December 18, 2009

Dead Lift

walk 4 minutes
stretching

Dead Lift:

2x8 @ 135
1x5 @ 225
1x3 @ 275
1x5 @ 340
1x3 @ 385
1x3 @ 435

Glutes (on multi-hip)
3x10 @ 150

Abs (body weight, decline bench)
1x12
1x10
1x8

DONE

My back was so dang tight I was walking around like I thought I was God's gift or something. I'm working with my future-PT friend again to see if we can resolve this. I'm thinking of dropping the 5/3/1 for squat and dead lift (while continuing to use it for bench press) and just doing heavy singles.

I was thinking today that I want to hit up the next two meets in the area; the Capitol City Clash in Lincoln, NE on January 23 and the Kansas Heavy Metal Open in Hoisington, KS on March 6.

I plan to do bench press only at the NE meet and do a full meet at the KS one.

We'll see...

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

December 17, 2009

No squat this week. This is partly because of my psoas issue and partly because of finals. No excuse is a good one, but at least this is an explanation.

Got the massage done Tuesday night and I'm feeling pretty good. Not 100%, but I should be so after another treatment or two. The therapist is coming back in about a month, so I'm definitely looking forward to it.


Anyway, today:

Bench Press:
1x15 @ bar
3x8 @ 135
1x5 @ 210
1x3 @ 235
1x8 @ 265
(335 est. 1 RM... YES!)

Lat Pulldowns:
3x8

CSR:
2x10
1x6

Face Pulls:
2x10
1x8

Felt good... traps will be sore from the face pulls even though they were light. I've never done these before, but I hope they keep my scapulae tracking right.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

December 9,2009

Bench Press

Bar x10
135 x6
185 x3
225 x3
250 x8
(316.67 est 1RM)

CSR

2x10
2x8

Lat Pulldowns

2x10
2x8

Felt darn good today. Little pins and needles in the left pec, but other than that, no problem.

December 11,2009

No training today. Too busy studying and had a tight muscle in the right iliopsoas region.


I'm not sure what my training will look like in the next week. Finals loom large on the horizon and that hip flexor or ab muscle or whatever it is is just getting worse. I'll just have to see, but I want to be smart. Another student's wife (a massage therapist) may be able to fix the issue near the end of finals week.

Hoping...

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Sunday (12-7) & Monday (12-8) Training

Sunday (12-7)

pushups:
20
20

machine flyes:
10

wide-grip dips:
3x4 (sets x reps)

selector machine incline presses
3x10

walked 1/4mile

pushups:
20

machine flyes:
10
10

narrow-grip dips:
2x8
1x6

selector machine incline presses
2x8
1x6

I was pretty tired after this. Today I've got the DOMS like nobody's business. Hopefully this will help me jack up my (rather pathetic) bench press max...


Monday (12-8)

hip adductor/abductor
2 sets each exercise 10 reps x 80 lbs.

hamstring/glute on multi-hip
2 sets 10 reps x 40 lbs.

hip stretching/hamstring stretching

Squat:

135x8
185x5
295x3
345x3
385x5

hamstring curls
2x8x115
1x8x135

My back was pretty tight again tonight, but I think it was better than it could have been.

I used a LOT of Icy-Hot on my lower back to try to stay warm... smelled like menthol for about an hour after the session.

Hoping and praying that my back loosens up this week before dead lift on Friday...

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

First Week on 5/3/1

I have a new training partner. Things are going pretty well, and I'm definitely getting some cardio in via changing weights!

Squat - Sunday Nov. 29

warm up walk and stretching

Squats
warm up sets
5x320
5x340
6x365
felt like hell

hip adductor
3x10

hip abductor
3x10

hamstring curls
2x10
1x8

cool down walk and stretching

Bench Press - Wednesday Dec. 2

warm up walk, stretching

Bench Press
warm up sets
5x185
5x205
5x235 (forgot to go to near-failure... probably had 5 more in the tank)

chest-supported rows (selector machine)
2x10 @ 120 (neutral grip)
1x8 @ 140 (prone grip)

lat pull-downs
2x10 @ 100
1x8 @ 120

cool down and stretching

Dead Lift - Friday, December 4, 2009

warm up walk and stretching

Dead Lift
warm up sets
5x315
5x365
(didn't finish... back too tight)

leg/hip raises (abs)
3x5

cool down walk and stretching


I'm hoping to get some help with this back tightness issue. I've asked someone on the EliteFTS website for some help. Should be good to go next time.

