Osu

[Urgan]

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

The other big thing is researching how to increase my T.

 

[Kishi]

1 hour ago, Urgan said:

 

 

Is true, but girl, the iron has not been kind to me.

[Teirin]

generally good news then.  I hope the OT helps, and the training changes too.  Upping your T levels without meds sounds very complicated.

[Kishi]

2 hours ago, Teirin said:

generally good news then.  I hope the OT helps, and the training changes too.  Upping your T levels without meds sounds very complicated.

 

I think it will! It'll help me with getting my work ready and done, and what I do really matters, so it'll help the people also.

 

As for the T, well, it's one of those things where there's a lot of moving parts, but you can take care of those with a lot of basic stuff. It's mostly, like @Urgan said, lifting heavy shit and recovering well. Lifting heavy shit hasn't really been the problem, but the recovering well? That's been a problem for a while now. Part of it's been logistics - see these people at these times, do this, do that - which I'm working to address, and part of it is psychological. I need to learn better the lesson that "Sometimes, more is just more."

 

*

 

So, Saturday. Didn't go according to plan. I let myself get caught up in research and in finalizing my program, and by the time I was done it was too late to go to Kali. I still stopped by the dojo just to see if I could help with cleaning, but it was all done by the time I got there. Bad student yesterday.  But I swung the bells and ate accordingly.

 

Today, got up, felt great, and hit the gym.

 

Assisted Squats: 1x21

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Half Squats: 1x15

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Full Squats: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Elevated Deck Squats: 4x8

Integrated Mobility: DONE

• "But Kishi, you did squats already!" K, so, funny story. Looking at my movements and what I'm going to be doing, I noticed that one of these is going to require access to a gym because there's an actual component of free weighted progressive overload. I need weights for that, and in this particular case it's actually super important that I have control over how much it jumps when.
• So, since I have to go the gym anyway, I might as well drop back and complete my step as I need to.
• I dropped the total volume on my worksets to focus on cleaning up form and executing well. As a result, I had way more quality sets and reps. I'm going to cycle this like it's the final cycle, I think; that way, I have something external to cue me for when it's time to reduce the elevation.
• Also, IM didn't hurt my feet today. Followed the correct cues religiously and felt really good.

Hollow Body Tuck Hold: 1x9s

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Hollow Body Tuck Rocks: 3x12

Integrated Mobility: DONE

• "But Kishi, you did these already!" Yeah, I know. I'm actually trying to get everything on the same page, recombine it all back into its component parts. So, that means a core session and an upper body session. I can do the legs as an add-on here without any real trouble, I think.

Russian Twists: 1x30

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Side Plank Twists: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Side Plank Press: 3x2

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Tuck Ups: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Straddle Tuck Ups: 4x6

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Incline Push Ups: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Push Ups: 4x6

Integrated Mobility: DONE

• Push ups were actually really great. These feel like they benefited a lot from the deload. Decided to really do these "with violence" and explode out while keeping good form. It worked.

No sprinting today, as I'm still wanting to get that left ankle to recover, because Lord knows nobody round here cares whether I'm ever fully recovered or not. So, gotta take care of myself.

 

Not much else to talk about today. Just laundry and... I think general cleaning today. I'm tired of the clutter and most of it is stuff that I can rid myself of pretty easy.

[Kishi]

So, guess who has two thumbs and gave blood while completely fasted?

 

Yup. I totally forgot to account for the fact that I had volunteered to give blood today. The ol' 16-8 restricted eating window is back in use for T purposes (and let's face it, it didn't hurt my blood numbers any either), so when my number came up and I hadn't brought breakfast I was like "... oh darnit."

 

Still, everything went okay. I have a normal temperature (and for those keeping track at home, that's a Pretty Big Deal considering that lowered body temperature can be a sign of reduced metabolism, and that's something I've dealt with), and I wasn't fuzzy or anything after donating. In fact, I felt good enough that I was able to stand and make room for a lady in the post-donation waiting area when we all came up short on seats. The phlebotomists did kind of a concern, but it wasn't a big deal.

 

I'm not feeling bad now, but I've definitely been sitting as opposed to getting up and stretching every half hour. Definitely taking it easy and letting my body regenerate. Still cognitively sharp and everything, even enough to continue a debate with a friend over the depths of historical evil versus the present.

 

Tonight, a game. Not sure which; we'll see what happens. And also, lots of good food.

[Kishi]

Gaming was done! Ate lots of good food which included lots of rice and guac and sour cream because I'm convinced right now that monitoring overall intake does more for my blood than worrying too much about sources. Also, since I have a load more time to save up for the car repairs, I can afford to eat out again. It's surprising what that does for personal morale; I've built this relationship with the staff at the Chipotle where I go because of my custom orders and generous tipping, and I was surprised at how much I missed them.

 

The game went well. My fighter character distinguished himself really well, despite the fact that we're running for our lives from a bunch of automatons. In a cave. In the dark. With only one torch.

 

Tonight, S&S and Karate. Feels like I have enough energy for this to be a good idea.

[Teirin]

That is nice :-)

 

 

19 hours ago, Kishi said:

So, guess who has two thumbs and gave blood while completely fasted?

 

Congrats!  Glad you did ok with that and ate good food later!  

[Kishi]

20 hours ago, Teirin said:

Congrats!  Glad you did ok with that and ate good food later!

