400m sprints, long ass hike

400m Runs w/ 3-4 min recovery in between (Done at Westborough HS track)

1:04 (PR)
1:09
1:13


Total of a little less than 3 hours of walking. Estimated about 8-9 miles total. 1 hour around my neighborhood, 1.5 hours on powerline trail and a brief treadmill walk to round things out

COMMENTS

• General: 5 second PR on my 400m from when I last tested it about 1.5-2 years ago. Can't really complain at that progress for never training the distance besides in the occasional CF metcon. My hamstrings felt really tight during it the sprints. The walks were all good, especially on the powerline trail. Me and Dan cruised and covered a lot of ground. I'm sure occasional days like today will improve my ultra-running abilities.
• Nutrition: Had pita bread at dinner but otherwise clean
• Body: Legs are pretty sore from all the walking recently. Traps still sore but getting better.
• Sleep: 7 hours. Up at 6:30am and couldn't go back to sleep.
• Reflections: Today I met up with Contois and his brother in law to do some pre-race briefing. When it's all said and done my contribution to the crew will be about 24-36 hours of no sleep and running about 31 miles. I'm really excited to help out and run in a place I've never been before. Looks like it's going to be a pretty legit race from the sound of it. He expects me to pick him up at ~10pm the night of the race so needless to say I'll get to test the new headlamp for several hours. Tomorrow I have chest and arms.

Final Lower Power Day

Back Squat
10x135#
5x225#
3x275#
5x315#
5x275#
17x225# (PR)

Romanian Deadlifts
5x5x185#
____

2 hours of walking

COMMENTS

• General: Missed 2 out of 4 days of the lower power days on this program so I'm not 100% sure how effective it can really be. I skipped 10# instead of 5# on the LP this week for squat since I won't be squatting for nearly 2 weeks. That's also why I chose to do the high rep set at 225#. I was pissed I didn't get 20 but I made the right choice by racking it after 17. My legs were quivering and I knew if I went back down to squat I may pass out or completely fall with the weight on my back. I think after recovering I could get 20 pretty easily now that I'm adapted to it. The RDL's are a great movement but I think I need to go heavier now that I have the form down.
• Nutrition: Really clean
• Body: Traps are absolutely broken. Quite possibly the sorest any area of my body has ever been, no exaggeration. I can imagine my legs will be pretty sore tomorrow too.
• Sleep: 7.5 hours. Wide awake again this morning at 7am
• Reflections: As of now my plan tomorrow is to do some kind of track workout (maybe test my 1 mile time?) and then hike the entire powerline trail which should take over 2 hours. This is instead of my rest day that is normally on Wednesday. After that I'll hit 2 huge bodybuilding sessions on Thursday and Friday to wrap up my week before I head to Maine on Saturday. I may go for a trail run on Saturday morning time permitting.

Final Week of Power Upper

Bench Press
3x185#
5x205# (PR)
5x185#

Bent Over Barbell Rows
3x5x225#

Press
5x95#
3x135#
5x150# (F, 3)
3x152.5# (3 rep PR)
10x115#

Barbell Power Shrugs (with straps)
5x315#
3x5x365#

Axle Curls
3x105# for 10, 8, 7 reps

~2 hours of walking
COMMENTS

• General: Really good day today. I bought wrist straps today and used them for the first time. At this moment I must say my traps have never been sorer. Probably because I jumped 90# from last weeks shrugs. They seem like a useful tool for strength training so I will continue to use them for certain movements. I did pop a blood vessel in my right wrist because of them though. Nice to PR on bench and press this week once again. I've never microloaded a lift before but I can imagine my press may need that from here on out. I've always had problems going up 5# a week on press.
• Nutrition: Clean minus some dark chocolate
• Body: Traps are sore as hell from today. I felt a little tight in my upper body but not too sore today.
• Sleep: 7.5 hours. Wide awake at 7am this morning. Don't know why
• Reflections: I can honestly say I'm very pleased with how the upper power days went during my 4 week trial run. Originally I thought benching and pressing on the same day would make PRing impossible and also thought it may be too much volume but I think I did really well for 4 weeks. Tomorrow I'm going to murk my lower body in lower power. I won't be resting all week because I'm going to Maine on Saturday and won't have access to weights for over a week. My next scheduled rest day will be either next Saturday or Sunday.

