Urgan Shows Up, Does the Thing

[Urgan]

5-16-2016

Do I have a job yet??

 

Lifting

Mind the knees; mind the back

Rest day

 

Ukemi

Roll 5x per side

I didn’t go to Aikido tonight, due to being behind on stuff at home (no food, no bed) and laid low by the trip across town earlier in the day. I went to see a recruiter in person, wherein GPS got confused because of dense trees over the office park, the office park looking suspiciously like an apartment complex, and generally got stressed out on top of the normal level of taxation at making the trip by itself. We had a nice talk where the recruiter felt I actually had some marketable skills, so that made me feel good. Even if I know that recruiters seem so reliable and in your corner when you talk to them, then they disappear. Whatevs. Came home, felt like I'd given blood, did a bunch of chores, and napped because I crashed hard. Kitty showed up on our patio and we're pretty sure it's Yoshi, a stray (and thus outdoor-only) Mike took care of at his parents' house that we brought over to this house since he was the one primarily taking care of it. Yoshi disappeared after several weeks of coming back for food and we had assumed she got lost and/or coyotes got her. There have been lots of lost pet signs in this neighborhood and it is a sad thing, indeed. Nice to see she just got whimsical and visited elsewhere for a bit. Also, reasons 1 through 15 why I don't let my pets outside and thank God they are afraid of the Great Outdoors for the most part.

 

Food

Protein: 13/20 - 127g

YEAH. Steak + Far East Beef and Rice for dinner!

 

Sleep

Lights out: 11:35AM -- 8/10

Wake up: 7:55 AM -- 8/10

No waking in the middle of the night, no bathroom trips. No feeling horrible.

 

Mobility

No slouching

Days since last tension headache: 0

Stretch and mobilize: 14/28

First day a significant moment has been dedicated to “dealing with my neck” because it was bugging me, hence resetting the counter. As a result, neck, forearm, and wrist/thumb massage. Foot and calf stretching ftw. Feeling pretty good now~

[ixaera]

6 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Kitty showed up on our patio and we're pretty sure it's Yoshi, a stray (and thus outdoor-only) Mike took care of at his parents' house that we brought over to this house since he was the one primarily taking care of it. Yoshi disappeared after several weeks of coming back for food and we had assumed she got lost and/or coyotes got her. There have been lots of lost pet signs in this neighborhood and it is a sad thing, indeed. Nice to see she just got whimsical and visited elsewhere for a bit.

 

Phew.

This gives me hope, too. Not-our-cat (probably an outdoor cat owned by neighbors w/ no collar, given his health and attitude) disappeared a few weeks ago. This is around the same time that a house at the end of the street sold (maybe he was theirs?) and it was ALSO around the time I heard a pretty devastating kitty scream outside in the wee hours. We feed him and pet him, but Zu does not tolerate his presence at all.

[Urgan]

2 minutes ago, ixaera said:

 

Phew.

This gives me hope, too. Not-our-cat (probably an outdoor cat owned by neighbors w/ no collar, given his health and attitude) disappeared a few weeks ago. This is around the same time that a house at the end of the street sold (maybe he was theirs?) and it was ALSO around the time I heard a pretty devastating kitty scream outside in the wee hours. We feed him and pet him, but Zu does not tolerate his presence at all.

 

It's a horrible thing when animals go missing. You gots other pets??

[ixaera]

14 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

It's a horrible thing when animals go missing. You gots other pets??

 

Just my one old lady cat, Zu. She's 16, territorial, hates other people and animals, but very snuggly.

[Urgan]

1 minute ago, ixaera said:

 

Just my one old lady cat, Zu. She's 16, territorial, hates other people and animals, but very snuggly.

 

"Lots of personality" lol...Nothing better than snuggly kitties, I don't care what anybody says. 

[ixaera]

Spoiler

 

She's hard to photograph, so this is unfortunately the best one I have recently. All the ones I get of her on the ground she's usually whining for something (pets, brushes, food, sunbeams), so she just looks grumpy

[Urgan]

2 minutes ago, ixaera said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

She's hard to photograph, so this is unfortunately the best one I have recently. All the ones I get of her on the ground she's usually whining for something (pets, brushes, food, sunbeams), so she just looks grumpy

 

"You...hey you, put down your phone and PET ME, damnit!"

