While my 2007 and 2008 blogs had some readers, it REALLY only became famous in 2009 with my blog that began in January, not March, and chronicled my struggles and eventual megaburst of success from September through December. But the question now is, was the breakthrough of the fall of 2009 a fluke or a preview of greater things to come? That question will be answered while you read my workout blog which will be the earliest it had ever begun, like last year's was the latest it had ever ended, although I may tie or exceed that this year, but since I like the break from before Christmas until after Russian Christmas, it may stick that way, or I may reinterpert it to end the REGULAR season before Christmas, and treat the Grand Finale Workout like a bowl game in college football and do it right after Christmas on say the 26th, eventually my "winter break" may only be a three week break, which is fine because that's still a long gap and more than enough time off. But part of the reason I'm jumping into the 2010 season so early is because of the success of 2009. And it looks like the majority of the snowpile building is behind me, because it's so big that now I'm mostly doing maintenence work and only adding a layer if we get a blizzard, because to add a layer, I need enough to make it 8 feet high. But anyways, if you would like to read about my workout blogs of years past, here are the links (you need to join Grippermania and the Gripboard, so no 2005 and 2006 blogs). But still, nice to take note of my progress and all the changes that took place. At least I still have my calendars. I may someday post an archive of my old workouts.

These are the links to my 2007 blog (started midseason or later).

My Forum (starts in June): http://altoonapenna.proboards.com/in...lay&thread=347

TalkPA (starts in October): http://www.talkpa.net/my-workout-blog-fall-t2880.html

These are the links to my 2008 blog (the one on my forum ended after the reshuffling)

My Forum (ends in May): http://altoonapenna.proboards.com/in...lay&thread=348

TalkPA (complete version): http://www.talkpa.net/altoona-mans-w...log-t4484.html

And here is the link to the 2009 blog (I temporarily shut down my forum in mid-2008, so there's only a TalkPA version)

http://www.talkpa.net/altoona-mans-w...log-t8633.html

Although early on, a link to my 2009 blog may seem silly because it's still on the first page, it'll eventually fall off onto the second, third, and beyond, so a link to my 2009 blog will eventually become very useful. But still, putting links to all of my blogs helps keep consistancy, all new blogs post links to my old ones. Again, I'd post a link to my 2005 and 2006 blogs, but they're mostly missing outside of calendars.

Finally, here's a link to the 2010 blog that's on my forum.

http://altoonapenna.proboards.com/in...lay&thread=360

Anyways, as with any blog, I am expecting to make a lot of updates and revisions as time goes on. The next page will be a list of my goals.

== UPDATES/REVISIONS ==

2/20/10: Changed the time limits based on averages and added other things
3/25/10: Added a link to my 2010 blog from my reopened forum

__________________
Click on the beautiful Altoona skyline to go to my website about central Pennsylvania.

Unlike the tumultuous 2008 season which brought a flat first half and beyond to 2009, last year was very consistant for whatever it did. It was just plain awful during the winter and spring, curved upwards in summer, and the fall was the best span of workouts that I had ever experienced as a whole. I went from struggling to close the Master on a regular basis to almost closing the Super Master and closing the Master with my left hand. There is a LOT of promise for this upcoming season and there is a lot to suggest that the 2010 season will live up to the lofty expectations that I have bestowed upon it. There is little to suggest that anything will go wrong in that manner, but the Kickoff Workout will ultimately set the tone for the year, or at least the first 3/4 of it. It'll let me know what to expect out of my workouts, but still hopefully there isn't a lot of rust to shake loose. Even if there is, it should not be anywhere near as disastrous as last year's workout was.

Here's a list of my goals for 2010

Note: Goals may change depending on what I add or subtract. Also, I know I won't meet every goal, but it's nice to have them here.