watchung

45 min run at the Watchung Reservation in Summit, NJ, a little over 4mi covered


COMMENTS

• General: Didn't run very long today because I didn't bring my handheld to NJ and the heat index here is about 100 degrees. Going at 2pm in a thick wooded forest didn't exactly help me outlast the elements. The Watchung reservation was beautiful. Single track that makes what I run on at home look like nothing special at all. Everything was connected and well maintained. I bought some Nuun tablets today to try out next week and hopefully bring to pace Contois in a few weeks.
• Nutrition: OK, better than yesterday but I did have a sandwich for lunch
• Body: My upper body is fatigued but not sore. Legs felt really tired and sore on the run which I attribute to the heat and the sprints I did yesterday.
• Sleep: 8 hours
• Reflections: When I get out of college the top 3 places I'm considering living are New Jersey, New York (not city) and Massachusetts. The trails in NJ are so awesome that at this point it's probably a front runner. Obviously job location plays a big part in that but places like the Watchung reservation make me really excited to maybe move down here some day. I can honestly say that if I lived here now and had access to places like this I would be a runner first and a strength athlete second, whereas I currently am the opposite. Resting tomorrow.

Upper body, 200m sprints

Standing DB Press
2x10x45#'s
9x45#'s

Supersetted with DB Front Raises
3x10x27.5#

3x10x85#'s DB Rows supersetted with Arnold Press 3x6x40#'s

3x12 Pullups (11, 9, 9) w/ 5# added onto waist supersetted with DB Shrugs 3x10x100#'s

Back Pump Machine 3x10x185#
_______

6x200m Sprints on road, 45 second recoveries

30-40 second range

COMMENTS

• General: Pretty good day. I opted to linear progress my pullups by adding 5# from last week. I think by doing that my pullup numbers will go up quickly as I have never really done weighted pullups before. Sprints felt good even though I did it in 106 degree weather. I only did 6 because more than that may have made the workout and my health go south quickly.
• Nutrition: Not very good. I'm staying at my dads girlfriends who doesn't eat very healthy so I'm kind of screwed until Sunday. I got enough protein in though. Tomorrow will be better.
• Body: Chest and triceps were kind of sore. Biceps had some tightness. Legs didn't feel too fresh on the sprints either.
• Sleep: 5 hours. I had ice cream last night for the first time in a couple weeks. I've noticed that when I go 5+ days without eating junk especially late at night and then I do it that night of sleep is awful. It took me nearly 3 hours of laying in bed to finally fall asleep.
• Reflections: Pretty solid week of training. I'm hoping to sneak away for a run over the next 2 days but judging by the amount of work we have to do (I'm in NJ to work for my dad's girlfriend) I may not have time. The heat is supposed to be pretty bad too which may deter me from doing any serious running. We'll see what happens.

Layne Norton is a genius

4x8 DB Incline Press
8x60#
8x65#
6x65#
7x65#

4x8 Close Grip Bench
145#
145#
7x145#
6x145#

3x10 DB Flat Bench
3x8x55#

Supersetted with Preacher curls
3x10x85#

3x10 Standing French Press
55 Straight across

Supersetted with Tricep Extensions
3x10x40#


3x12 DB Hammer Curls
3x8x50#'s

3x8 DB Curls
8x55#'s
6x55#'s
6x55#'s

Dips
10, 6, 8, 5


COMMENTS

• General: Pretty brutal day today. Being out in the heat all day and going to a gym with no ACs can be pretty exhausting. By the end of my workout my shirt and pants were fully saturated with sweat. I didn't PR on everything and couldn't meet all my reps but that's expected. As long as I progress I think I'm doing it right.
• Nutrition: Not as good today. I had ice cream and some junk at night. Trying to recover as I have only about 15 hours in between this workout and tomorrows.
• Body: Felt really good today. There has been blisters on the inside of my toes for days that have been driving me insane.
• Sleep: 7-8 hours
• Reflections: Headed to NJ tomorrow. Looking to hit up the Watchung Reservation on Saturday morning hopefully if all goes as planned. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. I will be working out really early tomorrow and then gone for the weekend. I'll be posting all weekend.

