Steel Chopsticks

[Eszekial]

Lol. That picture cracked me up.

Looked like a beautiful place though.

Keep it up!

[AlecB]

Ive decided to put Chris's split on hold until I get back to the States in two weeks. Although Ive only done his routine for 2 weeks I can see how its gonna build mass quickly. Im gonna keep a few of the exercises (SMP, weighted dips and chins, SDLs) and when Im all resettled in Virginia with lots of free time and fried food Ill jump back in. Ill go back to my old split for the next week and then take a week or two off as I travel and get my wife and myself readjusted.

I hit the weighted dips hard yesterday and my back and chest are feeling it so I did Arms/Shoulders today. I didnt sleep more than 4 hours last night ... (dont know why just couldnt fall asleep) so I was pretty tired for my workout. Also the modern interprative dance class was back so between the lack of sleep and the dozen or so chinese men doing erotic dance moves it was hard to focus.

DB Curls
10 @ 8kg
10 @ 12kg
10 @ 12kg
7 @ 15kg

Incline DB Curl
10 @ 10kg
10 @ 10kg

Hammer DB Curl
10 @ 10kg
10 @ 10kg

Arnies
5 @ 5kg
5 @ 5kg
5 @ 8kg
5 @ 8kg
5 @ 10kg

Lateral DB Raise
10 @ 5kg
10 @ 5kg

Front DB Raise
10 @ 5kg
10 @ 5kg

Weight - 66.5 kg (67 after I drank all my gym juice )

Im gonna eat some eggs & tuna and take a nap. Hope everyone is having a good day.

[offhegoes03]

nice workout man.. I can't imagine having people stare at me all the time while I worked out. What do you think it'll be like once you move back to the states? Is it going to be a tough adjustment?

[ericg]

Nice curl jockey session

[AlecB]

Chris - Yeah its gonna be tough but worth it. Virginia in the summer is heaven. Fishing, swimming, drinking lemonade on the front porch. I cant wait.

Eric - Glad you like it man

Today was legs but I had to keep it quick cause Elf and me had a ton of **** to do. Set a new PR on Deads so that was cool. Drew blood on my shins also, so I guess that makes me an official lifter now, right? Dont I get some kind of award or something lol

weight - 66.5kg (146.9 lbs)

Deads
10 @ 32kg
6 @ 41kg
6 @ 64kg
3 @ 73kg
3 @ 84kg (184.8 lbs) (not too hard so Ill add another 9kg next week)

DB Lunges
10 @ 12kg
10 @ 12kg
10 @ 15kg

Definitely got a good workout on these but Im not sure about my form. I want to focus on my hams so Im not sure whether I should lunge long or short.

Calf Raises
20 @ 41kg
20 @ 41kg
20 @ 41kg
20 @ 50kg

Ab "Bows" - not sure of the name, but I knelt with the cable behind my head and knelt down to the floor.
10 @ #5 plate
10 @ #5 plate
10 @ #6 plate
10 @ #6 plate

Time for dinner. Hot pot is the BOMB - a big cauldron over an open flame, full of soup and meat and potatos. Mmmmmm....

[Coke]

That would be one helluva culture shock for me to be living in China, I know it ain't nothing like Virginia, lol - wish you the best while over there. You have the best reason to be there though, teaching english and all.

The workouts are looking good Alec, keep on'em.

[Eszekial]

Damn! As of now i've only gotten some minor bruises on my shins!

I'll swing the bar and smash my shins to catch up.

[AlecB]

Cocoa - Thanks for the support. Its gonna feel good to be back home ... in exactly 12 days and 12 hours I will be landing at JFK airport. Oh yeeeaahhh ... Thanks for stopping in and sayin hi.

Eszekial - I want blood on those shins and the pics to prove it!

[McIrish]

Mmm...bellydancing Chinese girls. Ahh, brings me back...comin home in two weeks? Get some brokeass North Face and buy some fake DVD's this week!!

[AlecB]

I got a big white puffy Nautica jacket and a binder full of dvd's. The customs officer is gonna LOVE my ass. "Hey boy...you got reciepts for those?"

