Machete

On 5/11/2020 at 10:04 AM, Sylvaa said:

Fun fact: most 100% cranberry juices in the US (can't speak for other countries) aren't 100% cranberry. They are a blend of 4 juices (this is why reading labels is important).

I also recently found this out. I was planning on going in and out of the grocery, and ended up staring at labels for 15 minutes. Bastards...

 

On 5/11/2020 at 4:15 PM, Snarkyfishguts said:

oho! Yes, 100% cranberry is difficult to drink! But also, kind of fun. Vodka helps. LOL

I mix it with Jack and peach schnapps. The wife loves it. 

 

On 5/11/2020 at 4:18 PM, fleaball said:

actual cranberry juice is also expensive af. I just bought a bottle of cranberry pills for the same price Target is charging for a tiny bottle of juice.

I wonder how much Eddie Hall spends on juice a month.

Ugh, overachievers... 

 

😝 Seriously though this is awesomeness. Your IG is one of my absolute favorites (and I spend A LOT of time on the IGs).

 

Now go keep making the rest of us look bad. 💪

 

 

10 hours ago, Kishi said:

 

Nope! I'm speaking in terms of jiujitsu. Male partners generally roll harder and apply lots of pressure doing so, and if I want to keep going with them then I need to recover quickly.

10 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

 

Honestly, though, every martial art contains a valid set of double entendres.

 

Because of my size I roll both ways.

 

EDIT: Not anymore though. I'm fat  thicc now.

Life's currently a shitshow. I don't know if it's because I keep staying up until 2 or because I'm not exercising or showering, or just not being able to train people. I did an exam for a TRX Trainer Cert, and it actually relaxed me. Meanwhile getting through that first hump of absolute incompetence in JavaScript is proving to be like Courier 6 trying to run through Quarry Junction at level 4.

 

3 hours ago, aramis said:

I like your placeholder. It has all that counts.

BTW, looks like you tend to be my "what to do next" compass. Some time ago, you posted about S&S, and I got into it. For last couple days I was thinking exploring handstands, and here you are... BAM! Handstands! 

It's definitively a sign

 

Well I got instant-killed last challenge by a sudden bout of depression. I guess the good thing I'm getting out of this is the realization that I am not who I used to be, and that I should treat myself as a different person. I can't just skip breakfast and get abs again, or do a 40 kg TGU on a whim. That person lives only in our memories; this guy has to start from scratch.

 

 

CODING

I've got a scheduled course going. It's good to have structure. I also have a total time tracker for time spent coding. I want to target 35 hours of coding a week, which is roughly an extra hour on the weekdays. It's not seeming as confusing as it initially was.

 

PROTEIN

Mistake last challenge was having a large protein jump AND the hour workout, which were both huge adjustments starting from nothing. I need to treat myself like a complete newbie, so I'll start with a double-scoop protein shake in the morning.

 

HANDSTANDS

Handstands have been my main nemesis, in gymnastic movements. I can't seem to get it, but I also haven't put in any regular practice for more than a few weeks, like, ever. I'd like to make it as painless as possible, and establish an MED of 10 HS Tuck-ups, and 10 Wall Facing-Away Partial Handstands.

 

 

WEEK 1

Sunday, 10 - did not start. I just banged my hoe all day.

Monday, 11 - 2.5 hours of code, check  on the protein, no handstands.

Tuesday, 12 - 8 hours of code (system did not log 2), protein was in, only got the 10 HS Tuck-ups done.

Wednesday, 13 - logged 5 hours, drank protein first thing, but no HS.

Thursday, 14 - barely got an hour of code in. System logged 8, so I have 5 to make up for. Got the protein, got the HS.

Friday, 15 - 2 hours of code. Protein check. HS missed.

Saturday, 16 - 6 hours. Protein check. HS missed.

 

WEEK 2

Sunday, 17 - 3 hours code, drank protein, missed HS.

Monday, 18 - 3.5 hours code, drank protein, did HS.

Tuesday, 19 - ???

