To increase pec strength you need to overload the muscle. To overload the muscle you can work it through increased range of motion. A cambered bar has 4 inches more depth. Blocks and pads can cut it down to an inch but I am working out with minimal help. I chose to use a bent bar known as the Buffalo Bar.
With age or aggressive pharmaceutical use, a pec tear is a risk with increased stress on the pecs. I have the age but not the pharmaceuticals. Doing the increased range bench press is a stretch that feels great followed by a tremendous muscular pump. If I get four workouts with this bar in before May 2nd, I should be able to get a few more reps out of the car bench press. The weights still have not been posted. I am hoping for a lighter vehicle and more reps instead of six people getting a zero in this event.
Leg day tomorrow. Thirty-one days left to train..
On my way home I talked my daughter through putting the steaks in the sous vide bath. The potatoes were prepped. The broccoli loaded in the steamer. The dog needed to be walked. When I returned, there was 25 to 30 minutes before the steaks would be ready to sear.
I had 25 minutes to workout. What to do? It was leg day with a tired lower back. I did six sets of Hatfield squats with the safety squat bar working up to a 2021 personal best. I alternated them with four sets of glute ham raises. I began doing glute ham raises again with the hope of bringing up my deadlift and getting a few more reps on the car deadlift May 2nd. If I can build back up to sets of 20 hugging a weight or holding it behind my shoulders, my deadlift might be up to the task.
I was done. I washed my hands, put on my apron, and got the food ready to be plated.
The first rep is always the hardest. I would not have fit this in if not for the accountability of the event. I have thirty-two days of training to go.
One of the events I am training for is a car push. I will need to push three cars of ascending size 50 feet each. I was going to practice with my middle daughter’s help this weekend but her schedule did not allow that.
To get the workout done, I decided it was time to teach my youngest how to drive.
In an empty parking lot, we worked on steering with the car off and in neutral. I pushed the car while she steered and she hit the brakes when I said I was done. Then we would start the car, roll in reverse at idle, while she practiced stopping without inducing whiplash.
I did not blow out an Achilles and she did not crash into anything. It was a decent workout and some father-daughter bonding.
Now I need to find a Suburban or large pickup truck to push for next time.
Blood flow restricted (BFR) exercise is when you occlude venous return so blood pumps in but cannot leave and pools in the muscles. With BFR you perform high repetition sets (30 reps) with limited rest (30 seconds between sets) with lighter weights (30% of 1 RM).
The goal is to achieve the results of high intensity exercise with low intensity exercise. You get blood pooling in the muscles, an increase in lactic acid and hypoxia in capillary beds, increased recruitment of fast twitch muscle fibers, and cellular and hormonal changes.
Studies have shown a 10-20% increase in muscular strength in 4 to 6 weeks.
I am coupling BFR exercise and high intensity exercise to maximize my gains in the next 35 days before the Strongman contest.
I will relay the results as they occur.
After using it on my triceps a few days ago, I am hopeful that the fatigue and soreness will pay off with more reps on the car bench press on May 2nd.
I signed up for a May 2nd strongman contest. I have 37 days to train and prepare. I figure I have 18 days of leg training and 18 days of upper body training give or take. I also need to lose nine pounds to make weight.
The implement weights have not been posted yet. I hope to be ready if I can get my deadlift up to 450, my bench up to 275, and push a big pickup truck 50 feet. I really need to rep out 405 pound deadlifts, get 8-10 reps with 225 on the bench, and get my grip strength back for the Hercules Hold event.
Signing up and the short notice has turned up the intensity in my workouts. I could not push at this intensity for months on end but I think I can for five weeks.
I do not expect to win. I just want to be in shape to do one. Making weight and improving my fitness will b my participation trophy.
Sign up for something and se what it does for you.
An article in JAMA reported average weight gain of 0.6 pounds every ten days of shelter-in-place orders from February 1st to June 1st, 2020.
A Harris poll reported 42% of adults gained an average of 29 pounds in the past year. Forty-eight percent of millennials reported undesired weight gain averaging 41 pounds. Forty-one percent of Generation Xers reported undesired weight gain averaging 21 pounds.
The JAMA article was based on data from Bluetooth connected scales. The Harris poll was based on self-reported data.
Sometimes it is good to be below average. And I am never buying a Bluetooth connected scale.
I am building momentum. I completed another to the point workout. I did hang snatches and ring chin ups followed by supersets of pin push ups and Hatfield squats with the safety squat bar. Then I joined the family for dinner.
After dinner, Holly led me on a long walk.
Can I be ready to compete in 38 days? Can I drop a few pounds for the weight class and to get my clothes fitting better? I’ll tell you in a month.
My brother rented a 2009 Super Air Nautique 210 for when I will be at the family cabin in Wisconsin.
My grandfather bought the place in 1945. I have been up there almost every summer of my life. As a kid, my family would spend up to eight weeks in Wisconsin swimming, canoeing, fishing, and running around. The place has been upgraded with running water and flushing toilets but it still rustic and 100 years old.
During my youth, I always wanted a speedboat. The neighbors had a speedboat but we never wrangled an invitation to go waterskiing. My dad would pull me with a 9.9 horsepower motor on a john boat. Being small and skinny then had some benefits.
I have recently become infatuated with wake surfing and wake foiling. We should be able to do both behind The Super Air Nautique. It does not have the electronics to instantly tune the wave so I ordered a suction-on wake shaper to improve the wave and allow us to surf easier.
This boat is the dream fulfilled. I hope the weather cooperates and reality is close to the fantasy. Even if it isn’t, it should be a fun week. Vacation is only four months away.
I got a nice workout in Monday. It consisted of two exercises: front squats and push presses. I got it done in time for dinner with the family. It was short and to the point. It was nice to get something done. That was the point. Something was better than nothing. If I can stack enough somethings together I will start to get somewhere or be ready to push hard for a month or six weeks to round into shape for a competition.
The first rep is always the hardest. Getting dressed, getting to the gym, and getting the first rep done is the greatest hurdle for me. There are so many other things I could be doing.
There is a strongman meet May 1st. Can I ramp up my training for a mediocre performance? Is a mediocre performance better than no performance? I am waiting to see what the weights and weight classes are before I decide.
Today a client commented on the guest hosts of Jeopardy. She followed it up with the greatest three sentence description of Jeopardy I have ever heard.
“My mother loved Jeopardy. She watched it every day. She never knew the answer to a single question.”
