Month: December 2012

Training in 2013

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

With 2012 closing and 2013 starting, let’s see where my training has gone and where I want it to go.

It looks like this time last year I started my 5th cycle of 5/3/1. Until the flu derailed me, I was into my 16th cycle.

Working maxes for cycle 5:

Press – 145
Deadlift – 305
Bench – 215
Squat – 250

Working maxes as of cycle 15

Press – 165 (then I reset to 140)
Deadlift – 345
Bench – 240 (then I reset to 220)
Squat – 280

At the end of cycle 5, my 5/3/1 “maxes” were:

Press – 4×140
Deadlift – 8×295
Bench – 6×205
Squat – 5×240

At the end of cycle 15:

Press – 7×135
Deadlift – 7×330
Bench – 6×210
Squat – 3×270

Well, that just sucks.

So what happened?

First, I spent too much time not focusing on building strength. Instead, I spent a lot of time trying to dink with diet and lose some flab. As a result, I lost a lot of strength, and didn’t lose much weight. I had to reset a couple of times. I also changed to 2x week due to my day job change, and that proved to be less than optimal.

So basically, I made a lot of mistakes that took me off track of my goals, and  you can see it in my numbers, especially upper-body. Squats and deads gained, but not that much.

But what I did also gain from my weights dropping was improved technique. I know I still have a long ways to go to “master form”, but my form today is better than it was a year ago, so progress on that front is acceptable. If it means better gains over the long run, great.

Really… looking back over this is kinda depressing. *sigh*

So what am I going to do about the next year?

Well, I would still love to shed my flab, but I think the way to do that is not what I had tried this past year. I think what will help is just to tighten up my diet — it’s all about my carb intake. I also don’t think I need massive amounts of protein, sticking close to 1 gram per pound of lean bodyweight will be a good place to reset myself. Drag that sled at the end of every workout. I think I’ll get there. Yes still “eat big”, just also “eat smarter”.

But the bigger goal is to build strength. I want to get to that 1000# total. And that’s actual lifted weight, not “on paper”. Thing is, I don’t to 1RM. If I only go by what I actually lift in that last work set of my 5/3/1 week well, that will be far below what a 1RM would be and thus keep me further from that 1000# total. But that’s alright. Thing is, I don’t expect to actually total 1000# in 2013 because the math just doesn’t add up to permit it — but I’ll get closer. What I would like to see is staying on 5/3/1, going up in my weights at the normal rate (5# per cycle for upper body lifts, 10# per cycle for lower body), expecting to reset at least once and maybe twice. When you do that math well…. no I won’t get to 1000# (tho maybe doing 1RM calculations on paper I will; meh), but I will get closer. That’s fine. And doing that math, well, my cycle 16 working maxes (and actual weight lifted in the last 5/3/1 work set) are:

Press – 145 (140)
Deadlift – 355 (340)
Bench – 225 (215)
Squat – 285 (275)

If I continue 3x week, that’s 5 weeks per cycle, so about 10 cycles. In theory, 50# gains on upper and 100# on lower, but figure in a reset and that it won’t be all smooth. To Press 185# probably won’t happen in 2013, but that will be a great milestone when it happens. In theory, I should break 405# deadlift in 2013 – that would be awesome. Also I should certainly be able to break 315# squats, which would be even more awesome in my book. And if I could bench 250#, I’d be thrilled. All of THAT is do-able, and gets me closer to 1000.

So that’s my main goal: building strength and being strongly on the road to 1000. If I can have some great milestones like 3 wheels in squat and 4 wheels in deadlift, getting my bench solidly above 2 wheels (with this new technique). Keeping my shoulders and other joints happy. And yes, maybe shedding some flab because of more sled pulls and better diet…. well, I’ll be alright.

As for the immediate future….

The flu knocked me off track since Christmas, but I’m getting better each day. If all continues on this healing path, I’ll head back into the gym on Wednesday for the first 2013 workout, and that will probably be a “light” deload-like day of squat and bench, with Friday then being a “light deload-like” day of deadlift and press. Just get me back in the groove slowly as I continue to heal up. Then the following Monday, start cycle 16 all over again and go go go.

on my flu

/ hsoi / 10 Comments

I officially have the flu – the doctor at the local “emergency clinic” (my regular doctor was out and his associates were booked) shoved a swab up my nose, ran a test, and I won the prize.

