Waldo

I should repost it anyways, I think it was only in my challenge thread. It is an shorthand RPE notation. It does work better in a log book, as there they all have the same form factor, but 1, 2, or 3 lines. RPE 1-6 = blank RPE 7/8 = - RPE 8/9 = + RPE 10 = * Fail = F I rarely ever hit 10, its been a long time, I thought I was going to fail on that last rep, started losing it then dug deep and got through the sticking point. I'm guessing though if I would have stopped the previous set at 3, I would have been able to get 7 at 205 on the backoff set. Going that hard has consequences.

That's super awesome. My brother is giving up a career in tech to become a hobby farmer, can't say I'm not a bit jealous (tho I do find my career very fulfilling). I get asked a fair bit if I ever do it for money or want to; I realize though I make cool stuff it takes me a really long time to do so, which is a problem if its an income. Maybe when I retire. It is nice that for the most part my shop work is completely free of any sort of schedule except the task at hand and immediate future. Its also not helpful that the cooler stuff I make, the longer it takes. I don't really have room for a table saw in my shop, so I built around a bandsaw instead, which goes well with a lot of hand tool work. I'd like to get a planer eventually to save time; cleaning up rough cut boards with hand planes works but is slow. But that's for another project, the one I'm working on has no need and its still going to be quite a while. If I'm being honest I've decided to do a fair number of projects specifically because I would need to buy a tool I don't have to do it. Have you done many projects for others yet?

I have no better than a 2:1 ratio of time spent using to time spent fixing and maintaining 2 cycle engines, I never have good luck with them.

I do it the lazy way with drill bits; drill a hole in a 2x4 for the bits; though I have a big machinist set in a metal tin it'd be ridiculous to do it with. But it works great for forstners, spades, masonry, and all my rando big bits (and router bits). I gave up on my lawnmower last year; it was only a couple years old, a basic push gas mower that replaced a similar old one I had (motor mount on the deck rusted through that one). It would run for a bit, then cut out. First here and there on hills. No matter what I did to try to fix the issue, it just got worse and worse. I finally got sick of dealing with it so I bought a reel mower. Tried to start the gas one when the sticks and acorns got bad in the fall but it was useless, wouldn't stay running long enough. I took advantage of the black friday deals though to get an battery electric mower, got rid of the darn gas one once and for all, I just don't need to spend hours of my weekend time a few times over the summer trying to make a little engine run (leaf blowers and trimmers are even worse, darn things always need attention). Have you ever watched any of Paul Sellers videos? I learn quite a bit from him.

Well we still haven't gotten around to getting him signed up for martial arts; instead he's in a swimming class and then summer swim team starts in a few weeks. After swim team ends we'll get back to the martial arts. But man oh man, 6 yr old has been really into doing handstands, and figure out (on his own just messing around) that he can push up into a handstand from a freestanding headstand, so that's been part of his "training" lately. I'm nowhere near strong enough to be able to do that right now, though at one time I could. Pushing out of the hole like that is HARD. To put it all together like that at such a young age; using strength to move in novel ways like that is just not something I did as a kid. Workout Log - 3/28/22 Kickboxing - 5 min Still having time management issues so it was short Pistol Squat - 5/5, 10+/10+ The weak point of my form nowadays is pike flexibility. I don't really hold the leg out in front of me very straight. As I get tired, they get easier if I lean forward a bit pressing out. Deadlift 155 x 5 245 x 3 315 x 3- 335 x 3+ By virtue of my larger pair of bumpers being 55's, 335 is a 3 wheel deadlift. Slowly but surely working the weight up. I would have done another set if I had more time. Wore a belt for 315 and 335. Workout Lot - 3/29/22 Bench Press 135 x 10 185 x 5 205 x 3 215 x 4+, 4* 205 x 5* Those were some of the hardest sets I've done in a long time; last rep the last 2 sets took a while and took an extra burst not to fail. I'm getting really close to the strongest I've ever been on the bench; either 225 x 2 (2017) or 215 x 6 (2020), not sure which is higher, but either way, I'm really close. I'm tempted to rack up 225 next week to see if I can at least eek out a single. Weak point of my bench actually felt like my deltoids. Ring Front Lever Tuck Hold - 15 sec Row - 8+, 6+ Open Tuck Hold - 13, 11, 8 My rowing form starts falling apart pretty bad last couple reps. I seem to have gone backwards a bit rowing. DB Hammer Curl (35) - 9, 8 DB Fly (30) - 10, 11 DB OH Extension (50) - 12, 12 These dumbbell circuits destroyed everything my upper body had left. I'm so glad I spent the money to build out my DB set.

