Tsune of RisenPhoenix

[RisenPhoenix]

I ate okonomiyaki all weekend, and might just continue all week, so I could be very tempted here.

 

I did not have that while in Japan.  One of the many culinary things I didn't get a chance to try.

 

I also woke up this morning wishing I had rice, miso, and some protein for breakfast.  Looking back, maybe I should have tried to make an egg or something and rice quickly.  I think I have instant miso packets.  But I really was craving a Japanese breakfast this morning.

 

So while not a challenge-exact thing, I am going to try and count and limit my calories during the challenge.  Goal is under 2500 per day.  Less is better, but I'm not going to be terribly heart broken if I go above, especially if it's for a good reason.

 

Weigh in this morning: 211.6 (I ate lots of junk Saturday and Sunday, so I imagine it'll take a bit for my body to drop closer to the 211/210 mark).

 

Food yesterday: ~2300.  I kinda forgot to log some things I nibbled on in the office, but did okay.  I had a lower calorie count until I ate a bunch of smartfood while on the phone with the girlfriend.  This is why I should start making dinner immediately when I get home from class.  Oh well.

 

Trying to reel in snacks, and so far... it's not working.  But, I don't have much junk at home, and work stuff seems light, so maybe it'll turn out okay.

[raptron]

H-Mart in Burlington has EVERYTHINGGG you could ever want. There is also one in Central Square, which is much smaller but still packs a lot in there. 

[RisenPhoenix]

Woke up this morning feeling pretty solid, actually.  Is jet lag ending, maybe? 

 

I don't know.  I think the fact I had over 7 hours of sleep helps.  I work so much better on 7 hours of sleep, but I have such a hard time getting to bed on time to make it happen, especially when I have to wake up around 5-5:50AM.

 

Anyway, rucked the Stadium this morning.  6 bricks + ~3L of water.  Final backpack weight was 38 pounds. 

 

Rucked up 19 sections for a complete half tour (and it was a Fire Drill, so we had 60-70 push ups - first half were full, second half were knee).  Ended up around a lot of the newbies, but that's fine by me.  Offered up lots of fuck yeas, high fives, and hugs to them to keep them encouraged.  They were all badasses.  Felt good over all, though I'm sure the DOMS will revenge me later.  My calf is being wonky, so I may try and buff it out later tonight after aikido.

 

Also for the first time in forever had a photo taken of me actively on the Stairs during the regular workout.  You can tell this is early, because I am smiling and don't look like death.

 

 

Food yesterday was a little over 2,000 calories.  Apparently doing a steeper cut than I expected.  Whoops?  I'm feeling pretty good though, so that's nice.  Then again I'm also not lifting yet.  Things may dive bomb when that gets rolled back into my schedule.  Time will tell.  At least all the rice in Japan replaced my glycogen stores, right?

[RisenPhoenix]

Weighed myself in this morning:  210.8 pounds. 

 

No gut measurement, but I feel thinner, so I'm going to just be content with that feeling a bit.

 

Calories yesterday ended up around 2400.  High, but Rucking Stairs + a class of aikido means I'm not feeling too bad about it (especially since rest day calories can be more like 2600 and I'm still in deficit).  Most of what I ate was pretty solid and not junky, too. 

 

Onward and downward on the scale?

[MegaCarp]

Always thought good was better than thin. 

[RisenPhoenix]

This weekend I ate like an asshole.

 

A complete.  And utter.  Asshole.

 

Saturday I didn't bother logging.  Between a pot luck and helping raptron move, I knew food was going to be too annoying to track.  But it doesn't help that I bought two pints of ice cream Friday night and both vanished this weekend.  Yea, not B&J's ice cream so it wasn't the usual 1200-1300 calorie pints, but it was still like 1600 calories for those 2 pints.  Really was no good reason beyond I kept eating.  And Sunday I was trying to behave to make up for the assholeness of Saturday, and ended up finishing the pints AND getting a popcorn at the movie theatre.  What started as a really solid day of light eating turned into RP eating everything.