7/19 and 7/20

7/19

Back Squat
10x135#
5x225#
3x275#
5x305#

Rack Pulls from bottom pin in rack
495 for 5 singles
__
4 Hill sprints at bottom of Brigham to top near mass pike, all out. Ranged between 40-45 seconds

___________________

7/20
Rest Day

Mowed 2 lawns


COMMENTS

• General: I forgot to blog yesterday because I was too tired last night. The squat was pretty easy which made me happy and my back felt good. The rackpulls were just to get my back used to the deadlifting again since it's been a while since I have pulled. No pain in my back but the following day as I write this my lower back is pretty friggen sore. I've been outside all day the last 2 days which has been draining my energy.
• Nutrition: Pretty good. It's been clean minus a lot of chocolate I've been scarfing at lunch
• Body: Back sore, legs fatigued. The night time walks before bed are dynamite for aesthetics but I've noticed my legs not recovering very well from them.
• Sleep: 7-8 hours last night, forget 2 nights ago
• Reflections: Pretty happy with both days. I have week 3 of upper body work tomorrow with chest and arms which should be fun. I have to move some heavy weight in order to advance so we'll see how I hold up. I bought a $60 headlamp today and it's a lot nicer than my old one was. I figure I'm going to need it for Maine in 2-3 weeks and for when school starts. I'm also finally going to order my weightlifting shoes tomorrow or Friday as well which have been long overdue. I'm thinking I may drive to the Watchung Reservation in NJ on Saturday or Sunday morning and get a trail run in there. The people who put on my 50m in March run a 50k during the winter in that area and it's only 20 min away from where I'm staying.

Power upper week 3, slight pump, walk

Bench Press
10x135#
3x185#
5x200# (PR)
5x200# (F 4)
6x165#

Bent Barbell Rows
3x5x221#

Press
3x135#
4x145#
3x150# (PR)
5x135#

Power Shrugs
5x5x275# (Double overhand grip on all sets)

Bicep Curls
3x5x55#'s DBs

12 Chin ups

1x10 GHD sit ups


40 min walk

COMMENTS

• General: Decent day although it didn't feel like it. I failed on my bench set and couldn't go straight across and I couldn't hit a 5 rep PR on press. But in the end I hit 2 lifetime PR's so I can't complain at all. I did some chin ups to get a little pump and GHD's to try and ease back into them. I was pleased in general with today's session. I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow because I don't think it'd be wise to squat.
• Nutrition: Clean minus dark chocolate
• Body: Legs are really fatigued. Probably from all the miles of walking and running recently. I was a bit sore in my upper body when I started today too.
• Sleep: 7-8 hours
• Reflections: Stone Cat 50m sign up begins August 1st and is expected to fill up quickly. I am planning on doing this race as my final ultra of 2011. If anyone reading my blog is debating on doing it as well, let me know.

Longest run in a while

2:12 min run covering ~13 miles all in Rayburn single track


Total of 80 min of walking

COMMENTS

• General: I found a lot of single track I've never run on before today which was sick. Probably a 2 mile strip in the "western" part that was absolutely awesome to run on. Finding new trails is one of my favorite things in the world when it comes to training so today's run ended with me being pretty happy. I only had 1 goo before and went through a bottle of water throughout.
• Nutrition: Good. Had a sugary shake post wod but otherwise clean
• Body: Feel good. I recover very fast from these runs I've been on recently. No soreness or dullness in my muscles about 2-3 hours post run.
• Sleep: 7 hours.
• Reflections: Really good week of training. I'll rest tomorrow even though my body may be OK to train. I have a work commitment all week that runs most of the day so I'll be training later than I'm used to Monday-Thursday. I won't get a chance to run long next weekend because I'll be in New Jersey, so unless I find a reservation to go on a long run at I may just Crossfit or do intervals instead. I'll structure my running this week around it.

