Ben becomes a Marine

[Phaedrus49er]

Work:
--2 rounds of front/left/right planks, 30sec each hold, no RI btwn holds, 60RI btwn rounds

SMR work (10 reps each)
--foam roller - back, glutes, IT bands, quads, chest
--medicine ball - hamstrings, calves

Stretching (Core Performance protocol using rope for assistance):
--calves, 15sec each
--hamstrings, 15sec each
--adductors, 15sec each
--IT band, 15sec each
--quads, 15sec each
--triceps, 15sec each
--up-and-over chest stretch, 10reps
--side-lying internal shoulder rotation, 15sec each
--90/90 core twist, 15sec each
--quadruped rocking, 10reps



Notes:
--I actually did this yesterday but forgot to post. Too busy/manic trying to get packed and out the door. Is it sad that I'm a little more excited because it's deadlift day rather than because I'm at the beach on vacation?
--I'm thinking of retiring The Stick, at least this iteration of it. It's now too pliable for much good other than calves and some smaller targeted areas that can just as easily be done by medicine ball or tennis ball (The Stick itself didn't become more pliable; my soft tissue has just improved to that degree, or I could just be layering on the fat). I may get The Stiff Stick at some point, but for now, I can use the setup above.
--If the scales from Monday are to be believed (I don't see why they should be), I've gotten back to about an 8lb gain on this program, whether mostly good or mostly (likely) bad. I'll likely shed at least 5lbs of that in the next couple weeks.
--WTF is "hope out hope"? Apparently as my lifting has improved, my proofing skills have tanked (note the "quarter-squats" here that were actually rack pulls)

[Phaedrus49er]

Strength II, Workout C-4

Warm-up - CP1:
--forearm-to-instep lunge with rockback heel stretch, 5 reps each leg
--backward lunge with twist, 5 reps each leg
--calf stretch, 10 reps (2sec hold)
--forward inchworm, 5 reps
--inverted hamstring touches, 5 reps each leg

Work:
--deadlift (4/4/4/12, 201, 180RI) - 4 @ 225, 4 @ 245, 4 @ 265, 12 @ 135

--rack pull (3/3/3), 201, 180RI) - 3 @ 285, 3 @ 295, 3 @ 305

SUPERSET
--Bulgarian split squat (2 x 8-10 each leg, 201, 90RI) - 10 @ 25, 10 @ 25
--back extension (2 x 8-10, 20X, 90RI) - 10 @ BW, 10 @ BW

--hanging leg raise (2 x 6, 222, 90RI) - 6 @ BW, 6 @ BW



Notes:
--This was my last official deadlift day for at least a month with the change-up in training starting next week, so today's setting was damned near perfect. I'm in Myrtle Beach SC until Sunday on (another) vacation. There are a few mom-and-pop gyms around here, but I figured the Gold's Gym here would be fairly innocuous and have all the equipment I'd need (as opposed to running into a local version of Planet Fitness ). So I pull up to this nondescript, squat, square, emergency shelter-looking cinder block that, without the Gold's Gym logo on the front, would look like a strip club, adult video store, gun shop, or any other similarly slightly-less-than-mainstream establishment. Now, some of you may remember how I've gushed about the gym I had up in Richmond VA (Workout Wonder; 24-hour; nothing but old, used, but in-great-condition iron; never more than three other people there; best radio station ever always playing). This place was that place in another life: dark, crammed/cramped with useful equipment (even a lone Concept2D rower!), an aerobics studio with the floor space of perhaps a semi trailer, maybe ten people in there, and women. Hooooooooooly shit, women. All five of them. Maybe there's a good side to the Gold's Gym stigma--people who go there actually work, no pink dumbbells allowed, women included (or maybe it's just the gyms that are actual gyms and not "fitness centers"). That's not to say that I didn't see some eye-rolling stuff going on (three guys whooping it up doing Smith machine squats), but those women... wow... ranged from, I'd say, mid-20s to mid-50s, all with very slightly worn faces, solid bodies (under the lights in there, there was visible differentiation between delts and tris, for example), tasteful tattoos (that I could see), and doing serious work (with one exception, but she was the stoutest of them all, so I didn't mind)--intervals on the rower, a pretty bad-ass core circuit, lunges, etc. Every single one of them looked like she would've been right at home on her own Harley if not riding on the back of someone else's. Needless to say, even with the weight today, I absolutely tore through my workout. I won't say that sleeping without an alarm today or timing my coffee well or being at the beach on vacation or being in an AWESOME lifting environment didn't help (that's the kind of gym I want to open someday), but seeing women do some real work in the gym didn't hurt, either. I get to go back tomorrow for my final Phase II workout, so I'm looking forward to blasting my pull-up numbers so far
--Note to self: If you want to become an instant eye/chick magnet, be the new/random/passing-through-town guy on a Cosgrove-inspired strength program and move some serious f*cking weight. I swear I (figuratively) had no clothes on by the time I left. And I still have three days of vacation left