Close the BeefBuilder Super Master - DONE 1/31/10
Close the BeefBuilder Grand Master - DONE 3/12/10
Close the Ironmind #3 - DONE 5/15/10
Close the BeefBuilder Elite - DONE 5/30/10
Close the BeefBuilder Super Elite - DONE 7/11/10
Close the BeefBuilder Grand Elite
Close the Ironmind #4
Close the Ironmind #2 left handed - DONE 1/31/10
Close the BeefBuilder Super Master left handed - DONE 5/21/10
Close the BeefBuilder Grand Master left handed - DONE 5/30/10
Close the Ironmind #3 left handed
Close the BeefBuilder Elite left handed
Chest Crush the Ironmind #4 - DONE 1/19/10
Chest Crush the BeefBuilder Pro - DONE 3/23/10
Chest Crush the BeefBuilder World Class - DONE 7/1/10
No set close the BeefBuilder Master - DONE 1/17/10
No set close the Ironmind #2 - DONE 2/18/10
No set close the BeefBuilder Super Master - DONE 5/15/10
No set close the BeefBuilder Grand Master - DONE 5/30/10
No set close the Ironmind #3
No set close the BeefBuilder Elite
Two-Finger Close The BeefBuilder Super Advanced - DONE 2/2/10
Two-Finger Close The BeefBuilder Master - DONE 3/23/10
Two-Finger Close The Ironmind #2 - DONE 5/24/10
Two-Finger Close the BeefBuilder Super Master
Bench Press 200 lbs for 3 reps
Bench Press 225 lbs for 1 rep
Bench Press 225 lbs for 3 reps
Bench Press 250 lbs for 1 rep
Deadlift 315 lbs for 3 reps
Deadlift 350 lbs for 3 reps
Deadlift 385 lbs for 2 reps
Deadlift 385 lbs for 3 reps
Deadlift 405 lbs at all
Deadlift 205 lbs with one hand - DONE 8/19/10
Deadlift 225 lbs with one hand
Deadlift 250 lbs with one hand
Deadlift 275 lbs with one hand
Deadlift 300 lbs with one hand
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates at all using two hands - DONE 1/30/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 20 seconds using two hands - DONE 2/24/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 30 seconds using two hands - DONE 2/24/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 50 seconds using two hands - DONE 3/4/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 75 seconds using two hands - DONE 3/27/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 100 seconds using two hands - DONE 4/7/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 120 seconds using two hands - DONE 4/7/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 150 seconds using two hands - DONE 4/15/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 180 seconds using two hands - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 200 seconds using two hands - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip three 35 lb plates at all using two hands - DONE 5/4/10
Pinch grip three 35 lb plates for 10 seconds using two hands - DONE 5/4/10
Pinch grip three 35 lb plates for 20 seconds using two hands - DONE 5/4/10
Pinch grip three 35 lb plates for 30 seconds using two hands - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip three 35 lb plates for 50 seconds using two hands - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip three 35 lb plates for 75 seconds using two hands - DONE 6/23/10
Pinch grip three 35 lb plates for 100 seconds using two hands - DONE 7/2/10
Pinch grip three 45 lb plates at all using two hands - DONE 5/4/10
Pinch grip three 45 lb plates for 10 seconds using two hands - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip three 45 lb plates for 20 seconds using two hands - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip three 45 lb plates for 30 seconds using two hands - DONE 6/23/10
Pinch grip three 45 lb plates for 50 seconds using two hands - DONE 7/2/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates at all - DONE 1/30/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates for 5 seconds - DONE 2/16/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates for 10 seconds - DONE 2/24/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates for 20 seconds - DONE 3/4/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates for 30 seconds - DONE 3/27/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates for 50 seconds - DONE 4/7/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates for 75 seconds - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates for 100 seconds - DONE 6/23/10
Pinch grip five 10 lb plates at all - DONE 3/27/10
Pinch grip five 10 lb plates for 10 seconds - DONE 4/15/10
Pinch grip five 10 lb plates for 20 seconds - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip five 10 lb plates for 30 seconds - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip five 10 lb plates for 50 seoncds - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip five 10 lb plates for 75 seconds - DONE 7/2/10
Pinch grip five 10 lb plates for 100 seconds - DONE 7/16/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates at all - DONE 4/7/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 10 seconds - DONE 4/15/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 20 seconds - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 30 seconds - DONE 6/23/10
Pinch grip two 45 lb plates for 50 seconds - DONE 7/2/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates left handed at all - DONE 4/7/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates left handed for 10 seconds - DONE 4/15/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates left handed for 30 seconds - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip two 35 lb plates left handed for 50 seconds - DONE 6/23/10
Pinch grip five 10 lb plates left handed at all - DONE 6/23/10
Pinch grip three 25 lb plates at all - DONE 6/11/10
Pinch grip three 25 lb plates for 10 seconds - DONE 6/23/10
Pinch grip three 25 lb plates for 30 seconds - DONE 7/2/10
Pinch grip six 10 lb plates at all - DONE 7/9/10
Use 42.5 lbs on my Pinch Block - DONE 2/20/10
Use 45 lbs on my Pinch Block - DONE 4/6/10
Use 47.5 lbs on my Pinch Block - DONE 5/17/10
Use 50 lbs on my Pinch Block - DONE 6/8/10
Use 52.5 lbs on my Pinch Block - DONE 7/1/10
Use 55 lbs on my Pinch Block - DONE 8/26/10
Use 50 lbs on my Wrist Roller - DONE 3/2/10
Use 60 lbs on my Wrist Roller - DONE 6/2/10
Use 75 lbs on my Wrist Roller
Carry two 40 lb buckets for two laps of manual labor
Carry two 40 lb buckets for three laps of manual labor
Carry two 40 lb buckets for four laps of manual labor
Carry two 40 lb buckets for five laps of manual labor
Carry a 50 lb sandbag for five laps of manual labor
Carry an 80 lb sandbag for one lap of manual labor
Carry an 80 lb sandbag for two laps of manual labor
Carry a 100 lb sandbag for one lap of manual labor
Carry an 80 lb sandbag for three laps of manual labor
Carry a 200 lb stone for at least 30 steps - DONE 3/31/10
Carry a 200 lb stone for at least 50 steps - DONE 4/19/10
Carry a 200 lb stone for at least 60 steps - DONE 7/5/10
Carry a 200 lb stone for at least 75 steps - DONE 7/5/10
Carry a 200 lb stone for at least 100 steps - DONE 8/31/10
Carry a 200 lb stone for at least 120 steps
Carry a 200 lb stone for at least 150 steps
Lift and hold a 200 lb stone for at least 120 seconds - DONE 3/31/10
Lift and hold a 200 lb stone for at least 150 seconds - DONE 4/19/10
Lift and hold a 200 lb stone for at least 180 seconds - DONE 7/5/10
Lift and hold a 200 lb stone for at least 200 seconds - DONE 7/5/10
Lift and hold a 200 lb stone for at least 240 seconds - DONE 8/31/10
Lift and hold a 200 lb stone for at least 300 seconds
Lift and hold a 200 lb stone for at least 360 seconds
Stay injury free - NOT QUITE (4/23/10 - 6/11/10)

Just like last year, the final one can only be complete if I actually stay injury free the whole year. Otherwise, I once again would have failed to meet that goal of mine. I haven't had a good injury free year since 2005, and I'd like to start off the new decade with a year free of any stupid things that set off problems. If you notice with this list of goals, many are goals leftover from last year, but you'll also notice quite a lot of new goals because I did meet a lot of goals last year, especially in the fall, and so the bar has to be raised a little. I don't expect to meet all of these goals, I never do, but I do expect to at least meet some of them. If I do meet all of those goals, then 2010 will be the #1 best workout year of all time. But realisitically I expect to meet around 50% or so of the goals, with 80% or over still being a fantastic rate.

For a more detailed explanation of what will earn the specified grades, see last year's blog, the third post called "Grading System", just like this year's.

http://www.talkpa.net/altoona-mans-w...log-t8633.html

As I said last year, I stopped using the percentage based grading system in May of 2008 when the reshuffling happened, but in late 2008 I began using a grading system that was the same as what I used for the Penn State Nittany Lions and their performances on the field, but I only give a single grade, not four different grades like I do with Penn State. Each grade has a numerical value, which is also used for rounding when tabulating seasonal average grades.

