Excellent video of Venom’s recent headlining performance at Germany’s Rock Hard Festival 2015
Maintenance – fresh magazines
Regular maintenance isn’t the most fun thing, but it’s an important thing.
By no means do I have a perfect track record here, and when I do maintain things it’s not always regular. But I do try to address things from time to time.
One thing I’m semi-regular about is rotating my carry ammo. Yes I know it’s expensive, but when the flag files the last thing you want is for things to not function. While self-defense ammo is of high quality, takes many factors into account to fend off the elements, all that sweat, humidity, and other factors of being on your hip for months on end… yeah, there’s no harm in putting in fresh ammo maybe every 6 months or so. How often? Everyone debates it endlessly, so just pick a reasonable schedule and try to stick to it.
But did you think about rotating your magazines?
A lot of people treat magazines like gold, and to some extent that’s understandable. But on the whole, magazines are disposable. They should be considered wear parts that need to be replaced every so often.
Case in point:
These are 2 magazine springs. They are both from a S&W M&P9 17-round magazine.
The shorter one came out of one of the magazines I’ve been carrying for a while (honestly, don’t recall how long but probably a few years). The longer one came out of a brand new, just-removed-from-box magazine. I wish I had a brand new spring that hadn’t even been inside a magazine yet for additional comparison, but alas that was at home in the closet.
Essentially the same thing, but you can see the great difference in the older magazine.
I don’t use my carry mags for anything other than carry. They only get used maybe every 6 months when I shoot the ammo I’ve been carrying and then refill them. They still worked, they still fed properly. But no question the older springs had lost a bit of tension. What actually spurred me to get fresh mags wasn’t anything with springs or feeding, but the magazine bodies – from being up against my skin all the time, they had started to take on a little rust. Nothing big, but it was enough to make me notice and figure new ones couldn’t hurt. If not for that, I probably would have just swapped in new springs and kept the bodies.
The old ones will go into my range bag to use in practice. Ran a few magazines through the new ones to ensure they functioned correctly, then loaded them up with Gold Dots and into service they go.
I started to make a practice of every time I’d go to the store or order something online, just throw another magazine into the cart. If you buy one here, one there, next thing you know you’ve got a good stockpile. Then when you need a new one, you’ve got one — there’s not always in stock when you need them.
Dot Torture
Was able to do some live-fire practice yesterday.
Started out (cold) running the “3 Seconds or Less” drill with my carry ammo. Was rotating in fresh carry ammo so this was a good use of it. Annoyed with myself tho as I dropped 2 of the weak-hand-only shots. Ugh. Story of my life.
My original practice plan was to work on my draw times, but a couple days ago I changed course. I realized how in dry practice I was yanking the trigger a lot, so I figured instead of trying to go faster I should take some time to slow down.
I pulled out Dot Torture.
I’ve never run the drill before, and I’m glad I finally did. First run was miserable – I was going slow but not slow enough. See, apart from the target and what/how to shoot, there’s freedom in how you go about it. You can pick your distance, there’s no time limit but you can add one. TLG suggests starting at 3 yards and trying to finish the drill in under 5 minutes. So I kinda pushed that and yeah… was yanking the trigger — precisely the problem I’m dealing with.
I stayed at 3 yards and ignored time limits — the goal was to shoot it clean. I got a 48 out of 50, which I wasn’t thrilled about but at least it was WHO (again).
Certainly going to keep at the drill. Work to clean it, then try the time limit, then increase distance, and so on. It’s a humbler.
What do I need to work on in my dry practice? Still the same core things of a smooth relaxed quick draw, presentation, etc.. But more one-hand stuff. I do one-handed practice, but apparently not enough. 🙂
First Step – Close the door!
Austin Police Department reports that garage burglaries are on the rise.
Since March, police say they have responded to 44 burglaries from garages being left open.
Most of the burglaries have happened in the South Austin area during the day.
