Drizzt Lifts Things

[Chillicat]

You're a hard man - my best effort today was walking from the carpark to the supermarket, and the weather was so horrendous I'm absolutely not leaving the house again under any circumstances!

[drizzt]

It was actually kinda fun! I'm thinking about doing run number 2 for the day soon, or heading to the gym for some machined carrdio/skipping. Don't wanna waste a sudden rush of energy I just got :pfft:

[Chillicat]

Edit - change 'hard' man to 'mad' man

[drizzt]

Edit - change 'hard' man to 'mad' man

Heh, well I didn't end up going for the 2nd run... I did, however, go out to Bodyworks for a bit of boxing-based cardio. So the energy didn't go to waste

Cardio

Weighed in at 88.8 again today Probably because of a lack of any real heavy lifting over the past couple of weeks due to the back niggle.

Treadmill - 10mins @ Lvl 12 (warmup)

Skipping - 5mins

Heavy Bag - 5mins

Speedball - 5mins

Circuit* - 5 sets

The circuit included Skipping, Heavy Bag (and the swinging double-ended bag - first time using it, unsure what it's called but was throwing some duck and weaves under it as well which was a nice addition, missed a few uppercuts though :pfft:), Speedball and Box Jumps with a 10kg Powerbag on my shoulders.

Each station lasted 1 minute of intense work, roughly 10-15 seconds between stations if needed (set box up, take gloves off/put them on etc) and the box jumps (box was just above knee height) were for 20 reps - both feet used at all times to jump up and get down from the box.

Once one set had finished, I'd rest for 1.5-2mins and then get back into it. Only intended to do 3 sets, but was really enjoying the change of cardio scenery so decided to do another couple.

All in all a good workout considering I didn't really have much planned today. Feel much better about cabbing out in front of the TV tonight with a couple of movies now that I've had a jog and some nice, intense cardio :nod:

[justhell]

Hey drizzt,

shit thats some heavy az weights on shrugs,good lifting dude. :clap:

[rose]

Tyres? 8)

[drizzt]

Hey drizzt,

shit thats some heavy az weights on shrugs,good lifting dude. :clap:

Cheers man, I've been unable to go heavy for a while because by the time shrugs roll around in the week my hands are pretty well pounded from the rest of the week + boxing. I finally got some straps (which I don't mind using for trap workouts, nothing else though) which have helped me load up a bit more weight. They were a bit sloppy though :pfft:

Tyres? 8)

Am I in trouble if I say they haven't been in touch yet, and that I also haven't called again :oops:

I just felt like a knob when I called last week (and the chick I was talking to was making it clear they were doing me a favour :? ) so haven't called again. If they don't call this week I've got a nice big trailer I'm going to roll up with and pick them up in on the weekend :nod:

OH and I bought some chalk yesterday too, big bag of it. Loaded up a few cheap pairs of stockings and now I've got some chalk "balls" to use for the gym. Got it from Fergs - the guy said I was the 3rd person this week who was getting chalk for weight lifting :pfft:

[rose]

I'm Captain Procrastinate

You're off the hook Captain, cos you bought chalk 8)

They won't call. Get a free trailer from Placemakers or something. Unless you're prepared to suggest to the uppity receptionist giving you the learn that you're doing them a favour because they won't have to pay to dispose of them or arrange for a disposal collector :grin:

[drizzt]

You're off the hook Captain, cos you bought chalk 8)

\:D/

They won't call. Get a free trailer from Placemakers or something. Unless you're prepared to suggest to the uppity receptionist giving you the learn that you're doing them a favour because they won't have to pay to dispose of them or arrange for a disposal collector :grin:

Ok, I'll take a cup of HTFU on Weds morning (2 weeks after visiting them) and give 'em a call to see if I can get a time frame out of them for delivery. Failing that, I'll tell them I'll be around with a truck/trailer on Saturday to pick 'em up 8)

[drizzt]

18/01/10 - Workout A

Alrighty, today marks the beginning of a 5x5-based program I'm going to follow. My "split" is being cut back from my usual 5 days to just 3, which should leave room for my other pursuits quite well (Boxing, Strongman, Rugby, SHIIT etc).

At the moment, it's pretty much the 5x5 Advanced program from Stronglifts, with one or two modifications, and potentially a few additions in the near future - or maybe another session for "bodybuilding" type workouts. We'll see how the first couple of weeks go with how it is currently, and then I'll start looking at adding/removing things/exercises/days etc.