PLATINUM MEDAL - 200 points: Yes, I know there's no such thing as a platinum medal nor does platinum look that color, but I needed a grade to set it apart from all others and a color that's readable. This grade can only be given out thrice in a year at most. Workouts that set major records are exempt and can be awarded this grade without losing one of three available platinum medals.

GOLD MEDAL - 150 points: Officially the highest grade that I can give, this is my way of putting a cap on workout grade extra credit because of the flood of good workouts in 2010, but this is a great "problem" to have.

SILVER MEDAL - 140 points: The second highest grade that I can give, right below a gold medal workout, but this is for a top of the line workout that is JUST SHY of the gold medal.

BRONZE MEDAL - 135 points: The third highest grade that I can give, even the bronze workout is way way beyond mere "extra credit" and something signifficant is done that sets it apart from the merely exceptional beyond belief. All medal workouts feature a plethora of PRs.

A++++ - 130 points: Out of this world? Out of this galaxy? Out of this universe? You decide. This is a workout that defies explanation, but in a good way, but don't wait around expecting these. I avoid this much more than the A+++ grade, this one is about as common as winning the lottery while getting struck by lightning.

A+++ - 120 Points: I try my best to avoid giving this one out, because it seems hokey by the name of it, but now and then something earns it. Essentially, this is when something happens that goes so far beyond the best possible scenario I could have dreamed up that standard extra credit isn't enough.

A++ - 110 Points: These are extremely rare, essentially it was so good that it went beyond what I thought was the best that could happen, and as a result of this amazing workout, it earns a perfect grade plus a little "extra credit". I'm not as hesitant with this grade as A+++, but they're still very rare.

A+ - 100 Points: This is normally the best you'll get out of me, and I still very rarely give this out. An A+ essentially is a perfect workout in all ways.

A - 96 Points: These are still exceptionally rare, but not quite as rare as the "perfect" grades. An A is still extremely close to perfect in every possible way.

A- - 93 Points: Again, these too are exceptionally rare. An A- is an amazing workout that comes very close to perfect in most ways with no real flaws.

A/B - 90 Points: Here is where it begins to get a little less rare. A very far cry from common, these are a result of an exceptional workout that comes close to perfect, but there are still a few tiny things that were still "only" very good or "merely" above average. Still, nothing to complain about, a great workout.

B+ - 87 Points: Still a superb workout, fairly close to a perfect workout overall, but in many ways still missing the mark. To get a "B+", it still must substantially exceed my standards and expectations for that workout, so this is hardly a disappointing grade. A B+ is not at all common, so be proud to get one.

B - 85 Points: A very good, solid workout all around. Not exactly in the realm of perfect, but still, very few things that you could call mistakes. These generally are the result of a mixture of perfection and average or just a solid very good performance all around with many things going right in all directions.

B- 82 Points: A great workout that is above average in many ways, but may only be a little above average in others. Still a good grade, indicating that you exceeded the standards set for that workout by a good bit, and still indicating that you are making progress. A B- is a good grade to receive after a workout.

B/C - 80 Points: A good workout that is overall a few steps above average, exceeding the expectations in a way that shows some progress being made.

C+ - 77 Points: Although not a wowsome, mindblowing workout, it still is a workout that meets every expectation and exceeds the standards you have set.

C - 75 Points: Many think of a "C" as being average, but in this case, average means that you have met every expectation set out for you, completed everything within the parameters set and passed the test of your own standards in every way, meeting them exactly as you had set out. To most people, that description sounds like a perfect grade, an A+ or 100%, but in working out, meeting all of your expectations, although great, only shows that you are making a small amount of progress, hence the "C" grade which implies that the workout wasn't that good. No, bad workouts receive much lower grades than a "C".

C- - 72 Points: Still not a bad grade to get. It means that you met most of your expectations that day, and things averaged out just a little below the standards you had set. With these, you can tell that you're making progress, but it's a slow trickle of progress where you feel you want to be doing better.

C/D - 70 Points: This is typically when you have a mild "off day". Most things go pretty much right, but there were a few things that inexplicably did not work out the way you had hoped. Still not a bad grade, because it's still in the "C" range, but you feel you can be doing better, progress is at a standstill.

D+ - 67 Points: Not really a good grade to get, but not the end of the world, either. There were some goals that you did not meet today, things felt "off".

D - 65 Points: This is what happens during a typical "off day". You do some things right, but in general things don't work out as you planned, so you end up giving yourself a grade to reflect that. A "D" indicates a below average workout, but not an abysmal workout. Still, you know progress isn't being made here.

D- - 62 Points: An off day that's a bit stronger than the kind you usually have, things just don't click on a day like this. Nothing is absolutely awful, though, but you can hardly say that you felt good about this workout. A D- workout is one where a lot of things go wrong during the workout that you need to fix.

D/F - 60 Points: The lowest workout to receive a passing grade, it's also an indicator that your workout was not at all good. Things were generally awful, although there were a few salvageable points, which is what gives it the passing grade. However, these are indicators that you need to do some tuneup work.

F - 50 Points: An "F" is the standard failing grade, which indicates that this workout featured a lot of things you'd like to change. But, an "F" is still with 50 points, just missing a passing grade, which indicates that a few things were okay here and there, despite the overwhelming majority of it being awful.

F/0 - 25 Points: This indicates that it's not quite a "0" but not almost passing, either. Nothing at all good in the workout at all, just downright awful.

0 - 0 Points: A workout that earns this grade has nothing good about it, and everything found a way to go wrong. Thankfully, this grade is a rare one, but still, when these happen, you know that something is not right, a workout that is deemed completely worthless is never a good thing, so it's best to find out why.

-1 - -1 Point: A workout with a "negative one" grade shows that not only is everything as bad as can be, but there's a bit even worse than humanly possible. Unlike a "0", not only do you do everything wrong, but there are a lot of things in the workout that are mindblowingly worse than "bad" in this workout.

-2 - -2 Points: Even worse than the "-1" grade, this indicates a workout so awful that explanation defies it. The entire workout sucks through and through.

