DrFeelgood - Lean and Strong 2.0

[Shello]

5 hours ago, DrFeelgood said:

Move went great!  I spent 90 minutes at the gym starting with a full and in-depth upper body warm-up (Antranik's video).  Then it was on to the bodyline drills:  plank for 1 minute (tough), side planks for 30 seconds each (tougher), reverse plank for 1 minute (impossible), hollow hold for 1 minute (ouch), and superman for 1 minute (ouchier).  I held them all except for the reverse plank, but even that I managed to do a couple of 20-second holds with a short rest.  Next up was skill work, so I did 5 minutes of wall-handstands and 3 minutes of parallel bar supports, alternating holds and rests as needed (many rests were needed).  Finally I was ready for strength work:  eccentric pull-ups were really painful but I managed to match my previous session; dips were similar, too; horizontal rows felt a bit stronger; push-ups graduated to the next progression and are feeling pretty good; barbell squats felt awesome!; and hanging leg raises brought the pain again to finish up.  It'll be slow-going, but I can see the potential for getting stronger--especially as I get leaner.  Hopefully the need to drop body weight for strength performance will be sufficient motivation to stay out of the fattening snacks.

Great workout!  Do you think you'll be able to maintain 90 minute gym sessions?   Could you have an abbreviated version ready to go in case time becomes an issue and tries to be an excuse?   Also, I'm really curious on the reverse planks.  I've never tried doing one.  

[peelout]

8 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

I think about his pictures a lot too

 

lmao

[DrFeelgood]

On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 9:48 AM, Raxie said:

Wow that warm up looks super thorough! It makes my warm ups feel inadequate.  Yay for good days!

That video makes my shoulders and wrists feel super inadequate.  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get them mobilized to that degree, but I'm going to do as much as I can.

 

On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 2:39 PM, LadyShello said:

Great workout!  Do you think you'll be able to maintain 90 minute gym sessions?   Could you have an abbreviated version ready to go in case time becomes an issue and tries to be an excuse?   Also, I'm really curious on the reverse planks.  I've never tried doing one.  

Workout length is a big part of the reason I went back to just 2 days per week.  If I need to abbreviate then I'll omit the skill work, which should shave about 10 minutes.  If I'm really pressed for time then I'll just go home and do whatever bodyweight work I can manage in the living room.

 

Reverse planks are the debbil!  That probably just means I need to keep doing them.

________________________

 

W2D4 - 4 points.  Full marks for a solid day.  Wake was on time, Eat was on target, Move was as planned, and Sleep was on point.  Rocket League practice took a little longer than I planned, so I didn't do any reading, otherwise it was a fine day.

[peelout]

3 hours ago, DrFeelgood said:

_______________________

 

W2D4 - 4 points.  Full marks for a solid day.  Wake was on time, Eat was on target, Move was as planned, and Sleep was on point.  Rocket League practice took a little longer than I planned, so I didn't do any reading, otherwise it was a fine day.

Thats the kinda thing I love to read.

[DrFeelgood]

Haven't done much fitness-wise since Thursday.  Trying to get back in the mode...

[Ensi]

15 minutes ago, DrFeelgood said:

Haven't done much fitness-wise since Thursday.  Trying to get back in the mode...

 

[Raxie]

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

10 hours ago, DrFeelgood said:

Haven't done much fitness-wise since Thursday.  Trying to get back in the mode...

That Wolverine pic isn't going to recreate itself...

[Sloth the Enduring]

That Wolverine pic isn't going to recreate itself...

Ouch.

[DrFeelgood]

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 10:14 AM, Ensi said:

 

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 12:16 PM, Raxie said:

 

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 8:04 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

That Wolverine pic isn't going to recreate itself...

 

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 8:07 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Ouch.

 

[deftona]

Guess I'm going to be flying the butt flag solo in that Doodlie calendar then DFG... 

 

[DrFeelgood]

22 hours ago, deftona said:

Guess I'm going to be flying the butt flag solo in that Doodlie calendar then DFG... 

 

 

I'm just giving you a head start.

Thanks for putting "butt flag" in my browser history. 

[DrFeelgood]

Alrightythen, where was I?

 

 

I don't really know what happened last week to send me off the rails, though I can certainly pinpoint some of the stressors that have been influencing my life extra heavily as of late--mostly job stuff related to the government shutdown.  Plus I just plain didn't feel like working out or controlling my food intake.  It's been several days of eating whatever I want (though not in binge form), skipping exercise, ranking up in Rocket League, spending some time with my family, and tending to sundry responsibilities.  I won't bother with a day-by-day recap, mostly because I don't fully remember it all and would rather just move on with getting back to my program.  The spreadsheet reflects it all pretty accurately anyway.