Wednesday, 20 - ???

Thursday, 21 - ???

Friday, 22 - ???

Saturday, 23 - ???

 

WEEK 3

Sunday, 24 - ???

Monday, 25 - Handstands

Tuesday, 26 - missed HS and protein

Wednesday, 27

Thursday, 28

Friday, 29

Saturday, 30

 

WEEK 4

Sunday, 31

Monday, 1

Tuesday, 2

Wednesday, 3

Thursday, 4

Friday, 5

Saturday, 6

 

WEEK 5

Sunday, 7

Monday, 8

Tuesday, 9

Wednesday, 10

Thursday, 11

Friday, 12

Saturday, 13

Cooking on cast iron skillet also helps with this. And they retain heat well, can be used as a bludgeoning weapon, and they last forever.

 

Bah, well that sucked. Fell into a deep depression hole. I'd wake up, lumber to the couch, chug some energy drinks and take some pills, and have a bit of mindless Instagram scrolling and memeing. Then I'd look up and it'd be 5 pm for some reason. This happened for two weeks. I wish there was something to learn from this other than to lower my standards even further and get myself some wins.

On 4/16/2020 at 1:29 PM, Kishi said:

How does that saying go? "Never let a good crisis go to waste"?

 

Things suck right now, but there are a lot of opportunities that you can take if you so choose. It sounds like you're taking them, and the neat thing about the crisis from the perspective of personal development is that it limits your choices, thus simplifying things.

 

Of course, simple does not mean easy. But we got you as much as we can.

 

Actually what sucks is all the opportunities I see; it's giving me a really hard time focusing. I mean everyone here probably knows how much I like trying to do everything, and end up not doing anything. Haha. Well at least for the next few weeks, these 3 things come first.

 

 

On 4/16/2020 at 1:58 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Nice seeing you again brother.

 

Great to be back!

On 4/15/2020 at 1:37 PM, Kishi said:

 

All told, probably about 35-40 minutes. Feels longer on account of doing this stuff late at night. I could cut the sessions down to like 25-30 minutes if I wasn't doing add-ons, and the "Active Recovery" sessions are relatively short, like maybe 15 minutes.

 

 

You're back, I'm back, and everything is on fire.

 

Yeah, man. It is exactly like the old times.

 

Good to see you again, BTW. You holding up all right?

 

Surprisingly calm, given the situation. There's something comforting about the fact that you're not the only one obsessively worried about possibly dying every time you step out of the house. 😆

1 hour ago, sarakingdom said:

Sort of technically did challenge things. But mostly have wanted to rest all day. Both actual sleep, and lots of lying around doing nothing. Has been hard to make myself do things.

 

Well the sleep is a challenge thing. Which you did. And you got a pretty big jump against your deficit.

 

10 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

Sleep deficit: under 21 hours

 

Late for the party as usual. I assume this total, or is it for the week?

 

2 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

In one of the NF Yoga videos they talk about shavasana (corpse pose) as a time to let your body run an upgrade on its systems to integrate all the stretching and strengthening just done. It's a great visual and a good placebo effect because I can imaging how the physical sensations of that upgrade might feel. It may help to create your own imagery for how sleep as repair time might work (provided the effort of visualizing something like that doesn't complicate thins further).

 

I like this  visual. Makes me feel like a cybernetic organism.

 

13 hours ago, Kishi said:

I wound up buying another program from GMB as I thought it would integrate with Elements. It doesn't appear that it does so, though, so I'm reaching out to them first to see what the deal is before I try to jump too far in. It's a new mobility program, and it's being billed as a replacement for their Focused Flexibility program. Y'all might remember that Elements integrates certain of the programs, and Focused Flexibility happens to be one. So, if the new mobility program is replacing it, I thought, "Oh, well, this makes sense. I can upgrade and do better mobility stuff alongside what I'm doing now."

 

How long do the sessions take?

 

Also hi. You're back, I'm back; it's just like old times at the monastery.