-3 to -100 - -3 to -100 Points: Each one getting a degree worse than imhumanly bad beyond description, the number is assigned to the appropriate value of this workout. However, once you get beyond -5, you are more likely to see a -100, because often a -100 will be applied out of aggrivation and annoyance rather than the appropriate grade that the workout would deserve. But you may see a grade like -50 here and there if you have consistantly bad workouts.

U - Ungraded: This is a special kind of workout, because it's a major event that requires some attention, enough to be written down, but it can't be graded, not like the ungraded workouts because of being too small to grade, but because it's new or expirimental, and it just wouldn't be fair to grade it yet.

Thanks for an explanation of your grading system!

__________________
Don't ever take my kindness as weakness, believe me when I say that.

There's also one in the 2009 blog, but with even more detail (sans the point indicators). Looking forward to the 2010 workout season beginning?

I was thinking of beginning my workouts today due to some pent up irritation I need to get out. But still, I figured I'd wait until Sunday. I want to have at least 50% of the month as time off, and starting on the 17th or 18th would easily fit that requirement for me. It'll still be by far the earliest I'll have ever started, and with my new setup, the final forward expansion, it'll make the entire month of December a workout month pretty much since it'd mean the regular season ended right before Christmas and the Grand Finale being done right after Christmas, well before New Year's. That way, virtually all of December is workout time, but it still doesn't conflict with Christmas (since the last two workouts are well spaced apart anyway and never fall on Christmas), and it gives me the time off I need right after for almost a month.

Time Limits for Each Workout

Sunday Grip Workout: 55 minutes to 75 minutes (average completion time: 63 minutes)
Thursday Grip Workout: 65 minutes to 90 minutes (average completion time: 77 minutes)
Deadlift Workout: 45 to 60 minutes (average completion time: 52 minutes)
Bench Press Workout: 60 minutes to 75 minutes (average completion time: 69 minutes)
Home Dumbbell Workout: 50 minutes to 65 minutes (average completion time: 57 minutes)
Rock Lifting Workout: 45 minutes to 65 minutes (average completion time: 54 minutes)
Manual Labor: Variable
Tuneup Tuesdays: 5 minutes time minimum (average completion time: 12 minutes for short ones, 36 for medium ones, 102 for long ones)
Fixup Fridays: Anything (unless a Tuneup Tuesday done on Friday, then it's 5 minutes or better)
Grand Finale Workout: 100 minutes to 150 minutes (average completion time: 120 minutes)

How I Categorize And Tabulate Various Things Related To The Workout

Day: When the day switched over has changed, it once was 6 AM, but then became 5 AM, and finally 4 AM, there also used to be a barrier between 6 AM and 7 AM that was neither that day or the previous one, so I'd either fill one box, fill one and partway spill a small triangle (widest at the top) into the next one, or fill parts of two days like a parallelagram like this: "|/|/|", only the area between the red lines would be all filled in. Now it crosses two days if it crosses 4 AM at all, there is no equivilent to the partway encroachment of the next day like there once was, so it's either one day or bridging the gap. My reasoning for including the wee hours as part of the previous day is that most people consider the 1, 2, and 3 hour part of the previous day, most who are up during those hours stayed up into them, after that, you get some who wake up at that time. Your milkman and your paperboy may wake up at 4 AM, as do many farmers. Awakenings before 4 AM are rare unless you're weird like me.
Average Grade: When I tabulate averages for each season or quarter I usually use the number given to me by mathematic calculations. But sometimes, the amount of progress or regression can't be measured with numbers because my standards changed during the timespan or such, or there was a lot of progress at the end and not enough raw number workouts to accurately document this change. For example, the raw numbers wanted to make the summer of last year would have made it a D+, but it was so much of a change that I decided to add nearly a full letter grade onto it because a C reflected the change in the same way that many students in school who fail early but work hard later on end up with a C. Also, the fall grade was only an A, but it deserved so much more because of all the progress. The yearly grade is generally an average of all four plus my adjustments.
Special Workouts: There are three categories of special workouts: Bookends Workouts, Holiday Workouts, and Joke Workouts. The first category is the Kickoff Workout and Grand Finale Workout. They are extra special because they tell me where I'm at and paint a picture of things to come. The kickoff workout tells me what I need to work at in the coming year in my bread and butter workout, the grand finale workout, worth the equivilent of six workouts in my grading (established in 2002, my first grand finale workout was merely a switch of weight poundages, but retrospectively was good) is more like a bowl game than anything. The regular workout season ends with the workout beforehand, but I didn't especially notice this until 2009 when I finished my workout up right before graduation from Penn State and then the Grand Finale Workout felt so much like a bowl game, falling on the 23rd that it wasn't even funny. It was because of that I made the requirement for the regular season to end before Christmas, and then only the Grand Finale Workout (with rare exceptions) could be done right before or even right after Christmas, such as the 26th or 27th, but not on Christmas Eve or Christmas, because we're still in Christmas mode and not yet New Year's mode, meaning that I will do my workout before the time when the last of the relatives that didn't make it for Christmas stop by as their Christmas visit (usually the 27th or 28th is the end of the "Christmas" timespan) with my ultimate limit being December 28th. This was done to make December a full workout month, something it deserves for being part of my schedule since 2002. And so, the Grand Finale Workout is like a bowl game, which is usually played around Christmas or New Year's, although the 28th is my limit, a Super Grand Finale Workout (done every 5 years) can be done on the 29th if I so choose to, and an Ultra Grand Finale Workout (every 10 years along with a Super) is a second Grand Finale Workout done around New Year's, and there's one more category that'll be even later, the Silver Grand Finale Workout (following a special Ultra) will be done yet another week later to commemorate 25 workout years, the Gold will be similarly done to commemorate 50, the Diamond will commemorate 75, and the Centennial will commemorate 100. After that, I don't know. But anyways, although the Kickoff Workout merely includes one Easter Egg at best, the Grand Finale Workout combines to my bread and butter workout some other favorite exercises and it's given a generous time limit to help me get a great score, so far I have a perfect record for Grand Finale Workouts. The second category is the holiday workout, it's generally just a workout that I do on a holiday, use the approproiate font (and for my journal, ink, starting this year), I always indicate what kind of workout it really is, but other than that, it's a normal workout, a holiday workout that originally was a Tuneup Tuesday also gets full credit. The third category is a joke workout, although these are factored into the final grade, they are very rare (the standard grade is an A+ or better). Usually what I do is in the guise of a holiday workout, make a list of something completely unrelated to workouts and then treat it as such, usually this is related to feasting, for example, I have a new tradition of doing this on Saint Patrick's Day and Thanksgiving, with occasional other workouts added for special themes (usually April Fool's Day is the best chance for something unrelated to food).
Sacred Holidays: Although I am not a deeply religious man (I'm what you could call Panendeist with Christian and other influences, to be honest), I still honor my Catholic upbringing in a way that there are certain days that I will not work out on, these are Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, although Thanksgiving could be included in that list because I never worked out on that day despite it being during my workout year during the whole run, but although it's an important day for giving thanks and feasting, I like to give myself a break during that time. Of the sacred days I listed, I will not work on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day unless I absolutely MUST to make money, but even then, it doesn't sit right with me. On the days I listed as "sacred holidays", you will never even see a joke workout done on those days (except for Thanksgiving).