I'm still feeling my way with it a little bit, but after some advice from Pman (and the great articles on his site) I feel I'm at least headed in the right direction. This week is pretty much the beginning of my "full" workload where Rugby is included (except for games at this point - probably do cardio to simulate this in the meantime).

I'll be going by the "Workout A" and "Workout B" naming convention, and doing A-B-A one week, and B-A-B the next. Will be squatting 3x per week (I can already feel my legs hating me :pfft:), and alternating deadlifts and bench between 1x and 2x each per week. I'll probably explain the details after each workout this week.

So, this is how my first day went:

• Squats* (reps, weight) (weights in plates/single DB only unless Oly bar exercise)
  5 x 90kg
  5 x 90kg
  5 x 90kg
  5 x 90kg
  5 x 90kg
  Bench*
  5 x 70kg
  5 x 75kg
  5 x 80kg
  5 x 85kg
  5 x 90kg
  Power Cleans*
  5 x 40kg
  5 x 45kg
  5 x 50kg
  5 x 50kg
  5 x 55kg
  Dips*
  5 x +10kg
  5 x +20kg
  5 x +30kg

Comments

• *Squats were ok - easy on the weights side of things - but I'm beginning to feel a bit of a twinge on the front of the right side of my hips, pretty much the opposite area to where my back twinge is. I'm thinking they may be related, but it's more an annoyance than an issue at the moment. Will monitor it closely. Stuck with the low-bar squats for this session. Wrists still hurt holding the bar this way, but not as bad as they were the first time, so I'm sure I'll get used to it. I think it's purely due to a lack of flexibility in the wrists. Squats themselves felt a heck of a lot more pure, and again the posterior chain felt like it was getting to work here which was pleasing - I also got much lower than what I tried on Friday, and the back twinge was non-existent. I underestimated my squats a tad due to my injury, so it'll time it nicely with a gradual progression in weights for the coming weeks.
  *The bench weights were pretty easy, so I had a big pause at the bottom of each rep and worked on technique really. I didn't really underestimate my 5rm on this, so I expect it to get pretty difficult in the coming weeks.
  *Power cleans - I haven't done these for years, so I definitely erred on the side of safety/caution and went on a much lower weight than I could handle so that I could nail the technique. Felt a little bit sloppy at times, but I'm sure it'll come right if I stick at it. Wrists were a bit sore from squats which did effect the lifts a little but it wasn't too bad. My new Chalk ball helped a bit with grip on these light weights which was pleasing :nod:
  *Dips were very easy, form was (IMHO) very good too. I think I may have underestimated my 5rm of +40kg... I'll let it lie for a couple of weeks before I look at moving the weight up

It was a fairly easy workout, but the intensity was kept up, and I'm definitely wary of the increases in the coming weeks which will be hard. I think Power Cleans will be another exercise that is great for the explosiveness needed in Rugby, but if I don't adapt to the movement in a few weeks I may swap them out for BB Rows. Workout B will be on Weds. Boxing tonight for cardio.

[drizzt]

Cardio, boxing fitness class. Combos on heavy bag of 1 min on, 1 min off, 1 min on, 1 min off x 8 sets. Warmup skipping, cool down crunches/push ups.

Found it quite difficult today as we had to pair up on the bags this week rather than take our own as we'd done the past few times I'd been. This may not sound like a huge change (I didn't think so) but the difference between hitting a bag with nothing behind it, and then hitting a bag with a guy holding it is quite a bit... so I found out :pfft:

For one, there is resistance there so it's like hitting a wall rather than a cushion. And another reason is that you can put more power in because someone is stopping your bag from swinging all over the place - which means you (well, I did anyway) spend your gas a bit earlier. There is also the encouragement you get from a partner (encouragement like: "Are you throwing that right hook? Oh ok, didn't feel it, that's all" :pfft:) and you're held accountable - i.e you can't rest like you can when you're by yourself :oops:

SO it was tougher than it has been, but very good. I need a kick up the arse cardio-wise.