 

In other news, I didn't go lift this week at all. Too tired, too sore, and too jetlagged.

 

Hoping to get back tomorrow, but with with girlfriend in town (And injured, to boot), I doubt I'll make it again until she leaves.  But I need to start slooooow.  Thinking 50% lifts for 5x5 to get rolling again.  Not crazy heavy, but enough to get them back to remembering.

 

And that's about it.  Was planning a ruck on Saturday, but with the current forecast and the whole "gimpy girlfriend" thing a hike seems less likely.  Guess I'll sit in my parent's hot tub then.  Shucks.

[RisenPhoenix]

Hokay.  In a bid to be less of a crap-devouring monster, I worked pretty hard yesterday to not eat all the things.  Final verdict: 2,000, when all was said and done.  Huzzah!  Also I ate so much food this weekend I had enough energy and felt fine.  Clearly I ate a lot.

 

Also dragged myself out of bed this morning to go to the gym for the first time in a month.  A MONTH.  Yeesh.

 

Took it easy to evaluate how I felt, and by-and-large it felt okay.  One thing that concerns me is my gimp knee from a few months ago.  Clearly the swelling has gone down - it is definitely smaller than it was when I first noticed it, though still there for sure.  What's odder is the fact that because the swelling/cyst-thing has shrunk, I can feel it moving in the area of my knee.  And when I move my knee, it now.... does something? It feels like it's rubbing against a tendon/muscle, causing it to twitch.  It doesn't hurt, it just feel awkward.  Ended up cutting the deadlifts I had planned short because it felt too weird, even though the weight and the form felt solid.

 

Squats:

45# x5

95# x5

115# x5

135# 5x5

 

Felt okay, need to make sure my toes stay on the ground and I get full ROM, but not terrible.

 

BP:

45# x5

95# x5

115# x5

135# 5x5

 

You know, nothing points out how shitty my squat is quite like having the same lifts for my bench press and my squat.  Ugh.  Otherwise it went fine.  Focused on keeping my elbows in line with my wrists and only noticed them flaring out on the last set.

 

DL:

135# x5

155# x5

185# 5x3

 

Only 3 sets of 5 instead of the 5x5 I wanted.  Mainly because my knee felt weird and I do have 2 classes of aikido to get through tonight.  Weight felt fine, so I was kind of annoyed due to that.

 

Over all, I'm curious to see how my body feels in the morning.  Either I'll be solid or in terrible DOMS country.

[RisenPhoenix]

*Does a happy dance*

 

Weighted myself this morning.

 

209.4#.

 

That's the first time being under 210 since September.  Shit, that is almost a year ago.

 

But dammit if I don't feel happy about this result.

[RisenPhoenix]

Annnnnnd a week of vacation-like plus visiting my parents for Father's Day weekend has me back to 214.

 

Bollocks.

 

But I did learn that if I'm busy in the lab I can have a fake Intermittent Fasting schedule happen and not be totally miserable.  I just need to be busy.

 

Pffft.  Like that will ever happen regularly here at my job.

 

But I think I can be fairly strict the next few days.  Hopefully the majority of the weight is water flux.  I can still see my ribs fairly easily, so I'm thinking that's the case.  I hope.

[RisenPhoenix]

Deep breath.

 

Yesterday I went to the gym.

 

It was shit.

 

Probably didn't help that I had some tight/wonky muscle in my back that made it hurt when I would breath in deep.  So, you know, that whole valsalva maneuver kinda wasn't working well for me.  Also, knee is still weird, though this time I wore a brace which helped limit the amount of movement the more-than-likely cyst made around my knee.  Stretched as best as I could in a 2 foot x 4 foot space.  Went after work, so space and equipment was limited.

 

OHP:

45# x5

55# x5

65# x5

80# @ 5x3 (wanted to do 5x5 but my back hurt).

 

Yea.  Was not pleased.  Everything felt terrible.

