The Trials of Kishi, the Gray Jedi: Gray Knight

[Oramac]

incorporating the TGUs

 

Yay!  TGU's are great!  And tough.  And useful.  And stuff.  

[starpuck]

Oooooh I love TGU's!   I really need to stop forgetting about them.  

 

Busy day, but you sound all upbeat and oomphish!    Gotta love when the Midichlorians are working well, right?

 

Also. >.> 

...

<.<

 

OMGAKISHIPOSTEDINMYTHREAD!

[ladylydia]

Are you doing something special with your pushups? Why are they so difficult?  And what are TGUs?

[Kishi]

Probably a good idea.  It is important to get the form correct first then add the weight.  Think of it like martial arts practice - you got to get the basic movements down before you start doing the fun stuff like adding speed and power or using it against a combatant.  

 

It is. It really is that important. Form keeps you safe. And besides, I'm doing this because I want to be better, not worse.

 

Yay!  TGU's are great!  And tough.  And useful.  And stuff.  

 

That's what I hear! Shotokan kinda inspired me to do it, actually.

 

Oooooh I love TGU's!   I really need to stop forgetting about them.  

 

Busy day, but you sound all upbeat and oomphish!    Gotta love when the Midichlorians are working well, right?

 

Also. >.> 

...

<.<

 

OMGAKISHIPOSTEDINMYTHREAD!

 

Well, the thing is, TGUs are a kind of strongman lift, and even if they are the 'killer lift' for strongman type stuff, it doesn't change the fact that you can get a lot of the benefit that you want from doing other lifts without the skill component. Though, that having been said, who wants to be not-strongman?

 

But yeah. It was a good day. I joked with people that I'd had my sleep and got my coffee. It was all good.

 

 

Are you doing something special with your pushups? Why are they so difficult?  And what are TGUs?

 

Well, with the push ups, I'm ratcheting up every single point of tension that I can. I tense up every muscle so that I'm tight in my core and my glutes. I try to grip the ground even if my palms are flat. I try to squeeze my hands together even if they can't move. You put all that on top of an isometric hold for a few seconds and see how it feels. Even at low reps, the strain is incredible. I like it.

 

TGU is lifting shorthand for Turkish Get-Up. A video is below.

 

[Kishi]

Huh. Gotta adjust those numbers so that they track with reality. Okay.

 

NEAT: 1/1

 

S&S: 2/2

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 3/3

 

There we go. That's more like it.

 

Spent today playing with the kettlebell. Hit 5x5x35 KB swings. Took my time with it and tried to really dig in, make sure that I'm hinging in the hips and not just crumpling over and letting my back do the work. It's hardly perfect, but toward the end, I began to feel my hamstrings loading up. Between that and my lower back being not so sore, I'll take that as a sign of improvement.

 

Then, 2x5 TGUs. To give you an idea of how humbling this is: the above video is of Neghar Fonooni, a hugely respected strength coach. She's lifting 24 kg, and as you can tell she is jack'd and ripp'd and shredd'd all to hell and back.

 

I practiced tonight with a shoe. Yes. And it was still difficult. I even dropped the shoe a couple of times, which just goes to show how much this could hurt if you do this with a bell before you're ready.

 

But it made my abs talk, so I'm happy.

 

And, yeah. Got a prog photo date this Friday, and I'm kind of intimidated. I'm wanting to jump and try to do something drastic already. I do not think I changed for the better on a body-comp level, but that could just be me freaking out a little bit. I'll have the photos to compare, so, we'll see.

[jaex]

Those Turkish Get Ups look crazy tough and probably require a decent amount of flexibility and tons of core muscles.  I'd be proud to do just one!

 

Glad to see you took the time on the kettle-ball exercise to get good form.  Always important!

[starpuck]

Then, 2x5 TGUs. To give you an idea of how humbling this is: the above video is of Neghar Fonooni, a hugely respected strength coach. She's lifting 24 kg, and as you can tell she is jack'd and ripp'd and shredd'd all to hell and back.

