Becoming an Athlete

Another late night session, truncated to just the meat and potatoes.  Hold the gravy and baco-bits. a:  bench press:  165x5; 205x5; 215x5, 5, 5 b.  1-arm row:  65 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 a. pushup:  x 15, 12, 10, 8 b. inverted row:  x 7, 8, 9, 7 face pulls: 90x15; 105x15, 15, 15

Wednesday was busy.  Busy at work; busy at home.  After my son went to sleep, I went to the gym.  I got there around 9:45, so I skipped my usual warmup and all accessory work. snatch grip deadlift: 95x10; 115x10; 135x10; 155x10; 185x5 conventional deadlift: 185x5; 205x5; 225x5; 245x5; 275x5 Not bad for a first DL session in about 6 months.  I'll be doing 365 x 5 before too long.

Everything is coming back, but as usual my biceps and shoulders are taking a bit longer to respond than other muscle groups. stepmill:  I cheated myself and did 2.5 minutes Agile 8 and back bridges a. overhead press:  115x5; 135x5; 145x5, 5, 5; 105x16 b. leaning dumbbell shrug:  55s x 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15 a. seated front raise:  10s x 12, 12, 10, 10 b. seated side raise:  10s x 8, 8, 6, 5 c. prone raise:  10s x 8, 8, 8, 8 a. incline dumbbell curl:  30s x 6, 7, 8, 9, 8, 5 b. incline skull crusher:  70 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

I trained both days and tore it up!!!!! Saturday 25 JAN recumbent bike:  1 mile in ~3:30 (I forget exactly how fast) agile 8 + back bridges front squat:  45x5; 65x5; 95x5; 115x5; 135x5; 155x5, 5, 5; 185x5 back squat:  135x20; 155x20; 185x20 single-leg leg press:  90 x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12 single leg extension 50 x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12 (left still considerably weaker) abductors:  200 x 12, 15, 12 Sunday 26 JAN 0.51 miles in 7 minutes Agile 8 + back bridges Incline dumbbell press:  60x5; 70x5; 80x5, 5, 5; 60x20 v-grip pulldown: 135x5; 150x5; 165 x 5, 5, 5; 135x20 a. pushup:  x 10, 12, 12, 12 b. low pulley face pull:  90 x 12, 12, 12, 12 a. crunched side to sides:  30, 36, 32 b. planks:  20sec, 20sec, 20sec

Another good session.  I can tell everything is getting stronger. 7min treadmill for distance:  0.51miles at 5degree incline Agile-8 + back bridges a. Bench press:  165x5; 185x5; 205x5, 5, 5 b. 1-arm row: 60x10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 a. pushups:  5, 7, 7, 7, 7 b. TRX inverted row:  5, 7, 7, 7, 7 face pulls:  50x15; 70x15; 90x15, 15, 15 a. weight on legs situp:  10, 10, 10 b. plank:  20sec, 20sec, 20sec

Man oh man.  Its good to go slow and feel my knee getting progressively stronger, but starting light and safe takes a serious commitment to letting go of your ego. recumbant bike:  1 mile in 4:36 @ level 10 Agile 8 Back bridges Front squats:  45x5; 65x5; 95x5; 115x5, 5, 5 Back squats:  95x20; 115x20; 135x20 single-leg press:  90 x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12 single-leg extension:  50 x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12 seated abductions:  50x12; 70x12; 90x12, 12

So I've been really consistent with my training, but completely negligent in my blogging.  Here are some random observations on accomplishments thus far: Since I had no option to do cardio when my knee was on the mend, it is a joy to do now.  :) I can shoot my 83# recurve like it's a child's bow.  I can hold it at full draw for probably 5 seconds before I get any shaking at all. My abs are getting detailed.  This is pretty freaking cool. Doing sets of 20 on squats is the most uncomfortable and yet most rewarding part of my training. I will always have the torso of a silverback and the arms of a spider monkey.  Oh well.  Like I used to say when competing:  a. Biceps never knocked anyone out.  b. No one loses a fight because they didn't do enough curls. Its time to start adding in my goal-specific training. 2014 Physical goals: Endurance 7 minute mile 100 pushups 20 pullups Strength 225# overhead press 315# bench press 405# s...