Platypus lifts/reads

[platypus]

4/8/21
Dynamic effort lower body

DE squat	240x5x5
DE dead	285x2x5

4/10/21
Max effort upper body

Press	165x1@10 150x2@10 150x1x2@10
Hammer chinup	BWx9 BWx4 BWx3x3
Pushup	BWx13 BWx10 BWx8

Notes:
- Tied my lifetime overhead press PR! Meanwhile, at roughly 1/6 of my lifetime pushup PR.

4/12/21
Max effort lower body

Front squat	265x1@9 240x2x2@8
Conventional deadlift	295x4x4
DB lunge	60x64 in 10 min.

4/14/21
Dynamic effort upper body

DE bench	110x1@10
Seated DB press	50x6 45x7 40x5
Chinup	BWx5

Notes:
- Felt completely wiped out and left early.

4/12/21
Dynamic effort lower body

DE squat	205x5x5
DE deadlift	245x2 245x1

Notes:
- Felt a sharp pain in my lower left abdomen on the second set of deadlifts and decided to stop there. There's no bulge, so I don't think it's a hernia. Maybe a bad cramp?
I'm in the fifth week of Orthodox lent. Training had been going fine, but this week the fasting caught up with me. I might try to keep intensity up while dramatically reducing workload, since my maxes aren't going down but my work capacity is basically nonexistent.
On the positive side, my average waist measurement is down to 36.875 as of last week.

- Squeezed in some non-school reading over the weekend: Confessions of the Antichrist by Addison Hart. It was pretty short, and really sucked me in. I've read a few books by his brother David, who constantly uses vocabulary I've never encountered. Addison's writing is much more clear for someone at my reading level. His style does stand out a bit (in a good way), where occasionally I'd read a sentence, pause, and think "That's an interesting sentence construction."
It's about a guy who finds out he's destined to be the antichrist. I already want to read it again.

[platypus]

Training
I’ve only lifted once since school let out. I’ve been spending the summer in the woods or on the road, camping and visiting friends. I’m taking a break right now in a library in Colorado to catch up on the online world.

Vision Quest
I just completed my vision quest in the Teton National Forest. Unfortunately I received no vision, just a lot of bug bites. Apparently you’re supposed to keep doing the quests periodically until one works. It wasn’t all for naught, though, because I got some valuable thinking done. I became very aware of three things:
First, if I don’t do something drastic, I will have to get a job again to obtain more monies.
Second, I have been using social occasions as an excuse to eat poorly. Not just “this one order of fries won’t hurt.” More like, “I’m in LA for a week, gotta eat out for every single meal since that’s what my friends are doing.”
Third, my introversion has a limit. About three days without human company and I'm ready to talk to somebody. This was a shocking revelation. Just a few weeks ago I Irish-goodbyed my date at a party because I didn't have another hello left for another new person. (When she texted me fifteen minutes later asking where I was, I had no idea how to respond without sounding like I belong in a psychiatric ward).
The solution to number 2 is obvious: I have to say no to occasions of dietary sin instead of placing myself in the lion’s den. And number 3 is pretty easy as long as I choose to live in civilization. It’s growing a money tree that will prove more difficult.

Reading
I’ve been really lucky with books this summer, finding one good one after another. The most interesting so far was The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom. It’s about the loss of culture in America, and the consequent mindlessness that fills the vacuum.

[hector]

Welcome back!!!!
I have no useful experiences to share to guide you in any of your dilemmas.
But I do have horrible mistakes that you could learn from. Nassim Taleb calls this "via negativa."

So, quick thoughts:
(1) do you have any GI bill left? Having the government pay you to go to school sounds good.
(2) I thought native Americans used extreme temperatures and peyote to induce visions. If your vision quest didn't include these then demand a refund!
(3) maybe a good way to figure out what you want to do for money is to make a list of what you don't want to do. Maybe then you, or someone else, will come up with an inoffensive idea that is good enough for now.

Your book review sounds great. I'm looking into it. Thank you!