“The trend that we’re seeing is there’s folks driving through the neighborhood,” said Axel Goldman with the Austin Police Department. “They basically get to window shop in your garage when the garage door’s wide open. They’ll make a pass or two just kind of taking inventory. Then they’ll pull up within seconds and they’re in your garage taking whatever they want, running back dumping it in the vehicle and taking off.”
So what’s the key problem?
PEOPLE LEAVING THEIR GARAGE DOORS OPEN!
There’s a simple solution:
CLOSE YOUR GARAGE DOOR!
I see this in my own neighborhood and have even spoken with my neighbors about it. Yet some still leave their garage doors open at all times of the day and night.
As APD states, they drive by, maybe a couple times, then pull up, grab what they want, then quickly bail out. You’ll probably never know until you go looking for something in the garage and you can’t find it. It’ll be a hard crime to stop as well, at least once it’s in progress. So why not stop it before it starts BY KEEPING YOUR GARAGE DOOR CLOSED!
The article has other good and useful suggestions, so do give them a read and heed.
2015-07-10 training log
I realized that I have no idea where my math is.
The 2-rep set is supposed to be 75%, and the AMRAP sets are to be 75%… so why am I using different weights? I have no idea, and I have no idea why I didn’t notice this until now.
I’m going to correct it, but the reality is it doesn’t matter much. I’m planning on sticking with this routine just a few more weeks, then I’m back on cutting… and I’m going to change up my lifting routine to be better suited for that end. So… meh.
Based on Paul Carter’s “Guaranteed Muscle Mass” article.
- Overhead Press
- bar x 5
- bar x 5
- 60 x 5
- 75 x 4
- 90 x 3
- 110 x 2
- 125 x 1
- 115 x 13 (AMRAP)
- 115 x 6 (50%)
- Dips (350 Method)
- BW x 12
- BW x 10
- BW x 10
- Chin-ups
- BW x 5
- BW x 5
- BW x 5
- BW x 4
- BW x 3
- DB Rows (350 method)
- 55e x 19
- 55e x 15
- 55e x 12
- DB Curl (350 Method)
- 25e x 17
- 25e x 13
- 25e x 11
2015-07-09 training log
Not sure what to make of this other than “needs more data”.
The way it should work is that you are recovered — and hopefully supercompensating — before your next workout. If you aren’t yet, then you’re going to eventually go downhill. If you wait too long, you lose the supercompensation benefits.
I’ve been feeling like I’ve not been recovering enough… Monday I squat, Thursday I squat again. I really felt it today, like I wasn’t ready — maybe one more day. I mean, Paul originally laid out this program to be 3x week, so that would be 1 more day of rest and recovery. And I know from past work with 5/3/1 that doing it as laid out 4x/week was too much for me — I’m older, I don’t have the ability to be mega-dedicated to recovery (e.g. sleep 10 hours a day, daily massage, etc.), so I need a little more time. 5/3/1 worked well on a 3x/week rotation. Only reason I’m doing 4x week is beacuse of the diet — more lifting days means more days to eat food and not be hungry, yet still make progress.
But, I did well today. I blew my prior rep PR’s out of the water compared to last time. So maybe I am actually hitting the groove just right? I think in part it’s the ability to eat, plus I’ve been doing a LOT better about rest and sleep.
So I think it may depend on my recovery abilities.
So like when I go back on the cutting diet, I don’t think I can follow this program any more — it’s just going to be too much on too little food. If I want to stick with 4x week, I probably need to hit body parts once a week, like legs/back/chest/arms sort of split. Or if I do a squat/deadlift/bench/press sort of thing, I should go 3x week on a 4-session rotation.
Just interesting things to learn about myself and how to structure stuff.
Still could use more data here, but so far, so interesting.
Based on Paul Carter’s “Guaranteed Muscle Mass” article.
