Racquetball

This morning after my swim I went over to Layton Surf N' Swim and played racquetball with Austin and Jacob. Dan was playing with Tina for a few games and then afterwards, we played. We only played three games and I won all three. I was pretty fired up after last week's loss. One game I game from 0-10 to win 15-10. Didn't get my heart rate up very much. I think I'm getting more in shape to the point where I'm at my prime again.

Racquetball this morning

This morning I was a little late getting to SDRC and noticed Blair Tingey playing cut-throat with Dan Harmer! What a small world. I didn't know he played. I joined Dave and Ted in a cut-throat game and Dave came from behind and won. We played again and he won again.

I then played cut throat with Dan and his friend Steve. I was down most of the time, and was at 10 for a long time, then I got 5 in a row and won. I must have gotten hit by the ball about 5 times today. Nothing terribly bad, but a couple were fairly good hits. Usually I get hit once every few times, but today it caught up to me. I played for an hour and a half and then went swimming.

An hour before leaving for Swimming with Cathi I went down and did ab work for 50 minutes:

Crunches: 5 x 25
Captains Chair (Reverse Crunches): 5 x 15
Windmills: 5 x 25
Seated Cable Crunches: 5 x 30

Then did Elliptical for 15 minutes and then left to meet Cathi at Surf N' Swim for more swimming.

Last Chance run

This morning we got up early and ran the following:

3.75m - 5 x (.60m run, .15m walk)
0.5m - .25m run, .10m walk, .10 run, .05 walk

4.25 Miles total

Afterwards weighed in at 211.4 which was a total shock. I expected to be 212 something. That is a loss of 3 pounds since last Wednesday. Very happy with that.

At the end of the day I did the Elliptical trainer for 32 minutes (300 Calories) and met Cathi and the Bountiful Temple for a session at 7:00. Didn't get to swim tonight.

Running strong

Today is the first day running on the treadmill with the new Mizunos. Ran strong and felt great doing the following:

3.0 m - 4 x (0.60m run @ 6.0mph, 0.15m walk @ 3.5 mph)
0.75m - 1 x (0.60m run @ 6.5mph, 0.15m walk @ 3.5 mph)
0.75m - 3 x (0.125m run @ 8.0 8.5, 9.0 mph, 0.125m walk @ 3.5 mph)

4.5 miles total

I think 9.0 mph on the treadmill is the max. It was making a strange noise and the belt I think was slipping because it registered 8.5 and then dropped down to 7.0 range but I was booking and I know was going more than 8.5. Will have to make the max 8.5 so I don't ruin the thing. Worried about tomorrow's weigh in. I don't think it will be a good week. I ate too much this week. Hoping to be below 214 though.

New Mizuno shoes and first run with Cathi

Cathi agreed to buy me some Mizuno's (out of her weight loss winnings) if I ran with her at least once a week. I weighed in this morning when I woke up at 217.0 pounds. I knew I would have gained since I had a terrible weekend with my diet. I ran:

3.75 - 5 x (.60 mile run @ 6.5 mph, .15 mile walk @3.5mph)
0.25 - 0.125m fast run, 0.125m walk
0.10 - walk from the corner to the house

4.10 miles

Took the GPS to get my distance/speed readings. I planned on only running .5m and walking .25 but felt good so I changed it. Average moving speed was 5.8 which was faster than I thought I would go. The shoes were nice, but not overwhelmingly so. My knees were giving me trouble the whole time, but not so much that I gave up. I need to keep my knee braces and shoes together at all times. I weighed in after the run (and after a BM) and weighed 215.0. Loss of two full pounds after a run and a good BM!? I told Cathi I would run with her again on Wednesday morning and hopefully I can lose two pounds again that morning!

I plan on doing the elliptical trainer at noon today for an hour and swim this evening for an hour, so I should have plenty of calories to burn.

Racquetball

Played some racquetball this morning at 6:30 - 8:00. Played Dave two games, we each won one game. Then we played cutthroat with Dan. Dave won all of them. There were several short shots that I was able to run up on and get. Made several mistakes with sots off the back wall. Went down low real good, but it hit the floor. Need to square up on the court better and hit through the ball rather than swat it.

I have SCJP study group today so I won't be exercising at noon today, but I'll count today's racquetball as today's workout. Will definitely swim tonight though.

I plan on swimming 3500 yards and playing 3 hours of racquetball this Saturday so I should definitely have enough cardio this week to have some fairly good weight loss. I'm also counting my calories via Lifeform this week. Of all the parts of dieting actually documenting what I eat is the toughest.

Much Better

Today my knees thanked me:

1 hour of Elliptical training - 538 total calories burned

I sweat as much if not more than if I had ran 3.5m.

I'm going to start alternating these into the mix. Probably run twice a week and these twice a week. Felt great.

Halfast workout

Today I did the following:

1.5m - 2 x (.65m run @ 6.0 mph, 1.0m walk @3.0mph)
0.25m - Walk

I had some terrible cramps going on thank to some chili I ate yesterday so I cut the workout in half. Didn't feel very good. Hoping tonights swim goes alot better.

Fantastic run and lift

Today I stepped it up a little. I really want to get down under 216 for Wednesday's weigh in:

Stretch for 5 minutes

Put grade at 3.0%:
3.0m - 4 x (.65m run @ 6.0mph, .10m walk @ 3.5mph)
.5m - 2 x (0.125m sprint @ 8.0mph, 0.125m walk @ 3.5mph)

3.5 miles total

Stretch for 5 minutes then lifted Upper Back:

Seated Wide Grip Cable Rows: 15 @ 150, 3 x 15 @ 120
superset with 4 x 10 Situps slow and deliberate

Close Grip Bent Over Rows: 4 x 12 @ 135
superset with DB Shoulder Shrugs: 4 x 12 @ 40

Surprised I could even do the situps. I haven't done real situps in about 10 years. I've done crunches lots of times, but never real situps. Went well and I didn't even get a terrible burn. I should have done sets of 15 instead of 10. Next time.

Frosting

Today was the frosting for the week. Was able to get a good run in at lunch even though I have a ton of work to do. Decided to lift if I get done what I need to at work later this evening, but at lunch I did this:

Set Grade to 2.5%
1.5Miles - 2 x (0.6m run @ 6.0mph, 0.15m walk @ 3.5mph)

Set Grade to 3.0%
1.5Miles - 2 x (0.6m run @ 6.0mph, 0.15m walk @ 3.5mph)

Sprint sets
.5Miles - 2 x (0.125m run @ 8.5mph, 0.125 walk @ 3.5mph)

3.5 Miles total

After work I did:

Bench Press:

15 @ 135
20 @ 135
15 @ 135 + chains
15 @ 115 + chains
20 @ 95 + chains
25 @ 95
30 @ 75

Had to go to Russ and Lonnie's party after that.

Running Repeat

Today was an identical repeat of yesterday's run:

3.00 miles - 4 x (.60m run @ 6.0mph, .15m walk @ 3.5mph) at 2.5% grade
.25 miles - 0.125m fast pace @ 8.0 mph, 0.125m quick walk @ 4.0 mph

3.25 miles total
Stretched for 5 minutes

Then lifted:

Standing Military Press: 6 x 15 @ 95
superset with
Standing Barbell rotations: 6 x 15 @ 95

DB Lateral Raises: 3 x 15 @ 30
superset with
Good Mornings: 6 @ 95, 8 @ 95, 10 @ 95

Good workout. Forgot to stretch before my run and felt really tight and burning calves about 1/8th mile into my first run set. Almost stopped and stretched but figured I'd just fight through it. Burning went away after 1/2 mile and just because numb. Felt great about today's workout. Weighed in at 216.4 this morning. Stoked about that.

Arms and Run

On the way to the treadmills I saw the two ladies that sometimes use the treadmills on the way there too. I was ahead of them and my instinct was to run to the treadmill to make sure I got there first, but I realized I'm not a little kid so I turned around and asked them if they were going to use the treadmills. They said "Yes". So I said, "I'll go lift first then.". They appreciated that and I did bicep work:

Seated Preacher Curls: 6 x 15 @ 75
superset with 25 jumping jacks

Standing Reverse Curls with Armblaster: 6 x 10 @ 75

Stretched legs for about 5 minutes and then ran:

3.00 miles - 4 x (.60m run @ 6.0mph, .15m walk @ 3.5mph) at 2.5% grade
.25 miles - 0.125m fast pace @ 8.0 mph, 0.125m quick walk @ 4.0 mph

3.25 miles total

Stretched out real good after the workout for about 5 minutes. Hoping to weigh in @ 216 or so tomorrow morning.