 

DL:

135# x5

155# x5

185# x5

225# @ 5x5

 

Yea..... so.  At least I still have deads.  These felt pretty easy, though I may lower it and work on form.  Felt my lower back rounding a bit more than I normally have.  I'm going to blame tight hips and feeling out of it.  But something to be aware of at the very least.  Also, I'm amazed at how decent these felt, because when I picked up a 45# plate it felt ridiculously heavy.  But yea, otherwise I was pleasantly surprised here.

 

No squats, because the rack was taken and feeling like shit I didn't want to chance it.  I was going to go do goblet squats, but there was even less room in the dumb bell area because of all the curling that was happening.  So I just said screw it and went home.

 

As for food...

 

Well, I WAS doing well yesterday.  But then for 'dessert' I made a Red Bean yogurt while I watched Days of Future Past.  Um.  The red bean paste I used was kinda... dense.  The yogurt ended up being like, 400 calories of mostly sugar.  But at least red beans have protein?  No actual calorie counting, though, beyond a mental tally.  Sunday I'll start again.  Good news is my weight is coming back down from my near 215 weight.  So a few more days of cleaner eating might mean I can do okay.  Half debating fasting tonight after dinner, actually.  Never attempted it before, though.  But a solid dinner tonight, plus fasting until after lunch tomorrow when I have a BBQ seems to be a good idea.  Also debating do a few "work day" fasts a week.  No/minimal food during the work day.  Maybe some cucumbers/celery sticks and a few slices of deli meat.  Not sure.  I was kind of doing that last week when I got super busy and stuck in the lab.  Was much less cranky than I expected to be.  Might be something worth investigating.  But with my activity levels I don't know if I could do a longer fast period.

[RisenPhoenix]

Huzzah, bodies obeying my command!

 

Errr....

 

Had a food-light weekend and I'm down to 211.8# as of this morning.  Had a fast Sunday, more or less accidentally.  I work up late, nommed a few cherries, and ran to aikido.  Didn't end up eating until 2ish, and wrapped the day at around 1700 calories (guessing, since I didn't count with an app, mostly everything was healthy, and my worst offense was a good chunk of chocolate coming in at an extra 250 calories).

 

Hoping to keep calories low this week, maybe prepare well for this coming weekend, in the event I binge for 4th of July festivities.  Totally forgot I have the 3rd off this year, too.  So huzzah for a three day weekend and/or some holiday comp time!

 

Over all though goal this week is to get into my routine again.  Here's to hoping.

[The Most Loathed]

Lessons learned?  A Japanese diet and lots of walking is very good for me.  How can I bring that over to what I currently do?  I have no idea.  At the moment I figure tofu, some sticky rice, and some delicious burdock root slaw and miso soup for breakfast about are the only things I can actively add.  I suppose I could add fish to my morning meals, but I would have to pre-cook it, and honestly I'm not the largest fan of fish.  The hotels I stayed at did have some Easternized swedish meatballs they made that were lovely.  Lots of baby corn, lotus root (also an amazing find, I hope I Can find it in the US), peas, carrots, etc etc.  I may be able to make a big batch and then from there freeze them and thaw a portion as appropriate.  They were really tasty.

two summers ago we had a Japanese foreign exchange student for two weeks.He and his peers loved rice and naato for breakfast. I would cook about four cups of rice each night and he'd reheat some in the am. At night I gave him rice every night because he liked it then served him some very Midwestern meat and veggies. We asked that he try some of the American stuff but once he had done that he was permitted to each rice or reheat one of the Japanese meals we had previously cooked and kept in the fridge. 

 

I'm not sure if any of that is helpful but it got a japanese guy through two weeks so I thought I'd share it.

[RisenPhoenix]

two summers ago we had a Japanese foreign exchange student for two weeks.He and his peers loved rice and naato for breakfast. I would cook about four cups of rice each night and he'd reheat some in the am. At night I gave him rice every night because he liked it then served him some very Midwestern meat and veggies. We asked that he try some of the American stuff but once he had done that he was permitted to each rice or reheat one of the Japanese meals we had previously cooked and kept in the fridge. 

