aj_rock

I've always been a fan of the ole pareto principle: 20% of the effort gets you 80% there. You've been doing things correct, this I know, but it might be time to start upping the efforts. Start looking into some of that more nuanced stuff that people tend to get into way too early, because it comes up at some point or another. Just remember, you're here for the journey, not for the destination.

Monday Workout: Squats: 245 X 10, 9 (numbers for squats holding up ridiculously well, MCL strain appears to be easing off very quickly, may be due to this topical NSAID my mum had lying around) DB BP: 75 X 10, 9 Rows: 210 X 8, 7 Inc DB BP: 70 X 9 Pull-ups: 11 Chin-ups: 11

I like this method. Much better than the usual HERP DERP I DUN UNDERSTAND PLEZ BE MA PERSUNAL GEWGAL

Reminds me of when our eng school team decided to serenade our athletic banquet with Truly Madly Deeply ala this.

Friday was off to allow adequate recovery for the game. Saturday: GAME DAY Heartbreaking loss. 25-24. Came from behind at 25-10 but couldn't complete the rally. Iffen our team could put together 80 minutes of play like our last twenty, we'd be set. As it is, personally, a couple preventable errors during the game, but I'm getting the hang of it. Good confidence under the high ball, Broke the line thrice, and prevented all opponent line breaks but one, which was really a misalignment between the wing and I. Unfortunately, I seem to have tweaked my MCL on my right knee. Doesn't seem to hold back squatting movements, so I might do that tonight, but no running for another few days at least. Luckily, we have this weekend off for May Two Four Aka Canadian Drinking Holiday (well, they all are, but with camping!)

Yah. I had outside of my left leg and, oddly enough, the space between my big and second toes. No, not one toe or the other, the space in between. It... was a multi-month ordeal. I started out with physio, which I'm not entirely sure whether it helped or not (combination of stretching and electro stimulation, VERY unpleasant), but it no longer killed me to try and walk places after about two weeks, and a month in I was able to re-join rugby practice. Took three months to be cleared for squats and deadlifts in the gym again, and even now I NEED to limit my exposure/volume to those sorts of heavy loads, as the entire section is basically held together by what are now ridiculously strong lower back muscles (wouldn't be surprised if a similar muscularity phenomenon is what holds my right shoulder together >.>). But yeah three months before I could stop physio, but had minor flare ups from time to time for up to a year following if I pushed it too hard and I can still get ridiculous pain nowadays if I tried to do too much volume at once.

Ohhhh dear. That sounds very familiar to what I have. Is the disc herniated? NINJA EDIT: "small bridging osteophytes impinging on the neural foramina" Yup, that sounds like herniated disc. That whomps, big time. I've herniated my L3-L4 disc a couple times, and it got so bad that I could barely walk at one point. The weird part of herniated discs is having random numbness in parts of your leg, because the herniation pushes on nerves and cuts off the signal.

Damn. Very nice on the d flags there.

Training yesterday. Rather less running than I thought, but anaerobic capacity is clearly lagging aerobic by a bit. We'll see how that goes. Gym today: No legs. Sore from two days in a row (squats then practice) so giving them a rest. Need to build myself into the full routine. HS BP: 8 X 238, 7 X 238 Rows: 2 X 7 X 200 Inc DB HP: 7 X 65, 6 X 65 14 chinups

This does seem rather serious :/ hope you get that fully checked out!

Careful with that. Even with only moderate effort, two hours of rugby practice will burn 500+ calories, and preferentially all or most of them will be from carbs. Fat just can't be oxidized fast enough for intense anaerobic activity, and you'll find yourself bonking midway through practice with insufficient carbs. Maybe keep carb count low on off-days, but you definitely need a slice or two of bread or fruit on practice/game days.

I like the simplicity in the logs as of late. How's the fitness doing?

This. Even though I think you need compensation in some way IF their machine is poorly calibrated. Think about all the anxiety you've probably faced over the last few days. Not to draw unfortunate parallels, but sometimes a girl's gotta speak up...

For the HSPU, d'you think you can take a video from the side? I just recently did a project for school examining hand stand form, and I think the reason for your flared elbows would be clearer from the side view.