Hey, I'm back. Hit a rough 6 weeks, which followed the two months of things just not going my way.

 

 

But after wasting spending like 3 straight weeks playing Fallout and Wasteland, I'm back. I've got my priorities straight, and I'm getting ready to grind. The pressure is up, and no matter how much I dislike it, I seem to work best under pressure.

 

CODING -  7/18

The plague has revealed how unreliable my unimpressive source of income is. I always planned on betting on myself, and staying a full-time fitness professional, but it might not be the best time to do so. I also realized I put all my eggs in one basket and have no other skills. The wife suggested that I apply to a coding boot camp and get into tech. I'll keep training people, but more semi-professionally. That way I take my own advice, and do it purely for the love of it and not because I've been eating instant noodles for 3 weeks.

Task: 1 hour of coding daily

 

COACHING - 2/18

So I got fat. I haven't tracked a macro in years, my training is irregular, and I can't even finish S&S. My T-levels are apparently low, and I feel like butt all the time. I don't know if it makes training hard, or it's because I'm not training. In any case, I joined an 8-week 1stPhorm Transphormation Sprint as a participant. I uploaded photos of my dadbod, and I have someone coaching me to call me out on my BS. I'm in such horrible shape, I did like 5 Front Lever Negatives last week and I was sore for 4 days. I drank a double scoop of whey and had a headache and felt like I needed to puke for the next 12 hours. Unacceptable.

Task: 160g of protein, 1 hour workout daily

 

SOCIAL DISTANCING - 2/18

Okay, I do this anyway. Aside from sharing memes on Instagram, I haven't interacted with people other than my wife since we were locked down. I realized I'm always so self-absorbed in my challenges that I forget to support the other people who are here supporting me.

Task: Reply on another person's thread daily

 

18 days left on this challenge...

Here to soak up the knowledge. I've always been flexible, and I seem to respond well to training, so I never really had to work too hard on it. This can become a problem, because when people want to learn about it they instinctively go to the flexible guy, and he doesn't necessarily have all the answers; he's been doing splits since he was 6.

 

On 4/9/2020 at 11:14 AM, Manarelle said:

 

I've been doing "back bends" and front bends every hour of my work life for the last.... jeez... 10 years? The cobra work and finding new erector muscles made me realize (shocker) I was doing back bends wrong, too - 100% on the lumbar spine. /facepalm. So working on that, cobra, and pancake stretch now. Grumble grumble stupid inefficient bodies. 

 

Back bends/bridges are so easy to just learn inefficiently. (Or would it be efficiently?) It was even a problem with an L7 gymnast I used to train, because you can totally get away with it. Performed properly though they're pretty much the anti-slouch solution. Like 99% of the people I train could use more hip and thoracic extension. Throw in some dorsiflexion there and you've got yourself a minimalist flexibility routine. *writes notes

Sorry for the disappearance. I had another one of those phases. Life's a mess, but I'm coming up with a plan. I just joined the 1stPhorm Transphormation Challenge. I'm paying and I have a coach to keep me accountable. When I try to coach myself I tend to dick around, because I know that my coach is full of shit. So right now it's water, macro tracking, and daily workouts.

 

Both my gyms have closed, obviously. I didn't really put a lot into my online platform enough for it to be a reliable source of income. Wife is stressed-out, I'm planning for a long plague period, so I'm currently working on learning JavaScript and applying for a coding bootcamp.

Okay, a wrap-up on Week 2:

 

On 2/10/2020 at 12:43 PM, Machete said:

WEEK 2

Sun - NO

Mon - NO

Tue - YES

Wed - NO

Thu - NO

Fri - NO

Sat - NO

 

Missed 6 days out of 7, and this is prompting me to try to figure out what is going on.

> I covered 4 extra afternoon classes which is usually the time I work out.

> I totaled 41 hours of sleep, usually going to bed between 2 and 3.

> I eat one step above garbage.

> I either go to jiu-jitsu or work on handstands on other days.

> I haven't done it not in the house.

