Good Riddance, 2016!

It's been quite a year! The year began with neck and shoulder pain. My doc finally punted and sent me to an orthopedic specialist. The good news is, I didn't need surgery. The plan of attack was an anti-inflammatory and physical therapy. I spent the first few months of the year rehabbing my neck with tiny vinyl coated dumbbells, foam rollers and light band and cable work. It took several months until full feeling returned to the fingers on my right hand. I've had to make a few life-style changes as well Years of bad posture with my head too far forward had to be undone. I'll have to keep working on my posture for my remaining days. A ten dollar neck roll from Bed Bath and Beyond has made has also made a huge difference.

We lost a bunch of music legends including two of my favorites, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen. Even more depressing was how excited I was when I heard the early releases of both of their albums. I waited anxiously for the full release of both Bowie's Blackstar and Cohen's You Want it Darker. Sadly, both artists died shortly after their albums dropped. In hindsight, it's not too hard to see that each was meant as sort of a swan song as both artists had been battling cancer and knew their time was short. I hope I haven't cursed some of the younger artists who also put out new albums this year like Angel Olsen, Parquet Courts, Sturgill Simpson, Weyes Blood, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Damien Jurado, Car Seat Headrest and Nothing. I wish them all many creative, healthy and productive years. 

Finally, there was the election where where our dumbocracy was exposed in all it's glory. I was a Bernie Bro, but reluctantly got behind HRC once the Drumpf shit-show started. Like most sane folks, I watched in horror unfolded on that fateful November night. I bottomed out on Ativan, Hydrocodone and rye. Fortunately, I have a good support network. A lot of people were concerned about my well-being and reached out to me. There are also too many people depending on me so I got help. My doctor put me on Prozac. I also found a great cognitive behavioral therapist. As with my physical therapist, I've had to make some life-style changes. There's a lifetime of faulty wiring to undo but I'm happy to say I'm making progress.

Oh yeah, this is a training log! My current regimen is a 4 week/3 times a week Wendler 531 inspired program.

Week 1

Day 1

Squat - 75% of training Max for 5 sets of 5

Bench Press - 75% of TM for 3 sets of 5

Curls

Day 2

Squat - 75% of TM for 3 sets of 5

Bench Press - 75% of TM for 5 sets of 5

Rows - Inverted, barbell, or dumbbell

Day 3 

Dumbell overhead presses

Deadlifts - 75% for 5 sets of 5

Chin-ups

Week 2

Squat - 85% of TM for 5 sets of 3

Bench - 75% of TM for 3 sets of 5

Curls

Bench Press - 85% of TM for 5 sets of 3

Squat - 75% of TM for 3 sets of 5

Rows

DB overhead presses

DL - 85% of TM for 5 sets of 3

Chin-ups

Week 3

Squat - 95% of TM for 5 sets of 1

Bench - 75% of TM for 3 sets of 5

Curls

Bench Press - 95% of TM for 5 sets of 1

Squat - 75% of TM for 3 sets of 5

Rows

DB overhead press

Deadlifts - 95% of TM for 5 sets of 1

Chin-ups

Week 4

Deload

Reset Training Max. Add 10 pounds for SQ ad DL. 5 LBS for BP.

Every session - lots of prehab/rehab stuff with light DBs and bands.

I intentionally set my initial training max low and have been milking this program for several months now. No As-Many-Reps-As-Possible (AMRAP) sets as in the regular 531. My joints thank me. I finally came to the realization that I won't be competing as a power lifter, nor will I get jacked like the vein-y guys in the magazines and I'm okay with that. I'm 51 and drug-free. Ain't no magic supplements gonna reverse the ravages of growing older.

That's the last year distilled down to it's very essence.