Friggin Bulgarians

     I survived squat day - barely. Keep reading to learn about my toture.

••••••••••

SQUATS:

65lb wide/mid/narrow x5 ea.

95lb x12

(135lb x8) 4x

45° LEG PRESS / CALF RAISES:

(190lb x15 / x15) 4x

BARBELL RDL:

111lb x10

133lb x8

(155lb x6) 2x

BULGARIAN SPLITS:

(35lb KB x10 ea. leg) 2x

(35lb KB x5 ea. leg) 4x

MULTI HIP MACHINE KICKBACKS:

15lb x10 ea.

18lb x10 ea.

23lb x10 ea.

••••••••••

     The theme this week has been "shine a light on your weakness". All of these things, written down on paper seem relatively easy and straightforward. Me putting them into practice, however, is another matter entirely. I wanted to keep the weight on the lower side for the squats. I wish I could've gotten 10 reps, that's what I was aiming for, but I'm OK having to settle for 8. Next week I know I'll get 10. I'll also be able to go up on the leg press because the 190lb is moving well for the 15 reps. 

     Let's talk about Bulgarians. Now, I've never met an actual Bulgarian in real life and I have no experience with their culture. But if they are anything like their namesake in squats, then I can only assume they're a bunch of angry bastards that hate joy. I am shamefully weak on these things but I refuse to give up. I was supposed to do 4 sets of 10. HA! after that second set, I was soaking wet, face as red as a late summer tomato, and more than a couple people were giving me the "is this chick OK?" side-eye. I in fact, was not OK. I was fighting for my life against a Bulgarian. I dropped to sets of 5 and finished out the remaining reps. The Bulgarians may be nasty but today at least, they were no match for a stubborn American.

     I had actually written down one more movement in my notebook - hack squats on the Smith machine. There was not a snowball's chance in Hades that they were going to happen. By the time I finished up with the kickbacks, I was feeling a tad squirrelly in my stomach and overheating. I decided I would take the L, and call it a day. 

     Overall, I guess it's not really a loss. I feel as though I'm using muscles that I haven't been and my core is beginning to feel it as well. That's my sign that my entire body is getting in on the action and that's a good thing. The only down side is that my knees are very sore at the moment. As always, I walk the thin line of doing what I need to do to build muscle and get stronger, but not doing so much that I blow my knees out. I'm not sure how much longer I can walk that line, but I'm going to keep trying. I'm truly afraid of having to have surgery on these knees. Really. I worry that I'll never be able to lift again; that it will be the final nail in the coffin of ever achieving what I want to. Logically I know that they need something. They need help and eventually I won't be able to just "recover". For the moment, though, I'm sitting here recovering and googling new knee sleeves to help these old joints out. 

     I am fed, I'm content and I'm ready for my tea. 

@robertmackman #bulgariansplitsquat #gym #gymmemes #fypシ #legday ♬ original sound - Mackman

Bi's & Tri's

     I used today to work bi's & tri's because I'm still gun shy about doing too much with my shoulder. Even just the stuff I did tonight has it a little sore. Let's get right into it.

••••••••••

STRAIGHT BAR CABLE PRESS DOWNS:

35lb x10

40lb x8

(45lb x8) 2x

STRAIGHT BAR CABLE CURLS:

35lb x10

(40lb x8) 2x

35lb x8

NARROW PUSHUPS:

8, 4x

EX CURL SLOW ECCENTRIC (6 SEC):

40lb x8

(50lb x6) 3x

NEGATIVE PREACHER CURLS:

*These are done with two hands to bring the weight up, and then one hand to lower it slowly.

(30lb x6 ea. side) 4x

SEATED O.H. TRI. EXTENSION:

(15lb x10) 4x

ZOTTMAN CURLS:

(20lb x8) 4x

UNDERHAND KICKBACKS:

(12lb x10) 4x

••••••••••

     I went in to tonight's session thinking it wouldn't be too bad. Oh, what a foolish, foolish girl I am. I'm much weaker than I thought I was and this workout shed a huge ass spotlight onto that fact. I didn't have any big lifts tonight, but I still worked my ass off doing all of this stuff. I'm tired, but it feels good. While I'm disappointed that I'm so weak, I'm encouraged that I'm sticking to a plan to change that. I feel good about adding in the extra volume along side the strength sets that I already do, although, I may not be able to brush my own hair in the morning. 

     Tomorrow is squats and legs. Pray for me.

