Friday

Deadlift: 515x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

45` Back Ext.: 3x12

Leg Curls: 3x15
w/
Leg Press Calf Raises: 3x20

Pulldown Abs: 3x12

Deadlifts were a smoke show tonight. One thing that I've struggled with in the past is getting decent leg drive when the weight gets heavy. Used to be that my ass would kick out and up and I'd essentially do a rounded back RDL. I really felt like I was pushing through my feet and pushing the weight up. Felt damn good. Hammies felt a little better this week.

Song of the Day: Dillinger Four- Who Didn't Kill Bambi?

"We shouldn't be looking for heroes; we should be looking for good ideas." -Noam Chomsky

Wednesday

Fat Bar Bench: 250x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

DB Low Incline: 5x10

Single Arm Row: 5x8 @ 100's
w/
DB Lateral Raise: 4x10

BW Chins: 4x6
w/
BW Dips: 4x10

Hammer Curls: 3x10
w/
Tate Press: 2x15

Decent session. Nothing to get excited about. Everything felt about as it should. Solid 80%er.

Song of the Day: Sepultura- Rumors

“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.” -James Anthony Froude

Tuesday

Squats: 135x5, 225x4, 315x3, 405x1, 455x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

Bulgarian Split Squats: 4x10

Calf Raises: 275x12x3

Today was a grind. The 455 felt heavy from the first rep. One thing that Matt and I noticed was that I have decent speed coming out of the bottom, but I tend to slow as I come up. This is the opposite of what is supposed to happen. My guess is that once I know a squat is in the bag I don't relax, but I don't put the necessary force into the bar to keep it accelerating. I'm thinking I do this to save myself for the following reps. This is definitely something I need to fix for when I begin my meet prep and I'm dealing with heavy singles.

Other than that I was happy with the session. I'm going to have to think long and hard about whether I'll try 475 next week or drop it down.

This song definitely helped me bust through and drive up my third double.

The Lawrence Arms- Recovering the Opposable Thumb
Song of the Day: http://youtu.be/YIez4D-C40Y

“What is peculiar in the life of a man consists not in his obedience, but his opposition, to his instincts. In one direction or another he strives to live a supernatural life.” -Henry David Thoreau

Friday

Snatch: up to 208x1

Deadlift: 500x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

Glute Ham: 3x10

Leg Curl: 3x15
w/
Leg Press Calf Raise: 3x25

Deadlifts felt pretty fantastic last night. All of the reps were done from a dead stop. This means that on the 2's and 3's I didn't bounce the weight off the platform. This makes things a bit more difficult. Also, the weight was supposed to be 495 but screw that. Nobody climbs Mt. Everest to stop twenty feet from the summit. Right? Right.

I'm beginning to think I don't have hamstrings. I'm not sure what it is but when I do posterior chain work I can feel my low back and my glutes and that's about it. This is something that needs to be addressed. I think maybe some more direct activation in my warm up is what is needed.

Song of the Day: Joe Cocker's Feelin' Alright

"Ability is nothing without opportunity." -Napoleon Bonaparte

The Question

A few weeks ago I was at a party with some college friends and friends of friends. Being that most of us have stayed active and participate in the "physical culture" the topic of training came up. During the conversation the inevitable question came out.

"What do you think of P90X?"

My first reaction is to cringe. My second reaction is to laugh disapprovingly in the questioners face. My third reaction is to say, "Shit's stupid. You need to skwaat!"

But this is a tricky question with many different levels that I've been thinking about a lot lately. It really has nothing to do with what I think about P90X or Insanity or Barry's Boot Camp or Hip Hop Abz as a system. That's irrelevant. As a fitness professional it is not my job to automatically dismiss a prepackaged system and say it's a waste of time.

I know it's bad form to answer a question with another question but this is what I feel needs to be done. Here's a sample dialogue of how it would go.

Trainee: So Troy I've been doing Kim Kardashian's 90 Days to a Better Booty DVD. What are you thoughts on it?

Me: Well, I don't really know anything about it. Do you enjoy doing it?

Trainee: Yeah it's kind of fun and it's something that I enjoy doing on my off days.

Me: Are you getting the results that you wanted to get from it?

Trainee: Yeah, check this out. You could rest a coffee mug on my ass.

Me: Sounds like it's working great for you. Stick with it.

That was obviously the best case scenario. Here is how it could go differently.

Trainee: Hey Troy, I read this article in MuscleRag called, "Six Weeks to Amazing Arms" and decided to give it a try. What do you think of the routine?