 

 

She's been either a part of, or at least featured on, Girls Gone Strong.  I may love those ladies.  >.>   Heee.    They are amazing!    I've been doing them off and on for a while and I won't go above my 12# kettlebell for fear of not doing things right.    I once showed a guy friend of mine at the gym these amazing moves and, not to dis on him - but to agree on the complexity of the move, he literally could not get his limbs to move in the right manner to pull it off.   I told him to practice everything without weight and get it down before moving on.    Kishi is smart!

 

I hear ya on the prog photo's.  I took some this time around and I am freaking out entirely.  Meeeeeeeeeep!

 

Also yay on the back pain improvement!

[BlackTezca]

 

Then, 2x5 TGUs. To give you an idea of how humbling this is: the above video is of Neghar Fonooni, a hugely respected strength coach. She's lifting 24 kg, and as you can tell she is jack'd and ripp'd and shredd'd all to hell and back.

 

I practiced tonight with a shoe. Yes. And it was still difficult. I even dropped the shoe a couple of times, which just goes to show how much this could hurt if you do this with a bell before you're ready.

 

But it made my abs talk, so I'm happy.

 

...*looks at the video*...

 

 

...Yeah that's look rough bud O.o;

 

So badass you can do that with a shoe...I don't even know how I'd begin!  Holy crap!  But awesome keeping your challenge strong during this final push of a week!   We're almost there!

 

Hahah progress pics...I really need to get that bandwagon don't I...haha...I still like taking measurements so we'll see!

 

Awesome work as always

[Mistr]

Then, 2x5 TGUs. To give you an idea of how humbling this is: the above video is of Neghar Fonooni, a hugely respected strength coach. She's lifting 24 kg, and as you can tell she is jack'd and ripp'd and shredd'd all to hell and back.

 

I practiced tonight with a shoe. Yes. And it was still difficult. I even dropped the shoe a couple of times, which just goes to show how much this could hurt if you do this with a bell before you're ready.

 

But it made my abs talk, so I'm happy.

 

And, yeah. Got a prog photo date this Friday, and I'm kind of intimidated. I'm wanting to jump and try to do something drastic already. I do not think I changed for the better on a body-comp level, but that could just be me freaking out a little bit. I'll have the photos to compare, so, we'll see.

 

Okay, I've got to try those. Probably over break week. They look a little like getting up from a back fall, but with weight. The form is different.  Hmmmm.

 

I hear you on freaking out on the body comp level. I feel like I've backslid over this challenge. My loose jeans aren't so loose right now. I suppose data is data. Just not flattering data. That won't happen until next week sometime.

[Kishi]

Money/free time to live life is a crap balance to be stuck with.  Any word on the potential other job?

 

Time to revisit some of your bullet-proofing exercises?  Is getting better shoes an option?  Are they uniform?

 

WHAT. How did I miss you? Oops.

 

Actually, as far as feet and such go, fixing posture took care of that. The lower back problem is also being ameliorated by stretching at night before I go to bed. Just a simple sit and reach. Guess Captain America was right.

 

The shoes thing is an optional part. I've been told to invest in Crocs. I might just, once the paycheck catches back up again.

 

Those Turkish Get Ups look crazy tough and probably require a decent amount of flexibility and tons of core muscles.  I'd be proud to do just one!

 

Glad to see you took the time on the kettle-ball exercise to get good form.  Always important!

 

They do. They hit a lot of parts at once. They're apparently the great introduction to strongman feats, and if they hit everything as well as it feels like, I can definitely see how that would be the case.

 

It's always important. It's also why I need to keep accountable to you guys. I'm prone to being arrogant enough to think that I can do this all fine, faster than I really can.

 

She's been either a part of, or at least featured on, Girls Gone Strong.  I may love those ladies.  >.>   Heee.    They are amazing!    I've been doing them off and on for a while and I won't go above my 12# kettlebell for fear of not doing things right.    I once showed a guy friend of mine at the gym these amazing moves and, not to dis on him - but to agree on the complexity of the move, he literally could not get his limbs to move in the right manner to pull it off.   I told him to practice everything without weight and get it down before moving on.    Kishi is smart!

