Urgan Shows Up, Does the Thing

[Urgan]

7/13/2018 - 7/15/2018

Adulting like

 

Recovery

Sleep - 8/19

2500 calories - 2508 / 2461, 2330, 2450

 

Aikido

Jo - 3/8

 

Adulting

Chores. Sink, Toilet, Floor, Kitchen Counters

New Tires

 

Friday

OHP

45         2x5

55         3

67         1

71.5      3x2--2RM PR + .5!!

 

Bench

45         5

55         5

65         3

75         3

85         1

95         5x3

 

One conventional and one unconventional PR. Obviously the intensity is with OHP this day, and so scored a .5lb PR as a tester to see how I might handle upgrading to a 3RM PR the following week (spoiler: rather okay, though harder than I like--3RM PRing both bench and OHP, even by .5lb, is tougher going). Then I should have worked up to 93lb for triples on bench, buuuut was a dumbass and put my weights away before realizing going from 85lbs to 93 requires two sets of 10lb plates. "Punished" myself with sets of 95lbs instead and I have never done that many sets at that weight before. 

 

That's pretty much all that was noteworthy on Friday, I guess. Oh wait my check didn't come in the mail, so this next week is gonna be Money Musical Chairs until it does come in....

 

Saturday

Squat

45           10

105         5

125         3

140         1

160         2x1

187         5x2

 

Deadlifts

135         5

140         3

160         3

180         1

213         5x2

 

Um...well? The above happened? And 187 didn't feel that bad?? The last set was kinda hard, but it's 1lb shy of my 3RM for doubles, of course it's going to be hard. 

 

I tried mussels, perhaps a first encounter, and didn't die. BMs x 3 for the day, ate yogurt and nothing horrible happened. I abstained from the (soy) protein marshmallow treats bought on Friday in the spirit of testing the yogurt...

 

Sunday

Ah, the day of the dead. I had to run out and get canned vegetables for snacks because #forgot to do so during Friday's appointed grocery run. Jo'd and cleaned the toilet, as well as put up a bunch of clothes in the closet that won't see daylight until winter. This was one of those days that was difficult to food properly because of when I get up vs when I am willing to get out of the house vs normal mealtimes. Stupidly ate a Balanced Break instead of....not, which I think has caused DM fun this (Monday) morning. This is why I am a creature of habit, the slightest misgroove causes major chaos.

 

Weight is stabilizing and bloat is down. 

[Kishi]

Congrats on the PR! But boo on the check not arriving. You are supposed to be paid for your services! *shakes fist at powers that be*

 

On ‎7‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 11:02 AM, Urgan said:

I forgot to mention yesterday that I'm going to give myself a 15 minute buffer for curfew on Aikido nights. It's just not happening by 11 and it feels unreasonable to close the car door and expect to be lights-out in 30-45 minutes when I need to do so many things, eat post-dojo food, and attempt to unwind. Ugh. 45 minutes - 1 hour is much more doable.

 

Good gravy, but that's not a lot of time. Even 45-60 minutes isn't that much. But I guess that's the price that has to be paid if you're going to Aikido on top of everything else.

 

What is it with martial arts and insisting on later nights? It's like they don't want us to sleep or something...

[Urgan]

2 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Congrats on the PR! But boo on the check not arriving. You are supposed to be paid for your services! *shakes fist at powers that be*

 

"The check's in the mail.....would I lie to you...?"

 

3 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Good gravy, but that's not a lot of time. Even 45-60 minutes isn't that much. But I guess that's the price that has to be paid if you're going to Aikido on top of everything else.

 

What is it with martial arts and insisting on later nights? It's like they don't want us to sleep or something...

 

Damn kids and their classes! * shakes fist * Sensei hosts dojo at his house (he literally has a dojo in his backyard given he owns two plots of land in a residential area) and it's him running the show most of the time, soooooo there's only so much of him to go 'round. I weep at only having two opportunities to train per week, but LBR I'd stick to a schedule anyway and this is the only way I can lift and martial arts without my joints coming unraveled on the way to work.

[Urgan]

7/16/2018

Makin' money, gettin' paid

 

Recovery

Sleep - 9/19

2500 calories - 2493 / 2493

 

Aikido

Jo - 3/8

 

Adulting

Chores. Sink, Toilet, Floor, Kitchen Counters

New Tires

Bench

45         3

65         3

75         3

85         3

98.5      3x3--3RM PR + .5!!

90         3

 

OHP

45         3

50         3

60         3

65         3

71.5      3--3RM PR + .5!!

67         6x3

 

All the 3RM PRs. My forearms were Done at the end of this session, but my elbow is improving. Didn't really bother me much throughout, unless I broke out a ballistic motion. Don't bother asking why I know this...

Today was the end of the sprint and that is when the problems come out, the kind that make or break a post-sprint code deployment. So that was exciting. 

Aikido was all about the nikyo. Yay. Partner did not murder my arm(s). 

Got my check, so our bank account may/will not crash and burn. 

 

Morning BM was a crime against man and nature, we'll never know if it was the Balanced Break or the yogurt. Or a combination of the two. Second BM of the day was fine. 

[Urgan]

7/17/2018

Actual scene from my commute home

 

Recovery

Sleep - 10/19

2500 calories - 2474 / 2454

 

Aikido

Jo - 3/8

 

Adulting

Chores. Sink, Toilet, Floor, Kitchen Counters

New Tires

I can tell what week I'm on by counting the chores done +1.