EDIT: Forgot to mention that there was a HYOOGE Rottweiler in and out of the place today (front doors were open because of the great weather). Apparently, it belongs to a staffer or regular member (someone was out playing with it in the field in front of the gym), so it was doing its own thing, not getting in anybody's way. This just added to how awesome the place is

[Phaedrus49er]

Okay, I think I've come up with a presentable program for this upcoming three-week mini-cycle, and I'd appreciate any feedback you might have to offer:



MONDAY - HIIT (ideally hill sprints)

TUESDAY - gym
power cleans
push-ups
step-ups
trunk flexion variation

WEDNESDAY - HIIT (ideally rowing)
core isometrics, SMR, stretching

THURSDAY - gym
BB thrusters
pull-ups
Bulgarian split squats
trunk torsion variation

FRIDAY - HIIT (ideally track sprints)

SATURDAY
5K
core isometrics, SMR, stretching

SUNDAY
beer



I say "ideally" on the HIIT options because they depend on weather/ground conditions: hill sprints (if dry ground/weather), track sprint drills (could be damp), rowing (if raining). Also, I tried to put together two full-body splits that involve the following progression:

dynamic warm-up (not noted, will be similar Core Performance stuff I've been doing)
explosive/Olympic lift (10-12 rep range, 3 sets, 120RI)
upper-body strength endurance (as many reps as possible, 3 sets, 120RI)
hip strength/stability (12-15 rep range, 2 sets, 90RI)
core kinetic strength (8-12 rep range, 2 sets, 90RI)

Hopefully, for a three-week mini-phase, this will (a) at least maintain my NROL gains so far, (b) add an overall strength endurance element to my conditioning, and (c) add a weight-bearing ballistic element to my conditioning. My only real concern is completely mental on my part, but I don't want a week where I end up sprinting the day after power cleans. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with it, but the day I blew my hamstring, I did a power clean et al workout that morning and sprinted that afternoon. I know I'm putting a day between the two, but still, I'd just like to avoid that order of events if at all possible. Also, I'll be foregoing the HIIT stuff on the Friday before the Saturday event and likely just doing some movement prep, SMR, and stretching work instead.

Now, tear it up

[Phaedrus49er]

Strength II, Workout D-4

Warm-up - CP2:
--hip crossover (Alwyn calls it "lower-body Russian twist"), 5 reps each side
--scorpion twist, 5 reps each side
--lateral lunge, 5 reps each leg
--crossover lunge, 5 reps each leg
--sumo squat-to-stand, 5 reps

Work:

SUPERSET
--wide-grip pull-ups (4/4/8/12, 201, 180RI) - 4 @ BW, 4 @ BW, 8 @ BW, 7/5* @ BW
--BB push press (4/4/8/12, 201, 180RI) - 4 @ 165lbs, 4 @ 165lbs, 8 @ 135lbs, 12 @ 95lbs

SUPERSET
--wide-grip seated cable row (4/4/12, 211, 90RI) - 4 @ 120lbs, 4 @ 140lbs, 12 @ 100lbs (note: on SINGLE-pulley station)
--DB incline bench press (4/4/12, 211, 90RI) - 4 @ 65s, 4 @ 65s, 12 @ 45s

SB Russian twist (2x6, 202, 90RI) - 6 @ 30lbs, 6 @ 30lbs

* denotes BW pull-ups / assisted BW pull-ups (used push press bar in rack hooks with feet on floor for least-possible help)



