Urgan Shows Up, Does the Thing

[Sam Ashen]

1 hour ago, Urgan said:

You do have to be able to consume it. But if you can....whatever does the job, right? I myself have this trouble. Protein powders taste like regret. 

 

Here I thought I was going to get clobbered again.

 

The last time I did research on the question of cheap powder versus expensive powder, I think it came down to a few things:

What else are you getting with your powder and do you care?  (Read the nutrition label.)

Some other things like how natural the cows are.....

 

On the first one, the nutrition label says I get 160 Calories for 25 grams of Protein.  So about 60 Calories come from something that is not Protein.

 

The conclusion I came to was the kind of powder I use might become an issue if I am trying to clean up my diet.  Did you see the nice chart MM posted on my thread?  So there is a ton of stuff I can do to fix my diet that does not cost a lot of money (Or any money.  Or less than zero.) to fix my diet before I even get to powder.

[Dagger]

2 hours ago, Urgan said:

Protein powders taste like regret. 

The way you phrased this absolutely rocks. *writer brain is turned on*

 

Although if you want to like protein powders I guess it sucks.

[Urgan]

23 minutes ago, Sam Ashen said:

 

Here I thought I was going to get clobbered again.

 

The last time I did research on the question of cheap powder versus expensive powder, I think it came down to a few things:

What else are you getting with your powder and do you care?  (Read the nutrition label.)

Some other things like how natural the cows are.....

 

On the first one, the nutrition label says I get 160 Calories for 25 grams of Protein.  So about 60 Calories come from something that is not Protein.

 

The conclusion I came to was the kind of powder I use might become an issue if I am trying to clean up my diet.  Did you see the nice chart MM posted on my thread?  So there is a ton of stuff I can do to fix my diet that does not cost a lot of money (Or any money.  Or less than zero.) to fix my diet before I even get to powder.

 

Sure not all powders are created equal, but the way I look at is, the person did as much or as little research on it as they cared to do and came to conclusion that the powder they buy fits their goals and the intersection of how much they're willing to pay so I generally don't pick supplementation as a hill on which to die. 

 

1 minute ago, Dagger said:

The way you phrased this absolutely rocks. *writer brain is turned on*

 

Although if you want to like protein powders I guess it sucks.

 

A few other words come to mind, but I went the more diplomatic route~ It does suck, as it is a very convenient way to squeeze an extra 20-30-ish g of protein into your day and who doesn't want that??

[Urgan]

 

6-7-2016

Getting protips for side breakfalls

 

Lifting

Squat - 45 1x5

            75 1x3

            95 1x2

            125 1x1

            148 6x3 - belted

BP -    45 1x5 - belted

          50 1x3 - belted

          60 1x1 - belted

          70 6x3 - belted

OHP - NA

DL -    160 1x3 - belted

          180 2x3 - belted

PC -   NA

This was a really good session. I didn’t lean forward on squats more than one or two reps, bench was easy, and deadlifts were cake as per usual--even when I forgot and did double overhand grip for my first set of 180. Whoops.

 

Aikido

Forward L/R - ✓

Backward L/R - ✓

Breakfall L/R - ✓

S. Breakfall L/R - ✓

Knee Walk F/B - ✓

It’s hard to get everything in because of others using the gym mats, buuuut I managed. Knee walking is coming along great, as are side breakfalls. They’re getting to be less of a big deal. Yay!

 

Recovery

Protein: 7/20 - 100g

Biscuits: 0/2

 

Ahaha...this was a bad day for food. However, there are good Reasons for this. First, I slept in due to my body demanding it--I had every intention of getting out of bed, but it was just one of those days...body had other plans. This threw everything off by an hour+. Yay. I had to get up in the night to use the bathroom, which did not help at all. Adulting got in the way. However, I have no regrets. I cooked the rice half of tomorrow’s dinner + made pasta and beans with garlic-rosemary oil again because we totally needed complex dinner plans tonight, lol.

