Beards, Barbells, and Beer

DrBdan

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Welcome to my new log. This will be my log for the forseeable future. Here are my previous 3 logs with some notes in the spoilers:

B's Energy Log!!! (Strength)
This was my first log. It starts in July 2008, about 3 months after I started barbell lifting and 7 months after I started Muay Thai. The first post contains some background info about me. Post #3 contains my really weak starting numbers. I stopped using this log at the end of 2009 after my Muay Thai exhibition fight.
The Road to One Thousand (Strength, Muay Thai)
I started this log in Jan 2010 thinking I would use it for a year or maybe a year and a half, just as long as it took to hit a 1000 lb Big 3 total. It took a bit longer as the log lasted for 3 years, ending with my 1000 total in Dec 2012. It includes Muay Thai (on and off) and also started including hockey in the Fall of 2010.
DrBdan Presents: Operation Bench Press (2013)
The goal for this year was to bring my bench up to a respectable number. I focused on Muay Thai and benching over the Winter and hit a +10 bench PR in the Spring before returning to a more complete program over the Summer. I took a break from Muay Thai and made good lifting progress but a few minor injuries late in the year ruined any chances of December PRs.

A history of my training:
* Most of 2008: Stronglifts 5x5, done 3x5 and two days/week. I often added a day in between for grip and levering work.
I started training Muay Thai the last week of December 2007 and found Sherdog while searching for Muay Thai specific S&C work. This lead me to starting Stronglifts. I usually trained Muay Thai twice/week and played floor hockey once. I tweaked my back deadlifting in December 2008.

* Jan - July 2009: Two day split from the FAQ for added deadlift work
Still doing Muay Thai. The first couple months were spent resting my back, coming back too early, and having to rest my back more. I decided to do the two day split so I would be focusing on deadlifting instead of doing it after squats since there was an S&P deadlift competition going on at this time. It was sometime in the Spring of 2009 that I started sparring at Muay Thai.

* July 2009 - Feb 2010: Practical Programming Advanced Novice program
I really liked this program. It worked well since Wednesday was a lighter day and that was the day I played floor hockey. In November 2009 I did my first, and only, exhibition Muay Thai fight. Video here. I was incredibly green and had only 3-4 months of sparring experience.

* March - August 2010: 5/3/1, half done OG AMRAP, half done with heavy singles (called Matt Rhodes at the time)
I was going to switch to 5/3/1 to start 2010 but decided to run linear progression a bit longer. 2010 was a busy year as I had a number of weddings, including my own, plus my first niece, and my first house. You'll notice this skips to OCt 2010 as I spent most of September 2010 on my honeymoon (which I summarized in my The Road to One Thousand log)

* Oct - Dec 2010: Texas Method
Started playing ice hockey on Sunday nights, this was also my last season of floor hockey. After getting back from my honeymoon I decided to take a break from Muay Thai and focus on lifting.

* Jan - April 2011: 5/3/1 for powerlifters
I was hoping to get back into Muay Thai hence the switch back to 5/3/1 but I was pretty inconsistent. Fun fact: I made the stupid decision to have my wisdom teeth out on March 18, yeah the day after St. Patrick's Day! I think I took two weeks off to let me mouth heal and then waited a few more weeks before sparring. This was also when I switched to low bar squatting which eventually lead to on and off shoulder issues.

* April - July 2011: Custom bi-weekly progression program outlined here
I don't think I was too happy with 5/3/1 and decided I wanted something with sets across so I made this up. Unfortunately I injured my foot in late June (or early July?) so this was put on hold.

* July - Nov 2011: Texas Method
After coming back from my foot injury I took another break from Muay Thai and ran Texas Method again.

* Jan - June 2012: 5/3/1 two day split, details here
This Winter my wife got a new job where she worked 3pm-11pm which meant most evenings were free for me so I was able to train Muay Thai 3 times/week.

* July - Sept 2012: Squat/Press/Pull outlined here
Dropped back to 2 days of Muay Thai so I went back to 3 days of lifting.

* Oct - Dec 2012: Squat/Press/Pull but progression changed to APRE, details here
Tweaks to the program, started using APRE for squats and bench. I was busy on Monday nights taking some meditation courses which meant I wasn't able to spar much. In December 2012 I finally hit a 1000 lb total, video here

* Jan - May 2013: Two day split focusing on bench and chins, details here
Still training Muay Thai regularly though not being able to spar and the basic level of training in the other classes killed my enthusiasm. I wanted to focus on my bench so I alternated squats/deads once/week. Added 10 lb to my bench but did a terrible job of maintaining my squats and deads. I also focused a lot on chins and made some good progress. In May I put Muay Thai on hold indefinitely.

* June 2013: Starting Strength for squats/deads, Madcow for Bench/OHP
Time to start rebuilding my lower body strength, did linear progression on squats/deads to get them back up to speed.

