04/05/2007:
Warmup: Arc Trainer for 10 minutes @ level 25 @ c. 130 SPM
Deadlift: 225x5, 275x4, 305x2, 340x1, 365x0.9 (I don't think I got my shoulders all the way back on the lockout, would have been a 10-lb PR), 365x0, 365x0 (didn't even get it off the floor either time), 315x1
Straight-Back, Stiff-Leg DL: 80x6
BW Pullups: 7
Straight-Back, Stiff-Leg DL: 80x5
BW Pullups: 3
Total lift time: 43 minutes
Cool-down: TB Elliptical for 20 minutes on "interval" setting. This thing's intervals were 1 minute at low resitance ("level 5") and 1 minute at a barely higher "level 8." Kept my strides/minute around 130 for the low(er) periods and 160 for the high(er) ones. If I use this setting again, I will need to increase the level. This was next to nothing.
Stretch: 10 minutes basic static stretches.
Bodyweight: 197
Fooled around with the CoC#2 later that evening: bad mistake. Hands were fried from the workout, and I could barely budge the thing with my left hand. Additional frustration was not what I needed.
Notes:
My second cycle of the ExRx.net "Basic Power Cycle" is in the books. I'll go update the front page accordingly. The first cycle saw an 11% increase in my three-lift total, and the second resulted in a 4% increase (15% overall). I think that the big jump from the first cycle can probably be attributed to just getting better at the lifts and a dash of newbie gains. I'll give it another run-through (c. 9 weeks) before passing any final judgement; if it can get me past this little plateau I've hit, great. If not, I'll find something else. Rippetoe's "Starting Strength" seems to be an obvious choice; otherwise, I'll probably try something assembled from the S&P FAQ suggested workout.
Gym Notes:
In the midst of failing to set a personal record, I had the opportunity to observe one of the resident bicep monkeys at close range. Denied his usual curling spot in the power rack, he adapted by simply moving over to a near-by flat bench and using its rack to rest the bar between sets. Weights used for his barbell curls ranged from 65 to 85 pounds, (i.e. 2 or 4 10-lb plates on the bar), despite our gym having pre-loaded bars at 60, 70, 80 and 90 lbs not but twenty feet away. I think I understand part of the curl-monkeys' behavior: biceps get noticed, and if you want bigger biceps, you do curls. It's the compulsion to use a rack (power, or bench, apparently) to rest the bar between sets that I don't understand.
MMA Notes:
Watched Ultimate Fight Night, though I got home too late to catch Florian/Mishima. Three things really jumped out at me:
1.Joe Stevenson is a dangerous SOB.
2. Nate Mohr has some fast, fast hands and could develop into a force to be reckoned with.
3. Frank Mir had to be sitting on his couch somewhere, thinking that training injury be damned, he should have stuck with the fight with Hardonk. Hardonk/McCully was just an ugly fight, and if I'd been a judge, I would have sent both of them home with a loss if I could.
As for TUF5: WTF is up with all these scrawny-ass lightweights? I mean, Yves Edwards had been my image for a tall, lanky lightweight at 5'10", but some of these guys make Edwards look like Fedor. Cole Miller is 6'1", and according to the fight finder, has fought at 145. Spike/UFC says that Corey Hill is 6'4", and the idea of someone my height fighting at 155 just baffles me. Normally, I always pull for the tall, lanky guys, but this is a bit much.
