Lifting week of 20 May

 Monday, 20 May, heavy

• SQ: 4x5 @245
• OHP: 4x3 @107.5
• CR: 4x12
• SS: barbell row 4x10 @115 and monkey row 4x10 w/25# db

Everything felt pretty good although the OHP is getting heavy. Calf raises as usual: 24kg kettle and 20# vest. Have no heavier. Either buy a 35# or 45# plate or do 4x15.

Wednesday, 22 May, light

• SQ: 2x5 @210
• OHP: 2x5 @97.5
• CR: 4x12 as usual
• SS: chin-ups (4x8 w/bands) and hammer curls (4x8 w/20# db)

All easy. Did first set of chin-ups with only one band assistance and felt great. Will try first two sets w/only one band. Burns the arms.

Saturday, 25 May, medium

• SQ: 3x5 @225
• OHP: 3x5 @102.5
• CR: 4x12 again
• SS: row and monkey rows, same as Monday

Decided I'd cycle through those two SS. Also going to pause between deadlifts equal to one week plus a workout. In other words, if I had done DL this week on Monday, 20 May, I wouldn't do it again till light day next week (29 May). I just can't do it every single week. Too heavy. (Spoiler alert: Just did DL. Supposed to be 270x5, but could only do 3.)

Also managed to swim this week, including a 2-mile race. Blog post here.

Great songs this week: "Wow," by Beck; "Violent Times," by St. Vincent; "Hurdy Gurdy Man," by Donovan; and "Dreams," by Sjowgren.

Books this week: Rosemary's Baby, by Ira Levin; and The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa.

First open water race of the season! (Edited to add Lessons Learned)

 Swam in the Jim McDonnell Lake Swims today. First open water race of the season. I did the 2-mile race. No idea why I didn't sign up for both the 1-mile and 2-mile. Oh well. 

I've done this swim a couple times before, first time being in 2010. I wore that shirt today and one of the volunteers at the check-in remarked on it. The shirt we got today is very nice, but if/when I do this swim again (it's terribly expensive), I'll still wear the 2010 shirt. Maybe the Swim should have a contest for the oldest shirt to show up!

Lake Audubon is the location for this swim. It is very well run, with lots of safety volunteers (I think maybe 15 kayaks & SUPs on the water). 14 buoys, one mile loop. Water was deliciously cool. I was way out of shape! (I only swam 8.5 miles this month prior to today; for that matter, counting today's 2 miles, I've only done 25.5 miles this year! But I'm back in the pool now so more miles are coming.) I grabbed my index card (this is how they track swimmers going in the water) and got in line. 

Back to the JMLS: We all had sensors, and were lined up based on our mile time. There were kids here with 18:00 seed times. I sent in 37:00 and sure enough, my first mile was 37 minutes. Second mile was not. Final time: 1:21. But not last in my age group!

The fun part was my friends who came. I got a pic with one of them (Jen); next swim we'll get a pic, Annie!

Late addendum: Lessons learned. 

Bring a hat. I walked the event shirt back to my car because I thought I had a hat in there. No joy. Lots of sun and look at my head. Shade was my friend. 

And park on the opposite side of Twin Branches. That's where the shade be! (Red arrow is my car.)

Lifting week of 13 May

 Great week again!

Monday, 13 May

• SQ: 4x5 @235
• OHP: 4x3 @105
• CR: 4x12

All felt good. Too tired after calf raises, couldn't do superset. CR was with 20# vest and using the 24kg kettlebell.

Wednesday, 15 May

• SQ: 2x5 @205
• OHP: 2x5 @95

All smooth. Went on a walk with the wife instead of lifting any more.

Friday, 17 May

• SQ: 3x5 @215
• OHP: 3x5 @100
• DL: 265x5

Totally f^cked up and loaded 235 instead of 215. Whoops! Will do 245 on H day next week. 265 deadlift was heavy!

Best songs this week: "Dancer," by IDLES; "Mickey Mouse," by Sparks; "Dancing Barefoot," by Patti Smith; and "Nice 'N" Sleazy," by The Stranglers.

Book read last week: Ill Met by Moonlight, by W. Stanley Moss, and The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Levin.

Lifting week of 6 May

 Another good week. And I swam! (Once...ugh.)

6 May, H

• SQ: 4x5 @230
• OHP: 3x5 @105, 1x5 @95
• DL: 260x5

Ended up doing 5,3,3 for the 105 in OHP. Next time I'll do 4x3. DL was hard, so going back to every 9-10 days.

8 May, L

• SQ: 2x5 @205
• OHP: 2x5 @90
• CR: 4x10
• SS (chin-ups and hammer curls)

Calf raises were with my 20# vest and the 24kg kettlebell. Superset was 4 sets of 8 chin-ups (with straps) and 8 reps of hammer curls, w/20lb db. 

10 May, M

• SQ: 3x5 @215
• OHP: 3x5 @95
• CR: 4x10
• SS (barbell row and monkey row)

CR as 8 May. Superset was 4 sets of 10 barbell rows (upright, 115#) and 10 monkey rows with 25# db. 

Great songs this week: "Mickey Mouse," by Sparks; and "Doused," by Diiv.

Great event this week: Our daughter's college graduation! In only three years. Congrats, girl!

Show watched while writing this: "Chopped"

Lifting last week

 Good week!

Monday, 29 Apr, Heavy:

• SQ: 4x5 @225
• OHP: 3x5 @105, 1x5 @95
• DL: 1x5 @255

OHP didn't go as planned. I did 5, 5, 3. Planned to redo 3x5 @105 today. Spoiler alert! 5,3,3. Going to do 3x3 with the drop set going forward. Probably go up by 2.5# instead of 5#. Other lifts went well.

Thursday, 2 May, Light:

• SQ: 2x5 @200
• OHP: 2x5 @90
• CR: 4x12 w/24kg kettle
• SS: Curls 50# and db tricep extension 40#: 4x10

Had to push Wednesday's L workout to Thursday as we had visitors that evening. Workout felt good. 

Saturday, 4 May, Medium:

• SQ: 3x5 @210
• OHP: 3x5 @95
• CR: ditto
• SS: push-ups (10) and bent-over row 135# (5): 4 sets

Book read last week: A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine. 

Songs I liked last week: "Bean Fields," by Shannon & The Clams; "Interlude," by Morrissey; and "Caution," by The Killers. 

Great recent news: My wife's book, Children of Cain: Love & Murder in the Age of Monsters, the #1 self-published e-book in 2023 according to Writer's Digest, is featured in the May/June issue of the magazine as well as online.