Yes! We're just made this way. However its good insight to realize whats going on. It really is not a personal failure whatsoever to gain weight over time (unless you're trying to lose), the people that don't are the weird ones. Dieting every now and then just has to be part of the plan, to push back on this tendency.

I think I'm going to take it easy and switch to the battle log instead of a challenge this round. I don't have any great goals for a challenge format. I'm getting closer to my overall cutting goal (abz), but am least am still far enough out that its more than a challenge away. I was talking to my brother last night about the physical peak periods that I've gone through and it struck me just how different we are in that respect. He was a D1 college fullback (obvi peak) that went on to a life of exercise, mostly running and biking, semi regular strength training. Weight never really strayed much outside of a 10 lb band around 205 after the initial post college loss. His physical peaks are marathon condition. But nowadays we both at least look pretty similar. About the same weight and leanness. Even though I haven't been in this area since 2017, so its been a while. My ride has been a far bumpier journey. I graduated college at around 160-165 lb, skinnyfat. Gained straight until just after our first kiddo, 263 lb peak (8 years after college) Lost down to 189 bulked and cut for a while, lost down to 189, etc 6 years total I bulked and cut off and on. Eventually reached my goal of being muscular enough to be >200lb unless 6 pack lean Then the weight got out of hand again, up to 240, so the past year I've been losing that. Back down to 205ish, just have about 6-8 more lbs of fat loss to rock a strong 6 pk. The clothes that fit me now fit me in 2012-14 and 2016-17. I did save a lot of "goal" clothes so thats nice to have. But.... We are going back into the office for the first time here in 3 weeks. None of the clothes that I was wearing at the start of the pandemic fit me (was weighing 220ish, just down from 230). At least its only 1 day a week, but still I'm probably going to have to go shopping. Waist clocked in at 33 5/8" this am. I had a tough couple days toward the end of the week after recovering from being sick. Still, overall down 1/2" since starting this current cut 2 weeks ago. Overall target is 33" for the next 1 week break.

Since I last posted I've been sick with a stomach bug. I first started noticing it around my Thur workout (which went terrible, I was just tired and weak). Fri-Sun I barely ate anything and napped half the day. I did do a few rounds of a basic DB OHP-Pullup-Dip circuit Friday night. I was just starting a diet, getting sick like this is practically a crash diet. Seems like I'm better today though. Oddly weight had been stable until last night; dropped 4 lbs between Sat and Sun. Waist clocked in at 33.75" this AM, so I'm down 3/8" this week (1.5 lbs fat). Rock n roll. It usually takes a couple days to get going, so much of that loss was later in the week. These 1"+break cuts (which I used to do similarly in the past) are a lot like the 400M of dieting. Its not a crash, an all out sprint (100M), you do have to pace yourself a little, but it also not like 1600M+ where pacing is everything. When you know its going to last 3-4 weeks until a break (and the more aggressive you cut the shorter it is), its a very different mentality, its so much easier to stay motivated. Challenge Wrap Up Goal #1 had to do with the execution of the diet break. I identified 3 key items; finishing the cut I was doing (not starting break too early), actually eating enough for the break to do its job, and then returning to cutting in 3 weeks following the plan. This was the most important goal and I nailed it. Hit the waist and time benchmarks I was aiming for. Only real flaw was that I definitely ate an excessive amount of calories during the break. A Goal #2 had to do with recovery. I started tracking RPE's per the plan and have made more mindful decisions on how hard to go each set. I also executed a deload week per the plan. The goal was to physically recover a lot of lingering soreness, which was successful. The excess cals really supercharged recovery. As with the first goal, I nailed this one. A Goal #3 had to do with time management. I had both time based goals and accomplishment goals. I ended up adding 11 layers to speaker #2 (I'll post up a pic when I get a chance), slightly ahead of my goal. However, a lot of work was done at atypical times, so accomplishing that goal was not really because of good time management. My time based goals were a total flop, I almost never pulled away from the computer on time. D