New record - 3.5 miles

Today I not only surpassed my PR on distance, but I increased the running portion as well:

3.0 miles - 4 x (.60m run @6.0mph, .15m walk @3.5mph) using 2.5% grade
.25 miles - .125m sprint (8.5mph), .125 walk @3.5mph using 2.5% grade
.25 miles - .25m walk @ 3.5mph using 4-7% grade increase every .05m

3.5 Miles total

Stretched out before and after this workout and then followed with 100 crunches.

This was an awesome workout! I then had a very healthy lunch: Salmon fillet and cup of tomato soup. Fantastic day!

Chest and run

Today I lifted first:

Incline Bench: 2 x 15 @ 135, 12 @ 135, 10 @ 135
Decline Bench: 15 @ 135, 15 @ 155, 15 @ 165, 15 @ 175
DB Push Row ups: 2 x 8 @ 25, 2 x 8 @ 20

DB Push Row ups are where you take dumbells and do pushups off them and after every push you row one arm at a time up to your chest. These are tough! Saw Bernie on biggest loser doing these and looks like they were good work. They are.

Then ran, half way into my first set I knew doing 4 was going to be tough so I compromised and increased grade and walked more.

2.5 miles - 3 x (.5m run @ 6.0mph, .25 walk @ 3.5-4.0mph) @2.5% grade with additional .25m walk at 4.0% grade.

Perhaps only getting 5 hours of sleep last night contributed to my less than ideal condition. Tried recruiting swimmers for my 500 Mile challenge.

Legs very sore, but running through it

Canceled last night's swim with Cathi to help her fold the week's laundry. Plus I needed to get to bed early so I could play racquetball this morning in Bountiful with Dan and his crew, but I ended up skipping that when I woke up and found that my leg soreness from this week's squats had not eased, in fact worsened.

Yesterday I weighed in at 219.0 pounds. Which is a new record for me. I haven't been that weight for probably 10 years. Need to keep going though. I want to get down to 190. That would be the ultimate weight for me.

Today's lunchtime was spent in a Java study group so today's lunch break was taken late in the afternoon and here is what I did:

Leg Stretches
3.0 Miles - 3 x (.5m run @ 6.0mph, .25m walk @ 3.5 - 4.0mph), 3 x (0.125m run @ 8.25mph, 0.125m walk @ 3.5 mph)
Leg Stretches

I got an email from CriticalBench.com that I get every quarter with tips and the big tip was to increase natural Testosterone production is to incorporate 30 seconds of sprints into your workout which I tried today a few times near the end of the run. Although I felt like the treadmill was doing along of the work. I would put my leg down and the treadmill would whip it behind me. When you get going fast, then it seems more like the treadmill is pushing me rather than I'm really running. Hope to get down to @ 216 next Wednesday.

Definitely swimming tonight.

Strong run

Even though my left glute is a little sore from yesterday's hike in the snow I went ahead and ran the following:

3.0 miles - 4 x (.5 run (6.0 mph on first 3, 6.5 on last set), .25 walk (3.5mph on all 4)

Lifted:

Squats: 5 x 10 @ 135

The squats were tough. Right knee was giving me just a little trouble but since I did such a light weight it wasn't too bad. Had to hurry to get back upstairs for a meeting so I didn't have time for more. Felt strong on the run.

Not very energized

This afternoon I lifted the following:

Legs Up Flat Bench: 4 x 15 @ 155, 2 x 15 @ 165
superset with
Captains chair: 5 x 15

Run: .5 mile - .25 run and .25 walk.

The run wasn't good. I stretched out real good before the run, but started having bad thoughts ("Give up, you're tired, and you've run all week you poor man!") and succumbed to temptation.

Looking forward to the weekend up at the cabin. Hope to go on some hikes with Cathi and lots of ping pong with the boys.

Joined another weight loss competition

The neighborhood biggest loser competition is good, but people are dropping out or not weighing in and I'd like to join something else as well for more motivation so I joined this group New You in 2008

Running at home

Cathi wanted me to spend $1.50 and go to the track. I said no way am I paying for something I can do at home so I went downstairs and ran:

3.00 miles - 4 x (.5 run, .25 walk) no grade, 4.5, 5.0, 5.0, 5.0 mph, 3.0 mph walk.

Didn't have time for a lunch today, so I had to wait to do this in the evening. Had a good swim tonight too. Found out I am the biggest loser in this week's neighborhood weight loss group. That was my goal. Need to keep it up.

Working from home today

This morning I wasn't feeling so well. Have a sore throat and a very dry cough. Did get alot of work done from home though. After work I went downstairs and ran:

2.25 Miles - 3 x (.5 run, .25 walk) ran 4.0, 4.5, 5.0 mph, 3.0 mph walk

Our treadmill sure is "harder" than the one at work. Feels like I'm running on bricks versus a real rubber track. My knees are asking me nicely to stop, but I'm gonna have to feed them some glucosamine instead.

Last chance workout

Feeling like I need to really work hard today and get every extra ounce of weight loss possible for this week (Start of week is on Wednesday morning), I did the following:

Running: 3.00 Miles - 4 x (.5m run, .25m walk) 2.5% grade on everything. 6 mph on run, 3.5 - 4.0 mph on walk.

Lifting: Preacher Curls - 6 x 15 @ 95, Concentration Curls: 6 x 15 @ 30

Felt really good about the run. Felt really strong on those and while it was hard I wasn't feeling like quitting. Had a great swim yesterday and plan on having another good one this evening.

Shoulders and run

Treadmills taken at 12:15pm so I lifted first:

Bent Over Rows: 15 @ 95, 15 @ 115, 2 x 15 @ 135
Seated Cable Rows: 4 x 15 @ 130
DB Shrugs: 4 x 15 @ 40
DB Lateral Raises: 4 x 15 @ 35

Running:

2.25 miles - 3 x (.5m run, .25m walk) @ 2.5% grade and 6mph on all run and 3.5mph on all walks.

Run felt strong. Increased the grade by .5% each .05m on the last walk set.

Evanston Table Tennis Tournament

Here is a 4 minute video with highlights.

The drive up to Evanston was nice. The roads were dry and we made it up just over an hour.

We started with Austin and I in doubles. There were about 20 teams in 2 divisions. We were put into the A division. We first played Slobocan and Joey. Slobocan is a good player. I overheard Ryan Gubler, the best player in the state tell Joey who was looking for a partner that Slobocan was in the top 5 in the state. Austin and I were able to beat that pair 3-0 and advance in the bracket.

We then played Braxton and Jazva. These two players are from Provo and we usually see them in every tournament in Utah. The first four games ended up in a 2-2 draw. We played one more and barely squeaked by with the win. I was sweating that we were going to the losing bracket after that one.

Then we played Matt and Bryce. This couple had also kicked two teams into the losing bracket. Matt is currently rated 1179 and Bryce 1406 for a total of 2585. Austin is currently rated 686 and I am rated 1344 for a total of 2030. So we were the underdogs. Bryce asked me during lunch how we have been able to do it. I said “lots of luck”. He said something like “Yeah right, with lots of skill mixed in.”. Then when he heard that we were to play next, he said “Goodbye luck, goodbye skill”. It would take a near miracle for Austin and I to beat this team.

We started out and won the first match. They won the second. We won the third, and then the fourth. Austin and I were shocked. Austin was ready to throw a huge party. I warned him that it wasn’t over. In fact the next match would determine whether we took first or second. The losers bracket resolved back down to its final which ended up being Bryce and Matt again.

We played them in the finals. Austin and I were able to beat them 3-0 straight. I took video of this finals match.


We were really blessed today and Austin was thrilled. I was very pleased to have such a great partner who was hitting great and making some fantastic shots. We were able to take the first place medals for the A Division Doubles.

Then we started singles. To determine which bracket you play in there is a ladder format where you play significantly better players to find out what bracket you should be in. Austin lost to Reiner Eysser (rated 1645), a man who is very commonly used as a coach at the club. Austin lost and then lost to Braxton 2-3. This really upset Austin and he spent nearly an hour crying and mourning that loss. Jacob (rated 449) played Dale Majors (rated 1568) and lost. But that didn’t bother him. He kept having fun at the Rec Center and went swimming with Jonas.

I played Reiner Eysser in the ladder and beat him 3-0. They were all close games and Reiner was a great sport and complimented me several times on my game. The results of the ladder put me in the Open (The highest division), Austin and Jacob both were in the C Division (The lowest division). I told Austin that he would have more fun and success in that bracket and not to be depressed about it.

