Legs, legs, and more legs.

Last night, Hos and I met around 8pm to work our legs.  I started my workout with jump squats, as I normally do for leg day.  I just did 3 sets of 6 to get warmed up. 2 sets @ 135, and another @ 155.  Next we moved to back squats.  I did 135, 225, 275, 315, 335.  That's the most weight I have done, with squats.
Next we jumped to dead lifts.  They went relatively well.  Again, my grip fails me before my back or legs give out, so..straps it is.  I finished @ 245.
Finally we jumped on the ground squat machine to do Bulgarian split squats.  It was nice doing them on the ground squat machine, but honestly, i'd rather do it with the barbell.  I feel like I was cheating myself out of something by using a machine.
This morning I went in with the intention of biking for an hour.  Problem was, the bikes were taken, so I decided to do biceps and triceps.  That workout was a train wreck right from the beginning.  Everything I did hurt, and not just ached, but actually hurt.  My joints in my elbows, and wrists especially, as well as my forearms.  I'm not sure what my body was telling me, but I took it easy, and bailed out of there after about 35 or 40 minutes.

More Progress

Last night was a night of milestones for both Steve and I.  Steve pushed 300 for the first time on the flat bench last night, and I pushed 255 for the first time in I don't know how many years.  My flat bench sets went really well.  I started at 185 for 10 fairly easy reps, I probably could have pushed out 12.  Next I did 205 8x, 225 5.5x , and then 245 2x.  I then tried 255 again, with success.  I should have tried to push to 260, but I wanted to save something for later.  Next we did dips.  I finished at 70lbs 4x.  Incline  bench was another milestone for me.  I had set a goal of 215 at least once last night.  I was able to do it twice, so what the heck, I wanted to try 225.  I was able to get 225 half way, and it just stuck.  I'm thinking by next week, I should be able to get 225 at least once.
Prior to my chest workout, before Steve got to the Y, I had to do a quick back workout.  So I did 17 pull-ups with my body weight, then for the next 8 I did it with 25lbs. I then went to bent over rows, and finished at 205 for 4 reps.  Again, my grip gave out before my back really did, so straps are definitely in my future.
This morning Brandon and I gave running routes another shot.  He was in much better shape today than yesterday and was doing great.  I also ran routes, and had him play full time QB for a bit.  I dropped one really easy pass over the middle, but caught everything else.  I do need to stretch out my calves as well, before cutting as hard as I was.  My calves and shins are aching quite a bit.

Holidays, and screwed up schedules

The past 5 days have been pretty quiet in terms of working out.  Thursday was Thanksgiving, which went by like a flash.  I cannot believe we are on our way to Xmas already.  I love Xmas, but it comes up way too quick.
Friday I met Hos at the gym around 8pm.  Liam had been with me all day, and sick for 90% of it.  Liam ran a 101.5 fever most of the day, and was very lethargic, and I just felt terrible.  There was nothing I could do but lay down with him, put a cool rag on his head, and try and make him feel good.  We sat and watched a Spongebob marathon, and that seemed to do the trick.  By 6pm he was down a 99 temp, and was a different kid completely.  He wanted to eat, and wrestle around, and just wanted to get up and do things.  By 8 he was ready for bed, and I was on my way to the gym.  Hos and I did shoulders.  We started with our clean and press, and both ended at 145 4x.  We then went to military press, and again, I ended at 55, but next week (this week actually) I will do 60's.  We then moved on to upright rows, which again, stayed the same,  and finished with shrugs.  I usually alternate between the two, between sets, but this time I just finished all my upright row sets, and then went over to shrugs.
I took the rest of the weekend off to spend with family on Saturday, and fishing on Sunday.  It was a nice couple days off, but I was ready to be back at it this morning with Brandon.  Problem is, Brandon had a rough go this morning.  He hadn't eaten anything, and so got sick to his stomach almost right away after running a bit.  So we took it easy and just ran smaller routes half speed.  Concentrated more on our hands, than route running.
Tonight the cycle starts over, and we are back on chest.  I'm hoping to get 255 tonight on the bench, and 215 on the incline.