 

Yes. I must admit, food was pretty amazing. I wound up fasting a real long time, and dinner was my first meal. Throughout all of that, I stayed cognitively and emotionally straight, no fatigue or nothing.

 

That could have gone worse.

 

*

 

Tuesday down!

 

S&S went okay. My elbow was hurting a bit so I elected to take it easy - do shadow swings and paused get ups. This didn't work out to something I could complete in time, which always bugs me whenever that happens. But it's not like the body doesn't benefit from the work.

 

Karate went well! New Guy brought his sister to watch, and at the end of class she decided she wanted to train too. And she wants to invite friends along. K-sensei is beside himself in giddiness.

 

I got put up through three straight rounds of sparring against everyone. Long 10-15 minutes or however long that was, and I was smoked by the end. I dunno if it was a function of having lots of carbs to be burning off of, or if it's a function of having given blood the day before, as both have been factors in the past. But yeah, man, I was just done.

 

Today should be judo and... I just realized that I'm doing All The Upper Body Work tomorrow. It wouldn't be good programming to try to fry myself out on endurance work tonight when I'm going to be placing heavy demands on my system tomorrow.

 

I'm thinking probably what I'll do is shift the push up work over to Sunday. Put it in that No Man's Land between the work and the finisher where you're supposed to put accessory work and such. I'm pretty confident I could do all that in under an hour and all.

 

Of course, another option might be to just do the rep stuff tomorrow after the strength stuff. It'd fit, for sure, but it'd be a bit of an adjustment, almost like I was taking it too easy...

 

...

 

'kay, so that's probably what I'm gonna do.

[Kishi]

Judo done! Judo was enough.

 

Did not receive the belt last night. It didn't even come up in conversation. Which might have bugged me once, but I'm pleased to say I'm at a point where I've got tons to work on no matter what color I'm wearing. Worked on ogoshi, and realized to my horror that I've really, really gotta work on that entry step. Step is key. "You get that step, you get 9 throws," J-sensei said. "Do it with the other leg and you have 18 throws."

 

I went over that with him and another dan-ranked guy and finally got that how you step matters, because how you step determines how you throw and the path that your body takes when you take the other guy's balance. So, got a few things to practice. It is good to be able to do this kind of work, since I don't really have a set up right now for banded uchikomi work. Sidenote: in the long term, I'm thinking about installing a set of sidebars in the apartment. You know what I mean: they're those mounted wooden rails you see in gymnastics facilities when people are practicing side levers/flags. It's not something I need to worry about yet, and I can't do anything until I've cleaned the place out enough to actually mount the things, but hey. That's something I want to do. It'll be motivation to get my ish together.

 

Also, apparently we're getting into traditional-style training, meaning newaza, then instruction, then randori, which I'm pretty stoked about, but it means I need to make an effort to get there on time. Not out of a sense of guilt, but I just don't want to miss out. Although, I can't shake the impression that J-sensei wants us to work on flow and getting tired out, and all of us lower belts are going to be stupid and fight instead.

 

Anyway. Upper body training today, followed by Karate. Cool.

[Teirin]

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

Worked on ogoshi, and realized to my horror that I've really, really gotta work on that entry step. Step is key. "You get that step, you get 9 throws," J-sensei said. "Do it with the other leg and you have 18 throws."

 

Completely agreed.  Good luck!

 

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

Also, apparently we're getting into traditional-style training, meaning newaza, then instruction, then randori, which I'm pretty stoked about,

 

Awesome, this will do you a lot of good :-)

[Kishi]

21 hours ago, Teirin said:

Awesome, this will do you a lot of good :-)

 

That's the hope! I like the traditional method; my major concern, though, is that I'm going to go with people who care more about getting their throws than keeping me safe and letting me work. I don't mind losing and I don't mind learning, but to just get rocked and overpowered without getting the chance to work really frustrates me, and I think that's a risk given how some of these people roll. But on the whole, still excited. Worst case, I just get really good at falling.

 

*

 

Thursday done!

 

Thursday's training went off basically without a hitch.

 

Incline Push Ups: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Push Ups: 4x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

• These are kind of on that borderline between being something I'm comfy with progressing and being something that I need to sit with for a bit. I think I can take the next step, though, particularly as I'm going to have a full week's rest between sessions again.

High Rows: 4x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

• Inner elbow was a little sore doing these, but I was able to massage it out afterward and it feels fine today.

Scap Push Ups: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Scap Plank: 4x36s

Integrated Mobility: DONE

• Man, I don't remember 36s taking this long.

Knee Push Ups: 1x7

• I decided not to throw a bunch of warm up sets on top, just because I figured I was plenty warm. I gave myself a couple minutes between planks and the push ups, and the end definitely snuck up on me. I was like, "Yeah, Kishi, you're doing it, you're doing it, hey why can't you get back up?" Total training time was actually super short compared to what I've been used to - 31:18 - and I probably could have spared a couple more minutes to rest so I could get more reps.

Karate afterward was good. Lots of hard practice of the basics, working on transitions, etc. Good stuff.

 

We stretched out afterward, and I have to admit, while I don't particularly like GB's stretch series I am kind of feeling the itch to do that again. Actually, I kind of want to page @Machete on this - I've picked up Flexible Steel and Super Joints, but I haven't really seen anything that digs into programming to get to the feats that they cite as standard. I think it'd be fun to try, as it's flexibility as done by a strength-training martial artist, but I don't want to just faff about either, you know? So, since that one has actually accomplished those feats, and as I'm nowhere close, I'd appreciate any pointers.

