Solid day of training. Fatigued today. Looking forward to two consecutive rest days.

– Gillian

Big day in the gym today. I hit a deadlift PR of 340lbs – and did it for four singles! I was and still am ecstatic. The happy dance after each rep is not in the video. The happy dance got so out of control that Mac feared that I would hurt myself doing the happy dance. I may have pr’d my vertical jump during the dance. When I hit 350 lbs maybe I will throw in a back flip.

I was pretty nervous going in to the workout. I knew that I would be testing the deadlift and couldn’t think about anything else all day. My palms started sweating three hours before I started lifting. I have been rehearsing the lift mentally since Sunday. Okay, I am a cheesball.

Calf inury? What calf injury? I forgot all about it until I got up from the dinner table several hours later.

Proof that the program is working. Rounding out the end of week 5 on the program. One more week of hard training before the big move. Today’s workout made my week.

Gillian

This month’s article comes to us from Ben and Diana Edgell. Ben and Diana are a wonderful couple that live in Northern Virginia, and they recently trained with us in our garage. Together, they have two young girls and a full life. They have a very interesting story to tell about searching for a fitness program that is effective and is enjoyable while producing results.

I hope you enjoy this article as much as we did.

More information on Diana and Ben can be found at www.smplfit.com.

Thanks, Ben and Diana!

In Strength,

Mac

Awesome day of training at UPENN. Guest appearances on the video today. Gillian was starstruck by Jim Steel and Tracy and as a result, completely forgot to run the camera when I was lifting…Tracy is better looking, and Jim is stronger (but not better looking) so it’s probably more interesting anyway.

In strength,

Mac

Four days straight of training with only a single day of rest after the Starting Strength Seminar in Atlanta. The Starting Strength website has been down for nearly 3 days, when it is back up and running, we will update our logs.

Not shown today are Kirk Shrugs, Lying Tricep Extensions, and Push Ups.

In Strength,

Mac

New movement today, “Austin Deads”, the bar does not touch the floor between reps.

In Strength,

Mac

Last sets of each exercise shown…easy day!

In Strength,

Mac

First day back after the Starting Strength Seminar in Atlanta, GA. Big squat day! Gillian re-pulled her calf doing hill runs, but nothing serious. She won’t be able to run or push the prowler for a while but should be able to lift tomorrow.

In Strength,

Mac

Last day of training before heading to the Starting Strength seminar in Atlanta this weekend. Gillian is an athlete, her recovery has been both phenomenal and fortunate.
In strength,

Mac

Without delving too far into my personal life I will share with you a couple of the major things. My husband and I are moving to another state in three weeks. We are in the process of purchasing a house and all of the stress that comes with the investment. Mac will be changing jobs and going back to flying helicopters – I fear for his safety. I need to make sure that all of my clients have a plan for when I leave. I will be starting my professional life over from scratch. I may or may not have a job when I get there. I will be far from my family. Mac will likely deploy to Afghanistan during our stay in North Carolina and I will be alone….

Yet with all of this brewing beneath the surface I worry about whether or not I will be able to bump my squat weight as planned each week and that I can continue to train my clients without disruption until the last day in Virginia. In my mind, my body and it’s capabilities are totally in my control when other factors are not. I have refused to cancel appointments, take a break from intense training or make any appropriate changes that would be expected at a time like this. People think that I’m nuts or selfless but that it not the case. The truth is that I’m scared. I am scared to stop doing the two things that keep me centered – work and my own training. It is more selfish than selfless.

Training is my coping mechanism. It is my way to release stress and exercise control. It is my way to feel when my defense mechanisms leave me feeling numb. The satisfaction that I derive from training carries over into all aspects of my life. Monday afternoon my right calf decided to teach me a lesson that my brain was unwilling to accept. There are speed bumps in the road that you must slow down for. Maybe I need to settle for maintaining my strength right now instead of improving it. Maybe I need to cancel an appointment or two… Maybe being smart doesn’t mean that I am being weak.

In a couple of hours I will go out to the garage and train to the best of my abilities with my injury. I am afraid. I am not afraid of pain or further injury – I am afraid of failure. I fear not being able to do the one thing that is my steady when the rest of my life seems to be in chaos. Regardless of what happens today in the garage it will all be okay. Today I finally came to terms with the magnitude of the stress and it is an enormous relief.

– Gillian