Me: Don't know anything about it. Describe it to me.

Trainee: Well it has me do A, B, C, and D exercises for X number of sets and Z number of reps.

Me: Are you getting the results it promised?

Trainee: Not really. I did the full six weeks and my arms haven't grown at all.

Me: Hmm, well based on your own body and what I've seen work for you in the past let's try this and that exercise for XYZ sets and reps instead. Try that and tell me how it works.

Trainee: Ok, thanks. I'll get back to you.

You'll notice a few themes. In both cases I knew nothing of the training system yet didn't immediately shoot them down and say, "Do this and this. That other shit is pointless." In the first example the system was working great and getting the trainee the desired results. Why fix it if it ain't broke?

In the second example the trainee was not getting the desired results. This is both good and bad. It's bad that he spent six weeks and got nothing to show for it. It's good in that he found something that didn't work for him so he'll no longer waste six weeks, or any time for that matter, on something that won't work even though MuscleRag said it would.

Thomas Edison once said, "I didn't fail. I just found 10,000 ways that didn't work."

That right there is the heart of the matter. If something works, ride it until it doesn't. If something doesn't work change things up and give it another go. Consistent, well thought out change is essential to progress. Program jumping and trying to mash multiple different training styles into one is not.

One thing that I've tried hard to do is to not be the carpenter with only a hammer that sees everything as a nail. There are many many ways to achieve the results that you want to achieve regardless of what they are. There are, however, ways that work better than others. It all comes down to what your goals are, what your time frame is (within the realms of reality), and what you are willing to do to achieve said goals.

The same goes for nutrition. You could follow Atkins, South Beach, Macronutrient Cycling, Mediterranean, etc ad nasuem. For every person that wants to change their body composition, whether it be lose fat, gain muscle, or both, there are that many different ways to do it. Like the training aspect there are ways that will work better for each person. What works great for one person could cause another to go backwards. It's all about finding what works. And the only real way is through trial and error. I could go on but that would be opening a new can of worms and is probably best saved for its own post.

The take home is that there is nothing that is completely useless. If someone enjoys a particular way of training and likes the results they get who the hell am I to tell them differently? Likewise, if someone is dissatisfied with their training program and/or its results than I am all the happier to help remedy the situation through a well thought out change in the program.

Wednesday

Fat Bar Bench: 245x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

Low Incline DB Bench: 3x8, 1x15

Arnold Press: 3x8

Weighted Chins: 3x6
w/
Weighted Dips: 3x10

Tate Press: 3x12
w/
Zottman Curls: 3x10

Lots of volume tonight. My upper body can usually take a pretty good beating and recover pretty quickly. Belly button down is another story.

Benching felt ok. I think my bench is down right now due to my squat and deadlift numbers being high. I usually go in cycles like this. When my bench is doing awesome my squat and DL numbers are usually down and vice versa. So it goes.

I apologize for the non embedded videos. Blogger is being a bitch recently.

Song of the Day: http://youtu.be/RbIGuLXCziU

"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric." -Bertrand Russell

Tuesday

Squat: 135x5, 225x4, 315x3, 405x1, 435x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

Front Squat: 135x8, 225x6, 275x6

Bulgarian Split Squat: 3x10

Squats felt much better than last week. Hitting my depth was a non issue, nothing hurt, and none of the sets felt like ball busters. I'll take it. If I can get through next week at 455 and the following week at 475 before I have to reset I'll be pretty damn happy about where my strength is at. But I gotta do the work first.

Song of the Day: http://youtu.be/Bc1vDw-5Tgc

"Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does all the work." -Mark Twain

Friday

Snatch: 198x1/1, 208x2 huge embarrassing failures

Deadlift: 485x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

RDLs: 315x10x3

Shrugs: 315x20x2
w/
Leg Press Calf Raise: 2x20

Snatches felt really awkward. I haven't done them in 6 weeks or so and it showed. On my last attempt I caught the bar in the squat position, fell to my right knee in an attempt to save it, realized that wasn't going to happen and as I dumped it to the front of me my right leg kicked forward and I broke the bar's fall with my shin. Snatches: 1, Troy: 0

Deadlifts felt good. Nothing too straining. I kept my belt loose to force my belly to work a little harder. I could feel myself round forward but nothing bad. Oh, and I tore a callous on my last set. It's always the last one.

I've got zero plans this weekend and I love it. Time to chillax.