- Front Squat
- bar x 5
- bar x 5
- 95 x 5
- 115 x 4
- 135 x 3
- 165 x 2
- 185 x 1
- 155 x 10 (AMRAP)
- 155 x 6 (50%)
- Leg Press (350 Method)
- 315 x 25
- 315 x 18
- 315 x 13
- Lunge
- BW x a bunch — had to bail early, so just did walking lunges as I left the building
2015-07-07 training log
Why not. Up the iron.
Went ahead and bumped up my working weight because why not. I’ve only got a few weeks left before I resume the cutting diet, so I might as well take advantage of the food while I can. 🙂
I have to admit as well, that I’m getting tired of “bodybuilding-style” lifting. Yeah, the reps are generally good for me and certainly appropriate for the diet and “body shaping” goals, but I’m really itching to get back to lifting heavier. I keep thinking that, as much as I’m enjoying Paul Carter’s methodologies, that once I can truly start lifting again I’ll just go 5/3/1 for a while… just because. I dunno, in part it’s a longing for something I can’t have, so I’ll see how it actually pans out once I get where I want. I’m just growing tired of lifting how I have to instead of how I want to, y’know?
But that said, it felt good to bench 225 — been a while since I could, either because of programming or because of strength loss. Even cranking out 9 with 200 felt good, and I certainly left a couple in the tank so hey… strength is doing better for sure. It actually makes me want to crank harder on my squats, instead of trying to work up to 20 reps, again get back to 5’s and triples and such.
Ah well… I’ll be there again someday. 🙂
Based on Paul Carter’s “Guaranteed Muscle Mass” article.
- Bench Press
- bar x 5
- bar x 5
- 105 x 5
- 135 x 4
- 160 x 3
- 200 x 2
- 225 x 1
- 200 x 9 (AMRAP)
- 200 x 5 (50%)
- Incline Press (350 Method)
- 95 x 22
- 95 x 17
- 95 x 10
- BB Row
- 155 x 8
- 155 x 8
- 125 x 12
- 125 x 10
- Wide Pronated-Grip Pulldown (350 Method)
- 115 x 17
- 115 x 13
- 115 x 10
- BB Curl (350 Method)
- 45 x 22
- 45 x 17
- 45 x 12
2015-07-06 training log
Oh man… haven’t felt that “good” in ages.
And by “good” I mean, almost throwing up. 😉
No, I don’t like working out to the point of puking: I don’t see how that’s a positive thing nor what it accomplishes. But sometimes it happens. All through the split squats, I just got more and more nauseous, so I pushed but not too hard because no, I have no desire to throw up.
But it all started with the squats.
I used last week as a deload, lifting lightly and trying to take as much rest/sleep/naps as possible. I feel a lot better. Not out of the woods, but better for sure. And so I continued ignoring how many reps and told myself to just keep going until I can’t go any more — don’t sow any mental limits. 14 reps came pretty easily. Felt good. But then the 7 after started the toll-taking.
And 15 reps of the stiff-legs. I swear, this was the first time I really felt it in my hamstrings and glutes. I truly was burning. It was pretty cool to finally feel that back there from this movement. But yeah, the toll was being taken. And so split squats? Oh… I just did what I could. 🙂
All in all tho, good session. More reps came out, and I just generally feel alright. Weight bloated up over the end of last week, between less work and enjoying myself some over the holiday. But I’m back down to 222 this morning, so I’m in pretty good shape. In discussions with Nick I’m going to work to hold steady now, and come August we’ll start the cut again. I have mixed emotions — I don’t want to go back on the restrictive diet, but I really do want to achieve my goal in the Defattening Project. So, onwards.
Based on Paul Carter’s “Guaranteed Muscle Mass” article.
- Squat
- bar x 5
- bar x 5
- 125 x 5
- 155 x 4
- 185 x 3
- 235 x 2
- 265 x 1
- 215 x 14 (AMRAP)
- 215 x 7 (50%)
- Stiff Legged Deadlift
- 145 x 5
- 175 x 4
- 215 x 3
- 265 x 2
- 305 x 1
- 245 x 15 (AMRAP)
- Split Squats
- BW x 10
- BW x 10
- BW x 10
- BW x 10
- BW x 10
Sunday Metal – Songs of My Youth – The Coup de Grace
I like giving “Sunday Metal” a theme, and so this theme is “Songs of My Youth”. I found heavy metal as a teenager and it’s always been a big part of my life. I wanted to highlight some songs that stand out from those youthful days.
