Press Training

Back to the grind today. Military Press and accessory lifts.

Press 5/3/1 3x3 70%, 80%, 90%x4
Bench Press - 3x10
Pulldowns 3x12,10,8
Lawnmower pulls 3x10 each side
Bench Dips 3x12,10,10

I've had some things on my mind lately. I've had a couple chances to catch a glimpse of how I am perceived by others and it does bother me, somewhat. Now I am a very self confident person. Anyone who meets me can see that. I strive to remain very humble and gracious. I am very thankful for everything life has blessed me with both good and bad. I try to view hardships as opportunities to prove I am strong enough, mentally and physically to endure but I am a little taken aback by the comments of a few people.

I was discussing the concept of karma with my masseuse last week. I told her I really didn't believe in it because I try to live a very good life but sometimes it seems I always end up on the short end of the stick. She responded by telling me that I was a very critical person and maybe that was why I never received karma's blessings. Now I admit, I do look at life with a very critical eye. I don't care what anyone does with their life, as long as they do not hurt others, but I have to shake my head at some of the dumb stuff I see. Maybe she is right, maybe I am blinded by looking at everything so critically.

Yesterday, a coworker told me I was "emotionally vacant." This is a coworker who I truly appreciate and enjoy conversing with. I've actually had some rather deep conversations with this coworker. I am a very guarded person and I have my reasons for that. (I'm not really comfortable going into the depths of that here.) I just don't think she is seeing the passion I have for the things and people I love. I try to make decisions and live my life more on logic than emotions is that a bad thing today? This will weigh on my mind for a while.

Squats and that's about it

Another Sunday. Mine are usually very hectic since I cook and do laundry on Sundays. Throw in a full day of NFL watching and a training day then you have a pretty busy day. Today was compounded by taking care of Bailey the Golden Retriever. I decide to use the I'm not doing Jack Shit assistance template.

Squats 5/3/1 3x5 65%, 75%, 85% x 7

Saturday Benching and such

Back on the grind on this glorious Saturday. Benched pain free today. I'm very thankful for that. I made some changes in my diet to help deal with the inflammation. Looking forward to a big day of college football, grilled foods and hanging out with Bailey the Golden Retriever.

A note on gym etiquette:  Check the weights before you ask to work in with someone. Nothing worse than someone that wants to work in and then expects you to help unload plates. Also don't ask and then just walk away, I can see the bitch in you if you do that. Especially, when it wasn't a super heavy day.

Bench 5/3/1 3x5 65%, 75%, 85% (7 reps)
Incline Dumbell press 4 x 12,12,10,8
Tbar Rows - 3x 8,10,12
VBar Pressdowns - 20,15,15,12 went up in weight after each set
Superseted with Face pulls - 20,12,12,12

Enjoy your day and stay NOV

Deadlifts (Hell Yeah)

Well, it was finally time to man up and see if my back was healthy enough to do some deadlifts. I have rested my back for over a month and really was tired of not doing them. I could have been cautious and kept it light; ease my way back into it. I decide that was not the method for me. I jumped right back in where I left off. Also why the hell were so many people in the gym at 4:30 AM? Don't you people need sleep? I wanted to go in and crank Slayer up to 11 and deadlift instead I had to hear some pop bullshit.

Dead lifts 5/3/1 5x5 65%, 75%, 85%
Squats 5x5 55% (this will progress weekly)
Standing Abs 3x8

Standard PWO

Quick Military Press

Just the facts today.

Military 5/3/1 3x5 65%. 75%, 85% x 6
Bench 3x10 60%
Bench Dips 4x12
Pulldowns 3x10

Standard PWO

Hypertrophy Day 1

This morning I began my hypertrophy phase. I will probably run this for 3 months and then begin a max strength phase. I also changed some of my morning routine today. Usually, I would get up every morning and check emails and social networks. From now on, I won't touch the computer until after I have my work complete. I focus on my task at hand and mentally prepare for the day.

Preworkout - Bottle of Extreme Shock

Barbell curls - 45lbs 1 x 100. This is the first time I have done any direct bicep work in over a year. Great pump.
Skull crushers - 50 lbs 1x100
Machine Rows - 80 lbs 1x100
Dumbbell Shrugs 35lbs 1x100
15 minutes on the treadmill (I wanted to do 20 minutes but my stomach wasn't cooperating)

PWO - Quart of Powerade Zero, Betagen, BCAAs

BTW - I see a couple anonymous +1s on here during most post. How about say hi in the comments.

Sunday Funday

Last day of deload week and here is how it went: woke up an hour late, showered and went to the gym. Walked in to the gym and began talking to my little brother, he was finishing his stretching and looked tired. We talked about a couple things and then decided we would both take the day off. I don't think skipping the deload squats are going to hurt me.

Afterwards, I had my regularly scheduled massage. I have a great relationship with my masseuse. She believes in a lot of the new age things, energies and auras, etc.  My bi-weekly massage is good for both my mind and my body. We talk about our lives and offer each other advice. Today, she completely surprised me by pinpointing exactly what was bothering me. There may be something to that new age BS.
I have decided to add a couple of hypertrophy sessions in to my next phase of training. Really want to bring up the size of my arms, traps and quads. I'm going to throw in a couple 100 rep sets in over the next few weeks and see how I respond.