 

Mobilization win for the day--calf, back, and neck stretches, rolled quads and hams, massaged a tight knee (lots of walking for the lose…). Pain free day.

 

Adulting

All the adulting...laundry, dishes, and a quick grocery run to get Protein, the components to make Biscuits very, very soon, and a shake to cheer up Mike, who came home early due to an allergy attack. I watered the plants as well.

 

The big thing of the day is I think we’ve made arrangements to get dad back in the gym. He’s been staying away due to not prioritizing it over some household projects that also need doing. Twice a week. Food tracking. Measurements tracking. This is big, big, big if it goes through. Bad news is the discussions pushed things so late I missed my own protein quota, lol. Whoops.

[Sam Ashen]

2 minutes ago, Urgan said:

This was a really good session. I didn’t lean forward on squats more than one or two reps

 

Curious.  Do you still tape yourself?

[Urgan]

Just now, Sam Ashen said:

 

Curious.  Do you still tape yourself?

 

No taping, but I pay very close attention to what my back angle does...also, I didn't nudge the rack with the barbell, which is a pretty good tip I screwed up the descent, lol. 

[miss_marissa]

On 6/7/2016 at 5:04 PM, Sam Ashen said:

So there is a ton of stuff I can do to fix my diet that does not cost a lot of money (Or any money.  Or less than zero.) to fix my diet before I even get to powder.

QFT. If I recall correctly I think suppz was something like 5% of the equation?

[Urgan]

17 minutes ago, miss_marissa said:

QFT. If I recall correctly I think suppz was something like 5% of the equation?

 

And we all said amen. I think that was the right number on the chart, but in my case I'd be surprised if it's even that, lol. Unless tuna is a supplement now...

[Urgan]

 

6-8-2016

...I need to get more striking in my life.

 

Lifting

-

 

Aikido

Tonight was kokyunage and iriminage practice, followed by a drill to escape someone choking you on the ground by extricating oneself from their position of strength and armbar-ing them with your legs. Fun times. I have trouble focusing on keeping the momentum going long enough AND doing the right technique with my hands to set up the throw in iriminage. Agh. Moar work needed.

 

Oh, and I bought a tapered edge kubotan online tonight. At the end of class recently, Sensei noticed a student had one, commented on it and offered to teach her some stuff to do with it (when it became apparent she hadn’t yet begun training with it), and after some thought I decided that looked like just the thing to have. Also a car window-smasher in the event of a horrible scenario. Win-win.

 

Recovery

Protein: 8/20 - 116g

Biscuits: 1/2

 

Made biscuits finally! Not just any biscuits, but cream cheese and green onion biscuits (with bonus sausage gravy recipe if that 's your thing)! I doubled the recipe and it made 6 about 3" across. Palm-sized deliciousness. 

Full disclosure: I did NOT use a cookie cutter, but utilized an ice cream scoop for the "drop biscuit" method.

 

We did have dinner and it was made (mostly) the same day as the biscuits * gasp *, Gallopinto via the estimable @ChrisWithaStick. The rice was amazing and I can't wait to reheat it. I think with some tweaking this will be a great staple (dried beans are tricky). 

 

Sleep was terribad--falling asleep was difficult because my mind was making like a hamster on a wheel. I did make myself get up at a good time and it set me for a better tomorrow for sure.

 

Hmm, I got a good little warm-up in the dojo before aikido, some neck stretches. The trap-delt-lat triangle of haet is a thing and I need to work on it. 

 

Adulting

I got up early (AKA, a normal, decent time), watered the plants twice (morning and afternoon), got gas and shredded cheese for the biscuits, laundered all our towels, made biscuits, had a long, productive conversation with mom about fitness things, made the beans for dinner, and then got ready for aikido. I even played FFI a wee bit, very little loafing around like a bleeping zombie. Received yet another job rejection email….yay.

