Beards, Barbells, and Beer

Yeah fatherhood is pretty cool. Since he passed his original due date (Nov 16) he has started to be more active but also wants to feed all the time now which is pretty hard on my wife. It also means that sleep is done as a series of naps so I'm really dragging my ass these days.

Fri Nov 25, 2016


C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Supine bridges (w/warrior lunge): 3x15

- Deadlifts
45x10
135x5
185x3
205x3
225x3
245x3
275x3
275x3
275x3

Man haven't pulled in a while. Form felt rusty.

- Pull-throughs: 3x12, 35 lb
- Cable crunches: 3x15, 35 lb
 
Mon Nov 28, 2016

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Supine bridges (w/warrior lunges): 3x15

- Squats
45x8
95x5
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5

-DB Step-ups: 3x8/side, 2x15 lb DBs
- Side plank: 3x20 seconds/side
- Dead bug twists: 3x15/side
 
Fri Dec 2, 2016

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Deadlifts
45x10
135x5
165x3
195x3
225x3
255x2
285x1
315x1
315x1
315x1

- Bench
45x10
75x8
95x6
115x5
125x5
135x5

- Machine T-bar rows
50x10
80x10
100x10
105x10
110x10
115x10
 
Tues Dec 6, 2016

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- DB Bench
20x10
20x10
30x10
40x10
45x10
50x10
50x10

- Machine T-bar rows
50x10
80x10
100x6
110x6
120x6
130x6
135x6
140x6

- Facepulls: 3x15, 32 lb
- Cable woodchoppers: 3x10/side, 32 lb

I feel like I might be getting sick but I hope that's just being tired from a few poor nights of sleep. My wife has been sick since the middle of last week and I thought I was doing a good job of avoiding getting sick. Fingers crossed that I feel better tomorrow.
 
Wed Dec 7, 2016

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Squats
45x8
75x5
95x5
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
255x5
285x2

Better than I planned. I was thinking 255x3 and 285x1 so I got a few extra reps. On the second rep of 285 my I wasn't tight enough and I let my hips shoot up so the weight got in front of me. I think with form dialed in I would have had 3 reps. Did warrior lunge stretch between the first few sets for some extra warm-up.

- Walking lunges: 3x10/side (just bodyweight)
- Planks: 3x45 seconds

Did a little bit of extra lower body stretching as well.
 
Beer update! I haven't been drinking large amounts lately but I've been trying a variety of new beers.

guinness-extra-stout.jpg


Guinness Extra Stout - My wife was drinking Guinness because they say it helps with milk production (which is half-true, really any beer will help) and one day the grocery store was out of Guinness draught so she bought Extra Stout. I've actually never had it before and was surprised that it was noticeably different. Obviously it is still distinctly a Guinness but it is much sharper and has a hoppier bite to it. I prefer the Draught version which is creamier and smoother but this was a decent substitute.

IMG_20150216_143934.jpg

Railway City Black Coal Stout - Has the usual coffee/chocolate malt flavour but with a bit of smoky taste. The body was fairly thin for a stout. Not bad but didn't blow me away.

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Big Rig "Midnight Kissed My Cow" Double Chocolate Milk Stout - Fairly creamy body and a mild vanilla aftertaste with the usual stout flavours, though as expected this one is more chocolate/cocoa than coffee. Pretty easy to drink while still having a good amount of flavour.

London_Porter.jpg

Fuller's London Porter - I've had this before but don't think I've posted it here. It's hard to go wrong with this one. It's creamy and chocolately with decent body and a bit of hops in the aftertaste. It's one of those beers that, in my opinion, hits all of the notes of what a good porter should be without any one area really standing out. I guess that makes it a well-balanced beer. It won't blow you away but you always won't ever be disappointed.

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Flying Monkeys Deep Tracks American Brown Ale - I wasn't really sure what to expect from an "American" brown ale but Flying Monkeys is usually solid so I gave it a try. Turns out the American part meant extra hops so this was a fairly standard brown ale with a mild hoppy aftertaste. Not bad.

wpid-img_20150207_165316.jpg

Muddy York Porter - This brewery is in my neighbourhood, tucked away in an industrial area. On Saturday I dropped a load of stuff at the dump and noticed on the way back that they had a sign out saying the Brewery store was open so I decided I should finally figure out exactly where they are located and drop in. This porter was their original flagship beer so I grabbed a couple bottle and it did not disappoint. It was full bodied and had a strong cocoa flavour with a bit of sweetness. Very delicious.

Black-Oak-Nutcracker-Porter.png

Black Oak Nutcracker Porter - I'm sure I've posted this before but I'm going to post it again because it's probably my favourite beer. This is basically Christmas in a bottle. It's slightly sweet with dark chocolate and a hint of cinnamon. I think they actually add whole cinnamon sticks at some point during the brewing process. The only downside to this beer is that Black Oak started releasing their seasonal beers only in 650ml bottles and sometimes I just wanted a normal 355ml serving. Not that I mind drinking a big pint but since it's seasonal I'd like to make it last a bit longer. That said, with everything that has been going on in my life since last Winter I recently discovered two bottles of this beer in a cabinet in my basement! I think I moved them down there when we were getting ready for renovations and totally forgot about them. Score!
 