[Teirin]

2 hours ago, Kishi said:

 

That's the hope! I like the traditional method; my major concern, though, is that I'm going to go with people who care more about getting their throws than keeping me safe and letting me work. I don't mind losing and I don't mind learning, but to just get rocked and overpowered without getting the chance to work really frustrates me, and I think that's a risk given how some of these people roll. But on the whole, still excited. Worst case, I just get really good at falling.

 

Very understandable and I've run into problems with that in a very traditional club.  Beware the rallying cry of "But it's tournament style" which really means they want to use tournament level force against an opponent who is operating at give and take learning style force.  Not ok.  Tournament force fights are absolutely fine in club, but both parties get to fight.  

 

Good day!

[Treva]

On 6/13/2018 at 11:19 AM, Kishi said:

Although there appears to be a silver-lining. I have an inside line at work that OT is getting ready to open up, and I more than qualify now. Now it's just a matter of getting my boss to put me in for it. /planning, plotting, scheming.

 

Well, if my knowledge of anatomy is right (which I don't trust anymore since I misdiagnosed my strained hamstring in front of a PAC), I'm feeling it in the extensor tendon of my left great toe. It's not persistent, feels better with rest, and I've noticed further that I didn't do some things right with the mobility. I was doing what's referred to as a "skier's squat," where you squat down with hips going off to the side and knees staying straight. I misinterpreted the cues and basically pushed my knees in the direction opposite of my hips. The way it is apparently supposed to work is, feet flat, knees above feet, and only the hips go off to the side.

 

When I do it proper, there is no pain, and this makes me happy.  However, when I do sprints, I do feel it a bit, up into the interior anterior tibial portion of my leg, so just above the left ankle. So, I'll have to find some other things I can do that'll transfer to martial arts that won't involve impact. More KB swings!

 

 

 

Anyway, lemme take that and make it a little easier. Essentially, I read the paper you gave me and made some adjustments:

• Took up a restricted eating window.
• Made sure to get enough protein (sidebar: seriously, these heart health guidelines do not have enough protein for gymrats. Just saying).
• Prior to this, I had been limiting myself to 100g of CHO with the rest of my calories coming from fats. After the news, I shifted so that I was drawing evenly off of both sources of energy. This worked out to something like 200+g CHO and 130+g fat. Ultimately, I allowed some flexibility, and mainly just focused on meeting what I'd decided were my energy requirements.
• I dropped a lot of saturated fat from my diet. Prior to this, I'd been eating fattier grinds of high-quality meat and eggs. I dropped eggs from my diet and focused on getting leaner grinds, usually 90+% lean. On that note...
• I stopped cooking with saturated fats. I used to love to use grass fed butter and coconut oil; these were dropped in favor of avocado oil, macadamia nut oil, and olive oil.
• I couldn't find a way to part with full fat greek yogurt. I tried, but it didn't stick.
• Toward the end, I began to eat chia seeds and cacao nibs for fiber and additional healthy fats.
• Took fish oil.
• Trained like my life depended on it.

Anyway, having got the results of the Boston back, I essentially have a tendency to store cholesterol rather than make my own and burn it like normal people do. So, with that being the case, the full fat dairy is gone (sigh) in favor of mixing olive oil into non-fat greek yogurt. Cacao nibs are out, chia seeds are staying for ALA (which I'd de-emphasized in favor of DHA and EPA for bioavailability but turns out I could still use more of). I'll also have to get to keeping a stash of walnuts on hand for ALA as well.

 

I've taken up breakfast again as well for weight management, but I still take one longer fast in the week, typically 24-36 hours with a very small, 300 calorie meal to aid with supplementation that day. This lets me take a cheat/make room for life indulgences/not feel deprived overall, and also lets me avoid certain obsessive compulsive eating behaviors which I tend to track toward.

 

I hope this helps, as far as putting it all in one place!

 

Anyway, my next big riddle to crack is my testosterone. I apparently am trending on the very lowest end of a normal range. That needs to be fixed, so I get to dig into that next.

RE: OT Above and below:  Congrats on getting the over time!!!! More money is more money, and while more time at the office is never the funnest thing in the world, it sounds like it makes your life a lot easier and less complicated.  

 

RE: Leg pain: Mm I like the fact that you're doing more anatomically advantageous motions.  What you're describing within the musculature is in the neighborhood of the extensor hallucis longus and extensor tibialis.  There could be all kinds of strains or inflammations regarding the different tendons and fascia, particularly with the different ligaments and retinaculums in the area.  Based on the fact that you're feeling it in the ankle as well as within the toe, there may be some tendon sheath involvement--it'll hurt near the toe, but the front of the shin on the left ish side near the toe is where a retinaculum (a piece of fascia) pins down the tendon, and can give you some compression over that tendon, which may also be causing you some discomfort.  Here's a link to a picture, in case you're not into seeing anatomy drawings.  

Necessary Disclaimer: I am not your doctor, this does not constitute medical advice, please see your personal physician/health care provider for any and all medical complaints.  

 

RE: your diet changes.  Those sound great!! congratulations on making good changes that have helped with your health numbers!!!  And all of those are really great changes to make; I don't know much about fasting, but that sounds like a reasonable thing to do with the 300 calorie meal in the middle.   I gotta be totally honest, I think dropping the saturated fats was a great idea.  Some saturated fats are great, but switching over to leaner grinds and leaner sources of protein is generally always a good move, provided you don't have special or unusual nutritional needs. 

