bim

#respect Way to go!!!

In.

I get them too. You could try anti-perspirant; some people use it on their thighs to prevent chafing. But what I've found works best is just wearing black wicking bike shorts instead of cotton/spandex/lycra leggings.

Mysterious Cities of Gold! OK, I confess I had to google it.

WAHOO!!! Is there a new stretch goal for the team?

Full five lifts last night. Squats were beastly hard. Bench and deads (DOH) were a challenge, but solid. Increased press to 44# for sets across... Man, did that bar move slow. Aside, overhead press is AMAZING for the obliques. Ate a slice of cheesecake before OHP, then a slice of hash frittata right after the workout. Slept soundly and awoke without headache. I think the egg thing is helpful. That will be my "post-workout" for a while.

What kind of strength training have you been doing? The compound lifts would be a problem, but you may be able to do a body weight routine. Or anything that emphasizes breathing through the movement (e.g., yoga, Pilates) rather than a Valsalva to brace the spine (e.g., compound lifts).

Yay for surviving! I used to do the roll of shame pretty regularly - I've decided to bench more conservatively until that glorious day when I manage to get my own power rack. An hour of lugging cast metal parts around sounds like a workout in itself!

Since you have one, I'm guessing you figured it out already... But just in case, it's the mark of the guild you've chosen. The guy with the bow and arrow under your post count symbolizes the Rangers. At the time of this post, I don't have one of those symbols; that shows that I'm guildless.

Thanks, Teirin, for not laughing openly at me and my newfound MillWall brick construction skilz. I get the impression from various forum posts elsewhere that a lot of folks practicing other martial arts think of KM as not a "real" martial art, but more of a pastime for people with violent fantasies who want to dick around and get themselves in trouble. I kind of get that; it seems like there are some shops out there pushing just about anything as KM, and not teaching the basic principles of safety and common sense that should come first. I think that happens any time something becomes trendy and the demand outpaces the qualified supply for training -- kind of like Pilates or maybe Crossfit. But there's some good stuff out there too. The folks who trained bimspawn and now train me were training LEAs long before KM was "cool," and they back up their assertions with a world of experience. I work in a weapons-free zone, meaning those of us who wouldn't break the law are vulnerable to those who would. God forbid I might ever have an opportunity to put KM training to use, but having some background makes me more aware of my surroundings, my limitations, and potential responses to potential threats. Plus, it's great for helping a smallish person gain biggerish confidence.

Added mini-challenge 4 to my mini-challenges post, and my point allocation is in my signature. I just came out of a rough week, but after looking at it more objectively, I don't feel so bad about it now. Thanks, Blaidd.

This is a newish thing we've been enjoying... it takes about 10 minutes to prep and keeps in the fridge for as long as it takes us to finish it off. It's very similar to the Tortilla Espanola recipe just posted on NF blog. It's basically a quiche/frittata with a crust made of hash browns. Totally bimspawn-approved. Details in the spoiler.

One of my bag trainers also taught us yoga for a while. When she tells us to pick an exercise for an interval on the ground, for some reason she never takes my suggestion of Savasana. So I get it in on my own between rounds. I don't hold squats typically, so this is a good endurance builder for me. Thanks for posting the challenge!

Yeah, so I checked my numbers and it turns out I'm not really eating much lower carb or sodium than I was before. I am out in the heat for an hour or two more per day, though, so it could still be that I need more sodium than usual. The Krav seminar was on improvised weapons -- everything from what we now call "paper products of death :D" to a can of beans wrapped in a t-shirt or a set of keys threaded onto a phone charger cable. It was the kind of topic that probably makes folks in competitive martial arts make fun of Krav, but it was really interesting stuff. The studio has been pushing the envelope on creative topics recently. This one was really different from our usual technique/combatives work. The main take-away was to be aware of what's in our environment that might be useful to us, or might be used against us -- and how. Ok, week in review. Strength Only completed half the lifts this week. Advanced a bit on OHP, not yet on other lifts. Straightened out a couple form issues on the presses and worked on learning hook grip as an alternative to DOH, though I haven't ruled out just doing some grip work to strengthen my DOH grip. Stamina (Krav) Missed all classes during the week, made it to seminar, noted seminar was not as physical as most are. Week 4 is going to give me some scheduling issues too; I've been roped into volunteering at an event on one of my usual Krav days. Another little challenge. Bring it. Stamina (Walking) Working this in is becoming easy again, especially since I have a new far-away place to park at work. This is good; walking is one of my mainstays and I had gotten lazy and dropped off of it. Rest Not quite as good as the first two weeks. Getting to bed a bit later and waking up a lot in the middle of the night. Need to prioritize this again. Noms Salad and sandwich fixings prepped and in the fridge... Lasagne and frittata made. Piece of cake.

I've used almond meal as a crust for both quiche and cheesecake... It can be a little crumbly if you make it too thick, but a thin packed layer binds pretty well with the filling. I don't do that anymore because of allergies, but someone here might enjoy experimenting with it. An ounce has 6g protein and 14g fat for 160 kcal.

We've had an interesting week here, rain and thunderstorms in the first half and record heat in the second half. My new parking space at work, in a structure a couple miles from my building, is keeping me on track with my walking goals. But I get to work drenched. When it hits 115F or above, it doesn't matter what you're wearing or how good you are at finding shady paths on your route, you're still gonna sweat. Endor, the medal formula in the spreadsheet sets gold at 150 miles (not km) and titanium at 200. I think that's not what you intended, but didn't want to change anything without checking with you.