 

I'm not sure if any of that is helpful but it got a japanese guy through two weeks so I thought I'd share it.

 

Yea, I did that a few nights ago.  Honestly a bit of rice, and egg or two eggs, and a hunk of tofu over some spinach (they would eat salad/lettuce but I hate the stuff) is incredibly filling.  Maybe throw some bacon into it or sausages (though the Japanese sausages I had over there were more like hot dogs...), and it's a super charged breakfast.  But yea.  Lots of reheating would be required.

 

 

 

Back to the gym this morning, and it honestly felt so much better than the last few attempts.  I do have something weird going on with my right elbow - best I can explain is a knot in my tricep that's making bending my elbow a bit painful.  Going to try and tricep smash it on my LAX ball on my desk while at work today.  Anyhow, the workout:

 

Wide grip Pull ups: 5

Chin ups: 5

Neutral Grip Pullups: 3 (Elbow was not pleased)

 

Squats:

45# x10

65# x5

95# x5

110# @ 10x5

 

Idea for this was a not-quite 50/50 challenge (50% bodyweight on the bar, 50 reps).  For the actual challenge it's supposed to be in a single set.  I know I'd die, so I did 5 sets of 10.  Meant to have shorter rest periods than I did, though.  Oh well.  Still got the blood pumping.

 

Deadlifts:

135# x5

185# 5x3

 

I wanted to do more/higher weight, but I told myself that if I felt bad form I'd stop immediately with increased weight.  I felt like I had wonky form on the 185, so I stayed true to my word.  Even recorded a video to do a quick form check.  I'll upload it later and share it to get some feed back, but I honestly wasn't too troubled by what I saw.  My upper back rounds a bit, which I'm aware of, but my lower back seems to have stayed linear.  But I also looked quickly and it was early and I had no glasses on.  So more opinions are warranted.

 

BP:

95# x5

115# x5

135# @ 5x3

 

I was going to up the weight here, but my elbow was being dumb.  Ah well.  Was focusing on keeping my wrist tracking over my elbow and trying not to wobble.  Wasn't too shaky until the last few reps of the last set, nothing to really worry about. 

 

Gotta build myself back up. Hopefully with better results in the long run.

 

Food yesterday was okay, though I gorged on waaaaay too much bread that was brought in as an office snack.  Plus maybe some handfuls of Honey Bunches of oats.  Ended up just under 2200 calories.  Trying to behave today, but post workout, post work arrival I've already had a nut-and-seed brittle, a bunch of mini ginger snap cookies, and a banana.  Gotta try to scale it back now for the rest of the day.  But at least those are all things I greatly enjoy and aren't a waste of unenjoyable calories.

[RisenPhoenix]

Hello DOMS, how are you today?

 

The not-quite 50/50 challenge, plus 32 sections of Stairs yesterday, plus all the aikido has finally caught up to me.  Could barely move this morning when I woke up.  So I think lots of stretching is in order for today.  And better eating.

 

Yesterday's food was kind of terrible.  Lots of bread and junk.  And then I went out to dinner with my Chief Instructor and a few others after the not-quite seminar that happened last night at my dojo.  Bad for the diet, but good for martial arts.  No regrets.  Weight is currently at 212.4.  Just gotta behave.  Realized I have a date for when I want to be down closer to 200#, too.  October I have a wedding I need to go to.  Want to give my friends another "Holy shit" moment when they see me.

 

Also, the wedding is in Chicago.  On a Friday.  They have a Tribe in Chicago.  And the Friday workout is less than 2 miles from where I'm staying.  Guess what I'm doing Friday morning?

[AgentsSka]

This is what you are going to be doing!

 

Also, the wedding is in Chicago.  On a Friday.  They have a Tribe in Chicago.  And the Friday workout is less than 2 miles from where I'm staying.  Guess what I'm doing Friday morning?

 

I am counting the above post as a #traverbal, buddy.

 

Also... when doing an image search for traverbal on google, I found a picture I am in...

[maigrey]

Hello DOMS, how are you today?

