Kinda voluminous 12/15/10

- Deadlift 5x135, 5x225, 3x315, 3x365, 3x385, 2x405, 1x405
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185
- Bench/Chinup 5x205/10xBW, 5x205/10xBW, 3x205/10xBW

Like the deadlifts. Shoulder was still bothering me, but I tested a single chinup between each set, and it was just fine. I was looking for some volume on deadlifts, but that didn't happen mainly due to the shoulder.

Don't like the bench at all... What the fuck happened to me.

Some presses 12/13/10

- Press 5x45, 5x95, 5x125, 5x125, 5x125, 5x125, 5x125
- Deadlift 3x225, 3x315, 3x365

Slight left shoulder injury while picking up a 45lb plate. 'Whoops.' Deadlifts were aggravating it when I dropped the weight, and it was hurting even more on chinups. So yeah, so I turned in early for the night.

FFFFFFF 12/13/10

- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 5x205, 2x225, 2x225
- Chinup 12xBW, 12xBW, 8xBW
- Rowing machine 3:09, 710m

Slower than last time despite trying a Tabata method on the rowing, and afterward, I could barely walk back to my place. Not gonna try risky shit like that again for cardio. Augh.

Bench is weaksauce. I don't know what's wrong with me. Gonna go back to real volume. Real methodology. I swear...

Haphazard full-body lifts 12/10/10

- Deadlift 5x135, 5x225, 3x315, 3x345, 3x365, 2x385, 2x405
- Press 5x45, 5x95, 5x125, 3x135, 0x150, 0x145, 1x135
- Inverse Row 12xBW, 12xBW, 12xBW, 12xBW, 10xBW (fail)
- Rowing Machine 3 minutes, 770 yards

Personal record on deadlift, and the first time I really got 405 'cleanly,' without any equivocal bullshit on whether or not I hit it. I did, and it felt good man.

Press does not feel good man. Not at all. I think that my weakening upstairs is a clear sign that I need a fucking routine to which I can stick... tomorrow I'll go and do some benching and maybe try to re-establish the fact that I'm trying to go for volume.

Haven't squatted seriously in God-knows how long. I don't have the mental resolve at the moment, which I guess is due to my being in a state of limbo for my future. Won't angst about that here, though. Got other venues for that.

Ran into and lifted with a dude from high school. Not exactly a fan of him, but hey, whatever. I'll take any acquaintance. He made a comment like 'man how much did you deadlift,' which I always like. I guess my ego is a little too easily stroked. Liked it when someone commented on how much I was pressing a few weeks back, too.

I think I'm fat. Thinking I should actually try to cut. Unfortunately, I can't get into a pattern for cardio, which means that efforts there may be misguided for the moment. Might actually be time to consider the 'bulk in winter, cut in summer' philosophy now, though I've enjoyed wearing T-shirts in the sub-freezing weather lately.

Muay Thai club 12/9/10

Showed up late so I missed warmups, which actually lent me much more energy throughout practice. There were four of us total. Started out doing some hitting drills, then hitting with counter-kicks, and finally one-sided sparring with punches and kicks and counter-kicks. Good stuff.

Upper body survey and Muay Thai club 12/7/10

- Press 5x45, 5x95, 5x125, 5x135, 3x135, 0x155
- Chinup 12xBW

Not impressive, but I didn't give myself an off-day. Might try my hand at swimming tomorrow, but I might chicken out again like I did today...

Had to be the first time in months I went to Muay Thai club, which was fairly enjoyable for what it was. Sergio ran it, meaning no nightmarish power squats, with kick-counters and combinations comprising the bulk of the training. Will probably be doing boxing when I get out of school, but I'll miss kicks and elbows.

Fuck me more 12/6/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 5x275, 2x315
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 5x205, 2x225, 1x235
- Chinup/Inverse Row 8xBW/8xBW, 8xBW/6xBW, 8xBW.../8xBW, 5xBW
- Dip 20xBW

Got distracted and broke my rhythm explaining the last chinups thing. Also there was a hot girl who distracted me I plead innocence.

I fucking hate layoffs. But I can't just blame the layoff; my mental strength and fortitude for squats just aren't the same this semester. Feels bad man. I'm gonna work on getting presses, bench, and deadlift way the hell up and then try to rekindle the fire with the barbell on my back.

Fuck me 12/4/10

- Press 5x45, 5x95, 5x120, 3x140
- Deadlift 5x225, 5x315
- Chinup 10xBW, 10xBW, 10xBW

I fucking hate layoffs.

Some upper body stuff 11/21/10

- Chinup 10xBW
- Press 5x45
- Chinup 10xBW
- Press 5x95
- Chinup 10xBW
- Press 5x120
- Chinup 10xBW
- Press 4x135
- Chinup 10xBW
- Press 2x150

Whoo. Not the greatest form on chinups, but putting 150 over my head twice felt good man.

aughhh lifting 11/21/10

- Deadlift 3x225, 3x315, 4x345, 4x365, 2x385, 1x405
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 5x210, 5x210, 4x210
- Inverse Row 10xBW, 11xBW, 12xBW, 13xBW, 14xBW

Not sure if I can count that 405. Also, I mistakenly left the second stack of plates after dumping them at the end, and some guy called me out on it since a chick was picking up after me. Embarrassing.

Bench I'm just weak this week. Can't say why. Aughzone.

Upper body lifts 11/16/10

- Chinup 10xBW, 10xBW, 10xBW, 10xBW, 10xBW
- Press 5x95, 5x115, 5x125, 4x135, 2x145

Some guy was impressed by the 145 pressing, which was cool. It's definitely a PR, which is even cooler. And man, Noyes is crawling with chicks at 10:00 PM on Tuesday. A little uncomfortable for a man who waits like 3-5 minutes between sets to rest.

Intensity 11/14/10

- Deadlift 3x225, 3x275, 3x315, 3x355, 3x385, 1x405
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x185, 3x215, 2x240
- Pullup 12xBW
- Inverse Row 15xBW

Very disappointed with the DL form - I feel that my knees, my arms, and the bar have this weird battle that often ends badly in terms of standing up straight with the bar evenly distributed. Nonetheless, I'm unofficially calling this a 4-plate DL.

No such qualms on the bench. Hell yeah bitches.

Semivolumuminous 11/12/10

Don't remember this well since it was a few workouts ago, but I think it went something like this:

- Press 5x45, 5x95, 5x115, 5x125, 5x125, 5x125, 5x125, 2x135
- Inverted Row 8xBW, 10xBW, 12xBW, 13xBW, 13xBW
- Pullup 10xBW, 8xBW
- Dip 20xBW

Workout 11/10/10

- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x185, 5x210, 5x210, 5x210, 4x210
- Squat 5x45, 5x225, 5x275, 5x300, 5x315
- Chinup 10xBW, 10xBW, 10xBW

Couldn't put up 5x5 at 210, though I fairly cleanly had 4x5 at 205 and 1x5 at 210 a few weeks ago. Augh.

More of a mess 11/6/10

To hell with methodology in madness.

- Squat 5x45, 5x225, 5x275, 5x300, 5x315
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 5x205, 5x210, 5x215, 3x220 (+1)
- Deadlift 5x315 (double-overhand), 3x365, 3x365
- Inverse Row 8xBW, 10xBW, 8xBW, 11xBW

Ehhh. Probably gonna bench and do chinups in a bit. Falling off the wagon kinda sucks; I go, but a methodology for squats and deadlifts is seriously necessary.

Upper Body Circuits 11/5/10

- Chinup 8xBW, Dip 12xBW, Inverse Row 8xBW
- Chinup 8xBW, Dip 12xBW, Inverse Row 8xBW
- Chinup 8xBW, Dip 12xBW, Inverse Row 8xBW
- Chinup 8xBW, Dip 12xBW, Inverse Row 8xBW

Yup.

The rows are still an awkward motion but whatever - I kinda like it. My right shoulder's hurt a little during the last two times I benched, so I'm glad it's getting a bit better.

I got nothin.

Upper Experimentation 11/3/10

- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 2x210, 4x225 (+1), 3x225 (+1)
- Inverted Row 8xBar9, 8xBar8, 8xBar7, 8xBar6, 8xBar5, 8xBar4
- Chinup 4xBW
- Dip 15xBW, 12xBW

BarX refers to where I placed the pin on the power rack to hold up the barbell. I'm not sure if I have the form right for the inverted row, but I'm sick of barbell rows, and I need a horizontal pull. It really causes my back to arch a little painfully, so I'll try to be careful.

Looking forward to using this to mix up the ol' routine a lil.

Upper Volume 10/31/10

- Bench 5x135, 3x185, 5x205, 5x205, 5x205, 5x205, 5x210
- Pullup/Chinup 5xBW/5xBW, 5xBW/5xBW, 5xBW/3xBW

New PR on bench hell yeah bitches. Legs are still aching, which I take to be a good sign. Weight was around 192, though it might be lower than that at times.

Took a look at pullups again since I haven't done those in a while. Managed each of the 5s fairly easily, switching to chins after that.

Volume 10/29/10

- Squat 5x225, 5x275, 5x275, 5x275, 5x275, 5x275
- Press 5x45, 5x95, 5x115, 5x120, 5x125, 5x105
- Chinup 8xBW, 8xBW, 8xBW

It's always a huge challenge to start squatting after X amount of time away from it. I haven't done this much work on the overhead press in a long ass time, so I was pretty pleased that I managed to shit it out. That 5x125 might be a record. Chinups I was lighter on, since I've been doing lots of them.

Weighed in around 191 or so. Back after some calories...

Some lifting 10/27/10

- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 4x205, 5x205
- Deadlift 3x225, 4x315, 3x365
- Chinup 10xBW, 10xBW, 10xBW

'Whatever.' Swung by the gym for the hell of it, and this is it.