Eggs and cholesterol may be something to talk about with your doctor.  Eggs in moderation are A Good; the cholesterol, fats, and nutrients in eggs honestly can't be beat.  A nutritionist is a great person to help sort through what good saturated fats can stay in your diet, if that's something you're interested in pursuing further.

And you know, if you need the full fat dairy, then you need the full fat dairy.  I like that you made the diet changes work for you, because what you did is incredibly difficult and it's nigh impossible to fit all the standards because no human is designed to fit all the standards.  

 

RE: The testosterone thing.  May have to do with protein levels, depending on T free and T total levels.

 

 

On 6/16/2018 at 3:01 PM, Kishi said:

Whew, boy. Past couple days have been big deals. In good ways, I promise.

 

So, y'all might have read about my inside line on OT. It paid off! My manager emailed us on time to let us know about it and when I asked her to run my closure averages, I'd maintained a high enough average to be eligible. So, starting 06/30, I'll be spending extra time in the office. Which sounds shitty when I put it that way, but it's time and a half, and the extra money will make a difference. Rent will be easier, car repairs will be easier, having a life will be easier, etc. And what's cool about it is that thanks to some of the regulations regarding work and lunch breaks and such, I can actually balance it so that I get to work on Saturday morning and work just long enough to get done and go do Kali after. Which I think is a good compromise.

 

I didn't go to Karate because I decided to take Friday off to go fishing with my Dad as a way to celebrate Father's Day. Dad wanted to hit the lake early, meaning he wanted me at the house at 0630 and I thought that getting back late would be a bad idea, so I took the night off. I got down early enough for what I wanted, and still woke up at 0330, then basically catnapped my way to my alarm. Made it out on time, though, and went fishing, where I got lots of strikes but couldn't set the hook proper. But it was good to spend that time with him and just catch up on things.

 

Afterward, we went to go get the title transferred on my car. This is something I haven't mentioned here, but when we first got the car, it was done as a dual title with both me and my Dad on it, because my credit score was not great at that time. Eventually, the car got paid off, and Dad wanted to transfer the title to me as the sole owner. So, okay. So we go to the DMV and we do that.

 

Funny thing I didn't know about NC law though is that when you transfer a title, you automatically update your registration, meaning that your tags and such get brought up to date. And, that's basically what happened. We went to the DMV, transferred my title to me, and I walked out with a new registration, with updated tags to be mailed out in a few weeks.

 

You Guys. YOU GUYS. I can't tell you how much of a relief it is for me to not have this on me anymore.

 

To be clear, it's not the end of all my problems. I still have to get the repairs done before the end of 09/2018, and that means more poor living for a while. But the fact that I'm not on the hook anymore... it is, to say the least, a relief.

 

The other big thing is researching how to increase my T. I finally found a resource that I believe could work with my present dietary restrictions. But, it also comes with some pretty significant training guidelines - specifically, a need to re-emphasize recovery over everything else. Meaning that I'm being challenged to cut my training back to, at most, 3-4 days/week.

 

Y'all, I really don't know how to manage this. I can't do anything about martial arts - they're kind of downregulating themselves at this point; the extra body in Karate, in particular, really drives down the intensity of that class, because I spend more time holding pads and such - but getting GST on point... this is going to be something else. I think I can recombine this stuff pretty easy, and I think I can get those workouts done within the time limits that are imposed, but, even so.

 

My thoughts at this point:

• I can recombine these movements into their original workouts. Sunday and Thursday can be Upper Body and Core days; I can throw the pistol work in on Thursday and it not negatively affect anything.
• I'll probably have to drop some of the warm up work in favor doing warm up sets of these movements instead, but given the integration of mobility in all this stuff, I don't think it'll be a problem.
• S&S. Whew. Buddy. I'm thinking Tuesdays and Saturdays still; I'll let myself autoregulate up or down depending on how I'm doing that day. Today, for instance, I'll probably go fast and heavy.
• Friday will still be handstand day, but TBH I don't think this will be a problem as handstands are generally done as an easy practice rather than something super stressful.

The other thing I need to focus down on is my diet. I'm digging into my blood numbers and I've realized that just by cutting down how much fat I was getting on average, I was able to get like 90% of what my doc wanted done, and this was even after I'd failed to mitigate my saturated fat intake. If I set an even lower average, that might just do everything I need it to do in terms of getting my blood work to improve while also getting my T where I'd like it to be (in other words, drawing from SFA sources in addition to MUFA sources).

 

I'm sure it sounds kind of silly to worry about this, but I am experiencing a lot of symptoms of it. I'm noticing it particularly in my mindset - I'm a lot more depressed these days than I normally am, and haven't been recovering from training particularly well. These aches and pains... these are not supposed to be normal.

 

I've been thinking about the trip to NYC, and how I lost so much weight. It was a lot of low intensity movement and such... but there was a huge amount of recovery between my intense bouts of training, and it was a really low stress environment. I can't help but wonder now, having dug even further into the research, if maybe the reason things went so well there in terms of getting lean and losing weight had to do with some hormonal shifts rather than just lots of walking. Also, diet: high fat, high carb, low protein; the research seems to suggest that this was a good environment for T production. Contrast that with my higher carb, lower fat, higher protein diet.

 

So I've had a lot to think about the past couple days and even though not that much has happened, I've had enough on my mind to make it feel like it's been a lot.

