Whilst in high school I read an inspirational book that I borrowed from my brother, Stephen. I can’t recall the name of the book or the author, and I’ve attemptED to find both to give credit where credit is due. Credit for what? This quote that I’ve memorized: Persistence gives confidence, and continued right mental attitude, followed by consistent action, will bring success. It’s probably been 35 or more years since I read the book, yet I still remember the quote.

Monday, December 4 | Confidence

As I mentioned, I’ve added overhead squats back into routine, and was very pleased with progress.

Strength
OHS
7 X 5
Then
1 X 3
Then
1RM

I began light, at just 65#, and recorded all reps. I completed sets of 5 @ 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, & 95#. Uhm, last week I barely got 1 rep @ 95#. I then completed 3 @ 100#, previous 1RM, and singles at 105 & 110. Yup, I did an extra rep. That’s a 10# gain in a week, but certainly not anywhere near all-time PR of 135#. Persistence, confidence, continued right mental attitude…

I can’t even recall the conditioning. How funny is that?

Tuesday, December 5 | Action

Strength
Deadlift
Establish 5RM

I really didn’t feel like working out, and I really didn’t want to deadlift. But I did. And I’m glad that I did.

I completed sets of 5 @ 205, 225, 245, 275, 295, & 315#. Uhm, I have 10, 3, 2, & 1RM, but not 5RM, so I can’t consider that a PR. I was feeling strong, so I continued, completing sets of 3 @ 330 & 350#, a new PR. So I put 365# on the barbell and achieved a new post-surgery PR by 5#. I’m getting strong AF.

Conditioning
14-min AMRAP
3 70# KB SDHPs
2X7, 2X9, 2X11, 2X13, 2X15 mountain climbers per leg
8 box jumps overs with 180 twist jump off box

Sounds confusing, I know. I completed exactly 10 rounds.

I rested Wednesday.

Thursday, December 7

Strength
Floor Press
10X10, establishing 10RM
Completed 10 Abmat sit-ups after each round

I set goal of 155#. I completed sets 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, & 150#. I wisely chose 150 for last set. ‘Twas a struggle, and I seriously doubt that I could’ve floor pressed 155# 10 times.

Conditioning
10-8-6-4-2
6-count burpee with twisting jump over barbell
Strict ring rows