[platypus]

(1) do you have any GI bill left? Having the government pay you to go to school sounds good.
(2) I thought native Americans used extreme temperatures and peyote to induce visions. If your vision quest didn't include these then demand a refund!
(3) maybe a good way to figure out what you want to do for money is to make a list of what you don't want to do. Maybe then you, or someone else, will come up with an inoffensive idea that is good enough for now.

Your book review sounds great. I'm looking into it. Thank you!

1. I do, I spent the spring getting free college and I'm going back in the fall, planning to stick with it for a bachelors. So that's 3.5 more years that I can scrape by without resorting to employment.
2. I didn't realize that was part of the vision quest, but it makes sense. Before I left one of my buddies even told me, "If you want a vision I have the ingredients for that," but I turned him down.
3. It's done. One of the most important items is that I don't want to have to censor myself, which rules out most (all?) corporate employment. The trades seem like the most solid option if I don't find a clear path to self-employment.

And you're welcome for the book review!

[platypus]

7/25/21
Press 105x5x3
Bench 120x5x3
Pushup BWx10, 7, 6

7/26/21
Chinup 5x5x3
Squat 225x5x3
Deadlift 225x5

7/28/21
Press 110x5x3
Bench 125x5x3
Pushup BWx11, 8, 5

7/29/21
Chinup BWx8, 5, 3
Squat 245x5x3
Deadlift 275x5

7/31/21
Press 115x5x3
Bench 135x5x3
Pushup BWx8, 5, 5

8/2/21
Squat 265x5x3
Chinup 10x5x3
Deadlift 295x5

8/4/21
Press 120x5x3
Bench 140x5x3
Pushup BWx8, 6, 6

Notes:
- I have returned to civilization, and after failing miserably to pick back up where I left off with the conjugate method, I'm LPing my way up with an upper/lower split.

- Went through some old training logs and figured out a long-term plan for gains based on what has worked for me in the past.

- Current reading: The Drinking Man's Diet by Robert Cameron. Long story short, don't consume more than 60g of carbs each day and you can drink as much as you want without getting fat. Pretty much concurs with my experience: the leanest I've been was late 2019 when while keto dieting and drinking like a fish. The book is from 1962 before most people knew about macros and the way the author writes is hilarious. There's nothing that you can't find in a 10 minute google search though, and it's written for people who want to not be fat rather than people who want to be demigods. I got it for the historical value.

[hector]

So does that 60g carb limit include alcohol? Is it telling you to go for liquor instead of beer or wine?

[platypus]

8/5/21
Chinup BWx9, 6, 4
Squat 285x5x3
Deadlift 315x0
Sumo deadlift 315x3

Notes:
- I may have to slow down a little earlier than I anticipated. I thought my soul was going to leave my body during squats, and the deadlifts wouldn’t budge till I switched to sumo. I’m cutting pretty hard, so even if I don’t tie my PRs until I see abs, it’s still a win.
- I can now do more chinups than pushups. The gods are laughing at me somewhere.

So does that 60g carb limit include alcohol? Is it telling you to go for liquor instead of beer or wine?

The 60g limit includes carbs from alcohol, but not the alcohol itself. So he recommends liquor or dry wine if you don't want to hit the carb count quickly.

He mentions that science the science hasn't caught up (as of 1962) on why alcohol doesn't count as a carb, but the effect on bodyfat is different. Jamie Lewis' writing on the subject is definitely more up to date.

[hector]

8/5/21
Chinup BWx9, 6, 4
Squat 285x5x3
Deadlift 315x0
Sumo deadlift 315x3

Notes:
- I may have to slow down a little earlier than I anticipated. I thought my soul was going to leave my body during squats, and the deadlifts wouldn’t budge till I switched to sumo. I’m cutting pretty hard, so even if I don’t tie my PRs until I see abs, it’s still a win.
- I can now do more chinups than pushups. The gods are laughing at me somewhere.

