QuirkyDM, sidekick takes off the training wheels

[Epsilonx2]

Oh my gosh! Glad you managed not to kill yourself with those squats! And, on the day you decide you're ready to do 200 lbs on purpose, you'll be able to go into it with confidence. Enjoy your rest day, sir.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[QuirkyDM]

***************

As an on call sidekick, I can't choose the jobs I take. I just roll with the punches. (sometimes literally) You can't turn down jobs. (except maybe the Frog-Man episode) And sometimes sidekicks have to do things a little out of the ordinary. How out of the ordinary, you may ask? Well, did you know the Justice League has drug tests, just like the olympics? Did I take the test? Yes and no. See sidekicks, especially temporary sidekicks, don't need to take the drug test. More work is put towards security clearance and background checks. But let's just say a certain masked member needed someone to take the test for them just this one time. I'm not naming names or anything. That would break sidekick-hero confidentiality. Plus, I'm pretty sure the certain someone would break me.

 

Of course, I was so busy getting this test done, I didn't have time to eat very much yesterday. Try explaining that to the Hulk. Actually, try explaining anything to the Hulk- good luck.

 

"Hulk, it looks like I didn't eat enough today."

 

"Puny human! Hulk smash food into little man's mouth!"

 

"But it's ... GLUMPH, GULP, CHOMP .. can't breath ... ULP, SWALLOW, GLOMP"

***************

I went in for some blood work yesterday morning to get my cholesterol checked. This goes along with 12 hours of fasting beforehand. I ate a bunch during the day, but then our internet was down all night and I couldn't log in to check my calorie counts. It finally came up at bedtime and after logging my food, I was 600 calories short! So after a handful of nuts, a few tablespoons of fish oil and a half dozen figs, I hit my quota for the day.

 

That makes every day so far I've logged 3000 calories. It's not too bad. I make all the breakfasts and pack my own lunch every day. At work, I can log in, track my food and see if tonight's supper should be eat a little, eat a lot, or eat a lot and a night time snack. (usually the last one) And adding recipes is pretty easy, too, so it makes tracking foods and leftovers pretty easy.

Weight progress:

Jan. 6: 130.4, 12.4% BF

Jan 13: 131.4, 12.2% BF

Jan. 20: 132.8, 13.2% BF

 

My weight is still pretty wild day to day, though. For instance, during the first two weeks, I would basically stay the same weight all week and then shoot up a pound over the weekend. This week, I've gained 2 pounds since Monday. I assume it's just a surge and it will stabilize down. But I think my body is finally starting to get the picture. I'll wait to see how my Monday weigh in goes and then adjust my calorie intake. Maybe take it lower if the gains keep coming like this. Plus I'll take measurements then to get a good idea where the weight is going.

[Librarian of Doom]

Good job sticking with your diet goal!!!

[QuirkyDM]

Yesterday was cold, but I love thermal wear. with a light layer over top for wind protection, I have no issue going out in -30C weather. I'm not really sure how fast I ran, thanks to my iPhone deciding it was too cold. Did you know iPhones will shut off if they get too cold? About 20 minutes into my run, my phone powered down. I'm glad I wasn't stuck on the side of the road somewhere in an emergency. What kind of phone shuts down in the middle of winter when you actually need it?

 

Today was push day. I did squats and used the correct weight (I counted many, many times) and I had no problem. It feels great to know that I can just keep pushing more and more weight on here. If I could just do squats and pull ups, I would be a happy camper. I did push press as well, but I took the weight down to 80 lbs on these. I'm hitting my limit and I'm going to make sure my form is better. My right arm and is feeling really tight and I'm getting a sore wrist on that side, so I wouldn't mind some recovery time while I perfect the form. It helped a lot today to keep my stomach tight and keep the tension off my back.

 

Tip #1 on push press (or overhead press): Always - and I mean always, always- make sure you move your head back when lifting the bar. My teeth are still a little tingly. On the other hand, I have more confidence in me being able to survive and recover from an uppercut if it ever came to that. The embarrassing part, well the more embarrassing part, is this isn't the first time I've done this and needed to remind myself.

[Maledictus]

Yesterday was cold, but I love thermal wear. with a light layer over top for wind protection, I have no issue going out in -30C weather. I

 

I get to give all my cold weather gear a thorough work out tomorrow, so this sounds encouraging.

