More De-Load

SQ - Bar x 5, 135 x 10, 185 x 10

BP - Bar x 5, 95 x 10, 135 x 10

Bunch of rows and face-pulls with bands

De-Load and De Bass, Mon!

After skipping the last few de-load week, I decided it was time to take one. I've had quite a few niggling little aches and pains. My lower back has been tight for the last couple weeks and I've been having trouble falling asleep. Little signs that tell me I'm heading toward staleness or injury.

SQ - Bar x 5, 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 5
BP - Bar x 5, 95 x 5, 115 x 5, 135 x 5
I really didn't have the energy for any accessory work.

I've picked up the bass guitar after a long time. I played bass in a band in high school and two years after while I went to junior college. This was in the early to mid-eighties. I was never much of a talent but I could get by playing the root notes and fifths and octaves for fills. We had a moderate following playing gigs. We even went into the recording studio to record a demo. We were given a discount because it was from midnight to 8 a.m. When I decided to go away to school, I sort of started bailing on my band. I had become unreliable. The guys eventually decided to go in a new direction. They brought in a new guy. Only thing was, he didn't have very good gear. I ended up letting him use my stuff while he paid me in installments. I needed the money and he needed the equipment. The shame of it was I sold off a sweet Fender Precision Bass and Peavy bass amplifier. I worked hard to buy that bass to just sell it off so cavalierly. About 20 years ago, I picked up a Mexican made Fender Jazz Bass. I hooked up with my old friend and band-mate a few times at his band's practice space in a big old rat-infested warehouse in Wicker Park where a bunch of other bands rented space. Nothing ever really took because it pretty much an excuse to get together with an old pal, drink, smoke weed and reminisce about our glory years.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago when I stumbled across an old portable practice device called a Rockman Bass Ace. My parents had gotten it for me for Christmas one year so they can get a break from all the noise. The original headphones were long gone, but when I put some new batteries, plugged in my fancy noise cancelling earphones and bass in, it worked!  In fact, I was able to plug into my laptop, too. There's some great instructional stuff on youtube and it's so much easier than wasting my parents' money and blowing off my weekly lessons. It's also easier than trying to cue up and album or trying to follow along to a Mel Bay lesson book. Will I keep it up, or will the bass end up in storage for another 20 years? Only time will tell.

Recent lifts

DB OHP - 30# x 10 ea., 50 x 10/8/8 each

DL - 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 2, 355 x 1, 375 x 1, 405 x 1, 365 x 1/1

Chin-ups - BW x 7/6

Superset with

Calf raises +70# x 20/18

SQ - bar x 5, 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 255 x 5/5/5

BP - bar x 5, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 155 x 2, 175 x 1, 195 x 1/1/1/1/1

DB Rows - 35# x 10 ea, 65# x 10/10/10 ea.

Last rep. of last bench press was a grinder. Deciding whether to add weight for next cycle or not.

The King is Gone But He's Not Forgotten

Fuck Elvis, Chuck Berry was the real King of Rock and Roll

Cranky lower back the last couple days.

SQ - bar x 5, 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 275 x 2, 315 x 1/1/1/1/1

BP - Bar x 5, 95 x 5, 135 x 5, 155 x 5/5/5

DB Hammer Curls - 40#  each hand - 12/10/8

superset with

Ab Wheel Roll-outs - 12/10/8

Weird thing is, the squats didn't bother my lower back at all. Arching my back on the bench did.

Grrrl Power!

I'm reading Carrie Brownstein's memoir. Really enjoying it so far. Played Sleater-Kinney @ high volume during my workout.

DB OHP - 35# x 8 each, 50# x 8/8/8 each

DL - 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 315 x 3/3/3/3/3

Chin-ups - 6/6/5
Superset with
Calf Raises + 55# - 20/20/15

Shoveled snow this morning. Just when we were thinking spring had sprung...

SQ - bar x 5, 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 255 x 5/5/5

BP - bar x 5, 95 x 3, 135 x 3, 155 x 3, 175 x 3/3/3/3/3

DB Rows - 35# x 10 ea.,  50 x 10/10/10 each

Moved grip in a little more on bench. Feeling more comfortable. I think with my recent struggles, I was moving my grip out to cheat a little. I'm going back to the grip I was using when my working sets were in the low to mid 200's.

Went easy on the DB Rows after my biceps scare last time.

Time to End Daylight Savings Time

The older I get the longer I struggle with that loss of an hour of my time. Yeah, I know we get it back, I feel I'm up against it for the remainder of the week.

Was a little sore on my upper right side. DIY car repairs. Again, I overestimated my abilities/underestimated the degree of difficulty. Also, I had to remove the tangled mess that was a my rear gate and a portion of fencing that was taken out by a someone who must have been tearing ass though the alley. Unfortunately, he didn't stick around. Fortunately, the fence posts and garbage cans took the brunt of it instead of my garage. All can be replaced. I combed through the wreckage looking for some clue, I side mirror, a licence plate, a trail of antifreeze leading down the alley.

Did my usual stretching, broomstick dislocates, but needed something else for a warm-up act. I settled on light KB snatches.

25# KB snatches - 10 each side

SQ - bar x 5, 135 x 3, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 255 x 3, 285 x 3/3/3/3/3

BP - bar x 5, 95 x 5, 135 x 5, 155 x 5/5/5

DB Hammer Curls - 45# each, 10/8/6

Ab Wheel Roll-outs - 10/8/6

Single Arm DB OHP - 35# x 8 each, 45# x 8/8/8 each

DL - 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 275 x 5/5/5/5/5

Did all double-overhand grip, Started to slip at the end of 4th set so used mixed grip for last set.

Chin-ups - 5/5/5

superset with

Calf raises - 15/15/15

Took a little weight off DL instead of adding weight because life.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Didn't have time to post last night.

SQ - bar x 5, 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 255 x 5/5/5

BP - bar x 5, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 155 x 5/5/5/5/5

DB Rows - 35# x 10 R, 10 L,  85# x 10 R, 5 L Felt a pull in my left bicep so I terminated set early. Did not want my bicep rolling up like a window shade. Will take some weight off next time.

Playing around with different grips and bar path to get try to unstick my lagging bench. The "break the bar in half" cue never seems to work for me. What seemed to work was almost more of a "revving a motorcycle" grip cue.  Sweet spot seems to be to touch the bar just below the sternum. The "shelf" above the belly.

Also had a slight ophthalmic migraine earlier in the day. No headache but the flashing lights and a blind spot. These used to occur more often and with greater intensity before I started supplementing with Magnesium. The day before, I didn't take Mag. Citrate. I'm not prepared to say Magnesium is a cure for migraines, but for my case study of one, this appears to be the case.

Stiff and Sore

Woke up with a stiff back. I don't think it's from the squats. I think it might be the ab wheel. It's possible that I might have "sagged" my lower back in an effort to get deeper on them.

SQ - bar x 5. 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 255 x 5/5/5/5/5

BP - bar x 10, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 155 x 5/5/5

DB Hammer Curls - 45# x 10/8/6
Superset with
AB Wheel Roll-outs - 10/8/6

Deload Day

SQ - bar x 10, 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 205 x 5, 225 x 5

BP - bar x 10, 95 x 5, 115 x 5, 135 x 5