Day 355

Tonight I spent time with a special group of young boys and girls... I wrote about it...  Just can't seem to get it off my mind.

Day 354

Took a nap this afternoon and slept too long. I was going to do some log pressing but I just didn't have it this afternoon.

Took that family to Chick-Fil-A and we met up with some friends, stayed out too late. It was a good night. 

Day 353

Stone Trainer
105 x 3
140 x 3
175 x 3

Keg Press and carry
150 x press and carry 30' x 2, 2
240 keg x press and carry 15' (whew Lord, this event is going to be brutal)

Sat on my swing for a while Rebekah played, whew I am tired.

Day 352

Band Shoulder Warmup

Log Press

empty x 5

185 x 3

205 x 3, 3

235 x 1 

Stone Trainer

105 x 4

140 x 3

175 x 1,1,1

18" Rack Pull

135 x 5

225 x 5

315 x 3

405 x 2

505 x 1

555 x 1

640 x 1 ( I think I may have warped old trusty rusty on this one)

Day 351

Band shoulder warmup
Incline Bench
bar x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 2
250 x 2
275 x 1
290 x 1

Dumbell Rows
140 x 5,5

Stone trainer
105 x 5
140 x 5

barbell curls

Day 350

Sunday School then big church then lunch then a nap then we sat in, you guessed it, the swing. and spent some time outside, and filled in a couple of holes where some tree stumps had rotted and turned into leg breaking booby traps.

Then we went to the duck pond and fed the entitled, aggressive, welfare ducks some bread...  They were the bossiest little boogers...

Day 349

I sat in my swing literally all morning and drank coffee while Rebekah played in the back yard. My back is still killing me and will not let go.

More Advil and a nap ahead... taking my bride on a little date this evening.

Day 348

AM - Well, made a home depot run and and got my last remaining supplies to finish off the swing. Worked on it until about 1pm, finally got it hung and it is rock solid.

Unfortunately, all the hunching over and toiling away has made my right lower back spasm and lock up. So now I'm hobbling like an elderly man and can barely get off the coach, much less catch up on my training.

Going to load up on Advil, rest, and stretch and see if I can get it to un-knot.

PM - took the family out for mexican and drank four gallons of sweet tea, then went to a friends house and sat outside, played with kids and ate ice cream.  The swing is AWESOME!

Day 347

I worked on the swing for the better part of the day, ran out of screws and I need another 2x4, So I'll have to wait until tomorrow to get it finished, but it is going to be awesome,

AND sturdy enough for me and Brad Stanford to sit on it and swing when he comes down for the BarBell BQ in July.

Day 346

I spent this morning running errands with the family. 

We went to Sam's and ended up getting lunch there on the cheap. Then Target, Allison saw about a dozen people she knew and we had to talk to all of them for 15 minutes each.

 So, we ended up staying forever. Then later this afternoon my nephew and I went to Home Depot and picked up lumber for a backyard swing I'm making. 

I managed to get my posts plum and cemented in the ground. Tomorrow I'll work on the swing.

Day 345

Took my oldest fishing and we caught our dinner.

Then we brought them home and I filleted them with my electric knife and my lovely little angel bride fried them up for us for dinner.  They were good eating too!

Day 344

Squats
bar x 5
135 x 5
225 x 3
305 x 5
345 x 3
390 x 3
305 x 6

Log Press
empty x 8
175 x 5
200 x 3
225 x 5 (my cleans have a lot of snap, feeling good)
200 x 6 (first 4 were strict, the last one not so much)

Floor Press w/ fat grips

225 x 14,4,3 (15 seconds rest b/w sets)

Band Lat Pulldowns x 16, 12, 12 (15 secs rest b/w sets)

Then I dug 2 holes for a porch swing I'm making so I worked a set of post hole diggers for about an hour. I was cooked.

THEN I swung a 6lb. maul and busted up a small tree stump that would wreck my already crappy lawnmower x 10 minutes.

Where's my advil?

Day 343

Got up went to Sunday School AND Big Church (which, with 2 kids is only slightly more taxing than scaling Everest)

It's my birthday! I'm 34 years young.

Allison made me a roast with carrots, potatoes, rice, rolls and a birthday peach cobbler for the grand finale.

AND For my birthday I was allowed to take an extra long Sunday nap. It was awesome.

Great Day!

Day 342

Went to a local country steak house with some friends.  My birthday is tomorrow, so I guess it was to celebrate that.

I had a great time. Ate a 24oz steak.

Turning 34 tomorrow... Where has the time gone?

Day 341

I got the mowing done on my little Murray, I created a dust bowl in the back yard, but it's done. Then I cut down some limbs, the whole family got early baths and we watched a little Cinderella III (who know there were 3 of them).  I'm off work for the next week, looking forward to a little home time. 

Day 340

12" Rack Pulls
bar x 5
135 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 3
445 x 3
500 x 3
405 x 8

Incline bench
bar x 10

(shoulder warmup with bands)
135 x 3
165 x 3
205 x 3
235 x 3
260 x 3
225 x 8

DB Rows (no straps)
140 x 20

Bicep and Tricep sled
x 2 trips each

Day 339

I made the mistake of trying to get my piece of junk lawnmower out and trying to make the yard look half way respectable. I only had to jump it off twice and repair the deck once during the time it took me to mow the front yard....