[Sam Ashen]

28 minutes ago, Urgan said:

It's a horrible thing when animals go missing.

 

Lost a dog when she went out for a morning run and did not come back.  It was a snowstorm followed up by very cold weather.  Neighbor dogs found her about a week later.

[Urgan]

2 minutes ago, Sam Ashen said:

 

Lost a dog when she went out for a morning run and did not come back.  It was a snowstorm followed up by very cold weather.  Neighbor dogs found her about a week later.

 

Heartbreaking...

[Urgan]

 

5-17-2016

This post brought to you by...

 

Lifting

Mind the knees; mind the back

Squat - 45 1x5

            75 1x3

            95 1x2

            120 1x1

            140 6x3 - belted

BP -    NA

OHP -   45 1x3 - belted

            57.5 3x3 - belted

DL -     165 2x3 - belted

PC -   NA

Guys, this session felt amazingly easy. Yes, even the OHP felt easy. Kept a close “eye” on my squat and deadlift form to make sure I’m practicing what I preach. Bar path and back angle ftw. My back felt AMAZING the whole time~

 

I made a new acquaintance as a girl who crosses paths with me had the guts to compliment my lifting at the risk of seeming “creepy” (not at all…seriously I am not brave enough to make the first move to get to know people in the gym, because #introvert’tilyougettoknowmethenIwon’tshutup). We talked shop a bit, she was a victim of a soccer-induced ankle injury and that’s what propelled her into the gym to do SOMETHING with her fitness drive (yet another ankle injury diverting someone to lifting, a la @starsapart) about a year and a half ago. I’ll have to run into her again and learn a bit more about what she’s into aside from soccer, lol.

 

Ukemi

Roll 5x per side

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’...gotta keep on rollin’ in front of the girls doing circuits crunches and twisting this way and that with medicine balls. I think I know who was havin’ more fun….but seriously, I find I am having an easier time with right limbs forward than with left, which sorta defies my thinking as I am left-handed, go figure. Back rolls are weaker and forward rolls tend to be more landing sideways/trending to one side. I’m sure it’s a technique flaw. Can’t wait to get evaluated under the watchful eye of Sensei.

 

Food

Protein: 14/20 - 138g

Leftover Far East Beef and Rice (best in pressure cooker...I heart cooking rice in the thing, soooo easy and mess-free) + Sausage and broccoli pasta casserole again because I have no shame. Oh, full disclosure on Sunday I started on saurbraten. It’s been sitting in the fridge doing its thing and on Thursday it will be Mine. In my stomach. W00t.

 

Also ice cream happened. Because of course it did. And 2.5 cups of milk. And two eggs. And 1.5oz of jerky. And chocolate. It was Eat All the Things Day, truly.

 

Sleep

Lights out: 11:35AM -- 8/10

Wake up: 7:55 AM -- 8/10

Snore, sleep, no waking up in the middle of the night. Winning it. I’m not sure if this is the cause of the gym being awesome or it’s more due to protein, but I WILL TAKE IT YES I WILL.

 

Mobility

No slouching

Days since last tension headache: 1

Stretch and mobilize: 15/28

The usual hams, quads, calves, ankles business. Really didn’t feel like I needed it. Neck ROM stuff. TOMORROW IS MASSAGE DAY. I am so excite to see what this session is like since magnesium entered my life…

 

Random life thing: I updated my resume using the suggestions provided by the recruiter, so maybe that will help sell me better. * shrugs * Anything’s worth a shot at this point...

[starsapart]

Just now, Urgan said:

(yet another ankle injury diverting someone to lifting, a la @starsapart)

 

Blessing in disguise, I tell you.

[Urgan]

Just now, starsapart said:

 

Blessing in disguise, I tell you.

 

For srs. She said something about helping a friend train for some kind of trail race thing in the mountains, so she is very committed to fitness. Kinda cool. 

[Mistr]

2 hours ago, Urgan said:

Lifting

 

Guys, this session felt amazingly easy. Yes, even the OHP felt easy. Kept a close “eye” on my squat and deadlift form to make sure I’m practicing what I preach. Bar path and back angle ftw. My back felt AMAZING the whole time~

 

Ukemi

Roll 5x per side

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’...gotta keep on rollin’ in front of the girls doing circuits crunches and twisting this way and that with medicine balls. I think I know who was havin’ more fun….

