Exodus Strength

2023 14 Feb Tuesday Late-Night

Run: About an hour.


Stared out fast. Thought to myself “Wow. Running gains are finally kicking in.” Then I gassed out early. What I thought were gains were more likely just bursts of enthusiasm.

More cars out than normal tonight. Driving like assholes. Didn’t know why. Then realized it’s Valentine’s Day. F, I’m a loser.

I haven’t lost weight yet. But I’ve stopped getting fatter. And might be my imagination, but clothes seem to fit a little better.
Good times.

2023 Feb 15 Wed Evening

Main
Ssb Squat: 300 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 270 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 225 x 8s x 6r
T-Bar Rows (close grip): 210 x 7s x 8r

Aux
Scap Chins: 5s x 10r
Reverse Hyper: 160 x 5s x 10r

Tonnage
Ssb Squat: 4,500
Bench: (4,050 + 10,800) = 14,850
T-Bar Rows: 11,280
————————————————————
Total: 30,630

#############################

I’ve run 2 or 3 nights in a row, each time for an hour, and i lifted on Monday. Sleep has been poor. Figured my legs would be fried when it was time to squat tonight. Nope! Actually squatted a bit heavier than normal. Legs felt great while squatting. Weirdly, it was, if anything, my intercostals and random upper back muscles that felt a little exhausted. Usually I don’t feel them at all.

Had a few extra minutes for once. So did a few extra sets.

Funny, all the weights for my main lifts are divisible by 15.

2023 Feb 16 Thursday Afternoon

Run: 90 minutes outdoors. ~1500 calories

#######################

Usually I can’t run till late at night. Or, I could run earlier, but my priorities only leave me late night to run.

Today was a weird one schedule wise, and I got to run in the afternoon with the sun out, fresh rather than exhausted. Incredible experience! Running was so much easier and more fun!!!

2023 Feb 17 Friday Afternoon

Main
Deads (double overhand): 315 x 6 x 6
Bench: 270 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 230 x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows (close grip): 210 x 5s x 8r
T-Bar Rows (wide grip): 185 x 5s x 10r

Aux
Scapular Chins: 5s x 10r
Reverse Hyper: 160 x 5s x 10r

Tonnage
Deads: 11,340
Bench: (4,050 + 8,280) = 12,330
T-Bar Rows: (8,400 + 9,250) = 17,650
——————————————————————-
Total: 41,220

################################

Deadlifts were not heavy at all tonight. But they were all double overhand, no straps.

Good times.

2023 Feb 19 Sunday morning

Run: 75 minutes outside

Running may not be as awesome as lifting. Especially when it’s a fat guy doing it slowly as is my case. But the endorphins, improved nasal breathing, lower heart rate, and improved sleep are all real and awesome.

Once upon a time, ironically when I was in great cardio shape, I bought into the myth that lifting doubled as sufficient cardio. Nonsense. Fuck I was stupid. (To be clear, I still am stupid, but I also was stupid.)

You need a subscription to read the whole thing, but even the beginning is great. Matt Taiibi article on how “Freedom” became not even just partisan, but an actual low-class pejorative of a term.

https://open.substack.com/pub/taibbi/p/ ... medium=web

2023 Feb 20 Monday Night

Main
Ssb Squat: 300 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 260 x 5 x 5
Bench: 230 x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows: 210 x 5s x 8r

Aux
Scapular Chins: 5s x 10r
Reverse Hyper: 160 x 5s x 10r

Tonnage
Ssb Squat: 4,500
Bench: (6,500 + 8,280) = 14,780
T-Bar Rows: 8,400
————————————————————
Total: 27,680

#############################

Long day. Not a fan of working out this late.
Even more, I’m not a fan of skipping sessions. So here we are.

hector wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2023 5:54 pm Long day. Not a fan of working out this late.
Even more, I’m not a fan of skipping sessions. So here we are.

My day/evening exactly. I remember when I used to look forward to getting in the gym at like 11pm because that was “my time.” That seems like forever ago. Nowadays I wouldn’t last until 11:05.