#1 – Mr. Doctor – you do NOT deeply shove long thin swabs up people’s noses unannounced. 

It was one of the stranger and more uncomfortable feelings I’ve ever experienced. Once my eyeballs returned to my skull, I realized my hand was already around his wrist to prevent him from shoving it up my other — I was strongly telling him to WAIT and NOT do that until I had recovered from the shock and sensation of the first violation. I understand what he had to do and why, and I’m sure he’d been doing it all day long for the past some days or weeks. But what’s become sickly routine to you is NOT to those of us on the receiving end — gotta remember that, Jack.

So since I have flu, I was prescribed Tamiflu. I vaguely recall hearing of that before, the prescription was already phoned to my local pharmacy, so off I went to get it. While I waited for them to fill the prescription (they were quite busy, as you could imagine), I pulled out my iPhone for a little research on Tamiflu.

#2 – Tamiflu is controversial and possibly worthless

Read this.

The lack of peer review, that any studies done were funded by the company, that the company won’t open up and let people see the studies, replicate them, and so on… well, that speaks volumes. And those government 3-letter agencies that so many believe are there to protect us, if the government blesses it it’s good, if the government doesn’t it’s bad (government defines “morality” I guess?)… well…

Nancy Cox, who heads the CDC’s flu program, told us earlier this year she opposes a placebo-controlled study (in which one half of patients would be given Tamiflu and the other half would be given placebo), because the drug’s benefits are already proven.

No it hasn’t. And if the benefits were proven (already a problem to say anything has been “proven”), then another solid study would lend more credibility and strengthen the position. So uh… why would they want to deny it? And isn’t the CDC supposed to be looking out for the public’s interest? or just whomever is lining their pockets?

All of this made me think about open source software. 🙂

Still, I’m taking it. I figure I paid $106 for it (yes….), I might as well see for myself. Of course, I have no way to really verify if it actually did help me or not.

#3 – Paying for your own medical care is informative

When costs are hidden behind “insurance” or “taxes” or other indirect methods of payment… boy, how that system can (and will) be abused by those directly involved. I’m so looking forward to Obamacare and how that’s going to fix everything. 🙄

#4 – My productivity is in the can

This is what I hate the most. I’m technically on vacation from work, and I get to spend it all being sick. I had all sorts of plans with the family, from going to the gun range, to seeing “The Hobbit”, but alas now those won’t happen and I don’t know when they will. It’s not the end of the world, but it sucks.

Obviously I’m not going to the gym either. I’ve decided to just start cycle 16 over, once I feel good enough to return to the gym. I may also call an audible once I get to the gym and may spend the first week doing something like a deload week to get me back into the swing of things first. Just have to wait and see.

I also have a list of things that needed doing, from long-postponed programming projects to just various honey-do items. I’ve tried to work to trim off ones as I can, but when all my body wants is to sleep, and even eating has been a chore until today… well… makes it hard to want to do anything. Even writing this has gotten to a point where I want to stop because I’m out of gas.

But I will write one more thing.

#5 – My wife and kids are the best

They’ve taken very good care of me, especially Wife. She’s sacrificed and done a lot to take care of me and help me get better. They’re all doting on me, constantly asking if I’m OK and how I’m feeling. Daughter keeps walking up behind me with the head-scan thermometer taking my temperature. It’s all quite wonderful. I’m a fortunate and thankful man.

 

Escorted to the ground

/ hsoi

The choice of words is awesome:

A burglary suspect had the opportunity to visit a local hospital after meeting a Marine whose parents’ home he attempted to burglarize Friday.

The opportunity to visit a local hospital… after meeting a Marine. ha ha ha ha. 🙂

Full Story.

Apparently the police report was pretty funny too, saying:

Pohle [the Marine] was said to have “escorted Schwanke to the ground.”

Escorted. Ha!

Failure of the victim selection process.

