Concurrent Strength & Endurance Training 2016: Cycle II

Nice to see you get back into the rhythm Lee, progress. Eating a pb&j in the morning before lifting has been helping quite a bit. It's kind of the perfect amount of food and doesn't seem to have any affect while I am lifting. Actually it makes drinking coffee easier on the stomach in the morning.

BA, you doing ok?

Oh my face pull purchase was a complete fail. The upper pulley doesn't allow the right angle and the cable rubs against the housing. Too bad I was looking forward to them.
Thanks!

Yah, I'll give something like that a shot, although I haven't noticed being hungry directly, but I wonder if lifting in a fasted state is holding me back. I think I need at least another week to adapt, but today I did feel a few urges to push things a bit. I might also try my afternoon pre-workout snack: a banana and a protein bar. Maybe I should chug a couple of glasses of water too, to rev up the metabolism.

Definitely feels good to be back at it. Still getting a little drowsy mid-morning or around noon though. I hope that passes. Otherwise, it feels great to get the lifting out of the way first thing. Now I have to get serious about the cardio again.

Too bad about the face pulls. It seems like equipment and lift selection is always going to be a matter or trail and error. I really like the six lifts though, and just doing three at a time has been great so far. There doesn't seem to be any problem with lifting everyday so far, although I haven't really pushed things yet. There seems to be enough distinction between the two pulls and two pushes, and deadlifts and squats have always seemed pretty complementary to me, so Squat/Press/Pullup one day, and Deadlift/Bench/Row the other, is going pretty well.

Speaking of trail and error, I brought my DIY bass electronics into my luthier yesterday, and he said not everything would fit. So I'll have to return the five-knob Glockenklang and get a set of three stacked knobs (V/BL, M/M, T/B) in the John East preamp. It's fortuitous, because I like the East set-up better, and I've seen a few high-end bassmakers use it together with Delano pickups, so I should be OK with not going all German. The East preamp also comes with proprietary knobs, so that solves the knob problem. I wasn't looking forward to decided on what kind of knobs I wanted. It's nice to have that decided for me.

Wow, I just realized I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning's workout already. I guess I really have gotten my groove back. The immediate goal remains just getting everything aligned with a 300-pound 1RM squat. Could take the rest of this cycle.

When do we get the race report btw?
 
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Thanks!

Yah, I'll give something like that a shot, although I haven't noticed being hungry directly, but I wonder if lifting in a fasted state is holding me back. I think I need at least another week to adapt, but today I did feel a few urges to push things a bit. I might also try my afternoon pre-workout snack: a banana and a protein bar. Maybe I should chug a couple of glasses of water too, to rev up the metabolism.

Definitely feels good to be back at it. Still getting a little drowsy mid-morning or around noon though. I hope that passes. Otherwise, it feels great to get the lifting out of the way first thing. Now I have to get serious about the cardio again.

Too bad about the face pulls. It seems like equipment and lift selection is always going to be a matter or trail and error. I really like the six lifts though, and just doing three at a time has been great so far. There doesn't seem to be any problem with lifting everyday so far, although I haven't really pushed things yet. There seems to be enough distinction between the two pulls and two pushes, and deadlifts and squats have always seemed pretty complementary to me, so Squat/Press/Pullup one day, and Deadlift/Bench/Row the other, is going pretty well.

Speaking of trail and error, I brought my DIY bass electronics into my luthier yesterday, and he said not everything would fit. So I'll have to return the five-knob Glockenklang and get a set of three stacked knobs (V/BL, M/M, T/B) in the John East preamp. It's fortuitous, because I like the East set-up better, and I've seen a few high-end bassmakers use it together with Delano pickups, so I should be OK with not going all German. The East preamp also comes with proprietary knobs, so that solves the knob problem. I wasn't looking forward to decided on what kind of knobs I wanted. It's nice to have that decided for me.

Wow, I just realized I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning's workout already. I guess I really have gotten my groove back. The immediate goal remains just getting everything aligned with a 300-pound 1RM squat. Could take the rest of this cycle.

When do we get the race report btw?

Ha that bass talk went mostly way over my head but cool you are almost done with it. Next comes the fun part like with lifting.

I put a link to the race report in my Sunday log I'll link it again in the morning if you can't find it. I'm looking forward to my heavy squats tomorrow. As I said in the report I am quite happy with how strong I felt doing the climbs and I think the squats were the main reason. So thanks for the encouragement to focus on them a bit more.
 
Ha that bass talk went mostly way over my head but cool you are almost done with it. Next comes the fun part like with lifting.

I put a link to the race report in my Sunday log I'll link it again in the morning if you can't find it. I'm looking forward to my heavy squats tomorrow. As I said in the report I am quite happy with how strong I felt doing the climbs and I think the squats were the main reason. So thanks for the encouragement to focus on them a bit more.
Opps, I don't know how I missed it, did you put it in later?

Stacked knobs are just knobs that have two functions, like treble and bass, with a top, smaller diameter knob sitting on top of a wider, lower knob. It helps save space and keeps the front of the bass from looking too cluttered. So one knob is stacked V/BL (overall volume and blend of the two magnetic pickups), one M/M (midrange sweep and volume, which means you can choose the frequency at which you manipulate the midrange volume, and manipulating the midrange is pretty significant for bass tone), and then T/B, treble and bass. A preamp amplifies the signal before sending it out to the amp, but also allows one to use active electronics for the pickups, which gives you a lot more control than a passive signal. With a passive signal, you can only take away or 'cut' things like volume, treble, or bass, which can degrade the tone a bit. Active electronics produce a modern "hi fi" sound, boosting or reducing the signal without losing quality, but set flat they also allow you to get a very transparent, accurate sound with little coloration. Since I play fretless on a nice woody fingerboard (rosewood now, bocote soon), it's important to me to be able to get an almost acoustic sound when I want it.

