A Tale Told by an Idiot

[EricK]

Tue, 5/7/24

198.7

Guitar:

1:30
-Take it Easy
-No Rain
-Teenage Dirtbag

Press / BB row:
W/u (no belt) - 95 x 12, 135 x 12
H (no belt, DOH) - [ 135 x 8, 155 x 10 ] x 4

Deadlift:
W/u (no belt, DOH) - 225 x 8, 315 x 3
S (belt) - 370 x 2, 415 x 1, 370 x 2

RDL / Dip:
H (no belt, DOH 1st set, straps after) - [ 265 x 10, BW x 12 ] x 3

LTE / BO fly:
H - [ 87 x 10, 22.5 x 15 ] x 3

Good session. Work trip today into tomorrow. Might check out the hotel gym. Or not.

[EricK]

PWO assessment:

Although I didn't turn my triceps into rocks this time (maybe if I threw in another set...?), my arms kept cramping in the shower. So. Almost as cool.

[DanCR]

PWO assessment:

Although I didn't turn my triceps into rocks this time (maybe if I threw in another set...?), my arms kept cramping in the shower. So. Almost as cool.

Confirmation that you were awesome and can rest, absolved of any need to subject yourself to the hotel gym.

[broseph]

my primary complaint is my lack of consistency...

When people start working out and ask me for tips and tricks I tell them to work hard but not too hard and to be brutally robotically consistent.

This is also why I consider maintaining to be winning, because if you never lose ground and only occasionally make gainz... progress.

Although I didn't turn my triceps into rocks this time (maybe if I threw in another set...?), my arms kept cramping in the shower. So. Almost as cool.

Tricep cramps are the only cramps I don't mind. They only come after being decently worked (like you), and they don't hurt like other boys cramps (unlike you).

[EricK]

PWO assessment:

Although I didn't turn my triceps into rocks this time (maybe if I threw in another set...?), my arms kept cramping in the shower. So. Almost as cool.

Confirmation that you were awesome and can rest, absolved of any need to subject yourself to the hotel gym.

Against Dan's better judgement, I decided to race my son in pushups. First one to do his bodyweight in pushups wins (cumulative total). He weighs 73 lbs and I weighed 197 this morning.

He smoked me. Finished his while I finished 102. Got that rock feeling in my triceps again. I'm sure that won't affect tomorrow's workout at all...

my primary complaint is my lack of consistency...

When people start working out and ask me for tips and tricks I tell them to work hard but not too hard and to be brutally robotically consistent.

This is also why I consider maintaining to be winning, because if you never lose ground and only occasionally make gainz... progress.

I believe it is the most important thing in the long term... I just kinda suck at it...haha

Although I didn't turn my triceps into rocks this time (maybe if I threw in another set...?), my arms kept cramping in the shower. So. Almost as cool.

Tricep cramps are the only cramps I don't mind. They only come after being decently worked (like you), and they don't hurt like other boys cramps (unlike you).

Today's #meatheaddad idea is dedicated to broseph.

[EricK]

Mon, 5/6/24

200.1

Guitar:
1:00
-Teenage Dirtbag
-Take it Easy
-The Joker

[ Squat, chin ]:
W/u (no belt) - 135 x 8, 225 x 8, (belt) 275 x 8
S (belt) - [ 325 x 2, BW x 8 ] x 2
H (belt) - [ 265 x 8, BW x 10 ] x 3

[ Bench, curl ]:
W/u (no belt) - 135 x 12, 185 x 12, (belt) 245 x 8
S (belt) - [ 275 x 2, 62 x 10 ] x 3
H (belt) - [ 225 x 8, 62 x 15 ] x 3

[DanCR]

You really are not fucking around with these sessions. I’ve been enjoying following the simplicity, and the masochism.

[EricK]

You really are not fucking around with these sessions. I’ve been enjoying following the simplicity, and the masochism.

To maintain pace after the warmup sets, I count down from 60 before starting the next couplet set. If I feel like I can't breathe or might fail the next set, I count down from 90. Sometimes I have to go up to 120.

I could taste the lactate during the squat hypertrophy sets and got a nice pump in my boobies during bench. And I was walking around like I just woke up from a Saturday night with @mgil. It's honestly not surprising that I complain about aches and pains. What is surprising is that I don't have more of them. I definitely feel better (though maybe a little beat up) throughout the day after a hard session.

I sure hope the simplicity works. I just need to keep my shit together for a few weeks to see how it goes...

[DanCR]

You really are not fucking around with these sessions. I’ve been enjoying following the simplicity, and the masochism.