So does that 60g carb limit include alcohol? Is it telling you to go for liquor instead of beer or wine?

The 60g limit includes carbs from alcohol, but not the alcohol itself. So he recommends liquor or dry wine if you don't want to hit the carb count quickly.

He mentions that science the science hasn't caught up (as of 1962) on why alcohol doesn't count as a carb, but the effect on bodyfat is different. Jamie Lewis' writing on the subject is definitely more up to date.

Are you doing job or school or neither right now?

Pro tip from an old worker and veteran of many shitty jobs: get a job in a building with a gym or, even better, a job with a squat rack.
I've started doing squats during my lunch break. Makes the day go much better.

[platypus]

8/9/21
Press 125x5x3
Bench 145x5x3
Pushup BWx9, 6, 5

8/10/21
Heavy squat/light deadlift
Chin 15x5x2, 15x3
Squat 295x5x3
SLDL 195x5x3

Notes:
- My plan for light day on each lift is to use a variation of the main lift for 3 sets of 6-10 reps with short rests and descending weights. Since I haven't done many SLDLs, I decided to do an easy 195x8x3 for the first workout, and LP my way from there. As it turns out, the mere act of setting my back for a set of 8 SLDLs is beyond my current powers, so I have my work cut out for me.
- Current reading: The Spirit of the Liturgy by Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI). I was expecting it to be a bit dry and academic, but it's actually quite readable. One thing in particular stuck out at me. For the ancient Romans, the sun represented reliability and consistency, while the moon represented transistoriness and the fragility of life.
The date chosen for Easter, in the fourth century, was the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. By combining the solar and lunar calendars, the Christians were symbolizing that in the resurrection our transistory life is transformed into eternal life.
All the cult handed down by the ancient Christians, from the architecture to the music to the calendar and beyond, had meaning. In Cardinal Ratzinger's own Roman Catholic Church, most of it got dumped in the 1960s. But the date of Easter remains, even if in modern times we're too enlightened to really notice the sun and moon.

Are you doing job or school or neither right now?

Pro tip from an old worker and veteran of many shitty jobs: get a job in a building with a gym or, even better, a job with a squat rack.
I've started doing squats during my lunch break. Makes the day go much better.

Neither right now, but I'll be back at school for the fall semester in a couple weeks.

What sort of workplaces keep a squat rack handy? Lifting for lunch does sound enticing.

[hector]

8/9/21

Neither right now, but I'll be back at school for the fall semester in a couple weeks.

What sort of workplaces keep a squat rack handy? Lifting for lunch does sound enticing.

A bunch.
Some buildings in urban areas will have gyms inside them. Lots of times Equinox or other chain gyms will be in an office building.
High end companies are starting to put in decked out gyms for their employees at HQ.
If your company is in the same building as the gym, sometimes the gym will give discount memberships to the resident company employees.
I know you were in the service. If you go the defense contractor route and work on a base there will definitely be a gym.
My admin job has a shitty gym that is decades old and mostly cardio equipment, but it has one Squat rack (a nice Hammer Strength one). I just got lucky.

[platypus]

8/13/21
Heavy press/light bench

Press	130x3@F 130x3@10 130x3@10
Incline bench	115x6 105x6 95x6
DB press	40x7 37.5x7 35x7

Notes:
- Current reading: Beyond the Veil: The Adventures of an American Doctor in Saudia Arabia by Seymour Gray. The author worked in Saudi Arabia's first modern hospital in the 70s, and the book describes his experience in a wildly different culture from his own. It's fascinating to read about the workings of a society with a shared history, religious practice, and way of life going back a millennia. So different from the cultural anarchy of America, where we vehemently disagree over the most basic questions.
When the author describes the strong sense of identity and belonging the Saudi's had, I'm rather jealous. But when he describes the strict social regimentation that created their sense of belonging, I'm horrified. You can't have your cake and eat it too, I suppose.