Anyway, I'm done with the design, which is a huge relief. Now I just have to wait for everything to arrive before I can send it to my luthier for assembly and set-up. He didn't remember me when I first went it, but he's the guy who set-up and put active electronics in my Fender fretless 30 years ago, and is one of the top luthiers in the Twin Cities by some people's reckoning. Just a great guy and a pleasure to deal with. Complete trust too that he'll do the best job possible without overcharging. He's already given me a couple hours of his time just going over design options.

Anyway congrats on the finish! Glad to hear the squats helped. More evidence that they are the king/queen of lifts. And congrats also on finding successful run-walk and fueling protocols for ultras. Lately I've really been getting the urge for some barefoot stimulation, so once this rain clears up, I may have to try a few hills. I might convert to more of a Wendler idea of condition, and focus more on hills and prowler stuff, and just go on longer bike rides once in a while, like once a week, but try to commute more by bike.

Right knee is feeling a little unstable, maybe time to take a day off.
 
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Opps, I don't know how I missed it, did you put it in later?

Stacked knobs are just knobs that have two functions, like treble and bass, with a top, smaller diameter knob sitting on top of a wider, lower knob. It helps save space and keeps the front of the bass from looking too cluttered. So one knob is stacked V/BL (overall volume and blend of the two magnetic pickups), one M/M (midrange sweep and volume, which means you can choose the frequency at which you manipulate the midrange volume, and manipulating the midrange is pretty significant for bass tone), and then T/B, treble and bass. A preamp amplifies the signal before sending it out to the amp, but also allows one to use active electronics for the pickups, which gives you a lot more control than a passive signal. With a passive signal, you can only take away or 'cut' things like volume, treble, or bass, which can degrade the tone a bit. Active electronics produce a modern "hi fi" sound, boosting or reducing the signal without losing quality, but set flat they also allow you to get a very transparent, accurate sound with little coloration. Since I play fretless on a nice woody fingerboard (rosewood now, bocote soon), it's important to me to be able to get an almost acoustic sound when I want it.

Anyway, I'm done with the design, which is a huge relief. Now I just have to wait for everything to arrive before I can send it to my luthier for assembly and set-up. He didn't remember me when I first went it, but he's the guy who set-up and put active electronics in my Fender fretless 30 years ago, and is one of the top luthiers in the Twin Cities by some people's reckoning. Just a great guy and a pleasure to deal with. Complete trust too that he'll do the best job possible without overcharging. He's already given me a couple hours of his time just going over design options.

Anyway congrats on the finish! Glad to hear the squats helped. More evidence that they are the king/queen of lifts. And congrats also on finding successful run-walk and fueling protocols for ultras. Lately I've really been getting the urge for some barefoot stimulation, so once this rain clears up, I may have to try a few hills. I might convert to more of a Wendler idea of condition, and focus more on hills and prowler stuff, and just go on longer bike rides once in a while, like once a week, but try to commute more by bike.

Right knee is feeling a little unstable, maybe time to take a day off.

Thanks yeah I posted it later once I got done updating everything. Thanks for the short lesson on basses, back in my youth I tinkered with building/rebuilding some new and old guitars but ended up going broke buying up the tools needed to cut the wood for an acoustic guitar. This was preinternet days so I think it would be much easier to do it now then then. I have never played a bass before but the concepts are similar from what I remember. That's very cool about the fretless electric sounding acoustic. I always preferred the acoustic sound but the electric is just so much more fun to play.

Anyway speaking of squats, just got a big kick in the teeth this afternoon trying to do them. Hopefully it's lingering fatigue from the weekend as I only made it about 7 sets in. My belt is sitting funny with the weight I'm losing and it's starting to dig into my hips again. Really wish I could pick up a nice best belts belt for them. The one I have still is as stiff as it was the day I got it. Oh and I think I prefer mornings to afternoons oddly enough. Afternoons are nice from a warmed up perspective but I felt much more distracted for some reason? Out of routine I guess.

Yeah I have really been craving some barefoot running again too. I think I am gonna get back into it this week with the warmer weather coming. Maybe I will do a mile or two warm-up on workout days.
 
