lazy days

I did no training today and it felt pretty good. I realize there are plenty of other days I don't train but this one was more of a rest day. Since I had the day off from pullups and was still a bit fatigued I postponed my DL and pressing until tomorrow.

The slow pokes at the lab still don't have my test results. It's now been 6 business days, they are slacking.

Watched an interesting Russian film called Night Watch and I'm about to watch the sequel, Day Watch. It's fantasy/horror type, several Star Wars themes and supernatural creatures. It's pretty good.

I also invented a mixed drink which I think I'll call a Mexican Screwdriver. Vanilla vodka, OJ, and Jarrita lime soda. Quite refreshing.

Mostly rest

Took today off with the exception of my pullups. I will get tomorrow off from that.

Pullups: 20# x 6,5,4,3,2
These are getting a little harder.

I did make a couple bends and tweaks on my scrolling from yesterday and it actually looks a little artistic. I'll get some pics up soon.

There has been a lot of talk recently on blogs and forums about "hardgainers". It made me realize I'm not eating nearly enough food so I've been trying to get more snacks in and eating at regular intervals. Though as I've said on the flip side, those trying to lose weight, it's more than counting calories. Because of hormones my body is more prone to catabolism and anabolism. But that is part of reason for doing the Adrenal Stress Index. Hoping results are in tomorrow.

Also did some Z and used the Stick.

Snow day

It snowed today and that slowed down business. The upside is that I had plenty of time to train.
this morning -
pullups: 20# x 5,5,4,3,2
a little grip work, gripper, leverage, plate wrist curls.

afternoon -
got my 1/4" HRS today in 5 ft sections. I decided to coil a section ( Yes, I'm copying Adam, but hey it must work because he is smashing all sorts of records). I d/l a pdf by Eric Vining over the weekend after searching for some "how-to" info. You read this stuff and they tell you it's hard and a total body workout and it's not that I don't believe them, but it's just something you have to experience for yourself. So I got my gloves on and started. Well it is only 1/4" but it bent easier than I expected. But that is not to say it was easy. I was feeling my abs, and definitely my wrists. So I coiled a piece, uncoiled it and then coiled and bent some more. I bought this stuff to help transition my short bending but I think I might have another addiction.

bottom's up C&P : 16kg x 5/5 x 2 . I did each rep from a dead pull from the floor, trying to improve my explosiveness. I think I might need some coaching on this as I didn't feel very explosive.

DL: 160# x 5 , 170# x 5

Managed to GTG with pistols: 20# x 1/1 x 2 , still able to do reps back-to-back.

Finished with some bending, a few 3/16" x 5, couple nails and a 3/16"sq x 7. Had trouble with this one and my grip is still tired. Going to take a couple days rest until we get the 1/4" HRS cut up. In fact with the exception of my pullups I'm taking tomorrow off from everything. Hope to get time for contrast bath tonight.

26th February

GTG : pistols 20# x 3+3 - I did these L/R back to back which was an improvement

Pullups : 20# x 5,4,4,3,2

DL: 160# x 5
170# x 5

Handstand - :40 sec x 3

25th Feb

GTG - Pistols 20# x 3/3
DL - 160# x 5
170# x 5
Double MP - 16kg's x 5 x 2 - These were pretty easy. Depending on how I feel after a full wk of training I may add some sets
Swings - 2-16's in one hand x 5/5 x 2

Pullups 20# x 5,4,3,3,2


Gripper work.

Ordered some 1/4" HRS today.

Pullups and stuff

Continued the fighter's pullup program

20# x 5,4,3,2,2

10# plate wrist curls x 8/8
10# + 2.5# curls x 5/5
10# plate wrist ext x 7/7 x 2

check out www.peoplescube.com for some funny political stuff.

Psalm 144:1

I was looking at tattoos online and saw this verse. It is semi-appropriate for grip training and I don't recall ever seeing it before. It might be my new motto


"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."

Another bending PR

Big warm up today with Z and some FMS corrective drills.
DL : 155# x 5
165# x 5
I forgot that I increased the weight on these the other day.

MP: 20+25# kb x 5/3 , 3/3 L/R
I guess my pressing strength has gone downhill. I'll probably replace these with 16kg and a band presses.

Pistols : 20# x 1/1 , 1/1 , since I wasn't at the office today I didn't get to GTG , so I only got in 2 sets of singles while training today.