Upper Body Volume 10/23/10

- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 1x185, 3x185, 5x195, 5x200, 5x205, 4x205 (+1), 3x205 (+2)
- Chinup 7xBW, 7xBW, 7xBW, 7xBW, 7xBW

Uh-oh.

Absolutely no motivation to squat yesterday. Too long a layoff, too little energy, whatever... I just wasn't feeling it, and that's a bad sign. Gonna squat and deadlift today or tomorrow and hope that I can get into at least something of a good pattern here. If I'm successful, I might be moving into routine changeup zone, both a scary notion and an oddly empowering one.

In addition to the layoff from lifting, I've also neglected eating right for far too long, and I weighed in under 190 last night. Gonna try to fit in three square meals today and see if I can bring myself back up. I realize I'll hate myself twenty years down the line for saying this, but it's just so hard to eat enough to gain good weight. It could be time to start looking into whey protein, though I hate to suggest it even to myself.

Texas Intensity 10/16/10

- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 3x205, 3x225, 1x235
- Squat 5x135, 5x225, 3x315, 3x335
- Deadlift 2x315, 2x365
- Chinup 14xBW, 10xBW, 9xBW

Failed on my quest for 385 on the DL. Felt wicked bad. Temporary weakness there might be due to a few consecutive days of poor eating and sleeping. On the other hand, continuing to make strides in max bench always feels good. Looking for a 205 5x5 soon.

Pumped out chinupas really fast, so complete ROM wasn't there; in particular, the last reps of the latter sets were hilariously bad. But I wanted to do a large number of them, and at that I believe I succeeded. There was a chick with awesome legs also using the pullup machine but I strayed away.

Swimming 10/13/10

Did 8 lengths today. One lap, rest, one lap, rest, one length, rest, one length, rest, one lap. Overall took about 20 minutes.

'Whatever.'

Texas Volume 10/12/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x225, 5x275, 5x275, 5x295, 5x295, 5x305
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 5x200, 5x200, 5x200, 5x200, 5x205
- Chinup 7xBW, 7xBW, 7xBW, 7xBW, 7xBW

Losing motivation on those squats, but one presses forward. The bench press is encouraging, especially since I managed to put up those numbers even with some sets where the barbell was not solidly in my grip at all.

First time getting 7 across for chins, so there's that, too. Might be pertinent that it was the thinner handlebar.

Texas Intensity and swimming 10/8/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x225, 2x335, 3x315 'ugh'
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 3x205, 2x215, 2x215 'ugh'
- Deadlift 2x385, 1x405 (FAIL)
- Chinup 12xBW

Happy with the chinups, not on anything else. I DON'T FEEL LIKE TALKING ABOUT THAT WHAT. The deadlift came up, but I think my back rounded, and I fucked up trying to straighten out... gonna try for 4 plates again next week I hope.

Swam around seven lengths in around half an hour. Embarrassingly low, but hey, I cranked it out. Will try for 10 lengths on Monday or Tuesday.

Muay Thai club 10/7/10

Exhausting as always! Went on a Thursday night 'cause it's fall break 'whoo.' It was a pretty standard Muay Thai workout, honestly, though two rounds of pad-hitting reminded me of just how heavy those goddamn Thai pads are... got more tired from holding them than from hitting them. Worked on some knees later in the class, a weak area of mine.

Texas Upper Body Volume 10/4/10

Ruh-roh! Didn't have it in me to do a 5x5 of squats today, so maybe I'll make that up tomorrow. In the meantime...

- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x195, 5x195, 5x195, 5x195, 5x200
- Chinup 8xBW, 8xBW, 8xBW, 5xBW

Can probably start adding in auxiliary exercises... Don't want to get off of Texas until I have to, but the single volume day kinda kills me. I'm thinking of doing a scheme of Mondays being upper body volume, Tuesdays being lower body volume, Wednesday and Thursday being recovery of some sort, with Friday still as the intensity day.

Well, we'll see.

Texas Intensity 10/2/10

Running one day behind schedule. Will try for volume on Monday, in hopes that I haven't ruined everything by being a day late.

- Squat 5x225, 5x335 (sketchy form)
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 2x205, 2x225, 3x215 (last set felt part-curled)
- Deadlift 4x365, 1x395
- Chinup 10xBW, 8xBW

More of the same disappointment for squats. Will try for 330x5 next time, I guess.

Hurray for two reps of two plates on the bench. The set at 215 at the end was the first time that my spotter curled the bar as I benched. Definitely didn't expect it after benching with spotters for about 10 months without having that happen, but there you go.

Pulling 395 feels awesome. On Monday, I'm gonna shoot for the big 4-0-0, and I'll go for four plates next Friday. Wish I had someone to brag about it to, but not interested in sounding like a douche (or an idiot to stronger people), so HELLO BLOG.

Texas Recovery 9/29/10

- Pullup 8xBW, Press 5x45, Dip 8xBW
- Pullup 8xBW, Dip 12xBW
- Pullup 8xBW, Dip 10xBW
- Pullup 8xBW, Dip 10xBW
- Pullup 7xBW
- Lunge 5x45, 5x95 (both legs)

Lunges are awkward, and I was dying by the time I got to them, so no more of those. Wish I could find a more technically feasible substitute for squats on light days, but I'm just no good with front squats.

Anyway, I haven't done a recovery workout for a good while, so this felt pretty good, even though it was pretty volume-heavy, especially on pullups. Felt pretty great, though.

Texas Volume 9/27/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x225; Bench 5x45, 3x135
- Squat 5x285, Bench 5x190, Chinup 6xBW
- Squat 5x285, Bench 5x190, Chinup 6xBW
- Squat 5x285, Bench 5x190, Chinup 6xBW
- Squat 5x285, Bench 5x190, Chinup 6xBW
- Squat 5x285, Bench 5x190, Chinup 6xBW

Yup, exactly what it looks like - did a circuit. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I was pressed for time. This was ****ing taxing as hell on my CNS, but the saved 10-20 minutes were convenient. Hopefully won't have to resort to this scheme often.

Muay Thai club 9/26/10

Since our officers weren't there until five minutes in, another club member led warmup, most notably including a brutal ten-minute ab workout session at the end. Godawful.

Otherwise, it was fun. Did boxing-style combinations and extremely light sparring. I dwarfed the first guy and was about equal in size to Ben, which was cool.

Probably not gonna get to go to the club during the week, at least until Thursday, due to interview season. 'Jesus.'

Texas Intensity 9/24/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 5x325
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 5x205
- Deadlift 5x345, 1x375
- Chinup 8xBW, 8xBW

Whoo. New PRs on bench and deadlift. 'Same old' on squat, though I'd like to think this is one of my best examples of form yet.

Found out that I weighed like 190 after lunch today. I've kinda let go on the eating. Need to step it up again to maintain and bulk again, though my inactivity in the gym isn't helping with that, either. Might need to pick up a more structured schedule, since two big days a week might not be enough to keep me very driven.

Texas has been treating me well, though. I'm closing in on the 4-plate deadlift!

Texas Volume 9/20/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 5x275, 5x275, 5x275, 5x275, 5x275
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x185, 5x185, 5x185, 5x185, 5x195
- Chinup 8xBW, 8xBW, 8xBW

Something of a reset week for me. Squats felt really good. (Actually, they felt terrible, but that's the point of squats.) The bench didn't feel too great until set 4, when I suddenly decided to take a leap of faith. The 5 reps of 195 felt great; still haven't gotten up to 205 for 5 on intensity day (lolwut), but I'm closing in on it on volume day.

Texas Recovery 9/13/10

- Press 5x45, 5x95, 5x120, 5x120, 5x120
- Chinup 11xBW, 10xBW, 9xBW

... Something like that. Didn't exactly take this workout too seriously.

Muay Thai club 9/12/10

Notable because we picked up a little sparring this time, though just boxing-sparring with jabs. Also cool because one of the guys I lightly jabbed with actually spotted me the other day.

The conditioning before this workout was absolutely killer, with jump-rope, power-squats, high-knees, and pushups in a circuit (with one break station), each for 90 seconds. Yeah, it sucked.

Worked a little on parrying, blocking, avoiding punches before sparring. Got to taste some leather again. Didn't get blasted or anything, but there's actually a literal taste to it. Another cliche is bestowed with meaning!

Texas Volume 9/11/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 5x275, 5x285, 5x295, 5x305, 5x315
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x185, 5x185, 5x185, 5x185, 6x190
- Deadlift 5x315 (three double-overhand, two mixed)

Deadlift was mainly grip-work here. Anyway, squats were probably imperfect, but whatever. I'm more concerned about the fact that I can do so many reps with 185-190, but I can't even put up 205 for 4. Augh.

Messing around 9/10/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135
- Press 5x45, 5x95, 5x115, 5x115, 5x115, 4x120
- Chinup 8xBW

Hazy on memory. Anyway, it was an unmotivated effort and doesn't really deserve elaboration. Not sure if those rep schemes are exact since it's been a while.

Muay Thai club 9/7/10

Brutality. Did this right after the intensity workout, and it annihilated me. Did a warmup, followed immediately by situp-punch/pushup-punch, four-counts (kick, punch, punch, kick) and doubling the kicks in those four-counts. That was the worst of it. After that came the relatively easier hop-kicks, covering long distances. And for the finale, 30 power squats. It was murder and another reminder of why I stopped going.

Felt good though.

Texas Intensity 9/7/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 3x315, 5x325, 2x330
- Bench 5x45, 3x135, 2x185, 3x205, 3x205
- Deadlift 1x315, 5x335, 1x365
- Chinup 10xBW

It's official - I have gone backwards since summer on the bench. And I'd just pressed 185 for 6 reps four days ago... Guess it wasn't enough.