Notes:
--I didn't quite have the fire in me today that I had yesterday, but I still managed to bang out one extra rep of pull-ups on the last set. I'm really going to miss this phase of work as I've seen some noticeable gains, more so than in the previous phase (both raw and percentage), and I feel like I could just keep gaining if I stuck with it. Alas, no can do, but I'm looking forward to more HIIT as well as Olympic lifting starting next week.
--Those pull-ups were an extra bitch today as, in order to get a practical superset in, I had to use individually rotating hand holds attached to the quasi-squat rack. That was interesting.
--My girlfriend went with me today to do her NROL4W squat day. I caught hell for going to the gym yesterday without her (she had some schoolwork to do and so couldn't go; plus it wasn't her scheduled day, though I told her there's ALWAYS something that can be done at the gym). After making another HYOOGE progression in her squat today, she's decided enough's enough with breaking all my TheraBands, that she'll borrow a car until she gets her own, and that she's joining my gym next week. It's going to be so hard to do deadlifts with her in there now
--The rest of the view wasn't nearly as bountiful today, but she did mention on the way back to the condo that "any of those women in there could've kicked [her] ass." I hate I don't have that kinda gym anymore (you know, where if your MP3 player dies, you don't hate life because there's actual lifting music and not bubble gum pop to fight through as well). My long-term hope is to get a small house on at least a half-acre of land where I can put up a steel building at the back of the lot, run power and water out to it, and set up my home gym there.
--My PWO: some leftover pasta and two--well, now three beers. Hello vacation

[K-Court]

Working hard on your vacation, Ben. Awesome. Sounds like a great gym you've found there. Women seem a tad scary though ... did you have the Harley parked outside?

[Phaedrus49er]

Nah, I'm in the truck this week, which is next-best to a Harley. I made sure to blast some George Thoroughgood, though

[K-Court]

HAHA. Bad to the bone. So to speak.

[Phaedrus49er]

I am SO not making an obvious crack here. I'll leave that to the others who frequent this thread

[RacerBill]

Obvious crack:

[Phaedrus49er]

SMR work (10 reps each)
--foam roller - back, glutes, IT bands, quads, chest
--medicine ball - hamstrings, calves

Work:
--2 rounds of front/left/right planks, 30sec each hold, no RI btwn holds, 60RI btwn rounds

Stretching (Core Performance protocol using rope for assistance):
--calves, 15sec each
--hamstrings, 15sec each
--adductors, 15sec each
--IT band, 15sec each
--quads, 15sec each
--triceps, 15sec each
--up-and-over chest stretch, 10reps
--side-lying internal shoulder rotation, 15sec each
--90/90 core twist, 15sec each
--quadruped rocking, 10reps



Notes:
--Foam rolling + sunburn = FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNN NNNNN!!! I just have to go burn my back now that the rolling is done so that front and back match.
--SMR was especially painful today, not just from the sunburn but also from the less-than-stellar bed in the room. I guess the copious amount of beer from (all day) yesterday didn't help my fatigue recovery much

[Phaedrus49er]

It feels REALLY weird to not be going to the gym today...

[K-Court]

You're from the South and you still haven't figured out how to avoid sunburns?

[Phaedrus49er]

Who said anything about avoiding them? I'm happy just to have an even color as opposed to a farmer's--or my developing trucker's--tan

[K-Court]

I just have to go burn my back now that the rolling is done so that front and back match.

So, I'm thinking the "even" thing didn't work out so well ....

[Phaedrus49er]

Not exactly--the front is quite a bit more parched than the back--but it's closer than what it was

[K-Court]

So you were laying on a hammock drinking beer all day then. Close?

[Phaedrus49er]

Close enough

[Phaedrus49er]

Got in too late to post last night. Went to the track to do a relatively light sprint session and threw in a couple above-pace 400m runs. My oxidative capacity has suffered over the past couple months of no distance running while trying to maximize NROL effects. At least I get back to the gym today. Speaking of which, at least for this week, I've settled on:

Monday - sprints
Tuesday - BB thruster et al
Wednesday - rowing
Thursday - power cleans et al
Friday - hill drills
Saturday - 5K+

That setup will make me feel better about separating sprints and power cleans, plus I can drag the girl into a few more workouts

[Phaedrus49er]

Warm-up - CP1:
--forearm-to-instep lunge with rockback heel stretch, 5 reps each leg
--backward lunge with twist, 5 reps each leg
--calf stretch, 10 reps (2sec hold)
--forward inchworm, 5 reps
--inverted hamstring touches, 5 reps each leg

Work:

SUPERSET (full rest)
--BB thrusters (15/15/15, 120RI) - 12 @ 95, 10 @ 95, 10 @ 95
--wide-grip pull-ups (max/max/max, 120RI) - 7, 7, 5