 

So what I'm thinking is:

> Push the workout as early as I can, and create that habit.

> Go to sleep before 12 so I can add more hours and wake up earlier.

> Get some protein and greens and water. I'll start MFP ASAP.

> Set a 2-a-day quota.

> Swing even if it's with a 16 at the other gyms.

 

We'll see how this week goes.

On 2/27/2020 at 7:26 AM, KB Girl said:

You don't have any in-between weights?

 

I have a 28, but my 24 is an Ader. Haha

 

On 2/27/2020 at 7:58 AM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Hardstyle likes the big jumps for maximum Russian-style badassery.

On 2/27/2020 at 11:29 AM, KB Girl said:

its funny because actual Russians do the sport 'style' and non of this sissy 'hardstyle' stuff

😝😝
 

On 2/28/2020 at 5:56 AM, DarK_RaideR said:

Sounds more like a showoffish "badass wannabe" thing someone thought of and branded it as Russian for the extra badass marketing appeal

 

Funny enough, Pavel isn't even from Russia; he's from Belarus. His business partner John Du Cane of DragonDoor is the marketing master behind the RKC.

 

On 2/28/2020 at 8:10 AM, Sloth the Enduring said:

StrongFirst & RKC used to espouse the theory that you should really own a weight before moving up. That having a solid basis on the 24 would make it easy to make a big jump to the 32.

https://www.strongfirst.com/a-leap-of-faith-between-kettlebell-sizes/

I think this was turning a bug into a feature. KB used to be very niche and it was likely hard to get a run of bells made so they stuck with a few basic sizes. When I was taking classes ten years ago they had tons of 16s and 24s and maybe a couple 20s. When I took a class a couple of years ago they had a full range at 2 kg increments.

 

I've been told 16, 24, and 32 are the classics. Those three are all I keep in my corner to keep it minimalist. The 40 will eventually make itself up there. I'm always tempted to buy more in-between sized, but it would go against the concept of minimalism (and of me being broke 😝).

 

But I do believe it is. Pavel talked about that in JRE when he said he does thing in reverse, looking at what the strongest do and reverse-engineering it, rather than testing a hypothesis.

 

On 2/28/2020 at 9:31 AM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

The weight room in my Substation has KBs in 5 lb increments from 5 lb on up to 60 lb.

 

Ah, Freedom Units! 

 

On 2/29/2020 at 5:56 AM, KB Girl said:

yea 2kg/5lb increments are quite nice! 

I've got 6 -> 32kg in 2kg steps.. and now I really kind of want 1kg steps for 6 - 20. But they don't make those yet.. 

 

yes, probably! 

 

I've seen those 2kg increments, and they felt quite weird. Like, I didn't know what to do with a 22kg 'bell I was just staring confused at it. 😆

 

  

On 2/29/2020 at 7:43 AM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Since all the kettlebell peeps are here, I’m going to hijack this thread for a quick question.

I’m using the KB Snatch for general conditioning. I’m assuming there will be carryover to cycling.

Will there be enough carryover that it makes sense to continue it in season? If so, would I put it in the morning before an intervals day or an endurance day?

 

Gonna agree with @Kishi on this one; I'd go with Q&D twice a week. If you're not feeling so hot, just do the minimum (8 minutes for Snatches). Maybe some light Goblet Squats and Get-ups to keep those joints mobile. You could even do both, Snatches on one day Swings and Push-ups on the other.

Missed a bunch, then got over-enthusiastic and went for the 32kg, which turned out ti be too soon. Rookie mistake. I should know better. Haha

 

Anyway, I’m staying disciplined and only hitting 24kg until this challenge is over.

I'm appreciating the support, folks! I feel some accountability, and I've actually already hit the same amount of Swings as I did last challenge. Haha. Still not up to it though. I can't bring myself to do anything. I actually had to drag myself to my courage corner at around 2:30 in the morning to get them in, figuring if I sleep half the day, so be it; I will get this done. I'm hoping building a habit out of this will eventually make things easier. I also have my long-overdue meeting with my therapist tomorrow, so I'm hoping that gets me somewhere.

