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Hi everyone,

 

I'm back after a loooong hiatus. And even when I was around NF regularly I wasn't very good at the challenges; but the format of this one would seem to work for me.

 

So... diet goals: 

- 2 lunches at work/week are prepared and brought from home

- 5 servings of vegetables/day 

 

Fitness goals:

- take breaks at work to walk at least 20 minutes/day

 

Life goal:

- practice guitar for 15 minutes, 4 times/week

 

The title of this thread refers to a competition I want to do in July. Here's what I wrote in my Rebel introduction:

I've been on and off this site for almost 4 years now, and I think it's time to get back on! 

I'm a 46-year-old father of two, and an occasional competitor in the hammer throw in Track and Field, as well as the Highland games. 

One of the main reasons I've been inconsistent has been because I would frequently go through spells where I would lose strength and/or workouts would be very unpleasant because of joint and muscle pain. Thankfully, that may be mostly behind me, as it seems I had a pretty strong vitamin D deficiency. 

Unfortunately, one thing I don't have a handle on is my weight. It's the worst it's ever been. 

So now I'm making a push. I'm signed up with Mash Elite Performance to get help with programing, and my goal is to compete at the Canadian Olympic trials in July. I'm not going to worry too much about my weight for now. I'll hold that until after the competitive season. 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to reconnecting with everyone and hopefully meeting new people. 

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Nevermind my question in my thread, answered here. Welcome back!

Massrandir, Barkûn, Swolórin, The Whey Pilgrim
500 / 330 / 625
Challenges: 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 34 35 36 39 41 42 45 46 47 48 49 Current Challenge
"No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. " ~ Socrates
"Friends don't let friends squat high." ~ Chad Wesley Smith
"It's a dangerous business, Brodo, squatting to the floor. You step into the rack, and if you don't keep your form, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." ~ Gainsdalf

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Yeah, welcome back.  I didn't get to know you your last stay, lets change that!

May Br0din bless you with mighty gains, and may your shaker bottle always be full.

Wheymen

 

...and, if you die...  Walk it off - Captain America

 

Level 13: 1/4 Giant Warrior

STR - 50 | DEX - 19 | STA - 19 | CON - 14 | WIS - 28 | CHA - 24

My food logging is here*: MFP: tyrsnbdr

 

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Yeah, welcome back.  I didn't get to know you your last stay, lets change that!

 

That sounds like a plan. Thank you!

 

all the best with this go around. Do your best.

 

I intend to... I'm taking my shot this year to really excel. Thank you.

Following for sure. :)

 

Heh. Pressure's on now.

 

And in that vein, a pretty good first day!

I had a whole lot of vegetables, my lunch was homemade, I did sneak in 20 minutes on the guitar, and I did manage 20 minutes of walking at work. About the only bad part was that I did one walk fairly early, but then forgot until right at the end of the day. Not optimal. I think I'll set a reminder.

 

I also got a lot of my regular-life stuff done, including a little workout. Fun little moment: my daughter has started lifting, and today was the first day that I asked her to spot for me. She made the rookie mistake of coming in to help too soon. I was gonna get that last rep! Ah well. It was a good teaching moment. :)

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Daughter started lifting!? That's fantastic! I hope that day eventually comes for my daughter. Right now she lacks the discipline and drive needed to train.

Massrandir, Barkûn, Swolórin, The Whey Pilgrim
500 / 330 / 625
Challenges: 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 34 35 36 39 41 42 45 46 47 48 49 Current Challenge
"No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. " ~ Socrates
"Friends don't let friends squat high." ~ Chad Wesley Smith
"It's a dangerous business, Brodo, squatting to the floor. You step into the rack, and if you don't keep your form, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." ~ Gainsdalf

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Yeah, it's fun. My son wants to as well, but he's 12. I told him he could start next year.

She's not self-motivated to do it, but I've told the kids that they have to do some kind of measurable exercise. They were doing it on the exercise bike, but she asked if she could lift instead. At this point I'm not worried about stunting her growth (she's 14 and 6' 2") so I said sure. She's doing a great job. She really pays attention to what I tell her about form, and she's learning to push herself. I think one of the reasons she likes it is that is something we do together, or at least I'm there watching her. She hit a nice milestone lately. Her set of 5 back squat was triple digits for the first time.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
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Just checking in.

The challenge is going well. I've walked and had my vegetables every day, and today I brought in my lunch for the 4th day this week (2x goal). I've practiced guitar twice this week, so I should be able to knock the tray rest out this weekend.

As a bonus, I've also significantly increased my water intake.

Workouts are going pretty well. I braved the elements to go throw a kettlebell around in the snow and I had my best squat workout since 2012.

My only issue is that the programming help I signed up for doesn't seem to be happening. No response to my queries.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

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At this point I'm not worried about stunting her growth (she's 14 and 6' 2") so I said sure. 

Yeah...don't think stunting is going to be much of an issue with that one.  Is she taller than you?

Warriors don't count reps and sets. They count tons.