BA, you doing ok?

yeah, i'm getting back into it after the winter doldrums and illness recovery break and maple syrup boiling (i ended up with about 2 1/2 gallons with most of the 1/2 gallon going to the land owners as thanks for letting me tap their trees). of course, now, there is a bit more sunshine and the abnormally early spring (i'm expecting a blizzard the last week of april) which is drawing me into my fantasies of being a bona fide agricultural producer (but not quitting my day job...). i've got some cold-tolerant crops in (radishes, brussels sprouts, etc) along with a little bit of rolling of the dice stuff in case there are no significant frosts/freezes so that i can get an extra month or two out of the growing season.

anyways, i think my knees were unhappy about not doing many squats: i think they are happier now that they are getting used again. still, i am paranoid about knee injuries due to all the horror stories i heard in high school (although, that was probably mainly soccer hobbists). thus, i am restarting below where i left off (and would cut out a few sets if i wasn't feeling it). it has felt good so far and i am now getting through my full scheme, so i expect to be back up to the frontiers of weakness pretty quickly.

the "press" day also started back a little lower and i would drop some sets off the end. but, similarly, i am back to getting through the whole scheme and, as of today, have pushed the frontiers of weakness back to the 85lb level for my last working set (previously, it was either 83lbs for two sets or 85lbs for one; today was 85lbs for two sets plus 2 repetitions at 88lbs).

for running, there is still the time squeeze of needing to get in bed on time (e.g., not in bed yet tonight because i'm typing this). similarly, when i do get out, it seems to be going well (just the volume is pathetic). since it has been warmer, i've been taking my kids around the block for their own "physical education". the first day it took like 5:20 for the single lap. i think today, the faster ones finished two laps in like, dunno, 6 or 7 minutes or something? so that gets me a tiny bit more plodding distance in.
 
I don't talk about sleep much but overall sleeping, longer and more consistently, might be the next best thing after consistency from a lifting standpoint.
Tru dat. Good sleep is heavenly. But for me, it's kind of the opposite: when I exercise regularly, I sleep well.
I guess the battle between endurance, weight and strength begins. Hopefully I can keep propping up the squats for a while as I think I have plenty more room before they start to plateau.
Yah, attacking three fitness goals and maintaining family and work life is a full load. I'm kind of glad not to worry about the endurance component anymore, although with spring springing, I do miss the running terribly. Cycling just doesn't do it for me. Cycling, for me, is all about the open road and adventure, not going over the same route over and over just because it's good for me. With running, even running the same route all the time felt like a little adventure each time.
 
so i'm shooting hoops with my son on monday and he has to say it. suddenly, his eyes get big and a wide grin spreads across his face and he asks, "can you DUNK?" um, no. i can try and you will see. yes, the ball just gets crushed into the side of the rim. same as senior year of high school. at least i haven't lost anything....

thus, this week, i am trying to get really back to basics: my squat is pathetically weak and maybe i should take seriously those old statements that you should be able to squat 1.5 times your bodyweight before doing plyometrics. everyone always thinks that is about injury avoidance, but i am beginning to think that it is actually about pragmatism: if you can't squat 1.5 times your bodyweight, the plyo won't actually help. or maybe the heavy squatters are deficient in quick motion, so the plyo can help them. anyways, no matter how you cut it, i need to follow my own advice and actually put the hammer down on the squatting and see what happens.

i am now into day #3 of trying to do lots of squats throughout the day. i'm not sure that i'm really getting that much more load in, yet; but, that is probably because i'm starting low-ish to get a feel for it. i have experienced no soreness or tightness at all; which is not at all what i anticipated.
 
He was surprised of course, having been indoctrinated in the squats-are-bad-for-your-knees silliness.

indeed. my right knee sometimes gives me some annoyance. obviously, not enough for any medical professional to be able to provide meaningful commentary ("what? you run, squat, play middle blocker in volleyball, and you're in here complaining about your knee that is more functional than my healthy patients? what am i supposed to do?") but, i could feel an improvement from day to day (miniscule though it was) doing the relatively high volume squats this week. more specifically, when i go to walk up the stairs after getting back from a run, the left foot is ready to attack the step, but the right one hesitates in case a funny feeling develops in the knee. both the hesitation and the strange sensations have diminished and/or disappeared.

i don't think i'm quite achieving the necessary levels of irritation or whatever, but i wonder if it is vaguely analogous to the mark rippetoe treatment for wonky elbows where he advocates something like intentionally going bananas on pullups to make them hurt for a different reason. then the repair mechanisms of the body are called in and happen to notice the original problem and fix it along with the pullup-induced thing. i think he works off of the metaphor of "pin firing" for horses where you fix their tendon problems by burning the skin over top of them.
 
indeed. my right knee sometimes gives me some annoyance. obviously, not enough for any medical professional to be able to provide meaningful commentary ("what? you run, squat, play middle blocker in volleyball, and you're in here complaining about your knee that is more functional than my healthy patients? what am i supposed to do?") but, i could feel an improvement from day to day (miniscule though it was) doing the relatively high volume squats this week. more specifically, when i go to walk up the stairs after getting back from a run, the left foot is ready to attack the step, but the right one hesitates in case a funny feeling develops in the knee. both the hesitation and the strange sensations have diminished and/or disappeared.

i don't think i'm quite achieving the necessary levels of irritation or whatever, but i wonder if it is vaguely analogous to the mark rippetoe treatment for wonky elbows where he advocates something like intentionally going bananas on pullups to make them hurt for a different reason. then the repair mechanisms of the body are called in and happen to notice the original problem and fix it along with the pullup-induced thing. i think he works off of the metaphor of "pin firing" for horses where you fix their tendon problems by burning the skin over top of them.
Yah, I dunno, but when my right shoulder got 'injured' just from sitting with a bad posture, I was once again able to confirm that lifting weights regularly keeps everything in tune. The shoulder thing is the sort of thing that never happens when I'm doing the lifting thing regularly.
new maximum squat = 180lbs (up from 165 back on 19jan16)
Congrats! Always rewarding to hit a new PR. Do you feel like your squat form has been figured out now? I think I began to make quick gains up to a certain level once my form came together.
 