Looking forward to my final goal on overall plan abs; my personal reward that I'm working toward is to upgrade my barbell when I get there. I'm leaning Rogue Ohio, I want bigger than 28mm, no center knurling, and bare steel; almost every bar bigger than 28 mm has center knurling, this is one of the few that can be found without. As a prep though I ordered some new J hooks for my power rack, the type that have no metal contact points, that are much more gentle on knurling than my current j hooks; they should be a lot quieter as well when reracking. First two days of cutting have been strong, more than 1K a day each day. I won't be able to maintain that every day, but I'm off to a good start. Ideally this cut won't last longer than 3 weeks before the next break. Workout Log - 3.14.22 Kickboxing - 9 min I've cut back on the time a bit and am going to ease into longer periods, now that my forearms feel good, I don't want to go back to constant soreness and inability to grip hard. Also my time management was terrible and I started late, so time was short. Pistol Squat - 9+/9+, 9+/9+, 5-/5- I wanted to avoid going too hard set #3, as I want my legs somewhat fresh for deadlifting. Deadlift 155 x 5 245 x 3 315 x 3+, 3+ Both 315 sets were belted and switch grip. I should have done another set, but time was short. Fingertip Pushup - 5, 5 Workout Log - 3.15.22 Bench Press 135 x 10 185 x 5 205 x 5- 210 x 5+, 4+ I didn't realize until after I was done benching, but woo, 210 > current bodyweight (207.2), thus my working weight on the bench is now more than 1x BW. Ring Front Lever Tuck - 15 Row - 8+, 7+ Open Tuck - 13, 11 Just a few more seconds on the open tuck and I'm going to start working on either a one legged or straddle variation. I've never done straddle before, at my old house I had to go from open tuck to one legged as there wasn't space in the doorway area to do a straddle hold, but I have plenty of space in my gym now for a straddle hold. But I'm rather inflexible that way, so I'm not sure how well it will work. EZ Bar Curl - 69 x 10 DB Hammer Curl - 35 x 8/8, 8/8 After set 1 in the accessory circuit I decided to change up the curl type I was doing. I like hammer curls, its a grip in general that my arms and shoulders really like. DB Fly - 30 x 10, 12, 10 These are less about the reps than squeezing and the burn. I think there is a strong translation to the bench, this is my main bench weakness. DB Overhead Extension - 50 x 10, 12, 10 I wasn't expecting it (considered these for triceps primarily), but these things really hit the traps as good as any exercise I do. I do them laying on a bench.

These last few weeks I've disengaged a lot with the online world I interacted with; here, the games I play, other social media. Sucked into the war wormhole, despite being half a world away. Being a history buff and realizing the importance of the moment, its hard to peel away from it. I do prefer the realm of writing to photos or video, so my interaction is primarily reading. Along those lines I did start listening to a new podcast. Since the start of the pandemic I've been much more into music than I had been in the past, then about a year ago I discovered Spotify podcasts. I'm not the type to listen to people flap their gums about crap (no AM radio or Rogan here), but I did discover history podcasts, specifically the History of Rome. Which of course I listened to then start to end over the course of a few months. The bronze age and Roman times have always fascinated me. My wife was utterly baffled as to how I found that podcast interesting, lol, to her its borderline torture. After that one, I listened to a few other smaller history podcasts that were similar, but I'd been back to music 100% since the fall. Last week I discovered the Revolutions podcast, which is by the same guy that did History of Rome, and like the History of Rome is several hundred episodes long. So that's what I'll be listening to now for a while (except in the gym). Today is game on for cutting again. Waist measurement this AM was 34.1". I gained 1/4" in the waist over the 3 weeks of mostly surplus. The surplus was definitely excessive, however I was able to achieve the recovery and hormone normalizing effects I was going for, the ultimate goal was to be in a position ready for challenging cutting and I'm here. I'm motivated as can be to cut right now too. I'm sick of the surplus and the see the final goal ahead. The next stop will be a 33.0" waist (-1.1" from where I'm at now, about 4.5 lbs fat), where I will take another diet break. This time though instead of 3 weeks it will just be 1 week. From there I'll take another 1 week break at 32.0" before cutting down into the low 31's. This undulating format is necessary for hormone control at these body fat levels. I don't expect to lose any slower than 1 lb/wk until under 32"; strong motivation and short cut goals tends to cause me to run huge deficits to get it over with quick. My baseline standard cutting pace is 1.5 lb/wk, -750 net cals per day (2K net cals goal), which I likely will beat most days. My weight has been crazy and all over the place, hard to make sense of at the moment. Ideally though I stay over 200 by the end of the cut.