Shouldahsss

Standing DB Press 3x10x45 (9,8,9)#'s, supersetted with DB front raises 3x10x22.5#'s

 

3x10x80#'s Dumbbell Rows super setted with Arnold Press 3x8x35#'s

 

3x12 Pullups  supersetted with DB shrugs 3x12x95#'s

 

3x10 Close grip lat pulldowns (100#)

 

3x10 T-Bar Rows


25 min walk


3 min on each side glute stretch MWOD

COMMENTS

• General: Another good day of training. This ends week 2 of layne's program and I'm pretty happy with how it's gone so far. I've noticed my deltoids are a lot more defined after only 2 weeks on the program. In general I'd like to continue the next 2 weeks and see where I end up. I don't think 4 weeks is enough time to run this program to see the full benefits, so once I go back to school after I do the Stone Cat 50m I think I may give it an 8 week trial with a massive caloric excess. I think then I may see everything it has to offer. I am quite pleased right now with results though, don't get me wrong.
• Nutrition: It was good most of the day. I had chips and dip and a bowl of cereal before bed. This was the first time I ate after 7pm all week. Did this to ensure I'd have enough carbohydrate reserves for the morning run.
• Body: Nothing too sore. My back felt a bit better today after I stretched it out but nowhere near ready. I most likely won't be able to squat the rest of this program.
• Sleep: Can't remember. Been sleeping really well recently though.
• Reflections: Tomorrow I'm going to go for a long run. I'd like to hit 3 hours. I'm planning on combining the roads and a few trail areas so it should make for an interesting run to say the least. Really good week of training minus the back injury so far.

Chesticles and Ahms week 2

4x8 DB Incline Press
55, 60, 60, 60

4x8 Close Grip Bench Press
140 straight across

3x10 Flat Bench w/ DB's
55 for 10, 8, 8

Supersetted with Preacher curls 3x10
80 straight across

3x10 Standing French press
50 straight across

Supersetted with tricep pulldowns 3x10
50 for 10, 8, 3

3x12 DB Hammer Curls
45, 45, 45x8

3x8 DB Curls
40 straight across

Dips
9, 8, 7


P90x Ab Ripper X

6 min bottom of a squat hold


COMMENTS

• General: Pretty decent day. I was pretty shot by the end of this work out. There was a lot of 5# jumps from last week but some sets the weight was just too much to make the reps required. Definitely going to feel today's wod tomorrow when I do shoulders back and traps. Randomly decided to do P90x Ab ripper because I felt it may save some of my core strength while I recover from my back injury. I tried holding 10 minutes on the squat test but my lower back wouldn't allow it so I came out of it early.
• Nutrition: Really clean
• Body: No back progress. Hamstrings are still sore but other than that I felt pretty good today.
• Sleep: 8.5 hours
• Reflections: This back injury really sucks. It's most likely going to prevent me to from squatting or deadlifting for another 2 weeks. I am smart enough to know not to work with it until it's 100% but its frustrating. I'm looking leaner over the last few days from clean eating and 1 or 2 of those days at a caloric deficit. By the way, I've lost 2 of my followers over the last couple days. Is my training just not interesting to readers anymore?

Rest

40 min walk

COMMENTS

• General: Hit up a walk in the late PM right before bed. Hoping it doesn't affect recovery too much because I was torched all day but I felt the need to do something. Looking forward to chest and arms tomorrow.
• Nutrition: Really good
• Body: Tired. My hamstrings, abs, calves and ankles are all sore. My back just isn't getting better. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of money or good health insurance because I think this is an injury that should be examined further.
• Sleep: 8-9 hours. I couldn't fall asleep last night because my last indoor game ended at 11pm.
• Reflections: 2 bodybuilding days in a row and then a good run on Saturday. So far my nutrition and training have felt really dialed in this week so I'm going to keep it rolling.