 

Anyway, time to drink some coffee, swing some bells, and then slice some dudes.

 

Let me just say that coffee, swinging bells, and slicing dudes sounds like paradise.   Like that's truly amazing.

Right onto the rest of this post

I honestly have no idea how hormones, particularly T, exercise, and diet interact.  This is interesting though.  I don't think it's silly to worry about it; you're feeling changes, and you want to find a root cause.  No harm in looking for a reason.  Unless you end up like eating snake venom or something, that would be bad.  Don't do that.

There are lots of reasons to be feeling depressed and to not feel like you're recovering, as I'm sure you know and are exploring.  Will do more research; if I find any good literature may I send it your way?

 

I am so glad the car situation sounds like it's a little less stressful with all the changeovers.  That sounds like it's really helpful for your mindset and I'm glad there's a bit of mental deloading going on. YAY!

 

 

On 6/19/2018 at 11:11 AM, Kishi said:

Gaming was done! Ate lots of good food which included lots of rice and guac and sour cream because I'm convinced right now that monitoring overall intake does more for my blood than worrying too much about sources. Also, since I have a load more time to save up for the car repairs, I can afford to eat out again. It's surprising what that does for personal morale; I've built this relationship with the staff at the Chipotle where I go because of my custom orders and generous tipping, and I was surprised at how much I missed them.

 

The game went well. My fighter character distinguished himself really well, despite the fact that we're running for our lives from a bunch of automatons. In a cave. In the dark. With only one torch.

 

Tonight, S&S and Karate. Feels like I have enough energy for this to be a good idea.

 

 

YAY CONGRATS ON THE EATING OUT.  I'm glad you're able to eat out again and do some nice things for yourself!!! Treat the Kishi.  Appreciate the Kishi.  the Kishi is A Good., but you don't need me to tell you that.  

 

Will continue to stay tuned for all your martial arts developments!!

[Machete]

On 6/22/2018 at 11:39 AM, Kishi said:

That's the hope! I like the traditional method; my major concern, though, is that I'm going to go with people who care more about getting their throws than keeping me safe and letting me work. I don't mind losing and I don't mind learning, but to just get rocked and overpowered without getting the chance to work really frustrates me, and I think that's a risk given how some of these people roll. But on the whole, still excited. Worst case, I just get really good at falling.

 

This is a huge problem I run into all the time, particularly being the small guy. UFC Gym tends to attract young guys who like to think they're cage fighters (who chat with babes online all day). That's fine, but we're new so they're in the same class as everyone else, and no real fundamentals class. Every time I train I'm pretty much just trying not to get injured by guys twice my size trying to "win" at practice who for some reason get pissed when they get choked by a guy who has been competing since they were in grade school.

 

On 6/22/2018 at 11:39 AM, Kishi said:

We stretched out afterward, and I have to admit, while I don't particularly like GB's stretch series I am kind of feeling the itch to do that again. Actually, I kind of want to page @Machete on this - I've picked up Flexible Steel and Super Joints, but I haven't really seen anything that digs into programming to get to the feats that they cite as standard. I think it'd be fun to try, as it's flexibility as done by a strength-training martial artist, but I don't want to just faff about either, you know? So, since that one has actually accomplished those feats, and as I'm nowhere close, I'd appreciate any pointers.

 

I've read those and Relax Into Stretch, but I can't really recall any actual programming prescriptions. GB has the most specific program for stretching that I've run into, and you know me, I just like following orders. I'm looking at a Flexible Steel certification sometime in September. I'll keep you updated. For the moment all I do is the Frog Sequence for pancakes and the Lunge Sequence for Front Splits. I've actually been rather lazy with flexibility work. I'm still trying to find a way to make it a habit.

[Kishi]

On 6/22/2018 at 2:47 PM, Teirin said:

Very understandable and I've run into problems with that in a very traditional club.  Beware the rallying cry of "But it's tournament style" which really means they want to use tournament level force against an opponent who is operating at give and take learning style force.  Not ok.  Tournament force fights are absolutely fine in club, but both parties get to fight.

 

I mean, ostensibly we're trying to go easy. J-sensei's very much about keeping tourney fighting in tourney, on account of the fact that most of us are broken somewhere, somehow. The fact that it's been articulated in this way is what makes me optimistic.

 

On 6/23/2018 at 11:50 AM, Treva said:

RE: OT Above and below:  Congrats on getting the over time!!!! More money is more money, and while more time at the office is never the funnest thing in the world, it sounds like it makes your life a lot easier and less complicated.  

 

I think it will! Need just enough mo' money, you know?

 

On 6/23/2018 at 11:50 AM, Treva said:

RE: Leg pain: Mm I like the fact that you're doing more anatomically advantageous motions.  What you're describing within the musculature is in the neighborhood of the extensor hallucis longus and extensor tibialis.  There could be all kinds of strains or inflammations regarding the different tendons and fascia, particularly with the different ligaments and retinaculums in the area.  Based on the fact that you're feeling it in the ankle as well as within the toe, there may be some tendon sheath involvement--it'll hurt near the toe, but the front of the shin on the left ish side near the toe is where a retinaculum (a piece of fascia) pins down the tendon, and can give you some compression over that tendon, which may also be causing you some discomfort.  Here's a link to a picture, in case you're not into seeing anatomy drawings.  

Necessary Disclaimer: I am not your doctor, this does not constitute medical advice, please see your personal physician/health care provider for any and all medical complaints.  