Day off weights tomorrow, but will bring my running gearz and may do a run at lunch. Also have Rugby training in the late arvo/early evening which will be interesting to see what they put us through :think:

[rimma]

You're doing the 5x5? Cool. Looks like the advanced version is a wee bit different to the basic one. Still, I will be following your journal with interest

[drizzt]

Yeah, although I don't intend to follow the specific program in it's entirety, more using the 5x5 methodology as the basis for what I'll be doing from here and probably all the way through rugby season.

Thought it'd be easier to try a program as it stands first though to get a feel for it and the workload I'll be facing, and then chop and change it should I need to

[drizzt]

19/01/10 - Rugby training

Ok, got back not long ago from Rugby training... jeeeesus it was hard :shock: Started straight off with a fitness test, which we'll be re-testing in 4 weeks time.

The good part was that I was in the top 5 or so guys (there were 40-50 there) for each test we did. There was a shuttle run thing (which amounted to a beep test), push ups (nose touching grass, crapped out on 60 :oops: Tris & lungs were burning!), and the prone holds - I was buggered by this point, all tests were in succession.

That was basically the warmup Lots more sprinting and agility work, crab walks, military press ups, up-downs, and another weird kinda walk (on all fours bringing your knee to your elbow each step, keeping low, forgot the name...).

By the end I was well farked. Legs were like lead, had a headache, felt a bit queezy - looking around though, I think everybody else was in the same boat Wonder how many people will come back for more on Thursday :pfft: Funny how fit I thought I was, and now how much work I know I have to do to be where I want.

On the bright side; I'm gonna sleep like a log tonight 8)

[Draft]

Shit man, that sounds like a pretty full on training. What club do you play for pro? Prems?

Also, re. beach season - awesome! Must have been a massive confidence booster, feel like it was all worth it? (careful tho, can get stuck with the poser tag, alot harder to lose than it is to earn... :pfft: )

[drizzt]

Shit man, that sounds like a pretty full on training. What club do you play for pro? Prems?

I play for Jville - we got promoted last year so yep, first year of prems this year Last year was my first year back after taking a break for a few years, and I ended up getting the top team's most promising award. So I've found that it's been a big motivation for me to live up to the coaches faith in me this season :nod:

Also, re. beach season - awesome! Must have been a massive confidence booster, feel like it was all worth it? (careful tho, can get stuck with the poser tag, alot harder to lose than it is to earn... :pfft: )

Yeah, kinda worth it just to prove to myself that I can get to that sort of condition after only really modifying my diet, and in a not too lengthy amount of time. I'm not really the type of person who struts around showing off, so I was under wraps a lot of the time unless the heat was peaking. Was usually the last in my group to take the top off (even at the beach :pfft:), I still felt an odd bit of embarrassment every time though haha - was very mindful of looking like a poser too, so I guess I kinda didn't want to take the top off for that reason :oops: I suppose I was a bit more confident though, which was part of the goal - I'm usually a bit more self-conscious about what state my body is currently in, but didn't have that hang up this season which was great.

It's sorta a double-edged sword though, huh? You work your arse off to get into that condition only to have people scoff at ya and think your a poser :-s There's always haters out there though I guess, but thankfully as I said I didn't encounter any this time 'round

[drizzt]

20/01/10 - Workout B

91kg flat today, woop! \:D/ Eating is working well, still haven't lost too much definition from the cut, happy with where I'm at currently.

• Squats* (reps, weight) (weights in plates/single DB only unless Oly bar exercise)
  5 x bar (warmup)
  5 x 80kg
  5 x 80kg
  5 x 80kg
  5 x 80kg
  5 x 80kg
  Standing OHP*
  5 x bar (warmup)
  3 x 40kg (warmup)
  5 x 50kg
  5 x 50kg
  5 x 50kg
  5 x 50kg
  5 x 50kg
  Deadlifts*
  5 x 60kg (warmup)
  3 x 100kg (warmup)
  5 x 125kg
  5 x 125kg
  5 x 125kg
  5 x 125kg
  5 x 125kg
  Weighted Wide-Grip Pullups*
  5 x +5kg
  5 x +5kg
  3 x +10kg
  3 x +10kg