Never hit my teeth on OHP or similar.  My nose on the other hand ...  nothing quite like an oly lifting session where you nearly knock yourself out and break your nose

[QuirkyDM]

I didn't hit my teeth as much as I slammed it into my chin and crunched my teeth together. I'm glad I don't stick my tongue out when I'm trying to lift heavy weights.

 

Today is basement cleaning craze. I was hoping to get to the gym today, but the gym is only open until 6:00. My treadmill is here 24/7, though, and since my gear still needs to be washed from the other day, I'll be running inside tonight. Tomorrow is pull day, plus time for some pictures and measurements to see how everything is doing.

[QuirkyDM]

Week 3 update. No pictures, though.

 

HALF WAY DONE! Which is more than just a good feeling. This challenge ends on Family Day weekend, which is when my kids and I will be flying to California for a week to spend with my parents. (San Diego, LA and Hemmet) This is a big reward for me to look forward to after the challenge is done.

 

Goal A- Follow the Hulk guide to eating.

100% achieved so far.

No measurements today. Despite all the cleaning, I can't find my tape measure.

Weight 134.6 lbs, 12.7% BF

 

Goal B- Captain America training regime

100% achieved so far.

My 5x5 numbers:

squat: 185 lbs

deadlift: 135 lbs

pull ups: 7.5 lbs

push press: 90 lbs

 

Goal C- JCVD

I don't know if I'll hit the goal here. I haven't stretched every day, but I have made sure to never miss 2 days in a row.

My stretches:

butterfly stretch

front splits

alternating front splits (to work the hips)

seated groin stretch

splits

 

Lifequest- Cleanse the Q-Cave.

We're about 40% done here. Toy cleanup is taking a loooong time. The kids spend more time playing then sorting. Furnace room and laundry room are done. Craft room is half done. Main room is 20% done.

[Epsilonx2]

Congrats on the basement progress!! And I'll keep your push press tip in mind. Ouch!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

[Librarian of Doom]

Yeah, I've had some close calls with overhead presses. Also, smacked myself in the chin with a pvc pipe the other day when warming up for snatches. 

 

My sister texted me today to tell me that she turns into a thirteen-year-old every time they do snatches. I told her everyone does.

[QuirkyDM]

Yeah, it's right up there with fartleks. Put those two in a training circuit together and no one would get any exercise done.

[QuirkyDM]

Today I registered for my second obstacle run of the year: MudHero! A work friend is training for a 10K this May and we brought up doing obstacle races. Grab a few more colleagues and now there's four of us signed up to run this year.

 

As far as obstacle courses go, it's pretty low on the difficulty scale- no real upper body needed and a 2 minute "sit out" penalty if you can't do an obstacle even with the race guides' help. But that is why my friends picked it. It definitely gets my psyched to sign up for more! And this will be a great first race for the summer. I'm also going to see how fast I can get through the course, as I've never done an OCR for time before. I did Prison Break last year, but I always held some energy in reserve to make sure I could sprint away from the prison guards as needed. This time, it's balls to wall!

[Librarian of Doom]

That looks like fun! I did a zombie OCR (kind of pathetic obstacles) and decided I didn't like it because of the need to hold energy in reserve, like you said. Also, the obstacles were badly spaced, but that's a separate issue. I want to be able to focus on what I'm doing, not have to be constantly on the watch for zombies/prison guards/whatever.

[Maledictus]

Today I registered for my second obstacle run of the year: MudHero! A work friend is training for a 10K this May and we brought up doing obstacle races. Grab a few more colleagues and now there's four of us signed up to run this year.

 

As far as obstacle courses go, it's pretty low on the difficulty scale- no real upper body needed and a 2 minute "sit out" penalty if you can't do an obstacle even with the race guides' help. But that is why my friends picked it. It definitely gets my psyched to sign up for more! And this will be a great first race for the summer. I'm also going to see how fast I can get through the course, as I've never done an OCR for time before. I did Prison Break last year, but I always held some energy in reserve to make sure I could sprint away from the prison guards as needed. This time, it's balls to wall!

 

Cool!  Let us know how you get on.  I STILL haven't learnt how to pace myself.  I'm always ending up finishing with stuff left in the tank (apart from on the ridiculously long runs).  I'm sure there's a good way of doing so but I haven't found it yet.