 

I hear ya on the prog photo's.  I took some this time around and I am freaking out entirely.  Meeeeeeeeeep!

 

Also yay on the back pain improvement!

 

As she should. She's awesome. I consider her, Nia Shanks, and Spezzy to be my go-to resources for lady-training quirks and advice. And yeah, the KB humbles all. I can't believe the amount of work I get off of this thing. It's just a hunk of iron with a thick handle and yet. And yet.

 

I do try to be smart about this kind of thing, though, so thanks! Sometimes I think I'm not smart, but wise - a good thing, but for totally different reasons.

 

It's okay. It's okay. It's just a picture. A thousand word report on how we've done, delivered concisely and precisely. Just take heed of it.

 

Yus, much better. Now that I know how to deal with it, it's NBD.

 

...*looks at the video*...

 

 

...Yeah that's look rough bud O.o;

 

So badass you can do that with a shoe...I don't even know how I'd begin!  Holy crap!  But awesome keeping your challenge strong during this final push of a week!   We're almost there!

 

Hahah progress pics...I really need to get that bandwagon don't I...haha...I still like taking measurements so we'll see!

 

Awesome work as always

 

Hahaha. Looks aren't everything.

 

Well, to be fair, I'm not doing all of that. Right now I'm in the 'get up on your elbow' part at the very beginning. That's the beginning. It is enough.

 

If you want on, cool. If not, cool too. At the end of the day, you're basically posting pics of yourself half-naked online for strangers on the internet. Getting comfy with that can take time, though to be fair, as 1) a dude with 2) an unconventionally shaped body, I suppose this doesn't really pose the same risks to me.

 

Thank you!

 

Okay, I've got to try those. Probably over break week. They look a little like getting up from a back fall, but with weight. The form is different.  Hmmmm.

 

I hear you on freaking out on the body comp level. I feel like I've backslid over this challenge. My loose jeans aren't so loose right now. I suppose data is data. Just not flattering data. That won't happen until next week sometime.

 

Mhm, yup. That's kind of what they feel like in some ways. It's way more structured, though.

 

Data is data. Nothing more and nothing less. It is what it is, but what it means in this context is up to us.

[Teirin]

Huh, I love the way she moves in that video.  So very smooth when she sits and gets up.  The TGU itself is amazing.  So much coordination and strength and so much of the body used in one exercise.

 

Good, glad a few simple things are helping with your back :-)    Stretching is so good.

 

Crocs, huh?  Hope they work out then.

 

Eeek yes, posting progress pics is nerve-wracking.  Hope it goes well and you see some results.

[Bekah]

TGU's! and dont get me started on an oligarchical society and its virtual slavery of the lower than them class...soooo I'm sorry you have money troubles and cant take super stellar vacations bc of it They are looking for personal trainers at our county gym, and JJ is going off to college next year...so that beachouse/training gym is still rolling around inside my head

You are fabulous, just in case you forgot

[Kishi]

Huh, I love the way she moves in that video.  So very smooth when she sits and gets up.  The TGU itself is amazing.  So much coordination and strength and so much of the body used in one exercise.

 

Good, glad a few simple things are helping with your back :-)    Stretching is so good.

 

Crocs, huh?  Hope they work out then.

 

Eeek yes, posting progress pics is nerve-wracking.  Hope it goes well and you see some results.

 

Yeah. If I could do a barbell squat and a deadlift, I'd do those things. In the absence of those things, the TGU sure does seem to hit a lot of the same notes, all while requiring a great deal more motor control, or so it feels.

 

Stretching is good. Yus.

 

I hope so too. Crocs, if I remember right, aren't cheap, and I had to do rent first. As long as the feet aren't hurting, I can be down with it. I'll be fine.

 

Oh, I will see results whether they be good or bad. Just need to figure out how to make it work. It definitely feels like I'm eating at a cut right now, with one-and-two-a-days and about 2200 calories. I might need more. Probably need more.