Chesticles

     Today is our rest day and it was much needed. Last night was our bench day and I would say it was a good day. Here's what got done:

••••••••••

LANDMINE PRESS:

11lb / 5kg x20

22lb / 10kg x15

33lb / 15kg x10

44lb / 20kg x8

BENCH:

95lb x10

115lb x5

(135lb x3) 3x

INCLINED DB KEY PRESS:

20lb x12

25lb x10

30lb x7

30lb x8

STRAIGHT BAR O.H. FRONT RAISE:

(20lb x10) 4x

STANDING CABLE FLY:

Low to High:

20lb x12

25lb x10

30lb x8

35lb x6

SEATED PEC DEC:

Left/Right/Double:

70lb x10 / 70lb x10 / 90lb x10

70lb x10 / 70lb x10 / 80lb x10

70lb x10 / 70lb x10 / 70lb x10

••••••••••

     This week I started to increase my volume by adding one extra set onto the accessories. I had pretty much been sticking to 3 sets, now I do 4. One extra set sounds deceptively meaningless. My body can attest to the fact that there is, in fact, a lot of meaning to that one extra set per movement! Between the extra back work on Monday and the extra chest work last night, I woke up in agony this morning. Tight as the proverbial drum. I'm feeling better now, but still very sore. That being said, I look back and know that I should have done more bench work. I'm not really sure what happened there. 

     The weather has been unusually warm this week and I thought for sure that would mean less people in the gym. My thoughts were incorrect. Everyone and their uncle and some of their little cousins found their way into the weight room. I didn't like it. The weather has changed and it's supposed to be raining tomorrow. I hope that means fewer people. 

Squats & Deads

     I skipped last Thursday to give my shoulders a break. I was going to go just to do bi's & tri's, but I wasn't feeling that too much. It didn't hurt my feelings to skip the day entirely. I did not skip my favorite day squat day though. I was worried a wee bit about my knees because they weren't feeling too well, but I did better than I thought I would.

     Frank was out of state this afternoon, so deadlift day was a solo day for me in the gym. I didn't really relish the thought of going alone, but I didn't want to skip today either. I sucked it up, put my big girl pants on and trained like a boss. Keep reading to see what got done on both days.

••••••••••

FRIDAY 3/6

SQUATS:

65lb x10

95lb x15

135lb x7

(155lb x4) 3x

LANDMINE SQUATS:

45lb x6

(45lb x10) 2x

45° LEG PRESS:

(190lb x15) 3x

STANDING SHRUGS/CALF RAISES:

*I did the shrugs on the standing calf raise machine

(45lb shrugs x10 / Calf Raises x10) 3x

LEG EXTENSIONS:

(80lb x12) 3x

Single Leg:

(45lb x5) 3x ea.

INNER THIGH:
(50lb x10) 3x

OUTER THIGH:

(60lb x10) 3x

LAYING HAMSTRING CURL:

(70lb x12) 3x

MONDAY 3/9

RACK PULL:

135lb x10

185lb x10

235lb x6 (mixed grip)

(255lb x3) 3x (mixed grip)

(185lb x10) 3x

KETTLEBELL DEADLIFTS:

*Weight is per hand

(50lb x10) 3x

CHEST SUPPORTED DB ROWS:

(wide)

15lb x10

15lb x12

20lb x10

25lb x10

DB LAT ROWS:

20lb x10

25lb x10

30lb x10

35lb x10

SEATED LAT PULL DOWN:

55lb x12

65lb x10

70lb x8

75lb x8

SEATED SINGLE ARM CABLE ROW:

25lb x12

30lb x8

40lb x6

SEATED V BAR ROW:

45lb x10

(60lb x10) 3x

CABLE CHEST PULL:

30lb x12

(35lb x10) 3x

LAT PRAYER:

25lb x10

(30lb x10) 3x

••••••••••

     I know the seasons are starting to change because it's getting hot in that gym and I'm coming out of there a sweaty mess. I switched it up with some rack pulls tonight because honestly, I'm getting bored and wanted something a little different. 

     I am beginning to have some, let's say, elevated concerns, about my knees. Squats seem to be really bothering them lately. I'm getting a nagging pain in my left knee and I don't really like it and they seem to be taking longer to recover. I'm getting some discomfort on deadlifts. I'm not worried, worried; just something I'm being cautious with. 

     I missed having my Frankie with me tonight. It's definitely not as fun without him there making inappropriate comments to me. I'm glad tomorrow we'll be back to normal.

I Can't Drive 55, But I can Press It

     I was definitely feeling last night's work on my back, but that didn't stop me from hitting the bench tonight. Again, just like yesterday, we were keeping things relatively easy, just to get us back in the swing. Keep reading to find out what what down.

•••••••••

DB BENCH:

30lb x12

35lb x10

40lb x8

50lb x5

50lb x7

55lb x5

INCLINE BENCH:

65lb x10

75lb x8

(95lb x3) 3x

DECLINE BENCH:

95lb x10

(115lb x5) 2x

115lb x4

STANDING CABLE FLY:

High:

40lb x12

(45lb x8) 2x

Mid:

(35lb x6) 3x

Low:

(25lb x6) 3x

SEATED CHEST FLY:

90lb x7

90lb x5, 70lb x5

70lb x10

MACHINE CRUNCH:

(70lb x20) 3x

••••••••••

     Another good night of solid training. I have to say, being able to press the 55's makes me happy. And as much as they make me happy, the friggin' standing flys make me sad. They have got to be one of the most difficult things for me to progress on! On the mid and low positions, the weight stayed the same as last week and I was only able to add one rep. Progress is progress.