Another awesome workout yesterday. I'm really going to miss the raised cals. Just about all my aches and pains are gone, which was one of the main goals of having a longer break. That said, I'm starting to lose my appetite, my body has had enough of the surplus I was running and is ready to go back to cutting. Scale was at 207.8 yesterday. Workout Log - 3.8.22 Bench Press 135 x 10 185 x 5 205 x 6+, 5+, 5+ Added 1 rep to each set vs last week. Going to go up to 210 next week. Ring Front Lever Tuck Hold - 15 Tuck Row - 8+, 7+ Open Tuck Hold - 9, 10 Geez, best I've done this year prior was 6 reps on the rows. Not sure what happened that first open tuck set. Ez Bar Curlz 69 x 8, 10 DB Fly 30 x 10, 12 DB Overhead Extension 50 x 10, 10

Its a really crazy difference. A year ago (30 lbs heavier) to get up off the floor I had to bring my legs to squat position to 2 legged squat up or get into a split squat position, usually with hands on something to brace the balance. Lately I've been able to just pop right up no matter the starting position, since its gotten so easy to press out of the hole on a single leg. And pistols do wonders for your balance.

I checked the waist yesterday, 34.0", but a bit proud. I haven't bothered to track cals at all, but I'm still checking the scale each night and being mindful about how much I'm eating. Scale is still super high, 208.6 last night. Hopefully it sticks when I go back to cutting, which is coming next week. My muscles feel bigger, though I haven't done any actual measurements. Workout Log - 3.7.22 Kickboxing - 5 min I didn't wear my HRM this time, and time was short. Overall my time management goal has been a bust this challenge, this is a manifestation of it. Pistol Squats - 9+/9+, 9+/9- My left is starting to catch up to the right. Pretty big jump here from last week. These things really carry over to overall quality of life; getting up off the floor is a normal thing to do regularly (esp when you have young kids), pistols give the strength and balance to really do so fluidly from almost any starting point. This has been really noticeable lately, its much easier to notice rapid gain than long slow atrophy. Deadlift 155 x 5 245 x 3 295 x 3- 305 x 3- These felt surprisingly easy. I probably should have done another set, but ran short on time. Overall I crushed it this workout, the calories are noticeable in a good way.

One of the projects I've had going since around the start of the challenge has been to assemble a full set of DB's for the gym. I used the classifieds (FB marketplace) and Dick's to finish the set of iron hex up to 50 a few weeks ago, but some of my old ones and a few of the used ones I got really needed to be refinished. 4 pairs needed refinishing; I did two a few weeks ago and the last two this weekend. They turned out pretty awesome, better than original. I kept the same paint (gray hammered effect paint) with silver letters, but the big thing is I used a wire brush to get all the paint out of the knurling, and just put a light coat of oil on the handles. So nice to grip the bare steel like that. Saturday night I ran outside again; 2.0 miles this time. A little slower, around 12:30/mi pace.

