient 32 minutes. Considering this is the light week, that should be considered average.
Music on gym overhead: 70’s & 80’s AOR
Thursday & Saturday I did 20+ minutes on a stationary bike around zone 2
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Cycle 13 (Leader A) Week 2 Day 4
Press TM 190
Bar x 20
75 x 10
95 x 8
115 x 5
125 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 5
FSL 125 x 5 x 5 (actually I’m pretty sure I did 6 sets. I lost count)
Lat Pulls 120 x 70 total ; neutral wide & neutral narrow
Dips BW x 35 total
Face Pulls 57.5lb x 40 total
Weighted sit ups 10# x 50 total
20 min on stat bike zone 2
Mood took a rare dark turn today, so I just went straight to the rack to at least get the main work done. Was pleased I stuck around for some assistance work…
Chose lat pulls over chins due to annoyed left elbow/wrist. I think I can manipulate body angle better with the lat pulls, which keeps me from re-aggravating the left arm.
For the first time since September I checked in at under 270lb.
Music on gym overhead: A compilation of the worst shit on earth from all late 20th century eras. I actually heard Mambo #5 while doing dips.
Monday I chased errant tennis balls off the racquets of 2 elementary age children for 45 minutes. Lots of fast starts. I’m not joking about this. Those fucking things bounce forever.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Cycle 13 (Leader A) Week 3 Day 1
Speed Rope x 400
Agile 8
Box Jumps 3 x 5
Squats TM 315
Bar x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
215 x 5
235 x 5
265 x 5
300 x 5
FSL 235 x 5 x 5
SS with BW Pushups x 75
and SS with Medium Band Pull Aparts x 100
Back Raises with 25# x 50 total
Notes: Did the Squats/Pushups/BPA’s in about 35 minutes. I was seriously dragging the last few FSL sets, as the temps here have hit late spring levels, and the gym ops didn’t have the air conditioner set appropriately. It was hot as balls in there.
Music on gym overhead: 80’s & 90’s Soul. The disco superfly made it even hotter in there.
Wednesday, Mar. 15 20 minutes on stationary bike safely in zone 2.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Cycle 13 (Leader A) Week 3 Day 2
Speed Rope x 300
Simple 6
10# Med Ball Throws x 15
Bench Press TM 305
Bar x 15
135 x 8
185 x 5
215 x 3
230 x 5
260 x 5
290 x 5 All very solid
230 x 5 x 5 & kept up the pace
DB Kroc Rows
Warm up 60 x 10/side
90 x 20/side
DB Press
40# /side x 50
Face Pulls 57.5# x 40 total
Ab Roller x 40 total
20 minutes on bike low ‘n’ slow
Decided not to superset anything with the bench today- still got thru Bench/Rows/DB Press in sub 40 minutes. My quads are still annihilated from Tuesday…
Music on gym overhead: I think it was 90’s quasi prog rock.
Friday I did 8 oz curls with Irish Whiskey.
Saturday I recovered with a 20 min stationary bike ride -zone 2
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Cycle 13 (Leader A) Week 3 Day 3
Speed Rope x 300
Agile 8ish
Box Jumps 3 x 5
Dead Lift TM 335
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
255 x 5
285 x 5
320 x 5
255 x 5 x 5
SS with BW pushups x 75
SS with Med Band pull aparts x 100
EZ Bar Curls 50lb x 50
20 minutes on stationary bike at easy resistance/pace
Notes: All very strong/solid work sets, plus I didn’t shit myself in the process, so that’s a winning day.
I guess I was locked in so I didn’t even notice what music was on the gym overhead…probably nothing that offended my sensibilities or else I would have noticed.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Cycle 13 (Leader A) Week 3 Day 4
Speed Rope x 300
Simple 6
10# Med Ball Toss 3 x 5
Press TM 190
Bar x 15
85 x 5
105 x 5
125 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 5 Belted
145 x 5 x 5
Face Pulls 57.5lb x 40 total
BW Dips x 30 total
Chins with 85# assistance total 30 various grips
Weighted Situps 10# x 50 total
Woke up with a severely bound-up back. Advil and warmth kept back pain tolerable.
Music on the gym overhead: Tunes in the spirit of Sirius Lithium.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 1 Day 1
Speed Rope x 375
Agile 8ish plus shoulders
Box Jumps 3 x 5
Squats TM 325
Bar x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
205 x 3
235 x 5
265 x 5
295 x 5
FSL 230 x 5 x 5
SS with BW Pushups x 75
SS with Medium Band Pull Aparts x 100
Back Raises with #10 x 50 total.
-Did these with weight behind head instead of hugging style - 10lbs on your noggin is way harder than vampire-style with 25lb.
