DaemonCorax

So I've been in and out of here a lot. The "getting back to it after 2nd baby" schedule got detonated by several things up to and including major right wrist surgery for my husband. So it's time to go back to basics. To start over. To (sort of) respawn. I'm starting where I started 10 years ago with Stronglifts 5x5 roughly. (You will notice I increment weight in the middle of sets rather than each morning. And weights are a little TBD as I get in the swing of things. The main point is that this is a high volume program.) Last week was week 1. I will log it here for completeness. This week, week 2, I didn't make it to the gym Monday, but will go Wednesday and Friday. My goal is to get 2/3 of MWF for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks it will probably be time for me to switch things up from 5x5 and add in more calisthenics, more one-legged work, and got 531 or something for the bigger lifts. TBD. Biking, especially bike commuting will get worked in ASAP, but the baby mornings, one-handed husband, and pumping schedule are all things that need to settle down a bit first. Last week's log. Monday 10/9 - at work 1/2 time sort of. 4th gym trip in 4 months. Climbed 5.8 up and down, 5.10, 3 routes of 5.10- not all complete Back squat 45 5x, 65 5x, 75 5x3 (reps x sets) Kettlebell press (each arm) 18 lbs 5x5. Tried a few reps at 22 lbs, but too heavy Deadbugs and Pilates bridges 5 and 4 for 3 sets Wednesday 10/11 Climbed repeat 5.9 2x, Black 5.9 2x missed last move, 5.10-, 5.10 blue and crimpy, made it 2/3 up. Back squat 45 5x, 75 5x, 85 5x4 Bench 45 5x, 55 5x4, 65 5x Barbell row 65 5x2, 75 5x bad form, 70 5x2 Friday 10/13 Biked to the gym and back Back squat 45 5x, 85 5x2, 90 5x3 Hangs Kettlebell press 18 5x5 Deadlift 135 5x3, 155 3x2 Barbell OHP test 45 3x felt heavy We'll catch up with our protagonist as she gets moving again. Having dropped baby griffon off in some happy fishing grounds, it's time for further questing. (Although the winged friend will get frequent check-ins.)

Just checking it. This weekend the heavy metal friends showed up. I did some sort of squat/deadlift hybrid and some gorilla rows with the 70 lb bell before the 53 lb one showed up. This was along with some core work with my rings (inclined ring push-ups are HARD) and some sun salutations. My shoulders are weak so the yoga plank>up dog is also HARD. I also did some dead bugs and hollow body practice and thing on the floor. Everything was a bit mixed up becuase the whole family and my roommate came down in the middle of it. Yesterday I took advantage of the swing and managed to ride my bike on teh trainer for 30 min while watching Netflix and then do another sun salutation and a core exercise with teh 53 lb bell. I'm not sure it has a name: you stand straight and pass the bell around yourself from one hand to the other. My ring work was a little limited by the fact that there seems to be a wooden train set set up under the rings at the moment. I love our basement. It is so many things. The kettlebells are just what I wanted. I would enjoy getting to the gym more, but doing something feels so much better than doing nothing. I'm telling myself I haven't lost any of my extra squish because my hormones aren't ready for it yet. That seems reasonable since we're just not getting to the end of that 4th trimester. But my abs aren't separated much at ALL except at my belly button. So that's a win. Although the tiny one doesn't start childcare until October, I have scheduled him 4 morning in September too. MFH will be in the thick of recovering from his surgery and I need some breathing room to exercise and maybe cook. Just breathing room in general. For maybe 12-16 hours in the month. I've stopped feeling guilty about this. I trust our daycare. I know the people in the infant room. It's very different from the experience I had dropping off my first 4 years ago. And MFH will be one handed for 2-3 months. Gah.

The big kettelbell should arrive tomorrow. And we should be going mtn biking tomorrow. I'm super foggy and having a hard time though. I made an appt to talk to someone later in the month. The new wrinkle in our summer is that Sept 1 MFH will be having the major wrist surgery we've been avoiding for 2.5 years. They're removing a section of his ulna and cleaning up a disintegrating tendon. He won't be able to lift anything heavier than a coffee cup for 10 weeks. He's probably going to have to change careers. I just hope he makes a good recovery and can back to the fun stuff. Deep breaths. I'm setting up a retired car seat in the basement as a baby swing so the tiny one might have more fun hanging out down there when I want to workout but can't get myself to deal with the even the gym.