Squats were probably legit, and they felt good. Had the bars out and stuff, same as last time I did the recovery workout. Worked out in Teagle, which is an interesting scene with very few machines and lots of free weights. The only two chicks there were jacked as hell.

The 365 is a PR. Right hand over, left hand under. Felt the consciousness slipping away when I busted it out. Feels fucking awesome, man.

Muay Thai club 9/5/10

Good stuff. Ben led the group practice, and there was less hellish conditioning stuff. Paired up with a guy named Nockey (?) and did boxing stuff. Did some clinchwork at the end.

Short update is short.

Texas Recovery 9/5/10

- Squat (to rails) 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 4x275, 4x275
- Press 5x45, 5x95, 5x115, 4x125
- Chinup 7xBW, 7xBW, 7xBW
- Pullup 6xBW
- Dip 10xBW

Poor showing, but it's a recovery day, so whatever. No comment here.

Texas Volume 9/3/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 5x285, 5x290, 5x295, 5x300, 5x305
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x185, 5x180, 5x180, 5x185, 6x185
- Chinup 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 9xBW

Squats weren't perfect, but they were workable, and I'm going with that. Bench felt pretty good; sucks still to be repping 180, but I managed three work sets at 185 out of five, so that's definitely good news. As for chinups, that last set was probably imperfect in terms of dead-hang, but let me give you a hint as to how much I cared.

Muay Thai club 9/2/10

Wow. Now I remember why I stopped coming to this club. Kicking and punching pads is exhausting as all hell gets out, and holding pads is teeth-rattling. I partnered up with a guy named Edwin for the first practice of the semester. Did the standard Thai kicks, teeps, and teep-kick combinations. At the end, a promised two-minute Tabata turned into a three-minute Tabata that wrecked me - 20-second intervals alternating the 1-2-3-2 punch combination and alternating uppercuts.

Afterward, met a guy from Texas named Marcello, who I assume is of Mexican descent. Seemed pretty cool. And now I badly need another cold shower.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club 9/1/10

Didn't do any rolling; left at seven for dinner. Worked on kimura, kimura reversal from guard to mount complete with satisfying thwack, guillotine, and a bullfighting drill to practice passing guard from standing.

Practiced with a very big dude who was a brown belt. Built like Fedor, but wider and shorter. Guess he was old, though; I think his joints had problems and he took breaks more often. Getting choked doesn't feel good.

Texas Intensity 8/31/10

Not proud of the way I skipped workouts and fucked up the schedule, but I am what I am.

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 1x315, 2x335
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 3x185, 1x215
- Deadlift 1x225, 6x315 (2x double overhand, 4x alternating)
- Chinup 8xBW, 8xBW, 8xBW

Kinda disappointing. Weight was too high on squats (probably) and too low on deadlifts (though I'd omitted chalk, so it's a moot point.) The bar is certainly a lil' easier to grip, based on the fact I got two double-overhands off. Bench was weak; I blame lack of practice, slight fatigue, and slightly inadequate resting time due my feeling slightly pressured by the spotter. No excuses though, just gotta kick more ass next week.

Chinup is still rape, but removing the sliding rubber grip on the third set gave me one extra surge of energy there.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club 8/30/10

I'll give y'all one guess as to where I went today. I'm not gonna lie, I got interested in BJJ from watching MMA fights. I've slowly acquired a taste for watching the sport, and honestly, I've come to accept that all fights pretty much end up on the ground and might suck. But a few don't, even when they hit the ground, and that's because of submission magicians.

Got there a little late, but I was in time for some 'agilities,' i.e. rolling across the floor. Sucked unequivocally at those. My attempts at cartwheels are not for sore eyes.

For the drills, I paired up with a guy who was unfortunately a lot shorter than I am, albeit very stocky. (Incidentally, I think I'm one of the tallest people in the club.) He'd done a little BJJ before so he tried to help me out.

We covered shrimping, rolling, the kimura (from guard), the armbar (from mount), shrimping out of mount, and bridging out of mount. Sucked at all of them, but a few times used my size advantage to buck off the other guy. 'Whoops.'

Rolled afterward, first with the drill partner. We just kept practicing a few more drills.

Then we switched it up, and the other guy kinda instructed me as we rolled. The first time, he got me into his guard and talked me through while I got out of it and onto my feet. Second round, he got mount on me and then, when I got out, he got my back and choked me out. Third round, as he kept talking to me, I managed to get into mount and grab both of his wrists. We struggled a bit, and then I intentionally let go of one wrist to see what would happen. He immediately got the other wrist free and began to shake me off, so I grapevined him and surprisingly got a submission. 'Yay.' Rolled for about 12 minutes in all before heading to dinner.

Rolling is very tiring, but the pressure is definitely different from standing toe-to-toe in boxing. The motions aren't sudden and violent (though they can obviously be painful and effective), and there's the tapping out thing, so I could breathe normally for the most part. And of course, since there's minimal risk of actual concussion, I can kinda use my full strength.

Looking forward to going again. Still probably won't stay the whole time for rolling because I wanna dining hall it for dinner, but it's really fun. Though I might think it's less fun after getting my ass kicked over and over and discovering my flexibility, core strength, and endurance truly suck ass.

Texas Volume 8/28/10

It's been a while. Spent the last week in a state of limbo, which is actually pretty cool, though I could see how Saitou and Leo lost their minds after hanging out there for too long. Hoping to get back on this routine for good soon, though my current state of oblivion is kinda discouraging me from lifting before classes, as was my original plan.

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 5x275, 5x285, 5x295, 5x300, 5x305
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x180, 5x180, 5x180, 5x180, 5x180
- Chinup 7xBW, 6xBW, 6xBW

The bar feels different again. This one's thinner and smoother than the one I used during the summer. 'Course I started out with this bar. I think that this bar might be easier on pulls and harder on pushes, so I expect some trouble with the press and a little help on deadlifts.

I regressed on the bench a little, but I think that's more due to my going back to touching my chest on every rep again. Plus layoff. The chinups, on the other hand, felt really different; I think somehow I was cheating before. But I couldn't do nearly as many, and they really obliterated me.

Texas Intensity 8/20/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 5x315
- Bench 5x45, 3x135, 1x185, 1x225, 2x215
- Deadlift 1x355
- Chinup 7xBW, 7xBW, 7xBW
- Press 5x45, 5x95
- Chinup 7xBW
- Press 3x115
- Chinup 7xBW
- Press 3x125
- Chinup 5xBW

Squat... all the warmup sets were great, but I think the first three reps at 315 were questionable. The last two were good stuff, though. Bench felt good. I didn't bench 'two plates,' but I did get the bar up once. Failed halfway through the second rep (which didn't touch my chest.) The latter set was similar in that the first rep was good, and the second rep didn't touch my chest, but the barbell went all the way up on rep 2 there. Yay, a 2-plate bench 'officially.'

Deadlift was embarrassing. After failing on double-overhand, I went for right-prone-left-supinated grip. Did one rep, and then switched grips...failed halfway up. Then I deloaded to 335 and couldn't do a rep... then to 315... then finally to 225 before I could lift the damned barbell back onto the rack.

Did lots of chinups during my final hours in this gym, along with some embarrassing failures on the press - I tried and couldn't do a single rep at 130 afterward. I get fatigued real fast on the press. So, since there isn't much to say about the chinups (all dead-hang! awesome), I'll just comment that this was the last time I went to this gym. Only on this last week did I visit the gym early on weekdays, and there are some really damned hot women there. Including a pregnant woman and another woman who looks exactly like her. Distracting as hell and makes it really hard not to stare. (In addition, they seem to be in every direction, too, so it's literally hard to find a place to look besides at them, too.) That'll be one nice thing about school - almost no chicks in the weight section, heh.

Stationary bike and other stuff 8/18/10

1 minute warmup
13 HIIT segments, 20 seconds fast/40 seconds recovery
1 minute cooldown

5 miles: 13 min 18 s
15 minutes: 5.56 miles
108 calories

- Chinup 7xBW
- Press 5x45, 3x95, 3x115, 1x135
- Row 5x165, 5x155, 5x145
- Dip 5xBW+45, 5xBW+45, 4xBW+45
- Curl 5x40, 5x42.5, 5x42.5

Bah...! Lifts don't look great. Chinups were 'the real deal,' but I didn't grease the groove because I guess I felt weak or something. Dip feels good, but it always does. Upped the volume this week. The stationary went fine, of course, but I was unable to go for a second max press rep at 135, and I kept feeling like my form sucked on rows... Curls were pretty good, I guess, especially with increased volume, but I don't think they do anything really. Once I get to 45 or 50, I'll stick with the weight and try to up reps and fix form. I guess.

No incline press this week. Tomorrow I grease the groove on chinups, run a mile and some change, possibly entertain a rowing machine, and look into some PECS isos. Maybe.

Texas Volume 8/17/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 5x275, 5x285, 5x290, 5x295, 5x300
- Bench 5x45, 3x135, 5x180, 5x180, 5x180, 5x180, 5x185
- Chinup 9xBW, 9xBW, 7xBW, 5xBW, 1xBW

Squat was about as good as it gets with this 'form-check' week. Probably slipped a little, especially on that last rep.

Bench felt good, though I notice that I'm no longer touching my chest on every rep like I used to. I still bring it down almost all the way, but I start pushing up when the bar is around an inch from the chest. I guess I'll go back to all the way once school starts or something.

Chinups weren't perfect until the last two vanity sets. Having done 25 reps across 3 sets, I looked for perfect dead-hang, which just feels completely different. Plus exhaustion. Well whatever.