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indeed. my right knee sometimes gives me some annoyance. obviously, not enough for any medical professional to be able to provide meaningful commentary ("what? you run, squat, play middle blocker in volleyball, and you're in here complaining about your knee that is more functional than my healthy patients? what am i supposed to do?") but, i could feel an improvement from day to day (miniscule though it was) doing the relatively high volume squats this week. more specifically, when i go to walk up the stairs after getting back from a run, the left foot is ready to attack the step, but the right one hesitates in case a funny feeling develops in the knee. both the hesitation and the strange sensations have diminished and/or disappeared.

i don't think i'm quite achieving the necessary levels of irritation or whatever, but i wonder if it is vaguely analogous to the mark rippetoe treatment for wonky elbows where he advocates something like intentionally going bananas on pullups to make them hurt for a different reason. then the repair mechanisms of the body are called in and happen to notice the original problem and fix it along with the pullup-induced thing. i think he works off of the metaphor of "pin firing" for horses where you fix their tendon problems by burning the skin over top of them.

Funny you mention this about squats, because the more consistent I become about doing them the less knee irritation I have.

I have also been a proponent of the self destruction mechanism when I was dealing with ITBS last year and pushing the injury to the extreme did seem to cure it. And its funny you bring up the pull up thing because I have hints of elbow tendinitis right now from doing higher quantities of pull lifts, but I'm not sure about doing more to fix it? I guess this may also be where the idea of doing high rep low weight lifts to increase blood flow idea comes from too.
 
Had my annual physical on Thursday. My cholesterol is better--normal--from last summer, but my blood pressure is a little high, as is to be expected considering my aerobic training has been in stasis for three months. I weighed in at 245. The doc said I should make 225 my first target weight, and then if I can get lower than that, it's bonus. I would still like to get down to 210, but it's probably best to just focus on getting rid of 20 pounds at first. Abide's progress has inspired me a bit. I think I'm going to try conditioning work after the weights, and also cut out the 1-2 drinks every night, and go back to making alcohol just a weekend thing, like it used to be before I got married.

I told the doc about the orthos I saw last summer, and how squats have seemed to be therapeutic for my knees. He was surprised of course, having been indoctrinated in the squats-are-bad-for-your-knees silliness. He said there was little hope for my lingering shingles to get better, although it does for some. I still notice it when I'm dehydrated, so it's my canary in a coalmine for hydration. Not painful, just annoying.

All the time off from steady lifting progress has got me in the right frame of mind to just focus on weight loss and general health now. I know the lifting gains will return eventually. The main thing is to set up a consistent routine that I can do for the rest of my lift. The time has come.

Yeah good plan about the drinks, I have reduced consumption to a beer every other night and that has been helpful. Also as Sid brought up in discussion before, unplugging from the amount burned concept has been helpful as well. So the consistent 3,000 calories a day goal has been a little more effective than a reactive eating by hunger concept. Not having junk food around is also helpful.

To be honest though I am noticing the lack of ability to outrun my diet anymore and now calorie restriction is the most beneficial way for me. Which kind of sucks, but the good thing is the more I skip eating things the less and less I miss them. 3 protein shakes a day also helps keep me away from snacking as much.

The good thing is my energy levels are stabilizing which I think eating a sandwich in the morning has made a world of difference. But I also think this is leading me to be a more efficient energy burner so ultimately I figure I will have to cut even more calories to keep progress going.

Anyway 225 is a good goal, I think you will be amazed how much better you feel and your knees will feel. By the way I got my resting heart rate down to the 42 level now. It really seems to be correlated with weight loss, I also suspect blood pressure should be the same.
 
Yeah good plan about the drinks, I have reduced consumption to a beer every other night and that has been helpful. Also as Sid brought up in discussion before, unplugging from the amount burned concept has been helpful as well. So the consistent 3,000 calories a day goal has been a little more effective than a reactive eating by hunger concept. Not having junk food around is also helpful.

To be honest though I am noticing the lack of ability to outrun my diet anymore and now calorie restriction is the most beneficial way for me. Which kind of sucks, but the good thing is the more I skip eating things the less and less I miss them. 3 protein shakes a day also helps keep me away from snacking as much.

The good thing is my energy levels are stabilizing which I think eating a sandwich in the morning has made a world of difference. But I also think this is leading me to be a more efficient energy burner so ultimately I figure I will have to cut even more calories to keep progress going.

Anyway 225 is a good goal, I think you will be amazed how much better you feel and your knees will feel. By the way I got my resting heart rate down to the 42 level now. It really seems to be correlated with weight loss, I also suspect blood pressure should be the same.
Wow 42 is a great resting heart rate!

I haven't lifted or exercised at all for more than a week. Part of it is due to poor sleeping, due to a painful molar. It has been bothering me off and on for several months now. I saw the dentist at the beginning of February, but it wasn't hurting much at that point, so I didn't remark on it. Finally, I went back on Tuesday. Monday night I could barely chew my dinner, the pain radiated throughout my jaw. The rather attractive dentist told me my molar was cracked down to the root, and that the root was infected. Worse, the only cure was to pull it, because once a crack goes down to the root, the tooth's days are numbered.

So that's what happened yesterday, got my tooth pulled. The actual tooth-pulling was quick and painless, because of the rot. What hurt was the dentist scraping out all the infected tissue. That scene from Marathon Man was playing in my head.

