WTF?

Yesterday was a make-the-best-of-tough-circumstances kind of lifting day.
Lifting workout was:

B Squat:
255lbs x 1s x 20r


Bench:
175 x 5s x 10r

T-Bar
Bar + 90lbs x 3s x 15r


Tendonitis was flaring up in right elbow. Prevented me from benching that heavy. So the high rep light benching was to compensate.

20 rep squats at 255 were brutal, but manageable. It will be a mighty f*cking day when I squat 315 for 20 reps.

I continue to love the T-bar. I think my upper-back is under developed. Now, a day later it's super sore.

What I got done today

Even though it feels like I'm being lazy, I actually accomplished a lot today.

I:

- filled out apps for some internships
- made HUGE progress with tic-tac-toe program.
(The f*cker works and looks pretty. Now all that's left is to tweak the presentation).
-played tennis
-socialized and went out with friends (I don't do this enough. Need to rectify that).



An important lesson from my struggles with tic-tac-toe were:
1) It pays to be creative in coding. Unique solutions can be hyper efficient.
2) Functions, functions, functions! SO much faster to edit 600 lines of code when everything is functions.

Bigger Levers (and puny weights)

Lifted like a b*tch today. But there's a method to my madness.

Rippetoe mentions at one point that getting bigger levers (arms + legs) helps in the lifts.

Some have taken this as a mild, ultra-limited endorsement by Rippetoe to sometimes do bodybuilding style sets/reps.

Which is what I'm doing for a very short period of time.

Today's Workout:

Back Squat: 235 x 1s x 20r
Overhead Press: 90 x 5s x 10r
Double OH Deadlift: 300 x 3s x 5r
T-Bar close-grip: 135x 4s x 10r



Notes from workout:

1) Cardio is terrible. 20-rep-squats left me gasping.

2) Strength-Endurance is terrible. First 5 reps of the sets with the OH press were easy, last 5 were killer!

3) I'm ok with deadlifting light for now. Gonna play with high volume for awhile and see what happens.

4) LOVE the t-bar close-grip deal. Could feel the periphery of my back getting a crazy workout that I don't feel with the deadlifting alone.

f*cking around

just f*cking around today.
Had fun.
Workout consisted of 2 new 1 rep maxes!!!!

B Squat: 225lb x 1s x 25r (Heart was pounding at the end, I'm def out of shape
cardio-wise)

Bench Press: 240lb x 1s x 1r (NEW ONE REP MAX!!!)


Standing Bicep Barbell Curl: 135lb x 1s x 1r (NEW ONE REP MAX!!!!)


The 135lb standing bicep barbell curl has been a goal for 12 years. It was cool to finally do it.

New Sieve, and tomorrow's workout

Tomorrow's workout will be:
B Squat: 300 x 5s x 5r
Bench: 207.5 x 6s x 5r
Bicep Curls: 107.5 x 8s x 5r



Wrote a new sieve of Eristaphanes. Think it's more efficient, but will have to check.
Code is below.

upper_limit = raw_input("\n\nUp to what number should be search for \
perfect numbers?\n")

upper_limit = int(upper_limit)

the_range = range(0,upper_limit + 1)
potential_answers = list(the_range)

print "The list of numbers being evaluated is", potential_answers,"\n\n"



for n in the_range:
a = 2
if n % a == 0:
potential_answers.remove(n)
else:
while a < n/2:
a +=1
if n % a == 0:
if n in potential_answers:
potential_answers.remove(n)

print "\nThe perfect numbers in the range you provided are ", potential_answers

Missed the OH Press

Today's Workout:
B Squat W/O Belt: 295 x 5s x 5r
OH Press: 145 x 5s x 5r (missed it)


Got first 2 sets of OH press, missed on the last 3 attempts.

Conversely, B Squat felt great and went up easy.

Today's Workout

Had an excellent workout today.
(BEST HIGH-REP BENCH DAY EVER)

Squat (Beltless): 290 x 5 x 5
Bench: 205 x 6s x 5r
Standring Barbell Bicep Curl: 105 x 5 x 5


While this was my best bench day ever, my squat is still in recovery mode.

Workout today, Year End Goals

Lowering the squat weight is frustrating.
But, squatting w/o a belt, I had to do it.
Squatting beltless is weird at first. Beltless squats utilize the mid aps, whereas belted squats felt like they worked the outside abs a whole lot more.

My abs definitely feel like the weak link now that I've switched to squatting beltless.
Today's workout:

B Squat (w/o belt): 280 x 5s x 5r (SO F*CKING LIGHT! ARHGUHGUGUHG!)

