I'll be back later in 2014 after the summer cabin season. My current workout activities are structured around volleyball, water skiing, and mowing. I have big plans for this winter, since I'll turn 39 in October. Welcome Lard!
Its been 2 years since September 8, 2009, the date of my last 1RM session. Since that contest, my workouts grew stale, infrequent, or not at all. However, I was always able to maintain my weight at 185 lbs. Then I started adding 5-10 pounds in the winter, but again, able to shave it off for summer...until this summer. I started the summer of 2011 at 195 lbs and was never able to get back to 185. So I recently started hitting my workouts more frequently and decided to challenge myself (and the Big Boys) to see where we are at individually. I decided to find my 1RM again, and continue my goal from 2009 of lifting a combined 1000 pounds in the Bench, Deadlift, and Squat. I will continue on that goal this winter, but my focus is on a long-term weight goal of 185 lbs. But we all need a starting point, so here is mine.
I went to the gym at 4:45a, my normal routine. Here are the results and any comments:
9/13/11
Bench 250 Just couldn't extend at 270
Dead 330 New personal record
Squat 360 Couldn't get low enough at 380
Total 940 lbs. Previous September 2009 combined weight of 990 lbs. So I'm not that far behind my all-time highs or my 1000 pound goal. Good luck to all!
I surprised myself with my Labor Day max lifts. I was pretty sure I would have slipped or held constant on my maxes, but I I was pleasantly surprised.
I went to the gym at 5:00a, same routine as May 18, 2009. Here are the results and comments on failures:
5/18/09 9/8/09
Bench 250 260 Just couldn't extend at 270.
Dead 300 320 Back was giving out, last exercise.
Squat 365 410 Right knee giving out at 410 and failed at 430.
Total 915 990 lbs.
I got my Big Pull in this morning and I was pleased with the results. In fact, I hit all-time highs on Squat and Dead Lift. I'm sure I could squat more coming out of high school, but I never maxed out. Anyway, I hit maxes greater than December 2007 which were my previous maxes before I broke my leg.
The bench press yielded the same results as December 2007. I was a little surprised I didn't increase there. I guess I'll push for some gains over the summer.
Start time 4:50a.m. I did a quick warm-up 2 minutes on the treadmill at 6 mph.
Bench Press:
Used the Bench Press Machine at Snap. I don't know if it has a specific name, but it wasn't free weights on a bench. I'll assume zero weight for the bar itself, because its negligible.
180 lbs x 3
230 lbs x 3
270 lbs FAIL
250 lbs x 1
260 lbs FAIL
MAX BENCH: 250 lbs.
Squat:
I used the Smith Machine which says the bar resistance is 15 lbs.
195 lbs x 3
285 lbs x 2
335 lbs x 2
365 lbs x 1
375 lbs FAIL
MAX SQUAT: 365 lbs.
Dead Lift:
I didn't remember the squat bar being 35 lbs as Matt indicated, I always used 30lbs. So I wanted to be sure, I weighed myself, grabbed the bar and weighed again, then subtracted the difference, 29.5 lbs so I'll round to 30 lbs.
210 lbs x 2
300 lbs x 1
350 lbs FAIL
320 lbs FAIL
MAX DEAD LIFT: 300 lbs.
GALAN'S 5/18 MAXES:
MAX BENCH: 250 lbs.
MAX SQUAT: 365 lbs.
MAX DEAD LIFT: 300 lbs.
In just under a year since I broke my leg, I feel that my leg strength is nearly back to my pre-break strength. This morning on my leg workout, I was able to leg press the entire stack of plates (400 lbs.) three times. I can't recall lifting the entire stack before, but I usually lift in the 6-12 rep range. I also squatted 280 lbs 5x3, where my pre-break 1-rep max was 290 lbs.
Happy New Year to all! Counting down to the big KB workout January 19, 2009 followed by a sensible dinner, healthy beverages, and mind stimulation. Cheers!
Well I'm two weeks out now and I think I'm doing pretty good. I can walk mostly normal. In the morning, things are a little stiffer all around, but the swelling from the previous day is gone and its not long before I'm loose.
Workouts and PT are going well. I'll try to be good about posting, but it feels like I'm posting the same workout over and over. I really don't plan to change much either until I think my right leg is nearly as strong as my left. Everything else can wait and take a back seat right now, and I don't have the time to extend my workouts beyond an hour, nor do I really want to. Its spring outside, I don't want to be locked up in a gym.