[AlecB]

66.0 kg / 145.2 lbs (lost half a kilo over the weekend ... damn kids makin me run around the classroom )

BP
10 @ 40kg
10 @ 50kg
8 @ 60kg
6 @ 70kg
3 @ 85kg
1 @ 95kg (209lbs)
1 @ 105kg (231lbs) (Failed)

I got up to 100 kg and did one rep, matchin my PR. Then my roommate pointed out that I added wrong and I only did 95kg. ****! I added 10kg to try and set a new PR but it didnt go up. Close tho.

Incline BP- Smith Machine
8 @ 40kg
8 @ 50kg
5 @ 60kg
1 @ 70kg (154 lbs) (PR)

I think I could have gotten more reps on that 70kg but the Smith machine was all f'ed up. No lube on the tracks. Damn lazy gym staff...

BB Row
10 @ 20kg
10 @ 30kg
10 @ 40kg
10 @ 50kg
10 @ 60kg

Single DB Row
10 @ 8kg
10 @ 10kg
10 @ 12kg

DB Flys
8 @ 8kg
8 @ 10kg
8 @ 12kg

Good Mornings
10 @ 18kg
10 @ 32kg

Overall not a great workout. Felt stong on bench but my back didnt feel used up at all by the time I left. Gotta hit it harder next time.

[ericg]

Nice sessions bro. The kids put gum chalk in your erasers again?

[offhegoes03]

sweet work man.. don't worry, the weight will go up. as CoCoa once taught me, your weight won't change a whole lot over a short amount of time. It's probably just water weight. I've always noticed that my weight is lighter on the weekends and heavier during the middle of the week, so go figure.

[Eszekial]

Do people call you Godizlla and run in fear of you? I can't imagine that not being fun....

[AlecB]

Do people call you Godizlla and run in fear of you? I can't imagine that not being fun....

LOL something like that. People stare, shout, spit, curse, you name it. One time I went to a bus station to buy a ticket. The ticket seller lady was behind a glass wall, reading a magazine. "One ticket to Guiyang please" I said in Chinese. The woman said "OK" and looked up AND SCREAMED! I mean a blood curdling, please-dont-kill-me kinda scream. I guess she was expecting someone a little more...Chinese? lol she realized how stupid she was and just kinda laughed it off but there ya go.

Thursday, 5/25

ATF Squats
10 @ 25kg
8 @ 40kg
6 @ 50kg
8 @ 60kg
8 @ 70kg (PR - 68.5kg last week)

I dont feel strong doing these. I can do more weight if I dont go ass to floor but Ive heard going all the way down is the best way to build mass. Is that true?

SL Deads
8 @ 20kg
8 @ 30kg
6 @ 35kg
6 @ 40kg
15 @ 50kg (PR - last week was 36kg)
10 @ 55kg (PR)

I struggled through the first 4 sets before I realized my form was all f'ed up. I tweaked it someohow and put the weight more on my hams and less on my lower back. MUCH easier and better for the legs. I added another set because I funked up the first 4 sets.

Calf Raises
20 @ 40kg
20 @ 40kg
20 @ 45kg
20 @ 50kg
20 @ 50kg

Weight - back at 66.5 kg. Cant keep it at 67 but thats because I havent been eating enough.

This time next week Ill be back in VIRGINIA!!!!!!!!!! Hell yeah baby! Pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, iced tea, cherry pie Ill be 70kg in no time. And the best part? All the weights will be in good ol' american pounds! No more of this crazy kilogram nonsense....

[Eszekial]

Welcome home bro!

[AlecB]

wont be posting for a while ... on the road from Beijing to NYC, DC, and finally home. Have fun lifting guys.

[ericg]

Wow, take care man. Have fun.

[McIrish]

welcome back to a country where they don't have "la duzi" ohhh, duzi, you'll be sorely missed.