Completing these workouts every 5 minutes before the time limit boosts the grade, finishing in the range has no effect, while every 5 minutes over the limit results in a drop of one grade incriment and beyond 30 minutes over the workout, a whole letter grade for every 5 more minutes over. That means that an A+ would become a C/D after 30 minutes and a D/F after 35 minutes. But it's very rare that a workout would go that much over the time limits. Tuneup Tuesdays are much more flexible, as are manual labor workouts. Even the rock lifting workout has a fairly generous range, meaning it should take anywhere from 40-60 minutes, while other workouts are more narrow.

Mostly due to the fact that with the way things were, the final workout this year felt more like the bowl game of the workout season for the first time ever, so, the Grand Finale Workout could be said to be like a bowl game, and moved to December 26th, 27th, or 28th (but no later, I still want a nice time off, and I want the season to end at a time it still feels like Christmas, after the 28th it feels more like New Year's, which should be time off from working out), because in a way, the Thursday Grip Workout that I did on December 17 was the last "regular season" workout I did, and I didn't post my true "final" blog entry until December 29. But I do gotta add that I'm glad that starting on November 2, 2008 I began using the grading system that I used on my football blogs on August 31, 2008 when Penn State clubbed Coastal Carolina 66-10, which, in turn, I got from the Altoona Mirror's grading system (more detailed than mine). What's weird, though, is that my performance grades for my workouts are more like how someone grades a football game as an analyst than a classroom grade (although the classroom grade is the original source), because the analyst grade makes it less personal and much stricter. A standard grading scale would make an "A" where I set the bar for a "C". Not even a "C+", but a flat C, which is 75%, because meeting all the standards is only 3/4 of the task, the other 1/4 is exceeding them. Anyways, I'm looking forward to the Kickoff Workout on Sunday.

In complete and absolute contrast to last year's kickoff workout stands this year's kickoff workout, which ranks as the best of all time. Kickoff workouts are usually good, but not this good. It makes me wonder, is this a foretelling of things to come or merely unusually good due to being rested? Will it really be this good, seeing how I did great even though I supposedly was rusty? Well, it's hard to say, but things certainly looked much better than I could have dreamed of. Especially when I set two personal bests. This could be the best workout I've done of all time, but with my progress wave, I had to toughen standards so this sits at an "A+" (retroactively boosted it to an "A++" anyway because it was just that good), but still, not bad at all. But I hope this shows that my rested, but rusty self is already this good and with rust shaken loose, I can be phenomenal (which would mean great workouts in the future for me). Today's workout sets my streak at 9 out of 10 good kickoff workouts (yes, an x out of x+1 is still a streak, just ask Iowa), the only better record being the Grand Finale Workouts with every year from 2001-2009 being great. Even though 2001 was the expirimental year, those workouts still were extremely good overall.

Heavy Gripper Workout with the BeefBuilder Super Master and BeefBuilder Master

1R. Got the BeefBuilder Super Master down to 1/2", using a deep set
1L. Closed? and held the BeefBuilder Master for 7 seconds using a deep set

2R. Got the BeefBuilder Super Master down to 1/3", using a deep set
2L. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Master for 6 seconds using a deep set

3R. Got the BeefBuilder Super Master down to 3/16", using a deep set
3L. Got the BeefBuilder Master down to 1 mm, using a deep set

4R. Got the BeefBuilder Super Master down to 1/8", using a deep set
4L. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Master for 12 seconds using a deep set, overcrush

Light Gripper Workout with the BeefBuilder Master and BeefBuilder Super Advanced

1R. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Master for 15 seconds using a shallow set, overcrush
1L. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Super Advanced for 21 seconds using a shallow set, massive overcrush

2R. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Master for 7 seconds using no set, overcrush
2L. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Super Advanced for 13 seconds using no set, overcrush

3R. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Master for 17 seconds using a shallow set, huge overcrush
3L. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Super Advanced for 17 seconds using no set, big overcrush

Ran my old "Rudolph" Christmas toy that plays part of "Jingle Bells", "Rudolph", and "Joy To The World" for three rounds to celebrate

Grade: A+++

Post workout commentary: Notice the little easter egg I put in at the end? I actually did that to celebrate a bit because the Christmas decorations haven't come down yet (they'll likely come down sometime this up and coming week). I figured that such a good Kickoff Workout deserved a celebration. This actually is my best kickoff workout of all time, they usually average around a B- or so, a step above my C average, with this being in huge contrast to previous ones. Using my grading system of today, the previous best one, which was in 2006, would have been an A/B. Anyways, about the workout itself, it bears a striking resemblance to the Grand Finale Workout, at least the gripper portion of it. Notice how I came close twice to closing the Super Master, and closed the Master three times left handed. This also was my first no set close of the Master. The 13 second no-set Super Advanced left hand close was actually almost a table no set, but usually once I can table no set, I start doing reps. But anyways, I can see my left hand moving up to the Ironmind #2 very soon. I just hope the good luck continues with my Thursday Grip Workout. 2010 has a lot of promise, as this workout shows, I just REALLY hope I don't blow it with something stupid like I did in 2006, which blew a year of huge potential to easily be the best of all time. But I can't go at it scared or timid, or I'll blow it that way, too. I just gotta know when to listen to my body and when to make my body listen to me. I've been working out for nearly a decade and I've STILL yet to learn exactly when to be aggressive and when to be cautious. I'm hoping I know now.