Change of Plans for the day

Crossfit Open Wod #1:

AMRAP 10:
30 Double Unders
15 Power Snatches 75#

5 Rounds, 30 Du's + 12 snatches (PR)
____

2 indoor soccer games

30 min walk


COMMENTS

• General: Metcon went well. I went to squat and do Layne norton's lower body program but my back had other plans. I knew pushing it today would kill the progress I've made in healing it, so I decided to metcon. No particular reason for this metcon other than it wasn't too long and I knew I could PR. 2 Indoor games were good, lots of running and I was absolutely smoked by the time we were done.
• Nutrition: Clean. Ate below calories today for sure.
• Body: Back has gone back a step. I made a lacrosse ball roller and went to work on the soft tissue earlier today. Legs are really sore too and will be worse tomorrow.
• Sleep: 8-9 hours
• Reflections: Resting tomorrow, and won't be running. My body is screaming for some time off, and although I need to run more tomorrow is not the day to make that happen. Maybe if I wake up feeling really good it'll happen but I doubt it. I'll probably do a long walk instead. Hopefully going to put in a good long mileage run this weekend.

Layne Norton Power Upper, Intervals, Bball

Layne Norton Upper Power Week 2

Bench Press
10x135#
5x155#
3x5x195# (PR)

Bent Barbell Rows 3x5
185
205
205

Press
8x95#
3x5x140#

Barbell Shrugs 5x5
275
275
295
295
295


Max Curls W/ 60# db's- 4 each arm


2x10 Decline sit ups with 20# plate
_______________

Running Intervals- Done on 1k loop surrounding Dan's house

5 minutes on, 5 off, 4 on 4 off, 3 on 3 off, 2 on 2 off, 1 on 1 off, done

4.25k covered

_____
1 hour of pick up basketball

COMMENTS

• General: Absolutely wiped from a full day of being outside. The intervals was definitely a PR, I felt really good throughout the entire run. Bench PR was nice as well. I definitely didn't get enough food in for today's activity level so if tomorrow's WOD suffers that'll be the culprit. I'm not hungry at all so I'm not going to force food down my throat.
• Nutrition: Clean minus nutella
• Body: Back is getting there. I'd say a few more days and I should be 100%. Legs are still sore and should be pretty sore again tomorrow unfortunately.
• Sleep: 8-9 hours
• Reflections: In general a solid day of training. I'm hoping squatting isn't affected too much tomorrow by today's training but if it does I suppose I'll live. It was really nice out so I'm glad I spent so much time outside.

Rest Day

Total of 70 minutes of walks split over 3 different times

COMMENTS

• General: Hit up 3 nice walks today which made me feel like I accomplished something. Really looking forward to tomorrows upper body power session.
• Nutrition: I had a slice of pizza today but other than that I think I was pretty clean. I did drink last night.
• Body: Still a no go with the back. Legs and ankles are a tad sore.
• Sleep: 8-9 hours. Drinking gin last night made me not sleep too good.
• Reflections: Pleased with how the first week of training went for sure on Layne Norton's program. Hopefully I continue strong with this upcoming week.

Run

6.6 mile run out and back on the powerline trail. 72 minutes


COMMENTS

• General: Not as long as I wanted to go today, but I didn't bring any water to get when I got back to my car which made me end early. I'm not used to running during the summer weather apparently so from now on I need to bring more water than I think. I'm going to hit up another light run tomorrow, likely barefoot.
• Nutrition: Good. I may drink tonight, but regardless of if I do or not after tonight I'm done drinking until August.
• Body: Back feeling better but not there yet. In general not really sore.
• Sleep: 8-9 hours
• Reflections: Happy with today's run. Recovered very quickly from it. I'm going to build up the miles over the next few weeks in order to do well in my race and pacing Contois.