--Bulgarian split squat (15/15/max, 90RI) - 10 @ BW+25, 10 @ BW+25, 15 @ BW*

SUPERSET (no rest)
--cable woodchoppers** (15/15, no RI) - 12 @ 90, 12 @ 90
--cable reverse woodchoppers** (15/15, 90RI) - 10 @ 90, 8 @ 90

* denotes right leg only
** denotes double-pulley cable setup



Notes:
--Relative to having done sprints yesterday, this was a good opposing setup to do. By itself, I sucked big fat hairy sweaty donkey balls. I'll do better when I'm getting more than 4-6 hours of sleep per night at a stretch, but for now, let's tackle this one item at a time:

--Warm-up: I like these two routines I've been doing. They're automatic and completely effective by themselves or when preceding movement-specific warm-ups.
--BB thrusters: The idea was to do them smoothly and continuously, so when I started to noticeably slow down in my pacing, I abandoned the set.
--Pull-ups: As-many-reps-as-possible-minus-one until the third set, which sucked (all of them, not just the third set), but then, I'm basically doing the opposite loading pattern from what I've done for the past several weeks. I still suck at these, but like the thrusters, I'm hoping sleep will help. I did the second and third sets with a false grip with the intention of attempting a muscle-up. Funny how fanciful the imagination can be in times of fatigue and sleep deprivation
--BSS: I know I should be doing an open-chain movement for the extra right-leg set, but I also haven't quite fully matched left- and right-leg musculature from my hamstring injury, so no harm in doing this setup, especially if I'm only doing the extra isolation work six times (two lifting sessions per week).
--Woodchoppers: I thought I'd underestimated enough my strength endurance on these based on numbers from, oh, six months ago (and doing four-rep sets, at that). I'll be lightening the load to get at the higher reps (might need to do that with thrusters, too).

--Rest intervals were very approximate today as I forgot my stopwatch in my other bag from sprints yesterday. That kinda sucked, especially since I'm pretty sure I shorted a few rest periods today just so I wasn't cheating myself. I have a feeling my Saturday runs are gonna blow.
--Apparently, I blew a decent booger on a hard exhale at some point that didn't quite uncling. I say that since I found a crusty one juuuuuuuust on the front side of my nose. At least it was flat and hopefully not so noticeable
--I finally got a (decent) pic of the dog and the truck:

[Phaedrus49er]

Work:
--2 rounds of front/left/right planks, 30sec each hold, no RI btwn holds, 60RI btwn rounds

SMR work (10 reps each)
--foam roller - back, glutes, IT bands, quads, chest
--medicine ball - hamstrings, calves
--tennis balls - spine

HIIT - rowing:
--500m @ 3:00/500m
--500m @ 2:20/500m
--500m @ 2:50/500m
--500m @ 2:10/500m
--500m @ 2:40/500m
--500m @ 2:00/500m
--500m @ 2:30/500m
--500m @ 1:50/500m
--500m @ 2:40/500m
--500m @ 2:00/500m
--500m @ 2:50/500m
--TOTAL: 5500m, 26:56.6

Stretching (Core Performance protocol using rope for assistance):
--calves, 15sec each
--hamstrings, 15sec each
--adductors, 15sec each
--IT band, 15sec each
--quads, 15sec each
--triceps, 15sec each
--up-and-over chest stretch, 10reps
--side-lying internal shoulder rotation, 15sec each
--90/90 core twist, 15sec each
--quadruped rocking, 10reps



Notes:
--I haven't rowed in a long time, but I felt surprisingly strong despite dragging ass out of bed this morning (no alarm, just beaten down from the past two or three days of life). No one part of my body over-fatigued relative to any other part of my body, which makes me think I've developed some overall strength balance since my last rowing session (Core Performance and NROL since then).
--Looking forward to power cleans tomorrow as it's been a long time since I've done them. Someone on the forum posted a T-Nation article on complexes, which got me thinking about the Bear complex I did way back (power clean --> front squat --> push press --> back squat --> push press --> deadlift eccentric). I may play around with those and some other O-lifts over the next two weeks just to, ya know, play (haven't really just messed around in the gym in awhile and won't be able to again in another couple weeks).
--My sun blisters started popping yesterday (my chest and shoulders look like they have a minor case of leprosy ), starting with my right collarbone where the Olympic bar had been rubbing during yesterday's workout. Just a slow, steady ooze of clear liquid that I mistook for sweat until I cooled off and realized it was oily. Yummy. Speaking of which, Myrtle Beach pics are up on my social networking profiles).