EDIT: Retroactive grade boost from A+ to A++. Despite the only "slightly above average" completion time, this statistically was the best workout I'd ever done, equalling the gripper portion of the Grand Finale with my Super Master work and exceeding it everywhere else. Plus, I set a personal best and met a goal right off the bat. Those are the kinds of things that boost a perfect grade up into the extra credit zone.

Surprised that nobody noticed the kickoff workout (sorry, I don't have GPS trackers of TalkPA members to know if you looked at my blog or not SO POST ), but here's an interesting Tuneup Tuesday. Figured I'd shore up whatever weaknesses I may have had and try for a 1RM.

Chest Crush Attempt on the Ironmind #4: GOT IT! And for 3 reps!

Ring and Pinky Work with the IMTUG #5

RH. 20 reps
LH. 20 reps

Ring and Pinky Work with the Ironmind Trainer

RH. 8 reps
LH. 3 reps

Thumb Work with the Ironmind Guide

RH. 20 reps
LH. 10 reps

Index and Middle Work with the Ironmind #1

RH. 3 reps
LH. 1 rep

Right Hand Ring and Pinky Attempt on the Ironmind #1: Got it down to 2/3"

Grade: A+

Post workout commentary: Most of the boost up is that I finally closed the Ironmind #4 with a chest crush and a lot of the tuneup stuff I did turned out WAY better than I originally had imagined. The main reason I still did the tuneup workout is to see where I was with things, but also, just because what I'm doing is good now, I don't want to be stuck forever at it, it won't get those kinda grades forever. So, with a little help, I'll be looking at this year closing the Ironmind #3 with one hand and the BeefBuilder Pro with two hands. I'm serious, I'm knocking on the door of closing the BeefBuilder Super Master, a big leap from the Ironmind #2, next up from that is the Grand Master, and then progressing upward, the Ironmind #3. This was almost big enough to write down in my workout journal, but not quite (I decide beforehand anyways if it'll go in, I don't have unlimited space, so I try to conserve, especially since I always assume I'll never get injured this or any year unless it happens). But I was amazed at how much the month's worth of rest boosted all of the things I did today and Sunday overall.

Quote of the day: There's no such thing as happiness, only different shades of melanchonly. Never has that quote felt truer than today. I knew that the start I was off to had to be too good to be true. Not even the super job I did with the Grand Elite could save today's rotten to the bone workout. With the struggles with that stupid 40 lb pinch block, I feel like I'm stuck with it forever. Why don't I just marry the damned thing? I'll be stuck with it forever anyway. I'm tempted to either drop the pinch block or move up forcibly some time in February whether my thumb is ready or not. I can't take doing an exercise that I can't make progress in. Not only did my left thumb run out of gas today, but so did my right thumb. You have no idea how pissed off I am right now. Hopefully this was a fluke and next week will improve.

Lifted the 15 lb anvil three times each hand by the horn, did extensive wrist work

Pinch Block loaded to 40 lbs

1R. Lifted and held for 22 seconds
1L. Lifted and held for 6 seconds

2R. Lifted and held for 30 seconds
2L. Lifted and held for a split second

3R. Lifted and held for 8 seconds
3L. FAILED

Chest Crushes with the BeefBuilder Grand Elite

1. 8 reps, 4 clicked
2. 12 reps, 5 clicked
3. 15 reps, 9 clicked

Wrist roller loaded to 45 lbs, did four sets with it

Grade: D/F

Post workout commentary: Well, I just disproved any notions you may have had that I'm beginning to go easy on myself with these grades. This one got a well-deserved D/F. Actually, it SHOULD HAVE been an F, but the Grand Elite work was really good, and I did okay with the wrist roller (don't think I'll be doing 47.5 lbs next week), so it averages to a 58 or 59, which both round up to a D/F. But the pinch block was disturbingly bad, I thought I was past that bullshit. I thought all of that shit had been put away into the past in December, but like a turd that won't flush, it pops its head out of the water once the toilet refills, and that struggle with the pinch block is like a turd that won't flush. Ah well, at least I BARELY avoided my first failing grade this year. So far, still no failing workouts this year, and I hope to keep it that way. I am, however, glad that I was able to motivate myself to do as good on the chest crush as I did. Afterall, how much motivation is it to know that the best you can boost yourself up to is a D/F or F grade? Very little if any. But hey, the only good thing I can get out of this is a reminder that I'm still the same hardass I always was with grading, maybe even worse now that I have high expectations for this year.

Didn't really do enough to grade, but every little bit counts. Hope it helps make next week's Thursday Grip Workout better!

Thumb Work with the IM Guide

1R. 10 reps
1L. 2 reps

2R. 12 reps
2L. 4 reps

Thumb Work with the IM Sport

RH. 4 reps
LH. Down to 2/3"

Like I said, it was a five minute miniworkout, not enough to grade, but enough to make a difference (at least I hope).

Man, I gotta really up those standards even more (at least on the Sunday Grip Workouts) just to keep up, starting next week, I'll be upping the standards a whole level once per week. But anyways, I can't believe how close I am to closing the BeefBuilder Super Master. I actually thought I had it shut at one point until I looked more closely, I had missed it by 1/16". I may have gotten it to 1 mm when I thought that I closed it, but I don't know. I'm not gift-wrapping myself anything extra, but still, set a personal best, and my left hand will be using the Ironmind #2 on the heavy part starting next week. I still can't get over the amazing amounts of progress I keep making every week, though.