 

Sleep

Lights out: 11:35AM -- 8/10

Wake up: 7:55 AM -- 8/10

Snore, sleep, no waking up in the middle of the night. Winning it. I’m not sure if this is the cause of the gym being awesome or it’s more due to protein, but I WILL TAKE IT YES I WILL.

 

Mobility

No slouching

Days since last tension headache: 1

Stretch and mobilize: 15/28

The usual hams, quads, calves, ankles business. Really didn’t feel like I needed it. Neck ROM stuff. TOMORROW IS MASSAGE DAY. I am so excite to see what this session is like since magnesium entered my life…

 

So much to celebrate in this post!  I'm glad you have figured out one of the main problems that was giving you grief and are nailing it. Yay for more sleep and less pain!

[ixaera]

New Friends!

Happy Back!

 

 

Sounds like an excellent day!

[Urgan]

27 minutes ago, Mistr said:

 

So much to celebrate in this post!  I'm glad you have figured out one of the main problems that was giving you grief and are nailing it. Yay for more sleep and less pain!

 

2 minutes ago, ixaera said:

New Friends!

Happy Back!

 

 

Sounds like an excellent day!

 

It really was a good day all the way around. I am detecting an itch that is playing up pretty good over the last two days. Also, 80 degrees is not a good temperature for trying to fall asleep in. It's a problem because if we chill down the place at the wrong time, one or both of us gets to sniffling, sneezing, etc because it's random temps outside day-to-day and those hot days outside make inside a climate control minefield. Scooting up the bedtime schedule on our A/C (80 > 78) to see if that doesn't fix that. I'll give that a couple days and moderate dairy just a hair and see where I am then. 

[ixaera]

10 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Also, 80 degrees is not a good temperature for trying to fall asleep in.

 

So much truth. I knock our A/C down to 74 at night (I pay the electricity, so I don't feel TOO guilty about this, and BF can sleep in anything). If I'm too warm, especially my feet, there's no chance of sleep.

[Urgan]

6 minutes ago, ixaera said:

 

So much truth. I knock our A/C down to 74 at night (I pay the electricity, so I don't feel TOO guilty about this, and BF can sleep in anything). If I'm too warm, especially my feet, there's no chance of sleep.

 

I had it lower earlier, but Mike had a bad episode so I put it higher to avoid that. Time to triangulate~ 

[miss_marissa]

I'm having the opposite problem. Waking up to a 61F apartment. Having to put on slippers and blanket capes to function.

[ixaera]

16 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

I had it lower earlier, but Mike had a bad episode so I put it higher to avoid that. Time to triangulate~ 

 

A mid-summer trick of mine is frozen socks

[Urgan]

11 minutes ago, miss_marissa said:

I'm having the opposite problem. Waking up to a 61F apartment. Having to put on slippers and blanket capes to function.

 

I know that feel, too. In the lead up to the great Snowpocalype 2014, when we had highs in the teens, my heat gave up the ghost and relied on my standalone heater to get me to and from bed. So cold my flannel sheets were cold. In the wee hours of the night, I kinda miss it, lol. Hopefully we can find better ways to cope. 

 

10 minutes ago, ixaera said:

 

A mid-summer trick of mine is frozen socks

 

That actually sounds amazing. 

[ixaera]

19 minutes ago, Urgan said:

That actually sounds amazing. 

 

Pro: Feels great when your feet are boiling, might actually provide enough time to fall asleep

Con: Not very long lived

 

Beats ice in the bed, though??

[Urgan]

 

5-18-2016

First you grab them like this...

 

Lifting

Mind the knees; mind the back

Rest day~ DOMS for days in my adductors, which means I blew it on at least a few squat reps last session. Noted.

 

Ukemi

Roll 5x per side

UKEMI NIGHT. New guy showed up--not to Aikido, but it was the first time I’ve seen him (he’s yellow belt). Made sure to make him feel welcome either way without assuming anything in my introduction.

