Welcome back to our open thread. C’mon in, the water’s fine.

Mike:

Kap, on the 5×5 how do you breakdown the weight per set… Of course after doing it a few times you know where the final weight is for the last set so if your working weight is 225 for bench as an example, do you do 20% on set 1, 40% on set 2, 60% on set 3, and 80% on set 4? Just curious on how you are pyramiding up on the weight distribution for all of these moves.

I genuinely appreciate this question. It allows me to riff on how I warm up. By the time I reach my first set, I’m loose. I’ve already done the 20%, 40%, etc. you mentioned. I call those warm-up sets and set one a “working” set. As such, if my max weight for 5 reps on the bench is 275, I’m hammering between 250 and 275 for my first set and building in tiny increments to my max. Depending on how strong I feel on any given day, it might look something like:

45 for 5, 135 for 3, 225 for 3, 255 for 5, 265 for 5, 275 for 5, 275 for 5, 275 for 5.

Hope this helps,

Kap

Mike S:

As someone who coming out of college out of shape nearly a year ago your blog has been immensely helpful in keeping up with the journey and losing over 50 lbs. As it the weather starts to get cold again I’m finding my motivation being sapped and a cheat meal turns into more than what it should be. Any advice on not losing sight and keeping it going? I’m not worried about a few days of being in a lull, but It’d be a real shame to fall back on old bad habits.

You mean to tell me you’re human? My first and most important advice is to go easy on yourself. I’m thrilled you’re holding yourself accountable. Just make certain that you remember you’re in good company when you slip and fall. We all have experience in that regard.

Now, I’ve got you, brother. A few days back, I posted this about breaking habits:

Focusing on halting habitual poor behavior before it starts is critical to changing those ingrained behaviors.  Essentially, the idea is to direct your attention on unwanted behavior before you engage in it.

I propose that you take a similar tact with your eating habits, i.e., keep a running dialogue in your mind about what is unacceptable behavior for you. That’s the not losing sight you speak of.

Finally, motivation can come spectacularly in the form of an accountability partner. Find someone who you expect to stay on point and who will do the same for you. Not disappointing another can be a splendid kick in the ass. I’ll issue you a challenge: Every week, on this thread, tell the group how you did with your meals. I reckon you’ll get encouragement you didn’t expect.

Kelebek:

So my question today is still along those lines: do you reward your son when you see he has gotten back to his throwing program and is improving? Also if one of your sons has something to do for school that they clearly don’t want to do and the above tactic doesn’t work, what’s your plan B?

I reward my sons by expressing clearly that they’ve made me proud. Every once in a blue moon, I might buy a little gift. Most importantly, I acknowledge the effort, not the result. “Chase, I’m proud of the courage you displayed” rather than, “Chase, I’m proud of your touchdown.”

As far as school goes, my men are generally on point. They got the good student gene from their mother. They require zero motivation and maintenance. I won the damn lottery.

The thread is in your hands now. Questions, comments – remember, no rules, no judgment. Talk to y’all next week,

Kap