Author: hsoi

2014-04-28 training log

/ hsoi

That’s about what I figured.

Based upon Paul Carter’s LRB-365 and Base Building

  • Incline Press
    • 45 x 5
    • 45 x 5
    • 95 x 5
    • 135 x 3
    • 185 x 1
    • 205 x 1
    • 160 x 9
    • 160 x 5
  • Dips
    • BW x 5
  • Wide, neutral grip pull-ups
    • BW x 1
    • BW x 1
    • BW x 1
    • BW x 1
    • BW x 1

As per my plan, this week is just some testing to ensure I know where my every-day max (EDM) is, so going into the next cycle I can be more proper with my percentages. When I started this program, I just picked numbers and increased in a simple fashion. Now that things are somewhat normal, I want to ensure I’m following Paul’s program more strictly. So I wanted to ensure I had my EDM where it should be.

That said, I was pretty sure of where I ended up. I’ve been hitting 200 for a single the past some weeks, and it’s been fine. I knew I was good for 205, and figured I could grind out 210-215. Given how things went today, I think I’m spot on. Paul’s description of your EDM is the most you can do for a crisp single; once it starts to be a slow grinder, that’s closer to a true 1RM. The 205 was good, and I could tell that if I did more, it’d be grinding. So I’m not too far off in my numbers, and I’m happy with that.

I didn’t expect to do much else today. I’m fried. I’m exhausted and burned out. Hooray stress of life. So I figured to do some dips, but it was strange… went for set #2, lowered myself, then couldn’t go up… something said “hell no, you’re not doing that”. I dismounted and tried again, same thing. It was some sort of pain, felt like a nerve thing. I really don’t know, can’t begin to hypothesize, but I was not going back up. Argh. So whatever… skip it.

And despite my better judgment, I thought to try some pull-ups. The neutral-grip pull-downs have been alright to me, so I thought to try neutral-grip pull-ups. It wasn’t bad. Just 5 singles. The grip is probably shoulder-and-a-half width, neutral, and I am not going all the way down (i.e. letting my scapula roll forward/up/out), but getting as close as I feel comfortable. I am thinking to go with this, even if it’s just a bunch of singles. See where it takes me and if my shoulders can be happier with it.

Sunday Metal – Top Metal Albums 1990-2000 – #14 The Haunted

/ hsoi

When Metal-Rules.com posted their Top 30 Metal Albums 1990-2000, I thought it’d make a fun list for Sunday Metal.

#30 – The Haunted – The Haunted

“Hate Song”

Applying 1A to 2A

/ hsoi / 9 Comments

David Kopel, an adjunct professor of advanced Constitutional law, has published a paper examining how SCOTUS has used the First Amendment for guidance on Second Amendment questions.

You can read a summary/overview here.

The full paper can be found here. Here’s the abstract

As described in Part I of this article, the Supreme Court has strongly indicated that First Amendment tools should be employed to help resolve Second Amendment issues. Before District of Columbia v. Heller, several Supreme Court cases suggested that the First and Second Amendments should be interpreted in the same manner. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago applied this approach, using First Amendment analogies to resolve many Second Amendment questions.

Part II of this Article details how influential lower court decisions have followed (or misapplied) the Supreme Court’s teaching. Of course, precise First Amendment rules cannot necessarily be applied verbatim to the Second Amendment. Part III outlines some general First Amendment principles that are also valid for the Second Amendment. Finally, Part IV looks at how several First Amendment doctrines can be used in Second Amendment cases, showing that some, but not all, First Amendment doctrines can readily fit into Second Amendment jurisprudence.

I have not yet had a chance to read the full paper, but I did want to comment on a related matter I was thinking about prior to learning of this paper.

The notion of “if it saves just one life, then it’s worth it”.

I was reading this article and it trotted out the “just one life is worth it” trope. Yes, the article is from the NRA-ILA so it has an expected slant, but it got me thinking.

Is this really valid reasoning?

Can we apply this reasoning to other Constitutionally protected rights, such as those listed in the First Amendment? And would those so willing to apply this trope to 2A be willing to apply it to 1A?

Let’s consider cyberbullying. Consider the numerous children that have committed suicide or violently “acted out” as a result of cyberbullying. How can we prevent cyberbullying? Well, it does seem that banning computers or banning the Internet is never brought up as a solution, but if there was no access to computers or the Internet — if they were banned — then certainly “cyber” would cease to exist and so too would cyberbullying.

If it saves just one life, isn’t that worth it?

Isn’t curtailing free religion, free speech, free press, free association — because it could save just one life — worth it?

Well, isn’t it worth it?

Don’t be a turd

/ hsoi

Social media hasn’t turned people into turds, liars, and thieves. Social media just provides an opportunity and puts them under the microscope for all to see. Shitty people will be shitty people with or without the Internet, but with the Internet comes opportunity for people to do things the wrong way and sometimes even make money at it. You essentially have two ways of approaching how you’ll get noticed in this industry—either be honest and have your own ideas or imitate others and pretend the ideas are your own. The thing is most people won’t know the difference. You need to decide if your moral integrity is worth anything to you. The Internet is full of pieces of shit like turds floating in a giant toilet. Don’t be just another turd in the Internet shit bowl.

– Skip Hill

It doesn’t matter what the industry is — this is the way it is in any industry, in life in general.

Honesty, integrity, consistency. These are the things that matter.

Make meaningful contributions.

2014-04-23 training log

/ hsoi

Cut short, but there’s a reason.

Based upon Paul Carter’s LRB-365 and Base Building

  • Squat
    • BW x 10
    • BW x 10
    • bar x 5
    • bar x 5
    • 165 x 5
    • 195 x 4
    • 225 x 3
    • 255 x 2
    • 285 x 1
    • 185 x 12
    • 185 x 6

Today was a “jack shit” day. I had to be somewhere at 6am, and I just did not have the time for a complete session. So get in, squat, leave. Just as well, given how burned I’m feeling.

