Rebirth of the Juggernaut: Brute Force and Ignorance (Part 1)

New home/neighborhood look really nice. Congrats.

Maybe paint gym walls?

Yeah, my OCD was always really bothered by the untextured/painted walls in your garage. Understand not doing it if you know youā€™re gonna move though.

Any new plans for the new gym? Like new equipment youā€™re looking at, or making the actual place nicer - walls, floor, lighting, etc.?

Did you seriously find and buy a house in a couple of days? Is the housing market in Nebraska that amazing or are you just hugely financially irresponsible, haha - over in this neck of the wood it takes months and months.

Hey Pawn congrats on the new home looks like a nice place.

@bigpappafrance No worries dude. Took about 48 hours of dedicated househunting to find the right one. And Herc is an interesting cat. Seems like every single workout is a ā€œsolid 85% erā€. Wonder if heā€™s ever going to have a good or bad day, haha.

@oldbeancam Iā€™ll no joke need to explain the prowler and kegs at some point, haha. But I should be able to help people when it comes to moving in and out.

@simo74 Thanks man. Got mine at a Kohlā€™s in a 2 for $20 deal. Iā€™m pretty sure I donā€™t have any grown up clothesā€¦

@jshaving Iā€™m always selling something, haha. And no; no plans for gentrification in the new gym. For one, Iā€™ll be moving out of it in 2-3 years, but the other thing to keep in mind is that I donā€™t like training. In turn, I donā€™t like spending time in my gym, so making it look better doesnā€™t really benefit me any. All itā€™ll make me do is develop a sense of resentment around whatever is in the gym. One of the reasons I donā€™t have pictures of my family up.

I MAY put my trophies on a shelf somewhere I can see them, because right now theyā€™re just tucked into a garage, but no plans to pain, improving lighting, etc.

I may get a truck pull simulator. Price seems right, and it seems like I could use that for a lot of cable work. I was originally thinking of getting the Bas Rutten ā€œBody Action Systemā€, but I think the martial arts bug has gone away again.

@biker Thanks man. Big goal for the walls is just no more holes than what I started with, haha.

@mattjp Necessity breeds action. Iā€™ll be living here no matter what in July, so I needed a place to live, haha. Iā€™ve heard the housebuying process is extensive in Europe, and I canā€™t imagine how that unfolds. We still have to get the house inspected, but thatā€™s about it.

@mortdk Thanks dude! Amazingly, thatā€™s just the garage, haha.


PM WORKOUT

GIANT SETS (squat-jump-reverse hyper)

SSB squat
10xBar
10x155
10x245
10x335
10x360
10x335

Box jumps
6x5

Reverse hyper 320
6x8

Power clean tiples of 165lbs, EMOM for 5 minutes

Notes: Took the day off work, since the kiddo was still on spring break, and snuck this workout in during naptime. Means my training schedule is still a little jacked up, but Iā€™ll take it.

Discovered my persistent fatigue recently is a product of our dogs sleeping in the bed. Been feeling awesome on vacation, came home and feeling tired. At least it means I donā€™t have sleep apena.

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But what does this mean for the marriage?

Compromise is key.

Meaning I will be tired, haha.

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Or maybe the 4 hours sleep?

I have a similar issue with my littlest munchkin, she likes to kick me out of bed about 4 every morning so i set up another bed alongside our bed for me to move into if it gets too much. Problem solved.

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I amazingly feel refeshed on those 4 hour nights because they are away from home, so itā€™s uninterrupted sleep, haha.

PM WORKOUT

Treadmill run w/21lb vest
Incline: 1
Speed: 7.1mph
Distance: 1.5 miles
Time: 8:28 mile, 12:41 1.5 mile

Notes: Took a 10 second break at 1.25 miles, then came back strong. Iā€™m finding my stride pretty well. I have a 1 mile fun run on Sunday that will just be light work, so splitting the difference between last week and this weekend seems to work.

Woke up at 198.2. Thinking Iā€™ve got some bloat.

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Iā€™ve got that shirt. Doesnā€™t make my arms look quite like that though

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Thatā€™s alright: I have the same skin as you, but mine doesnā€™t look vacuum sealed to my body, haha.

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You guys will hate me - my garage has insulation between the studs but no drywall. Seems to be doing its job just fine to me!

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Do you choose this path (the frequent moving)? What are the odds youā€™d end up down here? McConnell is here to give you a hint.

I choose the path in that this is the job I chose and these are the requirements of it, but Iā€™m excited about being able to settle into a forever home one day. Retirement plans were originally Central Coast CA, and itā€™s still on my mind, but based on my short time in the area it might wreck my plans, haha. Real thing is going to be seeing what the winters are like.