Mon Dec 12, 2016

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Deadlifts
45x10
135x5
135x5
185x3
185x3
225x2
255x1
285x1
325x1x8 (singles)

Felt pretty good. Used chalk and did all reps DOH.

- DB step-ups: 3x10/side, 2x15 lb DBs
- Side hip thrusts: 2x10/side
- Dead bug twists: 2x15/side

My wife has been sick for the past two weeks and I thought I'd managed to avoid getting sick but unfortunately it hit me on Thursday. I felt okay today, mostly because I was hopped up on coffee and Advil Cold & Sinus. I skipped the last set of ab work because my nose started running like mad. Ugh, colds suck.
 
Tues Dec 13, 2016

C2 rower, dynamic stretching, DCSW

- Bench
45x10
75x8
95x5
115x5
135x5
155x5
165x5

- T-bar rows
50x10
80x10
100x10
110x10
110x10

- Rear delt flies: 3x12, 7.5 lb DBs
- 45 degree shoulder raises: 3x10, 7.5 lb DBs
- Saxon side bends: 3x8/side, 7.5 lb DBs

Last night was a rough night, by about 5:30am I'd only gotten maybe one hour of sleep so I went down to the living room and slept on the couch until 8am.
 
Wed Dec 14, 2016

Treadmill, dynamic stretching

- Squats
45x5
75x5
95x5
135x5
165x5
195x3
225x3
255x2
275x1x5 (singles, 60 seconds rest)

Did warrior lunge stretch between warm-up sets. Form felt good.

- Pull-throughs: 3x10, 35 lb
- Cable crunches: 3x15, 35 lb

Fairly short one today since my friend wanted to go to a gym location a bit farther from the office. The nice thing about this location is that the floor is cheap, thin carpet over concrete so it makes squats and deads feel more stable.
 
Thurs Dec 22, 2016

Made it to the gym today and did some bench, rows, and cardio. Probably won't make it to the gym until the new year. So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Sherdog!
 
I've been off work since Friday Dec 23 and haven't been to the gym at all. The first half of my holidays were crazy busy as we hosted my wife's family dinner at our host on Xmas Eve (her Mom and partner brought food but we still had to get the house ready), had dinner at my sister's on Xmas day, and then visited our good friends who also have a newborn son a couple days later. However since then the last 4 days have been complete laziness which has been great. I've done a few small things around the house (put up a new mailbox and street number on the front of the house, organized the baby's room a bit etc) and have spent a lot of time vegging out in front of the TV with my wife and son. Lots of cuddles!

Here are my goals for June 2017...

June 2017 Goals
Squat: 315x1
Bench: 205x1
Deadlift: 405x1
Weight: < 210 lb
Hockey: score at least one goal in the second half of the season (went on hiatus when my son was born with 2 assists in 2 games)

As I mentioned in the goals thread, all of these are numbers that I've hit before. My general goal is to get back to regular gym visits (at least 3 times/week) and these are numbers that I should be able to hit with a little consistent lifting.

My official New Year weight this morning was 220.0 lb on the dot. I'm up a few pounds after the holidays thanks to all the treats. I figure losing 10 lb in the next 6 months is quite doable especially since my wife wants to lose weight (she actually dropped back to her pre-baby weight very quickly and easily but wants to be in better shape once our son starts moving around and for a potential second baby in the next few years).
 
Tues Jan 3, 2017

Conditioning

- C2 rower: 5 minutes
- Treadmill: 15 minutes
- Stairmill: 15+1 minutes

35+1 minutes total.

HR was up over 150 when I first got on the treadmill but it settled down to around 140-145. Did one last minute where I cranked up the speed on the stairmill.

My plan for the next little while is probably:

Sunday - Hockey
Monday - Bench, rows, assistance
Tuesday - Squats, assistance
Wednesday - C2 rower intervals (need to clean up my basement so the rower is accessible on the days I work from home)
Thursday - Squats/deadlifts, higher-rep bench, rows
Friday - LISS
Saturday - Rest

Right now my biggest concern is getting some amount of conditioning back so that hockey isn't a struggle. Losing a few pounds will also help with that.
 
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Wed Jan 4, 2017

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Bench
45x10
65x8
95x6
115x5
135x5
155x5
155x5

- Cable rows
25x10
45x10
60x10
70x10
70x10
70x10

- Facepulls: 3x15, 25 lb
 
Last Wednesday morning I woke up with a really stiff neck. I only did cardio on Tuesday so I must have slept wrong. It loosened up before I did bench so lifted as usual on Wednesday. It was still stiff on Thursday so I took the day to rest but then it felt worse on Friday so I took a sick day. It loosened up over the weekend and feels about 90% okay today so I did more conditioning.