     The seated chest flys made my shoulder hurt. I don't know what he hell is going on with this shoulder, but it's really beginning to annoy me. 

     I'm not sure if I've talked about this before, but I've noticed something about myself that I don't like. I mean, there's a bunch of things I don't like, but one thing in particular is something I want to talk about here. I don't push myself as hard as I could, or should. I find myself stopping the sets as soon as I start to struggle. Let's take those first 5 reps of DB presses at 50lbs. The last rep was getting a little shaky; so I stopped. Obviously, I could've done more, and in the next set I did - I got 7 reps. Now those last couple of reps were a true struggle and I couldn't have safely gotten number eight. Why the hell did I stop at 5 on the first go 'round? 

     I don't know why I do it, but at least I've identified it. I'm trying to make a concerted effort to truly mentally push myself like I would push someone that I was helping. It's so easy to give yourself an excuse to stop and to take it easy, but that's not how I want to be. Obviously, if there's pain (like my shoulder), then stop and assess the situation, but discomfort is not the same as pain. Push through discomfort.

     All that aside, it was a solid, fun, productive night. Tomorrow is rest day so we'll see you back here on Thursday.

Back In The Routine

     Tonight was our first day back to the gym in a week. We planned to ease back in and that's exactly what we did. Nothing crazy went down, but it was a good effort and felt great to be back. Here's what we got done tonight:

••••••••••

DEADLIFTS:

89lb x10

2" Deficit:

133lb x10

(199lb x3) 3x

133lb x10

89lb x10

RDL:

BARBELL:

111lb x10

156lb x5

KB SINGLE LEG:

50lb x5 ea.

50lb x10 ea.

RACK PULL UPS:

(Feet on a tire)

x8, x5, x8

BARBELL ROWS:

Bar x12

89lb x6

89lb x7

SEATED OPEN CABLE ROW:

(70lb x12) 3x

SINGLE ARM LAT PULL DOWN:

35lb x12 ea.

40lb x10 ea.

45lb x8 ea.

DOUBLE LAT PULL DOWN:

(Done on the isolateral cable machine)

35lb x7

(35lb x10) 2x

MACHINE CRUNCH:

(60lb x20) 3x

••••••••••

     It was a good night, nothing crazy but it was a good night back into the routine. I'm not very good at those rack pullups, but I'm sticking with them. I also saw a a sign on the wall that they're actually getting a safety squat bar! I'm excited! I liked doing squats with that bar. It's good for adding some variety into our training. They also got an axle bar, and a Swiss bar and a Texas bar. Oh, and they also have 2 new stand fans so there's some friggin air flow in there. It helps to clear out some of he swampiness that can linger in there. IYKYK.

     I guess that's all for tonight. Kind of a boring night, but sometimes boring is good. I mean, I can't always be a firecracker. 

Snow Days

     I had said that I wanted to scale back a little this week because of some general fatigue issues. Welp, Mother Nature heard and delivered. The Blizzard of '26 threw a monkey wrench into everyone's plans this week! We, along with upwards of 60% of our town, lost power on Monday morning. We just got it back last night at 11:59pm. We have a generator, so we had heat and some appliances, but no hot water. It's been a hell of a week. Our road wasn't even cleared until last night as well. Em has had the entire week off and I said screw it, I'm taking my sick time. I wasn't trying to get my car stuck somewhere along the way to work.

     The gym has been closed and I'm not even sure if they'll be open tomorrow. There's just so much snow and nowhere to put it. I didn't measure but I know we got at least 30". So what has our activity been? SHOVELING! We shoveled the cars out, and the walkway. Then we shoveled them again. A path to the chicken coop was shoveled and then when all was said and done, I had to shovel out to the garden to get to the back of the coop. After our house was cleared as much as possible, we made our way to my Mom's house. Frank took to snow-blowing the driveway and deck and Em & I tackled the snow on the roof with the roof rake.

     It's actually been kind of nice. All of us home, taking care of our own. I had planned on taking today to go do some sledding with Em, but she went to her dad's a day early. The snow will still be here when she gets back! You would think that not going to the gym would have resulted in me gaining some weight. After all, I also partook of some pizza and onion rings. If you thought that though, you'd be wrong. I'm actually down about 3lbs! You know why? because I'm not sitting on my ass all day behind a desk. I've been spending my time keeping busy - some things were very physical, like the dang roof rake and shoveling, but some things were just small things like cleaning, or walking outside. 

     Now, as far as getting back to the gym, I'll be easing back in next week, keeping things on the lighter side to make sure all my joints are up for it. I've decided I'm no longer doing lateral raises. There are other things I can do to keep my shoulders strong that won't cause me issue. I don't know why I'm so fixated on doing that one particular movement. 

     I guess that's all for now. Here's to slowing down, staying busy and making progress.