The not-quite 50/50 challenge, plus 32 sections of Stairs yesterday, plus all the aikido has finally caught up to me. Could barely move this morning when I woke up. So I think lots of stretching is in order for today. And better eating.

Yesterday's food was kind of terrible. Lots of bread and junk. And then I went out to dinner with my Chief Instructor and a few others after the not-quite seminar that happened last night at my dojo. Bad for the diet, but good for martial arts. No regrets. Weight is currently at 212.4. Just gotta behave. Realized I have a date for when I want to be down closer to 200#, too. October I have a wedding I need to go to. Want to give my friends another "Holy shit" moment when they see me.

Also, the wedding is in Chicago. On a Friday. They have a Tribe in Chicago. And the Friday workout is less than 2 miles from where I'm staying. Guess what I'm doing Friday morning?

I AM IN CHICAGO AND LIVE 1.5 MILES FROM THERE!

This means I can meet you afterwards for brunch or awesome donuts.

[maigrey]

Oh, wait, I am 1.5 miles from the Wednesday workout. Regardless, if you are here when I am in town, I will be up for after np breakfast/glazed and infused

[RisenPhoenix]

I am counting the above post as a #traverbal, buddy.

 

Also... when doing an image search for traverbal on google, I found a picture I am in...

 

So weird to see you posting.

 

 

Yea yea.  Traverballing is happening.  I already warned the girlfriend, who is surprisingly okay with the idea.  Whether or not she joins, different story.  But I at least for the OK.  Now I just need to make sure I don't, ah, over indulge at the rehearsal dinner the night before.

 

But so stoked for this.

 

I AM IN CHICAGO AND LIVE 1.5 MILES FROM THERE!

This means I can meet you afterwards for brunch or awesome donuts.

Oh, wait, I am 1.5 miles from the Wednesday workout. Regardless, if you are here when I am in town, I will be up for after np breakfast/glazed and infused

 

Ha!

 

We'll see if we can plot something out.  Friday is the actual wedding and I'm in the wedding party, so I imagine after NP I'm going top want to shower and crash a little bit before I need to go do stuff on that front.  But we have a few days.  We can figure something out.  My only major goal is to hit the Field's Natural History Museum.  BECAUSE DINOSAURS.  Or rather, Sue.

 

 

Anywho.  Workouts.

 

I skipped working out Thursday morning since I was out late with Dojo people Wednesday night, and I didn't go after work because I had people coming over on Friday night.  So I spent Thursday grocery shopping and cleaning.  And Friday day did more cleaning and a bit of relaxing before people arrived.  Then proceeded to eat and drink large quantities.  It was great.  Diet wise, not good.  But tasty and enjoyable and it was a nice time (and the weather was quite nice Friday night, so grilling outside was fantastic).

 

Saturday morning, vaguely hungover, I consumed coffee, and then dragged myself to the gym.  I wanted to just pick up a bar bell and keep moving, but nothing crazy.  I feel significantly weaker than previously, and I'm still all sorts of sore and stiff and wonky with weight, so I wanted nice and easy.  

 

Squats:

95# x5

120# x5

145# x3

155 # x5

180# x5

 

This is actually the progression from my first  5/3/1 cycle.  I just didn't do the final 200# 5+ set.  I knew I could get to the 180, I was a bit concerned about the 200.  But the 180 felt pretty decent, though definitely heavy.  Since squats are always my weakest lift, I figured go conservative.  But everything went fairly well I feel.  Going to ease back into the heavy lifting.

 

Bench press:

95# x5

105# x5

125# x5

135# x5

155# x5

 

These were a bit harder than I expected.  But I also was focusing on making sure my wrists were straight and did my best to keep them in line with my elbows and not flare my elbows out.  Time to build back up, I suppose.

