Urgan Breathes Fire, Vol. III

[Sam Ashen]

Yep. The first test is mostly about not passing out when you go to bow in. If your sensei says you are ready, that means he has already seen you perform the techniques at the standard he wants. The test is about showing that to everyone else. Remembering Japanese names is the hardest part for most new people.

 

Original X-Com!  Japanese names!  But I would say it was better known for unpronouncable Russian names.

[Urgan]

WEEK 1 DAY 2!

Knocking down all the obstacles in my way

Ryu

Gains - 5/15

N. Mob - 1/3

K. Mob - 1/2

Squat - 45 1x5

            65 1x3

            90 1x2

            115 1x1

            135 6x3 - belted

BP -    NA

OHP -  45 1x3

           58 3x3 - belted

DL -   160 1x3

         202.5 1x3 - belted - PR--!!

         205 1X1 -belted - PR+5!!

PC -   NA

Day 1 of Texas Method ( TM ) for squats. Everything else is still very much on the linear progression (LP). So what’s the difference, one may be asking. Simple: TM = weekly gains, LP = daily gains. What you’ll see is squats will follow the below pattern:

Volume - 6x3 @ 90% 3RM

Rest - 4x3 @ 90% 3RM

Intensity - 1x3 @ [hit a new 3RM PR]

 

And...lol, 5lb PR on deadlift. This confirms my theory that squats were squashing my deadlift potential at the intensity I was operating under. This was a good choice...finally, smart programming. What a concept. My glutes felt like they were going to tear off my legs and run away, lol. Tapped out for the day for sure. And...I forgot to do my neck-smashing with the bar, so I made do with a lacrosse ball and a door jamb. Perfectly painful method.

 

Complete side note: DOMS city from the hips down.

Garr

Aikido - 1/2

Rest day~

Momo

Curfew - 1/5

Anti-curfew - 2/6

C.C. - 2/5 - 2,139

Awake at 8, up at 8:30, programmed <2500 calories, and drinks put away before 8:30. Killin’ it.

[ixaera]

Nice PR! You really told those glutes who's boss

[Sam Ashen]

 

DL -   160 1x3

         202.5 1x3 - belted - PR--!!

         205 1X1 -belted - PR+5!!

 

Hmm.  Not sure if I will be able to keep up with these PR's - especially if it followed a very heavy triple.

[Urgan]

Nice PR! You really told those glutes who's boss

 

And now they're telling me who's boss, lol. 

 

Hmm.  Not sure if I will be able to keep up with these PR's - especially if it followed a very heavy triple.

 

Sleep is probably the explanation. I'm never showing up to the gym dog tired, so that has to count for something.

[Rurik Harrgath]

Momo is smart--she doesn't do stupid things like tank up on liquids before bed and screw up her next day by using the bathroom multiple times at night, sleeping in, and throwing the rest of her plans out the window after that. Lol.

 

I was all prepared to write up this huge commentary on all of your goals and endorse my hearty approval for your efforts this challenge, and then I read this line and it just spoke to me.

 

Oh, man... do I ever need to work on that! 

[Urgan]

I was all prepared to write up this huge commentary on all of your goals and endorse my hearty approval for your efforts this challenge, and then I read this line and it just spoke to me.

 

Oh, man... do I ever need to work on that! 

 

Recovery is very, very, VERY important. Time for me to be smart about it, lol.

[Mr_Willes]

I'm slowly starting to get used to the (unhealthy) habit of not sleeping decent after a lifting workout (mon-wed-fri). A combination of adrenaline from the actual workout, the amount of liquids from recovery shakes etc, and the PWO that keeps on working for a few hours...

 

It seems like i'm just accepting it, and just look forward to the other days (especially tue and thu) when i just can go to bed and fall asleep without waking every 2-3 hours to take a piss...

[Urgan]

I'm slowly starting to get used to the (unhealthy) habit of not sleeping decent after a lifting workout (mon-wed-fri). A combination of adrenaline from the actual workout, the amount of liquids from recovery shakes etc, and the PWO that keeps on working for a few hours...

 

It seems like i'm just accepting it, and just look forward to the other days (especially tue and thu) when i just can go to bed and fall asleep without waking every 2-3 hours to take a piss...

 

Question: do you know the benefits of (all of) the consumables you use pre- and post-workout vs the recovery opportunity you lose via interrupted sleep? Not judging, I just found for myself that sleep is the best recovery tool of all, hence the quest to stop self-sabotaging. 

[Urgan]

WEEK 1 DAY 3!

Plodding along...

Ryu

Gains - 5/15

N. Mob - 1/3

K. Mob - 2/2

Quads = rolled. I have a spectacular knot on medial right quad near the knee. Not cool.

Garr

Aikido - 2/2

We went over all three techniques, I got a little more confident at kotegaeshi. I’ve been working with a stiffer uke (he likes to resist my technique a bit, which…makes things harder...) to develop more efficient technique at pinning, so when I returned to a more compliant uke, I risked doing the pins way too hard. Note to self: the turkey Yellow Belt is not a good barometer of how much stress to apply generally, tone it down. I do not want to break people.

Momo

Curfew - 1/5

Anti-curfew - 3/6

C.C. - 3/5 - 2,314

Awake at 8, up at 8:45--extra tired from poor sleep, did some stretches in bed to deal with DOMS, and checked out a few job postings before crawling out of bed. On track today~

[Mr_Willes]

Question: do you know the benefits of (all of) the consumables you use pre- and post-workout vs the recovery opportunity you lose via interrupted sleep? Not judging, I just found for myself that sleep is the best recovery tool of all, hence the quest to stop self-sabotaging. 

