Rebooting my goals- Ironman Cozumel, 1900+ total, and a lot of pain.

[Alex.V]

Who is this Alex character? Sounds made up to me

I think if you do some consistent conventional pulling that it will benefit your sumo in the long run and you will pull even more. That's my my $.01 anyway(Only counts for 1 cent since I only weigh 165)

He is. Just another shit name I made up. My parents ACTUALLY called me Belial. They didn't like me very much, clearly.

You're entirely right, of course, it probably should help my sumo... it still hurts my soul, though.

[Rileigh]

Awesome log

In the back of my mind I've always had sort of a long term goal/inclination to compete in an ironman triathlon. So I'm very interested in how this works out for you, especially while lifting as heavy as you do too. Crazy!

[Alex.V]

Awesome log

In the back of my mind I've always had sort of a long term goal/inclination to compete in an ironman triathlon. So I'm very interested in how this works out for you, especially while lifting as heavy as you do too. Crazy!

Do it, man. Life is short.

Today was ME bench, again, played with the shirt.


BB bench:

135 x 10
225 x 10
315 x 6
365 x 2
405 x 1
added F6
405 x 2
425 x 2
455 x 2
Took off shirt, added single light band around the back
275 (+~50?) x 6 x 3

455 for a double felt pretty easy. I'm still a little unstable right at the moment the shirt unloads around 5" off the chest, though.

Close grips:

315 x fuck that, I have a torn labrum. wasn't going to happen.

BB row:

315 x 10
405 x 5

Cable rows with the stack (who the hell knows how much weight), curls with 60's (oooh), then went out for a run.

Easy run: 3.5 miles, 7:45 pace.

Wasn't even warmed up by the time it was done.

PS- fruit punch Results mixed with chocolate nitrean and vanilla almond milk.. pretty damn tasty.

I'm fairly pleased that I can bench 455 for a double the day after pulling 6 plates conventional, and two days after a full century bike ride. Means I'm keeping my stores topped up pretty well.

[Alex.V]

Quick bike around the neighborhood. Had some cooking to do tonight...

Bike: 10 miles, ~23-24 mph. Attacked every little hill, burned myself out, went home and ate.

So I'm making quiche for an office party tomorrow.

Quiche gets a bad rap as a girlie dish. Fuck that. Ingredients:

-8 eggs
-8 pieces of bacon
-half a pound of cheese
-a cup and a half of cream.
-pie crust

It's god damn cheese and bacon pie. Quiche is the shit.

[krazylarry]

Needs more bacon.

[Rileigh]

That sounds amazing. Never had it before.

[GazzyG]

I love Quiche, just gets a bit of a rap as a 70's party food, haha!

[Alex.V]

There would have been more bacon, but I ate it before it got into the dish.

Seriously, THE best weight gaining food on earth. I had more for breakfast.

Which is good, I suppose, because my workout yesterday was the pussiest shit I have done in ages. Just had no leg strength, blood sugar doing all sorts of funky crap... I guess I'm still not 100% recovered from the bike last weekend. Which makes sense, I suppose... I more or less bottomed out my glycogen stores.

Squats:

135 x 6
225 x 6
315 x 6
405 x 6
Added belt:
495 x 2
Added briefs:
545 x 2
605 x 2
Briefs off, suit on, straps down
405 + 90 pounds band tension x 10 x 3

Feeling balanced. But right before the 605 set I actually broke out in a sweat and nearly collapsed as my sugar levels bottomed out. Ate a bar. Felt better.

Went out for a 1 mile run to loosen up and get some fresh air, at about an 8:00 pace.

Came back: Single side leg press, 4 pps x 8 x 3 per side.

Calf raises, hanging leg raises, stretched a bit.

Need to stretch more.

However, one positive note:

[GazzyG]

Ate a bar. Felt better.

Dunno why, but had visions of you eating a barbell in the middle of the gym, to the amazement and terror of all onlookers.

[Rileigh]

Nice job on the workout. Most people would have just given up after almost collapsing. Ahhh, it's a fine line between genius and... well I'm not sure what the politically correct term for it is these days.

Dunno why, but had visions of you eating a barbell in the middle of the gym, to the amazement and terror of all onlookers.

I thought that too actually haha. After reading that he almost collapsed I thought he had dropped a barbell on himself thus "eating" it.

[JSully]

So I'm making quiche for an office party tomorrow.

Quiche gets a bad rap as a girlie dish. Fuck that. Ingredients:

-8 eggs
-8 pieces of bacon
-half a pound of cheese
-a cup and a half of cream.
-pie crust

It's god damn cheese and bacon pie. Quiche is the shit.