Bench: 202.5 x 6s x 5r (felt good)

Standing Barbell Bicep Curl: 102.5 x 8s x 5r (felt real good, almost too easy)


By the end of the year I will:
-OH Press 200 lbs
-Curl 135 lbs
-Deadlift 500 lbs

(Great Bench, Weak Squat) 17 August 2010

Today's Workout:
B Squat(NO BELT): 315 x 3s x 5r

Bench: 200 x 6s x 5r

Cooldown: Swimming



This was the same weight I squatted last time, but felt tough.
Squatting w/o a belt is tough. You feel the bottom abs working more. Other abs working less. But, net effect, beltless is tougher.

Was very happy with bench. Originally planned on 197.5 x 3-5s x 5r.
Had to bump it up to 200 when I couldn't find my fractional plates.

couple workouts.

Haven't been good lately about entering workouts as I do them. So here they are.

11 August 2010.
(Squatting w/o belt)
BS 315 (no belt) x 3s x 5r
Bench 195 x 5s x 5r (felt easy and great)

12 August 2010
(Deadlift weight low bc I was doing double overhand, more grip training than true DL'ing)
Deadlift 285 x 5s x 5r
Bicep Curl 100 x 8s x 5r (Wanted to introduce a lot of volume, but without the light weight required for higher rep sets)

Minor Economic App of Program from last Post

(THIS EMAIL REFERS TO THE PROGRAM IN THE LAST BLOG POST)


Did you ever read about how some markets can't equalize that well?

For instance, farmers (in England, before massive subsidies) always produced too much or little since information wasn't that good and there were inherently unknowable factors? (weather, war, etc.)

In a program I just wrote I used really simple math, REALLY SIMPLE simple addition, but I think the premise could be used to illustrate the unknowable factors and the associated difficulties in market equalizing.

The program had the computer use random integers to try to find a sequence that added up to 6.
If the sum of the sequence went above 6, the computer got to remove the last integer, until the sum of the sequence was below 6.
If we are using little numbers to find the sequence, the little numbers could represent a world where every factor is a mostly knowable factor.
(For instance, Farmers know they'll need x seeds, y acres of land, z tractors, etc.) Consider arriving at "6" to be an equalization of the market.
In this scenario the computer executes and we get:

[1]
[1, 2]
[1, 2, 2]
[1, 2, 2, 3] (EXCESS 1)
[1, 2, 2]
[1, 2, 2, 2] (EXCESS 2)
[1, 2, 2]
[1, 2, 2, 3] (EXCESS 3)
[1, 2, 2]
[1, 2, 2, 1] (FOUND IT!!!)

So, the computer went in excess 3 times, and then found the solution. Metaphorically, the market equalized.


Now, let's introduce some bigger, less knowable factors into the farmers wheat market.
War, drought, alien invasion, these are bigger factors then minor weather changes or minor increases in labor prices. So, they'll be represented by higher numbers. The minor factors are still there, but now they're accompanied by those aforementioned bigger factors.
So, instead of just minor factors represented by the integers [1,2,3], our new list will be [1,2,3,4,5] (4 and 5 representing the new huge factors).
Look how long it takes our market to equalize this time.

[2]
[2, 5]
[2]
[2, 5]
[2]
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 5] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 4] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 5] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 5] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 4] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 4] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 4] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 1] (FOUND IT!!!!!)


In a world of much less perfect information, markets did a HORRIBLE job of equalizing.

Shotgun Solution

(I'm not sure anyone has ever gotten as excited as I get about writing really simple and really bad code)


My favorite biology book, "Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World", has a great section that describes the thermostat as the seed of Artificial Intelligence.

In some very, very narrow sense the thermostat was, well, not self-aware, but at least capable of continually responding in pre-defined ways to a constantly changing environment.

I've written a very simple program that uses a thermostat style principle to "shotgun" a solution to a problem.
The computer is tasked with finding a sequence of integers that add up to 6. However, the integers must be chosen at random.
Randomly chosen integers might add up to 6, but even more likely is that the numbers will jump straight from 4 to 7, and the computer (since only positive numbers can be chosen), will now be unable to find a sequence of numbers that add up to 6.

This is where the thermostat principle comes in.

A thermostat would turn the heating off when the temp reached, or jumped above, the target temperature. And so my program, when it adds a number that raises it above the goal number, will delete the last added number so that it is once again below the goal number. (Just like the thermostat temporarily turns the heating off, my program temporarily turns the adding off).

Small numbers result in shorter sequences since the computer is less likely to exceed the target number.
Large numbers introduce more volatility.

Here's the sequence when the computer randomly chooses numbers from the list [1,2,3] in order to find a combination that adds up to 6.

[1]
[1, 2]
[1, 2, 2]
[1, 2, 2, 3] (EXCESS 1)
[1, 2, 2]
[1, 2, 2, 2] (EXCESS 2)
[1, 2, 2]
[1, 2, 2, 3] (EXCESS 3)
[1, 2, 2]
[1, 2, 2, 1] (FOUND IT!!!)