I really gave myself a good test this weekend. Saturday I did my normal routine at Snap:
1 Legged Raises @ 12 lbs. * 20
1 Legged Raises @ 17 lbs. * 20
1 Legged Hamstring Curls @ 45 lbs. * 20
1 Legged Sitting Squats @ 80 lbs. * 20
Full Squats @ 90 lbs. of weight plus bar on the Smith Machine * 20
Calf Raises @ 70 lbs. * 20
30 Minutes on the bike at Level 10, 8 miles, 300 calories (round figures)
After the workout I fertilized the yard with the push spreader. Even did the hills from the front of the house to the back without any real difficulty. I did have to watch my step a little more carefully though.
Sunday I really worked myself. I was in the garage almost all day cleaning, sweeping, installing another shelf for more totes, up and down the ladder a bunch of times. It felt great. I was soo tempted to take the cover off the bike, but I resisted. I actually took the advice of my PT Sunday and iced my knee Sunday night. It did swell quite of bit from all the activity, but there was never any pain and the swelling was gone the next morning.
I've gained back some of my muscle in the right leg, I think I have more than ever in the left, and put back most of the weight I lost after the injury. The home scale in the birthday suit reads 177 lbs (182 at Snap with my gear). 19% body fat (Don't know how accurate, but consistent with this scale before/after surgery). I am usually about 17% body fat on this scale. My BMI ranges between 20-22 which is the low normal range. The body fat reading is in the high normal to low obese range on my scale.
I do have more bodyfat than before I broke my leg, I can see/feel that. With the weight loss, I didn't really care as much what I ate, probably more comfort foods. Now that I'm getting close to my target weight of 185 lbs again, I'll start watching my diet closer again. At some point, I'm going to want to get back into lifting with my upper body again and doing situps, etc. I enjoy that more than legs, but I'm resisting those urges for now, because I really want to stay focused on my legs. I know once I start, my legs won't get the same attention. I also know the closer to full strength my leg gets, the less attention I will think it needs, so I'm staying focused for now. There is still a lot of healing going on, evidensed by the swelling and fluid that continues to build each day.
I might get one more post in this week, we'll see.
Friday was Day 5 since I got the ok from my orthopedist to begin weight bearing. The break was almost fully healed. On the x-ray, there was just a tiny piece on the very tip of the break on the very outside of the tibia that looked a little fragmented or "mushy" yet. The same piece but much bigger was why I got 4 more weeks from my Week 5 appointment...
The doctor was not concerned about with it being so far out. He told me I should be done with crutches in about 10 days and suggested taking it nice and easy, start with 25 lbs of pressure and increase by 25 lbs. every day or to to see if I have any pain or swelling. I remember telling Amy in the car right after the appointment, "Its really hard for me to see being fully off crutches in 10 days". That's how weak my leg was.
I followed the orthodepist appointment with a PT appointment. I filled in the PT with the news and she said that means you have no restrictions, we can now add a bunch of resistance training to what has basically been stretching and isolated muscle excersises. So she tells me to walk over to the exercise table, about 4 feet away. Well I tried to put some weight on my right leg and it wasn't happening, so I hopped over there, like I normally would. She said I was just being hesitant as I've trained myself to protect my leg for 9 weeks now.
Anyway, that night after work, I started taking steps in the kitchen holding onto the counters and such and eventually, was walking around the house "carrying" the crutches and not using them. Amy was surprised, and of course so was I. That was a pretty happy day.
Some of the biggest obstacles to overcome included the swelling in my lower leg and foot was still not completely gone. I still have some fluid from the injury. So started to walk on my foot was not the most comfortable, especially on a hard surface floor without shoes. Today, my foot swelling is mostly gone. By the end of the day though, I still have some lower leg swelling. Overnight, my body absorbs it, and throughout the day with walking and just having my leg down in a seating position, it slowly comes back. No swelling in my knee though or upper leg. Muscle weakness is also a big obstacle. I'm noticing from my workouts that I have no quad strength, but my calf and hamstring are returning much faster. Steps is where the quad really is needed, well and just walking in general. I can walk pretty good, but because of the quad weakness, its still walking with a limp, sort of herky jerky.
My PT appointments are twice per weak. She tests me to see where I'm at with ROM and strength. She assigns exercises for both and helps with the areas I need the most work. The workout routines I'm doing on my own, but I really focus on things the PT suggests. Biking is great for me, keeps things loose, gets me some cardio, strengthens my quad with the more tension I apply. Squats are also great and I need to add more calf raises as well. Its really strange having worked out 5 days this week and not touching anything above my waist. I used to focus probably 2/3 or the weight training I would do on upper body, so I feel like I'm neglecting it. But I really like the progress I'm making and I'm very determined to get back to where I was pre-injury, if not stronger. So with that, here's my workout from Day 5.