[Sam Ashen]

21 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

 

6-8-2016

...I need to get more striking in my life.

 

 

Please don't kick like this!

 

Yes it looks cool on YouTube, but when you kick somebody so high you have to lean backwards to make it, then the impact of the kick is not going into the target.  So the body weight is driving the kick higher instead of driving into the target.  If your target weighs a lot more than you do, then you end up on the ground.  You win a point in tournament, but you are on the floor.

 

The rule of thumb I was given was to kick as high as you can hold your leg in that position.  That is about belt level for me.

 

Advantages:  Better targets.  Harder to block.  Harder to see.  The crazy instructor who told me all of this also said the kick is below bar and table level and therefore nobody saw it.  No witnesses.  The story is yours to make up.

 

[Urgan]

6 minutes ago, Sam Ashen said:

 

Please don't kick like this!

 

Yes it looks cool on YouTube, but when you kick somebody so high you have to lean backwards to make it, then the impact of the kick is not going into the target.  So the body weight is driving the kick higher instead of driving into the target.  If your target weighs a lot more than you do, then you end up on the ground.  You win a point in tournament, but you are on the floor.

 

The rule of thumb I was given was to kick as high as you can hold your leg in that position.  That is about belt level for me.

 

Advantages:  Better targets.  Harder to block.  Harder to see.  The crazy instructor who told me all of this also said the kick is below bar and table level and therefore nobody saw it.  No witnesses.  The story is yours to make up.

 

 

Relax~ I was looking through tumblr and this gif reminded me of how much I liked the striking training we've occasionally done. And how I don't have anywhere to mess around on my own time. PROBLEMS. 

[shaar]

I'm a 5'3" girl that's booted the mouthguard out of a 5'9" dude's mouth with a kick like that - granted it was a different kick that hit with the heel as opposed to the toes but, you know.  (Also that might say something about my kicking control but WHATEVER everyone makes mistakes ahahaha)

[Urgan]

1 minute ago, shaarawy said:

I'm a 5'3" girl that's booted the mouthguard out of a 5'9" dude's mouth with a kick like that - granted it was a different kick that hit with the heel as opposed to the toes but, you know.  (Also that might say something about my kicking control but WHATEVER everyone makes mistakes ahahaha)

 

Oops? 

[Urgan]

6-9-2016

I wish falling were this easy

 

Lifting

Squat - 45 1x5

            75 1x3

            95 1x2

            125 1x1

            148 4x3 - belted

BP -    NA

OHP - 45 4x5 - belted

DL -    160 1x3 - belted

          182.5 2x3 - belted

PC -   NA

Those squats were work, but they went up easier than on Tuesday. OHP I am embarrassed to say was also work, but I was doing it at a volume and with less rest than I’d give a couple of squat sets (we’re talking 10 minutes for all four sets), so those are legit factors. Deadlifts are getting heavier, but not terrifically more challenging--a good, productive session all the way around.  

 

Aikido

Forward L/R - ✓

Backward L/R - ✓

Breakfall L/R - ✓

S. Breakfall L/R - ✓

Knee Walk F/B - ✓

These were all okay, except the side breakfalls were a bit special. Left side, specifically. I had to do like four and then kinda packed it in as more impact is not--well, better. My ending leg position was less than stellar, but the flow of the inversion--the flop, if you will--improved by the third and fourth attempts, so something was gained, at least. I’m hoping that this part of ukemi will be something I adapt to quickly and not feel like it’s such a big deal to take the fall.

 

Recovery

Protein: 9/20 - 120g

Biscuits: 1/2

 

Food

Leftovers night! Gallopinto + pasta and white beans kinda night. Supplemented with popcorn shrimp and canned chicken to clear the proverbial bar.

 

Sleep

Aikido has many benefits, one of them being I conk out fast. Woke up in the wee hours of the morning, but eh. Didn’t hurt the start of my day too much--could have been earlier, I guess.