 

TGU's! and dont get me started on an oligarchical society and its virtual slavery of the lower than them class...soooo I'm sorry you have money troubles and cant take super stellar vacations bc of it They are looking for personal trainers at our county gym, and JJ is going off to college next year...so that beachouse/training gym is still rolling around inside my head

You are fabulous, just in case you forgot

 

Oh yeah. Wage slavery is totally a thing. It drives me nuts. I don't really get a choice in the matter, though. This is the life I have to lead. Economically speaking, I don't suppose I'm much good for anything else. Meh.

 

Although if I were gonna train people down there, I'd be getting 'em out and in the sun. Unless the weights are inside. In which case... sacrifices must be made.

 

I don't forget. Thanks.

 

*

 

NEAT: 2/2

 

S&S: 3/3

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 4/4

 

Man. Some days you're the hammer, other days you're the nail. They put me on dishes today and it was really rough. Couldn't get ahead of anything no matter how fast I went, and I kept finding ways to get faster, I thought. Nobody blamed me for it, but I can't shake the feeling that I have a lot more responsibility than others are willing to foist off on me. Oh well.

 

But hey, since talking about my feels does nothing to make things better, I decided to train hard today.

 

Warm-Up

7x20 yard Hill Sprints in 5 Minutes

Prisoner Squats: 5x5x7s

Pike Press: 5x5x4s

Straight Bridges: 5x45s

3x15 Handstands

Core Work (Flat Knee Raises and RKC Planks)

 

Ate some Greek yogurt with honey and raisins and cinnamon, then played with the Kettlebell again for a while.

 

KB Swings: 5x5x35

TGUs: 2x5

 

I can see where I need to work the most in the TGU. My psoas has a tendency to fire on the leg that's resting, so when I move to prop up, my core fires but my leg also tries to lift. When I can consistently perform this portion without my leg lifting up, then I will it is time to advance.

 

And, yeah.

 

Kinda anxious. I like this amount of work, but I don't know how sustainable it is between work and dojo coming. There's also the matter of fueling this thing properly - I'm really, really sure I went backwards, which is not a direction I wanted to go. I really don't know if I should just cut the carbs out completely, or if I should follow some of these calculators that estimate me as needing, like, all the carbs.

 

I dunno. I mean, sitting down and thinking about it, I'm doing an awful, awful lot. Maybe I should take up those high-carb ratios for a bit and see what happens. I mean, especially if I'm going to be running around and training every day like I am.

 

'cuz as scared as my silly vanity might make me, what scares me more are things like metabolic syndrome and hormonal disruption and shit like that. A man's gotta have priorities, after all.

[Teirin]

Those are good priorities.  It's worth a try?  Keep detailed notes on how you're feeling and energy levels during training along with what you're eating? 

 

 

But hey, since talking about my feels does nothing to make things better, I decided to train hard today.

 

How is this different from any of your other training days?  You do a lot ALL THE TIME.

 

Your kettlebell training does sound like fun though :-)

[RisenPhoenix]

I dunno. I mean, sitting down and thinking about it, I'm doing an awful, awful lot. Maybe I should take up those high-carb ratios for a bit and see what happens. I mean, especially if I'm going to be running around and training every day like I am.

 

I won't lie, changing my morning breakfast to cereal + greek yogurt before lifting or Stairs has felt really, really solid for me.  I thought it was a placebo effect (Yay, I'm eating cereal again!), but the more I work out with that in my stomach the happier I feel.  You're not stranger to an N=1 experiment.  Try out higher carbs next challenge?

 

 

Also screw progress photos.  They are filled with dumb* and lie**.  But I've been freaking out over my photos lately, but I can almost NEVER see changes with my photos.  Whiiiiich is why I tend to sideline photos and go with measurements.  Still fickle, but at least I have my numbers.

 

But, for suggestions, I'm gonna pimp out Waldo a bit.  Because the man has serious data crunching abilities for weight loss, weight gain, and strength training and BW training.  I've been stalking his advice I think since I started here (cuz, you know, weight loss), and started creeping on his Log a lot more this past challenge (cuz bulking thoughts).  Might help with your plotting.

