Maj. Bloodnok's Highly Explosive Battle Log

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Whoah... time warp!

 

OK, I've been away for a while.  Not out of the gym, but away from here.  I tend to hurt myself doing the challenges, and life was a little too busy to just hang out and chat on the forums.  Still working out regularly; I started intermittent fasting in September, and it helped me shed about 10 lbs.  It also stood me in good stead during the goverment shutdown last October, when I couldn't get to the gym at work. 

 

This led me to switch to a commercial gym.  The rates are comparable, it's close to home, and I can work out on weekends or during holidays if I want. 

 

I still have injuries to work around: shoulder, elbow, etc.  This limits what I can do, obviously, but this gym has enough options that I can usually get in a good workout.  I'm cautious with experimenting, as I don't want to hurt something else.  My main problem right now is scheduling: making sure I get to the gym in time for a decent workout and still get to work on time.  It's very easy to rush things or even skip the workout entirely.

 

I'll start posting WODs again tomorrow, after I get back to the gym.  Gonna try some compound movement dumbbell things.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Well, THAT was a bad idea!

 

I tried doing a circuit routine incorporating dumbbell swings, a clean and press, bodyweight rows, and squat-thrusts.  I got a good workout... and manged to tweak my lower back something awful.  I've been in recovery mode ever since.

 

Perhaps this is my 'Road to Damascus' moment, the time when the big cosmic kick in the head manages to finally get my full attention.  My core is weak, and my ongoing problems with tendonitis are not going away unless I do something about them.  Time to do something.

 

So I'm going to gather some underpants.  I'm going to learn as much as I can about tendonitis recovery and mobility work, and focus on those.  The gym is about the only place I can go to do this work without interruption, so that's where I'll do it.  If I have to spend an hour each day on it, then so be it.  My mom never really took care of her joints or her body in general, and now she's severely limited by arthritis and tendon problems. Not me.   I'm no longer in immediate danger of keeling over from a heart attack, so it's time to focus on those elements.

 

I'm still going to get in as much cardio and isometric/DSR stuff as I can, but I'm going to stay out of the weight area for a bit. 

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Still having back problems.  Had to drop out of a challenge because of them.  I'm getting physio for the shoulder, and I'm looking into the specifics of problems with the quadratus lumborum and related musculature.  In the meantime, I've been eating painkillers like candy.    I have a doctor's appointment next Tuesday. On the positive side, I've started tracking my intake and cutting back on the nightly gorgefests. We'll see how this does for me. 

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Got sorted.  My doc X-rayed my lower spine to rule out abnormalities, then put me on a prescription NSAID and a muscle relaxant.  The same physiotherapist I saw for my shoulder gave me some exercises for my left QL, and diagnosed me with a skewed pelvis (anterior tilt on the left, posterior tilt on the right). Fortunately, it's easy to reset it. The NSAID is doing wonders for my achy tendons and aggravated muscles.  I haven't felt this good in a long time.

 

Workouts have been sketchy; I've either been in severe pain or sick these last three weeks, so I haven't gone to the gym much.  Some steady-state cardio and yoga, lighter weights focusing on my posterior muscle chain, and some shadowboxing.  I'm not getting great results, but I'm not aggravating my injuries either.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Still about the same, though I blew it big time the last weekend in July.  The family took a trip to Door County WI.  Five days in the land of cheese, beer, and Culver's Butterburgers. It was shameful, it was.  I had a tough time getting back in the habit of tracking my food and exercise.  I managed to undo the work of several months in just a few days.  Still trying to recover from that without piling on the injuries.  Being diligent with the physiotherapist's exercises, still massaging the sore bits, doing kickboxing workouts for cardio and abs.  I work out in the backyard as long as the weather's good; it's a nice change from the gym.

 

Must track food, must track exercise.  Snacks are the enemy, as is boredom.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Did OK over the weekend: had a little breakdown Saturday afternoon after skipping lunch, but recovered Sunday.  I've managed to shed most of the weight I put on during vacation. Tracking intakes is helping a lot.

