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.

Fitness update - 7 May 2014

Wednesday, 7 May 2014 
45 min., 221 lb
MOOD: Felt tired, lifted tired. How you feel is usually a lie. Had a Cytomax. Kind of a random workout, but I got it done. 

warm-up: movements, stretching

SQ: 8, 5, 3, 3 @ 235, 285, 305, 325 lb

plate pinching:
25 lb x 40 sec.
35 lb x 20 sec.
50 lb x a few seconds
[John Brookfield is right. Plate pinching is a radical grip challenge. I managed to get to 25-lb plates off the ground for a few seconds for each hand a couple times, but then I just stuck a little 2.5-lb plate in the hollow of the plate weights listed above, to give my fingers a challenge harder than simply holding the lip of the plate, but easier than a true two-plate pinch.]

towel hang (L-over-R, R-over-L):
15 sec., 15 sec. x 3

db pinch: 60 lb x 15, 20, 17 sec.
[I haven't seen these before, but I'm sure I didn't invent them. I simply grabbed the dumbbells by the plate stack until my grip gave out. You might call them horizontal plate pinches.]

farmer carry: 90 lb x 25, 25, 25 sec.

+ + +  

I'm headed off to a good night of sleep and then I hope to do a Shurg Rush tomorrow. Will probably throw in some Zercher or hack squats, given my masochistic nature.

Even Keel update - 3 May 2014

Even Keel 1B
75 min (?), 222 lb
MOOD: I felt run down last week and took Friday off from the gym to get some sleep. I also irritated my neck a bit with too much neck bridging a few days ago, so I was trepidatious about this workout. Yet again, however, "how you feel is a lie."

warm-up: movements, scorpions, toe touches, etc.

DL: 6, 4, 2, 1, 1*/1 @ 285, 305, 355, 375, 400, 400
[I used an overhand grip for all reps, and only used chalk once I hit 375. I didn't manage to lock out the penultimate rep, so I set it back down, shook myself out for a few seconds, and then used a hook grip to pull 400 lb.* A new PR. I think I could have gone heavier. But all good things in time....]

twisting db DBP: 8, 7*, 6* @ 80, 85, 90 lb.
[Spotter on 7th rep of 2nd set. Did a negative on 6th rep of last set.]

HSQ: 9, 6, 6 @ 195, 45, 265 lb.
[Blast them quads!]

unilateral bp MP: 9, 7, 5 @ 55, 60, 65 lb.

Kroc row: 8, 6, 8 @ 85, 90, 95 lb.

lying cable curl: 12, 9, 7 @ 100, 110, 120 lb.
[Killer exertion! Wonderful for targeting the biceps long head.]

* {The opening video is a joke about how, for once, I could actually feel the discomfort some people complain about using the hook grip: "That really hurt!" Well, sort of. It was indeed "unpleasant" for a few moments, but you gotta do what you gotta do.}

Even Keel - 25 April 2014

Even Keel 1B
70 min, 224 lbs 

DL: 6, 4, 3, 1/4 @ 235, 285, 325, 355 lbs 
[Used chalk on what was supposed to be the only rep in the last set, but then I did four more reps with a hook grip. LIGHTWEIGHT! Perhaps a PR. One nice little detail is that I used the thicker, powerlifting bar. Grip Strong Or Die.] 

pullover-press: 10, 10, 10 @ 50, 60, 70 lbs. 
[in line with the bench] 

FSQ: 5x5 @ 205 lbs. 
[Nut'n but a peanut.] 

Pendlay row: 5x5 @ 165 lbs 

bb guillotine: 12, 9, 8* @ 145, 165, 185 lbs. 
[spotter on last rep of last set] 

db spider curl: 12, 12, 12 @ 50, 60, 70 lbs 

+ + +

The DOMS in my hammies from the Shurg Rush (viz. hypers) gave me second thoughts about working out heavy today, but, as always, "how you feel is a lie." If I do feel wrecked tomorrow--which I doubt--I've got the weekend to recover. 

I hope to post a photo of my 60+ lb dino-dumbbell tomorrow. I will probably train grip tomorrow or Sunday. 

Grip training + AYCE = WINNING!

