tinkerer performs routine maintenance

[tinkerer]

More details to follow. This is somewhat of a 'maintenance' challenge as I have a ton of things (fun things) happening over the next six weeks. These goals are designed so as not to compete with mountain climbing or backpacking but to keep me focused between adventures.

 

I love adventure pics so I hope it's OK if I post them here despite lacking a goal which requires me to do so.

Goals:
1 - 20 Consecutive Pullups
Don't know if this is doable or not. At the end of my last challenge I unsuccessfully attempted 18 pull ups and discovered my form needed some improvement (video). First I'll focus on form, via occasional video check ins and then on volume. Regardless of how pie-in-the-sky this is, it's something I really want to accomplish. Stating it as a goal is important.

2 - <=4 Beers per week
They aren't helpful for training, nutrition, motivation, or anything but tasting delicious and socializing.

3 - 1 run / week with Roy-the-Dog
He likes it. I like it. This is a good goal.

4 - 1 day / week biking to work
This is a ~13-15 mile ride one-way depending on my route. Once a week is pretty doable, I just need to prioritize it.

5 - 1 weeknight / week dedicated to house projects

I can get a lot done in a night if I plan to work on something and have things laid out in advance. That is the goal here.

For all of the weekly goals, the week of August 9 is excluded as I'll be on a vacation!

[TheComebackKid]

Haha, love that beer comment man. Cheers to that. 

[Wolverine]

I think you'll hit 20 this challenge. From the video, it looks like you have the strength just a bit of wasted energy at the top.

 

P.S. PHOTOS OF ALL THE THINGS!!!

[Waanie]

Nice challenge again . I love the house projects goal, it seems doable but at the same time you can achieve a lot in that time .

[Kyliewyotie]

Good for Roy.

[tinkerer]

Off to a good/bad start.

 

My wife and I went backpacking Sunday-Monday this week and wound up hiking 16 miles and not getting home until late Monday. I leave for a mountaineering trip tomorrow. This has led to a lack of time for a house project night in order to do things like buy groceries and prep for my next trip. I think I'll have to modify the goals to be 5 total runs, work nights, bike rides, etc. instead of once/week every week.

 

Drinks: On track (2)

Pullups: A few practice pullups in the mornings.

 

Haha, love that beer comment man. Cheers to that. 

Hear, hear!

 

I think you'll hit 20 this challenge. From the video, it looks like you have the strength just a bit of wasted energy at the top.

 

P.S. PHOTOS OF ALL THE THINGS!!!

I better get working on it! I processed some photos last night but didn't have time to post. Hopefully soon.

 

Nice challenge again . I love the house projects goal, it seems doable but at the same time you can achieve a lot in that time .

It seemed doable at the time! I am shooting for an achievable yet fairly simple challenge this go-around. Challenging enough goals to keep me on track while I run around like crazy elsewhere in life.

 

 

Good for Roy.

He's been visiting the dog-grandparents this week and I miss him. It's funny how empty a house seems without a dog to welcome you home. Plus you have to pick up food that you drop instead of the dog instantly vacuuming.

[Waanie]

He's been visiting the dog-grandparents this week and I miss him. It's funny how empty a house seems without a dog to welcome you home. Plus you have to pick up food that you drop instead of the dog instantly vacuuming.

 

That's why we have cats . I'm allergic to dogs, but cats also say hi when I come in and eat the food I drop on the ground. You don't have to walk cats though, which is both a good and a bad thing .

[Kyliewyotie]

How did week 1 go?

[tinkerer]

How did week 1 go?

 

All goals not met. I am severely de-motivated for this challenge. I did enjoy a nice ~20 mile mountain climbing attempt last weekend.

[Waanie]

Hang in there, it's still early in the challenge. Are you demotivated for just this challenge or for "chores" in general? If it's the challenge, just change the goals until you are motivated . Otherwise, you might want to just scale your goals down a lot and hope you'll feel better soon .

[Kyliewyotie]

A bad week isn't a reason to have a bad challenge.

 

Any recovery plan? goal changes? etc?

[Wolverine]

All goals not met. I am severely de-motivated for this challenge. I did enjoy a nice ~20 mile mountain climbing attempt last weekend.

 

RUH ROH!

 

A bad week isn't a reason to have a bad challenge.

 

Any recovery plan? goal changes? etc?

 

Seconded!

 

Let us know if we can help somehow!

[tinkerer]

Hang in there, it's still early in the challenge. Are you demotivated for just this challenge or for "chores" in general? If it's the challenge, just change the goals until you are motivated . Otherwise, you might want to just scale your goals down a lot and hope you'll feel better soon .

A bad week isn't a reason to have a bad challenge.

 

Any recovery plan? goal changes? etc?

RUH ROH!

 

 

Seconded!

 

Let us know if we can help somehow!

 

Thanks for the support! For the first week, I was only home for 3 days. That meant that getting everything situated life-wise overwhelmed me and I didn't focus on goals. Upon returning from the weekend climb and starting Week 2 I found myself very lethargic and uncaring. Yesterday, I realized the likely reason - I ate food which was improperly preserved on my trip and have food poisoning. Today I've rested and am starting to feel better (up to maybe 55%) but we leave again this Friday afternoon. I believe the best approach will be to pick up at the halfway point with my original goals.

 

Here's a picture from the climb.

 

[Wolverine]

Thanks for the support! For the first week, I was only home for 3 days. That meant that getting everything situated life-wise overwhelmed me and I didn't focus on goals. Upon returning from the weekend climb and starting Week 2 I found myself very lethargic and uncaring. Yesterday, I realized the likely reason - I ate food which was improperly preserved on my trip and have food poisoning. Today I've rested and am starting to feel better (up to maybe 55%) but we leave again this Friday afternoon. I believe the best approach will be to pick up at the halfway point with my original goals.

