Fitness update(s) - 8 May -- 12 May

Thursday, 8 May 2014 
Shurg Rush
60 min., 221 lb. 

HSQ: 12, 10, 8, 6, 3, 3, 3, 2 @ 145, 165, 185, 215, 235, 255, 285, 305 lb.

[I went for three on my last set, but stalled halfway up. That was strangely gratifying. I had really found a weight that matched, and just surpassed, my ability. Until I get stronger, that is.]

hypers: 12, 9, 6 @ + 25, 35, 45 lb.

db Kelso shrug: 12, 9, 6 @ 80, 85, 90 lb.

[As much as I love dumbbells, I think these will be more effective with a barbell. I'll test it out next time, maybe Wednesday.]

bench shrug: 12, 12, 12 @ 235, 285, 335 lb.

[My spotter on the last set came over and said, "Whoa, that's a lotta weight!" I explained the lift and he grinned, with a glimmer of dawning comprehension. That's three out of three times I've had to gotten to explain my shrug exercises. #GospelOfKelso]

dip shrug: 12, 12, 12, @ + 70, 80, 90 lb.

[Fairly beastly. Me like. A kid came over and watched me on my last set, then asked, "What are those for?" I explained. He nodded, then slowly walked away, with a faint smirk, as if I'd just said my muscles are made of cheese. Clearly a lad still trapped the darkness of Non-Kelsotude.]

snatch shrug: 8, 6, 8* @ 235, 255, 275 lb.

[I realized that I should just deadlift the bar off the ground, in order to be able to use a truly snatch-wide grip without the risk of pinching my fingers on a rack. The last set was fun because, as my grip gave way, I hitched the bar up and grabbed it with a little narrower grip, shrugged again, felt my grip giving way, hitched it one more time into a standard shrug grip, and squeezed out one more rep. Fun times.]

+ + + 

Saturday, 10 May 2014 
Carpe Ferrum workout 
55 min., 220 lb. 
MOOD: I truly felt like crap for this workout. I don't know why, but part of the problem is that a late night out last week and a little family drama recently have left me feeling drained for a few days. Maybe allergies are hitting me hard, too. In any event, I knew I simply had to "punch the clock." An extremely "mental" workout, it nevertheless ended up being quite effective, all things considered.

FSQ: 10, 10, 10 @ 145, 165, 185 lb.

supinating db press: 10, 10, 10, 8 @ 55, 60, 65, 85 lb.

seated db curl: 10, 10, 10, 8 @ 30, 35, 35, 40 lb.

CL: 8, 8, 8 @ 115, 135, 155 lb.

db flye: 10, 10, 10 @ 45, 55, 60 lb.

seated cable row: 10, 10, 10 @ 150, 170, 170 lb.

unilateral cable row: 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 @ 80, 90, 110 lb.

[I did these seated on the floor and used a little torso rotation to maximize the range of motion. Not too shabby.]

+ + + 

Monday, 12 May 2014 
Carpe Ferrum workout
50 min., 224 lb. 

power CL: 6, 5, 4, 2*, 4, 2* @ 135, 155, 175, 185, 175, 185 lb.

[Once my form got sloppy at 185 lb., I ramped it down a bit, but then decided to go for 185 again. On the last set, I failed on a third attempt, and now my right wrist is a little tweaked. Fear not: I'll be fine.]

unilateral db hang jerk (?): 10, 8, 6, 4/6 @ 50, 55, 60, 65 lb.

[Instead of a one-hand snatch, I devised these in order to work my lats, traps, hams, and posterior chain on the pull, and to perform a fluid press to the top. My copy of Kubik's Dinosaur Training arrived today, so I'd like to thank him for inspiring me to try these out. I squeezed out two extra reps at the end to bring my left arm up to speed.]

incline db flye: 12, 10, 8, 7* @ 50, 55, 60, 65 lb.

Hit a wall, going through it

After five consecutive days of training, a weekend of grip training and playing at the beach threw my body "out of whack" (a phrase which for the first time has a personal phenomenological vividness). For the past three days I have done virtually no exercise.* I hit a wall. I needed a break. I needed some space. Even today I was a bit reticent, but the axiom that "how you feel is a lie" was largely borne out once more. Kelso's Shrug Book is more substantial than I expected (i.e. its 94 pages are textbook size and provide numerous photos), and I couldn't wait to apply some of the great things I've read in it so far. A Carpe Ferrum workout was just the sort of rehab-refresher workout I needed.

Carpe Ferrum/Shurg Rush 
60 min., 226 lbs. 

Warm-up: 10 min.

FSQ: 6, 6, 3, 3, 3 @ 165, 185, 205, 235, 255 lbs.

Cable cross shrug: 10, 10, 10 @ 100, 120, 140

DBP: 6, 6, 6, 6, 10, 12 @ 215, 225, 235, 215, 195, 175 lbs.

Bench shrug: 12, 12, 12 @ 215, 225, 235 lbs.

stiff-arm pulldown & dip shrug (or "monkey shrug"):
[I just tried a few of these to get a feel for them. Weighted dip shrugs would be awesome, mega serratus trainer!]

db pullover: 10, 10, 10 @ 55, 60, 65 lbs.

EZ bar spider curl: 6/6, 6/6, 6/6 @ 40, 50, 60 lbs.
[I did the first 6 reps to work the short/inner head, and the next six for the long/outer head.]

-----------------------

* Tuesday I did three sets of ab exercises, and Wednesday I did what was basically a diagnostic grip session. I closed the CoC #2 twice, in two separate attempts, with my right hand, but was "this close" three times with my left hand. I perused my past grip notes here and the best I seem to have achieved, in August 2012, was 4 right closes, and 2 (or 3) left closes. Despite this current setback, the good news is that, only a week or two ago I was unable to close the #2 at all, so my old grip foundation is coming back. Still, it will take time, and I daren't rush into tendonitis. 

Interestingly enough, I must thank last night's grip session for galvanizing me to do today's workout. There's something very special about intense grip training. A serious crush attempt, if done right, will have you flexing an entire side of your body, and will often leave you a little dizzy. (To experience this feeling, try doing half a dozen extremely arduous, standing front pec flexes, each time 5 seconds long, with your fists squeezing as hard as possible.) As I learned long ago, and which was a key impetus for my plunge into serious grip training, the brain will not activate full muscular potential if it's not convinced you have solid grip on the resistant object. By extension, therefore, achieving a solid grip on an object will deeply stimulate larger accessory muscles "up the chain." This is why trying to "crush" the bar helps your bench, and even your squat (cf. step 3), and also ties into effective kettlebell clean and jerk.