“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Thanks Mr. R!
If you’re looking for impressive PRs and the secrets to becoming a powerlifting champion, this is not the training log for you.
This is the log of a recovering and enduring trainee. I had two major operations in July of 2016 and brain surgery in December. Ironically enough, the brain surgery may have helped my training since it forced me to rest for a few days. However, I still struggle with my former surgeries and they make it difficult to have full control of my upper body like I did before.
I am also currently undergoing treatment for stage IV Melanoma. I started my treatment, a combination of two immunotherapy medicines, at the end of September, just as I was turning 30 years old. It has been a series of ups and downs; of feeling well for a week or two and then not being able to do anything for another week or two at a time. I responded very well to the medicine – likely better than any patient they have seen – which has been both a positive and a negative.
My best lifts, in an April 2015 IPF meet are:
405 Squat
255 Bench
405 Deadlift
@ 165lb class
My numbers are nowhere near that now. Just recently I pulled 255, squatted 225 for 3 (a tad high maybe), and benched about 185. There’s lots of room to improve!
My training is going to be set up pretty much identical to how user Alpha lays it out in
I also normally do 1-2 sessions of very light cardio work on an elliptical machine every day. Typically, when I wake up or before work outs. I have found that helps my body feel extremely more flexible and light, especially in my upper body. The intensity is very low such that it would be a very light jog or fast walk. It’s all for recovery.
I hope that keeping this log will help keep me accountable for staying on a program (I’ll tend to train no matter what, but it will usually turn into a 1-3 RM + back offs everyday) and also that anyone in a rut or in need of some inspiration can get motivated from my writing and training.
Let’s get to work!