 

I walked about 2.5 miles this morning, along with my next-door neighbor.  It's not my usual choice of cardio, but he and I don't get much of a chance to talk.  We kept up a good pace, though.  I found it strange that he was walking to maintain his health while smoking a cigar.

 

Tomorrow: gym.  I'm going to try some primal flow stuff in my morning warmups; anything to shake me up.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Crab Rangoon, such a dangerous dish...

 

Lifts today.  I do rack pulls and cable pulls for my hamstrings and glutes, dumbbell rows and standing rows for my back.  No overhead pushing motions due to the shoulder issues, though I'll occasionally do lat pulldowns or assisted pullups.  I'm getting stronger; I've added a few pounds to the lifts, though I'm going to have to be scrupulously careful of my lower back.  My prescription NSAIDs are masking a lot of the pain. They won't last forever. 

 

Primal Move stuff requires more room than what's available in the bodyweight/ warmup area of the gym.  I'll save it for my home workouts.

 

Leftover Chinese tonight, though thankfully no more Crab Rangoon. 

[Maj. Bloodnok]

I know what I'm going to make part of my next challenge: regular updates!

 

The kickboxing stuff is working surprisingly well.  I have a 30-minute podcast lesson that calls the cadence (and tells me when to rest); there's not much variety in the kicks, but plenty of punching variations.  (Nothing says I can't throw a roundhouse kick instead of a front kick, anyway.)  I almost prefer it to going to the gym; at 6 AM there's nobody around in the neighborhood to watch me, and I don't have to worry about accidentally hitting anyone.

 

Also, I just found out about extinction bursts: how your bad habits reassert themselves most strongly just as they're about to die out.  This explains EVERYTHING to me. I have one of those every weekend.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

As part of my challenge this round, I'm posting daily workout info.

 

Lat pulldowns, 150 lbs, 5X5 sets, superset with wall sits, 30 sec each.

Dumbbell rows, 50 lbs, 5X5 sets each side

Barbell bicep curls, 50 lbs, 5X5 sets

Bodyweight rows: 5X5 sets

dumbbell lateral raises, 12.5 lbs: 3X10 sets

dumbbell front raises: 12.5 lbs: 3X10 sets

one-legged Romanian deadlifts, with 25 lbs weight: 4X20

front plank: 1 min

side planks: 45 sec each side

 

10:30 min HIIT on elliptical, 160 calories total

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I haven't been able to work out steadily until yesterday.  Insomniac kids, a minor intestinal upset, an incontinent cat (who shall remain fuzzy, but if she pees in my gym bag again I'm outing her!) all conspired to keep me inactive. 

 

Yesterday was capoeira and kickboxing in the backyard.

 

Warmups, then kicking drills:

bencao (front kick), 10X each leg, alternating

martelo (roundhouse) 10X each leg, alternating

esquiva (side lunge) 10X each side, alternating

meia lua (crescent kick) 10X each leg, alternating

queixada (reverse crescent kick) 10X each leg, alternating

chapa (side thrust kick) 10X each leg, alternating

 

The capoeira was done in conjunction with ginga footwork, rather than from a static position.  The kickboxing was mostly speed drills, quick jab-cross combinations for about 10 minutes. Whole thing took about an hour.

 

Today was gym time, with a focus on core work.

 

myotactic crunches, 3X10 sets

front plank: 1 min 10 sec

side planks: 45 sec

boat pose: 1 min 30 sec

standing twist w/ 10lb medicine ball: 3X10

side bend with medicine ball: 3X10

alternating lunge and cross-body chop: 3 X 10

elliptical: 11 min HIIT, 3 min cooldown

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Lifting yesterday. Not much lifting, but lifting.  I paid special attention to warming up my lower back, as it's been a bit grumbly lately. 

 

Sumo deadlifts,135 lbs, 5X5

Seated Cable Pulls, 150 lbs, 5X5

elliptical: 10 min HIIT, 3 min cooldown.

 

Today: DOMS rest day.  Tomorrow: core work

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Yesterday: core work, walking, and a little short-staff waving, just for fun.