So not only are my knees rotting, but my teeth are starting to go too. Actually, I think the crack might go all the way back to the time I ran into a bus on my bike in Ethiopia, some 25 years ago. Part of the tooth next to it cracked at that time and eventually fell off. That tooth now has a crown. The problem with modern health care is that you have this constant revolving door of doctors, and no one knows anything about your history. We had a good dentist for a while, but he left our neighborhood clinic and we didn't feel like driving out to the suburbs to see him. I think I'll try to make the pretty dentist I saw on Tuesday our family dentist, but I don't know if my wife will like that.

Anyway, with the lack of exercise and tooth ache, I've been eating less and skipping lunch a lot. I'm starting to see some weight loss in my face. So, given the fact that my lifting has been in the gutter for many months now, and will take a long time to recover, I may focus on weight loss for a cycle or two and not worry too much about strength gains. It would be nice to feel a bit more agile again, perhaps even a bit more elegant, and less burly. So what I might try is riding my bike every morning on my 10-mile route, then stopping off at my gym to do whatever lifting strikes my fancy on a given day. Definitely will get the squats in, everything else I might wait to mix in as I adapt to the everyday cycling.

I'm starting to get to that out-of-shape point where my body is feeling sluggish and isn't missing the exercise anymore. A very dangerous threshold to cross, I know from past experience.

I did run a block with my kids the other day though, and it felt great. So once again I'm thinking my knees might be able to handle shorter intervals or hills, just not the longer, repetitive pounding.
 
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Wow 42 is a great resting heart rate!

So not only are my knees rotting, but my teeth are starting to go too. Actually, I think the crack might go all the way back to the time I ran into a bus on my bike in Ethiopia, some 25 years ago. Part of the tooth next to it cracked at that time and eventually fell off. That tooth now has a crown. The problem with modern health care is that you have this constant revolving door of doctors, and no one knows anything about your history. We had a good dentist for a while, but he left our neighborhood clinic and we didn't feel like driving out to the suburbs to see him. I think I'll try to make the pretty dentist I saw on Tuesday our family dentist, but I don't know if my wife will like that.

Thanks! Sorry to hear about the tooth issues. It's funny how profound of an affect on life these little nagging things have. I'm having some dental work done as well, after never having to deal with it before now, I have to say it sucks ass.

Sounds like a good plan about the weight loss, then we'll have that in common for the next cycle or so. I'm hitting a rough spot right now and am trying to keep things on track. Need to get more disciplined with the snacking.

My ITBS has been flaring up occasionally lately especially when I wear a heavier pack. Who knows maybe when i get to 185 it will go away. It hasn't influenced my running much but I am very weary of it.
 
Shoot got a new piece of gear yesterday I purchased on a whim. A 30kg weight vest. I was thinking about doing step ups, walks and maybe some hill climbs to prepare for my anticipated pennine way traverse. But I went through some preliminary calcs and hopefully I will only be hauling about 15lbs with me. I guess training with 4 times the weight might be beneficial.
 
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Assessment of last cycle: sucked
Goals for this cycle: not suck

Seriously, I will experiment with first-thing-in-the-morning exercise, as I'm semi-convinced this is the only way I will ever get after it on a consistent basis. I will probably start with a simple 3x5 scheme, and set semi-challenging loads for the six main lifts, work up to the point where I can complete five reps per set, and then begin microloading, adding in some rep-count variation as needed.

---------------Week 1: Cycle II---------------


Sunday, 16.02.28
Monday, 16.02.29
Tuesday, 16.03.01
Wednesday, 16.03.02

Thursday, 16.03.03
AM
Bike Commuting
3.3 miles

Lifting
Finally made my way back to Anytime Fitness, at 4am. Just primed the six lifts. I'll try to add a bit next time, hopefully tomorrow. It's going to take a while to transition to early morning lifting, but I know it's the way to go long-term. Just have to make the short-term adjustments, mostly psychological.

Tried the assisted pullup contraption for the first time. I liked it a lot better than pulldowns or assisted pullups with bands. I think the weight was set at 70, which, given a body weight of 245, means I was lifting 175, right? That seems right. It felt like about 175 on a pulldown. It's pretty cool. I'll just keep dropping weight until I can do it unassisted. With the pulldowns, right around 200 pounds, I start to rise up, and my form becomes fetal. With the assisted pullup machine, my form felt pretty natural (the arc of resistance or whatever it's called seemed close to a real pullup), and there was possibly less stress on the shoulder and elbows.

PM
Bike Commuting
One mile.

Friday, 16.03.04
Saturday, 16.03.05


---------------Week 2: Cycle II---------------
Sunday, 16.03.06

AM
Lifting
More priming. Got the squat up to 2/2/2 @ 185 and did one rep of 135 for the clean-press. Then just dicking around with the RDLs, assisted pullup, 2DB Bench Press and 1DB Row, almost doing them as circuit training, which then occurred to me might be a good way to warm up first thing.

I debated hitting the gym while on the shitter, then realized if I don't get on top of this early morning routine pretty soon it's going to get harder and harder to get back into shape. Just have to suck it up for a week or two until I adapt and make it non-negotiable. It's too easy to find excuses first thing in the morning. So I went. My lower back felt pretty crunchy, so I rowed for five minutes after my first empty bar warmup squat set. That helped a bit, but I think I'll need to go in pretty much everyday to speed up the adaptation process. Might have to think about some kind of split.