Spent a long time in the gym today. Different schedule, different kicks. Just took extra long rests; I quite obviously didn't increase the volume by too much. I'm all right with that, though.

Texas Intensity 8/13/10

- Squat 5x45, 3x225, 1x315, 4x335
- Bench 5x45, 3x135, 4x205
- Deadlift 3x345
- Chinup 7xBW

Made a huge mistake today by coming into the gym hungry. It was like 12:30 PM when I got in, and I'd eaten like three or more hours ago, and a small breakfast at that.

Embarrassed about squat. It wasn't legit in the least. Definite deload coming there; will retry at 315 next week. Humbling, but necessary.

Bench feels good man. Nothing to say here.

Deadlift feels even better man. Since obtaining chalk, this may have become my favorite lift. No double-overhands today; I might mix a 3x5 deadlift into my volume workouts when I get back to school, to train my grip more.

Only 7 chinups is (IMO) pretty clear proof that I was indeed depleted of energy. But I really wish I could stop making excuses for myself and prove how much of a badass I can be on the squat, like I used to. Or maybe all the excuses and sketchy form have already weakened me. Time to step it up again. Going back to 275 for volume on Monday...

Running augh 8/11/10

Bad news. Went 7.0 mph for 5 minutes, 7.5 mph until I hit a mile at around the 8:30 or 8:40 mark, and then lost it. Dropped to 2 mph to finish up because I just couldn't take it anymore. Not good. Total 1.06 mi.

- Chinup 10xBW
- Run
- Chinup 6xBW
- Press 5x45, 3x95, 3x110, 3x130
- Chinup 8xBW
- Dip 5xBW+45, 5xBW+45
- Chinup 6xBW

As you can see, I did a little 'greasing of the groove' for chinups. Want to up my total volume, so I spread out the sets.

Stationary bike and stuff 8/10/10

5-mile: 13 min 29 sec
15-minute: 5.49 mile
Calories: 105

- Incline 3x95, 1x145, 1x155, 1x165
- Row 5x165, 5x165
- Curl 5x40, 5x40

Unremarkable, really. No real comment here. Note that this bike is (I believe) a little more difficult than the other bike I mentioned last week, so hopefully that 5-mile time doesn't mark a step backward.

Texas Volume 8/9/10

- Squat 5x45, 3x225, 5x295, 5x295, 5x295, 5x295, 5x295
- Bench 5x45, 3x135, 5x175, 5x175, 5x175, 5x175, 5x180
- Chinup 7xBW, 8xBW, 8xBW

Possibly imperfect on squats and chins, but their consistency was great. PRs on everything today - drinks are on me!

Texas Intensity 8/6/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 1x345
- Bench 5x135, 3x185, 1x220, 3x200
- Deadlift 3x335

Squat wasn't very good... going back to 5RMs at 325 I think.

Hit a new PR for bench, of course, unintentionally. Was going for 4x200, but due to my working in with someone else, I misread 45s as 35s... explains why the warmup sets were difficult, too!

Deadlift feels good man. All reps were legit.

Running and stuff 8/5/10

Took to the treadmill. Went 6.5 mph after a bit until 5:00, went up to 7 mph until 9:00, and went 'til 10:00 at 7.5 mph. Hit a mile at 9:10 and a total of 1.11 miles after 10:00.

Went to the weights afterward.

- Incline bench 5x45, 3x115, 2x135, 2x155
- Chinup 7xBW, 8xBW, 7xBW
- Curl 5x37.5, 5x37.5
- Dip 5xBW, 12xBW

Quality day, though again there was no way not to feel like a creep due to the positioning of girls. Especially since they happened to go near the stations I used about a minute before I went to each.

But yeah, couldn't curl for 8 today probably due to the volume of the pullups. Should be alright though.

Stationary bike and recovery 8/3/10

Stationary bike for the typical 15 minutes with 13 HIIT sections within. Increased to 18 seconds on, 42 seconds off. Hit 5 miles at 13:27, went 5.46 miles, burned 105 calories. Heart rate was at 150+.

Afterward, did my modified lifts, now that I'm planning on the whole bench-every-Friday deal.

- Press 5x45, 1x115, 1x135
- Row 5x155, 5x160
- Dip 5xBW+45, 5xBW+45

PRs on everything. Low volume, but feels good man. Not going to the gym tomorrow, but I think I've more than adequately covered my ass. Thursday will see more pullups, incline pressing, and curlz.

Texas Volume 8/2/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x225, 5x285, 5x285, 5x285, 5x290, 5x290
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x170, 5x170, 5x170, 5x175, 5x175
- Chinup 7xBW, 7xBW, 7xBW

Hell yeah, good stuff on volume today. Didn't use great weight, but whatever. Might've cheated a little at the end of chins, but it's alright I think. 21 reps over 3 sets feels pretty good.

Intensity B 7/30/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 3x225, 1x315, 2x335
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 1x185, 2x205
- Deadlift 3x225 (double overhand), 4x320 (mixed grip)

I'm so much mentally stronger when I'm not going for volume... I know that that's the day that really sparks growth, but I'll be damned if it doesn't kill me.

Squats were alright, but not perfect. Very happy about the PR in bench, since I've finally broken 200. And I'm always happy to crank the deadlift numbers.

Running augh 7/29/10

Used the treadmill and went a mile in 10:27 or so. Ramped up to 6mph in the first 2 minutes, kicked it up to 6.5 after 5 minutes, and then increased to 7 after 10 minutes. Wasn't destroyed, but was winded. 'Strong fail,' but it's the first time I've 'run' in a long time.

Did 6, 6, 8 in chinups afterward. 20 reps over 3 sets feels good man.

Texas Recovery B 7/28/10

- Power Clean 3x45, 3x95, 3x105, 3x115, 3x115
- Press 5x45, 3x95, 2x130
- Dip 5xBW, 5xBW+40, 5xBW+40
- Row 5x140, 5x140

This day is a mess. This week is a mess, honestly, thanks to missing last Friday. Anyway, maxed on Press because I think it's gonna become a thing - I'm planning to set Bench PRs every week now, so I'll just go for Press PRs on Wednesday and pray... Row looks good. Might be fucking up form or something but who gives a damn. Power Cleans are getting sketchy, so I'm dropping them and bringing back squats on this day. 2x5 will suffice, and I will indeed do them at a lighter weight - 5x285 just doesn't feel like a 'recovery.'

Cardio zzz 7/27/10

Used a different stationary bike today. I'm pretty sure it's easier. Anyway, same deal. HIIT, 18 on 42 off, 13 minutes, with 1 minute padding at the front and at the back. 5-mile time was 13:48; Total distance was 5.35. Total calories, if you can believe it was 97. Heart rate was around 160+.

Afterward, was wiped out and used the incline press for the first time. Did 5x75, 3x95, 3x115, 3x125, and finally 1x135. Could've done more on that last one, too. I think I'll work the incline press into my regular Tuesday workouts. Afterward, did 2x8 bicep curls with 35s. Still a pain in the wrist, but 'whatever.'

As a final note, there was an incredibly distracting amount of woman in the gym today. Made it really hard to gaze at nothing between sets.

Intensity A 7/26/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 3x225, 4x325 (last 2 reps bad)
- Press 5x45, 3x95, 4x125
- Chinup 9xBW, 5xBW

On the on hand, those last squat reps were terrible. On the other, the first two reps were great! Yeah, not great consolation, oh well. Presses are always trembly and shit because of the nature of the lift, but they're goddamn presses so I think they shouldn't be too bad.

The two chinup sets were to failure, because I missed Friday due to circumstances beyond my control, and I didn't make it up over the weekend. Augh. Going for recovery Tuesday through Thursday and PR in squat/bench/deadlift this Friday as usual.

Texas Recovery A 7/22/10

- Full Clean 3x45, 3x85, 3x95, 3x105, 3x105, 3x110
- Dip 6xBW+30, 6xBW+30
- Row 5x135, 5x135

Rows felt good. Don't think I'll be doing full cleans anymore, since I'm pretty sure I'm screwing up form somehow. Will try power cleans again next week. Dips were really hard, and I thought I was using more weight than I was. Feels bad man.

Was a day late on this but am still going for the Friday intensity.

'Cardio' stuff 7/20/10

More stationary bike work today. Went 5.28 miles, hitting 5 miles at the 14:09 mark. This means I improved by 1 second for the 5-mile time and 0.03 miles for total distance traveled since Tuesday. Lost track of calorie count but yeah.

Did 3x6xBW chinups afterward. I always feel like I cheat myself a little on volume day for chinups, and I felt up to it. Feels good to do higher-rep sets IMO.

Texas Volume A 7/19/10

- Squat 5x45, 3x225, 5x285, 5x285, 5x285, 5x290, 5x290
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x170, 5x165, 5x165, 5x165, 5x170
- Chinup 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 4xBW

The last two sets of squats were getting pretty sketchy, again because my lower back got real sore. I'm not sore today, which means I guess that it's not a form error.

I have grip inconsistencies on the bench. I tend not to have my grip absolutely symmetrical, and I think that's impeding my progress. The first set at 170 surprised me with with its weight, so I dropped it - and then at my fourth work set, suddenly, with the correct grip, I pumped those out with ease. The last work set at 170 was also relatively easy, meaning I'd been fucking up prior to that. Gotta remember to center the barbell in front of my eyes next time so I get the right grip! (I think a similar problem might've occurred for my PR, which wasn't quite as great as I'd hoped it would be.)

Not sure my chinups were perfect, honestly. They felt pretty good, though, and I almost made 25.

Aiming for some cleans and front squats on Wednesday to help out with the Press development and because I don't really feel like doing back squats 3x a week.