In each singles division it is a double elimination round. Jacob lost both of his first matches and visibly had a great time. He had a few great shots, but consistency is something we need to work on. He went on to just play on the climbing wall at the Rec center.

I played Jeff St. Clair (rated 1632) and took him to 2-1. Then he gained some momentum and won two more in a row to beat me 3-2. He also complimented me several times on my game and was a good sport. I was in the losing bracket now. I then played Bryce (rated 1406) and beat him 3-0. I had several “edges” which I apologized for because those can be frustrating especially when you get a lot of them.

I then played Dale Majors (rated 1568) and had a 1-1 match on him, but then he beat me two in a row to kick me out of the tournament. I had several good shots, but his forehand loop was unstoppable.

Austin was undefeated in his bracket and played an older gentleman, Jordan in the finals. He lost the first match 2-3, but since Austin was undefeated and Jordan was in the losing bracket, Jordan had to play another match with Austin to claim the C division medal. I sat Austin down and told him to calm down and not let anger or frustration consume him (I used master Yoda’s teachings). That he could not be successful if he used his emotions to dictate his play, instead of his instincts and techniques. He played much better and I stayed nearly out of Austin's view so he could use his own inner strength to play instead of constantly looking to me for advice. He did much better and won 3-1. Austin took first place for the C division.

We all had a great time at the tournament and enjoyed the company of all the players there. We’re looking forward to the Utah Valley Open in April.

Racquetball rocks!

This morning I got up at 5 am, cooked up some hot oatmeal on the stove. Cathi and I had a romantic breakfast together. I then left to the South Davis Rec Center for playing Racquetball with Dan Harmer and his group of coworkers. Their website sucks, but their facility is great! Makes me want to move to Bountiful.

Played cut throat with Dan and one of his friends. Pretty close game. Played singles with the guy (I suck at remembering names) and lost 15 - 9. He had to leave so I played cut throat again with Dan and a new guy we met named Tim. He said he hadn't played in a couple years, but he was definitely keeping up. During one of the rallies when it was Tim and I against Dan I hit the ball in the backcourt with my backhand around Dan. Tim had looked straight back and I nailed him right in the face. It wasn't an overly hard hit, but definitely not fun. I apologized a few times. I felt bad. But at the same time, if you look backwards instead of using peripheral vision, you risk injury.

Anyhow I won that round. So I played for 1 hour 45 minutes and made several great hussle plays. Sweating profusely and quite aerobic. Great workout. Definitely going to keep doing this weekly. Plus I got to work at a decent time since I cut the traffic commute in half.

Killer workout

Today's run was even tougher than yesterday! I honestly felt like giving up half way into my first running set. Instead of doing that I turned down the speed. Today's workout was a little bit slower, but was able to get the distance I wanted:

2.25 Miles - 3 x (.5mile run, .25mile walk) (6.5 -> 6.0, 5.5, 5.0 mph)

Lifting:

Deadlifts: 5 x 15 @ 135
superset with
200 - 4 x 2 x 25 crunches

I should stretch my calves out before running, they were burning and tight only a minute into it which was pretty painful.

I'm officially registered in our neighborhood's biggest loser. I weighed in this morning at 224.6 pounds. Cathi did great this last week. She lost 5 pounds.

Triceps and run

There were three people already in the treadmill room so I lifted first:

French Press: 15 @ 95, 3 x 15 @ 65 (Form was really bad on first set, not gonna worry about how wimpy the weight is and do good form and get a burn rather than joint pain).
Dips: 4 x 12 @ bw (225)
Cross Face Tricep Extensions: 4 x 15 @ 30
Standing Cable Tricep Extensions: 4 x 15 @ 60

Two other guys came in and lifted too. That's great! Hopefully they're regular and we can coordinate something. We'll see.

Went in to the treadmill room and Jaron was on one but the other was open so I jumped on and did the typical run (with 2% grade):

2.25m - 3 x (.5m run, .25m walk)

The run was really tough this time. I was sweating profusely and my ankles hurt, but I didn't give up and kept going. All the runs were at a 6 mph pace and walk anywhere from 3 - 4 mph. Today is my first day doing Cathi's strategy of having a really good breakfast and dinner and then nothing for dinner (fruit in case of emergency). Munch on baby carrots throughout the day and drink alot of water. Want to get down under 220 by Valentines day. Had a great swim yesterday.

Running, then chest

2.25m @ 2% grade - 3 x {.5 mile run, .25m brisk walk}

First time running with someone else on the other treadmill. Hope it doesn't get more crowded than that! Cause there is only two.

Flat Bench: 4 x 15 @ 185
Incline Press: 4 x 15 @ 95 (easy)
Flat DB Flys: 4 x 15 @ 40

Ryan Gubler at the table tennis club last Friday said I should put the treadmill on a 5% incline when I run so I end up doing the work rather than the treadmill just pushing my legs. I tried 5%, but that was too overwhelming so I moved it down to 2%. I'll try that for a week and move it up more to maybe 4%. Then back down to zero and increase to four reps or something.
Looking forward to tonights swim. I'm going to time and video a 825 yard swim (750 Meters) for estimating what my time will be for team Tomax at the Echo Triathlon in July.

Run, then do legs

Same old routine for the week on running:

2.25 Miles - 3 x (.5m run, .25 walk) (6.0, 6.5, 7.0)

Squats - 4 x 15 @ 115
Hamstring curls: 4 x 15 @ 25
Quad Extensions: 4 x 15 @ 35

Felt good about the workout.

Run at home on the crappy treadmill

Today I worked from home and during lunch ran the following:

2.25 miles - 3 x {.5 m run, .25 walk} (5.5, 6.0, 5.5 mph)

Very tough. I think the treadmill at home is a little faster or something.

After work run and lift

Today I worked straight through lunch and had to work on something that I never actually figured out by the end of the day. Frustrating day at work. Afterwards I went downstairs and did:

2.25 miles - 3 x {.5 mile run, .25 walk} (6.0, 6.5, 7.0mph)

Bent over Close Grip Rows: 4 x 15 @ 135
DB Lateral Raises: 4 x 15 @ 30
Seated Wide Grip Cable Rows: 4 x 15 @ 120

Felt good about the workout. Snowed a bunch today. Convenient to stay late and let traffic subside a little. Looking forward to tonight's swim which has been logged here.

Chest and run

Legs up Flat Bench: 2 x 15 @ 155, 15 @ 165, 15 @ 175
DB Flys on the floor: 4 x 15 @ 40
Axel Pushups: 20, 25, 30, 35

Axel Pushups are where you take a 45 pound bar and put 10's on each side, then rest it on the ground like an axel for a train or something. Hold the bar at shoulder width and do pushups off it. It will have a tendency to move just a little so you have to use small twitch muscles to stabilize it. Not too tough.

1.5 miles - 2 x {.5m run (6.6mph and 7.0mph), .25 walk (3.5mph)}

Soreness in triceps from yesterday and light soreness in legs from all this week's running. Glad it's a weekend so I can rest up a little.

Arms and Running

Preacher Curls: 5 x 15 @ 75
French Presses: 5 x 15 @ 75
Arm Blaster Curls: 5 x 15 @ 75
Nose Breakers: 5 x 15 @ 75

1.5m - 2 x {Run .5m + Walk .25m} - This was tough. I put the speed at 6.5 on the last run. @ 330 paces running = .5m, 30 paces = .05m

Legs

1.5 miles - .5 mile run, .25 walk, .5 mile run, .25 walk

Deadlifts - 4 x 15 @ 135
Midrack pulls - 4 x 15 @ 225

The run was at 5.5 mph for the first set and 6 mph for the second. Walk is at 4 mph.

Shoulders

Standing Lateral Raises: 4 x 15 @ 30
Standing DB Rows: 4 x 15 @ 30
Standing Overhead DB Press: 4 x 15 @ 30

Really need some new tunes, the MP3 music isn't very inspiring lately.

Chest

Flat Bench: 5 x 15 @ 155 (with chains)
Incline Press: 5 x 15 @ 115
Dips: 5 x 10 @ bw (@228)

Dips were tough and the tower isn't very stable. It shakes a little which is annoying. Wishing I had a partner.

Back 2

Good Mornings: 4 x 15 @ 95
Raised Bent Over Rows: 4 x 15 @ 115
Seated Close Grip Cable Rows: 4 x 15 @ 120
Windmills using bar: 2 x 15 @ 45

Arms are not as sore as last time so I'm getting more used to this.

Curls

Seated Preacher Curls: 5 x 15 @ 75
Alternating DB Curls: 5 x 15 @ 30
Concentration Curls: 5 x 15 @ 25
Reverse Grip Curls: 5 x 15 @ 45 (Speed)

Biceps should be sore tomorrow.

