The Trials of Kishi, the Gray Jedi: Gray Knight

[Oramac]

Why am I simplifying this? Well, because I've been dealing with a persistent pain in my lower back and the workouts as done by AX just aren't helping me there. I'd love to get a six pack, but I'm discovering that I'd love to be able to move smoothly and painlessly more. It's annoying, to be sure. So much of what he says has helped and applied to me. It's really disappoint that this is the one place where he falls apart for me, though then again that could just be a reflection of weakness on my part. If so many people are doing this and reporting no pain (and they are) then it's gotta be on me somewhere and I must be even weaker than I thought.

 

Did you do these very shortly after your deadlifts?  That could be an issue too.  I love deadlifts, but they are an extremely intense exercise that requires a pretty decent amount of rest afterwards.  

[Kishi]

I am not Rambo, I am more like Tom Arnold's character in "True Lies"..a professional sidekick. But I have never, ever, been an actual "action guy". I was fortunate enough to work for action guys. If you added up my days in combat zones it would total around 5 years. If you added up the hours "outside the wire", it would be like 36 hours. My martial arts journey is about survivors guilt and general dissatisfaction with the "FOBBITISHNESS" of my career.

 

Alexithymia /ˌeɪlɛksəˈθaɪmiə/ is a personality construct characterized by the sub-clinical inability to identify and describe emotions in the self.[1] The core characteristics of alexithymia are marked dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment, and interpersonal relating.[2] Furthermore, individuals suffering from alexithymia also have difficulty in distinguishing and appreciating the emotions of others, which is thought to lead to unempathic and ineffective emotional responding.[2] Alexithymia is prevalent in approximately 10% of the general population and is known to be comorbid with a number of psychiatric conditions (Wikipedia).

Some individuals working for organizations [or raised in families/cultures] in which control of emotions is the norm might show alexithymic-like behavior but not be alexithymic. However, over time the lack of self-expressions can become routine and they may find it harder to identify with others. One study found that 41% of Vietnam War veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were alexithymic.

So yes, A combination of training and genetics has left my emotions incongruent with "typical" behavior. I only really feel "Avoid", "Overcome", "Attack", "Obsess", etc. And according to my shrink, those aren't feelings. Go figure. Anyway, while "The hurt locker" was full of crap on many facts, it got the emotions of homecoming right. That scene in store toward the end of the movie was completely spot on.

 

Wow...I actually gave some advice that someone thought would be helpful. Hope it works for you.

 

1. Not offended, 2. I was a FOBBIT, so I would like to redirect your respect and gratitude to the men and women who actually went outside the wire on a regular basis.

 

So, now that I know what a Fobbit is, I have this image in my head:

 

 

Only he's dressed in BDUs and carrying a rifle. In his map hand. So, uh. Thanks for that.

 

Huh. I didn't know that was a thing. Although, one of my bosses, himself formerly a soldier, mentioned that he's very like what the condition describes. He considers himself a very emotionally flat person. To be frank, I wonder if I'm something like that at times too. My typical response to most things is to just laugh and shake my head and then proceed as I was previously, but that's not always the right thing, and I find that if I'm not really concentrating on what the other person says that empathy is really difficult.

 

The time comes I hit the bigs, I'll let you know. It might be sooner than I think, given that I'm starting to find boxes with things like tax documents and stuff and I'm like, "... welp."

 

1. Cool; 2. I understand, and if that's how you want it then so be it. You ever wanna talk, though, the offer still stands.

 

I'm a total effing stalker! (I'm practicing not cussing on Kishi's thread, I'm 1/1!)

and You would KILL in HHS! What did you apply for?

and Wymmaster's "blackhawk down" idea and alexthymia mean I have a new thread to errr....visit

But seriously, I LOVE the new Kishi mojo going on this week

and because I'm all about the loopholes (I'm not actually cussing )

 

Hahaha, you should read Atomic Robo. The main character is a robot built in the '20s, and so all his swears are hilariously clean. "HORSEFEATHERS!" "CHEESE AND CRACKERS!" "HOLY CROW!" 