Song of the Day:http://youtu.be/sBqUSVIe52Y

“A cheerful frame of mind, reinforced by relaxation... is the medicine that puts all ghosts of fear on the run.” -George Matthew Adams

Wednesday

Fat Bar Bench: 175x5, 205x4, 225x3, 245x2, 265x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/1/1/1

Log Press: up to 185x1, 120x10x2

Chest Supported Row: 3x10
w/
DB Side Laterals: 3x10

Gun Show

This session was one for the dumpster. I'll be backing my bench numbers back down to 245 next week and then I'll progress up by 5 pounds each week. I was hoping to get to 275 before I would have to back down, but that's life.

Log press actually felt pretty good. The 185 was strict with no knee bend so I was happy with that.

My forearms are still jacked up from water skiing so everything after that was blah.

Song of the Day:

“Even the knowledge of my own fallibility cannot keep me from making mistakes. Only when I fall do I get up again.” -Vincent van Gogh

Tuesday- Squats

Squats: 225x5, 315x4, 355x3, 385x2, 415x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

Front Squats: 135x8, 225x8, 275x4

Speed Skater Squats: 3x10

Calf Raises: 4x15

Cold Tub: x10mins

Squats felt off until about the last two sets. Not sure what it was. I'm guessing I'm still feeling the effects of water skiing for the first time on Sunday morning. My gracili (sp?) (lower, inside part of the thigh.) were still lit up. Worked through it and the last two sets felt awesome.

In other news Team Murder Death Kill failed to bring home the Second Annual Flippy Cup Championship. We lost in the championship match in Game 7. Total disappointment but we will be back. And we'll be taking what's ours.

This song is for Team What The Flip!?.

Song of the Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdfkdVmmLeA

"But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated." -Ernest Hemingway

Friday

Dead Lift: 225x5, 315x4, 405x3, 440x2, 475x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3/

RDLs: 225x15x3
w/
Shrugs: 315x20x3

Pretty good session considering I wasn't feeling all that fresh going in.  The dead lifts felt heavy but nothing took any extra effort to get up.  RDLs and shrugs felt ok.  My grip was trashed so I used straps.  I have baby hands and I'm ashamed of them.  Seriously, I'm like a carnie.

Tomorrow team Murder Death Kill will reign supreme. There will be much bloodshed.

Song of the Day:

Be not simply good; be good for something." -Henry David Thoreau

Troy Dequaine's Top Ten Non-Steroidal Performance Enhancers Part 1

1. Being American

Uh, Rocky?  Anyone?  If you're an American you've got 200+ years of an ass-kicking, big pipe-swinging, take-no-shit-from-anyone tradition behind you.  When you need that last little bit of oomph to get you through a workout all you need to do is think of George Washington, Pearl Harbor, the moon landing, Chuck Norris, Momma's sweet apple pie and fucking democracy and you should be able to power through a brick wall should you so choose.

ROCK, FLAG, AND EAGLE!

One thing that this country needs to get back to is electing people based on how well they kill people.  Many of our past leaders were great enders-of-life.  Teddy Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, George Washington, and the like.  All of them fucked some dudes up.  Shit, Jackson used to duel with pistols like it was a game of badminton or something.  Now, not so much.  Used to be that the President and other elected officials gave a damn.  Now everybody is only out for themselves and their agenda.  We need more asskickers and name takers and less politically correct douchebags.  I don't care who's toes get stepped on or who's face gets pushed in with a club because they deserved it, I want progress.

Ol' Hickory himself killed more than a few men.

2. Eating Meat

I can't believe it's 2011 and I need to talk about this.  Eating meat is one of the most primal things that you as a human can do.  Meat is chock full of the stuff that it takes to build muscles, namely amino acids.  When you don't eat meat two things happen:

1. You don't build new muscle on top of the muscle you already have.
2. You start to atrophy.  That is, your muscles waste away. 

Go to any local vegan restaurant and look at the patrons.  Twigs.  Or worse, skinny fat.  They've got zero muscle mass, but a whole lot of fat.  They claim to be healthy but couldn't dig their way out of a shallow grave of zombie corpses if their life depended on it (which it will).  Pathetic. 

Eating meat allows you to absorb not only the amino acids and other micro nutrients present in the meat, but that animal's soul and power as well.  I've got a whole army of steer, fowl, and swine waiting at the ready to be released on some unsuspecting fool.  Think you can get that from eating celery and eggplant all day?  You're California dreaming if you do.

One of my minions.

