[flak]

Originally Posted by Bubble Boy

Lexapro changed my life bro.
But I had to stick with it for about a month before the "weirdness" of it wore off. There was this really depressing stage before it kicked in.
I was prescribed it for two reasons:
-anxiety attacks
-insomnia

I haven't had an anxiety episode since I started taking it (a year?)
My sleep is better, but not CURED.

SIDE NOTE: Lexapro has less sexual side effects than the other anti-depressants. Something to consider.
Oh, and also, not all anti-depressants are the same. I went through several types before I settled on Lexapro.
Zoloft was horrible. I got MORE anxious.

Interesting, thanks. I'm glad to know things are working out for you. Prozac seems just fine for me so far.

I'm freaking amazed that I never had anxiety attacks.

[flak]

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008

THE ROAD TO 255

Rode bike to work and home from work, about 8 miles total, moderate pace

I went to the big weight room on campus in the afternoon.

Walked on a treadmill at the cardio room next door, then squatted. Ever since last Monday's episode I've been a little unsure what to do -- if my squatting strength is down, how should I cope? My answer, apparently, is to warm up and then do singles and doubles.

BARBELL BACK SQUATS, PL STYLE

Bare Oly bar (45 lbs.), 5 reps, 2 sets
95 lbs., 5 reps, 2 sets
135 lbs., 5 reps, 2 sets
185 lbs., 3 reps, 1 set -- felt fairly easy
225 lbs., 2 reps, 1 set -- second rep was tough but not awful

Okay, I decided I'd try again to resume my T3, with the 5 x 3 workout, starting at 255 lbs. That's what I was supposed to do last Monday.

255 lbs., failed single -- almost got it past the sticking point. (I've been saying that a lot lately)

Okay, fine. Change of plans. If I'm weak, so be it. I'll do what I can.

225 lbs., 2 reps, 1 set
235 lbs., single
235 lbs., single

Not great, but satisfying. I can still squat 235, at least.

Two guys next to me started doing overhead squats toward the end of my workout. Cool.

Tomorrow -- Not sure. Possibly shrugs. Or maybe a jog.

[flak]

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

I ENJOY SOHP, GHASTLY BACK DAMAGE

Rode bike to work and home from work, about 8 miles total, moderate pace

In the afternoon I went to the big weight room, decided to do SOHP

BARBELL SOHP
T3, CYCLE 8, WORKOUT 1 -- 5 x 10
In a power rack

Warm-up

Bare Oly bar (45 lbs.), 10 reps, 2 sets
75 lbs., 5 reps, 2 sets
105 lbs., 3 reps, 2 sets

Working sets

120 lbs., 8 reps
110 lbs., 6 reps + failed 7th
100 lbs., 4 reps + failed 5th
90 lbs., 8 reps + failed 9th
80 lbs., 9 reps + failed 10th

hunto finish

Bare Oly bar (45 lbs.), 10 reps, 5 or 6 sets (can't remember)

Was feeling really good throughout the workout. Fired up. Toward the end of my workout, some guy started doing ATG squats in the rack next to me. Good for him. I don't see a lot of those.

When I took a shower afterward, my upper back was stinging. When I got home I took a look in the mirror -- damn, I have some serious scraping/bruising where the bar rested on my traps during yesterday's squat session. Not sure why -- maybe Prozac promotes bruising(?). Anyway, I showed my wife and she was horrified. Good times.

Tomorrow -- Something at lunchtime, PL club workout after work, probably deads.

[flak]

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

THE NEW ****LLICA ALBUM SUCKS, I DL AGAIN

Rode bike to work and home from work, about 8 miles total, moderate pace

I listened to a pretty good chucnk of the new ****llica album, "Death Magnetic," today. So far I think it bites. There are some good riffs here and there, particularly at the beginning of "All Nightmare Long," but all the songs are too long, many of the riffs and vocal melodies too familiar-sounding. Fuck. Where's Lars' dad when you need him?

Today marked the first PL club workout I've attended this semester. The club's schedule is getting shuffled around. Looks like we'll meet at 6:30 or 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, and Sundays at noon. What with my family schedule I'll probably only make it to one weeknight workout each week, but that's okay.

So tonight it was deadlifts. I haven't done them much this summer, because I wanted to save my lower body for squats. Maybe that was a mistake. I dunno. But my squats are sucking, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

Here's what happened...

BARBELL DEADLIFTS

Sumo, double overhand

Bare Oly bar (45 lbs.), 10 reps, 1 set
135 lbs., 10 reps, 1 set
225 lbs., 5 reps, 1 set

Decided I just didn't feel like pulling sumo

Conventional, double overhand

225 lbs., 5 reps, 1 set
315 lbs., failed single

Switched to mixed grip

RO/LU 315 lbs., 3 reps, 1 set
LO/RU 315 lbs., 3 reps, 1 set -- left hand opening up , bar sagging on reps 2 and 3

I had been the first person from the club to show up.