20 minutes on stationary bike in zone 2
Other notes: Very crowded tonight, so I shared the rack with others, neither working in the same range as I was, really. 2nd fella had his own incremental little weights, which was great since someone walked off with all the 2 1/2 pound doughnuts. That’s why my first 2 work sets are 5lb above what the calculations deem. No big deal lift-wise, but I still want to curb stomp the fuckers who horded the little weights just on principle.
Music on the overhead: Couldn’t hear it over the crowded mass, and perpetual interruptions by announcements from the front desk for parents to pick up their soiled kids at the child care center.
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Thursday, March 23, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 1 Day 2
Speed Rope x 300
Simple 6
10# Med Ball throws 3 x 5
Bench Press TM 310
Bar x 15
135 x 10
165 x 5
195 x 5
215 x 5
250 x 5
280 x 5
FSL 215 x 5 x 5
SS with DB Press 40lbs/side x 50 total
DB Rows 100lb/side x 50 total
Face Pulls 57.5lb x 40 total
Ab Roller x 40 total
Gym Notes: Unnervingly ordinary and drama free.
Music on gym PA: Pop from previous decade.
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Saturday night: Evening stroll at ‘contemplating life’ pace. 2.4 miles in 42 minutes.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 1 Day 3
Speed Rope x 325
Agile 8
Box Jumps 3 x 5
Dead Lift TM 345
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
FSL 245 x 5 x 5
SS with BW Pushups x 75
SS with medium band pull aparts x 100
EZ Bar curls 55lb x 45 total
20 minutes on stationary bike
Notes: Back took some time to loosen up. Work sets were smooth sailin’. Dragged through FSL sets though.
Music on gym PA: Modern country until there was a shift change at front desk, then some 80’s pop.
Monday I did 20 minutes on stationary bike, zone 2
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 1 Day 4
Speed Rope x 300+
Simple 6
10# Med Ball Throws x 15
Press TM 195
Bar x 15
75 x 8
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
FSL 135 x 5 x 5
Hanging Leg Raises
Bent Knee x 18
Straight Leg to 90deg x 12
SS with BW dips x 40
Face Pulls 52.5 x 50 total
Lat Pulldowns 140lb x 50 total
Overall solid. Worked thru press without belt, wrist wraps, elbow sleeves. I felt nekkid!
Music on PA: Disco. Bee Gees. Abba. I shit you not. Shift change at 19:00 flipped to millennial pop.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 2 Day 1
Speed Rope x 252 Then the fucker broke.
Lazy Lifter
Box Jumps 3 x 5
Squats TM 325
Bar x 10
135 x 8
165 x 5
185 x 3
215 x 5
245 x 5
275 x 5
FSL 215 x 5 x 5
SS with BW Pushups x 75
SS with Band Pull Aparts
Blue & Green combined x 50
Blue only x 50
BW Back Raises x 60
20 minutes on stationary bike zone 2
Lazy warm-up, lousy recovery, sucky diet, and lack of sleep made the warm-up and work sets more laborious than they should have been. Top set and FSL went easy though. Actually did back raises after the bike ride due to today apparently being everybody’s ab day and all aparati occupied. Also grabbed a pair of 100’s to try some shrugs. Did 10 that felt like shit and useless…went to find a more appropriate pair of DB’s but by then the DB area was nuts to butts, and I was in no mood for a meathead moshpit exercise experiment.
Music on gym PA: Mostly unrecognizable until I heard Men at Work.
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 2 Day 2
Rope broke so jumping jacks until I broke some sweat.
Simple 6
10# Med Ball Throws x 15
Bench Press TM 310
Bar x 15
135 x 8
165 x 6
185 x 5
205 x 5
235 x 5
265 x 5
FSL 205 x 5 x 5
SS with Warm-up and work sets
DB Rows 75lb x 75/side
SS with FSL
DB Press with 40lb/side x 50 total
Face Pulls 57.5 x 40 total
Ab roller x 40 total
20 minutes on stationary bike
Squat rack reverse curls on bosu ball
Got Bench/Rows/DB Press trio done in about 34 minutes…but I was wiped out after that.
Music on gym PA: 70’s old fart rock: Springsteen, Billy Joel et al.
Monday, April 3, 2017
New Speed Rope in mail, so I did jumping jacks until I started to sweat
Agile 8
Boxes being horded at gym so none of these.
We’re off to a flying start
Deadlift TM 345
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
225 x 5
265 x 5
295 x 5
225 x 5 x 5
SS with BW pushups x 75
SS with Blue Medium band pull aparts x 100
Straight bar curls 60lb x 50 total
20 minutes on bike
Not worst day ever.