A bunch.
Some buildings in urban areas will have gyms inside them. Lots of times Equinox or other chain gyms will be in an office building.
High end companies are starting to put in decked out gyms for their employees at HQ.
If your company is in the same building as the gym, sometimes the gym will give discount memberships to the resident company employees.
I know you were in the service. If you go the defense contractor route and work on a base there will definitely be a gym.
My admin job has a shitty gym that is decades old and mostly cardio equipment, but it has one Squat rack (a nice Hammer Strength one). I just got lucky.

That's certainly food for thought. The defense contractor route definitely has a lot going for it.

[platypus]

8/16/21
Heavy deadlift/light squat

Deadlift	305x5 275x5x2
Front squat	225x3 225x2 205x3x3
Chinup	BWx6 BWx3x2

Notes:
- Moving into my apartment on Saturday. After a summer of vagrancy, I'm excited to regain some control over my food and sleep.

[platypus]

8/18/21

Bench	150x5x3
Military press	110x5x4
Pushup	BWx6 BWx5x2

Notes:
- Going forward I am going to do significantly more pushup volume because this nonsense is embarrassing to post. At least I look like I can do more than 6 pushups.

[hector]

8/18/21

Bench	150x5x3
Military press	110x5x4
Pushup	BWx6 BWx5x2

Notes:
- Going forward I am going to do significantly more pushup volume because this nonsense is embarrassing to post. At least I look like I can do more than 6 pushups.

Mind meld. I've had the exact same thought all week. Like if I start doing a few sets of pushups before going to sleep and then again after getting up then maybe my own embarrassing bench numbers would advance.

[platypus]

1/6/22

Squat	305x5x5@9
Press	115x5x2
Deadlift	345x5@9
Chinup	BWx1 BWx5 BWx4 BWx3x5

Notes:
- Threw in some light presses just in case since I had a friend visiting from out of town and ended up doing this workout a few days late.
- Read Raw Egg Nationalism, recipe book and exhortation to build a stronger society through lifting weights and eating locally and ethically grown food. Also a bit of hype about Vince Gironda and how 36 eggs a day is supposedly the closest a natty lifter can get to illegally procured gains.
Ever since the supply chain disruptions last semester I've been thinking about buying more local food. Unfortunately, it's far cheaper to buy the remains of mistreated animals and GMO crops that have been shuffled around the country in large, fossil-fuel consuming trucks than it is to buy quality foods from the nice people down the street.
Really it's a question of sloth, because I don't have many expenses and I could work to earn the money to buy the local food.

[SeanHerbison]

...shuffled around the country in large, fossil-fuel consuming trucks than it is to buy quality foods from the nice people down the street.
Really it's a question of sloth, because I don't have many expenses and I could work to earn the money to buy the local food.

"Eat local" isn't nearly as clear cut as people want to make it seem. So much of the waste/pollution that comes from food production has nothing to do with the trucks. A lot more of it has to do with the actual production of the food itself, and this is generally way more efficient on mass scales. So if you buy from a local farmer's market, sure, it hasn't travelled as far. But if it's 10 times as carbon-intensive to produce each unit of food, it may actually end up being worse overall.

The ethical thing is a different question, and I've cut my meat consumption way back because of that. But unfortunately, small doesn't necessarily mean better there either, though I think on the whole it generally is.

[hector]

1/6/22

Squat	305x5x5@9
Press	115x5x2
Deadlift	345x5@9
Chinup	BWx1 BWx5 BWx4 BWx3x5

Notes:
- Threw in some light presses just in case since I had a friend visiting from out of town and ended up doing this workout a few days late.
- Read Raw Egg Nationalism, recipe book and exhortation to build a stronger society through lifting weights and eating locally and ethically grown food. Also a bit of hype about Vince Gironda and how 36 eggs a day is supposedly the closest a natty lifter can get to illegally procured gains.
Ever since the supply chain disruptions last semester I've been thinking about buying more local food. Unfortunately, it's far cheaper to buy the remains of mistreated animals and GMO crops that have been shuffled around the country in large, fossil-fuel consuming trucks than it is to buy quality foods from the nice people down the street.
Really it's a question of sloth, because I don't have many expenses and I could work to earn the money to buy the local food.