 

 

Well that totally sucks.  Sending healing thoughts!!!

 

 

Here's a picture from the climb.

 

 

 

 

Beautiful photo!

[tinkerer]

Alright, as discussed above the first three weeks of this challenge didn't go too well. The good news is that there are three more weeks!

This Friday is my sister's wedding so it will be a bit of a challenge to get everything in but I need to start somewhere. My house project will be getting it ready for the family staying with us from out of town.

For pullups, I'm considering doing as many as possible every morning. It's probably not ideal training-wise but at least it would be easy to track and consistent.

[Kyliewyotie]

The good news is that there are three more weeks!

For pullups, I'm considering doing as many as possible every morning. It's probably not ideal training-wise but at least it would be easy to track and consistent.

Good attitude dood.

 

For the pulls, I have used the the 20 pull up program with some luck.

I think being consistent is they key, and if every morning to failure works, then hell it works.

[tinkerer]

I googled that program on the drive home and it seems like it would work well for me. Then I can ride and or run the other days.

Also just passed on the free beer offered at the barber shop. Got to save the allotment for the wedding festivities!

[Waanie]

I googled that program on the drive home and it seems like it would work well for me. Then I can ride and or run the other days.

Also just passed on the free beer offered at the barber shop. Got to save the allotment for the wedding festivities!

Sounds like you have a plan! What is your current number of pull-ups? I'm sure you can get to 20 in the next three weeks .

 

Good job on passing on the beer .

[tinkerer]

Sounds like you have a plan! What is your current number of pull-ups? I'm sure you can get to 20 in the next three weeks .

Good job on passing on the beer .

I don't know my max right now. At the end of the last challenge it was 17 with some form concerns but I have not done any since. I chose the 12-14 range category for the twenty pullups program.

I'm jumping in at week four in hopes of ending the challenge with a max attempt. It's supposed to be a six week program but I kind of doubt that is correct. You go backward one third of a week if you can't do the days progression.

First day complete: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 pullups!

[tinkerer]

Updates:

 

Tuesday: Went for a run with the dog (and my wife), (and the other dog!). We made it a mile and a half. I also did pullups as mentioned above.

Wednesday: Avoided barley flavored beverages.

Today: So far, have biked to work.

 

Goals remaining: House project (tonight) and more pullups!

[Waanie]

You're nailing those pull-ups .

 

How did the house project go? Did you get anything done?

[tinkerer]

Week 4 Recap:

 

1 Run

1 Bike to Work

1 House Project (cleaning up for company, which ended up being a lot of people)

1 Day of Pullup Training (-2 days from intended 3)

More that 4 beers.

 

Overall, seems like 63% of my goals were achieved.

 

This weekend I talked over house projects with my wife and have some work lined up for after work today. There are a lot of forest fires here so I'm not sure outdoor running or biking is actually a health benefit. I'll wait and see if things clear up.

 

On the pullups, I thought that Week 4 was a little too ambitious and backed off to Week 3 (less reps / set). This means I won't finish until after the challenge but that's OK, at least I'm working towards 20.

 

[Waanie]

 

On the pullups, I thought that Week 4 was a little too ambitious and backed off to Week 3 (less reps / set). This means I won't finish until after the challenge but that's OK, at least I'm working towards 20.

You seem to have a really good mindset for your pull ups . Not riskkng injuries, just taking it slower and keeping to work on it.

I have no idea how smoggy your area is, but I can imagine that it's not healthy to be outside at all. There's probably some kind of reports on the smog levels, and maybe predictions as well. Are the fires likely to go out anytime soon? Maybe some nice amount of rain?

[tinkerer]

You seem to have a really good mindset for your pull ups . Not riskkng injuries, just taking it slower and keeping to work on it.

I have no idea how smoggy your area is, but I can imagine that it's not healthy to be outside at all. There's probably some kind of reports on the smog levels, and maybe predictions as well. Are the fires likely to go out anytime soon? Maybe some nice amount of rain?

I should take credit for taking it slow to avoid injuries but the truth is the progressions were too hard at week 4. Still, I like the approach of the program.

 

The smoke peaked at 143 ug/m^3 of PM2.5 (which is I think particles bigger than 2.5 microns.) Right now it's at 64. Visabilty is up to around 2 miles but was less than 1 mile for a while. I'm not sure how to describe it other than "unpleasant". The air quality is forecast to improve over the weekend! We also have a few showers forecast for the weekend! I think everyone is hoping we get them, even if it means no playing outdoors. According to the fire chief I work with we need about 2 or 3 days of steady rain to really reduce the fire risk.

[Elastigirl]

I should take credit for taking it slow to avoid injuries but the truth is the progressions were too hard at week 4. Still, I like the approach of the program.

 

The smoke peaked at 143 ug/m^3 of PM2.5 (which is I think particles bigger than 2.5 microns.) Right now it's at 64. Visabilty is up to around 2 miles but was less than 1 mile for a while. I'm not sure how to describe it other than "unpleasant". The air quality is forecast to improve over the weekend! We also have a few showers forecast for the weekend! I think everyone is hoping we get them, even if it means no playing outdoors. According to the fire chief I work with we need about 2 or 3 days of steady rain to really reduce the fire risk.

Where do you live? I live in Wa, we are on the west side of the mountains, and most of the fires are central and eastern Wa. Even so we have had some days where the air quality was bad.  I've seen some pictures where it was so smoky,you could hardly see. I feel bad for people who are dealing with that every day.