 

 

 

*They are not dumb.

**They really don't lie.

[Kishi]

Aight, I owe some responses, but it's late. I'll get back to you all. In the meantime:

 

NEAT: 2/2

 

S&S: 4/4

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 5/5

[starpuck]

Also screw progress photos.  They are filled with dumb* and lie**.  But I've been freaking out over my photos lately, but I can almost NEVER see changes with my photos.  Whiiiiich is why I tend to sideline photos and go with measurements.  Still fickle, but at least I have my numbers.

 

*They are not dumb.

**They really don't lie.

 

Man, I learned this just a few weeks ago when I found some progress pics I took LAST year.    I specifically remember looking at the Day 1 pic and the Day 42 pic at the time and  sulking how nothing had changed, and all that hard work was wasted, and whiiiiine whine whine.    Oddly enough, when I found them more recently, I looked first at the pics and thought, "Holy crap!   That must have been like 3-4 months of work, look how much changed!!!"   Then I hovered over the pic to get the pic dates and found just a simple 6 week span.   I sat there in a stupor because I remembered how terribly disappointed I was at the time.   And here I was a year later being amazed at the differences I saw now, but blinded myself to then.    It was crazy.

[Kishi]

Those are good priorities.  It's worth a try?  Keep detailed notes on how you're feeling and energy levels during training along with what you're eating? 

 

 

How is this different from any of your other training days?  You do a lot ALL THE TIME.

 

Your kettlebell training does sound like fun though :-)

 

Well, I do most of that kind of tracking for myself anyway, although I suppose I could crank that to 11 and see how that all goes. Could be fun.

 

Ah, yeah, you're right. Also, I can see how people get addicted to this thing.

 

I won't lie, changing my morning breakfast to cereal + greek yogurt before lifting or Stairs has felt really, really solid for me.  I thought it was a placebo effect (Yay, I'm eating cereal again!), but the more I work out with that in my stomach the happier I feel.  You're not stranger to an N=1 experiment.  Try out higher carbs next challenge?

 

 

Also screw progress photos.  They are filled with dumb* and lie**.  But I've been freaking out over my photos lately, but I can almost NEVER see changes with my photos.  Whiiiiich is why I tend to sideline photos and go with measurements.  Still fickle, but at least I have my numbers.

 

But, for suggestions, I'm gonna pimp out Waldo a bit.  Because the man has serious data crunching abilities for weight loss, weight gain, and strength training and BW training.  I've been stalking his advice I think since I started here (cuz, you know, weight loss), and started creeping on his Log a lot more this past challenge (cuz bulking thoughts).  Might help with your plotting.

 

 

 

*They are not dumb.

**They really don't lie.

Man, I learned this just a few weeks ago when I found some progress pics I took LAST year.    I specifically remember looking at the Day 1 pic and the Day 42 pic at the time and  sulking how nothing had changed, and all that hard work was wasted, and whiiiiine whine whine.    Oddly enough, when I found them more recently, I looked first at the pics and thought, "Holy crap!   That must have been like 3-4 months of work, look how much changed!!!"   Then I hovered over the pic to get the pic dates and found just a simple 6 week span.   I sat there in a stupor because I remembered how terribly disappointed I was at the time.   And here I was a year later being amazed at the differences I saw now, but blinded myself to then.    It was crazy.

 

Waldo does seem to know an awful, awful lot. It's kind of what makes me want to give the whole high-calorie, clean-carb thing a shot.

 

Also, I'm kind of on both sides of the pics versus measurements debate. On the one hand, I like having numbers. On the other hand, the numbers are deceitful or, at the very least, can be eschewed to reflect one bias or another, and I just don't like that. Pics can do much the same, but if you do them consistently and right, they do not lie. They serve as a thousand-word treatise on your efforts over the course of a month.

 

*

 

Speaking of which:

 

 

Numbers yesterday came out to 182 lbs, 16.9% body fat. In other words, daily fluctuation. No change.