 

I applied to be a claims evaluator for disability. So I'd have to work cases and figure out whether or not the case is legit. Fight off fraud, things like that.

 

We'll see how that works out.

 

I'll take e-cards! I loooove me some e-cards. Thanks!

 

I really like your Aha moment of being able to move smoothly and painlessly being a bigger priority right now than wanting to get that six pack.   I'm kind of an energetic ball of mishaps, pains, aches and injuries lately.  (The last 5 years, hmm, that lines up with my hockey career haha!)    And I've found this really strange phenomenon where I get some of my aches, when I am NOT working out, rather than when I am.  (I suffer from chronic low back pain because I'm a mutant.)    I would put a large wager on the notion that if you continue to work on things that will make you move smoother, and just really focus on building a strong core, that not only will it help your back pain, but you may find out that relief comes with a side order of six pack down the road.  Long story short - (too late) - It's not an easy ideal to grab hold of - the whole focusing on a feeling rather than a look or number, but man, when we get there, it's such a revelation.

 

Keep at it, get rid of the pain first, and the rest will come too.

 

You're absolutely right. It just means I have to play a more patient game than I've been willing to play. And the thing is, I was/am seeing results doing some manner of core training every day. I dunno. I guess I'm just insecure about the results, expecting them to disappear, and working on in pain and fear. Which is really very silly. I don't have a woman to look good for, so vanity isn't really part of my function. Strong smooth movement is a part of my function. What helps my function is good and useful, and what does not needs to be discarded.

 

And anyway, I did just that one movement following the cues and I woke up with no pain at all in my back, so probably it was the right thing to do. :'D

 

I must say I am disappointed to not see some Kishi on my thread!  Get back to work!

 

 

 

Ugh the back.  Why is it ALWAYS the lower back?  I feel you and I don't think I would say that you're weaker or anything like that.  Pain and strain happens; it sucks as there is always gonna be a part that wants to do 'better' and 'stronger' that much 'faster', but like you said, you want moves be painless and smoother before pushing yourself to a literal breaking point.  I know I need to remind myself of this, and better myself than my back giving out on me.  It's good that you're simplifying, and I know you're gonna be stronger for it

 

But but

 

 

It's the right thing to do. I'm trying to declutter my training to make room for martial arts again, and as Cavaliere says, you don't see a person with good lower abs who doesn't have good upper abs. So, train and master the lower, and hit the upper stuff later when my back says it's okay.

 

I must admit, I'd gotten used to the pain to the point that when I didn't feel it today, I was stupid-happy-excited.

 

Did you do these very shortly after your deadlifts?  That could be an issue too.  I love deadlifts, but they are an extremely intense exercise that requires a pretty decent amount of rest afterwards.  

 

Well, I did, but I'm lifting about 35 lbs. I don't think it's that intense... unless I'm just underestimating the KBs again, which, to be fair, I'm pretty prone to. Hmm...

[Mistr]

Yay for your back not hurting!

 

I agree that you are making a smart decision to work on functional strength and speed rather than appearance. And you have the fun of implementing a new program

 

I hope that the state job works out for you. I have a friend who does something similar. It can be depressing work. You spend all day reading about people who have serious problems in their lives. You will only be able to recommend a fraction of them for state aid. On the plus side, once you are in the state system it is easier to transfer to a different department. And you would have day hours like your sensei.

[Kishi]

Yay for your back not hurting!

 

I agree that you are making a smart decision to work on functional strength and speed rather than appearance. And you have the fun of implementing a new program

 

I hope that the state job works out for you. I have a friend who does something similar. It can be depressing work. You spend all day reading about people who have serious problems in their lives. You will only be able to recommend a fraction of them for state aid. On the plus side, once you are in the state system it is easier to transfer to a different department. And you would have day hours like your sensei.

 

Ah, this is all true.