* July - Dec 2013: Madcow details here, some changes made in Oct, details here
Tried Madcow almost as written, couple tweaks. If I remember correctly I did some OHP'ing at the end of August that irritated my shoulder so I had to reduce my pressing a lot for Sept/Oct. Then in November I roughed up my knees at hockey, nothing serious but enough to prevent PRs :(

* Jan - April 2014: Madcow/APRE hybrid , details in post #16 below
Decided to go back to APRE for bench, Madcow for squats, singles for deadlift.

* April - Aug 2014: Training for Spartan Sprint (which I didn't do, friend bailed) details here
My friend asked me to do the Spartan Sprint with him so I changed around my training to include more conditioning and added back chins. He ended up bailing so I didn't do it but I realized that the additional conditioning work made a big difference in hockey since any conditioning I had from Muay Thai was long gone at this point. I also started playing in a pick-up game of hockey once/week which was helpful. I felt like I was finally making good progress by the end of the Summer.

* Sept - Dec 2014: 5/3/1 variation, details here
Squatting 3 times in 2 weeks plus 1 session of deadlifting, essentially making the squat progression bi-weekly following 5/3/1. Bench was also 5/3/1 but just once/week. My lifting this Fall was really inconsistent due to personal stuff, work stuff, and vacations.

* Jan 2015 - ???: Bi-weekly progression program, details here
Two weeks in, so far so good. Playing hockey on Sunday and Tuesday. I'm 99% decided that I am retired from Muay Thai.

* Sept/Oct 2015 - Neanderthal No More (details here)
Over the Summer I continued to have mild back pain and left shoulder issues which meant I was basically treading water. Decided to take the plunge and try to actively fix those issues by doing NNM.

*Nov/Dec 2015 - NNM Modified
Modified NNM to go a bit heavier but maintained the majority of the program.

* Jan 2016 - NNM Modified
Switched to 1 deadlift and 3 squats every two weeks but still following the general template. details here

* Summer 2016
The plan was roughly this:
Sunday - Hockey
Monday - Supine bridges, Squats or Deadlifts, step-ups, abs
Tuesday - Heavy bench (3x5, last set AMRAP), rows, facepulls, external rotations, abs, Hockey in PM
Wednesday - rest/mobility
Thursday - Squats, lunges, pull-throughs, abs
Friday - Volume bench (3x10), rows, facepulls, external rotations, abs

However home renovations and other preparations for my first child meant I was very inconsistent and didn't manage to make any progress.

* Oct 7, 2016
My son was born!

Since then I've just been trying to get into the gym and stay active. My hope has been to at least do one upper body, one lower body, and one cardio day/week but it's been tough even getting 3 days in. Hopefully that will improve in the new year.

My focus for 2014 is to continue to gain strength, improve my conditioning for hockey, and lose a bit of weight. I also plan to regrow my beard that I shaved off for Movember and continue to drink good beer. More details to come.

2014 Starting Stats

Weight: 217 lb
Squat: 340 lb
Bench: 215
Deadlift: 455

Jan 2016
Weight: 210 lb
Squat: 355 lb
Bench: 215
Deadlift: 455
Total: 1025

Dec 2016
Weight: 218-220 lb
Squat: who
Bench: fucking
Deadlift: knows!?!?
 
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Nice log name, nice goals. Any Muay Thai plans for the year?
 
In.

I expect regular beard updates, as well as other beard related posts.
 
Beard progress pics necessary
 
Nice log name, nice goals. Any Muay Thai plans for the year?

Muay Thai has been on my mind lately but I don't really have the time or money to put into it. The idea of training again is appealing but then I think about how it would take up 2 or 3 nights/week and I'd be really rusty and out of shape to begin with. Plus I wasn't too enthused about the trainers and the classes they ran when I was there in early 2013. Plus last year I built up more debt than I'm comfortable with due to a very sick cat and a bunch of unexpected plumbing work so I'm trying to be more frugal this year.

So basically I'm pulling a GSP. I'm not fully retired but I don't know if/when I'll return so I'll call it an indefinite hiatus.

For all that asked, there will definitely be beard and beer updates throughout the year. Thanks for stopping by and for the words of encouragement.

Here are some beard pics with spoilers due to image size.