Have you approached 36 eggs in one day?
How are lifting, life, and reading going?

[platypus]

10/20/23
Squat 350x5@10 (lifetime PR)
RDL 230x5x3@6
Density chinups BWx21/10:00

10/23/23
DB rear delt raise 5x18, x13x2
DB hammer curl 25x18, x13, x12

Have you approached 36 eggs in one day?
How are lifting, life, and reading going?

Hector, please forgive me for leaving you hanging so long. My egg PR in a day is 24, all cooked. Gironda's 36 egg plan is to be done raw, and I don't think I'll try that any time soon.

Various lifting updates:

At a meet this spring, I squatted 407, benched 230, and pulled 462. All small PRs.

Over the summer, I tried high (for me) volume training. The results were mostly not great. Squat and bench didn’t move, deadlift went down, although I set some moderate PRs on presses. I’m sure I could have figured out how to make it work, given enough time, but I’d rather use a method that I have a better grasp of.

As of a few weeks ago, my training partners and I are back on a 4-day Texas Method. My more committed training partner definitely thrives on it, and I think I can make it work.

I’ve discovered that my body works in roughly 5-week blocks. Over the past year, it’s nearly always around 5 weeks that I can do a program before I miss reps. So I’ve started preemptively taking a deload week every 6 weeks.

Until the last few weeks, I don’t think I’ve ever made significant progress on a dumbbell exercise. More recently, I began experimenting with higher reps, and now I am making progress. I’ve decided to make 20 reps the goal before moving to a heavier dumbbell instead of 12. For whatever reason, it is way easier for me to turn a set of 15 into a set of 16 than to turn a set of 8 into a set of 9.

[platypus]

"Eat local" isn't nearly as clear cut as people want to make it seem. So much of the waste/pollution that comes from food production has nothing to do with the trucks. A lot more of it has to do with the actual production of the food itself, and this is generally way more efficient on mass scales. So if you buy from a local farmer's market, sure, it hasn't travelled as far. But if it's 10 times as carbon-intensive to produce each unit of food, it may actually end up being worse overall.

The ethical thing is a different question, and I've cut my meat consumption way back because of that. But unfortunately, small doesn't necessarily mean better there either, though I think on the whole it generally is.

That's good to know, I would not have guessed about the carbon-intensiveness of small production.

The ethical thing bothers me a bit. I know the cheap pork and eggs that I live off of come from poorly treated pigs and cows. My roommate buys his meat from a ranch down the street - the owners are nice people and you can watch how well they treat the cows. And it tastes much better than off-the-shelf beef. It's also $8 a pound for ground chuck.

[DCR]

At a meet this spring, I squatted 407, benched 230, and pulled 462. All small PRs.

Congrats on the PRs!

Godamnit, yet another dude with respect to whom I bench much more, but who grossly out squats and deadlfits me. (Lifetime 355/295/410.) If my current efforts to bring my quads up don't help, I give up!
 

Over the summer, I tried high (for me) volume training. The results were mostly not great. Squat and bench didn’t move, deadlift went down, although I set some moderate PRs on presses. I’m sure I could have figured out how to make it work, given enough time, but I’d rather use a method that I have a better grasp of.

What were you doing in particular with the high volume?

Until the last few weeks, I don’t think I’ve ever made significant progress on a dumbbell exercise. More recently, I began experimenting with higher reps, and now I am making progress. I’ve decided to make 20 reps the goal before moving to a heavier dumbbell instead of 12. For whatever reason, it is way easier for me to turn a set of 15 into a set of 16 than to turn a set of 8 into a set of 9.

I'm the opposite can turn 5 into 6 far easier than anything over 12 into more. Glad you brought this up, though, because several much bigger and stronger dudes have pushed dedicated DB training on me in the past few months, and I keep letting it slip. Thanks for the reminder to get my act together.