Chest

Bench Press: 4 x 15 @ 155
Decline DB Press: 4 x 15 @ 45,50,55,55
Flat Bench DB Flys: 4 x 15 @ 35

Upper back is a little sore, but not bad. I'm liking the lighter weights. Getting a pretty good burn.

Later in the evening I did 20 pushups for every commercial break of biggest loser. For two commercial breaks I did the 20 pushups with Jacob laying on my back (+80 pounds). Total pushups @ 120.

Upper Back

Deadlifts: 3 x 15 @ 135
Bent Over Rows: 3 x 15 @ 115
Seated Close Grip Cable Pulldowns: 3 x 15 @ 60, 100, 140

Lower back feeling tight near the end of the Deadlifts, but not too bad. Time to step it up a bit.

Lifts I don't normally do - and weight loss plan

Good Mornings: 15 @ 65, 15 @ 75, 2 x 15 @ 65
superset with: Jumping Jacks: 4 x 25

Alternating Overhead Press: 4 x 15 @ 65
superset with Captains Chair: 4 x 15

I know this is wimpy, but I'm trying to not be concerned with heavy, but quality and reps (15 minimum). I also setup a weight goal plan.

Date	Goal	Actual
Jan 7	230	231
Jan 14	226
Jan 21	222
Jan 28	219
Feb 4	216
Feb 11	214
Feb 18	212
Feb 25	210
Mar 3	209
Mar 10	207
Mar 17	206
Mar 24	205
Mar 31	203
Apr 5	202
Apr 12	201
Apr 19	200

With my Lifting, swimming, dieting and occasional racquetball and table tennis playing, I'm hoping that should be enough to reach this goal!

Little bit of chest

Just enough to probably rend me sore:

Flat Bench: 4 x 15 @ 155
DB Flys: 4 x 15 @ 30

Not very motivated today, but know this will be enough to make me sore.

Starting with Shoulders

On Monday I did two exercises (three sets each) of biceps, but it was after work and before I went home. Today I did shoulders:

Standing Military Press: 15 @ 95, 3 x 15 @ 105
Standing DB Lateral Raises: 15 @ 30, 3 x 15 @ 25
Seated Widegrip Rows: 4 x 15 @ 100
Arnold Presses: 4 x 10 @ 30

Christian came in and worked through ten minutes of lifting, pretty much no rest. That was about as much work I do in one hour so that looked tough. Haven't swam in over two weeks thanks to the vacation and the holidays. First night back tonight.

Almost there...... Stay on target

Since the last week's chest workout I have been recovering. Yesterday was the first day without a trace of soreness. I can't believe a simple workout like that would make me sore for an entire week!

Last Friday I was able to finally fully assemble my new table tennis paddle which consists of:

• Joola R*1 blade - ($60) Thanks to Bryce Parkinson for the good deal on it.


• Juic Shenron - Two sheets at $39/sheet - from Paddlepalace.com

That's $138 for this ping pong paddle which is a new record for the price I'm willing (or dumb enough) to pay for the latest thing. Austin, Jacob and I are taking the family down to the US National Open next week.

Almost there... Stay on target!
In order to not completely choke I'm practicing a little bit during lunch instead of lifting, not to mention to avoid becoming so sore that it makes me hobble around in pain.

So watch for more activity in the lifting arena come Dec 26 onward. I'd like to participate in a virtualmeet sometime next year.

Just a touch of bicep work

This week has been crazy at work. I didn't get to take a lunch break a couple days. Which has been fortunate really because I've been so debilitating sore in my chest from Tuesday's workout. Today Austin came to work with me and I did this workout. In between sets we played some foozball which was fun.

Preacher Curls: 4 x 15@95
Standing Alternating DB Curls: 4 x 15@30
One Arm Concentration Curls: 4 x 15@25

Swimming quite well lately, but lifting leaves much to be desired. It's funny (in a sad way) that it only takes three measly exercises to make me overwhelmingly sore for a few days.

Light Chest workout

Bench Press: 20 @ 135, 15 @ 185, 15 @ 175, 15 @ 165
DB Flys: 4 x 15 @ 30
DB Press: 4 x 15 @ 45

Let's see if just three exercises gets me sore. Cause lately four has been kicking my butt!

Short Back workout

Since I am significantly sore in my Traps and Upper Lats I only did three exercises today:

Bent Over Close Grip Barbell Rows: 4 x 15 @90
Wide Grip Seated Cable Rows: 4 x 15 @100
Lying Bent Arm DB Pullover: 2 x 15 @40, 2 x 15 @50

Going for some breath control and speed swimming tonight.

Shoulders

Holy crud was I sore all of last week! Didn't lift due to soreness and Thanksgiving weekend. Today did light shoulders:

Standing Overhead Press: 4 x 15 @95
DB Shoulder Shrugs rotate: 4 x 15 @30
Standing DB Lateral Raises: 4 x 15 @25
Close Grip Upright Rows: 4 x 15 @75

Bala surprisingly was in the weight room when I started. Hope I'm sore, but not half as sore as my arms were last week.

First day back - Light Biceps

I set a goal a while back that I was going to get back into the gym just after Christmas (after the US Open). But after the past week's performance at lunch time and at the Utah Open, I've decided that I'm officially at a plateau with my table tennis so I started today to lift at lunch time which will continue on work days until around September of next year where I will go back to table tennis and drop lifting at lunch.

Here is what I did today:
Seated Preacher Curls: 4 x 15 @ 75
Alternating DB Curls: 2 x 15 @ 30, 2 x 15 @ 25
Concentration Curls: 4 x 15 @ 20
Standing One Arm Reverse Curls (With Armblaster): 4 x 15 @ 15

Nothing heavy at all, just alot of reps (no less than 15 per set) to get a good pump. Part of my motivation is swimming. Would like to tone up so I don't look like a fast whale.

Alternative method of fitness

Sorry to have been such a slacker with lifting lately. I haven't lifted in well over eight months. My weight has remained the same, even though I'm sure I'm much weaker. Cathi has really stepped up her own weight loss plan and has encouraged me to do the same and has offered me $1000 to reach a reasonable goal which I set.

I figured that getting down to 200 would be the goal that I would like. We purchased a family membership to Layton surf and swim and have been swimming every Mon - Thur Night. Starting out at just over 1000 yards. The first two days were a little tough, but already its getting easier. Hoping to be up to about 1800 yards (1 mile) in about two weeks.

If you feel like checking on our progress you can check out my old school swimming log which I started many years ago. But I definitely don't have plans to hit the weights again until well after the new year. I have the U.S. National Open Tournament in December and am dedicating my lunch periods to training for that. I spend on average about 12-15 hours a week to table tennis. Weight lifting while training for table tennis hurts my game because I'm usually sore and that either affects my ability to move or hit the ball properly. Swimming doesn't leave me overly sore or stiff. That's probably in large part because I'm terrible at doing stretches which would probably minimize this, but another reason I like swimming is because I have a dedicated partner and I also get to go on a date with my wife every night. That's a huge perk.

Rather lift weights than play doubles

Today there were quite a few peeps waiting to play table tennis (9 people and 2 tables). The suggestion was made to play doubles. I hate playing doubles! You don't learn how to play better with doubles, alot of it is teamwork. That's why I like individual sports better. Nobody to blame but yourself. So I opted to lift during the crazy 15 minutes when everyone and their dog wanted to play.

Shoulders - Lateral DB Raises/DB Shrugs: 5 x 8 x 35

Haven't done shoulders in months so I'm hoping this is enough to generate some soreness and some liking for the gym. Afterwards 4 people left and we went back to singles. Played well against everyone except Bala.

Very small bench

Bench: 18 x 165, 16 x 185, 10 x 205, 6 x 225, 2 x 255, 10 x 115 (speed press)

Knowing how weak I am, I bet I'll be sore tomorrow. That should be enough. Any more and I probably wouldn't be able to move the next couple days.

Light Bench

Flat Bench: 15 x 185, 12 x 195, 10 x 195, 8 x 205, 15 x 135
Wide Grip Cable Pulldowns: 8 x 130, 8 x 140, 8 x 150, 8 x 160

Considering how terribly sore my biceps were from the wimpy workout, I didn't want to push it today. Hopefully I'll be sore. Felt tight afterwards.

Man have I turned into a marshmallow!