One of the other guys came in, he wanted to do deads with 35 lbs. plates, so I said that's cool. The bar math gets a little tricky, but it'll probably help my squats.

BARBELL DEFICIT DEADS

Conventional, double overhand grip

115 lbs., 8 reps, 1 set
185 lbs., 5 reps, 1 set
255 lbs., 5 reps, 1 set

Switched to mixed grip

RO/LU 325 lbs., 2 reps, 1 set
LO/RU 325 lbs., 2 reps, 1 set

Put on chalk, couldn't use belt 'cause I'd loaned it to someone

RO/LU 395 lbs., failed single -- didn't even get it off the floor

Put on chalk, belt

Sumo, RO/LU 395 lbs., failed single -- got it up maybe an inch, scared cattin' it

Put on chalk

Conventional, LO/RU 325 lbs., 3 reps, 1 set

Tore a callus, at the base of my left pinkie. Dammit.

Oh well, it was time for me to get home anyway.

Tomorrow -- not sure. Maybe core stuff

[Stonebreaker]

Never done DL's with 35's providing the height off the floor. How much worse were they?

[flak]

Originally Posted by Stonebreaker

Never done DL's with 35's providing the height off the floor. How much worse were they?

Good question. Hard to gauge it precisely. The smaller plates add about an inch to the ROM, but for a lot of people (including me), it's added to the toughest part of the ROM.

It's noticeably harder, but only for a split-second, until the bar goes up that first inch.

Ballpark figure -- I'd say using 35s would probably reduce my potential 1RM by 10% to 20%. The difference might be more pronounced for taller people (because they're gonna be scrunched into a less biomechanically advantageous position) -- I'm 5' 7".

Some afternoon when there's nobody in the weight room I've gotta try using all 25s.

[flak]

Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

THIS BE MORE LIKE IT...

Rode bike to work and to YMCA after work, about 8 miles total, moderate to fast pace

I felt really fired up to lift today. I think it was last night's PL club workout that did it. Maybe my squat slump is just the result of lifting by myself day after day all summer. It was inspiring to be around a bunch of other people, many of them much stronger than me.

I decided to do SOHP today

BARBELL SOHP
T3, CYCLE 8, WORKOUT 2 -- 5 x 5

In a power rack

Warm-up

Bare Oly bar (45 lbs.), 10 reps, 2 sets
75 lbs., 8 reps, 1 set
75 lbs., 6 reps, 1 set
95 lbs., 3 reps, 2 sets
115 lbs., 2 reps, 2 sets

Working sets

135 lbs., 4 reps + failed 5th -- first time I did 4 reps at 135
125 lbs., 5 reps
120 lbs., 5 reps
115 lbs., 5 reps
110 lbs., 5 reps

Breaks between sets were 2 minutes, I timed them pretty carefully

hunto finish

65 lbs., 10 reps, 2 sets
65 lbs., 8 reps, 2 sets

Done

Tomorrow -- probably nothing except yardwork

[flak]

Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008

Worked in the yard for about 3 hours -- hauled branches out to the curb, then worked on digging up a tree stump in the back yard with a shovel and an ax. Didn't finish, but I chopped through all the easy-to-get-at roots and dug out most of the dirt around the sides. Tomorrow I'll see about chopping through the tap root.

Tomorrow -- squats with the PL club, more stump work

[flak]

Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008

Went to the PL club workout at noon. We had three brand-new members, all of whom were women, all of whom had some prior lifting experience. The only other people who showed up on time were me and one of the really strong guys. So I spent most of my time helping the n00bs get familiar with PL-style squatting. They all did great.

The bad news was, I didn't get to send much time lifting.

I did sets sprinkled throughout the session, did this...

BARBELL BACK SQUATS, PL STYLE

Bare Oly bar (45 lbs.), 5 reps, 1 set
95 lbs., 5 reps, 1 set
135 lbs., 5 reps, 1 set
185 lbs., 3 reps, 1 set
225 lbs., single -- it was tough

I dunno what's going on with my reduced squat strength.

In the afternoon I worked for about 3 hours working to remove the stump in my backyard -- lots of digging, some chopping.

Got most of the remaining work done. All that's left is to cut through the taproot. Ugh.

Tomorrow -- maybe something before work, squats at lunchtime

[flak]

Monday, Sept. 8, 2008

A LITTLE BETTER

Rode bike to work and home from work, about 8 miles roudn trip, moderate pace

In the afternoon I went to the big weight room on campus, did squats. This went well, considering my performance lately. Legs felt loose, knees felt good.

BARBELL BACK SQUATS, PL STYLE

Bare Oly bar (45 lbs.), 5 reps, 2 sets
95 lbs., 5 reps, 2 sets
135 lbs., 5 reps, 2 sets
185 lbs., 3 reps, 2 sets
225 lbs., single x 2
245 lbs., single x 5

The first couple of singles at 245 went up fairly easily. I'm confident I could've gotten at least 255. I'll go for that next time.

This session renewed my hope of hitting at least a modest PR before the contest ends.

Tomorrow -- push stuff, probably