To maintain pace after the warmup sets, I count down from 60 before starting the next couplet set. If I feel like I can't breathe or might fail the next set, I count down from 90. Sometimes I have to go up to 120.

I could taste the lactate during the squat hypertrophy sets and got a nice pump in my boobies during bench. And I was walking around like I just woke up from a Saturday night with mgil. It's honestly not surprising that I complain about aches and pains. What is surprising is that I don't have more of them. I definitely feel better (though maybe a little beat up) throughout the day after a hard session.

I sure hope the simplicity works. I just need to keep my shit together for a few weeks to see how it goes...

I would walk around for ten minutes between those sets.

[mgil]

You’re so shapely and strong.

[EricK]

Fri, 5/10/24

198.2

Guitar:

1:30
-Take it Easy
-The Joker
-Teenage Dirtbag

Press / BB row:
W/u (no belt) - [ 135 x 5, 135 x 10 ], [ 135 x 8, 155 x 10 ]
H (no belt, DOH) - [ 155 x 5, 165 x 8 ], [ 135 x 8, 155 x 10 ] x 2

Deadlift:
W/u (no belt, DOH) - 225 x 8, 315 x 5
S (belt) - 365 x 5, 395 x 2 x 2

RDL / Dip / LTE / BO fly:
H (no belt, DOH) - [ 165 x 8, BW x 12, 87 x 12*, 22.5 (ea.) x 15 ] x 3

CrossFit Games here I come...

*Last set was 87 x 8, I was losing control of the bar and hit my head and decided that would be a lame obituary.

[EricK]

In conjunction with a vicious apathy, and persistent affection for booze, I'm still annoyed that my right elbow still hurts. I figured it'd heal by now. It doesn't hurt all the time but definitely when flexing the elbow...

[DanCR]

In conjunction with a vicious apathy, and persistent affection for booze, I'm still annoyed that my right elbow still hurts. I figured it'd heal by now. It doesn't hurt all the time but definitely when flexing the elbow...

I know that you know this, but it'll very likely hurt less if you do some shit with it. Not all the shit, but some shit.

I get it, though. The only thing that I can't do right now is squat but therefore I don't want to do a damn thing.

[mgil]

In conjunction with a vicious apathy, and persistent affection for booze, I'm still annoyed that my right elbow still hurts. I figured it'd heal by now. It doesn't hurt all the time but definitely when flexing the elbow...

Switch to the left hand.

[EricK]

Mon, 5/20/24

204.9 ha

Guitar:
0:45
-Solsbury Hill; this song is a solid lesson in Travis picking and it's definitely a stretch for me, but it would be cool to play it recognizably.
-Norwegian Wood; this is a fun song, the verse riff is the only challenging part that requires accurate picking in rhythm.

Lifting:
Warming up with some squats and pushups. Joints hurt for some reason.

In conjunction with a vicious apathy, and persistent affection for booze, I'm still annoyed that my right elbow still hurts. I figured it'd heal by now. It doesn't hurt all the time but definitely when flexing the elbow...

I know that you know this, but it'll very likely hurt less if you do some shit with it. Not all the shit, but some shit.

I get it, though. The only thing that I can't do right now is squat but therefore I don't want to do a damn thing.

General motivation is pretty low. I don't understand it. I had a great week then threw away all my momentum. Now I can't seem to get through a warmup.

In conjunction with a vicious apathy, and persistent affection for booze, I'm still annoyed that my right elbow still hurts. I figured it'd heal by now. It doesn't hurt all the time but definitely when flexing the elbow...

Switch to the left hand.

Still wouldn't feel like yours.

[DanCR]

Lifting:
Warming up with some squats and pushups. Joints hurt for some reason.

In conjunction with a vicious apathy, and persistent affection for booze, I'm still annoyed that my right elbow still hurts. I figured it'd heal by now. It doesn't hurt all the time but definitely when flexing the elbow...

I know that you know this, but it'll very likely hurt less if you do some shit with it. Not all the shit, but some shit.

I get it, though. The only thing that I can't do right now is squat but therefore I don't want to do a damn thing.

General motivation is pretty low. I don't understand it. I had a great week then threw away all my momentum. Now I can't seem to get through a warmup.

To be fair, your sessions, while awesome, also were the stuff of nightmares. If I started warming up for that shit, knowing what was ahead, I might be inclined to dip too. I don't know that that's the issue, but, if it might be, perhaps for your next planned session go in with the intent to do something effective but less. When I feel that way, I usually just work up triples or something along those lines. Feel heavy weight but not wanna cut my throat with a dull spoon. Sooner or later you'll be up for self-inflicted torture again.