Yesterday I went into the weight room with Tim and did a few exercises:

Alternating DB Curls: 15 x 35, 12 x 35, 2 x 8 x 35
Straight Bar Curls: 3 x 6 x 95
Dips: 3 x 6 x bw

That's all I did, not cause I thought I would be sore, but cause it was boring! I forgotten how it is to be in a gym. Tim did his own exercises, and I did mine. Wasn't much interaction. I was hoping for a collaboration, but he rushed through his exercises (He did one arm DB Tricep Rows). I didn't have fun, it was hot (the table tennis guys moved the fan in their room), and wasn't what I envisioned, so I don't think I'll continue.

Table Tennis is so much more fun than lifting! However today my arms are completely sore! I can't even straighten my arms. I wouldn't have thought in a million years that that amount of work, and amount of weight would have caused me this much grief. I guess taking this much time off has really turned me into a marshmallow!

If I'm going to get back into it, I'm going to have rely on my own motivation rather than try to leech off somebody else's who doesn't really understand the point of group lifting.

My quest to 200

For the past 10 years I have loomed around 240 pounds. Well the time has come to lower that to 220. Then once that milestone has been reached, go for 200. So in order for this to happen I have resolved to do the following:

1. No more Mountain Dew (or any soda for that matter)


2. Eat breakfast, medium lunch, light dinner (no eating after dinner)


3. No deserts


4. More fruit


5. Drink lots of water


6. Bike with Cathi in the evenings (5 days a week)


7. Play more intense table tennis


8. I will add more techniques to this list as time goes on

I'm hoping that I can be down to 220 by September, and then 200 by Christmas. I'll update how things go.

Mixing things up with Chest workout

Incline Bench: 3 x 8 x 135, 2 x 8 x 155
DB Flys: 6 x 65
Static Hold Pushups: 5 x 3 @10 seconds, rest 5 seconds between reps

Today I had a major lack of motivation and decided to at least mix things up so I'm not killing myself, yet doing something different to trigger different muscles. The Static Hold Pushups were great. I was shaking all over and I was holding my body just a couple inches off the ground so that my arms were at 90 Degree angles. Hold that for 10 seconds and then drop for 5. Doing that three times.

Tris

Tricep Cable Pulldowns: 2 x 8 x 70, 2 x 15 x 50, 2 x 15 x 60
Cross Face Tricep Press: 6 x 8 x 30
Dips: 2 x 10 x bw, 2 x 10 x bw +25
50 Crunches

Table Tennis Drills with David To.

Here is video sample of today's dips.

Back

Cable Pulldowns: 20 x 60, 15 x 100, 8 x 140, 6 x 180, 4 x 200
Midrack Pulls: 12 x 135, 8 x 225, 8 x 315, 6 x 405, 4 x 480

Had to leave early to keep my break short. Need to leave early today from work to work on the Playland. Which is also why you see no lifting on Monday. I honestly thought I was going to be extremely sore on Tuesday as a result of tilling the garden and working on the playland, but I wasn't. The top parts of my forearms are a little, but not much. That was it. Very surprising.

Here is video sample of the two last sets of midrack pulls.

Bench

Today I didn't want to mess my shoulders up again, but wanted something a little more heavy. Put in the "spotter" hooks a little too high. It was just above my chest so it was touching the spot instead of my chest which was annoying.

Bench: 8 x 225, 1 x 315 (shirted), 4 x 315 (shirted), 2 x 335 (shirted), 3 x 335 (shirted), 12 x 225 (3 x 2 high and 3 x 2 low alternating), 12 x 225 pinky inside ring, 12 x 135 slow
Cable Press Machine (Outside part of press only): 50 x 60, 25 x 120, 13 x 240
Inside half: 13 x 240, 25 x 120, 50 x 60
DB Flys: 4 x 8 x 45

Here is a sample video.

Felt OK about this workout, but wish I could have another 30 minutes or so. Only can do so much during lunch.

Upper back workout

My forearm is sore still from Monday's Biceps workout. According to this page it is the Pronator Teres Muscle to be specific. It is sore in the muscle on the inside of my forearm just as it comes from the tendon from the inside of my elbow. It doesn't hurt, its a good sore.

Today's workout went better than expected. I went in late, without a real plan and didn't have a whole lot of motivation.

Deadlifts: 5 x 225, 4 x 275, 4 x 315, 3 x 335, 1 x 355
Crunches: 6 x 50
Bent Over DB Rows: 5 x 8 x 65

Here is a video sample.

Decent Biceps burn

Today I was lacking motivation, but did manage to get my lazy butt into the gym. I did light/high reps biceps:

Armblaster Curls: 5 x 12 x 75
Preacher Curls: 5 x 12 x 75
Alternating DB Curls: 5 x 12 x 35

Heavy Bench with Blocks

Need to take my six block and turn it into three. Four blocks is too much and two is not enough. Got an email from Critical Bench that discusses the difference between what I call "White meat" and "Dark meat". Need more white meat in the chest. Don't care about appearance, just strength. I wouldn't really consider myself a powerlifter. Kind of a mix between strength and looks. Would like better slow twitch in biceps and fast twitch in chest. Anyhow here is today's workout:

Bench (4 blocks): 8 x 225, 5 x 275, 4 x 315, 4 x 335, 4 x 355
Incline DB Press: 10 x 65, 10 x 65 (with chains), 15 x 65
DB Flys: 3 x 4 x 65
Captains Chairs: 7 x 15

Need heavier DB's. 65 is as heavy as we have. Too light for doing low reps. Too cheap to buy heavier ones. Need to check out the new Rec center in Bountiful.

Here is a sample of today's lifts.

Deadlift

Today I wanted to do some heavy sets of dead, but didn't feel my form was good enough so I went lighter and tried to focus on form.

Deadlifts: 6 x 276, 3 x 315, 9 x 225, 10 x 135
Seated Cable Pulls: 8 x 170, 3 x 8 x 200
Front Cable Pulldowns: 8 x 120, 8 x 160, 2 x 8 x 170

Here is a sample of today's workout.

Played Table Tennis afterwards for a few minutes. Played pretty well.

Fairly good table tennis day at lunch

This morning I got up at 4:40 am so I didn't plan on lifting cause last Tuesday when I got up early and then tried to lift it wasn't great. I plan on lifting at the very least MWF but preferrably MWTHF. Today I played table tennis. I lost twice to Gyan(@6W/2L) and three times to Bala(3W/3L). My problem with the majority of shots that I missed was that I hit too early. Same mistake that Austin often makes. Need to wait for the ball to come to me. If the ball is too high, I need to scoot back and hit it at the lower end of the arch and where it's closer to my natural swing. Looking forward to this Friday.

Tomorrow Deads and Back.

Shoulders

Today I had good motivation so I had a good workout:

Lateral Raises: 8 x 40, 6 x 45, 4 x 50, 4 x 55, 2 x 60
Crunches: 10 x 25
Overhead Presses: 4 x 8 x 135
Upright Rows: 10 x 95, 8 x 115, 8 x 125, 6 x 135
Pull Ups: 2 x 3 x bw
Stretching: 2 minutes
Jason Paris' Overhead One-arm Press: 2 x 8 x 45

The Overhead Presses (not the correct name) are done by alternating between in front and behind the neck for each repetition and you lift up enough to clear the head. I saw these on Kris' Behind the Bar blog (which is down now). I was researching what the proper name of that exercise is when I found this interesting article. No wonder I had that shoulder injury a long time ago when I was doing bench press. I should have read this article a while ago! He makes several good points about how to aboid injuries by doing these exercises right!

I was relieved to see the correct description of Lateral Raises. When I do them in the mirror, I'm afraid I'm not doing them right when I bend my elbows, but that appears to be the correct way. I must admit though that I did too much weight today as I cheated quite a bit and used momentum on a few sets.

Today was a great workout considering the lack of motivation and strength lately. Goal is to do Deads/Back on Wednesday.

Bench

Bench: 4 x 8 x 225
Bench with Chains: 2 x 8 x 255 (w @ 30 pounds of chains)
Crunches: 2 x 25
4 count Flutter Kicks: 2 x 25

I had planned on much more, but I started on some Stump Hanging Presses and the weight (@295) was way too heavy and I wasn't feeling very motivated so I stopped. Got up this morning at 4:50 and didn't have much energy at all. Need to have Tuesdays as an off day if I continue to get up on Tuesdays this early.

Deadlift Week 2

Fashioned after Jon's Deadlift Week 2 workout:

Deadlifts: 5 x 10 x 225
Bent over Rows: 5 x 5 x 160
Hammer Grip Rope Cable Pulldowns: 8 x 60, 8 x 70, 8 x 80
DB Lateral Raises: 8 x 40, 6 x 45, 6 x 50
Captain's Chairs: 5 x 10
Crunches: 5 x 50

Was getting light headed after each of the Deadlift sets. I was making sure to breathe each rep, maybe I was breathing too much and hyperventilating. Wasn't fun getting dizzy. Ab work felt good - burn. Didn't plan on Lateral Raises, but was feeling good at the end.

