Strength is a Hell of a Drug

oops forgot to tack this on the end of the last post…

7/18/2014

Conditioning circuit

7/20/2014

Took the boat out for the afternoon. Beautiful day. At one point swimming I was hanging off the side of the boat by my fingertips, arms wide, and started doing pull-ups. I did about 5 sets of 10. These actually got pretty hard. I was a little afraid to let go of the boat after.

7/21/2014

OHP (superset: “Y”, 3#/hand, x12)
bar x 8
56 x 5
67 x 5
78 x 5
83.5 x 3
89 x 2

HC/FS (superset: low plank w/knee drive x 10/side)
67 x 5/10
78 x 5/10
89 x 5/10
94.5 x 4/10 added an extra set here, because these need work
100 x 2/10

2" Stificits (superset: TRX reverse fly x 10)
117 x 6
139 x 6
161 x 6
183 x 6 will increase weight on these next week

7/22/2014

Bad fucking mood, bro.

Squat (superset: lateral hip swings x10/side)
Bar x 10 atg
95 x 5 atg
135 x 5 atg
155 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 5

DB Incline (superset: barbell row)
25’s x 8
30’s x 8
35’s x 8
35’s x 8
40’s x 8

Row
65 x 10
75 x 10
85 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10

SA DB snatch (superset: hanging leg raise x 6)
30 x 6/side
35 x 6/side
40 x 6/side x 2
45 x 6/side

Farmers carries with the new gym handles (they’re 16# a piece)
106# per hand

30 yards out of the gym
40 yards x 6
30 yards back inside

No drops. Did have them slip into my fingertips halfway through #6, it was rough to finish.

Better mood now.

Looking at a craigslist squat rack tomorrow after work. Hope it’s what I’m looking for. Seller is a chick who can’t tell me much about it, except that her boyfriend left it behind in the breakup, it has attachments for lat pull downs and dips, and it’s in pieces in her basement. Probably should pack heat.

It’s been said that 70% of success is showing up.

Apparently a ton of people called this lady on the squat rack, but when she couldn’t provide any pictures they flaked out. I told her that I’d be happy to come see if it’s what I was looking for, and I struck gold!

Turns out it’s three large pieces of equipment: a two-post squat/bench rack with two cable attachments for pulldowns etc., a matching incline/decline bench with leg extension/preacher curl attachments, and another thing that’s a pull-up/dip/leg raise station captain’s chair type thing. Also included was 250# of olympic weights, an olympic bar (much nicer with better knurling than the one I use now), and a bunch of spring collars.

She was asking $250 obo for all of it, so I offered her $200 and told her she wouldn’t have to lift a finger to help me get it out of her creepy basement and into my little old CRV. I can’t believe she said yes, even though I was fully prepared to give her the 250. I guess it just wasn’t worth to her what it’s worth to me.

Home gym is pretty much full service now. Just need dumbells and some strongman-specific stuff, which I can piece together whenever it’s convenient.

Nice pickup. I love a good craigslist transaction. It is great when the person you meet up with is actually selling what they say they are and not some old guy in dirty coveralls and no shirt who wants you to come around back because he’s got something to show you.

Old junk is sold, treasure is claimed and nobody had to get shot. Everyone wins.

Nice score. Those are the best. Five years ago I managed to get 700lbs in plates for $100 because I was willing to drive for them.

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
Nice pickup. I love a good craigslist transaction. It is great when the person you meet up with is actually selling what they say they are and not some old guy in dirty coveralls and no shirt who wants you to come around back because he’s got something to show you.

Old junk is sold, treasure is claimed and nobody had to get shot. Everyone wins.[/quote]

Thanks!
I buy almost everything secondhand. Craigslist and Goodwill have been very good to me.
I do sometimes get a little nervous about who is on the other end of the deal as I am often making these transactions alone. I’ve been very lucky to only deal with other nice normal folks, but there have been situations where it would’ve been easy to make me disappear if they were so inclined.

I felt pretty good about this lady because she was pregnant and had a 6 year old daughter watching us. Creepiest basement I’ve ever seen though. A real New England cellar. Real steep narrow stairs, real dark, one dim lightbulb swinging from the low ceiling, stone walls and a wet dirt floor. And she was an artist so there were mannequins and other weird shit down there. I could picture myself shackled to the walls like one of those Cleveland girls.

[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
Nice score. Those are the best. Five years ago I managed to get 700lbs in plates for $100 because I was willing to drive for them.[/quote]

700lbs holy crap, smokin’ deal!