Texas Intensity B 7/16/10

- Squat 5x45, 3x225, 5x315
- Bench 5x45, 3x135, 4x190
- Deadlift 1x225, 1x275, 5x305
- Chinup 8xBW

Pretty good day for me. Short and sweet. That last deadlift set was killer, though. Failed on one of them with left-overhand and right-underhand; had to redo that one at the end, a little bit after my set was technically over. Managed to get one rep with double-overhand, too, which is awesomely satisfying.

Cardio LOL 7/15/10

Did some stationary bike today. First minute was just getting going, and I did 15/45 second HIIT for thirteen segments. Got to 5 miles at the 14:10 mark and got 5.25 miles in total after 15 minutes. Burned ~103 calories according to the machine, clocking in a heart rate of around 150-160 throughout the session.

Chinups were too taxing today, so I did 2x8 bicep curls with 32.5 dumbbells. Hate the way it hurts my wrist at the top-ish. Probably using too much weight 'oh well.'

It's pretty late tonight, so I'm not sure I'm gonna kick ass tomorrow at intensity. I'll aim for 4x315 squat, 4x190 bench, and 4x305 deadlift. The squat and DL numbers would be PRs after only one rep each, and I need three to break a PR on the bench... I think I can do it.

Sleepin' for the hardcore.

Texas Recovery B 7/14/10

- Chinup 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW
- Dip 5xBW, 5xBW+35, 5xBW+35
- Press 5x45, 5x105, 5x105
- Clean 3x65, 3x85, 3x85, 3x85

... I mean, I don't know if I was doing the cleans right, but I certainly tried for a few sets!

Decided not to go for 'redemption' on squats today, opting instead for complete rest, which I missed prior to the volume workout. After seriously pushing myself with chinups, dips were really tough, which means the press was in turn not the walk in the park I'd kinda hoped it would be. Still, 'feels good man.'

Preparing myself mentally for intensity day already. Looking for 3x315 or 4x315 for squat, 4x190 on bench (unlikely), and 4x305 or 5x305 on the deadlift. I'm already intimidated by the numbers - let's sleep on it!

Texas Volume B 7/13/10

- Squat 5x285, 5x285, 5x285, 5x285, 3x285
- Press 5x100, 5x100, 5x100, 4x100, 1x100
- Row 5x135, 5x135, 5x135, 5x135, 5x135

... Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

I seriously need more time on my volume days to recover between sets. I think that's part of it, but there's no denying that during squats, my lower back was raping me. That carried over into the press, which I rushed after the first set was easy.

The rows are a nice silver lining to a day of multiple failures. I really don't know what the form is supposed to be on the rows anymore, so I'm just gonna assume I was alright there.

I think that I'm not entirely at fault for this, which makes me feel a little better. I had less time than usual to recover from the intensity workout on Sunday, and my workout was rushed. I think I'm going to stay at the office a little longer on Tuesdays from now on, and go to the gym earlier next Monday.

Tomorrow's going to be my 'recovery' day. I want to do 3x3 at 285 just to make sure I'm not a complete pussy, pop out that last set of presses, and then do my chinups for volume and two sets of dips.

So yeah, let's do this and stuff.

Texas Intensity A 7/11/10

- Squat 5x45, 3x225, 1x275, 4x310
- Press 3x45, 1x95, 6x110, 5x115
- Deadlift 5x45, 2x225, 5x295
- Wide grip pullup 3xBW/Wide grip chinup 3xBW

Augh. Missed Saturday's workout. Playing catchup again.

Lots of good stuff happened today, though! Particularly pleased with the progress on the overhead, which looked like a lost cause two weeks ago. Next time I do intensity, I'm gonna look for 4x190 on the Bench, along with 4x315 and 4x305 on Squat and Deadlift, respectively. I'm very happy to be stepping into 3-plate territory on these guys.

Speaking of which, I'm looking at a modified week so I can catch up faster. I'm thinking of doing cardio on Monday, volume on Tuesday, recovery and cardio spread between Wednesday and Thursday, and intensity on Friday. It won't be a strictly 'by-the-book' week, but neither was this one, and Texas is all about personal freedoms, right?

Texas Recovery A 7/8/10

- Squat 5x45, 3x225, 3x275, 3x275, 3x275
- Dip 3xBW, 5xBW+30, 6xBW+30
- Row 5x45, 6x125, 5x135
- Wide pullup 3xBW

I may never get stronger at the goddamn bent-over row. Pretty convinced my form sucked ass there. Otherwise, it was a pretty good workout. It's my recovery day, after all.

Which means that I'm gym-bound Saturday. Blah.

Cardio LOL 7/7/10

Started my workout today with 3 sets of 5 chinups to make up for yesterday. Hit them all, felt good. Tried wide-grip pullups after that, getting one and a half, and then two regular pullups right after that. Just when the chicks are walking in, too. 'Only the best.'

My thighs chafed on the stationary bike today. Went 15 minutes; Did 10 minutes at a moderate pace, logging 3.11 miles, and then five 1-minute segments of 20 seconds fast, 40 seconds slow. Ended up at around 50-ish calories burned; heart rate averaged about 140-160; traveled about 4.6-4.7 miles in total. But yeah, I'm gonna need those dorky compression shorts next week if I'm to continue doing this thing.

Afterward, did 2x8 of 30lb curls, which once again hurt my wrists.

Texas Volume A 7/6/10

- Squat 5x45, 3x225, 5x280, 5x280, 5x280, 5x280, 5x280
- Bench 5x45, 5x165, 5x165, 5x165, 5x165, 5x165
- Chinup 5xBW, 5xBW, Failure

Hm, squats were probably not ideal in form. My lower back ached a lot during and between squats. The pain went away after my first work set benching. Will do another 5x5 at 280 next week, with a possible increase in weight if the first few sets go well.

The bench surprisingly got better as I went. I think it was mainly because on my first set, I forgot to put the damn weights on the left side. So I was a little frazzled. I felt strong doing it, though, and almost added 5lb on the last set but was too lazy. Probably a good thing, too, as I struggled real hard on that last set. I asked a chick to spot me for the first time on the last two sets. (I haven't required a spotter to help me on any reps this summer yet, 'hurray.')

Chinup... a few things. First off, I was in a major rush, so I didn't rest a lot between sets. Like less than 2 minutes, which is absolutely not enough for me. Secondly, I actually went all the way down. Thirdly, my consciousness was slipping away while lifting today, possibly due to heat but also probably due to needing more sleep (evidently 6 hours is not enough for me.) And indeed, the heat wave hasn't treated me well, either. Had to recover for a few minutes in the car before I felt safe enough to drive.

I also missed a workout yesterday due to Independence Day weekend, so I'm playing catchup by one day. I'll go Saturday for my intensity workout, hopefully.

Texas Intensity B 7/2/10

- Squat 3x45, 3x225, 1x275, 5x300
- Bench 5x45, 3x135, 1x155, 5x180
- Deadlift 5x45, 3x225, 1x275, 5x285

Solid progress on 5-rep personal records. Next week, four-rep personal records for Squat/Deadlift; hoping for a 3-rep personal record on Press... which, at this point, would be 115. Man. I suck.

Cardio LOL 7/1/10

So I went on the exercise bike today, again. This time I didn't go Tabata on it but rather tried to play nice. I rode it calmly for 10 minutes and then did intervals of 20 seconds hard, 40 seconds slow. Did that 5x, then did two more hard 20-second intervals over the next 5 minutes. For those of you keeping track, that's 20 minutes in total. My shorts tend to ride all the way up to my crotch during it, which is a bit awkward (and uncomfortable as hell.) Hated having to adjust it, especially since some chick sat on a bike right next to me, despite having tons of open bikes. There was also someone right behind me, which I discovered only afterward. 'Whoops.'

Calorie count said I burned about 130. Heart rate went from ~130ish to ~150ish consistently. RPMs were a solid 100 for the first 10 minutes, 140-160 during the faster segments, and 80-90 during 'recovery' time. Was quite hungry when I got home.

I tried inverse rows afterward but quickly discovered I was weak as hell. Being in the power rack is unusual enough at this gym, but I'm alright most of the time because I'm doing something manly that most people don't have the guts to do. This time I was failing at a weird body weight exercise and looked like an idiot, so when someone stared and I gave up at the third rep, I hightailed it outta there. Not part of The Plan (TM), y'know?

Texas Recovery A' 6/30/10

- Squat 5x45, 3x135, 3x275, 3x275, 3x275
- Dip 3xBW, 5xBW+25, 5xBW+25
- Row 5x45, 3x120, 3x120, 3x120
- Curls 7x(barbell)+6x27.5(dumbell), 8x30(dumbell)

Wrists hurt like hell during rows and some of the curls.

Did some soul-searching, and I decided that I wanted to squat 3x a week, period. Also, only doing deadlifts once every two weeks didn't sit well with me. So I've decided to ditch maximum effort days on chinups and dips in favor of combining my workouts.

Week A
- Monday (Volume): Squat, Press, Row
- Wednesday (Recovery): Squat, Dip, Chinup
- Friday (Intensity): Squat, Bench, Deadlift

Week B
- Monday (Volume): Squat, Bench, Chinup
- Wednesday (Recovery): Squat, Dip, Row
- Friday (Intensity): Squat, Press, Deadlift

This should cover my bases. It would be nice to make weighted chins an intensity lift, but I'll do those after deadlifts from now on. Same deal with dips. Gonna go for the bench tomorrow, though, since I'm pretty discouraged still about presses from last week, and it's been awhile since I've gone for a bench PR. Shooting for 3x190.