Week 1 Legs

Light Squats: 8 x 135, 155, 185
Cable Leg Press: 20 x 140, 2 x 8 x 220

I knew this would be all it would take to make me sore so I quit there. Legs have been grossly neglected. Hoping to change that.

Mirroring Jon's Bench 1 w/ near beheading

Today I tried to do everything Jon did in his Bench 1 workout:

Bench: 5 x 5 x 265
4 Board: 5 x 275 (nearly lost my head here), 5 x 295 (only have 2,4,6 boards)
Incline: 4 x 215, 2 x 8 x 175
DB Press: 6 x 65, 2 x 8 x 65 (+ 25 DB hanging)
Abs: 7 x 25 crunches

The fives of 265 were tough. My Rhomboid's are sore (had to look that up) from yesterday's pulling.

What happened though today that has never happened to me before which completely freaked me out is that I nearly took my head off with a careless attitude with the weight. On the first set of 4 boards the five @ 275 was easy (thanks to the four boards) and when I went to rack the weight I hooked the left side and didn't on the right and the right side started to come down on me. The bar was above my board so it was coming down fast and would have missed the boards. My adrenaline kicked in like lightning I think and I was able to stop the weight and then take it back up. It only came down about halfway. Scared the crud out of me. I've got to be more respectful of the weight and take the racking seriously! Al qaeda could have posted a link to my blog had I taken video of my own beheading!

I totally respect Jon for his Inclines. I wasn't able to get the 215's. I moved the weight down to 175 and did 8 instead. I also do not have 85# DB in the Tomax gym so I strapped the 65 and the 25 DB's together with some old knee wraps which made it so that at full extension on the press the 25 barely came off the ground.

Good workout today.

First day back

I've noticed that my "self-image" has suffered as a result of not lifting the past few weeks. I thought that transitioning my priorities to table tennis would be a good move. It has helped my game I think to play more, but my confidence on the other hand has dropped as I haven't lifted at all. While I do enjoy table tennis, I think I need to keep lifting at the top of my extracurricular activities.

Today was my first day back and I knew it would be tough so I started out easy:

Deadlifts: 5 x 8 x 225
Captains Chairs: 5 x 10
Close Grip Cable Rows: 3 x 10 x 180
Crunches: 3 x 50

Motivation wasn't great today. My hands have definitely grown soft in the past three weeks. My hands took a beating today. Went and saw the Dr. last week and my suspected nasal infection turns out to be just hayfever. Congestion really is affecting my sleep when I can't breathe at all through my nose. I hope the Allegra prescription does the job!

Got kicked around for the first time in a LONG time

Today at lunch I played coworker Gyanendra Hyoju. He played very well today and smart. He won more matches than I did today. His placement of the ball today was very well selected and forced alot of errors as well as made very aggressive shots himself that were difficult to return. If he plays like this everyday, then I should improve much faster than I have been.

I haven't been schooled like that since Bala used to play. Hoping that it continues. I don't mind losing as long as it isn't due to crappy shots I make, but rather from smart and aggressive play from the opponent. Which was the case today.

First Place at Chinese New Year Table Tennis Tournament

On Saturday, Feb 17th I took the family up to Evanston Wyoming for the 2007 Chinese New Year Table Tennis Tournament. I forgot how long it takes to get through the tournament. Cathi was exceptionally patient. We started out with Austin and I as a doubles team. Jacob found a partner, Braxton who was very patient and a good sport.

Austin and I played Paul and Javza. Paul is from Rock Springs, WY, and Javza a BYU student. Austin and I played quite well together and I think we shocked the two of them. We barely lost 2 - 3 with many of the games very close and the last game being a deuce game. The next game we played Aaron and Mike Pratt. We lost 0 - 3 and not so happy about those games. Aaron likes slow play with lots of spin and that messed with Austin a bit. And my friend and nemesis Mike Pratt played his typical game. So the doubles went quick for us. Jacob had a quick double loss too.

After that I played a guy in the qualifying round and lost 2-3 and then won another guy which put me in the B division. There were four divisions (C, B, A and Open)

In the B Division I played 4 people (8 people total in the bracket). The games of note were when I played Varghese Pallathu. I've seen him at the club many times and noticed his game. He is a good player, and I knew it would be tough to beat him. I lost the first two to him. I didn't enjoy the pace we were playing so I picked it up. I would set him up with a chop and come back with a forehand smash. This strategy worked fantastic with him and I was able to win the next three games for the match. Many of those points were "tickers" or net shots which are quite frustrating for the opponent. I've been in that situation and knew how frustrating it can be to be so close to victory and missing it. In that situation it is hard to not get violent.

I then played Justin and lost to him 0 - 3. That was puzzling because in the last tournament in SLC I beat him in the qualifying rounds 3-0. He has really improved. The next game I had to play Varghese again since he lost to somebody and we were both in the losers bracket. This time I played the same way I did the last few sets with him and won 3-0. That win put me at #2 in the division.

I had to play Justin again. This time if I beat him two matches in a row I could win the division. Worst case scenario is I take second. So the pressure was off a litle. I played hard and found that when Cathi watched, or Ryan Gubler watched our match I played better. I won the first match 3-0 and I heard Justin say "Times have changed!". So I had to simply beat him one more time for first place. The second match I won 3-1. Ended at @8:00 and it was a long day, but I felt very good about today's tournament and got a 1st place plaque.

I am grateful for the family being patient staying so long. I promised them we would go swimming but I forgot the pool closed at 4:30 so we missed the chance. I was especially impressed with the facility's staff. They were patient with the kids running everywhere and shared the tournament food with them. The tournament director's we well organized and kept things moving. Overall a fun experience and a great day although it was quite long.

Pictures (Sorry about the quality, the flash wasn't very energetic):

Bad luck

I was looking forward to a great day today with the virtual meet. I bought a newspaper, made sure I had new batteries, proper lifting attire etc...

I even bought a new HP Photosmart M425 a couple weeks ago knowing that I needed a digital video camera for the meet (since misplacing the one we had). I used the 1 GB SD card from my old mp3 player. I formated the card first and then used the camera the past couple of weeks to get used to it. Everything was falling into place and working great.

I started out videoing the newspaper, then the weights, then the first two Squat attempts. I reviewed both attempts immediately afterwards and they both looked good (275, 315). I went upstairs to fetch Cameron and Justin to spot me on my last squat attempt of 345. They had to help about halfway up on it. I was disappointed, but knew it would be extremely difficult to get considering I haven't worked legs at all in the past 3 months or so.

I reviewed the last attempt to see where the lift broke down. It started to play back on the camera. About 10 seconds into the video the screen went bright red and said something like "CARD HAS WRONG FORMAT Press OK to format card". I tried not to panic, but didn't feel good about that message. I ran upstairs and tried to see if I could recover what was on the SD card.

I kept getting: "The disk in Drive E is not formatted: Do you want to format it now?"

I hit NO and tried looking at the properties on the drive - nothing worked. I figured, OK well I'll just DQ my Squat and do the other lifts. I tried formatting the SD card and that wouldn't even work. I got "There is no disk in Drive E. Insert a disk, and then try again.". I tried phsyically tweaking the card to get any life out of it, but no go. The card is simply lifeless. So I was completely out of luck with this meet. The internal memory in the camera wouldn't even come close to being sufficient.

I figured I'd do the other lifts just for fun to see what I could do without the video and ended up with 345 on the bench and 315 on the DL (365 DL attempt failed).

I am very disappointed. I was hoping to at least submit something, but the only thing that could have made the day crappier I guess is that I could have seriously injured myself which I didn't do so I should count my blessings. Sorry fellow lifters. I hope your hardware works better than mine and that you have successful lifts. I'll be there next time with a new SD card and better prepared physically as well.

Taking it easy

Just playing table tennis this week to allow my body to prepare for the virtual meet this Friday. Kris has really outdone himself on it and it looks great. If you haven't already checked it out, please do so at http://www.virtualmeet.net. This weekend I have had some major stiffness in my neck/upper shoulders on the right side. Still not 100% but hoping that the rest will do some good for it. I'm actually feeling extremely guilty taking the time this week off.

My attempts for the meet will be (unless I don't make a lift in which I'll change it of course):

Squat: 285, 315, 345
Bench: 350, 360, 370
Deadlift: 365, 375, 385

Total: 1000 (455 kg), 1050 (477 kg), 1100 (500 kg)

I will be totally surprised if I get the 1100, but will be happy with the 1050.