Bodybuilding status

Layne Norton Week 1, Back, shoulders and traps


Standing DB Press 3x10x40#'s, supersetted with DB front raises 3x10x20#'s

3x10x70#'s Dumbbell Rows super setted with Arnold Press 3x10x30#'s

3x12 Pullups- (12, 11, 10) supersetted with DB shrugs 3x12x90#'s

3x12 Close grip lat pulldowns

3x12 T-Bar Rows


40 min walk on treadmill

COMMENTS

• General: I was really sore going into today's training session in my upper body which I felt early on, especially with the presses. It really looks like I'm doing nothing on paper (or on a blog) but my upper body is really tax'd and I know that training like this will make my goal of getting a larger upper body come to fruition.
• Nutrition: Really good, I ended up eating shit last night though
• Body: Triceps and chest are really sore. Minor improvements in the back.
• Sleep: 8-8.5 hours
• Reflections: Going to go for a trail run tomorrow. Not sure how far, I'd like to go 10-15 miles though. I committed to crewing Contois at a private 100mi race in Maine 8 days before the TARC Summer classic next month. The terrain is going to be very hard, stuff I'm not used to from what I've gathered from the information he's sent me. That means only one thing..... Powerline trail tomorrow. Closest thing to technical hell trail running I have around here so let's do it.

Workout + Pic Update

Layne Norton Week 1 Chest + Arms

4x8 DB Incline Press
50, 55, 55, 55

4x8 Close Grip Bench
135 straight across

3x10 DB Flat Bench Supersetted w/ preacher curls
55,75/  50,75/  50,75

3x10 Standing French Press Supersetted w/ Cable Pull downs
65,50/45,50/45 then 6 w/ 50 and 4 w/40

3x12 DB Hammer Curls
40 straight across

4x8 DB Curls
35 straight across

2x10 Bar Dips

COMMENTS

• General: Oh boy, what a day. This is the first time I've ever stepped foot in the gym and done bodybuilding stuff only since I found Crossfit in 2007. I can honestly say this is way more volume than I'm used to and my body is going to be wrecked tomorrow. I plan to do 3 more weeks after this one of the program and will go up in weight in the movements each week if possible. Tomorrow is similar but with back and shoulders which should suck too.
• Nutrition: Clean
• Body: Woke up really groggy but in general ok. My back is not feeling any better.
• Sleep: 9-9.5 hours
• Reflections: Forgot to blog yesterday, but I hiked 4 miles on the powerline trail for some active recovery. It's interesting training like this and I bet I will see a big size increase after 4 weeks on the program. On another note, I was fooling around with my camera last night to take some pictures of my upper body. I began taking pictures of myself sporadically when I did P90X my sophomore year in high school, and have continued to take them every 3-6 months since. I only took a few this year but here is one that proves that the strength work I'm doing is really working. Figured I'd share it with everyone.

Notice the size increase in the core, biceps and shoulders. I'm about 10# heavier than I was last summer when this was taken and I am not much fatter if at all. Strength training works, if you didn't know.

Lower Body Power Week 1

Back Squat
10x135#
5x225#
3x275#
3x5x295#

Romanian Deadlifts
5x155#
3x5x165#

Back Extensions
3x10x25# Weighted Plate


20 min treadmill hill climb, a little over a mile covered at 15% grade


30 min walk


1 hour indoor soccer game

COMMENTS

• General: Pretty solid day. I'm also supposed to do calves on these days but I'm not a big believer in having "swole calves" especially since I think size increase down there may affect my running. In retrospect I probably should do 1-2 sets though because whenever I get running injuries it tends to be my achilles. The squat was really hard today, so much harder than it should've been. Deload week didn't do much apparently.
• Nutrition: Really good. Bought another tub of whey today which has been lacking in my normal diet the last 2 weeks. ON Strawberry Whey. Good shit.
• Body: Back STILL isn't feeling good, but there was no pain during any of the exercises. It was stiff before I squatted but after one set it felt fine. The culprit is sitting more than heavy lifting that is hindering recovery. Not as sore in the upper body as I expected.
• Sleep: 9 hours. I think I'm finally back to my normal sleeping patterns which has me very happy. Probably an indication that my depression is getting better.
• Reflections: Speaking of depression, an update from the last time I talked about it is probably in order. I have felt a lot better over the last month but there are times when I wake up and I'm depressed from the start of the day. This has never happened to me before. Typically takes 6-8 hours before I feel better when this happens. I am beginning therapy this friday to hopefully help me, although it's only one session. When I go back to school in September I will be going 1x a week. Resting tomorrow and then my first all pump session will be Thursday.