Ebay. I just picked up two kettlebells on eBay. 1 53 lb and 1 70 lb. Goblet squats, rdls, presses, etc, here I come. I figure I can do a LOT with these weights and if I get stronger, I'll just make the moves harder. I'm usually a barbells person, but kettlebells take a up a lot less space and are kid-proof in these sizes in a way that a squat rack setup isn't. I don't have anywhere to put a squat rack anyway.

Things are hard right now. I didn't sleep Saturday night, but we went mountain biing anyway. There's a little trail network with a skills loop near our house which is perfect for tailgating in the Tundra and switching which parent gets to do the 1 mile loop or ride the skills park with the taller small one. It was a great morning. It started out misting and burned off, but the clouds stayed and it wasn't too how. Riding technically felt good, but I was very demoralized by how out of shape I felt. There is a very short hill to get to the trail loops from the parking lot and it made my legs burn. That NEVER happens. Then I couldn't get my bike on the truck topper. (Later, MFH realized that when we took the snow tires off the car, the tire step got a couple inches taller with our A/T tires. Adjustments will be made.) On paper my body looks like its doing ok, but a lot of things just feel gone. I know this is normal and it will get better, but I'm having some big feelings about it right now. The night before last I got a 5 hours chunk of sleep and was super productive during the day, spacing errands and chores around baby cuddles. Then last night I got a 4 hour chunk followed by 1-2 hours fragments. Both the tiny one and I were having a hard morning. I HAD planned to ride the bike trainer, go to the gym, and cook. I suspect the gym will not happen now, as I am sitting on the floor in the dark bedroom drinking coffee and typing while the tiny one gets some more sleep propped on a pillow on the bed - not the best way to leave him alone sleeping. I'm ticking some paperwork off my list, but ugh. (One of my pieces of paperwork is that I backed my old 4runner into a new 4runner at the bank last week. It was very low speed, with minor cosmetic damage to my vehicle. The damage was a little worse to the other guy, and his front bumper had been shiny and new, so he will get his fixed. My insurance adjuster hasn't been very helpful - using the word total and initially telling me they were going to tow my car. Lol. I had to explain that my car was just fine and that under no circumstances were they going to take it and leave me with a baby in the house and no vehicle. Anyway. The estimate to fix the damage is less than my deductible, and the scratches on my bumper are more minor than the two dents I already had from someone hitting me in parking lots over the year. But the "cancel claim" button doesn't seem to be the right option if I want them to have a record of the accident for the sake of the other guy, right? I will be making my 5th attempt to get the adjuster on the phone later today. ) The accident really messed with me even though it was completely minor. I had been waved out of the parking lot by another driver, then I saw cross traffic coming the other way. Stopped. Backed up. Hit the car that had pulled up behind me. I never would have made this mistake on a reasonable amount of sleep. Sleep is a problem right now. I'm not napping as well as I used to. Which is to say barely at all unless I fall asleep sitting upright for 20 min or so. It's the reason for the accident. It's probably also hitting my mood swings pretty hard and is the reason my weight hasn't changed in over a month. I saw a couple kettlebells on craigslist, but they are a really old posting. Anyone have recommendations on kettlebells? (brands, sources, etc?) I've been thinking that if I had 2-3 in the 50-100 lb range I could use them in my basement, and they would be too heavy for my 4 year old to pick up and drop on his toes. I want them for big compound movements, so heavy is good.

I went to the gym with one of my kid's "Aunties." I bouldered a little bit to warm up and went to the weight room like I had done while pregnant. 1. not wanting to jump off the top of boulder problems is holding me back even though its totally safe to do so now. Weights: Back squat 95 lbs, 5reps, 3 sets after a set of 5 with just the bar. By the 3rd set my quads were tired (probably because of the stance for the other lift I was doing), but things felt like the form was back. Gorilla rows 44 lb kettle bell 5reps, 3 sets, each hand Deadlifts 135 lb, 5 reps - these felt WEIRD. I need to do more to make sure everything is firing correctly. Not BAD, just weird. Then the tiny one demanded my attention, so the workout was done. Having a friend along was great. Tiny one slept through the boulder and got auntie cuddles for the lifting.