I hope you included sour cream, tomatoes and more cheese as a "topper"

delicious

[Alex.V]

Nice job on the workout. Most people would have just given up after almost collapsing. Ahhh, it's a fine line between genius and... well I'm not sure what the politically correct term for it is these days.

Being a damn moron?

I did almost eat it, it more ways than one.

Jake, man, I actually had some more this morning.... with extra cheese on top.

Today I did a crappy ass DE workout.

BB bench:

bar x lots
135 x 10
225 x 10
275 x 3
275 x 3
275 x 3
275 x 3
275 x 3
225 + single light x 3
225 + single light x 3
225 + single light x 3


Skullcrushers:

135 x 10
135 x 10
155 x 6

Cable crossovers, tricep pushdowns, dips/leg raises.... then went out for a little run:

12 miles @ 9:00 pace, 4 miles @ 8:30 pace, 0.5 miles @ 7:00 pace.

16.5 total.

I then ate a huge damn piece of salmon, ate a huge bowl of rice, had a chocolate chip bagel, some pumpkin cheesecake, and a whole crapload of beer.

[JacobH]

Quiche...Beer....heavy things....I love this journal.

[Behemoth]

Been following your log silently for a while, as always good stuff Alex.

315 x fuck that, I have a torn labrum. wasn't going to happen.

I tore mine last year and after an unsuccessful surgery am still unsure of what lies ahead for me, recently I've said fuck it and decided to just train with it but still don't know to what extent it may limit me as I attempt to progress. If you have a tear also then I'm extremely happy to see you're able to train successfully around it at a high level. Do you know the details of the injury - IE slap or bankart and what degree tear? And how long have you had it and trained around it?

And edit - Ever had long trail double bag? I just bought it for the third time yesterday, never lets me down. Highly recommend.

[Alex.V]

Quiche...Beer....heavy things....I love this journal.

Also, don't forget lots of talk about running! Running talk is exciting. Ever heard two runners talking to each other about their passion?

"So, Bob, what'd you do this weekend?"
"Oh, ran 7 miles, what about you?"
"Ran 8 miles. Was going to do 10 but think I might just do another 3 tomorrow"
"Sounds good. I was thinking I'd do 4 tomorrow then maybe another 6 on Wednesday"
"That sounds fun too. I can't run 6 miles the day after running 4. 5 maybe, and maybe 6 or 7 at a really slow pace but...."

Runners are some boring sons of bitches.

[Alex.V]

Been following your log silently for a while, as always good stuff Alex.


I tore mine last year and after an unsuccessful surgery am still unsure of what lies ahead for me, recently I've said fuck it and decided to just train with it but still don't know to what extent it may limit me as I attempt to progress. If you have a tear also then I'm extremely happy to see you're able to train successfully around it at a high level. Do you know the details of the injury - IE slap or bankart and what degree tear? And how long have you had it and trained around it?

And edit - Ever had long trail double bag? I just bought it for the third time yesterday, never lets me down. Highly recommend.

It's a Slap lesion, not sure the degree- I'm still scheduled for a contrast MRI, but it isn't until the 26th. Honestly, I'm questioning getting it at all- I realize I can still bench and swim without too much of a hit in performance, so I won't get the surgery this season..

I've seen your postings on it, and honestly, I think it's possible to train with the bloody thing being as it is. I've likely had it for about two months now- the real test will be once I start swimming again. I've discovered that close grip benching is right out, but with flared elbows the pressing power is still there. Quite honestly the biggest pain I ever get is when sleeping- any time the shoulder relaxes completely, I'll get these breathtakingly sharp pains.

I have not had the long trail. You, sir, have just given me a new item to acquire.

[Alex.V]

Today was another cardio bunny day. After yesterday's 16-17 mile run, my legs were slightly toast. So, naturally, I did DE legs.

Sumo deadlifts (speed):
135 x 10
225 x 10
315 x 10
405 x 3
405 x 3
405 x 3
405 x 3
405 x 3
These were actually getting faster and faster as the sets went on. I've realized my suckie deadlift lately is probably due to incredible stiffness (and soreness)- I think I'm just going to have to warm up a hell of a lot more when trying to pull heavy.

Paused squats (3-4 seconds at bottom)
315 x 6
315 x 6
315 x 6

Good mornings:

315 x 4
225 x 10
225 x 10

Did some leg raises, then out for a bike. Btw, I was tanked at this point.

20 mile warm up
6 x ~400 yard hill sprints (15-20 degree grade, brutal as fuck.) Heart rate was well over 170 during these.
5 mile cool down.

I have been eating since 5:00.

Achel extra bruin is a solid beverage.