 

Well, I certainly do hope that I'm not compromising you or anything by talking about my issues. But otherwise, yeah, I'll be careful.

 

On 6/23/2018 at 11:50 AM, Treva said:

RE: your diet changes.  Those sound great!! congratulations on making good changes that have helped with your health numbers!!!  And all of those are really great changes to make; I don't know much about fasting, but that sounds like a reasonable thing to do with the 300 calorie meal in the middle.   I gotta be totally honest, I think dropping the saturated fats was a great idea.  Some saturated fats are great, but switching over to leaner grinds and leaner sources of protein is generally always a good move, provided you don't have special or unusual nutritional needs. 

 

My special need is that I like tasty food, and SFAs are tasty. >.> <.< Don't tell anyone, shhhh.

 

On 6/23/2018 at 11:50 AM, Treva said:

Eggs and cholesterol may be something to talk about with your doctor.  Eggs in moderation are A Good; the cholesterol, fats, and nutrients in eggs honestly can't be beat.  A nutritionist is a great person to help sort through what good saturated fats can stay in your diet, if that's something you're interested in pursuing further.

And you know, if you need the full fat dairy, then you need the full fat dairy.  I like that you made the diet changes work for you, because what you did is incredibly difficult and it's nigh impossible to fit all the standards because no human is designed to fit all the standards.  

 

A nutritionist might be in the future at some point. I'm still sold on the idea of fattier grass fed beef, on account of omega-3s and CLAs being present in fattier grinds. As long as it doesn't exceed my allowances, I suspect I'll be okay. But that's the only wild/grassfed game I can play; otherwise, it's all conventional stuff, and I reckon I'll probably go leaner on those just as a rule going forward.

 

On 6/23/2018 at 11:50 AM, Treva said:

RE: The testosterone thing.  May have to do with protein levels, depending on T free and T total levels.

 

I think so. Total was ~349, free was 51.5. About as low as I can go and stay in the normal range. I didn't know that protein affected that, but it makes the decision to lower my overall intake seem like a sensible one.

 

On 6/23/2018 at 11:50 AM, Treva said:

Let me just say that coffee, swinging bells, and slicing dudes sounds like paradise.   Like that's truly amazing.

 

Those are good days. I like those days.

 

On 6/23/2018 at 11:50 AM, Treva said:

I honestly have no idea how hormones, particularly T, exercise, and diet interact.  This is interesting though.  I don't think it's silly to worry about it; you're feeling changes, and you want to find a root cause.  No harm in looking for a reason.  Unless you end up like eating snake venom or something, that would be bad.  Don't do that.

There are lots of reasons to be feeling depressed and to not feel like you're recovering, as I'm sure you know and are exploring.  Will do more research; if I find any good literature may I send it your way?

 

/hurriedly kicks Snake Venom vial under a rug

 

But yeah, it's a fascinating subject. I'm extremely lucky that for all of that, the actionable steps are relatively few and emphasize recovery and de-stressing, two things which, if I'm honest, I really hadn't allowed myself a lot of time for. Just doing that in the past week has made a heck of a difference.

 

And of course, if you find anything, please feel free to post. It may not be clear, but I'll take all the help I can get.

 

On 6/23/2018 at 11:50 AM, Treva said:

 

I am so glad the car situation sounds like it's a little less stressful with all the changeovers.  That sounds like it's really helpful for your mindset and I'm glad there's a bit of mental deloading going on. YAY!

 

Careful, careful-

 

 

On 6/23/2018 at 11:50 AM, Treva said:

YAY CONGRATS ON THE EATING OUT.  I'm glad you're able to eat out again and do some nice things for yourself!!! Treat the Kishi.  Appreciate the Kishi.  the Kishi is A Good., but you don't need me to tell you that.

 

Maybe not, but lemme tell ya, I could always use reminding.

 

On 6/23/2018 at 7:40 PM, Machete said:

This is a huge problem I run into all the time, particularly being the small guy. UFC Gym tends to attract young guys who like to think they're cage fighters (who chat with babes online all day). That's fine, but we're new so they're in the same class as everyone else, and no real fundamentals class. Every time I train I'm pretty much just trying not to get injured by guys twice my size trying to "win" at practice who for some reason get pissed when they get choked by a guy who has been competing since they were in grade school.

 

I tell you, man. Youth is wasted on the young. Although, the ones who I worry about should be old enough to know better. Old men with low belts spaz about as hard as the kids do.

 

On 6/23/2018 at 7:40 PM, Machete said:

I've read those and Relax Into Stretch, but I can't really recall any actual programming prescriptions. GB has the most specific program for stretching that I've run into, and you know me, I just like following orders. I'm looking at a Flexible Steel certification sometime in September. I'll keep you updated. For the moment all I do is the Frog Sequence for pancakes and the Lunge Sequence for Front Splits. I've actually been rather lazy with flexibility work. I'm still trying to find a way to make it a habit.

 

Gotcha. I feel you. It is nice to have something regimented in place, but I kind of struggle between my teacher's old school ideas of what a stretch routine is and what GB says a good routine is. It can be a bit much, I think. Still, would definitely appreciate it if you kept me updated. It's impressive, what I've seen you do.

[Kishi]

Okay, wait, it's Monday, what, what's going on?

 

Friday was a refreshingly quiet day. I worked on my headstands and did good work. They all went up nice and easy. Overall, the day felt way too easy, but that's an acceptable change of pace. Went to go see a friend at the Improv joint after, and it was good to catch up.