 

And yeah, it would be pretty grand to have regular hours and a genuine schedule rather than something that just rolls and revolves depending on the whims of customers.

 

*

 

NEAT: 2/2

 

S&S: 2/2

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 4/4

 

Oof. Training was good today, but scatterbrained. I'm developing an addiction to Puzzle and Dragons, a tablet puzzle-fighter-dungeon crawler and it's awesome. The problem is, while I'm in the learning phase for S&S, I don't really feel like I have a lot of structure. So, I just do some lifts for a while, play, then do some more. I never go more than five minutes without doing a thing, but even so.

 

Also, after considering Oramac's comments, I noticed that I'm doing 5x10x35 on deadlifts, for a tonnage of 1,750 lbs. It's not anything special by lifter's standards, but it's not a trivial amount of weight either.

 

So, gotta get more disciplined about that.

 

Warmup

Deadlifts: 5x10x35

5 Minutes Handstand practice

Core work to finish (3x8 flat bent leg raises combined with 3x30s flat knee/side knee RKC planks)

Cooldown

 

Back is a little sore, but this is the first noteworthy soreness of the day.

[karinajean]

glad you're seeing such quick response to your back pain mitigation plan!

[jaex]

Looks like you have put some decent thought into your workout - always important to know what and how you should be doing things!  Keep up the awesome work.

 

And I might need to check out that Puzzle & Dragons game.

[Kishi]

glad you're seeing such quick response to your back pain mitigation plan!

 

Yup! The hanging knee work plus grok-squatting just stretches out everything down there, nice and gentle-like.

 

Looks like you have put some decent thought into your workout - always important to know what and how you should be doing things!  Keep up the awesome work.

 

And I might need to check out that Puzzle & Dragons game.

 

Oh, putting thought into it isn't the hard part. The hard part is sticking to it long enough to see appreciable results. I'm really freaking fickle when it comes to this kind of thing.

 

It's worth checking out! I'd offer you my ID number for it so we could connect, but the friends network fills up pretty quick. As soon as I get an opening, if you play, I'll let you know.

 

*

 

NEAT: 3/3

 

S&S: 2/2

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 5/5

 

Welp, not much to report here. It was another day, another bout of training.

 

Today's wrinkle was my roommates deciding that tonight was the night to get epically trashed, so hiding in my room and doing my work while listening to loud laughter and such was... an interesting twist. I'm doing dinner now at... 2 AM, because I'm a responsible adult, and after that I'll probably clean up a bit of the mess they've made before turning in for the night.

 

Straight Hops: 2x3

Prisoner Squats: 5x5x5s

Pike Press: 5x5x3s

Straight Bridges: 5x40s

5 Minutes of Handstand Practice

3x8 Flat Raises (experimenting in distance between Knee Raises and Leg Raises)

3x35s Front/Side RKC planks

 

Felt good. Squatting afterward helped get a lot of the residual tension out of my back. I feel good and loose now. Though, I have to admit, doing the deadlifts with an emphasis on that hinge has made my hamstrings good and tight. Need to start stretching those a little bit just to work the stiffness out.

[ladylydia]

Ugh, I know those sounds, my roommate last year had her friends over practically every other weekend and she was a heavy drinker.  There's nothing like spending the evening trying to figure out if your apartment will still be habitable in the morning.  At least you're keeping up with everything.

[Kishi]

Ugh, I know those sounds, my roommate last year had her friends over practically every other weekend and she was a heavy drinker.  There's nothing like spending the evening trying to figure out if your apartment will still be habitable in the morning.  At least you're keeping up with everything.

 

Well, yeah. Training is my anti-drug/medication/vice. I'm driven in a hard way.

[Kishi]

NEAT: 3/3

 

S&S: 3/3

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 6/6

 

Quick update before I take off for a night of DnD.

 

Warmup

KBDL: 5x10x35

5 Minutes Handstand practice (notable in that I began to play around with kicking myself off the wall and freestanding for a while. Had appreciable time off the wall all three times, even if it was only a couple seconds at a time).