The Coup de Grace are probably still relatively unknown to most of you. They were a band out of the Minneapolis area, and I got to know of them because I had a good relationship with their record label, Red Decibel. Hooray days of college radio.
What I remember most was traveling to NYC for a music convention, where they happened to be playing on my birthday (or just around it; I honestly don’t recall the exact date). Getting to see the band, hang out with them, and party quite well with them, made for a great birthday present. I can remember a lot about that evening, but I just can’t retell it here. 🙂
The fallout of jackassery
I love Whataburger. When it comes to getting fast-food hamburgers, they just cannot be beat. Period.
Recently some stuff regarding open carry and Whataburger resurfaced. Whataburger just responded (again) to the matter:
There’s been a lot of talk the past couple weeks about Whataburger’s open carry policy, and I wanted to reach out to personally explain our position.
Whataburger supports customers’ Second Amendment rights and we respect your group’s position, but we haven’t allowed the open carry of firearms in our restaurants for a long time (although we have not prohibited licensed conceal carry). It’s a business decision we made a long time ago and have stood by, and I think it’s important you know why.
But first, as a representative of Whataburger, I want you to know we proudly serve the gun rights community. I personally enjoy hunting and also have my concealed carry license, as do others at Whataburger.
From a business standpoint, though, we have to think about how open carry impacts our 34,000+ employees and millions of customers. We serve customers from all walks of life at more than 780 locations, 24 hours a day, in 10 states and we’re known for a family friendly atmosphere that customers have come to expect from us. We’re the gathering spot for Little League teams, church groups and high school kids after football games.
We’ve had many customers and employees tell us they’re uncomfortable being around someone with a visible firearm who is not a member of law enforcement, and as a business, we have to listen and value that feedback in the same way we value yours. We have a responsibility to make sure everyone who walks into our restaurants feels comfortable. For that reason, we don’t restrict licensed concealed carry but do ask customers not to open carry in our restaurants.
As a company serving customers with many different viewpoints, we’re sometimes caught in the middle on controversial issues like this one. We hope you and your members, along with our other friends in the gun rights community, understand our position and will continue to visit us. We appreciate your business. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Preston Atkinson
Whataburger President and CEO
This was posted yesterday (July 2, 2015) to their company website.
Frankly I have to wonder.
Is this a response to open carry? Or a response to the shit-tacular tactics of some open carry groups in the past year or so, trying to “lobby” for “gun rights”?
That is, is Whataburger against open carry? Or are they against dumbassery? Personally, I think the latter (based upon my reading of Mr Atkinson’s remarks).
There’s much over Whataburger’s history that has demonstrated they are very much a “‘murica” type of place. But on the same token, they have a business to run, shareholders to answer to, and the families and well-being of 34,000+ employees — to lose business (and revenue) does not serve their bottom-line nor the people who rely upon Whataburger to feed their families. I do NOT blame Mr. Atkinson one bit for taking this approach.
I don’t have a problem with open carry, but I do have a problem with dumbasses. And especially dumbasses whose actions backfire and wind up causing more harm than good — which is precisely what the actions of so many “open carriers” have done in the past few years.
Gee thanx but no thanx. You’re not helping. Sit down and shut up.
I will still give my business to Whataburger. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the position held here. Come on… you believe in property rights and the right to conduct yourself as you see fit.
But that said, I do wonder… when the new laws in Texas take effect, what will Whataburger do? Will the new 30.07 signs be posted?
And I’ve also wondered, will we see more signage (the 30.07 and then as long as they’re at it, the 30.06 as well) posted now? If so, we have only the open-carry-jackasses to thank for setting us (and themselves) back.
Stuff From Hsoi 