So from those videos (thanks Waldo!), doesn't look like any of the above. Not sure if there's still enough pain to really diagnose anything, so I'll just go with it from here on. New log is up: http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/28333-aj-rocks-rugby-season-domination/ It's been a treat guys, be sure to come over and keep up! Last one out hit the lights will ya?

Welcome one, welcome all, to the highlight of this year. Well, for me anyway. For the past half a year, I've sweat, I've panted, I've straight up gone so hard that I thought I would puke and been so hungry that I would eat a head of salted lettuce and enjoy every second of it. In preparation. For. This. A new season starts this Sunday for my team, and I've been given the go ahead as starting fullback. Hard to believe I'd only played my first game a scant two years ago, and as a back-up for our second team no less. So, in this log I'll detail what goes into making a rugby match. From pre game prep, to strength and cardio maintenance. From skill development to skill usage. Injury pre and re habilitation. Basically, training, working out, games, and strategizing around various boo-boos. For starts: Height: 187cm Weight: 82-84.5 kg (it waffles. A lot.) Awesomeness: OVER NINE THOOOOUUUUUSAAAAAAAAAND Ok, let's dive right in! Got into the gym for the first time in a couple weeks, so I kept it short n sweet. Squats: 225 X 12 DB BP: 65 X 10 Rows: 190 X 9 inc DB BP: 60 X 9 Chin-ups: 12 Whole thing took bout a half hour. I'll increase both volume and intensity rapidly over the next week or so with full body workouts and I'll think about what I want to do after that.

Yeah, so I'm not buying the 31% either. Given the max error of 5%, 26 sounds, erm, more reasonable, I suppose... Remember, you can't judge every person by the average. Maybe catspaw just carries her weight very very well.. Regardless, here's what I think you need. I still think you're the bees knees cats

Re-introduce carbs a lot. For a mixed event like spartan sprint, you have two main areas that need to be hit: aerobic capacity for sustaining activity, and sufficient strength to overcome obstacles. So, you're really not looking at a 'bulk' per say, but you do need to focus on the important parts. Most people tend to neglect the cardio (even when they know they need to be moving for a great length of time)

I agree, but we'd have to see how the powers that be agree on that one re: the body fat estimation thread. I suppose if I were to really consider it, 24% would probably be a upper-bounds for where catspaw is, with yours being the lower.

My next doctors appt isn't until june, where I will be dumping a host of physiological issues on his plate. My family doctor is singularly unhelpful because he seems to feel that, given my age and athletic build, I'm in perfect working condition next to his more senior patients and shouldn't waste his time. AKA he's kind of an asshat. Our new trainer for rugby is also useless/hasn't been at the last couple games, so haven't been able to consult with anyone personally. Also, THANKS LAURAAAAAAA

Since you asked re: BF estimates. First, I wouldn't ever try to give someone a higher precision than within 1-2%, it just can't be done considering all the variables. Fore example, I tend to take my photos with overhead lighting, to enhance vertical separation, whereas you seem to use a lightsource about 8-10 feet in front of you, which washes out vertical but plays up horizontal. Either way, I'd say you're ahead of me, so I'd give you 11%. Mind you, I also let your calculated numbers factor in somewhat.

Just tape method. As of late I've been backing off tracking the numbers, mostly due to the upcoming season. Basically, it is what it is now and I need to keep focused on moving forward with game prep, strategy, and skill and just maintaining physique. Headed back for my first gym session since messing my shoulder up a bit later today, so we'll see how stuff goes.

Because I'm SUPPOSED to be good at estimating, I'm gonna say 24%, higher than Waldo's. Again, guessing female body fat is hard, because you can't get 99% of the picture from the abdomen area. Hips/thighs can be a big target too, so I think that should bump it by a couple percent at least.

Thanks! ... Of course I would leave out height data *face palm* I'm 187 cm, or about 6'1/2. You'll notice that I'm a fair shake lighter than other people around my height (like Waldo), but at a lower weight despite similar or advantageous strength abilities. Just goes to show you how important both genetics and straight up neural factors are in determining your strength. I come from a family where my father was a good 20-40 lbs less than even me at this age (well he's also shorter). Case and point, don't measure yourself against other people, measure against yourself and where you come from.

Lauraaaaaaaa apparently I'd lost my sub to this thread somehow someone wanna gimme a TL;DR of what the current discussion is?