[AlecB]

Finally made it back home with my wife, 2 cats, a bass, and 9,082,417 pounds of luggage. Just so you know, carrying everything you own in two giant bags through the New York metro is great conditioning! Here are the highlights of the trip-

Flight from Beijing to NYC, 13 hours nonstop. Went OK....slept the frist 5 hours, had a couple beers and listened to some tunes, read "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn (read it if you havent, great book). I was there in no time.

Got to NYC but all flights to DC were cancelled cause of the rain. Took the metro to get on a train but they wouldnt let us board b/c of the cats. Took metro to the next station to get a bus ticket but they wouldnt let us ride b/c of the cats. Amtrak and Grayhound are on my "to kill" list. Finally my brother found me a Delta flight from NYC to DC and now Im back home.

First American food - pastrami and corned beef on wheat with swiss and mayo

First work - took down rotted wood off the split rail fence and put up new ones. Gotta dig holes and replace some posts this week.

First workout - havent gotten one yet but I saw the gym and I like it. Its in the middle of a white collar part of town so only yuppies go in on their lunch break to run off the 3,000 calorie business lunch they just ate. Free weights are in the basement. Its got everything I need plus a full stereo system and nobody else uses it. The best part? Membership for me and my wife is $10 a month. MUHAHAHAHA! Im going in tomorrow to weigh in and do a light workout.

Its good to be home...

[AlecB]

Irish - lol the funny thing is I got Mao's Revenge two weeks before I left China. I had it ONCE for the two years I lived there and then I go and get it right before I have to take a 13 hour plane ride. Doh.

Stewardess "Sir...the fasten seatbelt sign is on. Please sit down."

Me (unbuckling pants, running down the aisle) "**** THAT!"

[Eszekial]

Irish - lol the funny thing is I got Mao's Revenge two weeks before I left China. I had it ONCE for the two years I lived there and then I go and get it right before I have to take a 13 hour plane ride. Doh.

Stewardess "Sir...the fasten seatbelt sign is on. Please sit down."

Me (unbuckling pants, running down the aisle) "**** THAT!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[McIrish]

Irish - lol the funny thing is I got Mao's Revenge two weeks before I left China. I had it ONCE for the two years I lived there and then I go and get it right before I have to take a 13 hour plane ride. Doh.

Stewardess "Sir...the fasten seatbelt sign is on. Please sit down."

Me (unbuckling pants, running down the aisle) "**** THAT!"

HAHA that's awesome. And yet you still managed to take a pastrami sandwich to the dome - I'm impressed

I've had similar experiences while taking tests in China... the teacher says something like "blabblah please don't leave your seats" and I'm thinking "hmm, unless you want a pool of crap on your floor, you'll understand this time..."

YEAH CHINA.

[AlecB]

lifted twice this week but I was rushed both times so I didnt get a good workout. Tuesday was chest/back (horizontal) and today was a dogs breakfast of legs/arms/back (vertical). I didnt record Tuesdays workout but it was basically flat and incline bench, pull ups, barbell rows and db rows. Todays numbers -

Weight - 145lbs

ATF Squats
10 @ 65
10 @ 85
8 @ 115
6 @ 135
4 @ 165
2 @ 195 (could've done more but no spotter)

SL Deadlift
10 @ 95
8 @ 115
6 @ 135
4 @ 155

Chins - this one is palm's facing in, right?
10 @ BW
10 @ BW + 10
10 @ BW + 25

Dips
10 @ BW + 10
10 @ BW + 25

Had to stop early because of hunger. I worked out at 2:30pm and Id only had a big bowl of oatmeal, a banana, and some milk because I had a big test in the afternoon and I went straight from there to the gym. By the end of the workout I was real shaky so I quit early. No point dropping a 45 on my feet and missing the next month due to broken toes.

Overall Im pleased with my progress since beginning and now that Im back in the USA with good, fattening food I should put on weight quickly.

How are you guys coming along?

p.s. my new gym membership costs $5 a month

[offhegoes03]

welcome back to the states.. you're in VA, right? I'm living down here in Williamsburg this summer and I just started getting back into things after being gone for 2 weeks. hah you got me beat on the gym membership.. mine's 70 bucks for 3 months, so not too awful. Great workout, keep up the good work.