Texas Volume A 6/28/10

- Squat 5x45, 3x225, 5x275, 5x275, 5x275, 5x275, 5x275
- Bench 4x45, 5x165, 5x160, 5x160, 5x160, 5x165
- Chinup 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 4xBW, 4xBW

Um. Well, I thought I was working with 255 on squat, but the thought just totally slipped my mind when I loaded 'em up. And the weird thing is, though I was gasping like a fish after every set, I did good work there.

Bench was bad news from the getgo. Knew I didn't have it in me to put out 5x5 at 165, so I went down in weight for a few. Next week's volume goal is 165 across.

Feels pretty good overall!

Texas Intensity B 6/25/10

- Deadlift 3x225 (overhand), 3x275 (overhand), 2x295 (mixed)
- Press 5x45, 3x95, 2x120, 1x115
- Dips 5xBW, 4xBW+35, 5xBW+45.

Bah. Those dips didn't feel very satisfying, and my press is frustratingly weak. That's the one lift that makes me think I shouldn't be progressing from SS yet.

On the other hand, I'm pretty proud of what I managed with my deadlift despite having a hand towel over each hand, since the calluses are still healing.

Back to Volume A next workout. Goals are squat 5x255 across, bench 5x165 across, pullups 6xBW across. Five sets each.

Texas 'Recovery' B 6/23/10

- Barbell Row 10x45, 3x115 (hands got sliced up)
- Dumbbell Row 12x40, 12x40, 12x40 (both sides)
- Bench 5x45, 5x160, 5x160, 5x160
- Squat 5x45, 5x255

Fuck.

As it turns out, recovery ain't so easy, especially when your hands are fucked up as hell. This alone kept me from doing barbell rows, and it held me to one working set of squats.

I probably fucked up the form on dumbbell rows bad, and on my second bench set, I hit the support hooks, resulting in having to take a one-minute break while a dude walked over to spot me because he thought I was failing. I guess that the 5x5 Presses and Dips on Monday were too much, and I hadn't fully recovered, because after doing so much on my intensity day, I thought I'd be able to rep a lot better this time 'round.

My hand injuries will probably prevent me from doing a >1-rep deadlift on Friday, too. I'm just going to have to slap on 265 and rip it for one rep. Hopefully I have some luck.

Texas Volume B 6/21/10

- Deadlift 5x225, 5x225, 5x225, 5x225, 4x235
- Press 5x95, 5x100, 5x100, 5x100, 5x95
- (Wide grip) Dip 5xBW+10, 5xBW+10, 5xBW+10, 5xBW+10, 5xBW+10

Holy shit, I should not do 5x5 deadlifts, ever, and never with bare hands and no chalk on a bar like the one at that gym. Cut both hands at the pinkies. Worse yet, I remembered afterward that today was supposed to be rows, not deadlifts. But yeah, first time working with that type of deadlift volume ever, and so glad never again. Pretty sure my bleeding hands were as important as my dying muscles in not picking up that bar a final time.

Presses were also pretty hard to do with shitty gripping, but I'd sucked it up by the last set, and my arms were annihilated. I think I could've done a lot more dips at more weight fresh, but damn, the gasping, the sweating, and the general fatigue. 'Feels good man.' Next time, rows and not deadlifts! Jesus.

Texas Intensity A 6/18/10

- Squat 5x225 (good form), 3x295 (lacking form), 2x310 (lacking form), 2x310 (decent form)
- Bench 5x135, 3x155, 2x180, 2x185, 2x190
- Chinup 3xBW+10, 2xBW+20, 1xBW+25

My weight right now, according to my home's scale, is 185. According to the scale at the gym, I believe it's 175 or so. So um. Yeah.

In either case, I can finally bench my body weight! Unequivocally! As long as the barbell is actually 45 lbs. I'm a little suspicious, since I seem to have gotten stronger by a pretty considerable amount compared to how I was at school if this is indeed the case.

Need to tighten up the form on the squat. It's definitely the most 'full-body' of the workouts I do, as it's the only one that can leave me gasping with oxygen usage on volume days. I'll try for the full 5x5 at 255 in 10 days, instead of working my way up from that 225 set last time.

Feeling stupidly proud of my chinups. First time using a belt to attach weight to myself, so it was very exciting. Adding weight feels like progress made; it's really hard to go from 5 reps to 6 reps, but adding weight is always quantifiable and feels cool.

Next week - deadlifts, overhead presses, and dips! Will do rows instead of deadlifts on non-record days; will mix in the bench for the overhead press; will mix in some machine work for the dips. I think. Looking forward to having some fun.

Texas Recovery A 6/16/10

- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 3x275, 3x275, 3x275
- Dip 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW
- Pullup 1xBW wide/2xBW regular, 3xBW wide/2xBW regular, 3xBW wide/2xBW regular

Fucked up that last set of squats. My mind wandered, and the barbell hit the rack.

Never realized how difficult wide-grip pullups were. Will definitely do more of those; looking forward to it. Found out that we've got weight belts to weight yourself down while doing pullups/chinups/dips, so I'm looking forward to that, too.

Dicking around 6/15/10

In what was probably a dumb move, I went to the gym, picked up a set of 25s, and did a set of 12 bicep curls and then a set of 10. No routine or anything. Then I headed over to the rowing machine and did a few at 110.

Finally hopped onto an exercise bike and did a Tabata HIIT - 20 seconds fast, 10 seconds rest for 4 minutes. Got my heart rate up to 160 or 170. Next time, will try to find out my resting heart rate. Probably wasn't maxing out, but limitations on the bike and the seat's savagely assaulting my crotch prevented more. My cardio sucks anyway, so that might've legit been my max.

Should try to figure out something more productive to do there on non-Texas days.

Texas - Volume A 6/14/10

- Squat 5x225, 5x255, 5x255, 5x255, 5x255
- Bench 5x155, 5x155, 5x155, 5x155, 5x155
- Chinup 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW

Note much to say here! All these were very doable except chinups, which have never really gotten any easier. (Cue John Locke IT'S NEVER BEEN EASY!) I'm gonna try adding 10lb in my backpack next week, or even next workout, since it's low-volume.

Didn't allow much time for recovery between sets today; it's a volume workout, so I expect that less recovery is intended anyway; and there was also that pesky time constraint. Wednesday can be... front squat, weighted dips, and pullups. Should be fun or something.

Texas Method? 6/11/10

Due to time constraints and an oscillating 'best lift' and previous inconsistencies, I've narrowed my choices of routine down to the Texas Method and One-Lift-a-Day, finally going with Texas. I didn't do great today, so I'm just gonna give some numbers straight up.

'Max Effort' (starting for real Monday)
- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 3x225, 3x275, 2x295, 1x305
- Press 10x45, 8x65, 3x95, 2x115, 0x125 (failed), 1x120, 0x120 (failed), 1x115
- Chinup 8xBW, 7xBW, 3xBW

Next week: Squat-Bench-Chinup, Front Squat-Press-Pullup, Squat-Bench-Chinup. LET'S DO THIS.

Summer activities commence 6/9/10

I got a summer pass, yay. First time lifting in about a month, and I was hungry and probably a little underrested. Nonetheless, it was exciting.

I'm not sure how much time I'm gonna have at the gym. Likely just about an hour. That's most likely not gonna be quite enough for me. On the other hand, I might be there five days a week, so I might opt to split up Starting Strength or Westside or perhaps even Pavel's 3x5 or a different lift. We'll see.

I was pretty happy with my numbers today, given the pressed time.

- Squat 5x135, 5x225, 5x275
- Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x155, 5x165, 5x170
- Chinups 5xBW

Didn't have time for the deadlift today. I was a little lightheaded after squats, and I'm not sure if that's normal - as it's a very physically demanding movement, and I've had a long layoff - or my starvation. Probably a combination of the both. I'll see.

Boxing class 4/20/10, Workout A 4/26/10

Boxing was conditioning work! Ack. Jeez.

Warmup
- Squat 5x225
- Bench 5x135
- Deadlift 4x225

Work sets
- Squat 5x285, 5x290, 5x295
- Bench 5x165, 5x165, 5x170
- Deadlift 4x295 (failed on 5)
- Chinups 5xBW, 5xBW, 3xBW (failed on 4) - wanted to go to dinner so badly that I didn't wait the full 3 minutes here, i think.

Back after more than a week. Was quite encouraged by the squat and bench, but then I got grilled at the end. Saw a dude DLing 425 for reps today, which was cool.

Boxing class 4/13/10, Workout B 4/16/10

After another hellish week, we bring you this.

Boxing class was a set of practicing counterpunches to the long one-two. Was partnered up with the tall kid. His arms are certainly less conditioned; he had to drop them several times to shake them out. Made me feel a little better about how bad I am.

Hit the weights again yesterday afternoon and left feeling reasonably alright, if not particularly pumped.

Work sets
- Squat 5x275, 5x285, 5x290
- Press 5x105, 5x115, 3x120 (failed horribly after this), 0x115 (went back at the end, couldn't do any)
- Rows 5x130, 5x130, 5x130 (went for good form on the last set, got 4 down with good form and then basically deadlifted the last rep)
- Dips 8xBW, 9xBW, 8xBW (narrow) + 3xBW (wide) - In the same vein as how I tried to mix in chinups and pullups together, I turned dips into their own little 'superset' this time.

Really gonna start pressing myself on the upper body stuff now. New resolve arr. As long as I'm going two workouts a week, I might as well 'push the envelope' or something.

Goals for next time... 3x5x285, 115/115/120, 130/135/135, dunno about dips.

Boxing class, Workouts B and A

Back from China for two weeks. About time I updated this mofo, though in fairness, I haven't done much worth writing.

Boxing class 3/31 and 4/6 - Padwork with Ben. Exhausting as all hell due to jetlag. Combinations up the wazoo, getting hit in the face by the mitts, arms falling off, insufficient power in all of my shots. Feels good man. Problem was that I slept through sparring sessions, because I was tired and because I didn't feel like getting hit in the face while tired. Sue me.