Pullups : 20# x 5,4,3,2,1

Bending - 3/16" x 5 CRS , 1 DO , 1 DU , 2 reverse
Pole Barn nails , 1 DO , 2 DU , 1 reverse
3/16" x 7 sq 1 DO
3/16" x 5.5" sq - 1 DO , I wasn't planning on doing any square stock today but I finished up with the easier stuff and felt strong and Kris was trying his hand at the square, got his first 6" piece on the first attempt. I decided to give the 5.5" a go, this was my first attempt but everything else has been going well so I gave it a try. It's amazing how quickly progress is coming. My first success on the pole barn nails was around xmas and I was sore for 3 days after 1 bend. And a few weeks ago when I received the square stock the 7" wouldn't budge. I'm sure the new wraps are part of it and technique as I mentioned and definitely the crush lever bar but the final result is that harder and harder steel is succumbing to my force. What a great feeling.

Crush grip leverage, rear extension and rotations. and chest crush curls with 16kg , a couple with mini band.

No Catchy title

Pistols : GTG 20# 1/1 x 3
DL : 160# x 5 , 170# x 5
Side Press BB : 45# x 5 , these were pretty tough today, felt some muscles I haven't used in a while. I decided to stop with 1 set.
Pullups : 20# x 4,4,3,2,1
Dynaflex ball : extension x 1:00 L/R and flexion x 1:30 L/R , as always a test of muscle endurance to keep it going.

Spent a lot of time on the foam roller and some T/S rotation exercises. My overhead flexibility is improving. Also started on Mediherb Thyroid Complex and Withania Complex. Body temp is actually up in the mid 97 F today. That's with an outside temp of 4 F this morning. I don't think the supplements would work that fast but yesterday I didn't get above 97.0 F.

Cankles are gross

They are even worse on thin girls, you kinda expect them on big girls. Just seeing them turns my stomach and touching them is really bad.

Pullups: 20# x 4,3,3,2,1
Bottoms up C&P : 16 kg x 5/5 x 2
DL : 155# x 5
165# x 5

These were all done at separate times. I started getting that tightness on my right iliac crest again so I spent a lot of time on the foam roller, doing some Z and got an adjustment. No relief yet but I figure morning will be better.

I bent a 3/16 sq x 7" while my friend was there, this was a little tough with no warm-up , plus some iso's on the 1/4" bar. When the leather gives a little you think the metal is going but not yet. Still a great drill though.

New Program

I finally worked out a new plan of attack for the next 4-6wks. I'm going with a PTTP style workout. Adding some pressing variety, a pinch of swings and snatches and GTG with pistols. I will also continue to do the pullup program.

GTG pistols : 20# , singles x 3 . There was a small rest between L and R.

DL : 155 x 5 , 165 x 5
Handstand : against the wall, held for time , :20 x 5 , 1:30 rest

Pullups : 20# x 4,3,2,2,1

GTG iso's on bending , DO

pullups and bending

Started the Fighter's Pullup program today by Pavel.

I'm doing the weighted version, bw +20#
today - 4,3,2,1,1 about a minute rest between sets

also did a little bending for grins. 1 -3/16 crs x 5" , 1- pole barn nail , reverse style, 1- 3/16" sq. x 7" DO , and then I just decided to do one more to see if I could, 1 - 3/16" sq. x 6" DO . I've fine tuned my technique a little more after reviewing the Diesel Crew bending book, I'm getting my hands out even further on the bar. Plus I think I'm better suited to 6" than 7"

Followed that with some leverage bar work, casts, leverage cast and press, inner/outer pendulum all with 10# cb, then some leverage with crush grip bar.

Finished the night with dyna-flex powerball - extensors x 1:00 r/l x 2 and flexors x 1:00 r/l , these really burn, I'm trying to improve grip endurance for climbing.

Also did some iso's on a 1/4 bar for bending.

By wednesday I should have the new program lined up.

I felt really good this evening and my body temp is 98.2 , maybe it isn't a coincidence.

