bikes_and_barbells

Late to the party, but following!

I did! Disc Trucker and it's exactly the (rather reserved) joy to ride that I was after. I'm taking it out for 60-65 miles tomorrow to see if we got the fit right. Probably more accurate to say "to see how exactly we got the fit slightly wrong". It needs to go back to the shop for a bit to get interrupter brakes installed -- my hands are too small for us to get any kind of regular brakes working on the drop bars. Good thing I'm traveling a bunch (lol/sob).

Alright, so.... bit of an oops: I forgot that I said I'd have 100% compliance with any exercises assigned by the trainer. If I do the exercises tonight, I'll be 3/5. Not where I wanted to be. To be honest, we both kind of assumed that I'd need to work on some sort of flexibility and lordy to I looooove stretching in the evening. I don't do it enough, but it's enjoyable. Whelp, turns out my squat is shit because of 1) general lack of form 2) astoundingly bad stability in my ankles. Like, laugh out loud bad now that I know how to test it. A week and a half ago, I was literally falling over trying to do a single bodyweight RDL. The ankle strengthening exercises (bodyweight RDLs and Good Mornings) are working their magic surprisingly quickly, but they are actual physical activity that raises my heart beat which I'm not really a fan of early in the morning or later at night. I think the key is going to be fitting the exercises in before or after workouts. ALSO, I HAVE MY NEW BIKE! Otherwise, I've been consistent with tracking and workouts. I'm loving that I'm really making an effort to get into the gym because of this challenge. I did an upper body workout in the middle of errands today. Before I would have skipped because 1) I only had bike shoes on 2) I had a padded bike skort on and it feels silly to work out in it. Instead, I just powered through. I did my overhead presses seated since I have no stability in my bike shoes, but other than that, it went well!

Yeah, big +1 to personal accountability. I started tracking because I knew I needed to get my protein up, but I couldn't find a protein powder that I liked. Tracking has allowed me to continue to eat real food that I truly enjoy while building strength. I really want to hit the low end of my protein range every day and knowing that it's totally within my power to do so with some easy choices has been a big win. Without tracking, I struggle to be accountable to even myself because I don't know how I'm doing.

First challenge activity over lunch today! Went out to lunch and rather than just skipping tracking the calories, I added them as best as I could. @jonfirestar I hear you on the inability to track accurately -- the proverbial example is that a 100g of green banana != 100 g of yellow banana != 100g of spotty banana. On the other hand, so are many other things that "track" our progress -- step trackers, some scales, GPS trackers in some weather and really hilly areas, and many more. However, the fact that I couldn't tell you whether I ran 8.2 miles or 7.9 miles because I ran through a pretty area that always messed with GPS signals didn't take away from my joy at running 8ish miles. For me, part of this challenge is to get past a bit of the attitude that because it's not accurate that means it's not useful. It may not be useful for some, but it is a useful tool for me and can be made more useful with more consistency at tracking meals away from home.

Took all of Memorial Day weekend off from the gym because there was a ton of house work planned and the gym wasn't open after we'd completed work for the day. It was in the 90s without AC so I'm not complaining! Biked out on some gravel trails ~50 miles on a borrowed bike and didn't wear padded shorts. It was fun to ride on a more aggressive bike, but I'm so glad to be getting my new bike today! First full round of workouts on the new program and it's been pretty humbling. A lot is the same, but I'm doing everything with 1) far better form 2) varied combinations of reps & weights for each workout. It's been fun to start feeling some of the muscles I need to build -- I know from looking in the mirror I have a lot of quad development but am lacking in glutes (and now that it's been pointed out to me, I also haven't been working my hamstrings enough), but I never felt those muscles lacking. Well, turns out I've just been shifting all the work to my quads. It's definitely been nice to actually feel the need to work on those muscles. That ends up being more motivating to me than just seeing the imbalance in the mirror. Another two workouts this week and then another long bike ride this weekend. The long weekend kinda messed with any plans for a mid-week ride :'(

First leg day on the new program! I need to confirm if I'm supposed to be doing box squats or regular back squats. The new, more extensive warmup wasn't as annoying as I thought. Squat: 2 x 2 @ 132, 3 x 8 @ 105 Hip Thrust: 3 x 8 @ 155 Hex Deadlift: 3 x 5 @ 150 I was aiming for 3 x 8 on the deadlifts, but I ended up doing them last so I was a little out of gas.