DCR wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2023 7:19 pm

hector wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2023 5:54 pm Long day. Not a fan of working out this late.
Even more, I’m not a fan of skipping sessions. So here we are.

My day/evening exactly. I remember when I used to look forward to getting in the gym at like 11pm because that was “my time.” That seems like forever ago. Nowadays I wouldn’t last until 11:05.

It’s so hard sometimes!
Getting that inconvenient workout in might be the line separating enthusiast from junky.

2023 Feb 20 Monday Late-Night

Run: 3.5 miles

After 2 months of blissful and carefree running, an issue has emerged. I think it’s shin splints.
A million years ago in high school track I remember the prescription was to write out the alphabet with your toes, in the air. This would put your foot and ankle through a complete range of motion.
Did it actually help the shin splints?
Was it a placebo?
Were the shinsplints going to go away regardless, and this folk remedy just gave the student athletes a sense of control allowing them to keep the course?
Maybe all 3?

hector wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2023 8:30 pm 2023 Feb 20 Monday Late-Night

Run: 3.5 miles

After 2 months of blissful and carefree running, an issue has emerged. I think it’s shin splints.
A million years ago in high school track I remember the prescription was to write out the alphabet with your toes, in the air. This would put your foot and ankle through a complete range of motion.
Did it actually help the shin splints?
Was it a placebo?
Were the shinsplints going to go away regardless, and this folk remedy just gave the student athletes a sense of control allowing them to keep the course?
Maybe all 3?

Shooting in the dark here, but this might be worth a look.

Could've sworn I paid a good bit less for mine, though. Titan on some bullshit right now, it seems.

Also:

He doesn't explain the supposed benefits of isolated tibialis anterior training (that I can recall anyway; been awhile since I've watched this video), but I do remember @mbasic once saying something about endurance runners using tibia stuff to ward off shin splints.

Renascent wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2023 9:16 pm

hector wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2023 8:30 pm 2023 Feb 20 Monday Late-Night

Run: 3.5 miles

After 2 months of blissful and carefree running, an issue has emerged. I think it’s shin splints.
A million years ago in high school track I remember the prescription was to write out the alphabet with your toes, in the air. This would put your foot and ankle through a complete range of motion.
Did it actually help the shin splints?
Was it a placebo?
Were the shinsplints going to go away regardless, and this folk remedy just gave the student athletes a sense of control allowing them to keep the course?
Maybe all 3?

Shooting in the dark here, but this might be worth a look.

Could've sworn I paid a good bit less for mine, though. Titan on some bullshit right now, it seems.

Also:

He doesn't explain the supposed benefits of isolated tibialis anterior training (that I can recall anyway; been awhile since I've watched this video), but I do remember @mbasic once saying something about endurance runners using tibia stuff to ward off shin splints.

Thank you!

Titan is doing some weird shit. They raised all their prices. But then they’ll randomly drop prices on certain equipment almost every day and notify you via email.

Anyway, ordered!
But the Titan one was kind of pricey. I ordered the Rogue tb-1. Same muscles worked, but different machine, and cheaper.

21 Feb 2023 Tuesday

Cardio: ~45 minutes

To mitigate knee pain from running outside I went to a commercial gym and did cardio.
Did elliptical, then another kind of elliptical without movable arms, then treadmill.
Should have just started with treadmill.

I think one driver of the knee pain was running on sidewalks. Hard, unforgiving surface. Treadmill wasn’t bad at all.

2023 Nov 23 Thursday Night

Main
Deads: 425 x 3s x 5r (straps)
Deads: 315 x 5 x 5 (no straps, double overhand)
Bench: 260 x 5 x 5
Bench: 230 x 5s x 6r
T-Bar Rows: 210 x 5s x 8r

Tonnage
Deads: (6,375 + 7,875) = 14,250
Bench: (6,500 + 6,900) = 13,400
T-Bar Rows: 8,400
———————————————————-
Total: 35,950

############################

Time was short. Skipped out on aux exercises.

Bench was not easy tonight. A few years ago I would have over-analyzed, given undue import to small variations in the pattern of my life, and assumed that my off day was because of factor X.