All unbroken in a time of 5:12

~~~~~

Jeff and I spent the weekend in NY with Brenda and Larry. We had a wonderful time! We attended the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. Having seen this with my mother a number of years ago I was surprised by two things: how much of the performance had not changed and how much I remembered. The only bad thing was the altercation, started by Jeff, that I got into with the asshole seated to my right. Uhm, I don’t need to listen to you play videos of the Family Feud and hear you explain the show to your son as the organists are playing. And the asshole fidgeted the entire performance.

We also saw the Saturday matinee performance of Come From Away. It was incredible! Uhm, and the woman seated to my right fidgeted the entire show. I seriously think she had some issues, as she constantly fixed her hair, scratched her head, adjust her glasses, rubber her eye, and stroked her chin. For the last 15 minutes of the performance she mangled a plastic grocery bag. Asshole.

We had a delightful dinner at Mercato, did a little shopping, and also did a little sightseeing. Oh, and it snowed Saturday! The city was absolutely beautiful.

I miss Luke, Meg, and Zac even when we’re gone for such a short duration.

I didn’t work out Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and I can’t tell you the last time I’ve rested for three consecutive days.

Monday, December 11 | Back at It

The gym was cold! I wore sweats and gloves. Ha!

Strength
Press
Work up to heavy double

I completed sets of 5 @ 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, & 115. I attempted 5 @ 125 but only pressed 4 reps. I then completed 3 @ 130 & 2 @ 135, both 5# PRs. Yay!

Conditioning
25-20-15-10-5 unbroken hang power snatches, 45#
50-40-30-20-10 unbroken air squats

This is exactly what I needed, and I was quite out of breath by the end of the workout.

Time = 6:58

Tuesday, December 12 | Twelve Days

I watched the “Active Shooter” series on ShowTime. I felt devastated, hopeless, exasperated, overwhelmed, hopeful—the list of emotions may be endless. I will never understand America’s obsession with guns.

I took Luke for a walk (he’s healing nicely) and then worked out in the gym, sans mascot(s).

The 12 Days of PaulFit
1 strict HSPU
2 6-count burpees
3 strict ring dips
4 floor press, 75#
5 wall ball shots, 20# & 10′
6 SDHP
7 back squats
8 box jumps, 24″
9 power cleans
10 KB swings, 53#
11 stiff-legged deadlifts
12(0) double unders

As I’m beginning to blog only for myself, I shan’t explain.

Time = 30:53

This was tough, but I did complete all rounds of activities in unbroken reps. As the workout progressed, I became more and more winded, and often had to talk myself into beginning next activity.

Friday, December 1 | Push Press Ladder

For the first time ever, Luke did not listen when I told him “no,” and he chased a deer. He was out of sight for about 3 minutes, and that felt like 3 hours. He appeared fine when we met up. Evidently, though, he pulled a muscle, and began limping later in the day. I contacted his vet, she prescribed an anti-inflammatory, and he’s much better. We haven’t, however, been for any long walk, instead going for a few short walks throughout the day.

I absolutely abhor what’s going on in our country. That asshole is truly attempting to destroy our democracy. The bill won’t pay for itself, idiots. We’ve been down this path before. Going on.

My quads and hamstrings were still sore from the deadlift ladder, so I needed to work out some of the kinks.

Strength
Push Press Ladder @ 50% of bodyweight and up to 15 rounds

Seventy-five pounds felt light. And then 75 pounds felt heavy. That’s 120 reps; thus 9,000 pounds which is 4.5 tons.

 

Conditioning
AFAP
25 rounds
Air squat
Forward lunges (both legs)
Reserves lunges (both legs)

Time = 9:24

I’m going by recall, as I honestly can’t recall how many rounds I completed and/or if a round began with more than 1 air squat.

Saturday, December 2 | Skills

Again, I love working out alone, and I enjoy programming. For example, I knew I wanted to complete a workout that was at least 30 minutes, that included running, but that was an AMRAP and not an AFAP.

I first worked on hang power snatches, recording reps, reviewing, and tweaking performance, for example not pulling too quickly.

AMRAP
3 hang power snatches, 75#
5 hang power cleans
7 floor presses
200m run (50m shuttle sprints X 4)

I worked continuously and completed 14 rounds in 32 minutes, or about 2.5 minutes a round. See what I did there? I didn’t know how long the workout would last, but ensured that I completed a round at the end, i.e., that I wasn’t running when the clock ran out.

Sunday, December 3 | Oh, squats!

Yup, today was the day to work on my nemesis: overhead squats. And I’m pleased to report that I continue to make progress!

Strength
Overhead squats
Sets of 5 reps working up to heaviest
Then
Heaviest single reps

I warmed up with just the bar, and then did set of 5 @ 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, & 95. Uhm, just 2 weeks ago I was only able to do a single rep @ 95. I then did singles @ 100, 105, & 110, 10# heavier than last week’s heaviest single.

Every other minutes until HSPU failure; 3 attempts at any height or weight
Strict negative HSPU
Strict weighted ring dip

I completed negative HSPUs @ 4, 5.5, 7, 9, & 10.5″. I failed 2 attempts at 11.5″, but successfully completed 3rd attempt. Yay! That’s a 2.25″ PR, and matches my kipping HSPU PR. I failed @ 1′, and that’s okay.

I completed ring dips @ 35, 37.5, 40, 42.5, 44, 49, 54, 58, 63, 70, 75, & 80#, not even close to 1RM of 115#, but as I had failed at HSPU I stopped ring dips. The clock keeps you honest. I like that.

Conditioning
8-min AMRAP
8 air squats
Hops over 2 parallettes
Twisting burpee
Burpee
Lateral hops over 2 parallettes, changing direction each round

Wow, this was a gasser. I worked continuously and completed 18 rounds.

I decided that I’m going to retire from blogging about my workouts sometime between now and the end of the year. I’ll likely continue writing, only the blogs won’t be posted for anyone but myself to see.