Swolertrophy Day 1

Layne Norton, Power Upper Body Day 1 week 1


Bench Press
10x135#
5x185#
5x190#
5x190#

Bent Over Barbell Rows
3x5x165#

Press
8x95#
5x115#
3x5x130#

Barbell Shrugs
5x5x265#

DB Incline Press w/ 50# DB's: 12, 10, 10

25 min walk

COMMENTS

• General: Lots of volume as you can see. Wasn't used to it but my body responded well. I felt fine the rest of the day. Tomorrow is lower body with squatting and deadlifting so we will see what that does to me. I think this program may be what I'm looking for if I keep everything going strong. I'm going to be walking more often.
• Nutrition: Really good. Had some nutella on an apple but other than that clean.
• Body: I felt good today. My back still isn't good but I was picking up the 255# for shrugs off the floor today and there wasn't pain.
• Sleep: 9 hours. Feel back to normal again.
• Reflections: I've been revving with energy these last few days to work out. I'm looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

Da weekend

No training 

• COMMENTS
• General: I was going to hit up a run yesterday but after spending 3 nights in a row drinking (I NEVER do this for the record, but Dan's family was out of town and we ended up having people over ever single night) my body finally caught up with me. I started throwing up yesterday morning pretty bad and decided it was best to just relax instead. I'm an idiot.... but it was a good week and since it only happens once a year I guess I just have to move on. Rested the entire weekend.
• Nutrition: Today's was good, yesterdays not.
• Body: Back is feeling better. I did some Romanian deadlifts today with no pain but I wouldn't do much heavier weight in a regular deadlift just yet.
• Sleep: 9 hours, much needed
• Reflections: Going to go with a 4 week test trial of Layne Norton's Hypertrophy program beginning tomorrow. Very high volume, but lots of gains are possible if I commit to it. I may be going to a party next Saturday but other than that I'm done drinking for the entire course of this program. I'll be eating like a horse over the next couple weeks to recover well enough. The good news is I will still be able to do 2 runs a week like I try to do anyway.

Bench Press, 500m Row, Pump

Bench Press

8x135#
4x185#
215#
225# (PR, 2011 goal)
230# (PR)
19x135# (PR by 1)


500m Row TT:
1:26:00 (PR by 2.6 seconds)



Axle Curls w/ 105# bar: 10, 8, 6

Tricep Pulldowns


COMMENTS

• General: So pumped that I hit all my strength goals for the year. The 500m row was also a surprise PR. I got really naseaus after I finished and had to lay down for a while after I finished. In general a solid training session. 
• Nutrition: Good, but I drank last night. Dan's family has been gone on vacation all week so we've been hosting ruckus. One more party tonight and I go sober for 4-6 weeks.
• Body: Back still bothering me. I deadlifted a 185# bar just to see how it felt and it hurt. Probably won't deadlift at all next week either. I think all the rest may result in a huge PR when I'm finally healed.
• Sleep: 8 hours
• Reflections: I'm debating giving Layne Norton's hypertrophy program a shot beginning on Monday. It's basically 2 days a week of high volume powerlifting with 2 days a week of body building. There are 2 days for optional conditioning which is where I would get my runs in. Some people have reported 6 weeks of adjustment to being able to handle the volume on this program so if I choose to do it my nutrition will be key and I will need to eat like a horse and sleep better to make it work. I'm going to decide by Sunday.