"A" is for Awesome Suprise Workout

Squat 3x5 200
Bench 3x5 135
Deadlift 1x8 180
Dips 3/3/2
Curls 3x5 DB 30

I wasn't actually expecting to workout at all (aside from doing some running) while in the Great Brown North, but my Big Brother (not actually related, met via the Big Brother program when I was 8 or so, we're basically family) and his family had a guest pass to the Pacific Athletic Club which is here in Redwood City and is apparently about as snazzy as gyms get. Apparently the joining fee for this place is $1500 and a club membership runs in the several-hundreds of dollars a month.

So I was expecting more than I got, but I really shouldn't have been surprised. As far as weightlifting goes they actually had less equipment than the ARC of both the free weight and the machine varieties. What was funny is that what they did have was the exact same brand of machines that the ARC has too. Even the same plates. Their Olympic bars were old and rusty to boot. This was likely due to the lack of use. The only people aside from me actually using the bars were Brosiefus and his Bromans doing bench press endlessly. One of the guys in there had what appeared to be a competition ready set of arms and shoulders with a skinnier waist and legs than Joe. He had to be around 6'4" too, so it looked like a stiff breeze would knock him over.

I can't knock the locker room though. Plush benches, spa and steam rooms, hot tub, complimentary shaving cream and good razors, and the showers were clean with nice soap, shampoo, and conditioner in dispensers. Oh, and a lounge area with a big screen HDTV with ESPN turned on. Apparently this is what you pay for since the weight area was overall disappointing. Of course this makes me sound like a snobbish prick (I am actually), but they didn't even have many more elliptical/treadmills/wtfever than the ARC does. They must e making huge bank given the membership fees at this place.

The saddest thing I saw in there had nothing to do with the gym itself however. It was two little Bros in the making. They looked to be about 8th Grade/HS Freshmen and I saw them come in about the time I was finishing dips and saw them beeline for the dumbbells. Over the course of time I spent finishing dips, doing some curls, and giving my Big Brother a small serving of shit for only using the machines I didn't see these guys do anything other than curls and DB bench. Looking at them it was pretty obvious they're new to this, but they had started to make gains in arms while still having legs like toothpicks. As douchey as Joe and I sound about lifting and people who only focus on arms/chest it really is pretty sad given that they could be pretty killer lifters if they started now.

Anyways, enough bitching about others. On to bitching about myself (or auto-fellating depending on the lift).

Squats were fucking awful. It felt like I had zero energy and my form was as bad as it was the first time I deloaded off of 185. I'm chalking this up to simple exhaustion after a 7ish hour drive the day before and am looking forward to taking the rest of the week off to rest up. Back to it Monday.

I had Brosidon (the only bro there who looked like he did leg work, actually looked pretty good overall) spot for me on bench. Possibly never having seen anyone actually doing a full and complete bench he went in to spot at my first rep since the bar actually touched my chest. He also came in and took off way too much weight way before I started to hit failure, but whatever. He was willing to help and spot for a random stranger and I always appreciate it.

Deadlifts actually felt fucking amazing. I did an extra three reps with good form to make up for the shitty performance on the squats. I also suspect I was the only person to do deadlifts in that gym in a long, long time since all the trainers who were having people curl 5lbs DBs were looking at me like I was insane. Not to mention the looks I got loading up the squat rack with 200lbs and actually going sub-parallel even if the rest of my form was shit.

Curls are curls, what can I say. Well, I do have the sinking feeling of hypocrisy every time I do them, but at least I'm getting the rest of my body in there too.

Workout B, More Wholesome than /b

What I pushed today:

Squat: 3x5 200

Military Press: 3x5 95

Bent Over Row: 3x5 135

Pull-Ups 3x8 -82

Squats were pretty rough again today despite taking some extra time to warm up on them. I think the lack of accessory work over (hyper-extensions and inclined weighted sit ups) the past few days has hurt my overall performance on squats. Then again, it just feels damn heavy moving that too. 

I decided to stay at 95 on press since I deloaded down from 100 last time and there's just not a whole lot of leeway since even deloading 20% is only four workouts worth of reloading. Joe and I are thinking of picking up a set of fractional plates so we can up the weight on press a pound or so at a time instead of needing to do five pound increments.