Cooldown.

 

Also notable: this warmup is getting easier. Starting off cold is rough, but it's a three-round circuit and by round three it feels easy, like I'm not working at all. Probably, that is a matter of the nervous system getting used to the work, and I anticipate that this will get better with time.

 

Need to get some cleaning done tonight. I have small boxes left to play with.

[Kishi]

NEAT: 3/3

 

S&S: 3/3

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 7/7

 

Not much time to post today. Got caught up doing some chores and have to go to work. Thought I'd have time to hit S&S today, but no such luck. Had to call my aunt to wish her a happy birthday. Which, just so it's clear, I'm glad to do. I love my family, and I love being able to talk with them. I'm glad we're all so close.

 

It's just frustrating whenever it costs me a training opportunity.

 

Oh, and speaking of which, it looks like between work and DnD tomorrow that I'll probably be missing out on lifting tomorrow. Unless I get up early which, so far, has not happened.

 

Sigh.

 

We train to live. We don't live to train. But when I miss out on the training... it is still frustrating.

[PinkNinja]

I leave for spring break and you get into S&S?
Oh. It's KB workouts... right..

 

You sound like a busy guy lately. The news about the garage renovations is pretty exciting!

 

[jaex]

Sorry about life getting in the way of the training.  Can you do anything at work just to be "active" like stand instead of sit or get a few reps of push-ups in (I'm not certain what line of work you do.)  I love standing at my desk as I feel looser when I do, have more energy, and am actually more productive during my times standing

[Kishi]

I leave for spring break and you get into S&S?

Oh. It's KB workouts... right..

 

You sound like a busy guy lately. The news about the garage renovations is pretty exciting!

 

 

Why, what did you think it stood for?

 

I don't know that I'm necessarily any busier than I was before, but on the other hand I got another 12 hours of work thrown on the pile. Which has its positives and its negatives. On the one hand, more money. Yay! On the other hand, more work. Uh! It doesn't help any that our workweek is staggered off the typical Sunday-Saturday. It's a Wednesday to Tuesday week, which doesn't sound so bad until you realize that the staggering allows them to push you over 40 hours per week without necessarily having to pay you overtime for it. Which is annoying, but meh. Every job has its quirks.

 

Sorry about life getting in the way of the training.  Can you do anything at work just to be "active" like stand instead of sit or get a few reps of push-ups in (I'm not certain what line of work you do.)  I love standing at my desk as I feel looser when I do, have more energy, and am actually more productive during my times standing

 

Haha, oh. I'm sure it'll be fine. I work for a Panera cafe here in the area, as a cashier/dining room guy. It's fairly active work compared to a desk job, and I do occasionally pull explosive lifts on garbage. If anything, I probably stand too much; I have a lot of problems with getting stiff in my lower back and if I don't stretch out at night I get really stiff and sore. This is especially likely if I'm working register which, based on my hours today, looks like that'll be my post.

 

But at least I know.

 

*

 

NEAT: 0/0

 

S&S: 0/0

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 1/1

 

Well, the good news is I got up early! :'D

 

Bad news is, it wasn't early enough. How does that song go? So close, so close, and yet so far? ;;

 

Oh well. There are positives. For starters, I know that from a body comp standpoint, getting where I want to go really and truly is a function of how I eat. So from that perspective, things'll be fine. And, I managed to score Saturday off again. Which means that when I go to DnD that day and cheat - as you do when you do DnD - I'll be scheduled to lift that day and I might even be able to work in the kettlebells and everything too.

 

Also, I totes disciplined myself into getting up early, and recognized that training wouldn't work with the time constraints I had. This is okay. This is the auto-regulatory effect I was mentioning earlier, wherein I adjust my training and my eating to reflect my rest and stress and schedule and such like that. It's okay. It's all okay.