Deads and core

Deadlifts: 15 x 5 x 225
supersetted with:
Crunches: 15 x 25 = 375 total

Frustrating morning at work. Looking forward to the weekend.

Short Shoulders Workout

Midrack Pulls: 8 x 135, 225, 315, 5 x 405, 480 W/Chains @ 495
Cable Pulldowns: 8 x 150, 170, 190, 200, 4 x Pullups x bw
DB Military Press: 8 x 50, 2 x 6 x 60

Didn't have a whole lot of time. Did this in 40 minutes. Better than nothing I guess.

Lats are sore

Yesterday's workout was great for my upper lats. I don't recall my lats being this sore before. I guess it was those inclines that got me. Fantastic.

Today for lunch instead of lifting I played table tennis. I went in with an attitude of giving it my all and it paid off. Played very well. Looking forward to the Evanston Chinese New Year Tournament that I have attended every year for the past 8 years or so.

Good Chest workout

Flat Bench (Bottom half only): 4 x 8 x 225
Floor Presses: 3 x 6 x 275
Heavy 1 rep Bench: 3 x 1 x 315

Incline Press: 3 x 12 x 135, 3 x 6 x 185, 3 x 10 x 65 DB's
Flys: 4 x 6 x 45 (Slow and controlled)

The Floor Presses, 1 rep bench and 185 Inclines were the toughest. I remember back when I could do 5 of 315. I don't think I could do that now. I wonder why really. I have once done 365 without a shirt before and I would be surprised if I could do that now. I'm worried that I've lost some strength recently, but hoping that it is just one of those weeks. Pressing forward....

Biceps and Shoulders

Alternating DB Curls: 4 x 5 x 55
supersetted with Military DB Press: 4 x 5 x 65

Preacher Curls: 4 x 5 x 115
supersetted with DB Shrugs: 4 x 5 x 65

DB Concentration Curls: 4 x 5 x 45
supersetted with DB Lateral Raises: 4 x 5 x 45

Good workout. Hands are fried. Exceeded the prescribed plan.

Deadlift and core

Deadlift: 15 x 5 x 225
supersetted with....
Captain's Chair: 5 x 10
Crunches: 5 x 20
Seated CG Rows: 5 x 8 x 200

Good workout. Kept to the prescribed plan and that makes all the difference!

No go on new PR

Today I was hoping to get a new PR on Bench press. Last week I didn't lift at all to give the tricep tendon some rest. I was hoping the rest would also allow me to get a new PR today. Apparently I took too much rest.

Shirted Bench Press: 1 x 225, 1 x 315, 1 x 365, 0 x 385
Bench Press 5's: 5 x 5 x 275
15's (Lower end 5, top end 5, full: 3 x 15 x 185
5 second Pause Bench with speed press: 5 x 5 x 135

I was very surprised how heavy the 315 and 365 was. I didn't have a spotter, but had a rack setup as a back up in case I couldn't get something up. I was surprised it was the 385 that was the failing point. Ouch. Need to get serious again.

Shoulders

Shrugs: 8 x 135, 6 x 225, 4 x 315, 6 x 225, 8 x 135
Military Press: 5 x 8 x 135
Lateral Raises: 5 x 6 x 45

At this point I wasn't feeling much like lifting as I heard lots of table tennis going on in the next room so I played a few games. Wish Bala could play. His style is the kind I like to play best. Need to do arms tomorrow.

Deadlift work

Deadlift: 30 x 185 (50%) rested 5-20 seconds between reps
Close Grip Pulldowns: 4 x 8 x 170
Wide Grip Pullups: 4 x 0 x bw

On the deadlifts I tried using the mirror to see how far down my hips go and watch that my legs are doing the initial part of the lift. Hard to tell. Before I went down I did a google search for "perfect deadlift form video" and got this link as the second hit. The thing I got out of that thread is that there are many different opinions on what is "perfect" form. Personally I would agree that you need to avoid rounding the back. I would also agree that I need to use my legs more. So I focused on that more today.

The pullups were pretty wide grip so I probably barely got half way up before I couldn't do it. Glad the gym I use is private. I'd be pretty embarrassed with how wimpy my pull ups are. Didn't have shoes/socks today and it felt weird to be in the gym in bare feet so I didn't do a full workout and I didn't really have a plan either. Not a great day in the gym.

Chest and Abs

Warm Up: 50 Pushups fast, 20 x 135 flat bench
Stump Presses: 2 x 8 x 135 + 50 lb DB hanging on each side and 30 lb chains (@265)
4 Blocks: 8 x 285, 6 x 295, 4 x 315, 2 x 335, 1 x 365
DB Presses (Speed): 4 x 10 x 65
DB Flys: 4 x 4 x 55
Four-count Flutter Kicks: 8 x 25 (200 total)
supersetted with Slow Crunches: 8 x 10 (80 total)

Was surprised that 50 pushups was as hard as it was. My all time best is 90 pushups, back when I was training for the physical test at Security. I'd love to do 100 in one sitting. I'll start doing these as a warm up and build up on them. I think my endurance has gone down.

Also surprised at how difficult the stump presses were. Those really make you keep control of the weight. The 365 four board was tough too. I'm wondering if I'm gonna be able to put up 365 at the virtual meet (which is raw). 365 raw is my PR right now, and I definitely want to at least match it. Overall it was a good workout and I started real early as yesterday I had to bag it.

Shoulders

Midrack Pulls: 8 x 135, 8 x 225, 6 x 315, 5 x 405, 0 x 480

The Rack was lower than normal. Two inches lower than normal. Couldn't bend my knees and keep my back straight. My back had to bend a little just to reach the weight. Thus the zero on the 480. I'll take it back up next time.

Close Grip Standing Rows: 12 x 95, 8 x 115, 8 x 125, 8 x 135
Lateral DB Raises: 3 x 8 x 40
Pullups: 2 x 4 x bw
Military Press 1 rep max: 1 x 185, 0 x 195

Felt good about this workout. Chest still sore from Wednesday, so I won't be lifting with Stump even though Cathi gave me the go ahead this afternoon. On Saturday's Stump, Moosie, Mike, and several others lift at the Gold's Gym in West Jordan.

That is usually their heavy day and since I'm still sore, I'm definitely not going. Cathi changed plans on me last minute or I would have held off on going heavy this week. Maybe next time.

Going to the club tonight with Austin and Jacob. Looking forward to playing hard and improving my game. The 989 rating makes me hungry.

Arms and Abs

Standing EZ bar curls (Speed): 5 x 8 x 75
superset with
Crunches (Slow): 4 x 25

Alt DB Curls: 5 x 6 x 55
superset with
4 count flutterkicks: 4 x 25

Concentration Curls: 8 x 35, 8 x 40, 2 x 8 x 45, 6 x 50
superset with
Knee Up Captains Chair: 4 x 25

Those captain chairs were tough. I was feeling a burn inside my inner hips not in my abs. Good workout.

Found out yesterday how bad the Las Vegas Tournament really was. I am rated 989 ( I was hoping for mid 1200 before I got sick).

Austin is rated 699 which is a little higher than I thought he would get. Looking forward to better that rating.

Inspiring Deadlift videos

Fellow blogger at Old School Strongman included the following videos in his blog. I am also including links. Very cool.

link 1
link 2
link 3

My chest and neck are sore from yesterday. I think my neck is mostly sore from the day before. That's great. Love being sore. Workout for today to follow....

New 225 Bench PR

I've wondered where my 225 rep is at. My best at 225 is 20 reps. Today I was going for 25. I ended up doing 24 and failing on the 25th. So my new PR for 225 is 24 reps. I'll probably do them again in another year to see where I'm at.

Flat Bench: 24 x 225
Decline Bench: 8 x 225, 6 x 275, 4 x 295, 2 x 315, 4 x 295, 8 x 225 (Speed)
Incline DB Press: 5 x 8 x 65
DB Flys: 3 x 8 x 50

Deadlift PR and setting goals for 2007

Deadlift:
4 x 275
2 x 315
1 x 365
12 x 225

Here is the video of the lifts.

The form on these looks more like SLDL. If anyone can give me pointers on how to make the lift easier that would be great.

The goals I have for 2007 are:

1) Get my Deadlift PR to match or exceed my Bench PR
2) By year end 2007 I would like to get my Bench PR up to 435 (which also means my Deadlift PR is at least 435)
3) Lift no less than three times per week, unless recovering from an injury or tapering.