 

I'm seeing great progress the last few months, while i upped my protein intake a lot! The not sleeping is more of a nuisance. If i normally go to bed i start sleeping before my head hits the pillow, now it takes me about half an hour after working out. See it's not that big of a deal, it's just an unfamiliair feeling, and even not being able to sleep 15 minutes makes me feel like i suffer from insomnia... Though there were times i wished i would stay awake a little longer in bed before falling asleep (to enjoy the rest), at that time all nights felt like: i go to bed, one minute passes by, BEEP alarm clock says it's work-o'clock!

 

Luckily when i do have to get up at night i can go back to sleep immediately. I have always been like that, my wife really loved that part when the kids were just born. She would ask me in the morning if i had been up to check on them

[Urgan]

I'm seeing great progress the last few months, while i upped my protein intake a lot! The not sleeping is more of a nuisance. If i normally go to bed i start sleeping before my head hits the pillow, now it takes me about half an hour after working out. See it's not that big of a deal, it's just an unfamiliair feeling, and even not being able to sleep 15 minutes makes me feel like i suffer from insomnia... Though there were times i wished i would stay awake a little longer in bed before falling asleep (to enjoy the rest), at that time all nights felt like: i go to bed, one minute passes by, BEEP alarm clock says it's work-o'clock!

 

Luckily when i do have to get up at night i can go back to sleep immediately. I have always been like that, my wife really loved that part when the kids were just born. She would ask me in the morning if i had been up to check on them

 

Definitely, protein is super important. Interrupted sleep is more than just a nuisance, it interrupts your repair processes and of course you aren't quite as rested as you would be otherwise, but more the former in your case, since you don't toss and turn. Being unemployed sucks in many ways, but it does give you time to play with your schedule and optimize some stuff (protein, hours slept, quality of sleep). Not sure which is more responsible for my success thus far.

 

Okay, the baby thing is hilarious. I hope it will be that way here, lol.  

[Mr_Willes]

I wish i had time to do that stuff. Sometimes fantasizing, if i was single. I could eat when i wanted, what i wanted, workout when i needed. That would be so helpfull. Not saying that i want to be single again, but it would be super beneficial for me (sooner) reaching my goals.

[Urgan]

I wish i had time to do that stuff. Sometimes fantasizing, if i was single. I could eat when i wanted, what i wanted, workout when i needed. That would be so helpfull. Not saying that i want to be single again, but it would be super beneficial for me (sooner) reaching my goals.

 

Ordinarily I wouldn't, either, but making the best of a bad situation...

[Mr_Willes]

Ofcourse, why not? Any news on that front?

 

BTW: you made the "list"

[Urgan]

Ofcourse, why not? Any news on that front?

 

BTW: you made the "list"

 

No, the job market is really, really dead for the area in which I'm trying to break in (programming). I anticipate it will be a long, loooong wait...sigh.

 

Which list, now?

[Mr_Willes]

The one under my posts

 

Bummer, hope you have some reserves so you can "sit" it out.

[Urgan]

The one under my posts

 

Bummer, hope you have some reserves so you can "sit" it out.

 

Lol, I didn't know your sig was a list. I feel honored. 

 

Yeah, I got severance pay, so I'm good for the short term...

[Urgan]

WEEK 1 DAY 4!

Today was very....wobbly.

Ryu

Gains - 5/15

N. Mob - 1/3

K. Mob - 2/2

Squat - 45 1x5

            65 1x3

            90 1x2

           115 1x1

           135 4x3 - belted

BP -     45 1x5

           55 1x3

           65 1x1

           76 3x3 - belted

OHP -  NA

DL -   NA

PC -   55 2x3- PR+2.5!!

          55 2x2

          55 2x0

          55 1x1

What a mediocre day. It was raining all day long, I woke up and went to playing FF:Dimensions, keen on finishing it this day. 2:00 rolled around, and I took a break to go to the gym. This happened. Very unremarkable, except for the fiasco that was the PCs. What happened was I did two sets just fine, then the third set I did two correctly, but attempted to jump too early and it turned into an arm-pull fail. Put the bar down, did a single that was awesome. Attempted  set that ended the same way as the third. Called it a day. Going to be drilling the hell out of the empty bar next time PCs come around. Ugh. Because I was so focused on getting out the rain and back into the house to beat FF:D, I did not mobilize my neck. Going to force myself to go in just to do that tomorrow.

Went home and ordered pizza, because Got To Beat The Game. Got the final boss rush and died on second phase of the first battle (you know how it is, right?). Multiple times. So I watched the ending on Youtube. May reattempt in a couple of years, may not. I am done.

Garr

Aikido - 2/2

Rest day, no aikido.

Momo

Curfew - 2/5

Anti-curfew - 4/6

C.C. - 4/5 - 2,074

A little light on the calories, but oh well. This week has been calorie low in general.

[shaar]

Mmmm pizza.

 

Ugh I hate getting STALEMATED on a boss fight over and over.  Frustrating.  Many games in the "ugh maybe someday" pile because of this.

[Urgan]

Mmmm pizza.

 

Ugh I hate getting STALEMATED on a boss fight over and over.  Frustrating.  Many games in the "ugh maybe someday" pile because of this.

 

THAT FEEL. I KNOW THAT FEEL.

[Urgan]

A thing Mike sent me:

 

[starsapart]

I, too, have quit games near the end over this.

[Urgan]

I, too, have quit games near the end over this.

 

It kinda sorta ruins my day when it happens. Such overwhelming hype...such all-consuming disappoint.

[Sam Ashen]

Many of my games are in the "ugh maybe someday" pile because I have a perfectionist streak.  My own thread features a shining example!