PM WORKOUT

Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x146
5x171
10x196 (failed on 11th rep)
11x171

Superset w/20 band pull aparts between sets

GIANT SETS (press-dip-raise)

Axle strict press
2x10x138
1x9x138
2x9x133

Dips
5xFailure

DB lateral raises 20lbs
3x12
2x10

DB curls (no rest between sets)
4x50lbs
6x45
8x40
4x35
6x30
8x25
4x20
6x15
8x10

Notes: 3:45 between heavy presses, 2:00 between giant sets. Dealing with a cold thatā€™s hitting me a little harder than normal, so kept getting light headed and losing the groove on the press. Still, the set of 10 on 196 was much smoother than the last time I did that weight, to the point I had enough in me to try for an 11th. I think, not sick, I woulda had the final rep. Train derailed during supplemental work, which tends to be what happens when I have a cold. I about threw the first set through the roof, and then after that was totally out of gas.

Those curls were interesting. Iā€™m treating them like my squat workouts: coming up with them on the spot.

Cheat meal was orange chicken and bejing beef from Panda express, followed by a Triple Chocolate Muffin from Walmart. Muffins have been on my brain since I was staying in a hotel during my househunting and saw them for a continental breakfast. Itā€™s a rare instance when I crave baked goods.

Woke up at 197.2.

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PM WORKOUT

(3) Texas Deadlift Bar touch and go mat pull
5x135+chains
5x225+chains
3x315+chains
1x405+chains (just want to document I do this every week double overhand without a belt)
15+3+2x515+chains

Buffalo bar squat (rest pause: 12 deep breaths between reps)
10x370
5x370
2x370
1x370
1x280

Notes: Felt like hell all morning leading up to this session, and felt awesome once it started. Warm-ups flew up and strength was awesome. Maybe because Iā€™m doped to the gills on Advil Cold and Sinus. Either way, putting down that topset of 15x515 is like breathing fire, because Iā€™m still holding my breath through the 10th rep and feeling like my eyeballs are going to burst out of my sockets. On that note, had my 3 month post LASIK follow-up this week and Iā€™m 1 letter away on the eyechart from having 20/10 vision, so I guess all this training hasnā€™t damaged my eyes.

Squats went great to start, and I was hitting some awesome depth, but much like 2 weeks ago, when I went in for the final back off set, I was out of gas. Still, more reps than last week.

No weigh in for the weekends.

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How much did your LASIK cost? I know thatā€™s a bit personal but Iā€™d love to not be blind as a freaking bat once I take out my contacts.

At one point in my marriage, my wife talked about getting breast implants. Big surprise, I was all for it, and I said I got to fix my eyes if she did that so I could enjoy them.

Well, sheā€™s a big time runner and after being pregnant she decided sheā€™d prefer to not have breasts, so our (my) plan kind of fell apart. Iā€™d still like to be able to see though. I guess I just donā€™t have as much ammunition to justify the expense.

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@Frank_C Mine was covered by my insurance, but I was quoted that it costs around $5k total. Iā€™ve seen places there was as low as $1.5k per eye, but apparently thereā€™s an old way and a new way to do LASIK, and most likely those cheaper places are using the older approach.

You could always swing the LASIK of saying itā€™d give you a BETTER chance of enjoying non-augmented breastsā€¦but that would backfire a lot, haha.


Did a 1 mile fun run with the kiddo in a blizzard. Kinda experiences you only get up North here. Calling it my Sunday run. Will try to get in more later in the week.

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Iā€™m not sure if itā€™s kosher to discuss your blog on here, but here goes.

-I thrive when given limitations. Limitations are what breed creativity. I got creative when I couldnā€™t train my knee, I get creative when I have to train in a gym that isnā€™t mine, etc. I feel like decisions are easier to make WITH limitations vs without, because now you know the operating parameters. Understanding this, maybe you should self-impose some limitations if things are getting stale. Or maybe, if youā€™re just starting out and youā€™re feeling overwhelmed, you create some arbitrary limitations. Only 1 author you listen to, only 5 movements, etc etc. See what it forces you to do.

I wanted to highlight how true this is in other domains. I recently said this to two architects. One thought I was stupid, because how dare I enforce constraints on the design. The other realized the truth. His favorite projects had the most constraints, because it allowed him to challenge his assumptions. Whereas, designing a new greenfield building can be very challenging without few options. I think this might be part of humanity, needing to choose between 2-3 options.

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