 

Mobility

As is the case most lifting days, I do more mobility than otherwise. Stretching--down dog, chaturanga, child’s pose, seated calf stretches--rolling quads and hams, massaging neck. That kind of thing. My knees were a little talkative this lifting session, so I paid them a bit more attention to quiet them down. Sadly, in the late evening I developed a headache...yay.

 

Adulting

Bare minimum today--I’m lucky to have gotten the bed made, it’s that kind of thing. Dishes, watering the plants, and cleaned out the fridge as it’s nearing grocery day and we had three weeks’ worth of leftovers in there. Yuck.

[Sam Ashen]

Hi!  I do not recall bombing your thread with a Bro Science video, so here you go!

 

 

[Urgan]

6-10-2016

Squeaky toy = opportunity

Puppy = me

 

Lifting

-

 

Aikido

-

 

Recovery

Protein: 9/20 - 74g

Biscuits: 1/2

 

Food

Food was scarce most of the day. 3.5 hours dedicated phone time + migraine will do that for you. I consigned this day to a survival day, so I really won’t waste any time bemoaning lack of epicness.

 

Sleep

Uh...well. My left trap did not take kindly to my mat practice. Like, at all. It slowly began tightening up over the course of the evening and it just went to full-blown headache town after I went to bed. You can imagine how well this bodes for my sleep.

 

Mobility

I’m trying to fit in a massage appointment earlier than Wednesday because despite doing a great deal of mobility work on my scalp, neck, traps, delts, and pec, we’re still just barely getting by. In the future I’ll be firmly restricting my practice to two reps per side, because any more is apparently too much on this surface. Oh well. I got an epsom salt bath and that helped a bit.

 

Adulting

...barely any. Cycled the dishes, got groceries, a long, LONG phone conversation with mom….that’s pretty much it.

 

20 hours ago, Sam Ashen said:

Hi!  I do not recall bombing your thread with a Bro Science video, so here you go!

 

 

 

Wintimidation...

[Kishi]

Wow, that video is right. I definitely remember, last time I got beat, my first thought was, "Bro, if only my bench was bigger!"

 

Unfortunately, though, he's right. Bigger and stronger always trumps technique. It's true. It's the reason for weight classes.

 

So, in the words of a very wise little Spanish girl: "Why not do both?"

 

Also, @Urgan! Hi! I thought I'd just stop in and say hello and try to keep up with you a little bit. Hope things and stuff have been well!

[Urgan]

6-11-2016

Gym hero

 

Lifting

No lifting today because I went over to my parents' house and introduced them to MFP, got starting stats for dad, and took him lifting. I shall lift tomorrow!

 

Aikido

-

 

Recovery

Protein: 10/20 - 116g

Biscuits: 1/2

 

Food

Lol. Most of my food was consumed around 6:30 or later. Still made it by the skin of my teeth. Bacon-riddled hamburger + chicken salad ftw. Helping other people be healthy really makes it hard to be healthy yourself.

 

Sleep

I don't believe my sleep was that bad this time, actually. Late turning out the light, but not much struggle otherwise.

 

Mobility

More lulz. I did a bit of ankle, calf, and hip stretching, nothing elaborate, however. Still enjoying the fact that none of my lower body really gives me grief anymore. Hooray for that.

 

Adulting

So I, uh...did this video job interview thing, and it nearly killed me. My internet failed me midway through the first question, so I had to switch to my phone and it was...it was basically an interview in your house with you second-guessing the lighting and background choices the whole time. And knowing the employer can rewatch and share your fail with coworkers to their heart’s content. 0/10, would not recommend.

[Urgan]

18 hours ago, Kishi said:

Wow, that video is right. I definitely remember, last time I got beat, my first thought was, "Bro, if only my bench was bigger!"

 

Unfortunately, though, he's right. Bigger and stronger always trumps technique. It's true. It's the reason for weight classes.