 

This was done on about 2220 calories per day, limited carbs, roughly .8-1g/lb protein, with fats making up the remainder.

 

How's it feel? Tiring. If I had gotten any appreciable results in the past three weeks, maybe it'd be worth it, but since I didn't, it doesn't feel like it's worth much to me.

 

So, we begin a new experiment and see what happens.

 

For the record, I'm not going to go off in terms of eating all the 'dirty' foods. My body just doesn't like that stuff. I feel different when I eat salads at Panera with the dressing on - I feel all sloshy in my stomach - not like there's food there but like I'm fatter somehow. I guess that's bloat. I guess I don't like it.

 

So, new experiment using new calculations. Should be interesting to see.

[starpuck]

New experiments, in my opinion, are progress.   By figuring out what doesn't work, you're progressing toward discovering what will.    And you seem to already be in the habit/body/mind set that better foods equals better feelings, so that makes it easier to continue on that path.

 

Good job on the progress photos!  I'm late to the Kishi party so I have little background to make comments on.  But you took them despite some mental self grumblies.   So that's awesome.   I also give you a big ole :whistle: because looks pretty good from this side of the screen.   Also, I am totally silly - but it amuses me to no end that your phone is large enough to basically appear as a "censored box" for your face!  Hehehehe.

 

Anyway guess who's following this Kishi guy around from the get go next time around?

She's got two thumbs and is using them to press the spacebar as we speak!

[Kishi]

New experiments, in my opinion, are progress.   By figuring out what doesn't work, you're progressing toward discovering what will.    And you seem to already be in the habit/body/mind set that better foods equals better feelings, so that makes it easier to continue on that path.

 

Good job on the progress photos!  I'm late to the Kishi party so I have little background to make comments on.  But you took them despite some mental self grumblies.   So that's awesome.   I also give you a big ole :whistle: because looks pretty good from this side of the screen.   Also, I am totally silly - but it amuses me to no end that your phone is large enough to basically appear as a "censored box" for your face!  Hehehehe.

 

Anyway guess who's following this Kishi guy around from the get go next time around?

She's got two thumbs and is using them to press the spacebar as we speak!

 

I'd like to think it's progress. I keep trying to stick to things that don't work for me out of the stubborn conviction that they should. This needs to be replaced with a stubborn conviction to find what works no matter what that looks like. Also, you're right: the foods that fit the macros best tend toward being the clean stuff, like rice and potatoes and such. It just works.

 

Ha ha, it's okay. I actually keep an album of my progress, and even though there hasn't been much forward, there certainly hasn't been any backward either. Also...

 

 

Also, true story: that is not a phone. That's my Kindle right there. It does everything. :heart:

 

Nice! Thank you so much! I'll look forward to it! (~tte bayo!)

[BlackTezca]

Nice! Thank you so much! I'll look forward to it! (~tte bayo!)

 

 

Had to; been catching up on Naruto and his little tick required a gif .

 

I'm also gonna follow ya Kishi!  I'll be watching you!

 

[Kishi]

 

Had to; been catching up on Naruto and his little tick required a gif .

 

I'm also gonna follow ya Kishi!  I'll be watching you!

 

 

Sweet! I was hoping someone would get it.

 

Ah, another one following. Lord knows I love an audience...

 

[TeaKwonDo]

Happy last day of challenge! Which... looks like Engrish the more you stare at it.

 

Even if you didn't get huge results, if you feel like you got something out of it, then that certainly counts.

[Kishi]

Ah, and again, I have to be down early. And man, we got a new forum up and everything. Man. I guess the bigger mods are raring to go.

 

Okay.

 

In the meantime:

 

NEAT: 3/3

 

S&S: 5/5

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 7/7

[starpuck]

Oh I totes caught the tick!

Someone may have even done a challenge that started off with:

 

"You should give up... on me giving up!"

 

 

New forums for you monks eh?  Man you guys are on the ball!    I haven't even thought about next challenge yet!