Bent over rows are currently my favorite lift in workout B. I feel like I'm actually still making progress on them and it feels like I have the form down pretty solidly on them. As with everything else I'm going to be sticking to adding five pounds a week on them, but I feel like I could almost do more.

The pull-ups are listed at -82 since I'm using an assisted pullup machine for these still. I've come a good ways since doing 118 pounds of assist, but it's been a lot slower than dips which I'm doing unweighted now.

There was someone new to squatting in the gym today who had just fucking horrible form. He was doing quarter squats (to be generous) and was doing them essentially on tip-toes. As per usual I wanted to help and Joe was being his angry little self, but also as per-usual I went and helped anyways. I always feel like kind of a douche for giving lifting advice since I'm so new at this myself, but it was really obvious this guy was a beginner and so I figured he might be open to some help.

I lucked out in being right that he was a beginner and he was actually really interested in learning some new information. I just went over the two big points of squatting (going below parallel and keeping the weight on your heels) and showed him what he was doing wrong. He was pretty happy to learn about it and I pointed him at Squat RX to pick up more form information so I hope he follows through and sticks with it.

Introduction

Hey there in Blogland, this is my first post here at Atheist Muscle.
You may have seen me in a darkened corner at the ARC snickering at the curl and bench press monkeys.
You may have seen me in the gym using the squat rack!

Here was my workout for the day

Front squat: 185lbs x5, 195lbs x 5, 205lbs x 5
Press: 100lbs, 3 x 5
Bent Over Row: 125lbs 3 x 5
Weighted Chins: 20lbs 3 x 5 (failed last 3 on last set)

Alex and I have been doing one of the many starting strength variations that you can find on the internet, and it's great. Though I am trying to come to a greater understanding of how to best progress once you are unable to add weight to the bar every workout. So far, I have been doing back-off sets for squat, and sometimes the other ones too. I also am trying to ramp up my weight on squats, as well as have lighter and heavier days. I know there is a lot more that I can do for this and am looking into the best ways do go about it.

Lifting and Martial Arts on the Same Day?

This is either insanity or evidence of a power level over nine-thousand!

I'm guessing more along the lines of insanity though.

Anyways, here's what I moved at the gym:

Back Squat 3x5 200lbs

Bench Press 5/5/3 135lbs

Sumo Deadlift 1x5 180lbs

Dips 2/2/2

Curls 4 the gurls 3x5 DB 30lbs

As Joe and I got to the gym around 2:30 after having woken up at noon it took both of us until the second working sets on squats to really get warmed up. You just know it's going to be a bitch day when the warmup set at 150 feels like you're about to keel over. I was suprised that I warmed up and sets two and three on squat felt progressively better.

Benching was odd as I did the first two sets without much of a problem, but the third set was total shit. Even the three reps I did get out had pretty shitty form and were rather wobbly.

Deadlift, Dips, and Curls all felt fine if a bit tired due to still recovering from Tuesday's Soo Bahk workout.

I leave for the studio in about ten minutes. On tuesday after the Soo Bahk workout I was basically passing out on the couch while conversing with Courtney, Vanessa, and Joe so I half expect to need to call someone to bring a spatula to scrape my ass off the floor. Suffice to say I'm not going to be doing much of anything tommorow.

Squat/Military Press/Rows/Pull-Ups await for Saturday though! After that it's up north to visit the family for the holidays and I'll be working my way further through the Couch-to-5k program while I'm up there. I actually feel pretty sad that I'm not going to have access to weights while I'm there.

Narcisism, Served Fresh Daily

So Joe and I workout at UC Irvine's main gym, the ARC. We're members of Atheists, Agnostics, and Rationalists at UC Irvine and we've been working out together since a bit before the start of Fall Quarter 2008.

Welcome to our blog where we'll post thoughts and reflections on lifting and various bitching about assholes doing curls in the power rack.

My own background is one of major fattness which has recently been reduced to only moderate flabbitation thanks in large part to Soo Bahk Do and now lifting. So I'll be posting about the amazement of finally being abl to lift my body-weight on squats and other such retarded things.