Workout:
20 reps on the quad machine at 12.5 lbs holding top for a 5 count.
20 reps of squats on the Smith machine with 20 lbs added
20 reps on the hamstring machine at 70 lbs.
20 reps on the calf raise with 45 lbs holding top and bottom for a 5 count.
10 reps of seated squats at 40 lbs. right leg only
10 reps of seated squats at 60 lbs. right leg only
Road bike for 30 minutes, 8.2 miles, 220 calories burned, 130 bpm., 90+ rpm, Level 7.
Workout:
10 reps of squats on the Smith machine with the bar (15 lbs. - assisted)
10 reps of squats on the Smith machine with 20 lbs added
20 reps on the hamstring machine at 50 lbs.
20 reps on the quad machine at 12.5 lbs, and no more cheating.
Road bike for 30 minutes, 7.4 miles, 205 calories burned, 120 bpm. Level 6.
I'm also able to manuever stairs pretty good. If I lead with my good leg, its real easy. But I'm even able to alternate lead legs (like normal), this just takes a little longer and I'm more careful when fully supporting my body weight on my right leg.
Pushed a little harder today.
Workout:
10 reps on the seated squat machine at 60 lbs.
10 reps on the seated squat machine at 80 lbs.
10 reps on the seated squat machine right leg only at 20 lbs.
20 reps on the hamstring machine around 40 lbs.
10 reps on the quad machine at 20 lbs, and I still had to cheat with the good leg to get to the top.
Road bike for 30 minutes, 6.4 miles, 164 calories burned, 105 bpm.
Where did everyone go? I take a little hiatus and this place is a ghost town! Doc gave the ok for weight bearing and driving yesterday. So I drove to Snap and biked for 20 minutes. I went 4 miles and burned 90 calories. My heartrate was 61 bpm. It was a happy day!
Here is the my story for how I went out of town skiing for the weekend and came home with titanium in my leg!
We left for Denver, CO on Valentine's Day. We got our luggage, rented our SUV, stopped to buy lift tikets and groceries, and headed out to Brekenridge, CO where we rented a nice three bedroom cabin with an outdoor hotub. Once we got to the cabin, we unpacked a little and headed to town for our dinner reservations at the Blue Lagoon, and great place that was perfect and served a very good steak.
Day 2: Friday
Friday we deceided to ski Breckenridge. The conditions were perfect. It was sunny all day, temps in the upper 20's, great snow conditions. We started right away getting midway up the mountain. Amy and I had not ski'd in 2-3 years, last time being Red Lodge, MO. It did not take us long to catch the hang of it again. In the afternoon, Brian and I split off from the girls for some black diamond and 1 double black diamond run. We got a good workout and the skiing was challenging and fun. We were saving the peak for the afternoon, but were quickly running out of time and were fatiguing fast. When it was time to make the call at 3:30p (lifts start closing at 4:00p) we learned that they shut the peak down at 3:00p daily. Too late. Thta's ok, we have two more day of skiing ahead of us.
Day 3: Saturday
We were feeling nice and refreshed after sitting in the hottub after skiing Friday and getting to bed a little early. We previously decided day 2 would be out at Keystone, followed by Vail Day 3. We were up early, had breakfast and made our way to Keystone at 9:00a. We took some pictures at the top of the mountain from the first gondola ride. It was a great view. We decided on a 3.5 mile green circle run to start the day and get warmed up. More stopping for pictures and a movie on the way down. After the last set of movies, this is where Pete's day goes bad. He sees a nice liitle path on the side of the run through the trees, like many he took Friday. They provide a little more excitement on the easier runs and sometimes offer a jump at the end. Galan probably had too much speed entering the trail, which didn't head back into the main run right away and got narrower and narrower weaving through trees. Galan could shave off much speed through the narrow trees and started to loose his footing. As a tree approached right in Galan's path, he needed to leap at the last minute to his left to avoid hitting the tree head-on. Galan felt his lower right leg glance off the tree pretty hard and he tumbled, his skiis releasing.
Galan figured he either deeply bruised his lower leg or fractured it. He was able to bend and move his knee normally. Galan thought about trying to stand up when he reliazed he would not be able to go on and was encouraged not to try and stand. He made the decision to call to ski patrol and skirted his way out of the trees on his behind.
The doctors were great and the rest of the trip may be written in another post. Long story short. The hit with the tree put enough pressure on my knee to break my tibial plateau in three pieces and tear my miniscus away from the lower joint. I received a plate and 4 screws to hold the break together to heal. It does not appear I did any ligament damage or if I did, non e of great concern that they would let heal naturally anyway.