 

 

Also on the diet front:  I'm toying with some basic fasting additions.  I went to the dojo last Sunday fasted (by accident - I overslept and chugged some water with chia seeds in it, but nothing else).  Yesterday I went to the gym fasted (nothing but coffee in my system) and this morning I also went to aikido with nothing but coffee in me.  And I felt pretty solid in all events.  So now I'm toying with the ideas of fasted workouts or some 12-ish hour fasts.  I don't know how well my willpower would hold up at work if I decided to not eat at work.  But maybe a 24 hour fast on the weekend some time?  Estimating, I ate at roughly 8PM last night, and didn't put any food in me until 1:30.  By that point I was very hungry (then again, 2.5 hours of aikido will do that to you).  But that's a decent 17 hour fast.  I probably could have toughed out another 6 hours if I put my mind to it - especially since I'm not doing much else today.

 

Anyway.  Maybe toy with fasted workouts Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday/Friday.  Maybe toy with a weekly 16 or 24 hour fast.  Dunno.  All I know is I want to look (more?) awesome come October and that wedding.

[RisenPhoenix]

Trying to back into the swing of things.  Man my gym habit is terrible these days.  Still did the Cycle 1 5+ week sans the actual 5+ set, just to have some semblance of number progression.  I just need to build some confidence back up.

 

OHP:

55# x5

65# x5

80# x3

85# x5

95# x5

 

Didn't feel great, but not terrible, either.  My right shoulder/tricep-ish area is a bit wonky right now.  I can only imagine it's from holding pipettes too long at work.

 

DL:

155# x5

190# x5 (Mixed Grip from here on down)

230# x3 5 (was supposed to be 3 reps, but kept going by mistake)

250# x5

290# x5

 

In all honesty, I expected to stop at 250.  I really did.  But the weight came up surprisingly easy, so I decided to go for the 290.  Even that didn't feel too shabby.  So small mercies I still have a solid DL.  Huzzah!

 

Chin ups: 5, 3, 4

 

These are terrible. 

 

No other accessory work because I'm lazy and couldn't care less.  I just wanted the barbell, really.  Reasons why I should be trying to find a coach, I suspect...

 

Food yesterday was not-so-good.  I ended around 2400 calories for the day, but a depressing number of that came from cookies, gummy bears, cinnamon roles, and bread. The snack spread at work was pretty good yesterday, and I was starving from having so little for lunch (because I was running around a lot).  I need to figure out a way around devouring all those snacks.  The snacks I have in my desk just don't satisfy the same urge.  I should figure something out.

 

As for today so far....  Mehhh.  I did a not-quite fasted workout.  My only food this morning was 2 tablespoons of chia that were soaking over night in water.  They are surprisingly calorically dense - 60 calories per tablespoon.  But besides that and a cup of coffee, nada.  Until I got to work.  And devoured my protein shake... annnnnd 2 oatmeal raisin cookies.  They are my kryptonite.  Maybe my red kryptonite.  Green is probably anything peanut butter.

 

Ahem.

 

Anyway, trying to behave the rest of the day.  At the moment my MFP planning has be around 1900 calories for today.  Going to try to not go much above that.

[RisenPhoenix]

This morning was one in which the sky was kind enough to sweat for everyone before the workout even began.

 

I think the humidity was 90+%.  With a grey, overcast morning hovering in the low 80s.

 

And yet, I woke up and climbed 31 sections of Stairs.  At least I was wise and brought my 3 liter camelback with me to stay hydrated.  I drained half walking up the stairs and the other half while driving to work.

 

Food yesterday was... really high.   Think it was around 2700 calories.  Honestly, I felt like crap yesterday after work, so I shoved some beef jerky in my face, which is what skyrocketed my total.  I'm pretty sure I was dehydrated, so I'm trying to fight that now.

 

Aikido tonight, then I get to sleeeeeep.  It'll be wonderful.

[RisenPhoenix]

Today was a weird day.  I really didn't have much motivation to be at the gym, and the grey and rainy morning didn't help.  Really wasn't feeling the barbell today, so I did something different for myself.  I have been skimping on the accessory work the last few weeks, so I made my workout (almost) all of the accesory work that 5/3/1 prescribes.  And honestly, I felt quite pleased with it at the end.  Just enough to get my blood pumping and heart rate up.