 

This week's highlights include getting furloughed from work early on Monday, eating too much pizza for lunch, drinking way too much caffeine in the late evening expecting not to have to work on Tuesday only to find that Congress passed another CRA until Feb 8th, and playing Rocket League all night since I couldn't sleep anyway.  That led to using a vacation day on Tuesday since I was exhausted (and pretty bitter, tbh) during which I slept late then knocked out some household errands.  I finished and filed my taxes, took care of some recertifications for my student loans, replaced all the smoke detector batteries and air filters at the house, and spent some quality time with Brick.  I did manage to get to bed on time, but my sleep schedule is all kinds of screwed up, which led to a late start on Wednesday.  Even so, I dragged myself in to the shower and sparked the day reasonably well.  Work was reasonably normal.  Food was pretty okay.  I didn't bother with any exercise; instead I helped MFG with dinner when I got home, took the older kids to youth group, and continued with my birds-and-bees series with Boomer.  We had a good talk, then I sent the kids to bed so I could get a little RL practice in before my own bedtime.

 

For a while I was feeling pretty awful.  The trifecta of joint paint (shoulder, knee, hip) that I spent all that time and money trying to mitigate has reawakened with some fury since my conversion to bodyweight strength training.  The emotional toll of that is far heavier than the physical discomfort, and it's definitely got me in a sour disposition toward my body.  Meanwhile I wasn't bingeing with food but I was still overeating pretty steadily, and that led to bloat and frustration.  I think I'm finally emerging from "why bother?" mode and making a little peace with reality.  Yesterday was better, and today is steering back on track.  I'm on the bounce and ready to move again--here's hoping that lasts long enough to get through the gym this afternoon.

 

Lean and Strong!

[Shello]

28 minutes ago, DrFeelgood said:

Alrightythen, where was I?

 

 

This is an amazing gif.  

 

I'm glad you made it out of the Why bother zone. This sounds like a good time for a perkele party...

Just in case...

Spoiler

 

[DrFeelgood]

1 hour ago, LadyShello said:

I'm glad you made it out of the Why bother zone. This sounds like a good time for a perkele party...

 

 

Well, you called it.

PERKELE!!!

Dance with me, my beautiful Nerds.

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

PERKELE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Raxie]

10 hours ago, DrFeelgood said:

expecting not to have to work on Tuesday only to find that Congress passed another CRA

 

I was asleep already when I got the call, so I didn't even know until I woke up expecting to stay home that day.  It was rough. I took leave in spite.

[deftona]

11 hours ago, DrFeelgood said:

 

PERKELE!!!

 

[Ensi]

17 hours ago, DrFeelgood said:

PERKELE!!!

 

 

[DrFeelgood]

What I wanted:

 

What I got:

 

 

W3D5 - 1 1/2 points.  Not the worst day by any stretch and certainly better than the previous week.  I want to do the work, but then I don't. 

 

I ate on target, but my afternoon consisted of way too much candy to award more than half a point for the day.  Then I decided to work some OT instead of going to the gym--that'll help both to advance my current projects and to keep the paycheck from shrinking due to furlough.  I got home late and ate a quick (small) dinner, but it was already close to the kids' bedtimes so I didn't get much family time.  Bubbles and I managed to play some Rocket League together which was nice.  Then I headed up to join MFG in bed on time.  I actually slept pretty great, and I'm feeling much better again this morning, so I'm going to make another attempt at the gym today after work.  There's still OT approved, but I'm not going to do any.

 

The bloat is beginning to subside, and my cravings seem to be leveling out.  I think I've just been eating slightly too little, and the fast-days I tried appeared to induce weird oscillations in my appetite.  I'm going to bail on those and up my targets to a straight 2400 per day.  That'll mean a slower rate of fat loss, but at this point I'm gaining unsustainably and need any amount of reversal I can keep hold of.

 

Small ancillary win today: after reviewing our 2018 budget MFG and I were able to increase our charitable giving along with our retirement savings.  Hooray for responsible adulthood!

[DrFeelgood]

W3D6 - 3 points.  What?  Full marks?  Am I on the rebound?  Yes to all, I think.

 

Fight-Back Friday started with an excellent Wake--on time, no snoozes, up and at 'em well before the sun was up.  I made a quick bowl of breakfast cereal (the last of my Honeycomb, because I refused to throw it out) then hopped in the car to supplement with a drive-thru DDP and a small sausage burrito for fat and protein.  Lunch was leftover pork chops with roasted cauliflower and steamed green beans (delish) to which I added a bag of potato chips.  The afternoon needed a slight perk, so I had some Cheetos puffs a couple hours before the gym.  Once home I ate a pair of BLT sandwiches on white toast to close out my day precisely on target at 2400 kcal.  Nailed it.

 

The gym was rough but good.  I worked through the full upper-body warmup and added some leg swings for lower mobility.  Bodyline drills went well--I got all of my holds except the reverse plank, but I still made progress with by holding for 30s, rest for 10s, finish hold for 20s.  I should have that one up to a full minute reasonably soon if I keep at it.  For skill work I only did the handstands, which were unusually brutal.  The pull-up bars were all taken so instead of eccentrics I did assisted pulls on the weighted tower--55 lbs. off for 4-4-4 in alternating sets with bodyweight dips (unassisted) of 6-6-7.  Both of those felt a little stronger than last week.  Then it was on to Deadlift with warmup sets of 5 at 135 lbs. and 225 lbs. before loading up my work sets to 325 lbs. for 5-3-5.  That middle set felt weird so I bailed and rested a little extra for the final one.  After that I rotated Leg Raise holds (20-20-25) with Horizontal Rows (6-6-7) and Diamond Push-ups (7-7-8) to finish up the day sore and exhausted.  I think I'm going to suffer this weekend.

