Take you back....like before, Swingslammer's 100 weeks out journal.

[swingslammer]

Hi, I am "Swingslammer" AKA Cal Pike. I have done this a time or two and now I will start again.

Speaking of starting again, my plan is to get ready for the 2015 Masters Nationals . I may compete before that if the notion hits me but that is what I have my eye on. I last competed in 2009 in the European Armed Forces Championships. I first competed in 1980 in the "Mr. Springfield" contest in Springfield Missouri.

I really like reading what is going on in peoples lives more than just what reps and sets they do so that is more the way this journal will mostly go. I have just moved to Ft. Sill OK after living in Hawaii for 3 years and Germany for 3 years before that. I will sometimes post about crazy stuff I see in the gym, 18 to 24 year old guys do some of the least explainable stuff I have ever seen? I am 48 and still kicking after all these years. This is me earlier this year..
.157314

Why the title....Take you back? For years I always thought the song said "Take IT back like before" meaning do things and work hard like you used to. I have always busted ass in the gym but I am going to try and look at things through "Young eyes" for the next time being. Thanks, Cal


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z84QXWr4dOs

[greggerd]

Awesome...
I'm looking forward to following this.

Greg

[cook]

Great I always like to see how others train.Sorry about the move to Oklahoma.hehe

[robert da strongman]

in for this...


Great song. Now I want to watch Rocky.

[Mac]

You old f'k, you don't look 48.

Must have sucked to leave Hawaii.

So you're going to compete when you turn 50?

[Pitbull9]

Go get em cal!

[crawfBigG]

I'll be checkin' in, good luck with your goals!

[swingslammer]

As a little more information......I have been a Respiratory Therapist for the Army since 1997. About mid 2006 I was getting a little tired of taking care of people who didn't want to take care of themselves, not the Soldiers....mostly family members and retirees. I had the chance to retrain as an Intelligence analyst. I knew about 1 year in that it was a mistake and health care is what I should be doing. I have deployed 3 times, 2 as an Intelligence analyst, once as a respiratory therapist. I have been to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

I kept trying to switch back and earlier this year it finally happened, I am working as a respiratory therapist at a hospital on FT Sill Oklahoma. I feel lucky though that we lived in Germany and traveled to about 15 different countries and then spent 3 years on the beaches of Hawaii. We visited 4 different islands while there.

The Infantry world values strength and muscle so I was pretty much left to my own as far as working out. I will say I probably incurred more injuries over the last several years just by being surrounded by mostly people 20 years younger in the gym.
This new place has a great gym and I know almost no one so I can workout how ever I want without proving to some 20 something Infantry guy that I still "Have it". I will be working mostly 7 A.M. to 3 P.M. Monday through Friday......strangely enough we have civilian workers covering the weekends? So I should be set up well for working out. I also can see the hospital from my house....takes me 5 minutes to walk from my front door to the Respiratory Dept. One thing about the Infantry world in the Army.....there was always some Bullshit detail to do, one of the last things I did in Hawaii was guard a firing range for 18 hours a day for 5 days in a row, that will screw your workouts up! No more of that, when you are in the hospital they pretty much leave you alone because you have patients and you have to be ready for an emergency at a moments notice.

I walked for 30 minutes this morning, I usually go to the gym for 30 minutes on the elliptical. In Hawaii the elliptical was on a 3rd floor balcony over looking palm trees and mountains. When our household goods get here I will have my elliptical in the garage and will do a half hour before going to work at 7 and then hit the gym at 3.....home by 4:15. Should be a much easier day. That is it for now, Later, cAL

[Bronwyn]

Hey good luck, cool you having a journal. Good background Cal.

[LSMUSCL81]

you sir...have been competing longer than ive been living!!!.....see you at masters in a few years!

[swingslammer]

Top end or Rack deadlifts, all I did for back today. 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps. The heaviest set was only 315.....I usually go about 100 pounds more than that. The difference today?

Usually I go with the bar just right below my knee cap. I have been thinking about going back to "Regular" deads but the gym I am now at has a rack that makes the bar hit me at mid shin or about 5 or 6 inches below where I usually go....so I thought I would go with that. I felt pretty good and did no harm to my lower back so we will try it again in about 10 days to 2 weeks. Then some biceps and home to the family.

Here is me as a High school senior and now, 18 and 48, 30 years difference in these pictures.

157384157385

[swingslammer]

We had a pretty good weekend, new in the area so still getting out and seeing things we never saw before. Today we go up early and went out to see Geronimo's grave. It is in a distant corner here on Ft. Sill, it is surrounded by lots of graves that just say "Apache woman, Died 1887" "Apache man 1867 to 1892" stuff like that. It was pretty sad. Later in the day I took the kids to the lake here where they have a two lane water slide and I caught some end of summer sun.

In the middle I went to the gym for Shoulders..

I started with lateral raises about 5/6 sets starting with 35 and working up to 50's and then back down.
Next rear delt laterals with my forehead resting on a low incline bench....I just used 40s for 5 sets moving them real slow.
Front delt plate raises, started with a 45 and then used my wrist straps to strap a 25 to the 45. Did 4 sets. Finished with 3 sets of light upright rows just keeping constant tension on my shoulders.