We can see that three times the total exceeded 6 and the computer "turned off" the adding and removed an integer(s) until the total was below 6 and hence, again possible to reach by adding a number.

If we introduce bigger numbers, changing the list of potential numbers from [1,2,3] to [1,2,3,4,5] we should have greater volatility. I'm using volatility here to mean more excesses and more self-corrections.

And, voila!

[2]
[2, 5]
[2]
[2, 5]
[2]
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 5] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 4] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 5] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 5] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 4] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 3] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 4] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 2] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 4] (EXCESS)
[2, 3]
[2, 3, 1] (FOUND IT!!!!!)

WAY MORE VOLATILE!

But the goal of finding a combination of numbers that add up to 6 was still reached.

The code for the program is below.

#Goal: To create a shot-gun solution/combination of finding \
# numbers that add up to 6.


import random

the_list = [1,2,3,4,5]



def implement_shotgun():
answer_combo = []
while sum(answer_combo) != 6:
if sum(answer_combo) < 6:
r = random.randrange(5)
answer_combo.append(the_list[r])
print answer_combo
if sum(answer_combo) > 6:
answer_combo = answer_combo[:-1]
print answer_combo

implement_shotgun()

lifting today

Good lifting session today.
Decided to squat without the belt for awhile.
Squatting without the belt gave my abs a HUGE workout, or at least a different workout than they're used to.


Today's workout:
B Squat (without belt): 315 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 195 x 5s x 5r

I wish . . .

I wish Kurt Vonnegut wasn't dead.

I wish I was smarter.

I wish I could see my grandmother again.

What do you wish for?

Lifting lately

Couple changes:

-Have started adding higher rep, but lighter weight, deadlifts to the end of every other workout. These are done double-overhand. This maxes out the grip work, but is light enough that the back isn't so strained I can't do anything the next day.


Last workout:

B Squat: 322.5 x 3s x 5r
OHP: 137.5 x 4s x 5r
Deadlift (double overhand): 280 x 4s x 5r

Cardio:
Swim 10 laps



Tomorrow's Workout:
B Squat: 325 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 192.5 x 3s x 5r (4s if it feels easy. It should).
Bicep Curls: 90lbs x 5s x 10r
Cardio: See how we feel. Either running or swimming or elliptical.

Sieve of Aristophane!

Sieve of Aristaphane, I have conquered you!

After f'ing around at odd times for the past week, and getting a little frustrated, I suddenly programmed a functioning Sieve of Aristaphane in 20 minutes.

Code is below.

#The Sieve of Eristaphanes



high_end = int(raw_input("What range of numbers should we examine? From\ one to ______?"))
high_end = high_end + 1
the_range = range(2,high_end)
the_range = list(the_range)
the_primes = the_range

divisor = 2
global divisor

def eliminate_non_primes():
for x in the_range:
if x%divisor == 0 and x != divisor:
the_primes.remove(x)
divisor +=1
global divisor

while divisor < high_end/2:
eliminate_non_primes()

print "Divisor equals",divisor


print the_primes

Temp Training Adjustments

Biceps:
switching back from high-weight sets of 5 down to lower weight sets of 10's. Specifically, my last workout was 110 x 4s x 5r.
I had to lean back excessively on last reps of 3rd and 4th set.
For the next week or two I'll go back to high volume. Then I'll cycle back to heavier weight, lower volume.

Bench:
I've reset to a lower weight. Still doing sets of 5.
Since it's a lower weight I've added on another set. 4s x 5r instead of 3s x 5r.
Today I did 190lbs.
Need to continue making solid gains, bench will be tested in meet in September.

Gettin' my Groove Back

Squat is still below past performance, but it's making a comeback.

Benching 190 x 4s x 5r felt EASY, but then again, it should.

Deadlifted high volume, low weight today. Double overhand grip. Did it as a grip exercise more than a back exercise.

Workout looked like:
B Squat: 320 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 190 x 4s x 5r
Deadlift: 275 x 4s x 5r (double overhand grip)


Lifting Goals Tomorrow:
B Squat: 225 x 10s x 5r
Pushups: 10s x 10r
Bicep Curls: 90lbs x 4s x 10r
Cardio: 30 mins elliptical, beat 468 calories

Meh . . .

Squats sucked.
Bicep curls rocked.

Squat: 305lbs x s x 5r

OHP: 150lbs x 1s x 4r
150lbs x 1s x 2r
150lbs x 1s x 1r
150lbs x 1s x 1r
150lbs x 1s x 1r
150lbs x 1s x 1r

Bicep Curl: 105lbs x 4s x 5r (Felt so easy I did a 4th set).

Power Cleans: Hello, Old Friend

Short workout today.
2 exercises.

Power Clean:
D1RM - 190lbs

Overhead Press:
145lbs x 3s x 5r


Felt good to do power cleans today. Thought I would go heavier than 190, but whatever.