Grip training
30 min., 225 lbs.
MOOD: felt groggy and a bit cranky when I got home; spent some time puttering in the garage and eventually felt ready

warm-up: space mace, ghetto gripper, stretching, Chin Na movements (10 min.)

CoC #1.5 - 6 closes

CoC #2 - LH 1 near-close, RH 1 close
[I squeezed so hard on my first LH attempt that at the release I got dizzy enough to have to brace myself on my heavy bag. Fun times!]

CoC #2 - LH 1 near-close, RH 1 close

CoC #2 - LH 1 body-English close, RH 1 close

CoC #1.5 iso-squeeze - LH/RH 15 sec./15 sec.
[used a piece of a thin metal rule to detect when the ends separated]

1.5" pinch block @ 24 lbs. - LH 47 sec., RH 55 sec.
1.5" pinch block @ 24 lbs. - LH 50 sec., RH 50 sec.
[This last set reminded me how grip training is intensely, perhaps uniquely, "mental" in its intensity. I could almost feel myself willing my fingers to clamp harder near the end of my first RH pinch. Then I did the same for my second LH pinch, yet, significantly, let my mind wander during my last RH pinch.]

+ + +

And then, boys and girls, I did a Bad Thing: I gave into the urge to SQUAT MOAR and drove up to the gym for a set of FSQ.

FSQ: 8, 6, 3, 3, 3, 2 @ 145, 195, 215, 235, 255, 275 lbs.

+ + + 

Hooray: I believe those two reps at 275 are a new PR for me.

I'm pretty certain that I could front squat 285, which was the figure I estimated was 90% of my back squat. Once I achieve that FSQ, I will reintegrate SQ into my regimen.

All such certainties aside, however, I am willing to wait until I actually FSQ a couple reps at 285 before bringing back the SQ, and even when I do so, I'll be opting for a high-bar, narrowish-stance, Olympicky SQ instead of the low bar powerlifting SQ. FSQ helps your liftoff on the DL, and my Kelso Shurg Rush program is intended to augment the back-extension phase.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This FSQ set was a perfect example of the benefit I got from Perryman's Squat Every Day. Just as some fellows tell their wives that they're headed to the store for some milk, I rather spontaneously told my wife, "I'm going to go squat, be back soon." I went in my Birkenstocks, shorts, a T-shirt and a sweatshirt, bee-lined for the squat rack, and got the whole set done in about 20 minutes. Before my very last rep, I took a long moment to collect my thoughts, assess my abilities, and then drove down for what turned out to be a second PR. ("How you feel is a lie.") Admittedly, I thought I was about to tip forward halfway up, but I pulled through, let out a small bark at the top, racked the bar, and stepped away, saying, "Well, wasn't that something?"

Felt. Totally. Awesome!

Speaking of "feeleens," I had some DOMS today in my thighs, and was of a mind to take it easy, but I keep coming back to the mysterious and too little known truth that it's extremely difficult to (really) "overtrain" squats.

Tomorrow is a Shurg Rush, and I will be throwing in a set of HSQ or ZSQ. Stay tuned.

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

P.S. 

Almost forgot. I made my workout cards today, so I'm just as curious as you are what my Even Keel 1A workout is for next week. I've already got this week's 1B programmed. 

P.P.S. 

My first dino-db is complete! Turns out, lubricating the container actually makes it harder to extract the dried cement, since it forms a moisture lock with the plastic. It's about 34 lbs. and the handle ended up being a little longer than I wanted. The measurement I had taken of the first side of cement, and used for the second portion, was too high: once the water evaporated, the concrete itself finished "shorter away" from my intended handle width. Oh well. I laid the first half of my next, 60+ lbs dino-db today, which was a nifty wrist warm-up for my grip session, to boot. 

The new half is darker until residual moisture and silicone lubricant are gone. If you want to make one of these for yourself, here's a little heads-up: when setting the second half, you need to drill a small hole in the handle so that air in the pipe can escape and allow the fresh cement to fill the pipe. Oh, also, you should tap all around the bucket to get as many air bubbles out of the cement to the surface. Happily enough, this procedure splashed some of the cement onto the handle, which gives an otherwise smooth pipe some nice grit.