3. Aggressive Driving

You know how you feel when you get off a roller coaster?  You feel like you could take on the world, right?  Well, you can get that feeling everyday.  When you drive aggressively you stimulate the stress response which releases, among other things, adrenaline.  Tailgate, cut people off, make your own lanes, cause a few "almost" accidents on your way to the gym and get ready to set some new PRs.  In other words, always drive like you've got a woman in labor in your back seat and you've got to get to the hospital before she splatters placenta all over the carpet.  And if you get stuck in traffic use the Homer Simpson method: Gas, brake, honk.  Gas, brake, honk.  Honk, honk, punch.  Gas, gas, gas.

This guy is ready to crush it in the gym.

4. Getting Enough Sleep

Who doesn't like to sleep?  I know I do.  I wish I could sleep more.   When you don't get enough sleep you get groggy, cranky, sick, and, if it goes on long enough, die.  The best part about sleep is all the stuff that goes on physiologically that we aren't even aware of.  When you are asleep your body is like a construction site with all the recovery going on.  If  you give your body the right stimulus by throwing some heavy weights around you'll be laying down muscle, taking away fat to restore energy, and ingraining all the neat-o things you learned through the day.   Plus, if you've ever taken a mid-day nap and woken up and immediately started killing it productivity wise you know that sleep is important.  So dominate, rest, repeat.

5. Loud, Angry Music

You know that song that comes on and when you hear it you want to throw a tank at the nearest member of al-Qaeda?  What is it about that song that makes you want to do that besides your burning hatred of al-Qaeda?  (You do hate al-Qaeda, right?)

Regardless of what type of music you listen to it's probably has an uptempo beat and lyrics that are sung fast.  Well, there is no music that is better at that than punk and/or metal.  Hard driving guitars, insanely fast double kick drum beats, and lyrics that are both aggressive in the message and the delivery are what metal and punk are all about.  Not only that but ingesting aggression in the form of music leads to aggression expressed outwardly by the listener.  Channel that aggression and you're half way to scoring six touchdowns in your life's equivalent of the Super Bowl.  Which is probably racing your kids up the stairs or bowling four strikes in a row on league night. 

This man has created more PRs than any other in history.

Troy Dequaine's Top Ten Non Steroidal Performance Enhancers Part 2

6. Using Power Tools

Nothing gets the juices flowing like being 4 inches away from living the rest of my life with 9.5 fingers or getting a screw permanently lodged in my abdomen. Every time I hold a power tool in my hand I feel like I could take on an army of Nazi zombies single-handedly. But seriously, using tools makes you a man. Whenever you saw a board in half you grow four curly chest hairs. Whenever you drive home a screw your voice lowers ever so slightly. And whenever you chainsaw a tree into oblivion your testicles grow in diameter by 6.5%. And ladies, using power tools does not actually make you a man. But using power tools will make me attracted to you. If that's what you're after.

Master carpenter and a lover of meat. "You had me at meat tornado." -Ron Swanson

Using tools and building stuff also ups your utility factor. People that are useful are good. People that are useless for no other reason other than that they are lazy are bad and should be shuttled off to a deserted island and left to their own useless devices. That way they can all be useless together and die because everyone is too lazy to microwave a goddam burrito. I think I just learned something about myself.

7. Thinking About Things You Hate

Thinking about things you hate makes you angry. Right now you're saying, "No shit, Troy. What's your point?" My point is that properly directed, that anger can really help you in the gym and out on the field, court, road, ocean, whatever. When we get angry we experience a rise in heart rate and blood pressure. There is also and increase in testosterone and a decrease in cortisol. I.e. the hormone that makes you angry increases and the hormone that prevents you from dealing with said anger decreases.

Why? Our bodies evolved to handle stress. And that stress usually came as a saber tooth tiger staring us down and wanting to make us dinner. That early hunter's body is doing the exact same thing as a modern day man's body that is experiencing road rage. The only difference was that the hunter wasn't going to sit down with the tiger and talk about feelings, and why he wanted to eat him, and let's just all coexist and blah blah blah. That hunter high tailed it out of there. Or stayed and fought, and won, and had Kitten Surprise for dinner.

Same thing happens in the gym. Think about how shitty traffic was that day or the old guy at the bank who took forever because he wanted a two dollar bill because it's his grandson's birthday you know and he's got to send him a card with that oh so rare bill from the U.S. Treasury. Is your urge to kill rising? Good, go lift some weights or run a race or kill some wild game. It'll be good for you.