I was bummed last month I just barely missed 10 45-lb. plates for $10 each. I called hours after he’d sold them.

7/24/2014
Skipped DL night because Keith Urban concert. We got my parents tickets for Christmas last year and decided to make it a double date. Really fun concert, he’s actually an excellent entertainer.

7/25/2014
Took the day off from work.

AM: Make up deadlift sesh.
Conventional DL (ain’t nobody got time for a superset)
95 x 8
145 x 5
175 x 5
215 x 5 was supposed to be 205. whoops. double overhand PR, rep PR.
235 x 3
235 x 3
skipped accessory work. heading to the gym for a circuit and wanted to leave some juice in the tank.

PM: Conditioning circuit. It was a good one.
40 second intervals, 6 rounds
jump rope
medball slam
sledgehammer vs. tire
plate press off swiss ball
TRX squat jumps/TRX inverted row

a few 1 minute planks thrown in between rounds

7/28/2014
OHP (superset: “Y” 3#/hand x 12)
45 x 8
55 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 4
This was all could make myself do.
Feels like I lost some mojo. Not strength-wise, but motivation. Got no drive this week.

Haven’t been hitting my formal workouts, but have been active. My Mr. has been working some long hours lately and I’m picking up the slack at home keeping some projects rolling. Spent all day yesterday working on the boat, building interior, humping around awkward sheets of marine ply and becoming a better contortionist.

Planning to drag my lazy ass to the circuit tonight come hell or high water.

8/1/2014
Conditioning circuit. Almost vomited doing airdyne sprints.

8/4/2014
Felt like picking up rocks. We’ve got a backhoe at our house for a week or two. Living in the granite state we’ve unearthed some beauties and I called dibs.

Smaller rocks (60# - 100#), one motion to chest x several. Carried some up a mushy dirt hill.

Went after THE rock that I’ve been wanting to lift for a while (the one I tried/failed at a couple of weeks ago):

Lapped it, dumped it.
Took a rest and got real pissed.
Lapped it, and stood up with it on my chest, yelled triumphantly, and then walked as far as possible with it about 25-30 yards.
Stomped around the yard like king kong after, I was so psyched.
Lapped it and dumped it again. I was toast after that total body max effort.
Rolled it the rest of the way to the garage, and got it on the scale.

190 fucking pounds. I was astonished and elated.

Picked up a few more baby rocks then called it a night. Woke up with some really cool bruises this morning.

“Ask me how I split my pants today…”

8/7/2014

What a great day.
Work was slow, so I was on craigs.
I find a 16" Slater mold (10 minutes from my job) for $75, guy says he’ll throw in a stone too for an extra $25. Said I could pick it up today. So I checked out of work early (there wasn’t any work left to do) to go make the deal. Mold will make a 175ish# stone, I’ll do some foam inserts to make lighter ones.
The other stone he sold me is a 13" (113#). Since I had gone straight from work, I split my scrub pants lapping it in his driveway. Adorable.

Really happy to deadlift tonight.
(Note to self: left bicep/upper forearm hurting, presumably from my 190# granite carry on Monday)

Conv. Deads, reset each rep (superset: band pull aparts x10)
95 x 10
145 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
215 x 4
235 x 3 (double overhand x1, mixed grip x2)
(Wanted to try something I saw in Loftearmen’s log. He’s a strong MF, why not?)
EMOM
205 x 1 (x10 minutes/10 reps total)
That was pretty enjoyable.

Wanted to play with my new stone. Don’t have anything to load it onto/over quite yet so I’m unsure on height for these. I can tell you that the stone was on my chest (above the knockers) before I released it. Pretty sure I know what a mammogram feels like now.

Lap & lift to chest x7
Single motion lift to chest x3

Then I immediately went to Lowe’s to return 20 lbs. of plaster of paris I had bought to make stones the hard way. That brings today’s home gym investment down to $85.

Your log makes me long for a big yard and a welder.

Also, 235 deadlift for a triple? Wow!

[quote]Mighty Matron wrote:
Wanted to play with my new stone. Don’t have anything to load it onto/over quite yet so I’m unsure on height for these. I can tell you that the stone was on my chest (above the knockers) before I released it. Pretty sure I know what a mammogram feels like now.
[/quote]
I’m sure you’re planning on making something to lift it either onto or over, and I would definitely encourage you to do so. It definitely changes the dynamic of the lift more than most people think as opposed to just lifting it up into the air.