November 2011. About 6 weeks without trimming my beard
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December 2012. I trimmed my beard around Hallowe'en 2012 and then let it grow until Christmas. This was Dec 18 I think.
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Christmas Day 2012, beard trimmed back to a more normal length. I look ridiculously like my Dad in this picture. FYI, we had steak for Xmas dinner.
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March 2013. Somewhat douchy haircut, regular looking beard
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August 2013, everything bacon at the CNE with a neater looking beard
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Oct 31, 2013 - Beard shaved off for Movember but not totally clean shaven. I shaved in the morning to look as hair-free as possible for pictures at work
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Nov 24, 2013 - nearing the end of Movember.
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Mid-December 2013 - Still rocking the 'stache/chops combo from Movember
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Late January 2014 - Beard mostly grown back in and I got a haircut
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August 2014 - Grew my beard as part of a weight-loss challenge. I didn't trim my beard (except around my mouth) from April - Sept while I lost 15 lb.
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Early September 2014 - I got a haircut and it made my beard look even bigger so I trimmed the sides somewhat
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Late September 2014 - Got a haircut and a proper beard trim from a stylish barber shop near home
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Thanksgiving 2014 Camping trip
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Christmas 2014
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May 2015 - At a craft beer festival
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Dec 2015 - Having breakfast at a new local diner called Holllandaise Diner
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Jan 2015 with douched up hair
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November 2016 - My life got crazy starting in August leading up to the birth of my son in October so my beard didn't get trimmed a single time.
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November 2016 (part 2) - trimmed it myself, not too bad a job.
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Now I want to see a Mutton Chops DrB.
 
That will have to wait until at least the Spring. I want the full beard back in the Winter for optimal facial insulation.

Sun Jan 5, 2014

Hockey
First game after the holidays and since a lot of guys missed the last game due to the ice storm first game in 3 weeks for most of the team. I played in the ice storm game plus I played pick-up on the Friday of the weekend where there was no league game so I didn't feel rusty. However the rink was freezing cold so it took a few shifts before my hands felt warm.

We were playing a team that got bumped up two divisions this season. They were a very top heavy team (i.e. a few really good players surrounded by an average team and average goalie) and we struggled to contain their top guys. We came out pretty flat and by the end of the first period they were up 3-1. Our goalie let in a few bad goals and after the game he said his hands were so cold in the first period that it hurt to make saves. In the second period we picked it up and started getting chances. Late in the period we scored 2 quick goals to tie it 3-3 but they answered back and made it 4-3.

In the third period we continued to get chances while their top couple guys got chances of their own and made it 5-3. I scored late in the game to make it 5-4 and a few minutes later we pulled the goalie. Considering how bad our powerplay is and who was on the ice at the time (a number of weak skaters) that turned out to be a bad idea. Two of ours guys ran into eachother at the other team's blueline and their top guy grabbed the puck, raced down the ice, and scored an empty netter to finish us off 6-4.

Other than a slow start we played a pretty solid game. We are back to .500 (6-6-3) but we've lost a bunch of close games. I felt like I had a great game with 2 goals, no goals against, and plenty of other chances. I almost tied the game 5-5 after I scored to make it 5-4 but their goalie poke checked me as I cut in front of the net and I fumbled the puck and couldn't finish.
 
I couldn't decide on a new program so I'm just going to add a day of LISS/LSD to my old program.

Monday
Squat - 5x5 ramping Madcow style
Bench - APRE
Rows

Wednesday
Deadlift singles
Rows or other upper back work supersetted with push-ups

Thursday
LISS/LSD done Roadwork 2.0 style

Friday
Squats 4x5, 1x3, 1x8, ramping Madcow style
Bench APRE - light day
Rows

Hockey on Sundays and maybe shinny on Mon, Wed, or Fri evening or Sat morning. Eventually I'll figure out something with 2x LISS but I like the Mon/Wed/Fri lifting setup so I'm sticking with that for now.
 
Why not just run madcow as is and add your pull-ups, push-ups and such between sets of shit
 
A few reasons... For bench I prefer the APRE setup of a main/heavy day and a light day. I also like warming up, doing the two hard sets, and then some back-off sets vs. ramping up to the top set.

For deadlifts I prefer singles to Madcow's 4x5 and I don't really have time to fit in squats, pressing, and deadlifts on Wednesday since my gym time is limited. Also, I'm not doing any overhead pressing right now hence using push-ups for a little extra low intensity pressing.

I did a tonne of pull-ups last year and didn't feel like they had much carryover to any of my lifts. I much prefer heavy rows.
 
I like heavy rows as well. I've never been consistent enough with pull-ups and chins to know their effect on my lifts. I've incorporated them again and will be far more diligent.

sounds like a solid plan though. I was just curious.
 
I made good progress on pulls-ups last Winter but didn't feel like they helped my other lifts much. Maybe I would have had more success if I did more weighted chins.

-----------

For fun here's a look back at my numbers in January of 2009->2013

2009
Squat: 220x5 (with bad form)
Bench: 160x1
Deadlift: 305x5

total: 685

2010
squat - 265
bench - 175
dead - 335

total: 775

2011
squat - 315
bench - 200
dead - 385

total: 900

2012
squat - 335
bench - 200
dead - 435

total: 970

2013
squat - 340
bench - 205
dead - 455

total: 1000
 
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