 

So, in the words of a very wise little Spanish girl: "Why not do both?"

 

Also, @Urgan! Hi! I thought I'd just stop in and say hello and try to keep up with you a little bit. Hope things and stuff have been well!

 

Definitely proof that everybody should both lift and train in a martial art. Takes care of it all. 

 

Oh, just keeping the crazy on the front burner over here, as per usual. 

[shaar]

22 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

So I, uh...did this video job interview thing, and it nearly killed me. My internet failed me midway through the first question, so I had to switch to my phone and it was...it was basically an interview in your house with you second-guessing the lighting and background choices the whole time. And knowing the employer can rewatch and share your fail with coworkers to their heart’s content. 0/10, would not recommend.

 

Oh wow this sounds like it would be in my top 3 screaming nightmare situations.  Eeeeeeek.  Glad it's over!!!!!!!!!

[Urgan]

2 minutes ago, shaarawy said:

 

Oh wow this sounds like it would be in my top 3 screaming nightmare situations.  Eeeeeeek.  Glad it's over!!!!!!!!!

 

Spoiler: I do not have a green screen room. I filmed my attempts at answering the questions in front of a bookshelf full of manga and Liger Zero model kits. Moved the one model kit (and the Victoria's Secret bag....) that was in the shot and hoping my head pulled its weight by blocking the books sufficiently that they can't tell what they are. Because proper lighting, sound, and context are a killer trio. Did I mention Olive jumped on the table during answering one of the questions? And Harley decided to play in the shred pile? And that if I close the door he'll scratch and yowl like a soon-to-be murder victim trapped in a closet??

[ixaera]

3 hours ago, Urgan said:

Helping other people be healthy really makes it hard to be healthy yourself.

 

Still, it super rocks that you're doing this for your folks, and that they're willing to listen to at least enough extent to get the MFP spiel and actually GO lifting! Good job, you. 

Also, having parents that will give you an ear, super awesome on them too

 

(From personal experience, some ask when they see their kid doing well, then refuse to listen, go to any site, read anything about it, or look inside a gym. Your parents sound pretty cool.)

[Sam Ashen]

4 hours ago, Urgan said:

So I, uh...did this video job interview thing, and it nearly killed me. My internet failed me midway through the first question, so I had to switch to my phone and it was...it was basically an interview in your house with you second-guessing the lighting and background choices the whole time. And knowing the employer can rewatch and share your fail with coworkers to their heart’s content. 0/10, would not recommend.

 

Yeesh!  Why not just do a phone interview?

[Urgan]

57 minutes ago, ixaera said:

 

Still, it super rocks that you're doing this for your folks, and that they're willing to listen to at least enough extent to get the MFP spiel and actually GO lifting! Good job, you. 

Also, having parents that will give you an ear, super awesome on them too

 

(From personal experience, some ask when they see their kid doing well, then refuse to listen, go to any site, read anything about it, or look inside a gym. Your parents sound pretty cool.)

 

They are the best old people I could ask for, lol. It's funny because mom is the first to poke fun of herself and embrace the n00b, while dad is the one scared to make any kind of inaccurate statement whatsoever. Guess who took longer stop being hostile to and embrace fit life, lol? It's a work in progress thing...

 

20 minutes ago, Sam Ashen said:

 

Yeesh!  Why not just do a phone interview?

 

Good question. I think it's to save their time, nobody has to sit there and listen to me stammer. Why would I do a video interview? I wouldn't--ever, if given the choice. Gives me the full body shivers. So many ways it can go wrong...

[ChrisWithaStick]

Yay!  I got a mention!  Ironically enough, I've not made that recipe yet.  I've made basic rice and basic beans, and well, mixed the left overs, so I'm glad to read that it's a probable winner.

 

That interview sounds rough. 

 

I"m curious - you're doing a lot with Aikido, are you still doing sword work, or was that one activity too many?