Since the gym is on my prime bike route, maybe I'll try to combine biking and lifting into a single daily routine. 45-50 minutes of cycling a day would probably take the weight off quickly.

Anyway feeling great afterwards, just have to summon the mental fortitude to do something, anything, again tomorrow morning.

Monday, 16.03.07
AM
Lifting
Squat: 2/2 @ 225
Clean-Press: 1/2 @ 135
Assisted Pullup: 3 @ -60, 3/3 @ -40

Well, managed two days in a row. At least until I'm back in decent shape, I will probably work off of a split routine. That could be sustainable on a daily basis. So one day Squat/Press/Pullup, one day Deadlift/Bench/Row. I think the secret to a first-thing-in-the-morning routine is to do it everyday.

Everything felt a little better today than yesterday, but my lower back still feels a little stiff and unstable at 4am, so I'm going to continue to take things slow and just get everything primed and habituated to the early morning schedule. Assisted Pullups felt almost like real ones at -40 pounds. I'm about 245 still, so I was doing a pullup at a bodyweight of about 205 with the 40 pound assist. This will probably be my base and then I'll work on reducing the assist in five-pound increments.

I really like how good I feel afterwards. It really sets up the rest of the day quite nicely. Only problem is the afternoon drowsiness. Yesterday I was fighting sleep from 1-3pm before I got my second wind. I hope that improves as I adapt to the early morning schedule.

Tuesday, 16.03.08
Slept in until 6am. By the time I got to the gym, the little parking lot was already full and I could see all the cardio folks running on the treadmills while looking up at the 4-5 screens they have in front. That was enough, I turned around and went to my office. I know it's stupid, but I got to ease into a fuller gym vibe, although I doubt the power racks were all taken. Maybe in a few more weeks. At the moment, I'm really enjoying the desolate gym vibe. Like Charlton Heston lifting during the night while the zombies are out on the prowl or something. Anyway, found out that sometime between 5:30 and 6:30am the gym goes from deathly quiet (besides the piped in musak) to pretty lively.

Wednesday, 16.03.09
Felt like working out first thing, but I let obsession with class prep justify not going in. Regretted it almost immediately.

Thursday, 16.03.10
AM
Lifting
Squat: 2/2/3 @ 225
Clean-Press: 1/1/2/2 @ 135
Assisted Pullup (Supine, pronated, neutral): 3/3/3 @ -40

It felt a little less uncomfortable to lift first thing, my lower back felt less stiff and crunchy, and then on the third squat set I actually felt pretty good and considered going for reps. But I think I've committed, at least for a while, to a gradual, everyday, three lifts protocol. So I did my best to abide by it and just let the schedule adaptations come to me.

The focus has to remain on simply establishing the (nearly) everyday schedule for the next week or two. So I got set the agenda on low-effort until it starts to feel like a late afternoon workout, then start to push it. I was encouraged that on the third squat set I got a glimpse of some of that urge to push. So just gotta be patent and trust that it will come. Basically, there's two hurdles to overcome. First, when I wake up, fight the initial urge to head straight to my office for breakfast and coffee. Second, once I'm at the gym, fight the urge to quit before my body begins to warm-up. Once it's warmed-up, it takes a lot less mental effort to get through the sets. I think working off of a split routine will also help. All I have to do is nine worksets and then I can shower, eat, and have my coffee.

I really like the space at Anytime Fitness. When I'm in there alone, or with just a few people and it's almost like I'm all alone, I don't have any of that claustrophic crampedness of my garage gym. The body seems to want to fully extend into all that space when I'm doing the squat and press.

One guy seems to have the same early morning schedule as me. He's the serious lifter I think I mentioned before when I was complaining about the music a week or two ago. So that's cool. He was just coming in as I was leaving, but it's good to know there's a potential spotter around in case I decided to test a single once in a while.

Friday, 16.03.11
Felt like hitting the gym, didn't. Regretted it.

Saturday, 16.03.12

AM
Bike commuting
1.9 mi to gym
1.4 mi to office
1 mi to home

Lifting
Romanian Deadlift: 3/3/3 @ 225
Bench Press: 1/2/3 @ 185
One-hand Dumbbell Row: 3/3/3 @ 90 L & R

I got to Anytime Fitness sometime after 3am. I woke up at 2:30 very dehydrated with a slight headache. I ate a nice sized ribeye with wine for dinner the evening before but didn't eat anything else and only had carrots for lunch. So I just primed everything, still focusing on simply establishing the early morning schedule and the new three-lifts routine. Felt good to bench again. And I noticed they have a prowler, so might have to check that out at some point.

---------------Week 3: Cycle II---------------

Sunday, 16.03.13
AM
Lifting
Squat: 3/3/2 @ 225
Clean Press: 1/1/1/3 @ 135
Assisted Pullup, Pronated, Neutral, Supine Grip: 3/3/3 @ -40

Pretty proud I made it in today. I slept like a log from exhaustion and woke up with a kink in my back. Five minutes of rowing helped loosen things up, and then squats felt pretty solid. I felt a little light-headed on the first Press sets however. I think I'm still dehydrated from our family outing on Saturday. Assisted Pullups are definitely getting easier, and I think I may have lost a pound or two over the last week as well. Didn't ride my bike because it's supposed to rain and it's still cold enough to make that a little miserable, but yesterday I did manage to finally get the studded tires off so no excuses now, got start working the cyvling back in as well.