Now, older and more boring, I know the off day is due to sleep, under-eating, stress, nefarious Thetans, or a hundred other things I can’t think of. It’s just an off day. Continue forward, no different than if it was a new PR day.

Excited to run later. Hope I can stay awake.

Reading this article on running. Has about as much applicability to my life as an article on how to bench 500. I find it fun to read regardless:

https://www.outsideonline.com/health/ru ... c-monster/

Also, as tough as it was to quit drinking coke, I may have found an excuse to go back:

https://nypost.com/2023/02/22/drinking- ... study/amp/

hector wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 6:12 pmA few years ago I would have over-analyzed, given undue import to small variations in the pattern of my life, and assumed that my off day was because of factor X.

Now, older and more boring, I know the off day is due to sleep, under-eating, stress, nefarious Thetans, or a hundred other things I can’t think of. It’s just an off day. Continue forward, no different than if it was a new PR day.

Heh. I like this train of thought.

Renascent wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 6:23 pm

hector wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 6:12 pmA few years ago I would have over-analyzed, given undue import to small variations in the pattern of my life, and assumed that my off day was because of factor X.

Now, older and more boring, I know the off day is due to sleep, under-eating, stress, nefarious Thetans, or a hundred other things I can’t think of. It’s just an off day. Continue forward, no different than if it was a new PR day.

Heh. I like this train of thought.

Thanks!
If I had every variable dialed in then maybe in the event of an off day I could tease out or tweak one factor. But when everything is a shit show it’s just an exercise in futility.
Can only keep plowing ahead. Maybe try to improve things broadly that you already know are shitty. Or not.

2023 Feb 23 Thursday Late-Night

Run: 1 hour.

Glad I got it in. Could definitely feel it in my quads that I’d done deadlifts a few hours before. Small price to pay for feeling generally a little healthier all the time and watching my resting heart rate trend downward. Beyond that it was actually even a little . . . fun?

(Not used to thinking about running in that term.)

2023 Feb 25 Saturday afternoon

Run: 70 minutes.

Schedule got messed up this week. To make up for the missed day, i could have lifted or run today. Normally, I always prioritize lifting.

But, this currently is the Couch to 5K log, so I ran instead. And more than 5k.

2023 Feb 26 Sunday Morning

Run: 7.69 miles.


Slow as fuck. Took 90 something minutes. Fuck ton of walking.

2023 Feb 27 Monday

Main
Ssb Squat: 300 x 4s x 5r
Bench: 260 x 5 x 5
Bench: 230 x 6 x 6
T-Bar Rows (close grip): 210 x 6s x 8r

Aux
Tib Bar: 11lb x 3s x 10r
Scap Chins: 5s x 10r
Hanging Feet Lift: 5s x 8r
Reverse Hyper: 160 x 5s x 10r

Tonnage
Ssb Squat: 6,000
Bench: (6,500 + 8,280) = 14,780
T-Bar Rows: 10,080
————————————————————
Total: 30,860

############################

Highlights:
(1) Squats improving. Slight volume increase.
(2) Slight volume increase in T-Bar Rows.
(3) Tib Bar!!! First time using it. Maybe my tibia were already burned out from running 5-6 miles on Saturday and then almost 8 on Sunday, but i felt it deep in my weak tibia. Seems good so far. Besides working the tibia muscle, I like the weighted stretch on the way down on each rep.

Weirdly, after doing Tib curls, some hip flexor discomfort eased up. No idea what the connection there is, but it was immediate, which makes me think more than a coincidence.

Just realized I had leftover steak for breakfast and then, for lunch, lomo saltado (it’s a kind of stir fry with steak and French fries and onions and tomatoes.) Maybe the double steak I ate today is the reason the workout went so well.

hector wrote: ↑Mon Feb 27, 2023 5:00 pm Just realized I had leftover steak for breakfast and then, for lunch, lomo saltado (it’s a kind of stir fry with steak and French fries and onions and tomatoes.) Maybe the double steak I ate today is the reason the workout went so well.

I’ve never gone on gear, but I can’t fathom that it’s much different than when I eat a fuck ton of carbs all day.