Comments

• *Squats were easy, but this is the lighter of the 3 squat days for the week, so it wasn't unexpected. Have been watching more of Mark Rippetoe's videos on the squat, and how to involve the hip drive, so took the opportunity on these lighter weights to incorporate that. Felt a lot more solid and my squats are feeling really, really clean at the moment. I think it's important to work on the basics like technique every now and again. This is because I've been squatting for about 10 years now, but have found I fall into bad habits on most exercises, so like looking at things from a beginner point of view to see what I've neglected. Squats seem to be something that, apart from depth, I can improve on in most areas.
  *OHP were ok, started to get tough at set 5. I can see the coming weeks being a battle.
  *Deadlifts.... these were hard! The weight itself was ok, and I didn't feel the back niggle (although it was a tad tight, it actually felt kinda good to stretch it out with a heavier load) but the volume begun to show at set 4-5. I can see these being a problem in a few weeks time as the weights increase, but stay at 5x5, so I may chop either a set or 2 off, or chop a rep or two off the latter sets. See how it goes next week on what I think is due for 130-135.
  *Weighted pullups were meant to be 3 sets (of +5kg, +5kg and +10kg) all for 5 reps, but the last set I could only manage 3 @ +10. So stopped, regathered myself, and blasted 3 more out for a final set. Considering before last week I hadn't tried weighted (wide grip) pullups in the past, I think this difficulty is to be expected, and I expect them to improve fairly quickly. In fact, I think they have already.

This was a fairly intense session, walked away covered in sweat as if I'd just been for a run (may have had a bit to do with the weather too, although it wasn't much hotter inside the gym).

I think for the weeks I'm due to do 2 deadlifts, I may swap one deadlift session out for rack pulls, and obviously make them a tad lighter than my working deadlift session just to decrease the load on my lower back. I've also learnt that I'm probably gonna put Deadlifts before squats when it's a light squatting day like today. I think the squats were a tad detrimental to my deads which shouldn't have happened as it was the only deads session for the week, but just a light squats day, so they really should've been last.

[drizzt]

Cardio

'Twas supposed to be boxing technique session today, but I had both of my potential partners pull out on me, so I took the opportunity to go up to a local school for some tyre drags :grin:

My brother is a truck driver, so he brought home a tyre of his that was balding (cut my hand on a bit of the steel wire poking out :evil:). At a rough guesstimate, the bugger weighs about 50kg, so as you can imagine it's a touch too light to use for effective tyre flipping sessions, but also probably a tad heavy for sled drags.

HOWEVER, I decided what the heck, I'll try to sled drag it anyway Warmed up with Hinnymullas (I have no idea how it is spelt, but that's how you say it). These are where you run up the length of a rugby field, then back across it diagonally, up the other length, and then back across diagonally to the beginning.... that's one set. I did 6 of these which was a fairly good warmup.

Then, I tied the tyre to myself with some rope (my hips are hating me right now :pfft:) and sprinted... and then kinda ran out of steam... and then kinda rested... and then got a 2nd wind... etc. Rinse, lather, repeat for 6 lengths of the field.

The tyre was a heck of a lot heavier than I had imagined :shock: I initially intended to do 10 lengths of the field (there and back 5x) but after the first length I realized that wasn't gonna happen Got 6 lengths (rested for a minute or so after every length) and probably could've gone for 10 but the rope was beginning to dig in a tad too much so decided to call it quits there. Next time I'll be sure to bring a towel or something to wrap around the rope :nod:

Anyway, the workout itself was great, it was incredibly challenging, hot day, so walked away with the 2nd huge sweat for the day and feeling good :grin:

[drizzt]

OH, and Miss Rose: I plucked up the courage to call Beaurepaires again this morning, and they gave me the old "Lost your address and number" line. So told them again (was speaking to the guy I originally dealt with who seemed like a good bloke) and he said he'll try and sort them for me by the weekend

If I don't hear from them by Saturday, my brother and I are heading over in his truck to grab 'em 8)

[rose]

You're a Mean Machine, Captain Procrastinate 8)

[Draft]

Looks like a solid train bro, how does this compare with your prep for last season? Or do you reckon you will be leagues ahead of where you were?

What weight are you intending to be for footy season?

Sorry, I think I already asked this but what position do you play?

Cardio

HOWEVER, I decided what the heck, I'll try to sled drag it anyway Warmed up with Hinnymullas (I have no idea how it is spelt, but that's how you say it). These are where you run up the length of a rugby field, then back across it diagonally, up the other length, and then back across diagonally to the beginning.... that's one set. I did 6 of these which was a fairly good warmup.

Haha yea we do these at the end of training. The first couple back get to sit out the rest of them until everyone was done. Good incentive to be in good shape for it.