Thanks for checking in!Haha, yes, I'm pretty sure I push myself too hard sometimes. Guilty! Sometimes I get away with it and get better as a result. Sometimes not so much. Re the approach, this is kind of a great big interesting experiment, with a sample of one. If something doesn't work for me, then yay, I've succeeded in identifying another thing that doesn't work. I see no point in beating myself up over that. Name change is something I've wanted to do almost since I started the challenge. Balance is important to me, but inertia is more key... A body at rest tends to remain at rest; a body in motion tends to remain in motion. That's really been the case for me. Starting is harder than keeping on, so I try not to stop a good thing once I've started - and if I do stop, I try not to stay stopped for long. Make sense? Inertia is a bish, but I want to make it my bish. At first I thought I wanted to rename as "bodyinmotion," but I like BIM better because it's shorter and more versatile and sounds like it could be a character name. Soooooo... Update time. Friday was pretty good. I got my work done, I got my walk on, I did those deads. I didn't go for progression on them; I kept it lighter (max weight 115#) and took the session as an opportunity to start learning hook grip. Holy calluses, Batman, but it does seem like a more secure grip. I woke up Saturday with... wait for it... another stupid headache. Boo! But Tylenol and breakfast made it tolerable, and after the Krav seminar, I drove a stake in its heart using the ancient arcane practice of French fry therapy. So, yeah... Carbs, fat, sodium, calories, placebo, coincidence? Not sure. Probably coincidence, but it's a good reminder that this past month has been a more radical change than I realize. What I eat at home is very different from what I eat in restaurants. The seminar was more cerebral than physical - very fortunate for me, given the whole headache thing. If it had been three hours of pad work, I wouldn't have made it through. I woke up Sunday well rested and headache-free, so I'm planning on strength training today - maybe not all five, but at least the lower body lifts. I'm disappointed that I've blown so many of this week's plans, but pleased that I haven't let it stop me in my tracks. As we've gotten further into the groove on the cooking ahead thing, I'm finding it easier to keep the fridge stocked. Both bimspawn and I could live pretty happily on a small number of dishes. He makes himself a salad every morning and a sandwich every day, and then he's happy with whatever dish is on hand for dinner. Most of his favorites are easy to make. I've found it helpful to prep two of a given dish and put one in the freezer to be pulled out and cooked later. I think this is a sustainable routine now. It's also taken some of our scheduling pressure off - we spend enough time in the kitchen together to stay in touch and we aren't too worried about taking our meals at the same time. Keeping up with the walking has become pretty simple too. I have a new place to park that's almost two miles away from my building at work. That kinda sucks on the hot days, but you get used to it.

After the first month or so, using MFP becomes quite easy. Most of us are creatures of habit or routine; we eat from the same smallish set of things over and over. Once you've identified or entered a food in your log, it's on your shortlist. Once you've logged all the things you eat in a given meal, you can save it as a whole meal to log with a single tap next time. And once you've entered the ingredients for a recipe you make, you can log that food as a single item. Same thing with exercise; most of us don't do all the things, just a few specific kinds of exercise. I've found calorie counting with an app like MFP the simplest way to control weight, whether losing, gaining, or maintaining. I still use it now, after over two years in maintenance, and it only takes me a few minutes a day. It just takes a little investment of effort up front.

I'm working on this now since my DOH grip strength has become a limiting factor and I'd rather not go mixed. Used it for all reps of five lighter sets last night. I didn't work it up to my current working weight, only to about 80%. My thumbs hated me while it was happening, but don't really seem any worse for wear today. Those who've been using this grip for a while now, did it increase callouses? Seems like it shouldn't since the bar doesn't move around as much, but I find I'm holding it higher than with traditional grip and definitely feeling more calloused after just the five sets I did last night.

Bravo on the mindful eating! It sounds like you're already taking a success from this challenge! And a possible focus for your next one. That's great! Please discuss that with your gynecologist the next time you go in. Nothing to worry over, but something worth checking out at your next annual.Back to your other post, that's a lot of importance attached to a slice of bread! Glad you're figuring this out. Also, I hope you have a great weekend!

Since this post is a few months old, I'm optimistic that the OP has defeated the snack attack boss by now. But thinking about how I would handle the dilemma, I think that obstacles between the bathroom and the kitchen might help to disrupt a routine like this. Not necessarily physical obstacles, but low-key distractions that keep one from ever making it to the kitchen. A really, really good book taken from bedroom to bathroom and back. A favorite magazine, blog, or relaxing game (on f.luxed device if electronic) that is off limits during the day but can be read at night. A pile of freshly washed, dried towels in need of folding left on the counter. A jigsaw puzzle on the table in the breakfast area. Things on the stairs that need picking up. A dog that needs let out to do his own business in the yard. In my case, I particularly enjoy mindlessly munching on salty, crunchy, carby things. But I'm not the least bit interested in them if I don't have a diet coke to go with them. I'm the only person in my household who drinks diet coke. So when I'm going through a period of "salty carb weakness," I keep an endless supply of diet coke... at the convenience store that's a mile and a half round-trip walk from my house. None of it actually in the house. See, at 2am, if I'm desperate enough for that potato chip that I'm willing to walk a mile and a half to the Circle K for my diet coke to drink with it, then I deserve the damned potato chip (and the sleeplessness that comes with my caffeinated fizzy addiction). But of course, it never actually happens. At lesser times of weakness, I keep the stuff in the house, but not in the fridge -- so I have a minimum 10-15 minute "cooling off" period to ponder the error of my future ways while a soda chills in the freezer. The only problem with the latter is if I fall asleep waiting for a can to chill, and it explodes in the freezer.

Yep, Rippetoe says a properly fitted belt helps tighten your core by giving your abs something to push against. Here's a forum post with a quote from SS... http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=166453711

YAY NO HEADACHE!!!! Naturally, I credit gelato. Deads will have to wait till I get home, though - morning meetings, earning a living, and all that rot.