8. Caffeine and Other Stimulants

I'm not really sure where I would be without caffeine. Nope, check that. I know where I'd be. Probably in a gutter somewhere crying myself to sleep. Or just asleep. Caffeine is by far the most used drug in America. It's also by far the most used drug by me. Caffeine's effects on the body are numerous. When ingested it blocks the release of adenosine which is a neurotransmitter that produces a calming effect on the body. This in turn causes the adrenal glands to release adrenaline. We all know what adrenaline does. With enough of that stuff in your veins you can lift turned-over cars off of (or on to, whatever, I don't judge) newborn babies.

The only downside to caffeine is that once a tolerance is built up it no longer has the same effects. So instead of one cup of coffee to get me going I now need the whole damn pot. And a few huffs of ammonia. But that's another post all together.

Another stimulant that I've enjoyed recently is ephedra. Or ephedrine. Whichever one is still available. Ephedrine's effects are much like caffeine. Increased alertness, increased heart rate, all that jazz. The good part is that it's like taking caffeine for the first time every time. I'm wired, amped and ready to go go gadget BEAST MODE.

If you do a bit of googleing on either of these supplements you'll find that in a lot of studies they don't actually increase performance over a placebo. But the subjects do report increased alertness. Hmm. Maybe the authors of said study are looking at the wrong kinds of things. I know that caffeine and ephedrine aren't going to increase my maximal leg extension. Nor will it let me go further past exhaustion on my 80% 1RM lat pull down test. I don't lift (and I'm guessing no one does) like I'm in a study. I lift to get bigger and stronger. I do what I want, when I want, however I want. And stimulants are the prod that gets me out of the chair and into the gym.

9. Doing Things You Hate

Some things I hate to do: getting up early, drive long distances alone, soft tissue work, help people move, cook, and clean. I'm sure that there are things that you hate to do in the gym or in practice for your sport. More likely than not it's in the doing of said thing that will make you better. I'm not a huge fan of doing high rep sets but I know they are great for building muscle and strength endurance, so I do them. I'm not a fan of conditioning work but I do enough to stay in moderately good shape.

Anyone can do the things they like to do. When we do things we hate or are afraid of mental toughness is built. If you can say, "Fuck it, I hate squatting but I'm going to take that bar to pound town." once, you can do it again. And again. And soon enough you may still hate to squat but you won't think twice about doing it because you know that squatting makes you strong, rich, smart, resistant to edge weapons and irresistible to the opposite sex.

10. Winning

They say a true competitor is someone who hates to lose more than they like to win. Very true. If someone challenges me to something I have to beat them. It's why I grew my beard for five months in college. It's why I call out a seven year-old's nonsense rules when playing catch with a roll out ball. And it's why I'll push that seven year-old to the ground if they even think about beating me in a foot race.

Let me ask you a question. What's got two thumbs and dominated Twister at the 2011 Circle of Friends Winter Trip?

This guy.

Were most of the competitors under 12? Yes. Were most of them female? Yes. Did they like the fact that I was dominating the game due to my size, strength, reaction time, and strategic advantage? Probably not. Should they get better for next time? Yes. It's simple as that.

"You don't like it? Get better." -Jeff Voris, my college football coach to us after we got our asses handed to us.

I once read a story about Brian Cox, who played middle linebacker for the Jets, Bears, and Dolphins, who when challenged by his kids to race to the top of the stairs would push them down and run up the stairs leaving them in a crying mess at the bottom. I'm sure he didn't take much pleasure in it, he just had to win. That's a true competitor. To steal a page from Charlie Sheen, "Winning!"

Sources:

http://www.overcaffeinated.org/effects-of-caffeine-on-the-body.php

Wednesday

Fat Bar Bench: 265x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/2.5

Log Press: x10,8,7,6

Chest Supported Row: 3x10 @ 70s
w/
DB Side Laterals: 4x10

Face Pulls: 3x12
w/
Db Skull Crushers: 3x10

Fat Bar Curls: 3x10

Decent session tonight.  I knew the bench was going to be tough.  I'm going to give 265 a ride again next week.  If I get all my reps I'll move up 5 lbs.  If not I'll drop it back some.  The triples are always the ones that get me.  I do fine on the first two reps and then I need to breath and lose my tightness.  I think I just need to be able to keep my air in my stomach while I breath.  Another thing to work on.

I apologize for the lack of cool material like articles and non training update posts.  I've busy the last few weekends and NX Level is hopping from morning to night.  I've got a few articles in the hopper that just need a few finishing touches and a few floating around the ol' noggin.  Soon my pretties, soon.