 

We warmed up with forward and back rolls, I learned how to breakfall on a roll, then we breakfalled for real. Side breakfalls, specifically, I believe they are called. Sensei holds our hand and places his other hand on the back of our heads at first as a security measure for us fraidy cats. We adopt correct kamae and at that point “throw ourselves” by leaning over and letting momentum do the work. I did not start out so great, my fall trajectory was crooked and I had issues getting the leg ending positions right (I want to swap them mid-flight…). But midway through I got used as a demo for the other guys sharing our crash mat because I had my “flop” down (my words, not Sensei’s, obviously~), not resisting and safe and all that. The “new” guy was very new to breakfalls just like me, but he wanted to land funny and the more experienced breakfaller of our little group wanted to slap his body down like a judo throw, HOLY NOISY LANDINGS, BATMAN.

 

We ended up with Sensei doing kotegaeshi on us and “throwing” us onto the crash mat, but really we threw ourselves because #noob and #aikidophilosophy At any rate, my lower body was quite tired from being slapped onto the mat like a million times, soft landing and correct technique nonwithstanding.

 

 

 

Guess who has new stuff to work on??

 

Food

Protein: 15/20 - 130g

Guys...guys. I have something to confess. I did not put salt on my peeled boiled eggs until today. Did you know that makes them more palatable? Apparently I forgot this intel until it just bolted through my brain. ...I feel kind of dumb.

 

I took it easier on the dairy, and by easier I mean I had a shake. Was itchy until bathtime (~5:30PM), around the time I had said shake. I haven’t had an itch since. So far, so good. I think the milk may be doing the itching, but time will tell. I have ice cream to test this phenomenon with, after all.

 

Despite the near-constant raining this evening, Mike managed to grill Smoked Paprika Chicken that I marinated earlier in the day, along with cooking the beans and making garlic spinach. Pair with green beans for an acceptably clean meal.

 

Sleep

Lights out: 11:30AM -- 7/10

Wake up: 9:05 AM -- 8/10

Itching, hot, fidget. >1:30AM to fall asleep. Not good. Hence the bit of a sleep in. I am proud of how little I indulged, actually. Still somehow felt human throughout the day. WILL DO BETTER NEXT TIME.

 

Mobility

No slouching

Days since last tension headache: 2

Stretch and mobilize: 16/28

MASSAGE DAY~~~~ It was noticeably better, and a less noisy experience all the way around. Some parts were downright pain-free, some were as bad as ever--right lats and hip/glutes were basically fine, left side was soooo the opposite. Quads were good. Hams, underside of glutes, adductors, and pecs were horrible. Everything else was kinda middle of the road.  Once again, I WILL TAKE IT. A good benchmark for next time!

 

20 hours ago, ixaera said:

 

Pro: Feels great when your feet are boiling, might actually provide enough time to fall asleep

Con: Not very long lived

 

Beats ice in the bed, though??

 

Definitely beats ice in bed. I may just have to give this a try if things get really hot. 

[shaar]

24 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

I learned how to breakfall on a roll,. 

 

Read this as breakfast on a roll.

 

Sigh.

 

Also GODDAMN MILK.  Interested to see how ice cream fares.  Dairy y u do????

[Urgan]

1 minute ago, shaarawy said:

Read this as breakfast on a roll.

 

Sigh.

 

Disappoint? Lol. I can totally see how this might be the case, I momentarily thought I had a seizure when I wrote it. Whew, no got it right.

2 minutes ago, shaarawy said:

Also GODDAMN MILK.  Interested to see how ice cream fares.  Dairy y u do????

 

Y u make me itch?? At least it takes a LOT of the stuff to get that reaction, meaning I can indulge a bit and not risk the Consequences. We will see. Delicious experimentation is delicious.

[Urgan]

5-19-2016

Do you even flop?

 

Lifting

Mind the knees; mind the back

Squat - 45 1x5

            75 1x3

            95 1x2

            120 1x1

            140 3x3 - belted

BP -    45 1x5 - belted

          50 1x3 - belted

          60 1x1 - belted

          69 4x3 - belted

OHP -   NA

DL -     167.5 2x3 - belted

PC -   NA

I seem to love tipping forward on reps when I’m not paying close enough attention, gonna have to work on THAT because how stupid is it to pitch forward at any point in a squat? I took a set off squats because my knees had had enough and, given what I had on the docket for the day, decided one less set was a small price to pay to appease my hamstrings and adductors. The poor cusses are soooo stiff from last night’s shenanigans that I had to do ROM work on them under the covers just to work up to getting out of bed this morning! Lol. On the plus side, my elbow didn’t hurt while doing bench--it kvetched a bit AFTER the sets were done, but not much and it was all good in time for deadlifts. Which were cake. Aces on this session, all things being equal.