Giving the joints a vacation

Today I went in and did 4 x 275 DL. The right elbow-tricep tendon was complaining and afterwards the right knee. I had planned on going for a new PR today in the DL, but due to the joint pain decided to go play table tennis with Gyan and Rajiv.

I think I will give lifting an entire week off. Hopefully my joints will appreciate this gesture and come back the next week with some new enthusiasm. So until next year..... Happy Holidays!

Upper Back

Midrack Pulls: 8 x 135, 8 x 225, 6 x 405, 6 x 480
Pullups: 3 x 4 x bw
DB Shrugs: 3 x 8 x 65
DB Overhead Press: 3 x 8 x 65
Close Grip Pulldowns: 3 x 8 x 170
DB Lateral Raises: 3 x 10 x 35

Today's workout was good. I could feel that sensitive tricep tendons going into my elbow during the DB Overhead Press a little.

Biceps

Seated Preacher Curls: 12 x 75 slow! 4 x 10 x 75 w/chains, 4 x 75 w/chains + 15# DB hanging on each side
Standing Armblaster Curls: 8 x 75, 8 x 85, 8 x 95, 8 x 105, 8 x 115
Alternating DB Curls: 2 x 65, 4 x 60, 6 x 55, 8 x 50, 10 x 45, 12 x 40, 14 x 35
Cable Curls: 10 x 40, 10 x 50, 8 x 60, 8 x 70, 6 x 80 (fail)

It felt good today to start out with light weight. My joints lately, especially my tricep/elbow joints have been hurting lately. It felt good to isolate the biceps today instead of share tricep work with them. I'm going to give triceps a break for a couple weeks. Today's workout was good and I didn't slack.

Heavy Chest workout

I read today in this article that its probably best to do your hardest/heaviest lifts first so you aren't tired by the time you get to them so I started today with Incline Press.

Incline Bench: 3 x 4 x 225
Flat Bench: 5 x 4 x 295
DB Flys: 6 x 50, 3 x 4 x 55
Pushups: 50

For the first time in my life lifting alone, the weight came back down on me when I didn't have a spotter. I was on my first set of Incline Press. I finished my fourth rep and got one side back on the rack, but couldn't get my left one up on the rack. The rack was too high beyond my lockout and I couldn't arch my back enough to get it up and over the edge. I started to panic just a little and unracked the other side so I could bring it back down. I knew that because it was incline I could weasle it down my front and muscle it off my lap. I was at about 45 degree angle. I was so glad it wasn't more than 225. Scared me though cause I've never had a situation like that before.
I fixed the situation by using the small posts for the weight and then the long posts for a backup system which was just an inch below my chest so I could use that if I ever have that problem again.

I set up the rack similarly for the flat bench too since I've never worked with 295 as the main weight before. The 295 sets felt very heavy and several times the little wimpy voice in my head said to give up as the first rep was coming down, but I didn't heed. In fact I ended up doing the optional 5th set that I wrote down instead of the mandatory 4. I also made pushups optional which I did. 50 pushups isn't too bad after a heavy workout. The only thing is my gut hits the floor instead of my chest and I seem to not go as far down as a result. I haven't gained a whole lot of weight lately, but I remember when I was all gung ho over pushups when I was working security and didn't have half the gut that I do now.

After Cathi has the baby we have some serious goals to lose weight together. At that point I'm going to have to do some cardio and stick with it.

Late Afternoon Back Work

Good Mornings: 4 x 6 x 115
SLDL: 3 x 4 x 295
Crunches: 4 x 25 slow and deliberate

The Good Mornings were too easy and the SLDL were pushing it especially on the last set. Didn't take much of a lunch break today and I really wanted to lift since I took the vacation off (due to being sick). Ankle is not improving much. Still at about 85-90%.

Table Tennis Tournament Results

http://www.gordongridley.us/2006/12/results-of-my-table-tennis-tournament.html

New Raw DL PR

DL: 2 x 245, 1 x 315, 1 x 355 (PR), 4 x 275
100 crunches (Slow and deliberate)
Cable Good Mornings: 4 x 10 x 200

Felt some pretty strange twitches going on in my mid back on the 275's so I stopped at 4 and stopped the other set I had planned. Didn't want to risk an injury. I didn't vid the 355, but I know it wasn't the smoothest DL I've ever done. Wouldn't mind hooking up with Dave Edgell for some DL pointers. Will have to do that after I get back from Vegas. I'm heading down there tomorrow morning and will be there participating in the National Table Tennis Tournament. I'm taking Austin and we are going to have a blast.

Hoping that the Stratosphere has a decent weight room since I don't think I'll be playing table tennis a whole lot. Just when competing. My ankle is at about 90% when walking, but jumping off/onto is alot worse. I hope I'm not completely disappointed with my performance as a result of it. Austin though is at the top of his game so far and I have high hopes for that boy.

Repeat of PR

This morning I slept in and man did that feel great! I was half heartedly planning on lifting with Brandon and Wayne at 5:15, and planned on doing another 405.

So at lunchtime I was able to snag Duane Ralphs to spot me for 395 and a 405 bench. I was able to get both. The 405 started to shift a little to the left near the top of the press, but corrected it and got it straight up.

Next time I'll start at 405 and go for 415 since this is the second time I've gotton 405 and probably the 4th time for 395.

Here is what I did:

Bench: 1 x 225, 1 x 315
Shirted Bench: 1 x 365, 1 x 395, 1 x 405

Given that I lifted chest on Friday and also have a tournament later this week I decided not to push it and do more than this so I went to have lunch. Tomorrow I'd like to get a new PR on Deadlift. My ankle is doing great. I would say I'm at 80% now, hoping to get more improvement by Friday.

Second Bench workout for the week

4 Block Flat Bench: 8 x 275, 8 x 315, 3 x 365
No Block Flat Bench: 3 x 315, 10 x 225
LowerHalf Only Flat Bench: 6 x 10 x 225 w/chains
Speed Bench: 5 x 225, 5 x 135

Felt good about the amount of effort put into these. Ankle feeling better. Played TT last night with Austin. Should be ready for the National Tournament next week. I ordered new Mark V rubber for two Mark V blades and replaced them and reglued my WonderBlade. Awesome.

Back

SLDL: 4 x 4 x 275
Upright Rows: 4 x 4 x 145
Bent Over Rows: 4 x 135, 4 x 160, 2 x 4 x 185
Cable Crossovers: 4 x 4 x 30
Crunches (Slow and hold at top): 4 x 25

The ankle is still very tender, but it did not give me any problems with these lifts so that's good.

Arms

Dips: 12 x bw, 2 x 8 x bw + 45
Preacher Curls: 3 x 12 x 95
French Press: 3 x 8 x 95
One Handed Cable Curls: 12 x 20, 10 x 30, 8 x 40
Tate Press: 3 x 8 x 40

I think I need to take two Glucosamine tabs per night rather than one. The tendon that connects my Triceps to the back of my elbow gets really tender when doing heavy Tricep work. Need to strengthen that joint. Felt OK about this workout. Still taking my time with the sore ankle.

I skipped my Dr. Appointment today as I'm 100% sure it isn't broken. I can put weight on it without support and can walk on it with a limp. I put on three sock on the right side today to give extra support until I get my ankle brace which I got a couple days ago per Ryan Gubler's recommendation. I'm feeling very confident that I should be close to 100% (especially with the ankle brace) by this time next week. I'm getting better everyday.

Shoulders

Seated Military Press: 4 x 8 x 95 (Alternating between in-front and behind head)
Seated CG Cable Rows: 2 x 8 x stack (@200), 2 x 8 x stack + 2 sets of chains (@230)
DB Lateral Raises: 4 x 8 x 40
Widegrip Pulldowns: 2 x 6 x stack (@200), 2 x 6 x 190

Was hoping to do 135 on the Military press, but those were way too heavy. I've done that much weight before standing, but seated I guess forces better form and I must have cheated pretty bad when I did that much before. 95 was plenty easy, probably too easy. Should have gone for 105.

Took my time on this workout. It took about an hour to do, but with the slow moving leg it takes more time to load up and I generally feel disabled having to move slow and stuff. Felt OK about the effort and weight involved, not psyched though.

Today I went without the aircast as I felt like I was part robot. Ever see those machines in Alien 2 at the end that Sygourney climbs into to fight the Alien, or the Machine those guys in Matrix 3 use to fight with that have Gatling Guns for hands? With that air cast my leg was huge and bulky and made a huge thump when I walked. So I went without it today as I could walk on it very carefully. I'm reluctantly going to keep my appointment with the Orthopedic doctor tomorrow, but I would be floored if he said it needed a hard cast due to a break.