Well I'm back. I don't have a good on where our hunter protagonist is right now. When we left off she was taking a baby griffon to its hatching ground. Back here on terra firma, the c-section went well. Then: -I had edema that meant I couldn't bend my knees for a couple days -the whole family got COVID 3 weeks postpartum and I was super sick for 4 days -the oldest small one got strep -my folks were in town for a week Then we went camping and everything was better. And last weekend me and one of our "aunts" took the 2 smalls hiking. Something our family repeated this weekend so I could show MFH all the games and bribery involved in getting the oldest to hike. (think scavenger hunts, snacks, and collected wizard staff sticks) This baby time is different from last time in a lot of ways. It was easier to focus on newborn cuddles last time. Now I feel like while I enjoy them and want to soak them up, time is moving so much faster. Partly because we are learning 2-kid tactics and partly because I have a more clear idea of where things are going. I remember clearly the grin on my oldest's face when we sat him in a high chair for the first time and gave him a snack. That will be us again in November. Hopefully with a grin this time as well. I'm less patient with my body too. I've been hovering at 155 lbs (down from 175 +/- 2 when pregnant) for over a month now. I want to be back at 140. But there are obvious reason why I'm not. -Sleep is not good yet -Taking care of a baby means being on the baby's schedule to a large extent in these early days, so trips to the gym have been few and far between -My body likes to hold on to a little extra while breastfeeding in spite of what everyone says. Mornings I make it out the door for an early walk before it gets hot are much better than mornings I don't But I'm having a hard time being nice to myself. I'm not sure yet how to write goals for this challenge that I won't beat myself up for if I miss them. But I'm back. And I have a date with a friend at the gym later. I'm going to make a point of going up to the weight room for the first time. That will cheer me up. For now: a picture from the camping trip of me getting back on a Wyoming crack climb 2 weeks ago. It felt really really good.

Well we're back. The good: The surgery apparently went super super well. I'll know more at my 2 week checkup on Wednesday. Flipper, the tiniest one, is perfect, healthy, and somehow a calmer baby the first small one - who I thought was pretty calm to start with. 8 lbs, 20.5 inches, a little heftier and a little shorter than his older brother (although by the time the weight dip and catch up happened they're about even on weight). The bad: The word would be "postpartum edema." Not dangerous. Completely miserable. Finally subsided enough yesterday for me to slide shoes on easily and sleep on my side without feeling like my insides were sloshing and pulling on stitches. We got home Friday. My MIL has been staying with us had hanging out with the older small one and helping a lot with dinner and kitchen things. She leaves today, but MFH will be off for another couple of weeks. The edema really threw me for a loop. On top of that are some breastfeeding-related challenges that I had last time that have showed up again: tldr version: the tiny one is getting fed and everything, but I have to work pretty hard to avoid an infection. >< I know this will all settle down in the coming weeks and I can start moving around more like my old self a bit more. I know that the nerve damage seems to be less of a thing this time around and my brain's connection to my core seems a bit better. And I love newborn cuddles. But things hurt. I've had a few low moments where the various sources of surgical, edema, and other aches and pains have just made me feel like the road has gotten longer. It's a strange time: I want to hold on to the newborn moments with all my heart. But I would also like more sleep and a less damaged body. Time marches on and doesn't care what my opinion is.

So today is a whole TWO days before my C section, and this was my last workout. Yesterday I actually ran around outside a bunch playing catch with my little one who just had his 4th birthday. He got a baseball glove and some of those velcro catch discs I loved playing catch growing up, so this has been so much fun for me. Today I went to the gym with MFH. I bouldered for a little while and then went upstairs for my last heavy lifting session until part way into July. Rings for upper back stretching (soooooo stiff) Standing on one foot in an airplane because why not Back squat 45 5x, 135 5x3, 145 5x, 150 5x. Weight 174 (weight gain roughly 34? 32? lbs) Date/time of surgery 5/24 hopefully 7:30 am, 39 weeks +1 day. Hopefully I'll get to go home Friday with everyone healthy and snuggly. Statistically I know this is all going to be just fine. My emotional brain will believe it when I see it, given the surprises we got last time.

No gym today. I was feeling pressure to wrap up a few work things and the incubating one is very uncomfortable. Maybe I'll make it Monday. Then incubating one.... Well, the discomfort is counteracting the c-section anxiety nicely. Babies are suppose to drop and tunnel down into the pelvis at this point. My first one pulled this off reasonably well in spite of eventually getting stuck on my sacrum. This time I think all the scarring in my fascia is creating another stuck spot. Since we knew c section was really the only way this was going to work, it's not a HUGE deal. But man it is uncomfortable. 4.5 days to go. Feeling: round.