Couple of quiet days lately. Monday night group bike ride got rained out, which was a little sad since it was just misting! That being said, I did have on all my rain gear from my commuting days when I got out, so I was probably enjoying it mostly because I was very over prepared. I had the first of two training sessions yesterday to correct my issues with form in my main lifts. Lots of light weights, different combos of sets, etc. and I was too busy focusing on technique to write down the weights we did for this assessment. The trainer gave me a new program, which I'm excited for, but now my schedule needs to change mid-week. MFW any plan changes mid-week: Soooo, we'll see. I'll probably end up with two gym workouts and a 60 mile ride to close out the week.

I stayed in a Westin last month that actually had a barbell! No squat rack besides a smith machine, but if you wanted to, you could have deadlifted! (Unfortunately, I'm doing hex bar only at the moment). Westin is trying to make WestinWorkout a branded thing, like HHonors or whatever, and I was skeptical. But, I do have to give them credit for having the only half-way acceptable gym I've seen.

@Sloth the Enduring Thanks for the heads up! I just created a challenge Also, yay for another biker! Any chance you know how to add a signature? I've seen a couple people around here have them, and I must be missing it if it's on the Profile page.

Hi everyone, First time doing a challenge here. I'll be traveling for 9 days of the challenge, with access to decent hotel gyms (but that's not saying much). Travel work days are always super long, busy and stressful (and I deal with stress by not exercising, not sleeping well and eating my weight in tasty food). I've chosen goals that I care about that will require me to get a little bit better at: 1) Being consistent with 4 lifting workouts a week. 2) Doing enough self-care while traveling that I don't come back too dead to enjoy weekend activities. 3) Paying attention to the stress eating during work travel. (No goals to drastically reduce this time around, but rather just be mindful of it) Goals: * Add 5 pounds to my bench press. (Up to 85 lb) This seems pretty doable given my current progress and the ample support for gym bro style workouts at the hotels I'm staying at. * Add 20 miles to my longest bike ride this year. (Up to 70) I don't have any time limits on this goal so I expect these rides to be long, slow and lovely. I'm also switching from my super upright around towner (ZOMG quadsssss!) to a new Surly Disc Trucker (YAYAYAY!). The change to a bike that actually allows me to use my full leg power will get me at least 10 miles for the same amount of effort, so I'm really only adding 10 miles here, which I'm definitely capable of doing. I think the bigger thing will be finding time on weekends to do long training rides. * Track all food, with minimal regard for accuracy I'd like to start tracking my food consistently but I always end up feeling frustrated that I can't enter in the information perfectly. We cook complex meals for dinner most nights that result in many servings for both my partner and me. It's hard to get a perfect measurement of exactly how much tofu I got in my serving of curry. That's been a hang up for me, but I really want to get into the habit of tracking consistently and using the results as a tool for changes. If I track in roughly the same way all the time, I should be able to either 1) increase the accuracy over time 2) use the macro numbers and calorie totals in a relative fashion. That way I can, say, notice that I'm still starving after a ride when I only tracked 1000 calories and know I should eat more or decrease target calories if I'm not losing fat during a cut. * Follow any instructions from personal trainer I'm starting with a personal trainer for a bit to help me with my squat and deadlift form after an injury. I expect some stretching exercises and a new warmup, so I figure I'd put down having close to 100% compliance on those as a goal. I'm super motivated to not hurt my back again, but I'm sure I'll start making excuses when I travel.

Just another training log... I'm a new poster but I've used the Academy resources for a while and just wanted to see what the community is like here. I'm working up to riding a century and benching 5x5 @ 100 lbs this summer. I've been making good progress on both goals and loving the process. Hitting the actual goals might take a little longer, but that's fine! I'm excited to take part in the challenge starting tomorrow. Arms day today: Bench: 5x5 @ 80 Military Press: 5x5 @ 52.5 Dumbbell Row: 2x8 @ 35lb Nagging shoulder pain really kicked in in that last DB row. My left arm felt like it really couldn't hold the weight so that was the end of that workout. I've been noticing a ton more mobility in the shoulder lately as I stretch it more, so that is great progress even if today's workout was a little lacking.