PASSED THE TEST

Put my shoulder through the paces today. Snatches, push presses, db military were some of the featured lifts of today workout. I have to say it passed with flying colors. It felt strong on all the lifts and I have no doubts about increasing my weights for next week.

Missed a dose of creatine yesterday. Shouldn't hurt things too much, but I'm pretty anal about sticking to plans. Diet still going pretty well. I could have been a little smarter yesterday at my lunch meeting, but I kept things in moderation. I need to remind myself about my water intake.

BACK AT IT

Well, I wised up and took some time off. I got back in the gym today and got after it. The shoulder felt pretty good. I did my standard Monday workout of power cleans, squats, db incline, pull ups and upright rows. Finished it off with some core training. Everything felt good. I went a little lighter on cleans just to get going and test the wing. I will probably take some of my power lifts light all week. Thursday will be the real test for the shoulder when I do power snatches, push presses, db military, and a few others. If the shoulder holds up well then I'll be ready to go. I'll progress my weights slow over the next couple weeks just to be safe. Two steps forward-one step back is better than the other way around. I can't be taking every other week off to heal up because I was dumb.

Getting my eating routine down again also, having a small healthy meal or supplement shake every 2-3 hours. Creatine intake is where it should be and my water intake is on the rise.

I'll try a run in the morning. Teps are up so it shouldn't be too bad outside.

STILL HAVING SOME PAIN

Yeh, the shoulder/collarbone area is still giving me some trouble. I do a lot of lifts from the hanging position (like cleans, snatches, etc). That seams to be when it hurts the most. I had to reduce my weight and still only completed two of three sets on my cleans yesterday. Oddly enough I turned around and hammered out incline DB bench like a madman, finishing with seven on my last set of five. So I guess I'll be icing the shoulder down and hitting the advil the next few days. I will probably take snatches off completely tomorrow and let it rest. I'll try those lifts again next week at a much lighter weight and see if I can bounce back.

I have looked all over for a good belt. I haven't used one in years because I haven't really went above 80% of my 1RM in that long. Now that I'm throwing around some weight I need one. I'm getting to the point that I won't go any heavier on my squats without one. I've been to EVERY sporting good/weight lifting specialty store in town with no luck. I'm looking for the super thick leather with no taper or variance in width, an actual Power lifting belt. Not those cheesy Valeo, Nike, velcro, crap. Those belts are so much show. I will try the Illijois Gym today on Adams and see if they have what I'm looking for. There's a lot more power lifter type guys in there. Maybe they sell them.

Not so good today

Had some trouble in the gym today. I was supposed to start my workout with power snatches from the hang. My collarbone felt like it was going to pull away from my shoulder. I have significant trouble with that shoulder since high school but today was the first time it has felt that bad for quite a while. I decided to drop the snatches for today. The rest of my workout went well. Push presses were fine, minimal shoulder pain. Lunges were good. Military presses odly enough went great. I finished my last set of 5 with the 70's for 7, It was a good one to quit on.

Diet has been good. No red meat yet this week, I did have a grilled chicken small pizza last night, but that's been the worst of it. I've kept my eating every 2-3 hr. plan in check with protein shakes as supplements. Creatine intake is going well too.

Now for the cardio....................Needs some MAJOR work!!

week 1 of HEAVY down

Well, so sar so good. Things are going pretty well. I'm taking it slow as far as how much I move my weights up, but I feel like I am progressing steadily. My biggest concerns after my first week are: hitting my drop on cleans and snatches; keeping better record of my rest times, for this type of lifting I should be between 2-3 minutes; and locating a belt I'm happy with. I have found one but they are out of my size right now. It's holding my squats back a little.

I need to begin some emphasis on my cardio as well. I have some 5 K's coming up in March as goals to keep me motivated on my cardio. My diet is improving. I have done much better this last week and have avoided anything too stupid. Take care!

Handsome devil, huh? 

1st day of "HEAVY"

Well after taking about 6 months off from the gym, I spent the last 3 weeks going light for 2 sets of 10-12 on my lifts. I used that time to get the "feel" back and make sure I was getting good range of motion, etc.

Today I got after it. 3 sets of 5 on my lifts at around 85% of my 1RM. Everything went pretty well except for my squats. I felt a twinge in my left knee on my last set. I racked the weight and moved on. No troubles after that.

My new KHS FR 2000 

Starting the engine

Well, this is going to be a journey. I stumbled across this while reading about the Race across Iowa on Jeff Kerkove's blog. I thought, "how cool is that?". So I decided to see what this was all about. As I got started it more or less started evolving into a journal type of thing. I figured in this form, ideas could be shared and discussed.

I am a C.S.C.S. and do have a little knowledge. Anyway, I have recently gotten back in the gym after a six month layoff of doing much of anything except gaining weight, around 20 pounds. The journey (I'll use that word a lot) starts now. Not because its the beginning of the year, I don't buy that resolutions garbage, it's just time.

I'm not expecting this to be anything special to anyone but me, but if I happen to learn or teach anything that helps out then I've gotten what I want out of this. Enjoy, critizece, comment whatever you feel. I have thick skin.