[drizzt]

how does this compare with your prep for last season? Or do you reckon you will be leagues ahead of where you were?

Easily way ahead of last years prep, in fact, I'm probably in better shape than at any stage throughout last season :nod: Last year I pretty much just smashed the weights in the offseason. I had a little bit of an excuse though, I moved back to Wellington from Auckland around Christmas 08, so I was only just settling by the time pre-season trainings begun.

Of course, game fitness is another thing, but the only way to get that is to play so that'll come.

What weight are you intending to be for footy season?

Sorry, I think I already asked this but what position do you play?

I want to be a good solid 95 with maybe 12% BF. My playing weight was around 98-100 last season. I played 6 and a bit of 8 last year, but with the increased fitness I'm probably looking at 7 this year as I enjoy the scavenging/free ranging role and want to move more towards that. I fiddled around with the backs for a little while when I last played, but was an 8 at college and I enjoy the physical stuff, so I like mixing it up in the forwards :nod: I've had the comment a few times that people think I'm too short to be a flanker (I'm bang on 6ft/183cm) and maybe so, but I think I make up for it with strength/speed where I back myself against a lot of the bigger guys, and I've got no trouble lifting anyone in the lineouts (even won a few by being lifted last year! :pfft:). Will be a good test at prems level this year with the bigger more experienced guys, thats for sure :nod:

Haha yea we do these at the end of training. The first couple back get to sit out the rest of them until everyone was done. Good incentive to be in good shape for it.

Yeah I think they're quite a common Rugby exercise, eh. Just have never seen them written down, only spoken, so it frustrates me when I want to talk about it because I don't know exactly what they're saying :pfft:

Sounds like you play too, what position/club?

[drizzt]

Bit of a late update for yesterday (was on the phone with Telecom for >1hour last night trying to get my home broadband fixed :roll: Before I knew it it was time to hit the hay).

Basically just did Rugby training again. I keep telling myself I'll jog at lunch on my gym off days (Tues/Thurs), but I'm wary of how it's going to affect me for Rugby training in the afternoon, so I'm a bit cautious to give it a go. Maybe when I settle into the routine I'll try it.

Rugby was tough again, not quite as tough as Tuesday but a lot of the same stuff.

Told a couple mates about the sled drags I was doing, and I've got a couple of them keen to try this weekend, so may be going out tonight for some more :twisted:

Also, because my diet has no real direction (not good/bad as such, just that I enjoy having things laid out for me to do :pfft:), I'm thinking of trying the Anabolic diet. Any opinions? I've read up on it before but that was a few months ago now, I'll have another read up today and see what it would entail.

[drizzt]

Ok, another late update - interwebz is still down at home (currently tethered my iPhone to the PC for a bit of a band-aid solution 8)) so haven't really had a chance to get online :roll:

22/01/10 - Workout A

Weighed in at 91.9 today, woop 8)

• Squats (reps, weight) (weights in plates/single DB only unless Oly bar exercise)
  5 x 60kg (warmup)
  5 x 75kg
  5 x 80kg
  5 x 85kg
  5 x 90kg
  5 x 95kg
  Incline Bench*
  5 x 60
  5 x 65
  5 x 65
  5 x 70
  5 x 70
  Power Cleans
  5 x 45kg
  5 x 45kg
  5 x 45kg
  5 x 45kg
  5 x 45kg
  Good Mornings*
  10 x 20kg
  10 x 30kg
  5 x 40kg
  

Comments

• *Swapped the 2nd flat bench session out for an incline bench session instead. I think I'll do this every week when there are two bench sessions, either incline or decline - however my upper chest tends to lag if I don't do anything with it, so I may do incline more often. I found the weights very easy, I've never really done incline bench for less than 10 reps so 5 was a cinch.
  *I swapped Good Mornings in for Turkish Get-ups. I'm sure the get-ups are beneficial, but I feel the Good Mornings will help more, especially with my slight lower back issue. The first few sets I made higher reps, the 2nd I wanted to just do 5. 40kg turned out to be a fairly good weight, pretty tough, but not too much stress on the lower back.
  *Squats/Power cleans are feeling good again. First time I think I've ever squatted 3x in one week, so on top of the Rugby speed/agility trainings, and the tyre drags I did, the legs were pretty well buggered for this session. Power cleans were light so they weren't too bad, mainly just trying to nail that technique after not doing them for so long.
  