Lathe is one of the few major tools I'm missing in my shop. I always get a kick of out how there is a subset of woodworkers that are suuuuper into working on the lathe (to the point of barely making anything else). I get it, it seems like an enjoyable tool use, but there are some serious lathe junkies out there. There's a new show on Amazon prime, Making Fun (worth checking out if you haven't, good show to watch with the kids), one of the team, basically the Animal (from the muppets) of the group, is a latheaholic, as is the guy in HGTV's Home Town, he makes something on his lathe every other episode. What do you use for finish? Spraying lacquer? That's super sweet looking mixing wood and metal like that.

The weather has been nice the last few days, I was able to run outside on Wednesday. The last time I ran outside was last November. I didn't go far, 1.83 miles, nor fast 12:14/mi pace, but I was able to sustain running. I'm in a rather hilly part of Atlanta and start on a huge steep hill, so it does take quite a bit out of you on the hills. All the sprints on the bike over the winter seem to have kept my fitness up well enough. Workout Log - 3.3.22 Kickboxing - 10 min, 133 bpm peak I took it easy on this to try to avoid overdoing it on the forearms Pistol Squat BW - 8+/8- +30 - 4-/4- Front Squat 135 x 5 185 x 5+, 5- Wore belt on 2nd 185 set. Ran out of time or I would have done another set. Fingertip Pushups/Grip Hangs - 1 set of each

Checked the tape yesterday am, 34.0", so I gained back a 1/8", some of that is likely transient. Weight has been going down, but its still way up, 207.4 yesterday. That's a good thing, I'm hoping to catch a couple pounds of persistent LBM gain this break (hence why 3 weeks instead of 1); regaining some of what I lost over the last few years (which is why I think it might work). Halfway through the diet break now. Workout Log - 2.28.22 Kickboxing - 10 min, 136 bpm avg, 158 bpm peak I'm going to cut back the time from 20 min until my forearms are ready to handle more volume. A week off was very good to heal up, but I'm definitely still not 100%. Pistol Squat - 7+/7-, 7+/7-, 8+/8- Same as 2 weeks ago. Fingertip Pushup - 5, 5, 5 Deadlift 155 x 5 245 x 3 295 x 3+, 3-, 3- Wore a belt for the last 2 sets. I probably should have added weight vs 2 weeks ago. Workout Log - 3.1.22 Bench Press 135 x 5 185 x 5 205 x 4+, 5+, 5+ Those last 2 sets felt really good, I was able to activate muscles to muster pressing power much better than I have been in a long time. I think this is where the DB flys are starting to shine, I could feel the squeeze in my chest as the root of the pressing power. I definitely could have gutted out another rep on both 5 rep sets. Ring Front Lever Tuck Hold - 15 sec Tuck Row - 6+, 6+ Open Tuck Hold - 10, 11 sec Added a little time to the open tuck hold, but otherwise same as 2 weeks ago. EZ Bar Curl 69 x 10, 10, 9 DB Fly 30 x 10, 10, 10 DB Overhead Extension 45 x 10, 12, 11

Oof, missed posting workouts at the end of last week. Kinda been glued to twitter this last week. There is a resolution path possible, where its shown decisively that any attempt at war in the modern world is incredibly Pyrrhic, and we are seeing the heroic tale of humanity's last real war that will be told for millenia. One can hope. Anyways. diet break is going meh; I'm probably in a decent surplus area most days, I need to throttle that back. I just don't have any motivation to track cals though. Weight has been way up, over 5 lbs the last couple days. I meant to check the tape this morning and forgot. Weight being up is a good thing though; I've lost a pretty massive amount of LBM in the last 5 years (~7-8 lbs); hopefully I rapidly gain some back this diet break, exercise is on point for it. Last week I executed a deload; I didn't do any beating of the heavy bag, I decreased set volume and max rep volume. With one exception, DB OHP, an exercise I've only been doing a few weeks and I got my new set of rubber 60's. Overall soreness is down a lot and I'm definitely ready to hit it hard this week. Ideally now I'm going to get 2 good weeks of workout progress before I start cutting again. Going through trying to find my old PR's has been a slow process, though I'm not really in a rush. Most recently I found my old curling PRs (EZ bar - 89 x 8 in 2016, DB - 40x10 in 2016) and weighted chinups (270 x 4 in 2016). Though I've changed the way I do pullups so my old PR's are pretty meaningless; loaded I always did chinup grip on my old doorway bar, and hammer chinup grip in the work gym, now I'm doing them pullup grip on a straight bar, which is pretty different. When I used to do wide grip pullups, typically that meant I was also doing high chest to bar pullups, which just aren't a thing in my basement gym.