 

Saturday, the plan was to get to the Krav school and assist Manong in demonstration. What happened was, I got caught in construction traffic, and when I got to the place where the school used to be, it wasn't there. So I wound up wandering the town for a bit before I finally got there. Wound up only helping for like half an hour or so. The Krav folk seemed pretty friendly, all things considered. I got paired with someone who I didn't really teach very well; we try to play around with energy and movement, and he instead would exert a lot of pressure in a direction beyond the scope of the drills we were trying to do. I know he was looking for an explanation - "Why do you catch the hand like that when I can clearly cut you even then?" - but I didn't really know the answer, and I didn't know how to explain to him how to get the most out of what we did.

 

Still, I must have done something right. We went up and did demos afterward; Manong texted me Sunday night and said we had 4 new people who'd be coming in to play on Saturday.

 

Anyway. Played with kettlebells and that was that.

 

Sunday, I went out to breakfast with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. I've been trying to engage in more outreach with people, and it was good to be able to catch up. After that was training and watching the cat. Training wasn't a huge deal - it felt pretty easy, actually, although I did get some interior knee pain on my left. It responded to foam rolling, though, and I'm not feeling anything today. Catwatch basically was something I did for the folks along with my brother, as they were out of town and they were worried. So I used it as an excuse to bingewatch the new Voltron eps (also, @Teirin: HOLY CRAP) and also try to pick brains about how Detroit: Become Human chooses to tell its story. I did get some good discussion out of it, I thought, although I also got one guy who really needed me to know how little he cared about any perspective that saw the game in a poor light and that he didn't want to think. So I told him he was allowed to have his opinion and that I thought the ways in which we tell stories matter, and that if he didn't want to care I certainly couldn't make him.

 

Something about it hit me harder than I think it had a right to, though. I'm not sure if it's a poor night's sleep or having to go off caffeine for a bit (that half life, I tells ya) but to be dismissed like that, like having an alternate and informed opinion was irrelevant, really stung. Plays to my insecurities, you know?

 

But. It doesn't matter. Like I told him, a person has to care at least a little in order for anything productive to happen; I can't make that person care if they don't want to at least a little. And frankly, it says more about who they are rather than who I am.

 

Anyway. Gaming and cooking sweet potatoes tonight. We're doing a thing at work on Friday where we do baked potatoes. I got pulled for baking (because, with my facilities, of course I did!), and I'm debating bringing in a variety of sweet potatoes - not just the orange, but also Stokes and Satsuma sweet potatoes. Because challenging people's palates has gone so well for me in this place before.

[RisenPhoenix]

On 6/21/2018 at 10:35 AM, Kishi said:

Worked on ogoshi, and realized to my horror that I've really, really gotta work on that entry step. Step is key. "You get that step, you get 9 throws," J-sensei said. "Do it with the other leg and you have 18 throws."

 

The aikido ogoshi variant has been a topic of practice for all of the soon-to-be shodans I've been training with.  Not even the entry at this part, as much as just the damn hip placement.

 

Koshi throws are my bane, I've learned.  Terrible for people who are tall. >.<

 

17 hours ago, Kishi said:

So I used it as an excuse to bingewatch the new Voltron eps (also, @Teirin: HOLY CRAP)

 

HOLY CRAP, RIGHT?!!??!

 

 

[Teirin]

17 hours ago, Kishi said:

(also, @Teirin: HOLY CRAP)

 

35 minutes ago, RisenPhoenix said:

HOLY CRAP, RIGHT?!!??!

 

I have to wait on other people to watch it.  Have only seen the first 3 eps of the new season.  You're making me very impatient to see the rest.

[Machete]

On 6/24/2018 at 11:04 PM, Kishi said:

I tell you, man. Youth is wasted on the young. Although, the ones who I worry about should be old enough to know better. Old men with low belts spaz about as hard as the kids do.

 

Haha, yep. That's why I don't feel too bad when I crank on their feet. Going to start wristlocking fools too.

[Urgan]

Do unto others.....as they are clearly begging for.

[Kishi]

 

3 hours ago, RisenPhoenix said:

The aikido ogoshi variant has been a topic of practice for all of the soon-to-be shodans I've been training with.  Not even the entry at this part, as much as just the damn hip placement.

 

Koshi throws are my bane, I've learned.  Terrible for people who are tall. >.<

 

Eeeh. It's a matter of where you get to throw from. Ogoshi isn't one of my favorites, but harai goshi absolutely plays to my strengths relative to a lot of the students around here. But that's one of those that would still benefit from the use of additional step practice, so.

 

3 hours ago, RisenPhoenix said:

HOLY CRAP, RIGHT?!!??!

 

DUDE. DUDE.

 

3 hours ago, Teirin said:

I have to wait on other people to watch it.  Have only seen the first 3 eps of the new season.  You're making me very impatient to see the rest.

 

You clearly need to use your judo to get these people to their seats. Where they belong.

 

Anyway, suffice to say it's worth catching up.

 

42 minutes ago, Machete said:

Haha, yep. That's why I don't feel too bad when I crank on their feet. Going to start wristlocking fools too.

 

40 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Do unto others.....as they are clearly begging for.

 

Right. It's like with the new kid in Karate. You gotta teach them to fear the hand, or else they'll just walk all over you.