 

Chin ups: 5, 5, 3,

 

Yea, I need to get these back into rotation pronto.

 

Dips: 10, 10, 6

 

Same here.  By that last set my arms just revolted.  Probably shouldn't have done them first.

 

DB Press:

30# x10

30# x10

35# x10

 

Way too shaky for my liking.  Especially at these lower weights.  Going to blame the chins and dips on that. Yup.  Totally.

 

DB Row: (per arm)

35# x10

40# x10

40# x10

 

These probably could have been up to 45#, which is where I left off.  Just was playing it safe. (And lazy.)

 

Backraises: 15, 15, 15

 

These still feel pretty good.  In a brutally torturous kinda way.

 

DB Curls: (Like a Bro)

15# x10

20# x10

20# x10

 

Honestly I was kinda shocked how easy these felt.  Burned in the last few reps but significantly less than I remember.  Probably a sign to up the weight.

 

Goblet Squats:

20# x15

30# x15

40# x15

 

The only non-5/3/1 accessory movement here.  I haven't experimented much with goblet squats, and I wanted a leg movement in this.  So I went light.  Wasn't until the last set that I figured out the best way (for me) to HOLD the weight.  I know Goblet Squats are good training for front squats, but my brain was still too sleepy to realize that holding the dumb bell in a faux-front rack position might be a good idea.  And I managed to get a mirror space so I could check form.  I should have tried to turn perpendicular to the mirror to make sure my back was pretty straight, but at least the squat appeared to be at depth and my chest was kept up pretty well.

 

Honestly, if actual front squats are half as enjoyable as these were, I may end up liking front squats more than back squats.  Who knew?

[Mistr]

Interesting observations on the goblet squats. I'm thinking about trying these. I don't have access to a squat rack. So far I've just been doing bodyweight squats. I could start adding some weight and see how it goes.

[maigrey]

Today was a weird day. I really didn't have much motivation to be at the gym, and the grey and rainy morning didn't help. Really wasn't feeling the barbell today, so I did something different for myself. I have been skimping on the accessory work the last few weeks, so I made my workout (almost) all of the accesory work that 5/3/1 prescribes. And honestly, I felt quite pleased with it at the end. Just enough to get my blood pumping and heart rate up.

Chin ups: 5, 5, 3,

Yea, I need to get these back into rotation pronto.

Dips: 10, 10, 6

Same here. By that last set my arms just revolted. Probably shouldn't have done them first.

DB Press:

30# x10

30# x10

35# x10

Way too shaky for my liking. Especially at these lower weights. Going to blame the chins and dips on that. Yup. Totally.

DB Row: (per arm)

35# x10

40# x10

40# x10

These probably could have been up to 45#, which is where I left off. Just was playing it safe. (And lazy.)

Backraises: 15, 15, 15

These still feel pretty good. In a brutally torturous kinda way.

DB Curls: (Like a Bro)

15# x10

20# x10

20# x10

Honestly I was kinda shocked how easy these felt. Burned in the last few reps but significantly less than I remember. Probably a sign to up the weight.

Goblet Squats:

20# x15

30# x15

40# x15

The only non-5/3/1 accessory movement here. I haven't experimented much with goblet squats, and I wanted a leg movement in this. So I went light. Wasn't until the last set that I figured out the best way (for me) to HOLD the weight. I know Goblet Squats are good training for front squats, but my brain was still too sleepy to realize that holding the dumb bell in a faux-front rack position might be a good idea. And I managed to get a mirror space so I could check form. I should have tried to turn perpendicular to the mirror to make sure my back was pretty straight, but at least the squat appeared to be at depth and my chest was kept up pretty well.

Honestly, if actual front squats are half as enjoyable as these were, I may end up liking front squats more than back squats. Who knew?

They are not more enjoyable. Sorry to burst that bubble. [emoji79]

[RisenPhoenix]

Decided to go and repeat my 5/3/1 cycle 1 weights.  Its not pretty.