New Intra Workout Supplement

I have been looking at using AEN's IntrAbolic as my Intra Workout Supplement, but the problem is, I cannot find it anywhere around here.  I've also contemplated using MuscleFeast's Anabolic Competition, but I haven't received the samples yet, so I am going to hold off.  I also searched around for Universal's IntraAid, but again, I cannot find it locally.  I have been using Bodybuilding.com's top 10 list for IntraWorkout Products, and I see Purple Wraath was on there, and read a lot on the forums, and Purple Wraath seems to be getting great reviews, so I decided to give it a shot.  I will write a full review after I finish my first tub.  As I had mentioned in an earlier post, once I get get some samples from the other manufacturers, and use them side by side, i'll also try and do a comparison on the products.

Sprint to the finish

Last night was my second sprinting session.  It went a heck of a lot better than the first one.  Last night was also my first time using Purple Wraath as an intra workout supplement.  Honestly, I cannot tell if it did anything at all, but again, it was the first time.  I was sweating a ton, but I was sweating a lot during my first session.
I really believe that these sessions are going to make a huge difference.  The funny thing is, it is like learning how to run again, after 35 years.  I really appreciate Mike giving me this opportunity, and allowing me to train at XLR8.

Who put that wall there?

Last night was the first time since I started lifting again that my bench did not go up.  I am not sure what the main factor was, but I am thinking that it was due to the fact that I was coming over shoulders, back, and then chest without any rest in between.  I did manage to get to 245, and did that once, but when I tried 255, I was unable to get it off my chest.  Last week I did 250, and it felt good, I thought for sure 255 would have been doable.  I'm not going to get too down about it though.  I was able to manage 205 on the incline again, and did 6 dips with 55lbs. All in all, I cannot complain about my workout last night.  I was just concerned with hitting a sticking point.  I'm sure i'll get over 255 next week, and move one step closer to 225 x 10, and 315 x 1.

This morning Brandon and I went and did our normal skills training.  I was extremely impressed with how good his hands are.  He made some catches today that just floored me.  I know I was no where near as good as he is, when I was his age.  He has a lot going for him, and I believe it is all because of the work he has put in.  I remember when I first started dating Kathy, and I met the boys, Brandon didn't have all the skills he has now.  He has really caught on, and worked hard to be where he is.  My point being, it wasn't natural talent, but hard work that made him what he is.  The kid is dedicated, and willing to do whatever it takes to get to where he wants to be.  I cannot say enough about him, and his work ethic.

Three posts in one.

I got a little lazy with my blog updates this past weekend, even though I did workout on both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday, Steve and I did shoulders.  We started with clean and press, which we both ended at 145.  We then moved on to Military press, with dumbbells.  Steve ended at 50's, and me 55's.  We finished our shoulder day with upright rows, and shrugs.  I usually just go back and forth between the two without resting.  Needless to say, shoulder day was pretty light, compared to our leg day.
Sunday, I only had a small window to workout.  I got to the gym around 3:00, and had to be gone by 4.  So we started with pull-ups.  I was able to do 13 on my first set, with no weight.  So my next set was with a 10lb weight, and I was able to do 6.  I once again finished with about 30, and my last few reps were with a 25lb weight.  Next was bent over rows.  I really need to evaluate this exercise, and maybe add more to my back day.  My weight just isn't going up as quickly with these.  So either my form isn't where it needs to be, or i'm not pushing it hard enough.  I was stuck at 205 again this week.  After bent over rows, most of my time was consumed, so we did 2 quick exercises for our biceps.  Straight bar curls first.  I was able to finish at 105.  We finished with reverse preacher curls.  I think had to bail, and get Liam home to see his mom.
This morning I got in the gym around 6:30, and planned on biking for 75 minutes, but I had to do 60 because of time constraints.  It was another good 60 minutes straight.  I felt great afterwards, which also tells me I need to push it out to 75 the next time I do it.  Here are my stats from this morning.