 

Ukemi

Roll 5x per side

ALL THE UKEMI EVER. All of it. First: forward rolls. I fixed a problem I’ve been having about kinda flopping onto my side mid-roll. The fix? Tuck your chin and you’ll go right over in a straight line. Fail to do this and you’ll roll like a flat tire. Next up: breakfalls from forward roll. This is a work in progress for sure, because I’m not ending in the best way. Not so much slapping the mat with my hand yet. I’m working on the ending position with my legs. I am mentally handicapped on right breakfalls in that I switch my legs at the end, I do not do this on the left side. I did so many right breakfalls, it’s crazy, bonking my head a couple times in the process of experimenting with my form. The last two I finally got my legs to do what they are supposed to do. Once I get that down, I think the rest of the it will come.

 

And then people came in and filled up the mat, so I had to wait.

 

And wait.

 

Eventually enough people cleared out that I could attempt what was unthinkable a mere two days ago. I did a side(-ish) breakfall. It was ugly, and the last rep was OW (suboptimal landing on a tired back), but I was bound and determined to do the thing on my own. Guys, for someone who did gymnastics as a child, I am very afraid of upending myself from standing. So of course I dive headfirst--metaphorically!--for this technique. The logic being if I don’t club this fear fast and hard, I won’t get far in aikido! I must have done around 6 right side breakfalls, a couple were passable and even one I can say for sure had correct leg positioning! The rest of me I can’t vouch for, but I did it! I did the thing, so in the future I have no reason to be afraid of it. I’ll be more “even” with my left/right distribution in the future, for now I figured it wasn’t worth muddying the waters today when my primary concern is simply to not drop myself on my own head. Okay I really wasn’t worried about that, but you get the point--proving I can Do the Thing by my lonesome without Sensei literally holding my hand was job number 1 this day.

 

Oh and I put on my shoes before I realized I hadn’t done back rolls! So I did those. A bunch of them, some without using my arms just for funsies. I kinda like it that way better, I can really get speed up and just pop back up into standing. It isn’t technically correct and I wouldn’t do it on the mat, but for the pure joy of it I figure why not?

 

Food

Protein: 16/20 - 134g

Not much itching going on, I think either my razor is super dull or milk is the culprit. Okay, so a dull razor is bad no matter which way you slice it--harr. You see, the hair on my head brushing my face triggering an itchy response is my benchmark of this reaction and so far today’s been pretty calm on that front.

 

Oh yeah, this is the food quest, isn’t it? Leftovers, saurbraten, eggs, icecream, spinach, fruit juice, crackers. Om nom nom.

 

I talked to mom about lifting yesterday, and she expressed disappointment and frustration in the fact that two days after her session, she has crippling DOMS and can’t do what she needs to do in the house. I told her that her recovery is probably garbage: aside from sleep issues she might be having, she probably needs to examine her food and get her protein up.

 

That’s right, I told my mom to eat more. Good God, the circle is complete.

 

She tried to eat more food in the short time between then and now, and we figure that is the problem.

 

Sleep

Lights out: 11:15PM? -- 8/10

Wake up: 8:00 AM -- 8/10

I conked out with the lights on while watching some DKC3 let’s play videos, so I can’t say when exactly I fell asleep initially, lol. I did wake up in the night, but not to use the bathroom, so it’s all good. Woke up stiff like WHOA. After some flexing and rotation work and some time, I crawled out of bed and walked around like an old person for a while trying to determine if I would in fact show up to the gym (the outcome being obvious at this point, lol). Given the things I really wanted to do, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion, now wasn’t it?

 

Mobility

No slouching

Days since last tension headache: 3

Stretch and mobilize: 17/28

Leg stretches, rolling on my back, shoulder/lat stretches, rolled quads, all that ukemi, neck ROM stretches. A pretty diverse mobility session, huh? Technically the ukemi was pretty brutal, buuuut it was worth it! It was so very worth it, and after about 45 minutes the right side of my back is calmed down and feels pretty much normal. I has a proud.

Random life thing: I was lying across the bed under the fan to cool off and I happened to be near Harley, who was also lying across the bed (long cat is long…). He rolls over and leans against my side, defeating the fan. Thank you ever so, Harley. Luckily he is adorable, or else he would be in real trouble