 

*

 

Monday wound up being a late gaming day. >.< Been a while since that happened. I got done what I had to get done, as far as cooking up food for the next few days, but that and getting showered and shaved was about all I had time for if I wanted to get a full night's sleep.

 

Game went well. We defeated the ambush party but almost died to a man. This is pretty common in Harn. As it is, we have a party of 7, and only two of us are on our feet yet. I am not one of those two. I imagine that we will all probably be dead before this stage of the campaign is through.

 

Anyway. Kettlebells and karate tonight.

[RisenPhoenix]

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

Eeeh. It's a matter of where you get to throw from. Ogoshi isn't one of my favorites, but harai goshi absolutely plays to my strengths relative to a lot of the students around here. But that's one of those that would still benefit from the use of additional step practice, so.

 

Aikido (at least my branch) changes names for hip throws based on the hip location used, so maybe I'm thinking of a different hip movement.

 

That said, this is one of my favorite hip throws by far, aiki otoshi.  Bonus that the video is showing Sioux teaching it.  Which means it's very old, and explains the really crappy quality. >.> <.<

 

 

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

DUDE. DUDE.

 

RIGHT?!

 

Spoiler

I mean, I kind of saw Anti-Voltron coming all the way last season.  What *was* interesting in my eyes was Lotor's motivation.  Yes, being supreme leader and yadda yadda ya, but the whole "Save Altean Culture" thing I really didn't expect him to adhere to.  I could see that as an excuse to use on Alura during calmer times, but he REALLY seemed to be committed to keeping the rest of the alteans safe and prospering, even if it was as a dictatorship.

 

Just knocking it out of the park with keeping the villains NOT one dimensional "I just want everything" tropes.

 

Also, THAT D&D EPISODE!!!

 

[Teirin]

2 hours ago, Kishi said:

Ogoshi isn't one of my favorites, but harai goshi absolutely plays to my strengths relative to a lot of the students around here. But that's one of those that would still benefit from the use of additional step practice, so.

 

That's because Harai Goshi is *awesome* and suits pretty much anyone.  The first that time you nail it and it works so perfectly.  Mmmmmm.

[Kishi]

18 hours ago, RisenPhoenix said:

Aikido (at least my branch) changes names for hip throws based on the hip location used, so maybe I'm thinking of a different hip movement.

 

Well, video of the movement seems to indicate something very similar. I think it's just a matter of how you get to lever the hip. Like I said, I have to get low to make ogoshi work and grab around the middle. Versus w/ harai, I can go higher around the shoulders. This lets me play with levers as opposed to having to lift dudes. Because dudes get heavy in judo.

 

18 hours ago, RisenPhoenix said:

RIGHT?!

 

Spoiler

The D&D episode was pretty great. I loved all the shout-outs and call-backs to things. I honestly think that their comic filler eps are probably some of the best things I've seen, but they only work because the characters feel really strongly fleshed out.

 

Lotor was a complicated figure. I remembered that about him from the original series; he tended to zigzag a lot in terms of who he was loyal to and what he wanted. Although, the whole benevolent dictator thing? That was a good angle for him.

 

I loved the Keith/Shiro fight. I'm sure you caught all the visual references to Empire Strikes Back, but yeah man that one just hit hard on all the right notes.

 

And that final mecha battle, tho.

 

17 hours ago, Teirin said:

 

That's because Harai Goshi is *awesome* and suits pretty much anyone.  The first that time you nail it and it works so perfectly.  Mmmmmm.

 

It's nice to be able to tip someone as opposed to having to lift them.

 

*

 

Tuesday done. Felt tired and weak on kettlebells, which is what happens when you have both no caffeine and a melatonin hangover. But I got the lifts done, and I'm not hurting for it now. When you're letting the residual caffeine burn out of your system, that's really just about the best you can hope for.

 

Um. Let's see. Karate was good. Lots of work on getting off the line of attack. Sparring afterward was done w/ an emphasis on counterstriking. I made it work, but I got blasted a couple times in the face at one point even opened up a tiny, tiny cut under my eye. I'm honestly proud of how civil I was during that whole exchange - even stinging and leaving blood on my gi, I remained calm and courteous, and fought with consistent intensity. Because someone has to show Waifu what an adult looks like.

 

Judo tonight. Just judo. Judo is enough. I should have known that from the start. We had some homework to do - had to find champions in our weight divisions and study their throws; also, have to bring a blindfold and a cotton ball for training. Need to go buy a cotton ball before class tonight. So.

[Kishi]

Wednesday done! Got there late because I elected to go pick up cotton balls so we could complete the homework. Which we never wound up doing. Instead, it was newaza and uchikomi all night. This was good. I've started working on tai otoshi, a throw I've avoided for a long time because K-sensei, who helped with a lot of my judo development, wasn't a fan. But apparently I can do it, and well even, although I need to get my bloody footwork right.

 

I wish I'd got there earlier and got the chance to roll more. But it is what it is.

 

And anyway, I might get my chance this weekend. We're having a BJJ guy do a seminar for a couple hours there, and I think that'd be a fun class to go to. It'll cut into my overtime a little bit, but I think it'll be worth it.

 

I'm trying to figure out how to manage cooking dinner and getting sweet potatoes baked for my obligations tomorrow. I'm kind of leaning toward skipping Karate tonight to get that done, just because of the logistics of getting lots of food cooked and having to balance that with getting dinner cooked and eaten and all that. It's not like my body would say no to the extra rest.