On of the health and exercise experts I follow on twitter, professor Stewart Phillips, was talking about some research about rep schemes and load when he threw out a number that both surprised me and didn't. 10% of people do some resistance exercise regularly (3x 30 min per week I believe is the official recommendation, but he meant any at all), yet when it comes down to it basically the most beneficial thing you can do health wise at any age is regular resistance exercise, nothing else matches the magnitude of health benefits. But, science coming to that conclusion about resistance exercise is a very new thing, this century even. So few people know, and it really hasn't gotten out into culture that much, which still tends to see long cardio as the top dog when it comes to health benefits. With my parents visiting this past weekend, its really was striking how foreign it was to them when they saw my gym. When I was a kid we at least learned the basics of weight training in gym class and as part of sports, my parents generation predates that basic fundamental knowledge. I do think this has been one of the places where Crossfit has been most beneficial, strength training for all adults has become far more accepted after the Crossfit wave passed through, as opposed to being for athletes and bodybuilders. Though older generations missed out on this. Anyways, diet break and deload are proceeding as planned. I've been kind of tracking cals, close enough that I'm not missing either way by a lot, but not great tracking. I'm still feeling quite sore from all the accumulated fatigue despite the lighter workouts. Workout Log - 2.22.22 Bench Press 135 x 10 185 x 5, 5, 5 Ring Front Lever Tuck Hold - 15 Tuck Row - 5, 5 Open Tuck Hold - 5 Ez Bar Curl - 69 x 5, 5 DB Fly - 30 x 10, 10 DB Oh Ext - 45 x 10, 10 Workout Log - 2.23.22 Spinning - 10 mi, 28:23, 154 bpm avg, 173 bpm peak Seated stead state the whole time.

I'm starting to feel the next effect of raised cals, tired. When you are running a deficit, its like your recovery system only runs at 2/3 power. Bring it back up to full power it'll start to take out accumulated recovery deficit. Recovery happens when you sleep. I've been extra sleepy today, even took a nap after work, something I haven't done in a very long time. I'm trying to decide what to get next for the gym; plyo box, flat bench, or adjustable bench. Currently I have an old flat/decline bench and a cheap amazon starter adjustable bench that I've worn the fabric out on in the 3 years I've had it. The old flat/decline bench serves no purpose but be a place to sit between sets; its super old, meant to be a decline situp bench, but also has a DB rack under it, which had been its main purpose. I used to use it for step ups at the old house, but its too short to be comfortable to use as a bench to lay on, and it doesn't have wheels to move around easy. For some reason I've always had a thing where I don't sit on the bench or equipment I'm using between sets, so I end up on this bench for that. The adjustable bench I have works, but I replaced the fabric in the top section and need to do the seat as well; its gotten used for a lot of step ups between the wife and I which have been hard on it. The replaced fabric is an unstitched diy staple job, so while it works, it is by no means nice, with fabric bunching in the corners and staples in the underside. My wife does nothing with the adjustable bench that needs an adjustable bench. A flat bench on wheels would work just fine for her. A flat bench is of course nicer than an adjustable bench when flat benching, so I'd use it a lot. I do use the adjustable bench in non-flat mode for DB OHP, so I can't just replace it with a flat one though, but I can toss my old situp bench for a nice flat bench. A plyo box would get the step ups off the benches and would in general add capability, but I wouldn't use it much at the moment, and box jumps aren't really a doable in the basement, at least higher ones. I don't actually need a flat bench though, could just get a plyo box and then new adjustable bench eventually. But a nice flat bench would give the best gym experience. I could also make a wooden plyo box, but those heavy duty foam ones with wooden core seem much nicer, though they are kind of pricey. Workout Log - 2.21.22 Stretching - 15 min Pistol Squat - 5/5, 5/5 Deadlift 155 x 5 245 x 3 Minimal workout, just enough to give the muscles some work. One of my goals is actually executing a deload, off to a good start here.