I went to the gym this morning with a friend to boulder a bit. I bouldered longer than usual and chatted and hung out in between routes, so that was really nice. I didn't lift today. I realized a little to late that the pants I've been wearing to the gym for months (and are therefore totally stretched out and dead) didn't want to stay in contact wiht my shirt, so I climbed with my flannel tied around my waist. Eh. Suuuuuper dignified. Somehow in performing the most feminine of functions, my body has me feeling like an overweight truck driver half the time. One week to go. 30-35 lbs gain depending on water retention (my fingers were super puffy before I started moving around this morning) My appetite has almost disappeared again. Weird. I'm going to the gym Friday too. MIGHT be my last day. We'll see.

Today is my last checkup before surgery next week. Tomorrow marks week 38, which means our incubating one will hopefully show up as scheduled at 39+1. Our older small one is having a bit of a hard time. We had our end of year conference with his preschool and talked about some of his defiant behaviors. The owner of our daycare/preschool had some great insight and advice that lines up with what our guts have been telling us about how to guide him, but it was nice to have some reinforcement from someone who's been doing it for 40 years. He's smart, and I guess securely attached, so he pushes boundaries in ways that are mostly age appropriate but also worth responding to. However, I think he's also picking up on the fact that MFH is a bit stressed being single-string when I feel really terrible. So there's that. In the immediate future, I'm just going to try to pick him up from preschool a little early today and spend more time together. Might not get a workout in. Might ride the bike trainer. Not sure. Doom cleaning/nesting/whatever continues to distract the heck out of me.

Went to the gym this morning with MFH. Bouldered Incline press 30 ea hand 5x3 sets Bulgarian split squat - "bodyweight only" - so +30 lbs lol 7x3 sets Deadlift 135 5x 185 5x3 sets, 225 3x MFH actually took a video of me bouldering and doing the 225 lb deadlifts. It was very gratifying to see my form was still pretty dang good for a 9-months preggo lady. 11 days and some hours to go. Can't wait to only have one set of organs again. (Newborns are great. Still hate pregnancy with the fire of a thousand suns.)

No workout today. But I cleaned a bathroom (mostly). One more to go, and it's the ground floor 1/2 bath so it won't take long. Had my week 37 checkup. No surprise there. Incubating one is trying to sit lower but not much success. Mentally still going through closets for candidates of items to get rid of, even though I have already done a lot in that department. Anyone else get hit with this feeling every 6 months or so? It's combo spring cleaning/hormones/trauma cleaning. (That last one is MFH's word for what I do, because I'm usually trying to shake loose some stuff in my head when I do it.)

Oh man, last night was rough. The incubrating one is fighting for space and really was uncomfortable yesterday afternoon and all last night. Then we had hail and thunder from about 10:30 on for a while. Not a lot of sleep. This morning things hurt a little less though, so I dragged myself to the gym arguing that moving more would help things loosen up and feel better. It did. Bouldered about 20 min Did some light Pilates-style stuff with rings just to move my spine and shoulders around. Inverted ring rows 5x5 Back squat 45 5x, 135 5x3, 145 5x2 I sat down in my car to drive to work and immediately wanted a nap. The exercise did do what it was supposed to do, and I was able to take a deep breath for the first time in 18 hours. But it also made me realize just how sleepy I was. And now I'm at work. Today is hopefully my last day on site. 2 weeks to go.

This weekend was a "do all the things" weekend. We went to a MASSIVE plant store that we've never been to before. My small one was determined to push the big flatbed cart on his own all the way to the back of the property for the one plant we really needed. Oddly enough it made him tired. MFH did some cleaning for me (vacuuming the stairs and whatnot), and I took the small on a car nap out to the secondhand gear store with a pile of mostly bike tires. All in all very much a preparatory weekend. I was rudely awakened by a leg cramp this morning, so I spent 35-40 min on the bike trainer while watching a documentary instead of going to the gym. The cramps are always my right calf and doing squats on a morning with a leg cramp feels awful. The documentary was a very slanted look at plant-based eating for athletes. I say "very slanted," but it still ahd some cool stuff in it. I've been pushing us very meat-light in recent months and it was cool to see athletes of every shape having success without animal protein as a staple. For environmental reasons and humane treatment of animal reasons, I would one day like to make it all the way to vegetarian at least, but I'm okay with it being a process. The health benefits seem pretty murky and super clear at the same time. Which is to say: (1) the groups of people they studied in this film switching to plant based would have been eating some of the worst-cooked most processed meat-based diets to start with probably. (2) But no one has ever come out at tried to link lentils and beans to heart disease the way meat has been. So of course the film had confirmation bias and was overly simplistic, but again, it was cool to see athletes from ultra-runners to Olympic weightlifters having performance success after removing animal products from what were already pretty highly-monitored and finely-tune diets. I will go to the gym Wednesday and Friday. I'm continuing to chase extra items out of the house. More on this later. And doing some slightly neurotic puttering - I'm not great at focusing right now, so there's a lot of "do a work task, clean something, repeat" happening.