No weight bearing for 6-8 weeks. I see the orthopedist Monday and will post on my physical therapy routine. I should be healthy enough for waterskiing season, and I might be a litte delayed for motorcycle riding.
I feel bad for Amy because she now has to handle all of Isabel's transitions and driving duties. SHe's been a trooper and I can't thank her enough. I will definately be less adventourous in the future knowing an accident like this can have such a big lasting impact on our daily lives. I would not avert skiing, or even the black diamonds, but there is no need to take trails through the trees, when the wide open runs are really just as fun.
This is a salute to our comrade in arms.
We, Scoundrel and Swami, will pause today and take a moment of silence for our “fallen” comrade.
Today it’s been announced that our comrade in arms has had a terrible accident and has broken his leg skiing. 
Had we known the nature of Galan’s skiing skills we certainly would have intervened.
We didn’t know he would venture off the bunny hill.
We thought he went skiing to hang out and have a great time.
But, Noooo! He decided to be a daredevil.
Yep he took his life into his own hands and broke his leg...Not a simple snap mind you. But surgery with steel plates and screws and stuff...cool! 
The ABC’s Wide World of Sport’s clip with Vinko Bogataj’s failed ski jump keeps running through my head.
Some guys will do anything to get out of a workout.
As Scoundrel points out quite clearly, I have been coming up short on my posts. I still read all the posts (mostly from Scoundrel), but haven't made the time to post myself.
Training Update:
I just started Week 4 of 6 today on my second round of the "Increase your Bench by 40 lbs" workout. I really like the workout and continue to see results. I'm not seeing the same increases as the first 6-weeks, but I didn't expect to. I've also missed more workouts in the last 4 weeks, mostly due to being tired and not getting enough sleep. I normally get 6 hours, but there were some days where I was getting about 5, so I'd skip a workout.
Last week was training all week and high calorie lunches, a dinner, and Super Bowl weekend. I'm way up to 187 lbs, not too bad considering. I'll be eating better again this week and Lent is coming up.
Bowling:
I continue to make small increases weekly in my average. And I still hold a slim lead on our semi-pro Captain, so I feel good. I have trouble hitting the pocket consitently at Flaherty's where I have more success at other lanes. My ball has too much breaking action for my normal postioning and delivery. I make small adjustments weekly to try to hone in on the pocket, but I've had mixed success. My best result is throwing harder to get more slide and less bite, but the angle of attack on the pocket does not give me the best pin action. I'll continue with small adjustments in hopes of getting it right and maybe have a 550 or 600 series.
This is my attempt at my 2008 resolutions. I've given it a lot of thought off and on and didn't really think I had specific goals for 2008. But I know I do, so I'm just going to start writing and see what comes of it.
1. I want to weigh no more than 190 lbs at the end of 2008. Started about 185 lbs.
2. I want to go skiing in Colorado in February. I want to have a great time and ski from the tops of the mountains. I do not want to fatigue to the point where I need a day off.
3. I want to do a lot of waterskiing this year.
4. I want to steadily increase my bowling average in league this year, no plateaus.
5. I want to improve at chess through playing.
6. I want to improve at racquetball through playing.
7. I want to ride 5000 miles on my motorcycle this season.
8. I want to make Amy happy all year.
9. I want to help Isabel make new break throughs.
10. I want to finally get a Will and Trust setup.
11. I want to have another child.
12. I want to see Ski lose some weight.
13. I want to start 2009 in better shape than 2008.
Well I've been trying to make it in to Snap on a regular basis over the holidays. I haven't been doing too bad, but its been impossible to follow a weekly program, so I'm making things up and still feeling the burn. I like the daily consistency of the programs though. Its easier to track and measure results. My cardio workouts have suffered in my atempts to not lose too much on my strength workouts for the days that get missed. Weighed 186.2 Monday. Happy New Year! Looking forward to bowling!
I haven't found a good leg routine that will fill 3 days of weight training and I don't have the time to make a routine right now, so I am going to try the "Triple Threat" for the next 6 weeks. That will carry me through the holidays. I might have to sub the medicine ball exercises though as I don't think Snap has one, or would want me throwing it against the wallboard on steel studs :D
Since I completed my 6-week program, I wanted to find my new 1RM in Bench Press, Squat, and Deadlift. I was fairly surprised...
Pre-Program:
Bench Press: 210 lbs.
Squat: 230 lbs.
Romanian Deadlift: 240 lbs.
After the 6-week program, designed to increase your bench press by 40 lbs. my new maxesare as follows:
Post-Program:
Bench Press: 250 lbs.
Squat: 290 lbs.
Romanian Deadlift: 260 lbs.
Next up, working my legs and core for skiing in February.
