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It does sound like an excellent weekend though!

Yay for the deadlifts! Makes me wonder if I should be doing more warm-up sets on my way up to the work sets?

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Big Show: Human Swift Hunter

Respawning. One day at a time.

Battle Log: Operation Wedding Suit - Take 2

Previous challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 

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Also, I've decided to stick with the "Fasting after 8PM" for at least another week before adding any other new habits or nutrition rules.  Since last week was pretty iffy, I'd like get get that habit nice and ingrained before moving onto anything new.  I'm not sure what I'll do next.  Maybe control my food intake a little more on non-workout days?

 

8 hours ago, Big_Show said:

It does sound like an excellent weekend though!

Yay for the deadlifts! Makes me wonder if I should be doing more warm-up sets on my way up to the work sets?

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Thanks Man.  It was pretty excellent!  I find that a few warm-up sets helps me get ready for the lift.  Keep in mind, deadlifts are the only weight-lifting that I do each week.  The rest of my workouts are all bodyweight.  I'm not sure of the science around it, but I think that the warm-up sets help my body realize "OK, we're lifting more than our own body now so let's be extra careful".  It also helps me practice good form on my way up to the work sets.

If deadlifts are the first lift that you're doing, then warm-up sets might be a good idea for you.  If you squat beforehand, you're probably fine since squats serve as a pretty good deadlift warm-up.

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Sky Pirate Monk

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Impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit - Vyse the Blue Rogue

 

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Definitely sounds like an awesome weekend. :]

 

Good idea sticking with the IF for a bit before tacking more stuff on.  It's something I'm going to start to play around with this challenge cycle actually so I'm interested in your progress.  Glad things are going well in general for you though!  YAYYY DEADLIFTS!

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I also fast after 8pm. But that's mainly because it's my weekday bedtime...

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Big Show: Human Swift Hunter

Respawning. One day at a time.

Battle Log: Operation Wedding Suit - Take 2

Previous challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 

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Week of 5/1:

Workouts: 3/3

Squat Yoga: 4/7

7-8 hrs Sleep: 4/7

Primal Diet: 3/7

Fast after 8PM: 5/7

French: 2/7

 

Ehhh... Not too great.  I think that sleep is a really big problem for me.  Thursday night was the roughest night this past week.  I got three hours of sleep that night and went through Friday mostly in a fog.  The good news is, I'm taking some action.  I bought a couple books on Sleep, but the one I'm working through right now is "Sleep Smarter" by Shawn Stevenson.  I found the book through a podcast which Jonathan Mead posted on Facebook rather fortuitously on Friday morning.  The author is a nutritionist/personal trainer whose philosophy really lines up with the whole ancestral health movement and who has a freaking awesome story.  So far, I've discovered some new tips that I haven't heard before - and perhaps more importantly, I now know the why behind some of these tips so I can make intelligent decisions about what advice I follow.  So experimenting with sleep will be a big focus for me this month.

 

The Fasting after 8PM habit has become fairly ingrained now.  I still have an off day now and then, but most of them are on nights that I can't sleep so I eat out of frustration.  I'm hoping that addressing my sleep issues will make that easier...

 

Actually, I'm hoping that fixing my sleep will make a lot of things easier.  I've had this stubborn belly fat that's held on for the past two years despite being mostly paleo most of the time.  I know that getting lean isn't exactly easy, but I do feel that the ol' belly has been unreasonably stubborn in holding onto its padding.  I wouldn't be surprised if my sleep issues are a part of that.  I'm trying to keep my expectations neutral and not expect miracles... but man, I really hope that straightening out my third pillow will take a load off the other two and help me see some more progress with this whole fitness thing.

 

I've got a late 4-week challenge a-brewing this month.  I still have to iron out my rules, but I know that Sleep is going to be the #1 focus with a secondary focus on slowly controlling the amount of fruit and dairy I eat - kind of like I slowly lowered my food curfew.  Exercise is pretty much an autopilot habit at this point and doesn't really need to be part of a challenge.

And speaking of exercise!

 

Spoiler

 

Workout #s:                      Mon:                   Wed:                             Fri:           

Wall Handstand Holds:     40, 40, 35             40,40,39                       45, 40, 39        

Asst. 1-Leg Squats:          10, 10, 9               10, 10, 10 LV-UP!         4, 4, 4                          LEVEL UP to... Same-Side Assisted 1-leg Squats!

Pullups:                            10, 10, 9, 2            10, 10, 9, 3                 10, 10, 9, 4

Uneven Pushups              10, 10, 9               10, 10, 9, 1                  10, 10, 9, 2

 

 

 

 

After some deliberation, I've decided to upgrade the Pullups and Pushups to the next level.  I'm grinding toward that last set of 10 so slowly and I really feel that I can make better progress by switching to a more difficult variation rather than going for that last rep right now.  I'll revisit in a few weeks to see if I can churn out the last one.  In the meantime, I'm upgrading Pullups to WEIGHTED PULLUPS YEAAAH.  I have a few 10 and 6 lb weights.  Nothing smaller, unfortunately.  I started with 16lb today and got 3 sets of 5 without too much trouble.  I think I'll make three sets of 8 my new progression standard for these.  For Pushups, I switched to Decline Pushups.  This is a pretty easy level for me.  Probably easier than uneven pushups.  I did three sets of 8 today without too much trouble.  I'll test the next one up and if I can do a couple reps, I'll switch to that.  I believe that decline Diamond pushups are next on my list.

 

I hope everyone's enjoying the Spring!  The weather has been pretty crappy lately where I am, but that means my bedroom stays nice and cool without me needing to install the window AC unit before I move to my new place.