Workout day. Apparently I only sleep in 3 and 4 hour chunks, but last night I got 2 chunks instead of 1! Yay. Bouldered a little. MFH came to the gym too but spent most of his time on the autobelay trying to rehab his wrist. Still it was nice to both be there. OHP 45 5x, 55 5x4 - I hadn't done OHP since tweaking my shoulder a few weeks ago. This felt fine but (1) my lats were surprisingly tired from the elt raises. Which is excellent actually since my body needs a LOT of convincing to keep muscle on my lats. I know my form on this lift is off too. The lack of front core engagement I think means my spine is a little weird on this lift. Will do massive debug in July. Deadlift 135 5x, 185 5x, 205 5x3. - Oddly enough my belly has shifted my stance a couple inches wider, and means I have to breath very specifically, but this moved well. 205 is smooth Doing work today. My hips feel better after deaadlifting (as usual) but I'm wearing a belly tube thing that hugs them a bit too and that's nice. This weekend is pre-baby cleaning (bathrooms, stairs) and planting a couple things in my little flower bed - looking forward to some tomatoes and peppers than my small one will have fun picking. I need new nicknames for the small one and the incubating one. MFH is the hubby - "my favorite human" although really he's MAAAAAY have lost his seat to the children at this point. "my favorite adult" more like. I may just stick with "small one" and "tiny one" for now. As much as the small one has grown and grown, he is still very much a little kid. When he has his emotional moments and big feelings, I still say "it's hard being small."

Today is not a workout day. Had a check up at the doc's. Nothing exciting there. Suuuuper tired. I clocked maybe 3 hours of sleep last night before getting up and not being able to get back to sleep. I ended up downstairs with a cookie, a glass of milk, and the couch. I think I go another 45 min of sleep before my alarm went off at 5. Oddly enough today I have not been productive. I'm great at focusing on things for about 3 minutes at a time. About the nesting. The stuff keeps leaving the house, which is helpful. I also have a box of clothes I'm filling up in my closet. In addition to getting rid of maternity clothes after this is over, I'm getting rid of stuff that I didn't wear between kids, or stuff that when I put it on made me feel icky or uncomfortable. This leaves plenty of clothes, but I may treat myself to a new pair of dress slacks in the winter. I know my body is going to be changing a lot and gradually over the next year, and last time I didn't really prioritize clothes that made me happy. This time around I am, especially jeans/work pants and t-shirt. Since I work in a lab and spend a lot of time outside, this is what I spend my time in. I know this doesn't sound glamorous, but it's what works for me day to day.

Yeah we went through birth classes and intended to have a natural birth the first time around. The shape of my spine (possibly due to some old injuries. Who knows. I'm old.) basically meant that kiddo would have had to execute a 5 point turn. Things went pretty badly. I have a new doctor this time and even though we had to build a rapport from scratch, she's done a good job rising to the occasion of answering my nerdier questions, and she's very matter-of-fact and informative. When I asked her if we could skip to a planned c section she poked around a bit and chatted and had absolutely no problem with it. Everything around pregnancy and birth is such a quagmire of public comment though. I hate going through pregnancy "in public." Workout today: My usual climbing buddy and her other morning partner we bouldering today! I had bouldering company. That was nice Delt raises 12.5 ea hand, alternating 7x3 Mat work Backsquat 45 5x, 115 5x, 135 5x3, 145 5x My left quad was a little talkative today, but the squats moved well. Not sleeping too well, but the gym still felt better than not going.