 

 

 

 I did Prison Break last year,<snip>. This time, it's balls to wall!

 

 

uh huh.

[QuirkyDM]

Ahh, Wednesday. Everyone has a rush to do status on Monday, but what about poor Wednesday? This looks like a better time for a status report. No pressure to get things done at the start of the week. How about some food talk?

 

Goal A- Follow the Hulk guide to eating

I've tracked every day and hit my 3000 calorie goals for the day. At the start I was worried about gaining too much. Now .. not a problem. Just the opposite. Here's my daily weigh-ins from the start of the challenge to today, with a 7 line moving average so it's more closely representing week to week:

 

In the first few weeks, there was a sharp incline. And now it seems to have leveled off and even might be going down. I'm still getting strength gains and everything else seems fine. All I can do for it is pack more food in my belly. Seeing as how I've been stable for 2 weeks now, it's time to increase the calories and maybe reexamine my diet a bit to make sure it's all going the way I want. Starting today, I'm going to 3500 calories and see what my body thinks of that! I've been up to 150lbs before as a skinny fat (no exercise and eating takeout every night) so I know I can gain. I just have to do it while my body is working hard at the same time.

[sylph]

Woot! MOAR food.

[Librarian of Doom]

Good luck getting that food in!!!

[QuirkyDM]

My new role model:

 

[tenaciousglee]

I just have to do it while my body is working hard at the same time.

That's the real trick! Last summer, I went from 149 to 163, but my training wasn't up to snuff and I just ended up gaining around the middle.

Good luck upping the calories!!

[Epsilonx2]

Cookie Monster would surely be super proud of the way you've been packing that food away already! I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to keeping track of my numbers that way, but it seems like it's really working for you. It's great that you were able to catch yourself leveling out and respond accordingly without getting frustrated because you couldn't pin down what was going on.

[musasabi]

You're a champion of macronutrients, haha.

[sylph]

*poke poke* Where you at?

[QuirkyDM]

I've been single handedly keeping the kleenex manufacturing busy alive and thriving.

It started last Wednesday. My squats were off. Way off. I couldn't even get through my first set. And I KNEW I had the right weight this time- it was the same weight I had done earlier in the week with no real issue. I chalked it up to lack of sleep. I was up until 11:30 playing Pathfinder and then my daughter came in during the middle of the night. She couldn't sleep she was too excited. The volleyball team list was going to be put out that day. She was waiting for an email from the boy she liked. She also had something going on at school, too, I think. I was pretty tired to get all the details. All of 10 years old and the drama will only increase from here.

 

That night I started getting a tickle in my throat. Combined with the leg weakness (my legs muscles always seem to crash first when I get sick) I knew I needed rest. But there was a huge deadline at work on Friday. So the rest of the week was spent getting up at 5 am and trying to get the work computers to give me the results I wanted. They were extremely uncooperative in that regard.

 

And then the weekend included an epic crash where I slept, watched TV and read.

 

My challenge is on a stall right now. I want to get through a whole day without crashing before I try the gym again. The basement is not going to have much more accomplished, though it's done pretty well so far. I skipped food tracking for the last 3 days because when I'm sick, I fuel my body constantly and damn the calories. (though I do keep it healthy) I'm sure I've kept over 3000 calories every day.

 

It's only a minor detour, but I'm not running at full speed yet.

 

New plan- add in one of my challenge goals everyday for the next four days and then continue to fight until the end:

- start tracking food again today

- start stretching again tomorrow

- start basement cleaning on Thursday

- exercise on Friday

[Chelkie]

Aw sorry your sick Quirky, that's the worst! Stinks it decided to throw in a monkey wrench on the last week of your challenge too. Hope you feel better and can finish up strong.

[QuirkyDM]

Aw sorry your sick Quirky, that's the worst! Stinks it decided to throw in a monkey wrench on the last week of your challenge too. Hope you feel better and can finish up strong.

Thanks, Chelkie. If it had to happen, now is as good a time as any. I'm on vacation next week, so I'd rather be sick now than next week. And I know had 4.5 good weeks before this of solid exercise, eating and cleaning. I'll be back for next challenge ready to go again.

[musasabi]

That's right! No brief illness can undo your gains, physical or otherwise. ;D