The 285 went up alright. A little slow, but I’m remembering how to use a belt. 😉 I’m also trying to follow more of Paul’s protocols and ensuring every rep is getting as much power behind it as possible. I think I’m good for 295 for a single, not sure if much more. If that’s the case, I’ll be happy because my best is 315 and that’s only 20# down… given all the down time I had with the injury, I’m ok with this. I even thought that if I did some 5/3/1 cycles, I could get back there in short order. But I’m not going to do that.

I’m going to stick with my plan. Next week, figure my 1RM’s on incline bench and squat. From there, calculate percentages so I can more strictly follow Paul’s programming. I will stay with the “mass building” approach outlined in his Base Building eBook, use proper percentages, and do that for at least 6 weeks, maybe more. After that, I am going to switch to try Base Building. I ended up reading through numerous Base Building articles on his website and reading some of the FAQ’s there helped clear up some of the things I wasn’t clear on even after reading the book over and over. I think Base Building is going to be good for me, and just what I need. I’m guessing try that for 9 weeks or so, then I might switch over to Strong-15 (a full 9-week cycle, not the Short-15). But all these things are far enough in the future, I may refine and change.

Anyways, today wasn’t much, but it was alright for what it is. I think my numbers are close enough that next week’s testing won’t be all that far off. Then recalc and really dig in.

Dance with the fear

/ hsoi

“How do I get rid of the fear?”

Alas, this is the wrong question.

The only way to get rid of the fear is to stop doing things that might not work, to stop putting yourself out there, to stop doing work that matters.

No, the right question is, “How do I dance with the fear?”

Fear is not the enemy. Paralysis is the enemy.

– Seth Godin

There are some things in my life where fear drove me, but into paralysis. Fear is neither good nor bad, it’s what the fear does and what you do with that fear that matters. For me, it was keeping me from doing particular things.

No more.

Yeah, I’m still scared, but at least now I’m going to try dancing.

2014-04-21 training log

/ hsoi

Not a good day.

Based upon Paul Carter’s LRB-365 and Base Building

  • Incline Press
    • 45 x 5
    • 45 x 5
    • 110 x 5
    • 130 x 4
    • 150 x 3
    • 180 x 2
    • 200 x 1
    • 155 x 12
    • 155 x 5
  • DB Bench Press
    • 60e x 10
    • 60e x 10
    • 60e x 8
  • BB Upright Row
    • 60 x 15
    • 60 x 15
    • 60 x 15
  • 20 minutes elliptical

Not one of my better days.

First, while I normally do inclines on the dedicated incline bench, today I opted to use one of the portable benches and put it inside the half-rack. Reason is, next week I’m going to try to establish more proper every day maxes on incline bench and squat. I’ll discuss this more below. So I wanted to get myself in the rack and get one run through that to find positioning and so on. I also opted to wear my belt today just to see how it went.

I’m not sure what happened, or rather, why it happened.

When I did the 200, I got that weird lose-off-vision-dizzy feeling again. It was actually kinda scary today, more so than usual. I haven’t experienced this feeling in a LONG time, but it really hit me hard today during the 200 set. Why? I don’t know. Maybe the belt constriction? Maybe I just got my breath wrong? The way the bench and pegs were, it was great because I didn’t have to do a half-press to get started, it was almost perfectly positioned, but yet it was maybe just a hair too far away and having to “shrug up” to unrack was too much? I just don’t know… but it was enough to cause that dizzy/loss problem and it wasn’t good. I did manage to crank out the 1 rep, but still…. unsettling.

I don’t know what it was then, but that was “it” for me. The rep sets were crappy, and I just felt like today needed to become a “jack shit” day. I realized I’ve been running this program for 12 weeks straight. Between that, poor sleep as of late, work/life stress… well, I think my body is run down enough because I am not feeling it. I think it’s time for a deload. But I was planning on that anyways.

I didn’t feel like totally cashing it in tho. I did a few other sets of things, then that was that.

Here’s the longer-term.

I’ve been working Paul’s program here, which is based off his “mass building” template in his “Basebuilding” eBook. I’m fine with continuing this, but I just picked numbers and have been working those same numbers for a while, just to get me back into the groove. I want to find my max on the incline press and squat, then reprogram the template using his percentages and those numbers. I think most everything else is pretty close, or close enough, so I don’t need to do much adjustment, but I do want to do some because when I made some rough guesses and ran the numbers, I’m way off and would rather see how running things more closely to his prescribed program will go.

So this week? I just keep going as normal. If the rest of the week turns into the same sort of “jack shit” then it does. I’m OK with this.

Next week Monday I test my incline press to find my new max. I may or may not do assistance work afterwards, just depends. Wednesday I will test squat. Friday will be off.

Then I take a full week off. My focus will be on rest, getting as much sleep as possible. This will dovetail with some other life things just nicely.

Then I will come back with new numbers, doing this same program tho. I’ll stick with it for at least 6 weeks. After those 6, I’ll see. I may take a week off then do another 6. Just have to see how things go. But I am looking then at transitioning to trying Paul’s basebuilding templates, then after that for about 9-10 weeks doing his Strong-15 short cycle for a little strength peak. After that? Probably back to mass building. We’ll see tho. It’s mostly experimenting and learning at this point.

Sunday Metal – Top Metal Albums 1990-2000 – #15 Machine Head

/ hsoi

When Metal-Rules.com posted their Top 30 Metal Albums 1990-2000, I thought it’d make a fun list for Sunday Metal.

#15 – Machine Head – Burn My Eyes

“Old”