[tom183]

Good to see the workload in here is just as impressive as your previous journal. Don't know how you do it, man.

[GazzyG]

Nice workout, Alex.

Also, your shoulder injury seems similar to mine. I've had mine for about the same length of time too. Doesn't trouble me much during the day, unless I forget about it and reach for something quickly with that arm. However, at night time it really hurts if I lie on it or have that arm around my mrs.

Doesn't seem to be affecting my benching though and only seems to have a small impact on my OHP.

[LuNa]

Good to see the workload in here is just as impressive as your previous journal. Don't know how you do it, man.

Must be the beer.

[Rileigh]

Deadlifts and squats the day after a 16 mile run, followed by an intense bike ride. Crazy!

Just out of curiosity, about how many calories do you think you're consuming daily on average?

[Alex.V]

Tom, Gaz, thanks guys.

Gaz- yep, similar in a lot of ways- OHP strength is next to nothing right now. I can still use machines, which let me get a bit of back arch and keep any rotational movement to a minimum, but it's a huge weakness of mine at the moment. So true, though, you forget about it but then even a small awkward or rapid movement triggers the pain all over again...

Just out of curiosity, about how many calories do you think you're consuming daily on average?

Good question... probably about 4500 during the week, then around 6000 on weekend days during long workouts. I don't truthfully track them that much- if I had to pick a number to shoot for I'd inevitably guess wrong and wind up either getting fat or wasting away... so I go with what I'm craving.

My weekly burn from aerobic activity is only around 8,000- not as bad as some people training for these events, so my diet doesn't have to be too nuts.

Yesterday was bench and a run:

Bench press:

135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 6
365 x 2
405 x 1
425 x 1
Added shirt
425 x 1
435 x 1
460 x 1
Without shirt
315 x 6

A bit of shoulder discomfort during the unracking (read: rice krispies sound), but once in the groove, no problems. 460 was fast, I was very happy. Keeping balance is a bit tough, though.

BB rows:

315 x 10
315 x 10
225 x 12

High rep stuff... FUN!

Did some cable rows, curlzzz with the 65's (I think), lateral raises, windshield wipers, hanging leg raises, then out for a run:

3.5 miles, 8:00 pace

Kept it nice and easy; I have that silly half marathon this weekend. I'm not exactly tapering for it- Since I'm shooting for a 4 hour marathon at the end of the Ironman, I'm not trying to do much stuff at faster than an 8:30 pace, and an 8:30 pace for 13.2 miles should be a breeze. Only concern is my plantar fasciitis and my knees- that much running on pavement won't be fun.

So I've been mixing the blue raspberry Results with chocolate protein, and I'm kind of addicted to it now.

[Alex.V]

Tom, Gaz, thanks guys.

Gaz- yep, similar in a lot of ways- OHP strength is next to nothing right now. I can still use machines, which let me get a bit of back arch and keep any rotational movement to a minimum, but it's a huge weakness of mine at the moment. So true, though, you forget about it but then even a small awkward or rapid movement triggers the pain all over again...

Just out of curiosity, about how many calories do you think you're consuming daily on average?

Good question... probably about 4500 during the week, then around 6000 on weekend days during long workouts. I don't truthfully track them that much- if I had to pick a number to shoot for I'd inevitably guess wrong and wind up either getting fat or wasting away... so I go with what I'm craving.

My weekly burn from aerobic activity is only around 8,000- not as bad as some people training for these events, so my diet doesn't have to be too nuts.

Yesterday was bench and a run:

Bench press:

135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 6
365 x 2
405 x 1
425 x 1
Added shirt
425 x 1
435 x 1
460 x 1
Without shirt
315 x 6

A bit of shoulder discomfort during the unracking (read: rice krispies sound), but once in the groove, no problems. 460 was fast, I was very happy. Keeping balance is a bit tough, though.

BB rows:

315 x 10
315 x 10
225 x 12

High rep stuff... FUN!

Did some cable rows, curlzzz with the 65's (I think), lateral raises, windshield wipers, hanging leg raises, then out for a run:

3.5 miles, 8:00 pace

Kept it nice and easy; I have that silly half marathon this weekend. I'm not exactly tapering for it- Since I'm shooting for a 4 hour marathon at the end of the Ironman, I'm not trying to do much stuff at faster than an 8:30 pace, and an 8:30 pace for 13.2 miles should be a breeze. Only concern is my plantar fasciitis and my knees- that much running on pavement won't be fun.

So I've been mixing the blue raspberry Results with chocolate protein, and I'm kind of addicted to it now.

[joey54]

You should up those pauses to 7 seconds on the squats.

[FearFactory]

Lol Matt is running with this.