Awesome training and gym equipment finds though!

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
Your log makes me long for a big yard and a welder.

Also, 235 deadlift for a triple? Wow![/quote]

Hey, Strumpet!
You should totes get a welder. Second-hand and home-made make for a pretty gritty setup but I’m really loving my home gym. Sounds like you train in your garage, too? I don’t know how you stay motivated in hot, sticky Florida!
Hope your back is feeling better!
(I follow a lot of logs, including yours, but don’t say much because I think I sound dumb :slight_smile:

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]Mighty Matron wrote:
Wanted to play with my new stone. Don’t have anything to load it onto/over quite yet so I’m unsure on height for these. I can tell you that the stone was on my chest (above the knockers) before I released it. Pretty sure I know what a mammogram feels like now.
[/quote]
I’m sure you’re planning on making something to lift it either onto or over, and I would definitely encourage you to do so. It definitely changes the dynamic of the lift more than most people think as opposed to just lifting it up into the air.

Awesome training and gym equipment finds though![/quote]

Thanks!
I do have plans to make an adjustable height bar for stone loads. A loading platform would be really nice, but I don’t currently have space for one or enough time for a more involved build.
I was just so excited that day to have found and purchased a stone I had to play with it somehow. That will be a nice training weight for a while.

Oh yeah, and this…

8/8/2014
Conditioning circuit

8/11/2014

Great workout tonight. Did my regular program but took my time, slow pace, long rests, and was super focused. Felt good to hit some PRs after slacking hard and eating garbage for a couple of weeks. Weight remains surprisingly stable through my dietary and training inconsistency. Curious.

Strict OHP (superset:“Y”, 3#/hand, x12)
Threw in shoulder dislocates with a light band x some reps here&there
bar x 8
55 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
80 x 5
85 x 5 rep PR - 5th one was the slowest rep ever, almost gave up, can’t believe I locked it out

Hang clean/Front Squat Complex
(superset: straight leg raise x8 on new VKR, aka:jungle gym)
78 x 5/10
83.5 x 5/10
89 x 5/10
94.5 x 5/10
100 x 5/10 rep PR
found a really comfortable grip using my new(er) bar. first time my forearms have felt comfortable on these. also had an easier time keeping my elbows up, they tend to droop. suicide grip, index fingers on knurling, thumbs on smooth.

2" Stificits (superset: TRX reverse fly x 10) and 12oz. curls
125 x 6
145 x 6
165 x 6
189 x 6

Home-made KB swings 32#
5 sets of 50

One of those nights that reminds you why you love to train.

[quote]Mighty Matron wrote:

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
Your log makes me long for a big yard and a welder.

Also, 235 deadlift for a triple? Wow![/quote]

Hey, Strumpet!
You should totes get a welder. Second-hand and home-made make for a pretty gritty setup but I’m really loving my home gym. Sounds like you train in your garage, too? I don’t know how you stay motivated in hot, sticky Florida!
Hope your back is feeling better!
(I follow a lot of logs, including yours, but don’t say much because I think I sound dumb :)[/quote]

You sound anything but dumb! The back is doing better, but I’m being cautious with it.

As for getting a welder, you’ve got me interested. I know a pro welder I could probably get a lesson or two from, but I would definitely wait until it cools off. It is hot and sticky, but I love it. Plus, it will be SO WORTH IT when everyone I know up north is shoveling out again this winter!

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:

[quote]Mighty Matron wrote:

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
Your log makes me long for a big yard and a welder.

Also, 235 deadlift for a triple? Wow![/quote]

Hey, Strumpet!
You should totes get a welder. Second-hand and home-made make for a pretty gritty setup but I’m really loving my home gym. Sounds like you train in your garage, too? I don’t know how you stay motivated in hot, sticky Florida!
Hope your back is feeling better!
(I follow a lot of logs, including yours, but don’t say much because I think I sound dumb :)[/quote]

You sound anything but dumb! The back is doing better, but I’m being cautious with it.

As for getting a welder, you’ve got me interested. I know a pro welder I could probably get a lesson or two from, but I would definitely wait until it cools off. It is hot and sticky, but I love it. Plus, it will be SO WORTH IT when everyone I know up north is shoveling out again this winter!
[/quote]

Well, thank you. I don’t know how many times I’ve typed a post then deleted it instead of clicking ‘submit’. I’ll try to be braver with other people’s logs :slight_smile:

I generally don’t mind snow at all, but that was before I really needed a place for loaded carries…