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Sky Pirate Monk

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Impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit - Vyse the Blue Rogue

 

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Weighted pullups are badass! Do you have one of those belts that look like you're gonna hit yourself in the knackers with the plates if you're not careful?

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Big Show: Human Swift Hunter

Respawning. One day at a time.

Battle Log: Operation Wedding Suit - Take 2

Previous challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 

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11 hours ago, Big Adam said:

but man, I really hope that straightening out my third pillow will take a load off the other two and help me see some more progress with this whole fitness thing.

Errr, "my third pillar", I mean.  Man, talk about a Freudian slip.

 

8 hours ago, Big_Show said:

Weighted pullups are badass! Do you have one of those belts that look like you're gonna hit yourself in the knackers with the plates if you're not careful?

Hahaha.  I wish.  For now I'm just using a backpack with some plates in it.  If I get up to higher weights, I'll consider a weight belt.  I don't know what the weight threshold of my backpack is, but it's probably not more than 30-40 lbs.

Sky Pirate Monk

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Impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit - Vyse the Blue Rogue

 

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Will having the weight on your back affect the mechanics of the exercise at all? Definitely changes your centre of gravity compared to when they're hanging below you.

I'm paranoid enough to spend weeks googling for an answer and not dare try either way... 😂

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Big Show: Human Swift Hunter

Respawning. One day at a time.

Battle Log: Operation Wedding Suit - Take 2

Previous challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 

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On 5/11/2016 at 8:28 AM, Big_Show said:

Will having the weight on your back affect the mechanics of the exercise at all? Definitely changes your centre of gravity compared to when they're hanging below you.

I'm paranoid enough to spend weeks googling for an answer and not dare try either way... 

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It probably changes things a bit.  It didn't feel any different to me (other than being heavier), but it's possible that it shifts the load on slightly different muscle groups.  I didn't do a ton of research around it, but I don't feel any unusual strain and I think that as long as the weight is fairly light, it should be fine.  I'll probably upgrade to a belt once I get up to 30 or 40 lbs.

 

The day after, I noticed that some of the deeper muscles in my shoulders and back were slightly sore.  They were muscles that I don't usually feel after a workout.  It might be that having the weight hanging right off my shoulders makes them work slightly differently.  Again though, only DOMS and nothing that feels like injury or a precursor to it.


I won't lie though, doing weighted pullups feels super-badass. 

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Sky Pirate Monk

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Impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit - Vyse the Blue Rogue

 

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Hey Ya'll.  After much deliberation, I hereby declare my Rest-of-Month Challenges!

 

Workouts, Yoga, Food-Curfew: Continue as usual.  These are all working well.  No modifications needed.

 

1) Sleep: 6/7 nights per week, go to bed between 10:30 and 11.  All Mornings: Get up by 7:00 (even on weekends)

2) Diet: Limit "healthy treats" to 2/day.  A "healthy treat" = piece of hand fruit (or bowl of berries) with some yogurt or nuts, a cup of yogurt with chocolate protein powder, or a cup of nuts/seeds/trailmix.

3) Diet: No Sugar (other than fruit) or grains in normal meals.  One Dessert item is allowed per social event.

 

Life: Start listening to the French Podcasts again.  I've been slacking on this lately.

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Sky Pirate Monk

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NF Character

 

Battle Log

 

 

Impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit - Vyse the Blue Rogue

 

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I'm going on holiday to France after Camp. I may need a link to these podcasts to resurrect my schoolboy French.

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Big Show: Human Swift Hunter

Respawning. One day at a time.

Battle Log: Operation Wedding Suit - Take 2

Previous challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 

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*Ahem* Testing, Testing. Is this thing still on?

 

So, been a while since I've logged onto the forums.  Sorry Big Show, I missed your post back in June.  At least we got to chat at Camp.

 

I'm trying to cut back on Social Media at the moment, so I will probably continue to use the forums only sparingly.  However, for the purposes of giving myself some accountability, I figure I'll post my goals for the next (at minimum) 4 weeks! I will likely join in on the next 4-week challenge, but I suspect that my goals will be about the same.  I've noticed that I fall apart when I focus on too many things, so I'm keeping them super-simple and super-foundational.  Sleep. Nutrition. That's it.

 

Sleep: Go to bed between 10 and 11 every work night. Go to bed within that time frame OR right after getting home on the weekends.  On weekends, don't sleep in past 8:30 so as to not throw off my sleep schedule.

 

Nutrition: Follow Slow-Carb Diet with 1 cheat day/week.  For the next two weeks, those days will be Christmas and New Year's Eve.  After that, it'll be every Sunday.

 

That's it for now.  3 workouts a week is pretty much a habit for me now so I can put that on autopilot.  I really want to dial in these other two aspects of my fitness which I tend to neglect.

 

 

Hope everyone's doing well!  @RisenPhoenix and @StarGazer, feel free to follow along if you're at all interested ;) 

Sky Pirate Monk

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NF Character

 

Battle Log

 

 

Impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit - Vyse the Blue Rogue

 

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Hm.  Now I feel like I need to pester you for your phone number to harass you via text if you're going to vanish off FB AND the forums.

 

:P

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RisenPhoenix, the Entish Aikidoka

Challenge: RisenPhoenix Turns to Ash

 

"The essence of koryu [...is] you offer your loyalty to something that you choose to regard as greater than yourself so that you will, someday, be able to offer service to something that truly is transcendent." ~ Ellis Amdur, Old School

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