Energy production and nutrition

The two main energy producing systems of the body are the thyroid and the adrenal glands. A lot of folks have problems with these including myself. I've recently been reading on Wilson's Temperature Syndrome. This is low body temp usually related to low thyroid function. My body temp runs around 97 degrees F. Anyone who has studied chemistry knows that enzymes function best at a certain temperature and anything cooler greatly slows down reactions in the body. I've had low temp and low BP as long as I can remember. That means stuff isn't working properly. I'm going to attempt to fix that. I'm doing an adrenal hormone test and then will start a nutrition program to get my body working better.
A lot of folks, especially in the exercise community talk about will power. I would bet these folks have strong adrenal glands. Based on the work I do with with hair mineral analysis I see a lot of patients who have thyroid and adrenal glands each functioning at 25% efficiency, that's a 75 % energy loss. If you drive a 4 cylinder car unhook 3 of your spark plugs and go for a drive and let me know how that works out. Yes these folks have no ambition or motivation but in most cases it's not that they are lazy, it's that they are running on 1 spark plug. They are worn out. I'm in a similar category and know that things that seem like are chore are easy to accomplish when I am taking care of myself. If you are one of these people and have an extra dose of will power you may end up doing your body more harm than good in the long run. It's like whipping a horse, yes you will keep pushing and maybe achieve your goals but die as soon as you stop.
I will probably start an exercise program of moderate intensity for the next round. I would love to do a high volume routine with a bunch of swings and pressing but I'm not going to. I would probably get stronger but I think it would be counter productive to me getting my health and stamina back. It's difficult for me because I want to do a lot, because I don't want to be lazy but I think a little patience now will pay off big in 6 months to a year from now. I've attempted some nutritional stuff in the past and it worked some but no real big results. This time I'm getting a little more aggressive, addressing thyroid and adrenal with some herbs and possibly some hormone supplementation if indicated by the saliva tests. I hope to get my body temp up to 98.6 F and eliminate some fatigue and improve stamina and recovery. Wish me well in my endeavors.

A little disappointed

Finished another program today and ended up with DL.
185# x 2,
190# x 2,
205# x 2,
215# x 2,
230# x 2 ,
then max out. Attempted 270# but failed, got 260#. My max before starting the program was 255# so not a great improvement. I have lost about 4 lbs from when I was sick a couple weeks ago so percentage wise it is a little better but not what I expected. For me that was quite a bit of volume prior to the max out so maybe that's part of it. Even though I have moderate strength I don't have much stamina. In any case I'll try again on monday with just a warm up and see if I can do something a little more respectable. Yeah, maybe I'm being too hard on myself.
Kris went from a max of 275# to 320# which was all the weight we had so he may have had another 15-20 lbs in him. I think he made as much of a neurological gain as he did strength and he's putting up numbers closer to what I think he's capable of.
He also got our steel cut up so we did some bending. 3/16" CRS x 5" is cake now. I did 4 in a row DO for speed work and then 2 DU and 2 Reverse style. That was my first real experience with reverse, not too bad, but definitely the hardest technique for me. Then 2 pole barn nails DO and 1 DU. The nails break on bending which is kinda fun, makes you feel tough ;-).

And then there was one

OAP : 3/3 , 3/3, 3/3, these were done alternating 1 L and 1 R . 2/2 with a single blue band.

Ring Dips: 2 reps x 7 sets.

Pullups: bw + 25# x 4 , +20# x 3,2,1

2 x 4 pinch holds - 20# x 20sec x 2, 22.5# x 20 sec x 2 , 25# x 15 sec x 2 , 27.5# x 10 sec x 2 . All were done L and R. I figure if I can work up to 50# per hand I will be ready for a rafter pullup.

Gripper - HG 150 x 10/10 , CoC T x 5/5 x 2 , HG 200 x 3/3 x 2 (couldn't quite close it with my left hand) . CoC #1 negatives , 20 count L/R x 2 . Eventhough I'm left-handed I'm stronger closing grippers with my right hand. I read somewhere that because of the spring coil they fit the right hand better. Maybe this accounts for a little of the difference. Yet another example of the world being biased against lefties. Maybe if Hillary or Obama gets elected they can arrange a congressional investigation into this and give lefties some sort of reparations, lol.

I got the steel delivered to Kris, he should be able to get it cut up tomorrow morning so we can bend in the afternoon.

Nail and bolt pics

A pic of the 2 pieces of square stock and the bolt I bent, the pencil is simply for size reference. I just picked up 24 ft of 3/16 CRS so I'll have plenty to bend once I get it cut up.
Worked on the foam roller today to free up lats and pec. Very effective. Active SLR is getting better also, I'm finally a 2.

I'm on fire

I was standing around tonight waiting on my last patient so we could start our training. I found a 1/4" x 6" grade 2 hex bolt and decided to give it a go since I'd been successful earlier with the square steel. It went down pretty easy. When I felt that initial kink and fold I got a warm happy feeling and crushed it on down. These definitely finish a lot easier than the square stock. This is the thickest thing I've bent but I'm not sure how much harder if any from the square stuff. The plan is to back off and work volume on the easier stuff but the feeling you get from setting new records is addictive, so we'll just have to wait to see what happens.