Another good customer service story

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I’m a fan of EliteFTS because they make good products and provide a good service. In fact, I think it’s the “service” side that I appreciate the most. And in that, it’s not even the service you might think of, but rather how founder Dave Tate’s philosophy of “Live, Learn, Pass On” drives the company. The countless hours and amounts of free material, advice, and knowledge that is passed on for free via their website, YouTube channels, and so on. Man, if I could have had EliteFTS around when I first tried lifting weights as a teenager, I don’t think I ever would have stopped because finally there was some solid knowledge instead of whatever Joe Weider was pimping this month. I really appreciate what they do, and am thankful they are around. Thus, I try to support them as I can, through purchases.

I know some friends that have had less than stellar experiences with EliteFTS, but so far I have not. I’ve been satisfied with their products, and I’ve bought a decent amount of stuff from them, including this set of wrist wraps.

I’ve never used wrist wraps before, but I wanted to try them out of 1. curiosity, 2. to see if it could help me in getting my wrists straight. I’m sure it would help in the straight department, giving me the kinesthetic cues for “straight wrist”, what it feels like, what it should be like, so when I take the wraps off, I can be better about straight wrists. Plus if it could help ease pressure on the wrist joints, all the better for me given my past injuries.

But to my dismay, a couple weeks and only a couple uses of the wraps, and I noticed the velcro was coming off the strap! I took a picture and emailed it to EliteFTS’s customer service. I asked if that’s normal —  honestly I don’t know! I’ve never used wraps before so I have zero idea how long they are supposed to last. Granted I expected them to last longer, but maybe they are short-term deals. I didn’t hear back, but after a day or two I did get an email from UPS saying a shipment from EliteFTS was coming. I hadn’t ordered anything, so I assumed it must be replacement wraps. The package arrived yesterday and sure enough, that’s what it was. It was odd that I never received a “personal” reply explaining things or acknowledging my email, but spam has been really bad lately and any reply may have gotten eaten in my spam-filters, so I’m not going to worry too much about it because the end result was still as it should be.

I haven’t used the new wraps yet (stupid flu), but I did want to wrist about my positive customer service experience with EliteFTS. They acknowledged the problem and immediately worked to remedy it. As far as I know, there were no excuses, no pushing the blame on me, no nothing. Just acknowledgement, replacement, and support of the customer. Standing behind their products. Good for them.

So thank you to Dave Tate, and your team at EliteFTS. I continue to be a satisfied customer.

Being wrong can be right

/ hsoi

The hallmark of a strong individual is not in being flawless and passing blame, but in being able to admit when they are wrong and taking the necessary actions to correct the problem. These are our greatest innovators, thinkers, and leaders. People who are not only able to realize and admit when they are wrong, but who are also always mindful that they could be wrong about something are the ones who lead us into prosperity. No true advancement ever came from being wrong but sticking with your guns anyways. That’s called ego, and it is a major bane on our society.

From “It’s OK to be wrong” by Stephen Carter.

Mr. Carter makes a fine point. We’ve become a society where being wrong is bad. Where it’s bad to admit mistakes, because either there’s the (mistaken) thought that it shows weakness, or because you were less than perfect it’s now time to crucify you.

Why do we do this?

If Thomas Alva Edison said things like:

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

“I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work”

That means the man was wrong far more than he was right. And we embrace Edison.

Why don’t we do this with ourselves?

Why don’t we do this with politicians?

We don’t want to be wrong; it’s a human trait to desire to be right. It takes a humble person to admit their wrong, and it takes a strong person to not chastise another for being wrong. If you do not have an environment that allows people to be wrong, they will struggle and fight to always be right — even if they are wrong, even if it flies in the face of all logic, reason, and even emotion.

We as a society need to often consider that we could be wrong. We need to challenge what we think we know, and we need to understand that this isn’t a bad thing, but very much a good thing, a march towards progress. In doing so, we have to have empathy. We are all wrong at various times and no one wants to feel bad about it, so we need to be understanding when other people are wrong and encourage them in a positive way to understand that it was a mistake, and we all make mistakes. There’s no need to be rude or mean about it, even in the face of extreme ignorance. We want people to feel good about being wrong in that it is not a bad thing, but a learning opportunity.