Workout B 4/9
- Squat 5x275, 5x275, 5x275 - felt weak, was sore for days afterward (still am!)
- Press 5x95, 5x105, 5x115 - working on getting it back
- Row 5x115, 5x125, 5x130 - whatever
- Dips 8xBW, 8xBW, 8xBW (wide) - tough, but managed it. Trying to mix up grips since I don't know how to grip dumbbells with my feet and I don't feel like trying for ten reps.

Workout A 4/11
- Squat 5x275, 5x275, 5x285 - I think this was the weight I used. Felt pretty solid.
- Bench 5x155, 5x160, 5x165 - Looking alright. Looking for 165/170/170 in sets next time.
- Deadlift 5x285 - Lower back felt it. Needs work.
- Pullups 5xBW (forward), 5xBW (chin), 5xBW (forward) + 1xBW (chin) - Bleh, was hoping for more at the end. Chins feel good to the biceps. Might switch over.

Need sleeeeep.

Workouts A and B; Boxing class; Pacquiao-Clottey

Goddammit, falling way too far behind.

Workout B 3/13
- Squat 5x295 (weak form), 5x275 (good form), 5x285 (good form)
- Press 5x115, 5x115, 5x115
- Row 5x130, 5x130, 5x130
- Dips 8xBW, 8xBW, 7xBW

Workout A 3/15
- Squat 5x285, 5x295, 5x300
- Bench 5x165, 5x165, 5x165
- Deadlift 5x285 (1 double-overhand; 4 with alternating grips)
- Pullups 5xBw, 5xBW, 5xBW (cheated on the last set by using my feet)

Workout B 3/17 - sleep-deprived; little progress - got better as it went
- Squat 5x295, 5x295, 5x300 (none with particularly good form)
- Press 5x115, 5x115, 4x115 - failed on the last attempt to press
- Row 5x130, 5x130, 5x130
- Dips 8xBW, 8xBW, 8xBW - tried to do a weighted dip but couldn't figure out how to hold the dumbbell between my legs

Workout A 3/19 - Last before spring break
- Squat 5x285, 5x285, 5x285
- Bench 5x165, 5x165, 5x170
- Deadlift 5x290 (1 double-overhand; 4 with alternating grips)
- Pullups 5xBW, 5xBW, 6xBW

Boxing class: on Tuesday 3/16, worked on combinations and throwing punches in bunches. Worked with the Muay Thai amigo; it was hell on the arms, but I think it benefited me a bit on sparring on Thursday 3/18. I think I'm a bit too conditioned to try not to take punches flush, because I have a tendency to turn my head in fear of the counterpunch. Need to work on counterpunching myself; I can block and move to avoid, but I can't get off myself.

Also, at the end of the last class, a fairly pedestrian left hook bloodied my nose. Blah. It wasn't even a hard hit, but I guess that's a loss by TKO, huh.

Not much to say on Pacquiao-Clottey except that Pacquiao is unbelievable keeping up that type of work rate at 147 and that Joshua Clottey never deserves a title shot again.

Alexander-Urango 3/6, Workout A 3/7, Boxing class 3/9 and 3/11

Alexander-Urango was a solid fight. Alexander KO'd Urango, who seemed to be coming on stronger late in the fight, in round 8. It was a very impressive performance, and the uppercut was tremendous. Looking forward to more out of him. Haven't seen much of Tim Bradley, the other big guy at 140, so hopefully I'll get more on that eventually.

Workout stats were very encouraging. New record on the bench and deadlift. Forgot the warmup sets, but here are the work numbers:

- Squat 5x285, 5x295, 5x300
- Bench 5x160, 5x160, 5x165
- Deadlift 5x280
- Pullups 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW

Of note, this time I used a solid pullup grip instead of the rotating guys I usually use, which explains the numbers being kinda 'eh.' I think it's more legit that way, though, so I'm gonna stick with those.

Ignoring Tuesday's class, I sparred on Thursday, and I got ass handed to me. The first guy was a rookie with a huge height advantage but similar experience. Only straights were allowed, and I was just about even with him.

The second guy dominated me with his punches in bunches. I couldn't throw a single punch without getting hit by the left hook, and the worst part is, the left hook wasn't where it ended. I'd get hit by multiple punches in a several-punch combo. I think he was an inch or two shorter than me, but it felt like we were even in height when I fought him.

Third guy was the Muay Thai club member I'd worked with in drills before. He also kept getting me with the left hook, which he pointed out afterward. Overall, got hit a lot in the face and temple but not much on the chin.

Boxing class 3/2/10, 3/4/10; Workout B 3/4/10, Honorio vs Hilario 3/5/10

After another hellish academic week, three straight dropped workouts.

During Tuesday's class, after a few pretty solid drills (that I don't remember in particular), we did ab work. Crunch, one-two; crunch, one-two; crunch, one-two.

Thursday, we worked more countering the cross. Then, some of the dudes, including my drill partner, sparred. Can't do that yet since I haven't turned in my physical. So there you go, right? The sparring guys were pretty entertaining to watch, but the coach made a great decision by not allowing the rest of the class to stare. Said it put too much pressure on the fighters and causes them to go too hard, and as I've found, that is very true.

We also did an interesting exchange drill. Cross (slipped), block the counter hook, left uppercut (blocked inside), right straight (slipped). Difficult on both ends, gave practice at trying to block the hook, which is awkward.

Tall guy like me needs to get good at blocking the hook and at shooting over the top; I think I'm getting better at stepping outside the cross and dropping the jab over the top. Same with the right. I have noticed, however, that I tend to feel like I'm giving up a lot of my height. Guess I gotta blame Ippo.

Warmup sets
- Squat 5x225
- Press 5x45
- Row 5x95

Work sets
- Squat 5x275, 5x275, 5x285
- Press 5x105, 5x110, 4x115 (started to fail hardcore)
- Row 5x125, 5x125, 5x125 - holdin' down the fort
- Dips 6xBW, 6xBW, 6xBW - essentially failure
- Chest Fly Machine 8x55, 8x70, 5x85, 6x100, 5x115

No real comment on the main lifts, but man, I can see why people like machines. I was only there because the girlfriend was still running, but machines are very easy, and you can feel the burn right in the upper body with the chest and arms. I'm guessing it's less helpful, but it feels like I'm getting shit done.

The last time I saw Martin Honorio, a very light lightweight, fight, he was picking apart undefeated John Molina like a champ. Tonight, he wrecked another pretty big fighter in Wilton Hilario. Honorio dominated the fight from the get-go using his jab, range, clinches, infighting, combinations, angles, and... yeah, this was a slaughter. Hilario had no jab and could only lay on the inside, but there, Honorio outworked the shit out of him. Honorio put Hilario down twice in the 6th, but the fight went the distance due to Hilario's incredible heart and chin.

Hilario was 12-0-1 with 9 KOs going into the fight, but he absorbed an incredible amount of punishment. Honorio's not a huge puncher, but he was landing big shots over and over. It seemed like a beating that would stick with Hilario for the rest of his career, though Hilario never lost hope. Honorio, who's lost 4 times and has been stopped twice, is becoming one of my favorite smaller-time fighters.

Also caught some clips of Freddie Roach as a fighter, which was pretty cool. Happy 50th!

Boxing class 2/25/10

Did jab-trading with a number of different 'speeds' during this last class.

Part 1: feed-and-avoid. One partner would feed jabs, and the other would parry, block, slip, take, or weave it.

Part 2: one-for-one jab-trading. Basically what it sounds like; each person gets to do one jab at a time. This is a freestyle event, so you can return it immediately or wait a while and then initiate your own attack if it's your turn.

Part 3: switch partners, three-jab exchanges. This is a more structured version of the one-for-one; exchanges now occur in threes, with a jab, a counter-jab, and a counter to the counter.

Part 4: slipping the cross. Because we had some extra time due to the snow day, and cardio kickboxing wasn't getting their game on as early. Nice.

Triple threat - Workout B 2/22/10, Boxing class 2/23/10, Workout A 2/24/10

Workout B

Warmup sets
- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225
- Press 5x45, 5x95
- Rows 5x45, 5x95

Work sets
- Squat 5x275, 5x275, 5x275
- Press 5x105, 5x105, 5x105
- Rows 5x125, 5x125, 5x125

Boxing class was pretty legit. I got paired up with a much smaller girl. She hit first, and I thought she couldn't do much, since she kept dropping her hands after she jabbed. Turns out she was pretty good at feeding when she held the mitts. Had a pretty good jab then. I'm guessing she's just not conditioned enough to hit with the gloves.

Workout A, today

Warmup sets
- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225
- Bench 5x45, 5x135
- Deadlift 5x45, 5x225

Work sets
- Squat 5x275, 5x285, 5x290
- Bench 5x155, 5x155, 5x160
- Deadlift 5x275
- Pullups 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW

Not sure about squat form. Bench felt pretty good, tiring on that last rep, even though I'm progressing unbelievably slowly. Deadlifts feel fucking awesome. Got three with the double-overhand grip before switching it up in mixed grip for the last two. Pullups were done with mixed and messed up grips due to the twisty handles, of which I pretty much approve, since they at least let me get those sets in.

Overall, left the gym feeling satisfied these last few days. Hard not to, since they're the first two weeknights I've been there! (Eek.)

Workout A 2/20/10

Warmup sets
- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225
- Bench 5x45, 5x135
- Deadlift 5x45, 5x185

Work sets
- Squat 5x255, 5x265, 5x275
- Bench 5x155, 5x155, 5x155
- Deadlift 5x265
- Pullups 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW

Felt good, strong today. Got a full 3x5 out on the bench for once in my life, though I struggled mightily on all of the sets. Upcoming week looks pretty good, though. Should be able to get work done Monday and Wednesday.