 

walk 2/3 mile, 10 min

 

front planks: 1 min each, 3X

side planks: 50 sec each, 3X

standing twist, 8 lb weight: 3X10

alternating lunge and cross-body chop, 8 lb weight: 3 X 10 each side

squat and overhead press, 8 lb weight, 3X10

 

staff work:

lunge and thrust, 10x each side

overhand vertical strike, 10X each side

low side guard and offhand diagonal strike, 10X each side

horizontal strike, 10X each side

(note: the staff is light rattan.  This was done primarily for shoulder mobility and leg work, and because it's fun.)

 

kickboxing: 10 min speed drills.

 

Today:

 

sumo deadlifts, 145 lbs, 5X5

lat pulldowns, 135 lbs 5X5 (down a bit from last time; not feeling my best)

dumbbell rows, 55 lbs 5X5

13 min elliptical HIIT, 215 cals

 

Tomorrow, depending on time, I'll do some more martial arts stuff.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Day before yesterday: 18 min kickboxing drill, with accompanying stretches, warmups and cooldowns totaling about 45 min total exercise.

 

Yesterday:

 

sumo deadlifts, 135 lbs, 5X5, 5-second cadence

dumbbell rows, 55 lbs 5X5, 5-second cadence

kettlebell swings, 25 lb weight, 2x20, last set 35 totaling 75 swings

myotactic crunch, 3X10

 

Trying Tim Ferris' 4-Hour Body recommendations.  I think I like ending off with HIIT on the elliptical better; I feel like I've gotten more bang for my buck.

 

Today: rest day. The slower cadence really puts extra strain on my muscles.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Tim Ferris' diet recommendations work better than his exercise ones, at least for me.  Kettlebell swings replicate the same motions as cable pulls, which are hell on my lower back.  Standard deadlifts don't hurt as much.  I've stopped working out so intensely, as every time I try doing heavy kettlebells my back hurts for days afterward. 

 

I've managed to lose about 3 inches around my middle, and God-only-knows how much fat elsewhere.  I can comfortably wear a man's Large teeshirt now.  The scale shows about a 12-pound weight loss; not sure what my BMI or fat percentage is.  People are starting to comment.  I'm going to switch back to deadlifts and rows for my back, and toss in some DDP yoga on my off days. 

[Maj. Bloodnok]

One bout with killer flu later...

 

Logging my challenge workouts here.

 

Sunday:

 

deadlifts, 5X5, 145 lbs

seated rows, 5X5, 135 lbs

lat pulldowns, 5X5, 135 lbs

7 min Tabata intervals on elliptical

assorted stretching, warmups and cooldowns

 

Wednesday:

 

Zercher squats 115 lbs, 5X5

dumbbell rows, 55 lbs, 5X5

7 min HIIT on elliptical, 30 sec sprint, 30 sec jog

assorted stretching, warmups and cooldowns

 

I'm not pushing hard, partly because I work out while fasting, and partly because I have a nasty habit of hurting myself.  I'll put up more numbers eventually.  I've been experimenting with dynamic tension moves for my chest and shoulders, and while they

re not enormously effective, they're better than nothing. 

 

I'm seriously considering investing in the full DDP Yoga Max Pack. Given my lingering problems with tendonitis and crunchy knees, it's probably not a bad idea.  They offer MP3s of the workouts so you can do them without a screen in front of you.  Perhaps my wife and exercise-allergic kids will pick it up. :-)

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Yesterday:

 

warmup with Sun Salutations, slow bodyweight squats and stability ball rollouts

 

seated cable rows, 150 lbs, 5X5

Zercher squats, 115 lbs, 5X5

Tabatas on elliptical, 5:30, cooldown 2 min, 127 calories burned

 

today: rest.

 

Overslept, then took it easy with breakfast, getting the kids up and out of bed, etc. I'll do the gym again tomorrow and Monday; I have overtime Tuesday through Friday.  More money, but less time for fitness issues.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Aaaand here I am, 5 months later. 