[starpuck]

Oh well. There are positives. For starters, I know that from a body comp standpoint, getting where I want to go really and truly is a function of how I eat. So from that perspective, things'll be fine. And, I managed to score Saturday off again. Which means that when I go to DnD that day and cheat - as you do when you do DnD - I'll be scheduled to lift that day and I might even be able to work in the kettlebells and everything too.

^ Hee!   Omgyes.     Last night, my friend sitting next to me (super issues with food allergies and has recently gone totally vegan because of it) offered me some of her super healthy popcorn.   I said no thanks, that I was gonna try to not snack that night.   She lol'd and said, "good luck with that".   Ten minutes later our friend arrived with Girl Scout Cookies.    Five minutes after that, I had a single Samoa.   Hey!  ONE Samoa is rock star if you ask me, but yeah.  DnD and snacking.   Trying to do so without snacks??  You might as well try to play without dice...

 

But that's awesome that you were able to get the day off and so can account for some pre-DnD workout to balance out pending snacks.

[Kishi]

^ Hee!   Omgyes.     Last night, my friend sitting next to me (super issues with food allergies and has recently gone totally vegan because of it) offered me some of her super healthy popcorn.   I said no thanks, that I was gonna try to not snack that night.   She lol'd and said, "good luck with that".   Ten minutes later our friend arrived with Girl Scout Cookies.    Five minutes after that, I had a single Samoa.   Hey!  ONE Samoa is rock star if you ask me, but yeah.  DnD and snacking.   Trying to do so without snacks??  You might as well try to play without dice...

 

But that's awesome that you were able to get the day off and so can account for some pre-DnD workout to balance out pending snacks.

 

You know, I don't really know. On a psychological level, I'm tempted to analyze it and mutter something about being a part of the game, the communal ritual of imagining a whole other reality for hours at a time. The brain does require energy after all. And also, seriously, why waste time cooking when you could spend that time drinking and charactering?

 

Although I just realized that Easter is that Sunday. Huh. Tricky, tricky...

[PinkNinja]

Why, what did you think it stood for?

 

I don't know that I'm necessarily any busier than I was before, but on the other hand I got another 12 hours of work thrown on the pile. Which has its positives and its negatives. On the one hand, more money. Yay! On the other hand, more work. Uh! It doesn't help any that our workweek is staggered off the typical Sunday-Saturday. It's a Wednesday to Tuesday week, which doesn't sound so bad until you realize that the staggering allows them to push you over 40 hours per week without necessarily having to pay you overtime for it. Which is annoying, but meh. Every job has its quirks.

 

If it pleases the court, I plead the fifth. If it doesn't, too bad.

(grok squatting doesn't sound any better...)

 

Sometimes I forget that there are still jobs out there where more work = more money. Still tiring though..

 

 

Which means that when I go to DnD that day and cheat - as you do when you do DnD

 

When I first read that, I thought you meant cheat AT DnD and was going to be all .

The I read on and realized what you meant.

 

The only way I have to play DnD (or anything) is over google hangouts or skype. So there is no food sharing, which means, I don't really have that problem. On occasion, I even get distracted and clean house.

[Kishi]

If it pleases the court, I plead the fifth. If it doesn't, too bad.

(grok squatting doesn't sound any better...)

 

Sometimes I forget that there are still jobs out there where more work = more money. Still tiring though..

 

 

When I first read that, I thought you meant cheat AT DnD and was going to be all .

The I read on and realized what you meant.

 

The only way I have to play DnD (or anything) is over google hangouts or skype. So there is no food sharing, which means, I don't really have that problem. On occasion, I even get distracted and clean house.

 

Oh, without a doubt. I tell my parents about it, and dad's always like, "Son, you should be glad for the hours you get." And I'm like, "Dad, this is the kind of job where you need more hours until you have them, and then you don't want them anymore."

 

For serious. I either have the time or the money to have a life, but I never seem to get both.

 

Oh yeah. I might play around at min-maxing a little bit, but I don't cheat the system. That's just rude.