Music on gym PA: 70’s adult rock
Tuesday night: 20 min on stationary bike; followed by a 400m run in 2 minutes
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 2 Day 4
Speed Rope x 250 -new one came in mail today, it’s a different weight and will take getting used to.
Simple 6
Med Ball Throws 14# x 16
Press TM 195
Bar x 15
85 x 5
105 x 5
125 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 5
FSL 125 x 5 x 5
Lat Pulls 120# x 60 total
Face Pulls 50# x 40 total
Dips BW x 35 total
Hanging Knee Raises x 25
Notes: A few moments into my OHP warm-up sets I felt my tummy gurgle, emphatically, and something move south in a hurry…so this workout became a race against the clock. Finished all the planned work, so it was a heroic effort if I do say so myself.
Music on the gym PA: 70’s AOR. Took me back to my youth.
Thursday night 20 min on stationary bike.
Friday, April 7, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 3 Day 1
Speed Rope x 325
Agile 8 & shoulders
Box Jumps 3 x 5
Squats TM 325
Bar x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 5
275 x 5
310 x 5
FSL 245 x 5 x 5
SS with Medium band pull aparts x 100
BW Pushups x 75
Barbell Shrugs 135 x 30 total
Back Raises 25# held on my bald spot x 25
20 min stationary bike ride
Notes: Heavy week starts, and I can see the deload peeking over the horizon. Barbell shrugs are a new add…problem with short arms is each rep plays flip-a-switch with my schwanstiger. Public fornication with a barbell is bad gym juju.
Music on gym PA: Random pop from 70’s thru 90’s. Heard a tune that reminded me of young Tom Hanks. Can anyone guess the theme song/artist and series name of Hanks’ TV breakthrough?
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 3 Day 2
Speed Rope x 350
Simple 6
10# Med Ball Throws x 15
Bench Press TM 310
Bar x 15
135 x 8
185 x 5
215 x 5
235 x 5
265 x 5
295 x 5
FSL 235 x 5 x 5
Kroc DB Rows
90 x 6/arm warmup
90 x 20/ side
DB OH Press
40lb/ side x 50 total
Face Pulls
57.5 x 40 total
Ab roller x 40 total
Notes: Nice mostly empty gym. But one minor irritant: In between my bench warm-up sets, I gather and organize the plates I need for my sets off the community tree. While mid-set, a dude walks by and snags one of the 10’s I’ll need in a set or two. Now I don’t claim ownership of the plates on my rack, but he already had five 10# on his rack plus a full post full on the tree three feet away. Rude and clueless are a fucked combination. Useless rant over.
Music on gym PA: Genuine 70’s collection, sans disco thankfully. Santana is better for whiskey sipping than iron grinding, but still better than the Bee Gees unleashed on us last week.
Monday, April 12 20 minutes on stationary bike & 400m ‘run’ in 1:58
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 3 Day 3
Speed Rope x 332
Agile 8ish
Carry wife’s book boxes from car into house (She’s a school librarian)
Box Jumps 3 x 5
Deadlift TM 345
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
260 x 5
295 x 5
330 x 5
FSL 260 x 5 x 5
SS with med band pull aparts x 100
pushups x 55
BW lunges x 10/leg -gotta start somewhere
skipped curls- I was spent
Notes: Jump box was in position, unoccupied and ready to go when I got there. Power rack opened up right when I strolled into the meathead quarter. Plenty of space to perform pushups and lunge futility…all on a busy Tuesday night…the bro gods were smiling upon me today. Deads took a dreadful 45 minutes, every FSL set was a grind.
However, my top set was as good as my heavier sets come. My first rep almost always sucks on my heavy sets, but this one felt really solid.
Music: Fuck. Same 70’s. Someone lacks imagination.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Cycle 14 (Leader B) Week 3 Day 4
Speed Rope x 225
Simple 6
Press TM 195
Bar x 15
75 x 8
95 x 5
120 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 5
FSL 145 x 5 x 5
Face Pulls 57.5 x 40 total
Lat Pulls 120 x 60 total (30 wide neutral, 30 narrow neutral)
Abtech crunch thing 10# x 50 total
BW Dips x 25
Notes: Worked out 2 1/2 hours late due to being marooned at work. We got a months worth of rain in 90 minutes and the drainage couldn’t handle it. Spent 2 hours being amused by rush hour drivers baffled that their sedans couldn’t make it through 2-3 foot deep water.
So this completes the Leader portion of this program. I’m genuinely looking forward to dusting off the cajones and going for some PRs next month…after a very badly needed deload.
Music on the gym PA: Early 80’s AOR. Thank you, Canada, for Loverboy.