Speaking of next time, I've been given a routine to use an a substitute for the 5/3/1 Military Press day. It's from a future-PT friend of mine.

It is set up like this...
Push Ups (near failure)
Floor Press w/ Dumbbells (near failure)
Floor Chest Flyes w/ Dumbbells (near failure
3 Sets Dips (near failure)
3 Sets Selector Machine Chest Press (near failure)

take a walk and repeat once

I plan to take this one up on Sunday, so it'll look like this:

Sunday - accessory chest day
Monday - 5/3/1 squat day
Wednesday - 5/3/1 bench press day
Friday - 5/3/1 dead lift day

I plan to use the "Boring But Big" accessory work for my 5/3/1 training.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

2009 Kansas State Championships Videos

I couldn't get videos to upload, so I just thought I'd post links:

Squat - 475 Pass

Bench Press - 305 Pass

Dead Lift - 520 Pass


Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Goals for March 6th Meet

These will certainly be preliminary goals, but I want to get started early.

Squat - 490 lbs.
Bench Press - 320 lbs.
Dead Lift - 550 lbs.

Total - 1360

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Another Letter To The Collegian Editor

This article is a response to this one.

Dear Editor,
After reading Beth Mendenhall's recent article on "overpopulation", I felt the need to do some research of my own. She feels that a growing population serves to exacerbate all of the systemic problems of our world. In fact, such a thing is only a bad dream and not the truth. She is right that scarcity is a problem. In fact, in terms of economics it is *the* problem. People are forced to economize in the face of scarcity. We have limited resources to fill unlimited ends. Mendenhall acts as if "overpopulation" is some new problem that will be the downfall of the human race and the planet. In fact, this is not a new "problem". Such a problem was dreamt up by Thomas Malthus in the late 1700s. He did some rough calculations and came to the conclusion that the world would run out of food by the end of the 1800s. To remedy this problem, he advocated the killing of elderly people and placing limits on how many children people could have. Indeed, Beth does not advocate a government control of birthrate. One might ask, though, how else could this occur? When I get married, I certainly don't want anyone telling me and my wife how many children we can have. I digress. Let's assume that Malthus was right with his calculations and that the world would have run out of food. What happened in the 1800s that allowed the veritable explosion in population growth during and after that period? It was the Industrial Revolution. The new technologies in all areas of life that developed out of this era allowed the limited resources of the earth to be spread over more and more people. It allowed for a healthier population, as well, because people could consume higher-quality food and could live in cleaner environments. Mendenhall decries capitalism as one of the evils destroying our earth. I submit that, as capitalism is the driving force behind new technology, it is actually one of the very few things that saves humanity. As entrepreneurs work to become profitable, their inventions make our entire world better.
Let's assume that all of this analysis is wrong and that a growing population will really cause all of the horrible things Mendenhall thinks it will. Is "overpopulation" really on the horizon? In fact, no. According to the United Nations Population Division, the worldwide birth rate will be less than replacement by 2050. This means that the worldwide population will begin to decline. It is already far below replacement in many European countries. The native populations of the entire European Union will eventually die off, as the average birth rate is about 1.5 children per woman (far below the replacement rate, which is 2.1). In the U.S., we already have the problem of too many elderly and not enough youth. This is one of the main causes of the imminent failure of Social Security. There will simply be too many people who cannot work for the people who can work to take care of. How will we deal with this problem after 2050 when the entire world begins to experience this?
Let's take another look at the United States. Population growth has leveled off in the U.S. partly through a natural phenomenon. As a country becomes more developed, there is an increased need for an educated populace. This means that, more and more, people put off raising a family in favor of continued education. Birth rates slowly decline as a result. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this has been happening in the U.S. for quite some time; in the last 30 years, the number of U.S. women who reached the end of their childbearing years without bearing a child went from 10% to 20%. There is no need for Malthusian population control, either at the whim of the government or a self-hating ideology.