[RedLefty]

Enjoy the skin cancer!

[Phaedrus49er]

Originally Posted by RedLefty

Enjoy the skin cancer!

I totally glow in the dark.

[Phaedrus49er]

Warm-up - CP2:
--hip crossover, 5 reps each side
--scorpion twist, 5 reps each side
--lateral lunge, 5 reps each leg
--crossover lunge, 5 reps each leg
--sumo squat-to-stand, 5 reps

Work:

SUPERSET (full rest)
--power clean (15/15/15, 120RI) - 12 @ 95, 10 @ 95, 10 @ 95
--push-ups (max/max/max, 120RI) - 20, 15, 15

--step-ups (15/15/15, 120RI) - 15 @ BW, 12 @ BW, 12 @ BW*

SUPERSET (no rest)
--wide-grip seated rows** (15/15, 0RI) - 15 @ 180, 15 @ 180
--Swiss ball crunch (15/15, 90RI) - 15 @ BW, 15 @ BW

* denotes right leg only
** denotes double-pulley cable setup



Notes:
--So it seems that I've severely overestimated my strength endurance. I may have to do power cleans with just a bar to get my reps in next time. As with the thrusters, I aborted the set when speed and (more importantly) form began to suffer). Push-ups still suck, too. Everything else was just okay.
--The girl was introduced to front squats today. She wants to learn power cleans and knows how to properly deadlift, so we're working on putting all the pieces together for power cleans. She also wants to conquer pull-ups:

--While we were doing step-ups today, this really wide- and glazed-eyed Indian woman walks up to the bench next to the one we were using and stands there, staring and smiling (the girl was in the middle of her set and was understandably distracted). This woman starts talking to her--in the middle of her set, of course--and it's obvious it's one of her first times in a gym of any kind (as evidenced by her suede slip-on shoes), and it's also obvious she has very little--if any--knowledge of physical movement beyond just walking. We tried to help her, but she was like a puppy: hyper-happy but sharp as a bowling ball. I walked away. I don't know how the girl extricated herself, but she did, and quickly. I hate people. So does she. Especially those who could easily be mistaken for Jehovah's Witnesses (read: lobotomy patients).
--My chest and shoulders look like a full-blown case of leprosy

[Phaedrus49er]

Hill drills:

5 x 10yds
5 x 20yds
5 x 30yds
5 x 40yds
5 x 50yds

That last set took awhile. Last year when I did this setup, I also did the back side of the pyramid, but I also took a good two hours to do the whole thing and was already in fairly decent O2 shape. Not this time, but it was still a killer workout as the girl pushed me to shorter rest intervals. Damn her.

[Lance Bass]

Marines have great bodies!

[Lost Dog]

Cool dog. Is that a giant chihuahua?

How much sun did you have to get to have blisters? Wow! That's never happened to me.

[Phaedrus49er]

That's kind of a bad picture of him. He's a boxer/pointer/hound pound puppy mutt. He's a perfect size: small enough to live and travel easily with me, large enough for me to retain some sense of manhood.

This is actually the worst sunburn I've ever had. It happened eight days ago, and this is the first day where part of it doesn't just hurt (still a tad tender in a couple places). I've had blisters once or twice, but not this bad. There was definitely some long-term skin damage done, but then, that's what I get for sitting out in the sun for 3(?) hours with no sunscreen (not to mention it was my first time outside shirtless in a couple years). Hey, I was distracted

[Phaedrus49er]

Work:
--2 rounds of front/left/right planks, 30sec each hold, no RI btwn holds, 60RI btwn rounds

SMR (10 reps each)
--foam roller - back, glutes, IT bands, quads, chest
--medicine ball - hamstrings, calves

Stretching (Core Performance protocol using rope for assistance):
--calves, 15sec each
--hamstrings, 15sec each
--adductors, 15sec each
--IT band, 15sec each
--quads, 15sec each
--triceps, 15sec each
--up-and-over chest stretch, 10reps
--side-lying internal shoulder rotation, 15sec each
--90/90 core twist, 15sec each
--quadruped rocking, 10reps



Notes:
--I knew I was going to feel those hill drills today, which is why the 5K was iffy at best. It's not happening today (saving energy to take the dog to the park, vacuum, and hopefully read), but hopefully tomorrow morning will be a different story. This all may be a moot point because...
--I'm still one person short of a full team *tosses a softball at RL*. I'm giving it until close-of-business on this coming Friday; if we don't have a fourth by then, I'll bag the event, which is fine because it'll allow me to do Strength III with full rest over four weeks (meaning a week-and-a-half off from formal training during which I'll be at the summit) instead of cramming into three-and-a-half weeks with the final SMR session the morning I leave for Little Rock.