Its totally a thing. My lowest weight almost always comes after raising cals. My parents were visiting this weekend, so while we kept active the whole time, I didn't do any dedicated exercise. I maintained the deficit through the weekend and broke it today at lunch. Afternoon snack time was almost a refeed tier carb jolt (went ham on some cookies), man I feel awesome. It's one of life's great natural highs; a big leptin pulse when its been low for a while, evolving out of a sugar high. Dinner will be relatively low cal though so I'm going to nail my target (2800 net cals) almost perfectly. TBH I think I probably would have skipped logging food for the day were it not for my challenge, so that's a win. Waist was 33.9" this morning. I'm going to try to be extra good about logging cals this break. I feel like I will have a tendency to undereat; I've been dieting or maintaining for the last year basically, its a habit at this point that I'll have to push back on a bit to be fully successful with the break. Deload week this week workout-wise, I'm going to ease back a lot on the volume and try to heal up, including a week off the heavy bag. For my time management goal I've managed to finish 3 layers since I posted that pic and have another that I should finish tomorrow. Its been done moreso with extra credit time than via logging off the computer earlier, so though progress is good, its kind of cheating. Workout Log - 2.18.22 Seated DB OHP 40: 10- 45: 9- 50: 8+ 45: 10+ 40: 12+ I added 2 reps vs last week. My shoulders really like doing these, the positioning is strong and totally pain free. I was going to wait until I made it to 10 reps at 50 to buy a set of bigger DB's, but I expect that to come rather quickly given the jump week to week, so I ordered a pair of 60's from Titan (they seem to have the best price period at the moment). Above 50 I'm going to only add in increments of 10 and am switching to rubber; they are getting big enough that even with ribber floors, dropping or near dropping could damage the tile underneath. They sure are getting expensive, though I don't expect to add too many more, the 70's will probably happen. 80's are a whole lot of training away. Pullup BW - 5, 16, 14, 13 +25 - 5+, 5+, 4+ I don't count rpes for amrap pullups. Just looking back, I'm fairly close to as strong as I've ever been at pullups. I haven't found my PR yet, however most of my old high rep sets were chinups, not pullups, which I don't do anymore due to weird nerve effects in the forearms. Its tough to know PRs because body weight is a factor for pullups. I've lost strength and size in many places, but not really with pullups; I managed to keep up a decent minimum workload with them through the years. Dips +35 - 7-, 7+, 6+ Was fading pretty good there at the end. Ground L-Sit 15, 15, 15 sec

The time period when I was seriously looking for a new job (internal promotion) is when my fitness started to fall apart. Between the stress and the effort of applying (which was usually when I was supposed to be working out), I started skipping the gym a lot and let my diet habits go to crap. 2018-2019. Though when I finally got the promotion (after a bunch of tries) I did get a nice burst of motivation on the diet front, but then covid hit. Good luck getting that position. Changing up my programming in a big way (w/ new toys in the gym ofc) has really given me a good jolt of motivation to hit it hard. That and I'm pretty freaked about how much size/strength I've lost in places.

Ran the tape around the waist this AM, 33.9". 1/8" of extra credit and counting. I'm going to have company this weekend; the timing works out rather well given I'm starting a 3 week diet break and 1 week training deload next week. Workout Log - 2.16.22 Spinning - 10.25 mi, 29 min, 139 bpm avg, 160 bpm peak I'm ready to get back outside and run. Spinning can get a bit monotonous. Workout Log - 2.17.22 Kickboxing - 15 min, 129 bpm avg, 157 bpm peak Pistol Squat BW - 8+/8- +30 - 4+/4- Gained a rep on both sets vs last week. Front Squat 135 x 5 185 x 4-, 4-, 5+ Notable improvement vs last week. Last 2 sets belted.

I'm with you there, just one year off (2017). It is quite an awesome feeling. I felt like I was on the right track when the pandemic started, then that completely upended everything, it took a while just to get back to that point.

Thanks for that explanation about Rhythm!