Heavy Gripper Workout with the BeefBuilder Super Master and BeefBuilder Master

1R. Got the BeefBuilder Super Master down to 3/16", using a deep set
1L. Closed? and held the BeefBuilder Master for 4 seconds using a deep set

2R. Got the BeefBuilder Super Master down to 1/8", using a deep set
2L. Closed? and held the BeefBuilder Master for 6 seconds using a deep set

3R. Got the BeefBuilder Super Master down to 1/16", using a deep set
3L. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Master for 12 seconds using a deep set, overcrush

4R. Got the BeefBuilder Super Master down to 1/8", using a deep set
4L. Closed? and held the BeefBuilder Master for 3 seconds using a deep set

Light Gripper Workout with the BeefBuilder Master and BeefBuilder Super Advanced

1R. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Master for 12 seconds using no set, overcrush
1L. Did two reps with the BeefBuilder Super Advanced using no set, then overcrushed it

2R. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Master for 8 seconds using no set, overcrush
2L. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Super Advanced using a table no set, overcrush

3R. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Master for 13 seconds using no set, big overcrush
3L. Closed and held the BeefBuilder Super Advanced for 25 seconds using no set, huge overcrush

Grade: A++++

Post workout commentary: After seeing my workout, you can tell that either I start toughening up my standards by leaps and bounds to keep up with my progress burst that started in late August of last year or else I'll be giving myself a bunch of grades like this. It's weird, I feel so proud of today's workout that I feel it deserves an A++++, but if I'm doing these consistantly, it means that my standards aren't tough enough. Although I really am doing consistantly good Sunday workouts overall, I have to realize that the days of struggling just to even close the Master are long in the past. I'm not just closing it, I'm no set closing it, almost table no set closing it, soon I'll be no set repping it. And I'm no longer struggling to close the Super Advanced with my left hand on a consistant basis from a deep set, I'm doing reps with it, table no set closing it, overcrushing it for 25 seconds, I'm a whole different person from who I was before last August. But I'm still proud of this workout and other great workouts. Today featured a sweep of the Master with the left hand, although not as overall dominant as last week, it is my first sweep. My left hand is also repping the Super Advanced while my right hand is damn close to repping the Master. Also, I came SUPER CLOSE to closing the Super Master today. I'll be closing that thing in no time, I just know it. And I'll move the left hand up to the Ironmind #2 next week. Once I can close the Super Master, I know I'm not far from the Grand Master, and then the Ironmind #3.

Woah! Longest.....Tuneup Tuesday.....ever. Seriously, it lasted an hour and 45 minutes, but when you read what all I did, you'll understand why. It was a comprehensive, exhaustive collection of exercises to strengthen my gripping muscles. Also, at the end, by mistake I overloaded my pinch block to 42.5 lbs, and once I figured that out, I lifted it to see if I could, and yes, I had lifted it for about 15 seconds despite the fact that I pretty much knocked the shit out of my thumbs. It's not officially counted as part of the workout, but I thought I would mention it anyway. If I can JUST get that STUPID left thumb to cooperate, I'll be right where I want to be and ready to move up. My right hand is ready, but my left isn't. If it wasn't such a royal pain in the ass to change the weight on the pinch block, I'd have long ago been doing 42.5 lbs for my right hand and 40 lbs for my left. At least I know that I can do it for certain by now, which should help me out.

Thumb lifts with 65 lbs using a weight stack that has a ring shaped handle

1R. Lifted and held for 41 seconds
1L. Lifted and held for 13 seconds

2R. Lifted and held for 42 seconds
2L. Lifted and held for 22 seconds

3R. Lifted and held for 51 seconds
3L. Lifted and held for 26 seconds

Chest Crush attempt with the BeefBuilder Pro: Got it down halfway

Chest Crushes with the Iromind #4: 7 reps, 3 clicked

Chest Crush timed hold with the BeefBuilder Super Elite: 24 seconds

Chest Crush timed hold with the BeefBuilder Elite: 50 seconds

Chest Crushes with the BeefBuilder Elite: 32 reps, all clicked

Ring and Pinky Work with the Ironmind Trainer

1R. 10 reps
1L. 4 reps

2R. 12 reps
2L. 5 reps

Index and Middle Work with the Ironmind #1

RH. 2 reps
LH. Down to 1/4"

Honest RH attempt on the Ironmind #3: Got it down to 1", using a deep set

Thumb Work with the Ironmind Guide

RH. 20 reps
LH. 6 reps

Thumb Work with the Ironmind Sport

RH. 10 reps
LH. Got it down to 1/4"

Grade: A-

Post workout commentary: Easily the most exhaustive Tuneup Tuesday that I've ever done, and I'm just glad I did it on Monday, so I have almost the length of healing time from a Sunday workout until Thursday to get ready for that workout. Hopefully I show improvement by then. If you notice, I mostly focused on my thumbs, but I included a bit of chest crush training and gripper training (I do want to close the BeefBuilder Super Master afterall). But also, 32 reps with the Elite, and ALL were clicked! Can you believe it?! That's just unreal! I could have done 50, but I wanted to save energy for later on. It's amazing how a gripper that used to be so tough for me is now a piece of cake. This whole workout is a testimony to the fact that stuff that used to be hard for me is now easy. This workout wasn't the best I'd ever done by a long shot, but it was a very good, solid workout, one that I'm very proud of. Hopefully I start needing less and less tuneup workouts over time, but it's good to do at least one Tuneup Tuesday in a month to keep the specialized muscles working in peak condition, but it's MOST important to teach them how to work together with other muscles. I want my ring and pinky to be able to work together with the other muscles in my hand to close the Super Master, and eventually the Grand Master and even the #3. Also, it's amazing how big of a gap there starts to be as you go up. It's like climbing a mountain, but once you get to the #4, it's like watching airplanes flying above you from a mountaintop, so much harder to climb up from there on. Look at it this way, the #3 is 280, the Elite is 300, the Super Elite is 335, the Grand Elite is 355, the #4 is 365, the Pro is 450, the World Class is 535, and the Galaxy is 595. How the hell am I supposed to advance above the #4? But you'd best believe I'm sure going to try. Also, I did a proper set with the Ironmind #4 chest crushing today. That shows I'm ready for it, but it could have just been a good day, I want to do REALLY good with the Grand Elite before I move up to the Ironmind #4, and I mean REALLY good, because I'll be using that Ironmind #4 for so long, I'll be dead sick of it by time I'm ready to move up to the Pro, which is a GIANT leap up from the #4. Despite that, I know that even chest crushing the Ironmind #4 is a superb accomplishment in itself.