Didn't get in till after 7am, due to daylight savings time and sleeping in till 6:45 or so. 2-4 people in there with me, mostly doing cardio. Then one big guy came back to the free weights section and started doing half-squats while I was leaving. When I come in earlier I have the best of both worlds: the convenience and space of a health club together with the privacy and focus of a garage gym.

Monday, 16.03.14
AM
Lifting
RDL: 3/3/3 @ 275
Bench Press: 3/3/3 @ 185
P Row: 3/3/3 @ 135

Definitely getting easier. Maybe I can start to push things next week after another week of priming. I'll have to recalculate the loads and percentages, so far I've just been doing everything in 45- or 25-plate increments. It will all depend on how quickly I can get my squat back up. Even though I've switched things up a bit with the three-lifts, everyday protocol, I think it still makes sense for me to calibrate all the loads off the squat using the Iron Ratios.

I've lifted six out of the last nine days. Whoppee!

Tuesday, 16.03.15
AM
Lifting
Squat: 3 @ 225, 2/2/2 @ 245
Clean Press: 1/2/2/2 @ 135
Assisted Pullup, Pronated, Neutral, Supine Grip: 3/3/3 @ -40

Boosted the Squat up 20 pounds, probably should've come back down for one more set for reps at 225. I can't believe I used to be able to do 7 x 225. Still, the early morning routine is getting easier. I woke up once again debating whether to go, but by the time I was heading out the door, I actually wanted to go. I think I might have to experiment a little with pre-workout fueling though. So far, I've been pumping in a fasted state. But loading food and plates at the same time might be a shock to the system so soon after coming out of hibernation mode.

Now I've lifted 7 out of 10 days, oh yeah . . .

Wednesday, 16.03.16
Right knee a little unstable, probably shouldn't have gone up to 245 on the squats yet.

Thursday, 16.03.17
Friday, 16.03.18
Saturday, 16.03.19

---------------Week 4: Cycle II---------------
Just a day or two off to let my right knee recover, and now I'm back in slackerland. Came across this T-Nation repost Saturday morning: https://www.t-nation.com/training/maxing-on-squats-and-deadlifts-every-day

The secret to daily training is to avoid arousal. Just make it workaday and let the gains come to you. So that's the plan.

Sunday, 16.03.20
My right shoulder started hurting Saturday while sitting at an odd angle at my desk, with my feet set up to my left and my right elbow a bit high on the arm rest while manipulating the mouse and keyboard. Today it hurts more. Crap, I'm definitely more injury-prone when I don't work out regularly. Now I'm regretting not going in on Wednesday even when my right knee felt a little unstable. I could've done some light RDLs and then upper body stuff. Probably would've prevented this from happening.

OK, I'll just take it as another sign to start really light and progress slowly, as per the Wendler dictum. The only thing that matters is establishing the every morning routine, because once a day or two passes without working out, it gets hard again to motivate first thing in the morning. And now I have the niggling shoulder for an excuse, just what a slacker needs.

Monday, 16.03.21
AM
Bike commuting
1.9 mi to gym
1.4 mi to office
1 mi to home

Lifting
Primed the Squat, Press, and Chinup at low weights, just to see how my right knee and shoulder react. Sucks to be injured again, especially for no reason, but I'm going to do my best to come in each and every day this week. That article by Nuckols on the Bulgarian Method was the last pitch I needed to hear to really sell me on the high frequency approach. I think especially for aging, doing something, anything, everyday is key to keeping everything loose and limber. I've lifted enough over the last several years to know that the gains will come through sheer consistency, no reason to push, just go.

Tuesday, 16.03.22
AM
Lifting
RDL: 3/3/3 @ 225
Pendlay Row: 3/3/3 @ 135

I was thinking yesterday's light presses may have been therapeutic but then I tried to bench with just the empty bar and it almost fell on my chest. Something is f*cked up in my right shoulder, yet I didn't even injury it. Just sat with poor posture for a day.

Anyway, back on the early morning schedule at least. Didn't even feel an inkling of not wanting to go; hitting the gym was the first thing on my mind as I regained consciousness. So that's good.

Wednesday, 16.03.23
Thursday, 16.03.24
Friday, 16.03.25

Saturday, 16.03.26
AM
Lifting
Squat: 3/3 @ 175
Clean Press: 3/3 @ 95
Assisted Pullup, Supine Grip: 3/3 @ -70

Right shoulder and knee have felt pretty normal for a few days, so I went in and primed my squats, press, and chinup. I'm pretty used to the 4am gym scene now, especially when it's completely empty like today. I'll use the excuse of not wanting to re-injure the shoulder and knee to try to put in a full week of just making sure I go in everyday without any performance expectations. So the strange, bad-sitting-posture shoulder injury could be a blessing in disguise. The right knee doesn't really merit this caution, as I've got pretty good at managing the meniscus tissue issue, but it did feel cranky after doing 3 x 245 ten days ago, so perhaps a week of just priming things will be good for the knees too.

Had my annual physical on Thursday. My cholesterol is better--normal--from last summer, but my blood pressure is a little high, as is to be expected considering my aerobic training has been in stasis for three months. I weighed in at 245. The doc said I should make 225 my first target weight, and then if I can get lower than that, it's bonus. I would still like to get down to 210, but it's probably best to just focus on getting rid of 20 pounds at first. Abide's progress has inspired me a bit. I think I'm going to try conditioning work after the weights, and also cut out the 1-2 drinks every night, and go back to making alcohol just a weekend thing, like it used to be before I got married.