 

MFG and I stayed up late chatting and watching our shows.  Then it was off to bed for a decent night's sleep and a positive outlook with some nicer weather for this weekend.  Hopefully the gym pain doesn't hamper my planned chores too much.

[peelout]

5 hours ago, DrFeelgood said:

The gym was rough but good.  I worked through the full upper-body warmup and added some leg swings for lower mobility.  Bodyline drills went well--I got all of my holds except the reverse plank, but I still made progress with by holding for 30s, rest for 10s, finish hold for 20s.  I should have that one up to a full minute reasonably soon if I keep at it.  For skill work I only did the handstands, which were unusually brutal.  The pull-up bars were all taken so instead of eccentrics I did assisted pulls on the weighted tower--55 lbs. off for 4-4-4 in alternating sets with bodyweight dips (unassisted) of 6-6-7.  Both of those felt a little stronger than last week.  Then it was on to Deadlift with warmup sets of 5 at 135 lbs. and 225 lbs. before loading up my work sets to 325 lbs. for 5-3-5.  That middle set felt weird so I bailed and rested a little extra for the final one.  After that I rotated Leg Raise holds (20-20-25) with Horizontal Rows (6-6-7) and Diamond Push-ups (7-7-8) to finish up the day sore and exhausted.  I think I'm going to suffer this weekend.

Great workout.  Suffering means progress.

[Ensi]

8 hours ago, peelout said:

Great workout.  Suffering means progress.

 

Huh, so that's where Yoda is going with this?

 

[Lara]

Sorry that you had such a bad week, but you seem better now, right?

I think you're being brave by getting out of your comfort heavy weights zone and trying bodyweight. I'm sure that with time you will enjoy it. You will kill those reverse planks!

[DrFeelgood]

20 hours ago, peelout said:

Great workout.  Suffering means progress.

Thanks, I can feel myself getting stronger.

 

12 hours ago, Ensi said:

Huh, so that's where Yoda is going with this?

For 1,000 generations the Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Republic.  That was before the dark times, before Yoda became the head of the Council and started spouting ridiculous gibberish.

 

Either that or my anger is making me stronger and giving me focus.

 

 

9 hours ago, zenLara said:

Sorry that you had such a bad week, but you seem better now, right?

 

I think you're being brave by getting out of your comfort heavy weights zone and trying bodyweight. I'm sure that with time you will enjoy it. You will kill those reverse planks!

Yes, I think it's safe to say I'm bouncing back.  The week wasn't bad so much as just off, but I'm over it and ready to get back to work.

 

Thanks, it doesn't feel particularly brave (except for when I do handstands and my shirt flops down in the Combatives training area) but I suppose I should be a little proud of trying something new.  I'm definitely starting to hate it less.

 

Also, it was nice to wake up to 26 notifications--thanks for the zombie likes.

___________________________________

 

W3D7 - 1 point.  Finished up strong!  It was a busy and productive day, and I stayed true to my eating target which was my only goal for the day.  Breakfast was MFG's breakfast skillet with eggs, hash browns, cheese, avocado, and some green chile sauce to bring it all together.  Lunch was a quick turkey-ham-roast beef sandwich.  I stayed busy all afternoon and didn't do any snacking so that left a fair amount for dinner; and I filled it out with MFG's pot roast, mashers, and carrots, plus a couple slices of bread and butter to sop up the juices.  A most excellent and delicious 2448 kcal.

 

I got a ton of stuff done.  I finished up my recertifications for student loans, took care of a couple calls to the banks for various needs, got one step away from finalizing our 2018 buget (just need my new student loan payment amount), and even managed to do a bit of Rocket League with my brother before lunch.  After eating I took the boys out for some errands to pick up lumber for a household repair project, supplies for detailing my car, and a for-fun stop at the sports store where we acquired a few new fishing lures and some pecan chips for the turkey I'm going to smoke today.  Once home I got to work detailing my car which lasted until well after dinner.  Then I watched a few videos with the kids, played a little more Rocket League (on Unfair mode, by far the most infuriating mode yet), and then showered and trimmed my beard before bed.  It was an excellent day in spite of vigorous gym pain.

 

Week 3 Check-in.  I'll take the hit of gaining half a pound given how poorly I'd been going before the turnaround.  Scale this morning says 233.1 lbs. which puts me back pretty close to my target line for the year.  Belt is straining at Notch 39 again, but that should ease in the coming week.  I finally got another progress photo to gauge against Week 1, and to no surprise it's pretty much unchanged.

 

 

Still, I'm feeling much better and I have every expectation of being able to finish this challenge with a strong week and a decent amount of overall improvement.

 

Now I'm off to cook a turkey.   Y'all keep kicking butt!