 

Bench press:

95# x5

105# x5

125# x5

135 145# x5

155# x5

175# x4

 

My shoulders have been giving me problems since the dips I did on Friday.  They got stretched really well last night at aikido before class, but they are still pretty wonky, the right one especially.  That being said, as much as I would love to blame this lack of 5+ reps in the final set here on that, I definitely felt weaker.

 

Squats:

95# x5

120# x5

145# x3 5

155 # x5

180# x5

200# x4

 

The 200# squats weren't too terrible feeling, but still not quite right.  My knees were a battle to keep pushed out, and I'm about 90% sure I had some serious buttwink going on.  Sigh.  I know it's not back to square one - far from it - but it still FEELS like I'm back to square one.

 

Chin ups: 5, 5, 4

 

Back raises: 15, 15, 15

 

Since I had issues with the shoulder I skipped the DB bench press and the rear laterals.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Food wise.... It's been going Okay.

 

This weekend I kept intake pretty low and healthy - ~2100 calories both days.  Not too much activity, but a few hours of aikido between Saturday and Sunday.  Weigh in yesterday morning was at 210, so I feel like I'm on the right track again.  Yesterday's food wasn't the best (yogurt covered raisins are my kryptonite) and I nommed a cliff bar for dessert, but more or less everything was healthy.  Ended at 2,330 calories.  I ate the cliff bar because I wanted something carby, but also because I knew I was going to do a semi-fasted workout this morning.

 

This morning I started my day with a cup of coffee and two tablespoons of chia seeds that had been hydrating overnight in water flavored with some sugarless drink concentrate.  I like the concoctions I've been making.  I know the fasted protocols I've seen say you can eat 100 calories without breaking the fast, so I'm almost fasting by that requirement.  Chia seeds are ~120 calories for 2 tbsp - if I cut it back a bit I've got a solid 100 calorie breakfast.  I'm kind of shocked at how well I feel in the morning without food in my system.  I don't know if I dare to try it before Stairs, but for lifting I've been feeling fine.  That plus a cup of coffee and I'm pretty solid.

 

Thinking next challenge I'm going to work hard on getting my weight down more than anything.  I'm tired of being stuck at over 210.  I should be able to do better.  I just need to accept PRs and strength gains will be minimal, and that I should be doing volume work instead.

 

I am starting to get plans.

[RisenPhoenix]

Stairs this morning, with a workout I have never seen in my year and a half of being part of November Project.

 

Racer Man.

 

The stadium was divided in two halves.  One half did a plain ol' RobotMan 3 (Three half tours, or 57 sections).  The other half lined up and spread out.  We then picked a partner to our left or right, and would RACE them to the top as fast as possible.  The winner would walk right and go to the next section.  The person in second place (see what  I  they did there?) would go to the left.  Rinse and repeat that protocol with a NEW race buddy.  We did 4 sets of 5 minutes of racing, with 90 seconds of breaks between sets.

 

Holy crap SO MUCH SPRINT.

 

Anyway, for me it was kinda nice.  I'm quiet at NP.  I love them and the energy they have and the effort people give, but at the end of the day I am 1) an introvert, 2) not a runner, and 3) the NP community will always be in second place against my dojo (relevant as I frequently miss NP things I would go to if they didn't clash with dojo things).  So as a result, I don't really talk to people much at the Stadium (though I did a lot when on injury deck), and this forced me to talk and greet and know a lot of people in a relatively short period of time.

 

And for the feel good feels of the morning, after the sprinting was over (we finished a bit before the RobotMan group was called in), I sat down to take a breather.  A younger guy (if he was in his 20's it was barely) came up to me and started telling me that he had been watching me and he was inspired by how positive and motivating I was to others.  And how that amazed him.  Nice kid, ended up talking to him a bit about NP and what he was doing (a summer program at Harvard doing research in the business school - kinda cool stuff, too).  I love the facial expression I get when people ask if I'm training for anything and my only answer is "No, I'm just crazy."  But it was a nice morning, even if I now want to collapse into a pile of nothing.