Song of the Day:


"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live." -Henry David Thoreau

Tuesday

Squat: 135x5, 225x4, 315x3, 355x2, 395x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

Front Squat: 135x10, 185x8, 205x8, 225x8

Front Elevated Split Squat: 2x10 per leg

Squatted superultramega raw tonight.  I forgot my belt at NX Level so I had to do without.  I surprised myself a little bit.  Only the last triple was above a 7 on my rate of perceived exertion scale, AKA, RPE.  Front squats actually felt pretty good considering I haven't done them in a coon's age.  I can definitely feel that my abdomen got some work without the belt.  This is good though.  Gives me confidence moving forward.  I'll be battling 400+ next week.  It'll be the first time touching more than four bills in a few months.  No choice but to get it on.  Raw is War.

I also had a little motivation from my training partner tonight.

Not at the table, Saxon.

Song of the Day:

"Problems are the price of progress.  Don't bring me anything but trouble.  Good news weakens me." -Charles F. Kettering

Weekend of Freedom Recap

What a great weekend.  I let Freedom ring loud and strong.  Liberties were celebrated and Freedoms were taken advantage of.  Saturday started off with some doing the piss out of some errands.  Then I went over to Lance's and celebrated the formation of this great land with the grilling of meats.  I got to play grill master and kind of surprised myself.  I didn't think I knew my way around a grill that well.  I guess it's either sink or swim, and I swam it into the ground.  The other part of my contribution to the party was vodka soaked Gummi worms.  The worms themselves were ok to good.  But the strained "juice" that reconstituted into a huge jell-o shot in the fridge was dy-no-mite. 

Sunday was a great day.  Lance, Katie- Lance's girlfriend- her sister Kristin, Eric, and myself went to New London, WI to do river float.  This is where you get a tube, they bus you a few miles upriver, and you float back.  Great day in the sun drinking a few beers and getting the shit beaten out of our legs on the rocks in the river bed.  This will probably become an Independence Day tradition.  The best part is that the only rules on the river are 1. Clean up after yourself and 2. Don't trespass.  Other than that it's anything goes.  You can stop mid river, set up shop, and get blind drunk and then float the rest of the way.  Some people definitely took full advantage of that.

Monday Lance and I brought Eric back to Chicago.  The end of the weekend was definitely bitter-sweet.  Lance's truck, Big Red, started pissing oil on the way back.  That trip was probably the last hurrah for the old girl.  R.I.P Big Red, 1995-2011.  Mourn ya til I join ya.

I also trained on Monday.  It wasn't anything special.  I purposely put a training day on Sunday/Monday to keep myself from going overboard on Saturdays.  Whoops.  After this coming weekend I will be refocusing on the meet in November and the social life will take a back seat of sorts.  I'm actually looking forward to it in a way.

Song of the Day:

“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.” -Henry David Thoreau

Wednesday and Friday and America's Birthday

Wedenesday:

Fat Bar Bench: 255x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

Log Press: 3x10

Side Laterals: 3x10
w/
Face Pulls

Gun Show

Friday:

Dead Lift: 465x1/2/3/1/2/3/1/2/3

RDLs: 308x10x3

Pendlay Rows: 220x10x2

Shrugs: 405x10x3

Shoulder felt a lot better on Wednesday than it did last week.  My technique felt a little off though.  I've lost a little weight and I think that has a lot to do with it.  Other than that it's business as usual.

Dead lifts felt fast and smooth tonight.  If I keep upping it ten pounds per week I think I could probably carry it into the 525ish range.  RDLs were tough and by the time I got to rows I was beat.  Ephedrine and heat will do that to you.

I'm pretty jacked for this weekend as I usually get excited for patriotic holidays.  BBQ tomorrow afternoon.  River float with some beers and buds on Sunday.  Then on Monday I'm going to commit as many petty crimes and exploit as many liberties and freedoms as I can think of within the confines of my property.  Ripping tags off mattresses, setting off fireworks, not going to church, saying whatever I want as long as it doesn't incite a riot, maybe get drunk, break noise ordinances, print my own currency, disturb the shit out of the peace, dig holes without looking for gas lines, maybe fake steal something from Kirk my upstairs neighbor, and probably pursue a little happiness in the process.  Who knows.  The possibilities are endless.  It's what the Founding Father's would have wanted.  Plus, it's my property.  I should be able to do whatever the hell I want as long as it puts no one else in danger.  That's what the Founding Fathers would want me to do.