Then my sister drove up with a kitten she stole from the back of someone's pickup truck in the hot sun in a  parking lot that was left unattended for over an hour...  (she waited on the owner to return for a long time and then she just took it)

So then she brings it over and Rebekah proceeds to play with it to exhaustion for about an hour.

Then I did some weedeating...  Yeah, it was as fun as it sounds...

Day 338

Got home from work and then took Rebekah for one last horse ride at Storybook Farm before the summer. I love it out there. It's a great place and if I can find time to volunteer there, I'm going to.

Then we stopped off at Sonic for a icee.  Rebekah got blue coconut and now looks a cyanotic drowning victim.

Beef O'Brady's for supper 'cause kids eat free.

Day 337

Squat
bar x 5
135 x 3
225 x 3
285 x 3
330 x 3
375 x 3
315 x 8(these are supposed to be all out sets with a little bit lighter weight, but I would rather do a modest weight for a few less reps

Log Clean and Press
empty x 8
155 x 3
175 x 3(strict)
195 x 3(strict)
220 x 3
185 x 8 (I quit. I could have gotten 2 more, but I flat out gave up, I was mad at myself after this set)

Axle Floor Press
200 x 18,4,3

Band Lat pulldown
15,15,10

Day 336

Happy Mother's Day! Woke up late, went to church. Came home and cleaned up the house, took a nap, made a mother's Day cake for Allison and about the time they walked in the door, I got called back to the hospital... Ahhh, such is life.  We did get to celebrate when I got home, it all came out in the wash.

Day 335

Work, work, work... Day wasn't as bad as it could have been, but still.  No fun coming home to an empty house, got me thinking, I wrote about it.

On call the rest of the night, woo hoo. 

Day 334

I have to work tomorrow, so Allison took the kids to see her parents this weekend in Hoover.
I got home from work and took a 3 hr nap then got up, took a shower and went to my favorite chinese restaurant.

"Hello Zac, how are you?"

You know you're a strongman when you've become the Norm from Cheers at your local Chinese restaurant.

I proceeded to order 2 appetizers, an eggroll, and a meal with extra rice just for me... My birthday is coming, I counted this as one of my gifts. This place is a little hole in the wall, and it's not a buffet, it's good fresh stuff. Needless to say I slept good. 

Day 333

18" rack pull

Bar x5

135 x5

225 x5

315 x3

365 x 5

420 x 5

475 x 5

365 x 10

Incline bench

135 x 5

185 x5

205 x 5

225 x 5

250 x 4,1

195 x 12,4,3 10 secs b/w sets

Db row 130 x 20 (one set both arms)

Barbell curl 65 x20,10,5 (10secs rest bw sets)

Day 332

Played super dad while my baby took a nap.  Then some friends stopped by to sit a spell. It was a good evening. 

Day 331

Jim Wendler gave me permission to train 2 days a week. Right now it fits my hectic daddy schedule. So I'm going to do this for the next three weeks and then do some contest prep for the final three.

So, we'll see how it goes. It's basically a 2 day a week 5/3/1. 

Day 330

Squats
bar x 5
135 x 5
225 x 3
285 x 5
330 x 5
365 x 5
275 x 12

Log Press
empty x 5
160 x 5(strict)
185 x 5(strict)
210 x 5
160 x 12 (strict)(the last two were crap)

Axle floor press
180 x 20,7,3  (15 secs rest b/w sets)

Band lat pulldown
20, 12,8 (15secs rest b/w sets)

Leg raise x 15

Day 329

Got up this morning and left the two blondes at home and took R2B2 to my parents church and got to hear my dad preach. He always blesses my soul.

Then a HUGE feast for lunch (my mom rocks!) and then we took ANOTHER NAP (It's like heaven).

Then we burned up the roads, stopped at Jack's in Jemison and bam, after a billion hours of driving we are home. 

Day 328

It is freezing cold, a fact I was not prepared for. Somehow, winter is still going on here.  Bizarre really...

But we had a good day. Visited with my grandparents, they got to meet the baby finally.

After lunch we took the Mule (not a real mule) down to the snow cone place and got a snow cone.

Then I took whopper of a nap, it was worth the drive for that alone.

It was a good day. 

Day 327

Still unbelievably sore.. still pathetic...

This afternoon we took off for Vernon, Alabama, my home town. Went to spend the weekend with my parents and get away for a day or two.  It was a long drive, and much more difficult now that there is a baby to complicate the trip.  But we made it ok, going to convalesce at home and it will no doubt be good medicine. 

Day 326

I am so ridiculously sore from that set of 20 squats that it is just pitiful. I mean I'm having a hard time just getting around...  Pathetic...

No wonder everybody is always talking about 20 rep squats being effective muscle builders

Day 325

Squats
bar x 5
135 x 5
225 x 20....  And that was enough.

Holla.