I told the doc about the orthos I saw last summer, and how squats have seemed to be therapeutic for my knees. He was surprised of course, having been indoctrinated in the squats-are-bad-for-your-knees silliness. He said there was little hope for my lingering shingles to get better, although it does for some. I still notice it when I'm dehydrated, so it's my canary in a coalmine for hydration. Not painful, just annoying.

All the time off from steady lifting progress has got me in the right frame of mind to just focus on weight loss and general health now. I know the lifting gains will return eventually. The main thing is to set up a consistent routine that I can do for the rest of my lift. The time has come.

---------------Week 5: Cycle II---------------

Sunday, 16.03.27
AM
Lifting
RDL: 3/3/3 @ 275
P Row: 5/5/5 @ 135
Assisted Dips: 3/3/3 @ -100

Woke up at 2:00 am. Didn't even think twice about hitting the gym. It seems to be getting easier.
One other old guy in there when I arrived.

RDLs at 275 didn't seem like such hard sell. I tried assisted dips and my right shoulder seemed OK with it, so next time I'll try a -85 pound assist. I'm thinking with the three-lifts, everyday routine, I could work in some quick assistance lifts once in a while, probably pullovers and dips, maybe landmine twist as well. With just three mandatory lifts, the structure feels more open, like only the Squats on the A workout and Deadlifts on the B workout are really set, and always done first thing. After that, I could alternate dumbbell presses for barbell presses, or do some subbing on the machines, just for kicks. Anyway, I'll try bench press on my next deadlift day to see if the right shoulder is fully recovered from the crankiness.

Monday, 16.03.28
Right shoulder began to feel a little sore as the day progressed.

Tuesday, 16.03.29
Woke up with a really sore right shoulder. Man, didn't feel it while doing the dips on Sunday. How'd that happen.

Wednesday, 16.03.30

Thursday, 16.03.31
AM
Lifting
SQ: 1/2/3 @225
RDL 3/3 @ 225
Press: 3 @ 95, left shoulder a little something, so another set of empty bar and I quit.
Assisted Pullups -70 3/3

Just went in to prime things. Right shoulder is feeling normal, but I'm going to do the upper body stuff really lite until I'm sure everything's alright again.

---------------Week 6: Cycle II---------------

Tuesday, 16.04.05
Saw Dentist about lower left tooth ache.

Thursday, 16.04.07
Dentist pulled out my back molar and scrapped out all the infected tissue.

---------------Week 7: Cycle II---------------

Sunday, 16.04.10
Two miles bike commuting.

Monday, 16.04.11
Feeling really soggy. Enough is enough!

Tuesday, 16.04.12
AM
Lifting
SQ: 3/3/3 @ 95
OHP: 3/3/3 @ 95
RDL: 3/3/3 @ 135
P Rw: 3/3/3 @ 135
BP: 3/3/3 @ 95
As. PU: 3/3/3 @ -55lbs (BW:245 - 55lbs assist = 190lbs)

OK, finally motivated. I'm going to spend the rest of the cycle just priming, no goals, make sure my knees and shoulders are good and lubed before I try serious loads. Try to end the cycle with 1U = 60, so with the Iron Ratio of

OHP = 2
P Row = 2.5
Pullup = 2.7
BP = 3
SQ/RDL = 4
DL = 4.6

I'll try to get everything up to

OHP = 120
P Row = 150
Pullup = 162
BP = 180
SQ/RDL = 240
DL = 270

Before I begin the microloading again in the next training cycle. Plus I have to get in 12 sessions per calendar month in order to get my insurance rebate of $20, so it will behoove me to go for a week straight without pushing it so much that I need a day of recovery.

Hmnn, wait a minute, the assisted pullups are too low. I might have to mess with the Iron Ratio a bit.

Wednesday, 16.04.13

Thursday, 16.04.14

Friday, 16.04.15
AM
Lifting
SQ: 2/2/3 @ 185
OHP: 3/3/3 @ 120
As. PU: 3/3/3 @ -25lbs (BW:245 - 25lbs assist = 220lbs)
BP: 3/3/3 @ 95
P Rw: 3/3/3 @ 135
RDL: 3/3/3 @ 225

More priming. Did assisted pullups with just a 25-pound assist, so I'm at where my bodyweight should be in a few months if I can ever get back to consistent training. Didn't feel to hard to hit the gym, the mental part has been vanquished, not I just have to train enough that I can do some serious loads first thing. Still holding off on that for a while.

Got one of Abide's colds. The kids have had the sniffles, but I've been a bit sleep deprived for many days, and I think that left me vulnerable. Oh well, one good night of sleep ought to take care of it.

Saturday, 16.04.16
Five miles biking, family outing. Great to cycle with the wife and kids.

Woke up with strange kink in my right hip. A combination of lifting on Friday and sleeping too well Friday night? Anyway, decided to take time off until it feels better. I don't want to screw things up again.

---------------Week 8: Cycle II---------------

Sunday, 16.04.17

Monday, 16.04.18

Tuesday, 16.04.19

Wednesday, 16.04.20

Thursday, 16.04.21

Friday, 16.04.22

Saturday, 16.04.23

Lee! We need a new thread!