My gym has a little ab room that I have now turned in to a posing room, the lighting in there is pretty good so I check things out at the end of my workout....not too bad.

I had some Buffalo sausages for dinner since we have access to local buffalo here now. It was grass fed and a little too gamey for me? Buffalo burps....nuff said!

Here is a couple of pictures from when I tore my right triceps in Afghanistan in late 2011. Nice.....

157757157758

["Rodz"]

I visited Hawaii for the first time this past spring, such an amazing week, didn't want to leave.

I like the 100 week time frame, will be cool to follow along.

[swingslammer]

I had a good leg workout today....with an old workout partner, My Wife! She used to workout with me all the time but then we adopted 2 children as babies and she started taking care of them. Later when they started school she started teaching in the same school. Now we have moved and she is not working so it seems she may finally get back on some kind of fitness schedule.

We started with 4 sets of Hammer squat machine, I went up to 3 45s per side for the last 2 sets. Then we did 5 sets of leg extensions at about 95 to 125 lbs. 5 sets of leg curls and 4 sets each of seated and standing calf raises and we were done. All done in about 45 minutes.

We have been living out of suitcases for 7 weeks now and all our house stuff gets delivered tomorrow! My butt hurts from sitting on patio chairs as living room furniture.

Later, Cal

[swingslammer]

I some opinions on what I usually do in the gym on Fridays. I used to do just a few light sets of shoulders on Friday after having done them on Monday. I noticed a pretty good change in my shoulders so a few weeks ago I started hitting just a few light sets of my whole body on Friday.
I do my whole body in 4 days, I now alternate the days I do Chest/Tri's and Back/Bi's so they don't both keep getting a workout two days in a row every week.

How does this sound to who ever is reading this?

Also I have been excited to get back on my Road Bike here in Oklahoma. Hawaii was nice but where I lived was mostly hills and they do not keep up the roads there. Here it is mostly flat and the roads are good. I had a good ride today, 25 miles in 1.25 hours. It was 93 degrees though and I ended up with a migraine after I was done.

Later, Cal

[TonyElTigre]

Ill be looking forwar to your goals bro. I really think you should do well with your workouts and also your diet and nutrition plan. Just make sure you eat enough calories each day. That's important to remember. Also make sure you add in complex carbs whenever you can.

[swingslammer]

Awesome leg workout today. I have not had access to a leg press for about 3 years so I have been squatting a lot more. I must say I am no longer in love with the leg press although my knees do feel better. Next I used the hammer strength V squat machine but I face in to the machine rather than have my back against it. 4 or 5 sets of each of those and then 3 sets of leg extensions.
I have a tendency to skip hams but I did 8 sets of laying leg curls today. 6 sets of standing calves on a machine (I have had to use the smith for these the last few years) and I was done.

My kids are in love with fishing since we moved to Oklahoma so we ran out the door for an hour of fishing before dinner. There are several ponds, rivers and small lakes where they can fish here. They each caught a small Blue gill and went home happy. Later, Cal

[swingslammer]

Legs again....that means it has been a whole week since I updated. Just like some Bodybuilders I have one leg that is larger than the other. My right one.

Most people would think you would do EXTRA sets for the smaller leg, you know "Whip it in to shape". I used to think this would be a good idea but not anymore. Now I say "Less" work on the bigger leg. about every third leg workout I will work JUST my left leg. Single leg extensions, single leg presses, single leg lunges. Then I worked the hams hard and calves and it was off to the Scout store. My Son is a Cub Scout and we have to change all the numbers and what not on his uniform since we moved to a new place.

P.S. Since I have switched back to being a Respiratory Therapist instead of an Intelligence analyst I had my first patient die in 7 years yesterday. It was a 3 hour old Baby boy. I run the ventilator or life support, we tried everything but sometimes nothing works. That is just part of the job but it makes me happy my kids are happy and healthy.

Later, Cal

[crawfBigG]

Legs again....that means it has been a whole week since I updated. Just like some Bodybuilders I have one leg that is larger than the other. My right one.

Most people would think you would do EXTRA sets for the smaller leg, you know "Whip it in to shape". I used to think this would be a good idea but not anymore. Now I say "Less" work on the bigger leg. about every third leg workout I will work JUST my left leg. Single leg extensions, single leg presses, single leg lunges. Then I worked the hams hard and calves and it was off to the Scout store. My Son is a Cub Scout and we have to change all the numbers and what not on his uniform since we moved to a new place.

P.S. Since I have switched back to being a Respiratory Therapist instead of an Intelligence analyst I had my first patient die in 7 years yesterday. It was a 3 hour old Baby boy. I run the ventilator or life support, we tried everything but sometimes nothing works. That is just part of the job but it makes me happy my kids are happy and healthy.

Later, Cal

Hmmm... I might have to try that for my legs. My right has a lot of nerve damage and of course it is a little smaller and weaker than the other one. Maybe once every third time I'll try the.... just work the one leg thing, see what happens. How long have u been doing it that way?

Sorry to hear about the kid, that's gotta be tough.... makes you look at things in a different light.