 

It's been a rough few months.  My dad is getting worse; he's not responding to chemo, and he's being very stubborn about his health care.  He has dementia, and he keeps forgetting that he's sick.  He needs to have either home health care or move to assisted living, and he refuses both.  We've convinced him to have someone come in twice a week for a few hours, but it's not nearly enough.  Dementia is progressive, and subject to sudden downturns.  He could be fine one day and be completely gaga the next.  There's been a lot of family drama around how to care for him, and it's not helping me with my fitness issues.  I tend to binge eat (and binge drink if there's money for it) when I'm stressed. Needless to say, the challenges are going by the wayside for a while.

 

So, I've decided to buckle down a little more.  Go to bed earlier, sleep deeper, eat cleaner, and go to the gym.  Working out at home is all well and good, but there are too many distractions and precious little open space.  I've started working in some circuit training with a medicine ball, instead of concentrating exclusively on my back and shoulders.  Pushups are still tricky thanks to my bad shoulder, but I can squat low, do lunges, Russian twists, stuff like that.  I've moved from a 8-pound ball to a 16 pounder, and I'm feeling it today.

 

Here's what the circuit looks like:

 

Spiderman walks (10 reps each side)

medicine ball squat and pass (hands extend out during squat, 10 reps)

high toss and catch (10 reps)

weighted myotactic crunch (10 reps)

full lunge and twist (10 reps)

balanced overhead pass (stand on one leg, pass the ball overhead.  10 reps each side.)

One-legged Romanian deadlifts (10 reps each side)

Russian twists (20 reps)

 

After three circuits I'm pretty much done in, so I stretch and roll everything I can and get outta Dodge.  I shoot for twice a week, alternating with HIIT sessions on the elliptical and yoga for mobility issues.  If I don't do the circuit, I have a weights routine focused on my back, and some isometric stuff I can do if all else fails.  The bod is responding well; my waist is trimmer, and I'm getting more definition all around.  I have to be VERY careful of my various joint and tendon issues, though. 

 

The big hurdle is the binge eating on my cheat day.  My psychiatrist has put me on guanfacine to help with the stress, and it's working pretty well.  Just have to plan my weekend meals as carefully as I do my weekdays.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Commercial breakfast sausage is the Devil.

 

Low carb, yes, but that tiny amount of sugar they put in... stuff hits all my binge-eating triggers.  Don't eat it.  Never mind that it's on sale; don't eat it, or save it for the cheat day.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

School's out for my older two as of today, and next week for my youngest.  This means I can sleep later and spend more time at the gym.

 

At least until summer school starts...

[Maj. Bloodnok]

AAAnd we're back.

 

Switched away from the circuit to bodyweight supersets, following the lead from startbodyweight.com.  Diamond pushups don't aggravate my shoulder as badly as standard ones, so that's my go-to push exercise.  Just gotta work on the full range of motion. 

 

Here's the full workout:

 

diamond pushups, slow cadence, 8X3, superset with:

medicine ball squat and pass, 8X3

 

exercise ball rollout, one leg, 8X3 each leg, superset with:

bicycles, 8X3

 

inverted row, slow cadence, 8X3, superset with:

Bulgarian split squats, 8X3 each leg

 

On alternate days I'll sub in neutral-grip half-pullups for the inverted row, though I can only do 4 in each set.  I've made an attempt at box pistols; really got to work on balance for that skill.  I've tried one-legged RDLs; challenging to do in a controlled manner.  Must do more.  Same story with gymnastic bridges: easier to get into position, just have to hold for time and get used to being in that funky position.  All about cultivating the balance without killing myself.

 

Diet-wise:  trying to keep the binge-monster under control.  I don't need to eat all the things, especially not on a cheat day.  I don't need half a pound of meat with breakfast every day.  I don't need to nibble on leftover meat.  It all gets in the way of my increasing awesomeness.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Cheat day is coming.

 

This has been my bane lately.  I love to gorge myself on bread and pastry and fruit and all the other stuff that Slow Carb doesn't allow.  I end up undoing the week's progress. Not good.

 

Gotta plan for it... sensible lunch, like a chef salad or something, and a sensible dinner.  Once dinner's over, it's over.  No snacking.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

The guanfacine makes me cranky.  Being cranky makes me stressed.  Being stressed makes me binge eat and skip workouts.  No more guanfacine.