Don't really feel like talking about the last FNF or UFC.

Boxing class 2/16/10, 2/18/10

Man, motivation just vaporizes when there are no numbers to show off my immeasurable strength gains. Or whatever. Procrastination on the weekends means no iron on the weekdays, and that sucks.

Worked with a partner on mitt-hitting on Tuesday. He was a bit weird and quiet, but he was a competent dude who knew how to hold mitts and could hit. Just wish I could've held mitts better. Today, I paired up with a Muay Thai club dude and worked on defending jabs, 1-2s, and 2-3s.

I feel like my shoulders and arms are much more conditioned this semester than they were last semester. I haven't done much mitt-hitting this semester, but I haven't totally worn my muscles out by punching this semester yet. That's a chin-up.

Tentative plan is to hit up the boxing club on Friday and iron on Saturday. If boxing doesn't happen tomorrow - as excuses tend to create themselves - I'll go to the gym then instead.

Grab-bag! matches, boxing class, workout B

Looks like Intermediate Boxing will feature sparring. I went on Tuesday and Thursday, and my partners, with whom I did not spar, were a senior in MSE and a freshman in ChemE, respectively. The latter was a bit overenthusiastic for his skill and size, a Dominican Republican native. I thought it was cool to be partnered up with a real-life Hispanic boxing fan. I am also clearly a nerd about these things.

Watch some solid boxing. ESPN2's Friday Night Fights has been a boon to me as of late, giving me Korean hot lightweight prospect Ji Hoon Kim knocking out a craftier, more experienced fighter in Tyrone Harris. In addition, Showtime gave me a glimpse of Edwin Valero - not of his legendary power, but of his ability as a boxer-puncher as he suffered a huge ass cut on his forehead en route to pounding the Mexican warrior Antonio DeMarco into submission. Finally, Nonito Donaire gained me as a massive fan after I caught wind of his dynamism as he knocked out a hugely outclassed challenger.

I think that about covers boxing class and news. Haven't been to Muay Thai for a variety of reasons, and by reasons I mean excuses. Most reason one is that I wanted to go to the gym today... because I skipped yesterday, but let's ignore that.

Warmup sets
- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225
- Press 5x45
- Row 5x45

Work sets
- Squat 5x245, 5x255, 5x260
- Press 5x95, 5x100, 5x105
- Row 5x115, 5x120, 5x125
- Dips 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW

Dunno about proper form for dips, but whatever. I'm tacking 'em on. Felt strong on presses today. Squats are tough, but I think I managed at least three good ones out of five on that last set. Rows are the weakest; I felt good at 120 but wrecked at 125. Probably had to do with recuperation times. Here we go!

Glen Johnson vs Yusaf Mack 2/5/10

Yes, I've actually taken this long a layoff. Ugh. Going back tomorrow.

Great match. Johnson's jab to the body and high jab output really set him up for this victory, even though he wasn't insane with activity. He imposed his inside fighting, outmuscling the younger Mack, who exchanged very solid power shots during outside encounters. But eventually, the body blows mixed up effectively enough for Johnson to knock Mack down twice in the corner with the right hand in the sixth. The third down was the end.

Was impressed with ESPN2's commentators. They noticed that the right hand would be big very early on, due to the way that Mack, The Ring's 7th-ranked light heavyweight, tends to lean his head to the right. Johnson, The Ring's 3rd-ranked, is a serious class act. He was respectful and straightforward in his post-fight interview.

Caught two more matches besides. Light welterweight prospect Francisco Contreras picked up his 13th win and 12th KO by stopping smaller, come-forward, tailor-made-for-him Juan Castaneda in 98 seconds with hard counterpunches and willingness to use the ring, the ropes, and his fists. Castaneda had shitty form and left himself open, but his record isn't that bad, so good for Contreras. Also on Showtime, Freddy Hernandez knocked DeMarcus Corley out cold. Felt bad for Corley; he was the lighter, smaller, more compact fighter; he took the fight on a week's notice; he's 35 and is far past his prime; and he fought his heart out. He was simply outclassed as he was against a laundry list of big names: Zab Judah, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Junior Witter, Devon Alexander.

Edwin Valero and Tomasz Adamek tomorrow. Yay movement.

Workout A 1/30/10

Well, I felt a bit better today. A little. I feel like the form on squats might be getting a bit shittier again, and bench is still quite sub-body-weight. Hate being weak.

Warmup sets
- Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225
- Bench 5x45, 5x95
- Deadlift 5x45, 5x135, 5x225

Work sets
- Squat 5x255, 5x265, 4x70 - yep, basically failure. Last 2-3 reps on every set were hell.
- Bench 5x145, 4x155, 5x150 - ... yeah, practically failed on 4 at 155. What the hell is wrong with me.
- Deadlift 5x240 - double overhand - feels good.

Chinups: 5xBW, 5xBW.

Not particularly good form. Didn't go all the way down. Really wanted to up my count. But yeah, after the second set, I had no intentions of going further.

I've noticed that I'm breathing really hard after my sets of anything. Might need to up the cardio.

Workout B 1/28/10

Slightly less discouraging edition! Last two reps on the last set of squats were a bit iffy. Otherwise, felt a bit better. I even felt strong doing presses. What up.

Warmup sets
- Squat 5x45, 5x135
- Press 5x45

Work sets
- Squat 5x225, 5x245, 5x265
- Press 5x95, 5x95, 5x100
- Row 5x95, 5x105, 5x115

Pullups: Did a set of 5 and a set of 4 at body weight. Not that bad, I don't think. Gonna start doing pullups on A days and dips on B days.

Workout A and Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa 1/24/10

Well, I've gotten weak as hell.

Warmup sets
- Squat 5x60, 5x135, 5x205
- Bench 5x45, 5x95, 5x135
- Deadlift 5x95, 5x185

Work sets
- Squat 3x255, 2x255
- Bench 4x155, 3x155
- Deadlift 5x235

Squats went well up until after that set at 205, after which my hamstrings were aching like they'd gotten a kickass workout. It was a good feeling, except it's the feeling you want to have after, you know, you actually have a kickass workout. The 'work sets,' as are evident, sucked ass.

Bench... that last failure is still on my mind. Got a spotter but did no reps where I couldn't actually complete it myself. Guess I'll work my way up from 145 next time, since 135 is still clean. Starting from scratch...

Lightheaded after those deadlifts, but double-overhand gripped that. Had to let go of the goddamn bar twice due to grip and exhaustion, but I pumped all five out in under a minute. I hope. It was probably my 'best' lift tonight, so I want to try to feel good about it.

Last night was my first time watching 'Juanma' and Gamboa. Gamboa took out Roger Mtagwa (whose name is apparently Roger and not Rogers, as popularized by the media) in two rounds. Mtagwa took Juanma the distance three months ago and nearly knocked Juanma out for two rounds straight, but Juanma escaped with the decision. The word that is most often used to describe him is 'game,' but Gamboa wrecked him with unbelievable counter left hooks and combination punching. Mtagwa just didn't look in the fight at all, getting rocked over and over, finally being knocked down for the third and final time in the third minute of the second round. Now it's important to note that Mtagwa weighed in at 122.5 for the featherweight (126) bout, so I dunno what was goin' on there.

Juanma took on a 'more difficult' opponent in Luevano. Notably, Gamboa (26-14-2 or something ridiculous) was described as being extremely game and tough, but as soon as he collapsed and Steve Smoger ended it, HBO's Boxing After Dark commentators began to describe Luevano as a tougher opponent. Which, in fairness, he probably is. Dude was 37-1-1 before the fight, and while some have called him past his prime, he'd defended his legit alphabelt four times before Juanma - moving up a division - challenged him. Luevano is supposedly cagey, a rangy, righthanded southpaw reliant on his dominant, lead hand. While he outjabbed Juanma for two rounds and mixed it up pretty well, Juanma simply seemed a lot stronger, and his infighting was really great to watch. In the fifth, Luevano seemed to find an interesting second wind, lowering his head and fighting the infighter's fight and appearing to win a close round - but then he went back to being fairly inactive in the sixth and got brutally knocked down and called out by the ref.

Bob Arum isn't pitting Gamboa against Lopez yet, because the bastard wants to build the fight by cleaning out the featherweight division. And that's fine with me, as long as we see names like Chris John being thrown into the mix. I don't want to see them taking up 'tuneup' fights.

As for the rest of boxing, the big news (that I haven't mentioned in over a month, yeesh) is of course that Mayweather-Pacquiao, so close to completion, was called off over drug testing. But due to circumstances in Haiti, Andre Berto has pulled out of the welterweight unification bout with Shane Mosley. This means Sugar Shane could be in line for Mayweather, though knowing Floyd, I'm not holding my breath on it. It's criminal that someone like Mosley can knock out the baddest man in boxing and then get no action for over a year while Pacquiao and Mayweather soar in the public's eye.

Meanwhile, boxing is certainly surviving the hits very well. Pacquiao's fighting Joshua Clottey - a match I don't fancy, but one I will watch (Clottey is one of those dudes who fights ugly and is, like Mtagwa, mainly described by words like 'tough' and 'strong' rather than 'dynamic' or 'slick') - in Cowboy Stadium. The match has sold 20,000 tickets in the first three hours or something, likely a figure blown up by Arum. And until then, The Ring Magazine has got multiple matches a week through that date, including names like Tomasz Adamek (the reigning lineal cruiserweight champion looking for glory at heavyweight); Edwin Valero (26-0, 26 KO); Nonito Donaire (The Ring's controversial #6 P4P whom I've never seen); and more and more great matches. Yeah, boxing marches on.