Mon Jan 9, 2017

Conditioning

- Warmup: 5 minutes treadmill, dynamic stretching, 3 minutes C2 rower
- C2 intervals: 120m (24-25 seconds), 45 seconds rest. 12 rounds.
- Treadmill: 5 minutes cooldown

Looking at my old logs I used to do 110m in about 20 seconds with 40 seconds rest so I'm definitely a bit off that pace. I think I mentioned this in another post but I need to clean up my basement so I can do C2 intervals at home on Wednesdays (work from home that day) and do LISS once or twice/week at the gym.

I'm back on the ice this Sunday. Hopefully I'm not too rusty.
 
Tues Jan 10, 2017

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Deadlifts
45x10
135x5
135x5
185x3
185x3
225x2
255x1
285x1
315x1
345x1
365x1
385x1
315x1x8 (singles)

I was feeling pretty good so I decided I see what I could work up to. 385 was shaky off the ground but lockout was strong. I can feel that I probably have the strength in my legs to pull 405 but my core is the weak point and it would probably be ugly. So I'll call 385 my current max and a 405 goal for June is totally reasonable.

- Weighted hyperextensions
bw x10
bw x10
+10x10
+10x10

I didn't get to the gym during the afternoon so I left work early and got there around 4:45 and holy shit. I haven't been to the gym after work in years and it was a complete madhouse. It wasn't too busy when I got there so I grabbed some floor space to deadlift (all squat racks were full) but by 5:15 or so it was packed. I didn't have many options for assistance so just did the hyperextensions. I figure they were a good low-impact choice after the heavy pulls. I imagine I'll be sore tomorrow.
 
Fri Jan 13, 2017

Conditioning

- Treadmill: 5 minutes warm-up
- Stairmill: 15 minutes
- Treadmill: 15 minutes

HR was around 135 on the stairmill and jumped to around 150 on the treadmill so I slowed it down a bit to get it back to 135-140. Did a few minutes walking cooldown and that was it. Hockey on Sunday.
 
Sun Jan 15, 2017

Hockey
Back on the ice and I felt pretty good. I was a little rusty and missed a great scoring chance on my first shift but overall I wasn't as slow and out of sync as I expected. On my second or third shift I banged in a rebound for my first goal of the season which was nice to get out of the way.

Overall the team played well. The other team had a few fast players who worked well together to create some scoring chances in the first period but our goalie stood his ground and we finished the first period up 3-1. The other team started to get frustrated and wasn't playing as well together so we started to control more of the play and added additional goals in the second and third periods to win 5-1. After the first period we seemed to hit our groove and did a good job of spreading the puck around and not getting caught in our own zone.

I started to get a bit tired in the third period but actually felt a lot better than I did when I last subbed in back in November. It definitely makes a difference that the team has been moved down a division so the pace is a bit slower. I ended the game with a goal and an assist.
 
Mon Jan 16, 2017

Conditioning

- C2 rower: 10 minutes
- Treadmill: 12 minutes
- Stairmill: 15 minutes

37 minutes total plus a 2 minute cooldown on the stairmill. HR in the 135-140 range.
 
Wed Jan 18, 2017

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Squats
45x5
75x5
95x5
115x5
135x5
135x5
135x5

Nice and easy.

- Facepulls: 3x15
- Shoulder dislocations w/band: 3x10

- Weighted Hyperextensions
bw x10
bw x10
+10x10
+10x10

Did some facepulls and dislocaitions because my shoulders felt really tight during squats.
 
Sunday Jan 22, 2017

Hockey
Rough game last night. We started off okay and the game was pretty even as we ended the first period tied 2-2. Towards the end of the second period the other team scored a breakway goal where the other player snowed our goalie and it really rattled him. Our goalie kept complaining and arguing with the refs and totally lost his focus. That made the score 4-3 and then our goalie let in a weak goal to end the 2nd period 5-3. In the third period he was obviously off his game and let in a string of weak goals which totally sank us. The final score ended up being 12-3.

That said, our skaters didn't play that well in the second half of the game. We had 2 centers and 3 sets of wingers and I was one of those centers but was really dragging my ass by the middle of the second period so I switched wing. That didn't really help though since I was pretty lost on the wing since I rarely play it anymore. Our defense was also really aggressive and kept getting caught pinching which led to a tonne of odd-man rushes. All in all it was pretty bad game for the last period and a half.

Monday Jan 24, 2017


C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- DB Bench
15x10
15x10
30x10
40x10

- Bench
45x10
95x6
115x5
135x5
155x5
155x5
135x5

- Squats
45x8
95x5
115x5
135x5
155x5
175x5

The weight is obviously fairly light but my form felt really dialed in today.

- T-bar rows
50x10
70x10
90x10
100x10
110x10

Did some calf stretching to finish. They've been really tight lately from the extra cardio.
 
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