I have started to work out again too. Nothing anywhere in the same league as Altoona Man. No, AM is in a league of his own.

It has only been a few weeks but I am working on getting my cardio up and doing lightly on the weights until my body gets into the full swing of things. Then maybe I will put myself through the heavier weights and try to bulk up a little or at the very least tone my muscles more.

I want to be that 30 something guy walking the beach that everyone looks at without puking up their lunch like the last few summers have been for me.

Thanks, it's nice of you to say that, but I actually think that my numbers suck so bad that calling them "unimpressive" would actually be charitable. My max bench press is around 225 on a good day WITH a spotter giving me a liftoff and tapping the weight a couple times as it goes up to keep it balanced (but not actually helping me lift it beyond a quick tap or two). For reps, I'm doing 150 for 12 on Friday or Saturday when I start up again, and I hope to be going STRAIGHT up to 155 the next week. But I can only do so if I do a 5x12. Part of that may be my long monkey arms, because I can chest crush grippers that have a freakish poundage resistance, and I know the numbers on the grippers aren't inflated because nobody else could even chest crush the Ironmind #3. I am proud of my gripper accomplishments, though.

But anyways, it's great to hear you're working out again. Please start your own workout blog, it'd be fun to have someone blog besides me.

It's always good to start light, but don't start so light that you're getting nothing out of it (for example, if you were military pressing 50 lb dumbbells for reps, starting out with anything less than 40 lbs to get into the swing of things would be too light). But it sounds like your workout goals are different than mine. My goal is to workout and train myself to use that strength in the real world to do stuff like carry heavy furniture, move appliances, help someone carry a piano, move rocks, do my own work to build my own things, gather and chop my own firewood. Also, I wanna be that guy that when he's in his 70s shows up those young hotshot 20-somethings by lifting something and carrying it that two of them struggle to carry (basically I don't want to become feeble when I'm old, I wanna be like my dad, he has some aches and pains, but I think a few aches and pains when I'm old is worth being able to do things like I can do now, but on the other hand, I have to be very cautious to avoid injury, even in silly places, my mom fell down after getting out of the shower because she forgot there wasn't a small rug outside and hasn't been the same since that injury). I actually don't have the traditional build of someone who strength trains (I'm not all fat, but I will say that I'm nowhere near lean), but seeing me lift dryer on my shoulder erases any doubt they may've had.

Anyways, if you want to ask any questions about strength training, feel free to, I'll try to answer. But I might not be much help with any dieting related stuff outside of advice to eat a lot of protien (a nice big steak after a workout is a great way to build up your muscles, afterall, the flesh of the beasts that you eat is muscle, so it helps build yours, naturally) and to drink water around the time of a workout.

Seems I've been doing a lot of workouts a day early. But it helps me out a lot in getting ready for my bench press workout that I'll be doing on Friday or Saturday, and it'll give me enough time to completely be recuperated from it. But overall, I'm much happier with this workout than I was with last week's workout. There was a lot of good that came about here and very little that I can actually complain about, especially with the pinch block. It's almost as if the issues of last week have been completely forgotten by my body, which is ready for a successful 2010 workout season. It seems that 2010 is a continutation of the 2009 season with very few serious problems along the way interrupting what's been an almost constant flood of progress. Not only was this a flood of progress, but it continues to grow every week.

Lifted the 15 lb anvil three times each hand by the horn, did extensive wrist work

Pinch Block loaded to 40 lbs

1R. Lifted and held for 31 seconds
1L. Lifted and held for 8 seconds

2R. Lifted and held for 32 seconds
2L. Lifted and held for 6 seconds

3R. Lifted and held for 33 seconds
3L. Lifted and held for 14 seconds

Chest Crushes with the BeefBuilder Grand Elite

1. 10 reps, 6 clicked
2. 20 reps, 12 clicked
3. 16 reps, 10 clicked

Wrist roller loaded to 45 lbs, did four sets with it

Grade: B+

Post workout commentary: Now there, that's more like it! After failing last week to do anything meaningful with the pinch block, I produce a decent workout. This workout looks more like last December's workouts than anything. But then again, I was hoping to be ready for the 42.5 lb pinch block by now, but I can honestly say that I'm almost ready. And I am ready to move up with the wrist roller. The chest crushing work was amazing overall today. The only thing that really was a bummer today was the time, it just barely was in the range of acceptable, the target range is 55-75 minutes. It was 72 minutes. A little longer than I liked, but not really bad. But then again, to get better than B+, you need a lot more than a good workout, you need everything to be amazingly consistantly above and beyond your expectations AND you need it to be done within a timely fashion. A time bonus could have made this an A/B or even an A-. And also, the pinch block work wasn't really great, but it was good. But the chest crushing and wrist roller were so superb that it made the workout as a whole one very solid workout to be proud of in all ways. At this rate, I can see myself meeting some or all of my most important 2010 workout goals fairly soon.

Bravo, keep it up.

__________________


"I think, Sebastian, therefore I am." - Pris, Blade Runner.

"If you lose your faith in me, please keep your faith in people." ~Rachel, The Dark Knight.

"Do not hate humans. If you cannot live with them, do not them no harm, for theirs is already a hard lot." ~Lisa, Castlevania.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~Plato, philosopher

"Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are."
~Author Unknown

Hey! My #1 cheerleader is back! Please, you and my other fans gotta help me get my blog to as many pages as it can go (but not so much that we average 1 workout per page, although that might be a problem I want to have because it means that my blog is interesting).

Hear that, world? I'm #1!

Sure, I'll try to keep an eye on all new workouts, when I have spare time. How many pages are you hoping to see, dear?

As many as I can get, but my current benchmark goal is 40, although my larger goal is 50.