[EricK]

Tue, 5/21/24

200.4

Guitar:

1:30
-Spider Box; 92 bpm, quarter notes. Not sure what else to call it but it's a finger exercise that also helps coordinate the left and right hands, individual finger control on the left hand and string accuracy on both hands. Start at fret 1 on the 6th string going up to fret 4 one finger at a time before starting the pattern on string 5; after completing the pattern on string 1, slide up to fret 5 with the first finger then repeat going from string 1 to string 6. Once done with string 6, start over but going backwards from fret 4 to 1 on string 6 and so on. The frets are farther apart the lower the fret number, so it was challenging to fret the strings correctly there. I'd like to do this as a warm up for a while to strengthen and improve the reach and coordination of my fretting hand.
-Solsbury Hill; worked for a while on just getting the thumb rhythm while changing chords as I've heard it's a good way to get Taylor picking down. Still really only on the intro piece but I felt good about today.
-Norwegian Wood; working on getting the verse riff accurately in time (tapping my foot) and looping without a hitch between parts. The chorus is super easy, so I just want to make sure I can do the verse right.

Push-ups / Squat:
BW x 40, 135 x 8

Taking Dan's advice, I told myself I'd at least do some pushups and squats, but nothing challenging. I was having more fun practicing guitar anyway...

Lifting:
Warming up with some squats and pushups. Joints hurt for some reason.

In conjunction with a vicious apathy, and persistent affection for booze, I'm still annoyed that my right elbow still hurts. I figured it'd heal by now. It doesn't hurt all the time but definitely when flexing the elbow...

I know that you know this, but it'll very likely hurt less if you do some shit with it. Not all the shit, but some shit.

I get it, though. The only thing that I can't do right now is squat but therefore I don't want to do a damn thing.

General motivation is pretty low. I don't understand it. I had a great week then threw away all my momentum. Now I can't seem to get through a warmup.

To be fair, your sessions, while awesome, also were the stuff of nightmares. If I started warming up for that shit, knowing what was ahead, I might be inclined to dip too. I don't know that that's the issue, but, if it might be, perhaps for your next planned session go in with the intent to do something effective but less. When I feel that way, I usually just work up triples or something along those lines. Feel heavy weight but not wanna cut my throat with a dull spoon. Sooner or later you'll be up for self-inflicted torture again.

That's not outside the realm of the possible, but it was only one week and I felt great after the tough sessions. Tired, but motivated.

I think the bigger problem is that I still drink too much on the weekend and it has lingering affects into the next week. I'm more tired on Monday than I should be and I'm not a doctor, but I think it affects my tendons/ligaments/joints somehow, because warmups hurt more after a weekend where I drank too much. And, obviously it also contributes to my lack of weight loss... Anyway it's probably just a good idea for me to stay away from it for a while at least.

[DanCR]

To be fair, your sessions, while awesome, also were the stuff of nightmares. If I started warming up for that shit, knowing what was ahead, I might be inclined to dip too. I don't know that that's the issue, but, if it might be, perhaps for your next planned session go in with the intent to do something effective but less. When I feel that way, I usually just work up triples or something along those lines. Feel heavy weight but not wanna cut my throat with a dull spoon. Sooner or later you'll be up for self-inflicted torture again.

That's not outside the realm of the possible, but it was only one week and I felt great after the tough sessions. Tired, but motivated.

I think the bigger problem is that I still drink too much on the weekend and it has lingering affects into the next week. I'm more tired on Monday than I should be and I'm not a doctor, but I think it affects my tendons/ligaments/joints somehow, because warmups hurt more after a weekend where I drank too much. And, obviously it also contributes to my lack of weight loss... Anyway it's probably just a good idea for me to stay away from it for a while at least.

I can get pretty well beat up off beer and lift the next day with little to no issue. Liquor, though, forget it - out of commission for three days and yes, everything hurts. I really enjoy whiskey but barely touch it anymore because the consequences aren't worth it.

[EricK]

Wed, 5/22/24

199.7

Guitar:

1:30
-Spider Box; 92 bpm, quarter notes. Left hand definitely wore out quickly. I restrung my guitar yesterday with "coated strings" to try them out (I broke the low E string playing Teenage Dirtbag) and they felt slippery. Maybe that will make slides easier?
-Solsbury Hill; I feel like the focus on the bass rhythm didn't stick or didn't help much today, but I only did it one day. Still working on the intro.
-Norwegian Wood; verse riff starting to feel more solid although I'm not as accurate on picking specific strings as I'd like to be.

No exercise. No excuses.