ZSQ : 85# x 6 sets x 4 reps
Tricep ext (kneeling rings) : 6 sets x 4 reps , 1:30 on both

Finger rolls: 90# x 15, 12, 10
Wrist ext on the homemade pegasus : 7.5# x 3 sets x 5-7 reps.
These really lit up my forearms

Another one bites the dust

Today I bent another piece of 3/16" square x 7" . This one was done all in one setting as they should be. I think these new accomplishments can be attributed to a couple factors. One is the obvious of getting stronger, doing some wrist strengthening and lever work and some volume on easier stuff. The tendency is to want to keep progressing to harder and harder but you really have to put in the time with stock that is well within your range and just do a bunch of them to establish proper motor learning pathways. The second reason is I changed my stance a little. I watch most of Adam Glass's bending accomplishments which he posts on youtube, and there are plenty to watch because he is setting new PR's all the time. But I noticed he had an offset stance with one leg ahead of the other, prior to this I was using a balanced isosceles stance. I think the new stance allows better transfer of power. I also am focusing more on recruiting my lats. And lastly is finding the sweet spot. I'm feeling the ends of the steel in my palms and focusing on bringing the two ends together. I'll be picking up a nice big quantity of 3/16" round CRS this week and continue with my volume on 5" stock just to improve speed and technique. This will be the bulk of my training, followed by the pole barn nails and then the occasional square stock just to test my progress. I'll continue with the crush lever grip and some chest crush lifts.

Bending PR

I got some FBBC stock a few weeks ago and for the most part I got shut down. I put about a 20-30 degree kink in a piece of 7" x 3/16 square. Today I decided to give it another go. I finished the bend today. there is definitely a feel to a good bend. You can tell it's going to bend right from the beginning. I'll try a fresh piece tomorrow and see if I can do one from start to finish.

If these weren't so good for me...

TGU's : 24kg x 2/2 x 3 , 1:30 rest. These things suck, they blast my shoulders so much. But they are a heck of a great movement. They don't seem to get any easier though.

Snatch: 24kg x 3/3 x 10 , on 1:30. This is the addition of a rep but added some time to the rest. I should have kept the rest time the same and added the rep. But I wasn't ready for that so I'll stay at 3/3 and start decreasing the time. I will continue with the snatch routine through the new program that starts next week.

Wrist roller: 3 sets ext x 50# , 3 sets flex x 55# . It blows my mind that people are doing these with 200+ #. Hard to imagine as challenging as these are.

Bent 2 pole barn nails.

The Home Stretch

Just finished wk 5, which leaves one final week before a max test on DL

DL : 180# x 2 , 190# x 2 , 205# x 2 , 215# x 2 , 230# (90%) x 2 x 2

Finished with hub lift - 20# x 15s x 3 , 20s x 2
Crush lever bar , a variety of levers and casts

From yesterday

OA band pullup : 3/3 , 3/3 , 2/2 , 2/2 - 1:30 rest between sets. Reps were done alternating L/R . But considering I had been doing singles this is progress.

Dips: 10 singles with 1:40 rest

Pullups: 16kg x 1,2,3 ladder - Whether it was the increase in density for the OAP or some leftover fatigue from being off several days, I felt tired and stopped with one set of these.

As this program winds down it's time to plan for the next one. One week to go.

Lifting again

I'm back to the program.

Ring triceps ext - kneeling : 4 reps x 5 sets

ZSQ : 75# x 4reps x 5 sets

I backed off the weight and sets a little since I've been away so long. Felt pretty good

Wrist roller : 60# flex x 3
50# ext x 3

The best ab and back workout

- Coughing.
I've been down with something since Tues night. Had a fever through yesterday. Other than coughing and sleeping I didn't do much but sit around. Feeling better today, fever gone, head is getting congested and hacking phlegm but I can handle that. I missed 3 training days last week and today isn't looking good. Of course there's nothing like 24kg snatches to clear the junk out of your lungs. But with my decreased appetite I'm a bit weak. I'll just be doing joint mobility, maybe some Flow-Fit and perhaps a few swings the next couple days to get back on track.
After doing the FMS on myself I found I need to really retrain hamstring/hip flexor complex. That's to get my Active SLR up to an acceptable score. I also have to work with overhead flexibility. I'm fine with one arm but bad with both arms overhead. I think it's probably the giant wing-like lats I have (yes you can laugh). Lats and pec need some releasing.
Should be back in the saddle soon, giddy-up