My psychologist weighs 45 pounds, has an iron soul and sits on the end of a bar

Tally Sheet for 2019

Encouragement for older members: Chronologically Blessed Group;

Encouragement for newbie lifters: When we were weaker

 

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If I'm going to hit those goals I created, then I'm going to have to get an early start to the season. So... winter throws!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gu5qpAcCaQ

 

This is why they have pavillions in parks, right? So people can practice throwing?

 

I did about 5 throws of each. I'll work up to more. Definitely a few adjustments to make. My camera showed me a message I hadn't seen before "Unable to use flash in cold weather" (or something like that). It wasn't too bad today, the temperature is still dropping. It was about 12 degrees Fahrenheit when I did this. Still, it was fun! A ski mask and I'll be good to go.

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They're for different events. Highland Games is made up of 6 unique events (plus variations) and then Olympic hammer is yet a different thing. All of these have technical intricacies that need to be practiced, not to mention building up specific strength. So, the first thing in the video is for Stone Throw (or Shot Put in Track and Field, which I also do occasionally), the second thing is for Weight for Distance (although full throws for both Stone and Weight would include spins). The third thing is a drill which simulates the end of a Hammer throw.

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A little over a week into the challenge, so it's time to check in.

 

The challenge is going pretty well so far. I practiced guitar 4 times last week (although it was twice in one day to get under the wire) There was only one day that I don't think I had enough vegetables, but I'm right around the 90% goal I set for myself. I've been walking a lot at work. There was only one day last week that I didn't eat a home-prepared lunch. Now I just have to keep the motivation up :).

 

Outside of the challenge, things are going pretty well. I've been having my best lifting sessions since 2012, which makes me very excited about my upcoming competition season. Right now it looks like my first competition will be the Las Vegas Highland Games in April. That should get me the qualifying marks that I need, and then I'll switch to Track and Field, to try to get qualifying distances there.

 

I had signed up with an online coach to try to get programming help, but that seems to have been a disaster. I didn't hear anything for a week, and then when I finally did, all I got was this training program that totally doesn't work for me (huge step up in volume, probably not enough recovery time considering my age, I have no desire to do Olympic lifts, I don't have the equipment, I can't do overhead lifts because the ceiling is too low, it doesn't account for my competition schedule as far as I can tell, etc.) I'm torn about what to do. I have a feeling that I'm wasting my time with them, but it feels like I should give them a chance to give me something more appropriate.

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You should list all those concerns and tell them the programming needs to take it into account. No more money until it does.

What are your lifts like these days?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Massrandir, Barkûn, Swolórin, The Whey Pilgrim
500 / 330 / 625
Challenges: 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 34 35 36 39 41 42 45 46 47 48 49 Current Challenge
"No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. " ~ Socrates
"Friends don't let friends squat high." ~ Chad Wesley Smith
"It's a dangerous business, Brodo, squatting to the floor. You step into the rack, and if you don't keep your form, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." ~ Gainsdalf

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You are 100% right, Gainsdalf. The problem is that the list is so long, that it's making me feel like a whiner. My instinct is to cut bait and run. Besides, I can get a lot of the same kind of help here, free of charge! :)

 

My squat workout last night peaked with a set of 4 back squats at 415lb. It's been rising nicely. My goal for this winter was to get to a set of 5 at 445 by about April. I'm way ahead of schedule.

 

My volume isn't great. Back in 2012, I'd do these same kind of squat workouts, do my good mornings, then do deadlifts. I'm not doing the deadlifts now (I don't find that they translate well to my throws). My plan is to push the squats, and see how that translates.

 

And... I'm finally giving in. For the first time in my life I've bought a (competition-legal) belt and knee sleeves. They should arrive in the next few days. I'm definitely tempted to join the NF powerlifting team (if they'll have me) and try a competition or two next winter.

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And... I'm finally giving in. For the first time in my life I've bought a (competition-legal) belt and knee sleeves. They should arrive in the next few days. I'm definitely tempted to join the NF powerlifting team (if they'll have me) and try a competition or two next winter.

any time you feel up to some competition...join right in....

Warriors don't count reps and sets. They count tons.

My psychologist weighs 45 pounds, has an iron soul and sits on the end of a bar

Tally Sheet for 2019

Encouragement for older members: Chronologically Blessed Group;

Encouragement for newbie lifters: When we were weaker

 

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It's definitely tempting, if for no other reason than I want to be part of the epic NF team!

 

(By the way, when I first read this, I thought you were calling me out!)

I erased that version  :-)

Warriors don't count reps and sets. They count tons.

My psychologist weighs 45 pounds, has an iron soul and sits on the end of a bar

Tally Sheet for 2019

Encouragement for older members: Chronologically Blessed Group;

Encouragement for newbie lifters: When we were weaker

 

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I will fully admit that I'm using you as motivation. I'm using that 200 kg double as a milestone.

 

Just for fun I played around with Wilkes (included age-adjusted) to see what it would take to catch you. That's gonna take a while, especially since you're still obviously improving.

Oh, so those were footsteps I heard behind me the other day.....

Warriors don't count reps and sets. They count tons.

My psychologist weighs 45 pounds, has an iron soul and sits on the end of a bar

Tally Sheet for 2019

Encouragement for older members: Chronologically Blessed Group;

Encouragement for newbie lifters: When we were weaker

 

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