Notes

1- Bar on the Smith machine is 45 lbs at this gym; the trainer says the weight is fully accounted for, although I have heard the argument that the Smith machine mitigates some weight. I'll go with the trainer.
2- My body fat percentage has remained at 31.7 for the last 6 months, although I weigh the same, and I have both subjective and objective measures telling me my muscle mass has increased. A gym mystery.
3- Returning to the question of the Smith machine; I see a lot of argument over it's use. My trainer's position is that it helps prevent injury, and that one can occasionally switch out to free weights to mitigate plateauing. I don't know why I am arguing against that position. Do I think I will look cooler on the power rack?
4- Did the deadlift for the first time today; was trying to watch my form in mirror, but was thinking wow, I actually look like I belong in the gym
5- Gassed out on the second set of medicine ball side-to-sides...was trying to time my breathing to the movement of the ball instead of focusing on tactical breathing. Corrected that and it made a huge difference on the third set. See next section about tactical breathing.
6- I asked the trainer about dropsets; he said use them if my third set was easy
7- I think I will move back to 3 lift sessions a week (just did two this week); BUT I won't attempt to make 15 minutes of cardio at the end of each session; might try to start at 1 to 2 minute increments at the end of each session. I defintely need to add cardio sessions on each week. I was going to go "2 lift/1 cardio" and increase from there, but I was really progressing well on "3 lift", so I'll need to increment to "3 lift/1 cardio"
8- I need to be consistent about maintaining a food journal; I can go well for 2 or 3 days but I invariably overeat, and get disgusted to record it...so far, I don't think the food journal has helped my eating, but it may help self-discipline in recognizing poor eating habits...I know they are there, I need to dissect them and eliminate them ;>
10- Had a really bad case of acid reflux all session; I thought it would stop me, but I got through the program.

Tactical Breathing

I first read about tactical breathing in Grossman's On Combat, which I have praised in the pages previously. It is intended primarily as a stress reduction tool in high stress situations (like combat), but it also valuable for physical exercise!

This technique, known as combat or tactical breathing, is an
excellent way to reduce your stress and calm down. This
breathing strategy has been used by first responders, the
military and athletes to focus, gain control and manage
stress. In addition, it appears to help control worry and
nervousness.
Relax yourself by taking 3 to 5 breaths as described below.
Visualize each number as you count.
Breathe in counting 1, 2, 3, 4
Stop and hold your breath counting 1, 2, 3, 4
Exhale counting 1, 2, 3, 4
Repeat
the breathing
Breath in counting 1, 2, 3, 4
Pause and hold your breathe counting 1, 2, 3, 4
Exhale counting 1, 2, 3, 4
Source