We also need politicians that don’t feel like it will be the end of their career to admit that they made a mistake. Do you want a person who is willing to admit they were wrong and change towards the right direction, or do you want someone who will keep it full steam ahead and never even remotely admit they’re wrong? This is very dangerous for our society. A strong and caring leader will admit to their flaws and mistakes, and we need to encourage this by looking inward at ourselves. It’s also perfectly acceptable to say “I don’t know.”

I am fortunate at this stage of my life and career that I know enough to know what I don’t know — which is a lot. Basically, I know what I know, and that means I don’t know everything else, but also I know that what I know I might not know as well as I think I know, or know at all. I know people hate hearing “I don’t know” as an answer to their questions, and I know they hate hearing that I made mistakes. I do my best to know what I can, and I do my best to not make mistakes. But I’m human — you’re human — and the sooner we all admit to it and act like it, the better off we’ll all be. Because to say you don’t know is at least honest, instead of doubling-down on being wrong.

This isn’t to say we should aim low and accept being wrong. What it is saying is we need to accept that being wrong happens, no one is immune to it, and building an environment that understands this and allows people to learn and grow and deal with being wrong in a healthy manner, that would be better.

2012-12-26 training log

/ hsoi

I didn’t realize I was ill….

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 16, week 2

  • Work Set – Squat (working max: 285#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x115
    • 1x5x145
    • 1x3x175
    • 1x3x200 (work)
    • 1x3x230
    • 1x5x260
  • Sled drags
    • 6 trips, 75 yards each
    • 75# on the sled
    • 30 seconds rest every other trip
    • harness around waist, walking forward

I had started to feel sick the evening prior, but I didn’t think it was anything serious to worry about. Just a cough, right?

How wrong I was.

I got to the gym and was able to do my work squats just fine. Heck, the 3rd rep @ 260 was tough, but I pushed out 2 more because damnit I wasn’t going to let myself get crushed at 3×260.

But after that, I just wasn’t feeling it. Seriously not feeling it. Despite the below-freezing temperature and whipping arctic wind, I went outside to pull the sled. That didn’t last long…. the cold was too much.

I went home, and promptly passed out, and stayed in bed the rest of the day. I don’t know what I caught, but it was apparently FAR worse than I fathomed.

The worst part? Because of all the glute and ham work and that I didn’t cool down (no foam rolling, no stretching), I was in achy pain from the back of my knees up to my middle back all day while lying in bed. 🙂

I’m feeling better now and planning on going back to the gym tomorrow for bench press day, but I will take it as it comes and see how I feel.

I got better

/ hsoi

I have no idea what hit me, but it sure hit hard.

Christmas evening I felt a little something but nothing you’d give two thoughts to. Slept, woke up, went to the gym…. but actually went to Walgreens first because I felt the need for meds. BTW, big thank you to the pharmacist. I was set to get a cough suppressant because I was coughing because my throat was itchy and any time I’d breathe in it would tickle and I’d cough — I was getting raw from all the coughing. She said I didn’t want the suppressant because that would be appropriate if I had a cough because I had a cough. I had a cough because of something else, so it was more appropriate to treat THAT and then the cough would go away. She told me to take a Claritin (or Zyrtec or whatever allergy med) and that would address things. She also said to take an expectorant and Sudafed. I took her advice and oh what a difference it made!

Anyways, whatever I had knocked me down for the count. I didn’t do a complete gym session. When I got home, it all came rushing on very quickly. I felt like warmed-over hell, fever, nauseous, I would lay down and even that wasn’t comfortable. Everything sucked. What made it worse was I would drift off to sleep, wake up feeling like hours must have gone by, but it was only 30 minutes. The day dragged. Miserable. I haven’t been sick like this in many many years.

I don’t know what caused it, but I’m guessing my lack of sleep the past few weeks broke me down enough.

Anyways, last night my fever finally broke and I felt less dead. Finally ate a little bit of food (just some brown rice). Went to bed as normal, but around 12:30 woke up and I’ve been up since. Body said no more sleeping. But on a good note, I finally felt some hunger pangs! So I ate a little bit and now here I am, catching up on things.

Thank you for all the well-wishes.