[Phaedrus49er]

5 rounds:

400m run
50yd slosh pipe overhead carry
20 bodyweight squats
10 push-ups



Notes:
--Did this late yesterday and had some other stuff to get done, so only posting this now. This was supposed to be sprint day, but since I blew off the 5K this weekend, I wanted to add an endurance element (I did lay out a 50yd marker to "sprint" the end of each lap). The girl joined me and appropriately cursed me throughout.
--Warm-up was light and general since I knew this was going to hurt. We made it through two full rounds and the third lap before having to focus on remaining conscious for a few seconds, did the third set of the other work, then just stopped for a couple minutes. Made it through the full fourth round, stopped again for a bit, then finished it out. A good summary thought: Could someone please stop the room? I'd like to get off.
--The regular track was being used for a meet, so we ended up at another place--basically a playground--with a roughly 400m dirt track that was a decent yet easily on/off-road simulation for May 3.
--Today is supposed to be BB thruster day, but I may move power cleans to today depending on how my quads feel... if I can feel them She'll be doing max deadlifts today most likely.
--At this rate, it looks like May 3 isn't happening. I'm holding out until the end of this Friday, but I don't find a fourth person for the team, I'll abandon this challenge, starting Strength III next week, and start trying to line up people for the summer/fall events.

[Phaedrus49er]

Warm-up - CP1:
--forearm-to-instep lunge with rockback heel stretch, 5 reps each leg
--backward lunge with twist, 5 reps each leg
--calf stretch, 10 reps (2sec hold)
--forward inchworm, 5 reps
--inverted hamstring touches, 5 reps each leg

Work:

SUPERSET (full rest)
--BB thrusters (15/15/15, 120RI) - 15 @ 45, 15 @ 45, 15 @ 45
--wide-grip pull-ups (max/max/max, 120RI) - 7, 6, 6

--Bulgarian split squat (15/15/max, 120RI) - 15 @ BW, 15 @ BW, 15 @ BW*

SUPERSET (full rest)
--cable woodchoppers** (15/15, 120RI) - 15 @ 70, 15 @ 70
--cable reverse woodchoppers** (15/15, 120RI) - 15 @ 70, 15 @ 70

* denotes right leg only
** denotes double-pulley cable setup



Notes:
--I dropped weight on everything today to get the reps in, though I probably kept it a little heavier since my rest intervals were longer today (even more so in some spots since I was walking the girl through some new movements today, basically everything after the first superset plus Romanian DLs)
--Two major WTFs today:

1) some obviously bad-ass guy (had the body at least) doing, I kid you not, speed bag drills using the only functioning cable crossover station for, like, ten minutes. No shit. He had 30lbs on each side (double-pulley, remember), doing basically 1/3-ROM alternating horizontal presses using a staggered stance--yes, speed bag work. This went on for one minute, followed by a one-minute rest interval, for at least ten rounds. He even had one of those annoying-as-fuck boxing timers that beep the last ten seconds of the interval. I'll give it to him--he looked like someone to not be messed with--but seriously, as oddly crowded as the gym was, and with it being the only working crossover station (there's another one, but one or the other is perpetually broken), and with a literal line forming to use it, W... T... F...

2) I didn't know it was high school club fair day at the gym. The walkway past the front desk is narrow enough, but there were maybe a half-dozen tables set up with who-knows-what spread out on them with nicely-dressed people standing behind them. Of course, no club fair day would be complete without free goodies, and as my gym's habit holds, there were obviously doughnuts (Krispy Kreme, of course) and pizza. Altogether now: W... T... F...

--On a more serious note, I'm starting to notice a sharp, stabbing pain on my left patella whenever I do tabata-style squats. The pain is centered over where my kneecap should be, but since their significantly externally rotated, it's basically over the medial part of the kneecap, leading me to think that it's just a quick of my biomechanics--muscles pulling where they should, which would normally be straight over the top of the patella, but given the external rotation (and history of tendonitis and other fun things that go with obesity and wrestling, sometimes in concert), I may need to arrest my ROM just short of full ass-to-grass in the future when using the tabata protocol.
--Today's PWO: one beer