 

Ooooh, that could work. Be a great way to keep the eating clean. Food for thought, huh?

[jaex]

Oh, without a doubt. I tell my parents about it, and dad's always like, "Son, you should be glad for the hours you get." And I'm like, "Dad, this is the kind of job where you need more hours until you have them, and then you don't want them anymore."

 

For serious. I either have the time or the money to have a life, but I never seem to get both.

 

 

Ain't that the truth.  I finally have the money to buy me so many videogames and go on awesome trips, but I don't have enough time to fully enjoy those.  

[Mistr]

My old gaming group had excellent food values. Mostly home-cooked, not junk food. Although there was that time when we had one main dish and five desserts. Boy were we squirelly. After that we coordinated better on who was bringing what.

 

My sympathy on your time/money woes. 

[TeaKwonDo]

As a fellow cashier/cafe-worker, boy do I feel you on the stuff legs at the end of the day! (Convincing tight calf muscles to start working kicks is like convincing a hobbit to go on an epic quest of dwarves and dragons.)

 

Haven't found a good solution yet except lots of ankle mobility work. Lots. And karaoke step to loosen the trunk if you're behind a long counter.

[Kishi]

Ain't that the truth.  I finally have the money to buy me so many videogames and go on awesome trips, but I don't have enough time to fully enjoy those.  

 

Yeah, man. I used to look at getting let go from a job as my official 1-6 month vacation. But that only lasted so long.

 

My old gaming group had excellent food values. Mostly home-cooked, not junk food. Although there was that time when we had one main dish and five desserts. Boy were we squirelly. After that we coordinated better on who was bringing what.

 

My sympathy on your time/money woes. 

 

You know, we do mostly the same thing. Half the group loves to cook and provide food, and the rest of us bring stuff along. I am generally a bringer of the stuff. I suppose I could control that stuff - no, I know I could - but woman, I just don't wanna.

 

Thanks. It's... just how it is.

 

As a fellow cashier/cafe-worker, boy do I feel you on the stuff legs at the end of the day! (Convincing tight calf muscles to start working kicks is like convincing a hobbit to go on an epic quest of dwarves and dragons.)

 

Haven't found a good solution yet except lots of ankle mobility work. Lots. And karaoke step to loosen the trunk if you're behind a long counter.

 

Oh, yeah. For me, the worst part is that the clogs I wear don't like my feet terribly much. Glad we're on the same page (and also, I'm so sorry).

 

Lots of mobility work, and in particular doing so at night before you go to bed. I've heard that's super-helpful.

[Teirin]

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?

[Kishi]

NEAT: 1/1

 

S&S: 1/1

 

Cleaning: 0/1

 

Lent: 1/1

 

Whee, today was fun. Managed to get up early and train and then did more training later in the day. It was awesome. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to do all the stuff I wanted to do, so I've had to make the most of what I could instead.

 

Warmup

5 Minutes of Hill Sprints

Prisoner Squats: 5x5x6s

Push Ups: 5x5x3s

Pull Up Negatives: 5x5x2s

Cooldown

 

Notes:

• As expected, sprints change everything. Definitely felt it in the legs this time.


• Push Ups were friggin' difficult. By the end, I was having to grind these out - like, full-body-tension-blowing-out-all-the-wind-in-my-body-push.

Did work, trained a person some, and then went back and did some KB swings - 5x10x35. Think I might actually need to scale these back to work on the technique. Still throwing too much of my lower back into it - this needs to load the hamstrings and the hips, and I also need to work on projecting forward. Lots of little things to work on in here. I'll probably go to work on incorporating the TGUs following this.

 

And, uh, yeah. That's the work for the day.

[jaex]

Did work, trained a person some, and then went back and did some KB swings - 5x10x35. Think I might actually need to scale these back to work on the technique. Still throwing too much of my lower back into it - this needs to load the hamstrings and the hips, and I also need to work on projecting forward. Lots of little things to work on in here. I'll probably go to work on incorporating the TGUs following this.

 

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.