23/01/10 - Vanity workout

At the Jville dungeon today. Had a training partner for this session too.

I'm thinking I might add this workout once a week to hit some areas I feel I don't want to neglect - I think ThePman puts it as a "Bodybuilding Day". I'm gonna call it vanity The areas I want to hit on these days in particular are traps, calves, quads and rear delts. If I have time, I'll chuck some armz in, but I'm not terribly worried about these as I'm fairly lucky to have pretty good arms (he says humbly :roll:) regardless of what I do to 'em, so just being used as secondary/assisting muscles in the compound lifts should be enough for them for the most part.

Mostly I'll keep a similar rep range to the standard workouts throughout the week, due mainly to wanting to train everything with the same method. Started this session with some rotator cuff warmups...

• Shrugs (reps, weight) (weights in plates/single DB only unless Oly bar exercise)
  5 x 100kg (warmup)
  5 x 140kg
  5 x 160kg
  10 x 140kg*
  5 x 160kg
  5 x 170kg
  Rear Delt Raises*
  10 x 12kg
  10 x 12kg
  10 x 12kg
  10 x 12kg
  Skull Crushers
  5 x 40kg
  5 x 50kg
  5 x 50kg
  5 x 50kg
  5 x 52.5kg*
  Chins
  5 x +5kg
  5 x +10kg
  5 x +10kg
  5 x +20kg
  Hacks*
  30 x 40kg
  

Comments

• *4th set of Shrugs I got a bit eager and jumped in on my mates weights after his set without adding my 10s on :oops: For punishment, I repped out 10. Was happy with the last set on 170, I feel I can gain strength on shrugs really quickly, I honestly don't believe 200kg for reps is too far off after feeling how good 170 felt in my hands. Didn't use straps either, just chalk, and that was an immense help to the grip. Got my mate hooked on the chalk too, he's gonna grab some from Fergs next time he's around those ways.
  *Last set of skullcrushers was assisted on the last 2 reps
  *When I went to do legs to finish, my brother called saying he was coming through to pick me up to get the tyres. Thought "Oh crap, I haven't quite finished", so chucked a couple 20s on the hack machine and repped to failure. The last few reps were probably a bit sloppy, but I had 30 in mind as a target.
  

So it was a good couple of days of workouts. Changes I'll make from here on out after trialling the first week:

*I'll swap one of the 3 squats sessions out during the week for front or hack squats instead - will save me having to do them on the weekend for a 4th session! I'll also add one or two calves exercises in on the end of the workouts during the week (time permitting), and may do rotator cuff warmups before every workout.

*When I have to deadlift twice in one week, I'll make one of the sessions Romanian Deadlifts, or light sumo deads. I may also throw Hyperextensions into the mix to further strengthen my lower back if I have time some days. This may be part of the "Vanity" day.

*Where I have to Bench twice in the week (as I mentioned above), I'll make one of them either incline or decline bench.

[drizzt]

Today, went to Bodyworks just for a run on the Treadmill.

10mins @ lvl 10, 1.0 incline

10mins @ lvl 11, 1.0 incline

6mins @ lvl 12, 1.0 incline

4mins @ lvl 14, 1.0 incline

Just wanted to get a nice half hour of mid-intensity cardio out. I find running boring, so thought I may as well do it somewhere that I can set up my iPhone in front of me and watch a movie on (watched the last half hour of Rocky III for inspiration ) and also the treadmill won over road running due to being able to control speed and incline.

Weighed in back at 90.1 today

As for the tyres, I mentioned in the post above that my brother cut my workout short to pick me up in his truck to go out and get the tyres. I had called them and made sure they were open (they close at 12pm on Saturdays). We got there at 11.45ish - earliest my brother could get out of work - and they were already closed. Don't really blame them, it was a horrid day to have a big open workshop like that running, and a long weekend to boot.

Saw a TONNE more big tyres out back, and was incredibly tempted to roll a couple onto the truck (actually called their "after hours number" to see if I could get permission, but that was unmanned too :roll:)... but resisted the temptation to become a thief, and I'll see if they're open tomorrow (Wellington Anniversary day) and if my bro can get the truck again. If the moons and stars align we'll give it a shot again 8)

Man, this is becoming quite the hassle.