 

Now for the original theme of this 10th Anniversary Special, I pretty much just pulled out what I've been doing in my battle log, because I am an insane person/historian. 7 years, 42 challenges. It's been quite a journey. I sent DMs to some old-timers as well, hoping for a resurrection. Fingers crossed...

 

 

 

On 2/13/2020 at 9:06 AM, RedStone said:

Same same 100X. I think coming from early childhood, my big secret is people finding out that I'm just not as smart as they told me I was. (If you just got your head out of the clouds and applied yourself Meredith!) My brother was never heralded for childhood gifts and he worked crazy hard and became a successful surgeon and I've been stuck in the - not as good as him - place for a very long time. I've worked through that in therapy, but being in something that resembles healthcare has drudged it up pretty badly.

 

I feel like no matter how much I work I'll never be as qualified as this guy with an MA or PHD and maybe I should go back to college and who the hell am I, living so hard for so long trying to help people be healthy now. But that's what I hold my hope to when I'm really struggling like the last few weeks - most folks that excel have some version of imposter syndrome, use it to get better, easy right? It is comforting to know that folks like you and @KB Girl experience this as well and I guess in our field we're always learning new things anyway so it's not like it ever stops. I guess it's just hard to turn the dark feelings off when I'm stuck in the self hate whirlwind. Maybe I'll add a meditation/reflection or kind of an affirmation exercise goal to this challenge to help get centered and off the spiral of negative thoughts.

 

Spoiler for TW: creepy crawlies

  Reveal hidden contents

 

I'm afraid of heights and as I've gotten older, that I'll slice off the tip of my finger when I'm chopping veggies.

But I've always wanted a pet spider, a big hairy tarantula that I could name Fluffy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, opposite for me. I'm supposed to be the hard worker and my brother is the genius. But I always feel like I only look busy when people are watching. 😟

 

On 2/13/2020 at 9:06 AM, RedStone said:

 

😄 This is great! How's the house, by the way?

 

23 hours ago, mitch_dee said:

*me settling in for the ride*

 

Ahh, Melissa. My Hall Pass.

 

18 hours ago, Harriet said:

Men, whales, and falling from heights. Okay, also spiders, a bit.

 

See I was thinking whales as well. Whales are scary. Especially Orcas. 

 

 

These bastards used to regularly show up in my room when I lived in the Philippines. They won't kill you, but they're as big as your hand.

4 hours ago, TGP said:

you know Who we've not tossed a snowball at?

 

@Machete

 

why NOT?  he's in fantastic shape!

 

Agh! I'm hit.

 

Push-ups for me.

 

I'm gonna hit up some veterans I haven't seen in a while, @Bekah and @Guzzi.

5 hours ago, aramis said:

YES!!!

Sorry for noob question - what's RPE?

No noob questions here! RPE = Rate of Perceived Exertion

 

4 hours ago, KB Girl said:

That's insane in a good way  

 

You got this! 

Thanks, coach! I’m on it!

On 2/10/2020 at 11:56 AM, RedStone said:

The long and short of it is that I've had some crippling anxiety surrounding imposter syndrome, and surprise surprise, after talking it out I realize it has happened every time I've tried to level up my work.

 

I thought about this in someone's Facebook post about Jars of Fears. Besides spiders, of course, the last one was "others finding out your secret," and though I didn't think that was my greatest fear per se (it's spiders), it's the most pervasive in day-to-day life. It's why I sunk $50,000 in fitness education and still think I'm less than qualified to be instructing anybody most of the time. It's why I keep my head down at the VA among the real servicemembers. It's I stay in my lane, I follow the rules, and I avoid being seen as much as possible; because someday someone might just find out that I am correct--I don't deserve anything I have.

 

But then I always think about Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon (or the star of the greatest hoax ever pulled, depending on what one believes), suffering from the same thing, maybe I can... join the Space Force?