Well my Week 0 is off to an off-kilter start. The small one (soon to be bigger of the small ones, I'll need a new nickname for him here) has had a persistent cough all weekend, so we kept him home today and I spent the morning not working and not working out. He has now gotten some serious napping done in the past two days, so we hope in turns around. Now then. About the challenge. The incubating one (Flipper as working title) is scheduled to appear on 5/24. For those that have seen me on here for many years, there's a multitude of medical, rational, and emotional reasons this will be a scheduled c section, but I'm not going to rehash them here. I live in a town with a lot of elevation of natural birth, and its made me a little defensive this second time around. Anywho. Until 5/24 the plan is to just keep on keeping on. Workouts: Get to the gym 2x a week, 3 if possible. Do some bouldering up and down easy routes to warm up all those loose and tired joints. Lift weights. Bonus points if I manage a leisurely ride on the bike trainer in the basement. Food: No goals. Eat whatever I can eat. Heartburn seems like more of an issue this time around, so except for breakfast I don't have much of an appetite. Sleep: Get sleep. Be nice to myself if I need a nap. Other: Ah. The title of this challenge. The nesting. There has been a lot of stuff making its way out of my house via Freecycle the past few months. Following a really crummy altercation with my mom in December, I'm unpacking all of THAT relationship again. I'm rummaging mightily through the past and I'm not sure if its refreshing or a coping response for the stress of what's to come. More to say about this for sure. Hopefully it doesn't overwhelm the next couple weeks. Days left to go: 22 Weight ~170 lbs (weight gain 30 lbs almost exactly). Feeling: Round

Oh I definitely have a cold. No wonder yesterday's workout was so off. Family day at a bike event today that I am not riding my bike to. That's kinda sad. But see previous note above. I don't want to overextend myself and feel worse. 24 days and change to go. The next challenge will include the arrival of our new small friend. I think I'll skip part of the challenge oddly enough. Just try to post before the surgery to power through the last three weeks of workouts.

I went to the gym today but I felt pretty awful. I didn't really eat dinner last night and I had a leg cramp that shot me out of bed at 4:30 am. The heartburn is real. Anyway. I briefly beat myself up for not doing deadlifts and in general doing a smaller workout today, but I'm just too tired. Bouldered 8 routes. Didn't feel super well coordinated today so I didn't go further. Inclines press 30 per hand 5x3 Dumbbell row with pauses 35 ea hand 7x3 Just walking up the stairs from bouldering to weights was making me really tired - not short of breath just exhausted. So I stopped there and went to run some errands. In true pregnant-lady style I picked up a cinnamon roll from the bakery while I was there. Now just WFH and maybe nap. Pretty wiped out.

Made it to the gym today feeling considerably better than on Monday. Bouldered 20 minutes 8-10 routes up and down. Did some walking split squats (not really lunges?) back and forth Curls 20 lb ea 7x3 standing Dumbbell flys 10 lb ea hand 7x3 Random delt flys one hand at a time 15 lb sets of 3 Back squat 45 5x, 115 5x, 125 5x2, 135 5x, 140 5x Some gentle core work Sooo ready for this to be over.

Ok. Coming into the last week of this challenge and week 35 of pregnancy (starts tomorrow). Weight 170.5 lbs. Days left 29 and change. Workouts: Saturday!! I made it to the gym Bouldered gently up and down some easy routes for 20 minutes or so, 10 routes Incline press - raised the bench a little to make it easier to get on an off the bench. 30 lb dumbbells ea hand, 5x3 Dumbbell row 35 lbs ea hand 7x, 40 5x2 Mobility and Pilates with rings Deadlift 135 5x, 185 5x2, 205 5x, 225 3x + 1. That last rep was me feeling out if another set of 3 was in the cards. It wasn't, but that 225 moved easier than I thought!! And then Sunday came. We made a family trip to the railroad museum, wandering around outdoor for a couple hours. I started feeling really sick on the way home though and was a dead couch potato the rest of the day. It was very discouraging. I definitely feel worse on the days that I don't workout, but this was pretty extreme given that I had felt fine walking around outside in the nice weather. Today I dragged myself to the gym. It really was dragging myself. I felt awful still. Because I didn't feel well yesterday I skipped a meal. Ooof. BUT I managed to get myself to boulder for about 45 minutes. I was at the gym for almost an hour and spent some time chatting with my usual belay buddy. Today my hips are having a lot to say about life and I'm moving slowly, but the gym DID help. Am tired.

So my shoulder/neck thign has resolved itself. I still didn't do OHP today at the gym, but I DID make it to the gym in spite of having a really hard time sleeping the past couple of nights. Bouldered for ~20 minutes to warm up Mat work - bird dogs, side planks and dips, etc Inverted rows 5x3 Back squat 45 5x, 115 5x, 125 5x2, 135 5x2. The squats felt good. I'm going to try to get into the gym Saturday while MFH and the small one are getting haircuts. I've been feeling stiff and horrible at night, and the gym helps.