 

I've got one more Balanced Break remaining and I'm seriously considering abandoning my test early. The breakouts are back. The bloating is coming back, and its BFF gas and suspect BMs. Joint pain is coming on. Shark Week is winding down, but these things haven't been an issue (pain is more my body's speed, after all) and they went up and down in time with trying yogurt, then stopping and switching to Balanced Breaks, while Shark Week symptoms followed a standard spike and fall-off pattern, essentially they've been inverses of one another. My only argument for keeping going is to not waste food. Full disclosure on new things I've tried, I busted into the Enlightened marshmallow treats yesterday (my weight was already trending up beforehand and the needle ended up even higher Wednesday morning, but not at the +1lb rate of days past). Casual searching shows milk in the ingredients list, but my box says no such thing other than "may contain milk" as an allergen warning and the bonding strength of the marshmallow is not its strongest suit. So. Guess I'll take a break...harrr...from Balanced Breaks and see if my weight goes from 119 back to the 117s, my rings fit better, and my face looks less teenager-ish. Pretty easy metrics for success, yes?

 

Otherwise Tuesday was kind of boring as reports go. Got up, went to work, came home, made chili, went to bed. On time and everything. Amazing.

[Urgan]

Also maybe my gut doesn't know what to do with a random 63g fiber day....

 

[Kishi]

Testing is always a weird thing to get right, in my view, because you want to do due diligence to the experiment, but you also need to balance your health and well-being too.

 

If you think you have enough data, there's no reason to keep this up. Especially if it's not looking like it's going to get any better.

[Urgan]

4 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Testing is always a weird thing to get right, in my view, because you want to do due diligence to the experiment, but you also need to balance your health and well-being too.

 

If you think you have enough data, there's no reason to keep this up. Especially if it's not looking like it's going to get any better.

 

I was so hoping I could get kefir-like things in my system because it's good for me and also tasty. I have sporadically downed cocokefir shots, so I can get similar bacteria (maybe) by other means. I just lose out on the dairy goodness. Something about dairy + fruit (fructose is a source of digestive trouble for some, and the BBs have a dairy and fruit combo) may spell trouble. I have cherries in my fridge, because of COURSE I do. I'll try to hit steady weight and skin calming then eat like, one cherry and see if I die. Maybe.

 

Why do I buy all kinds of new things, eat them all at once, and now I can't decode what went wrong? Oh wait, because I need to hit 2500 calories on average. At least I'm succeeding at something, dietarily. That and BMs are staying tolerably consistent, so it's safe to say a one-off exposure isn't totally wreaking havoc. Or that fiber triumphs over all.

 

[Urgan]

7/18/2018

Mortal Kombat

 

Recovery

Sleep - 11/19

2500 calories - 2521 / 2515

 

Aikido

Jo - 4/8

 

Adulting

Chores. Sink, Toilet, Floor, Kitchen Counters

New Tires

 

Squat

45           3

135         3

150         3

160         3

177         3x3

 

Deadlifts

145         3

165         3

190         3

203         3

Last Christmas I hit 178 for a triple, a .5lb 3RM PR that took a year to get. The at-the-time 177.5lb 3RM stood as a Hail Mary effort itself, and clearing it felt like the Second Coming. Both of which were attempted with great trepidation in the afternoon on a day off. Now I'm like, dang I suck, why is 177 moving like such garbage this morning? Yup. Ran out of time to do deadlifts as planned. Oh well. 

 

If that wasn't enough, someone on the Insta liked a 192.5lb squat single from last December (a few weeks before the above 178lb triple occurred) and lollllllll such a struggle. Who needs the Year in Review when you have random humans being random?

 

Another 3 BM day. That's what happens with 61g fiber. No disasters occurred, but there was the bloating, breakouts, and gas for days. The fermented slaw I don't like is all used up, so today I get to go back to my standard dill sauerkraut, thank God. I had restraint and laid off consuming 4 fermented products throughout the day and had a mere 3 instead. Only because of this "dextox" process doesn't need added confusion. And now...we wait. 

 

Aikido was all about ushiro sankyo. One handed grab and two. My elbow mostly has been playing along and I haven't had trouble with it beyond fishing for a good grip on squats. Aikido didn't really faze it at all. The bruises on my elbows and thigh are turning yellow so maybe I'll ditch them before acquiring new ones??

 

Oh and last-minute before bedtime sleepy jo practice FTW. Also getting to bed on time. And hitting 2500 calories. I had to adjust Tuesday's numbers because I forgot the cheese that was applied to dinner....that kinda makes a difference.

[Kishi]

Hitting calories and getting to bed on time is such #struggle. It really is. I hate the feeling like I have to pick one or the other. >.<

[Urgan]

12 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Hitting calories and getting to bed on time is such #struggle. It really is. I hate the feeling like I have to pick one or the other. >.<

 

Literally eating my final conglomeration of foodstuffs in bed while winding down. 

[Urgan]

7/19/2018

Why do Days Like These Happen to Good People?

 

Recovery

Sleep - 12/19

2500 calories - 2445 / 2215

 

Aikido

Jo - 4/8

 

Adulting

Chores. Sink, Toilet, Floor, Kitchen Counters

New Tires

 

This was one of those There's So Nothing to Do Today, Like There's Nobody In the Office and I Depend On Others To Create My Work kind of days. There's a layer in Hell just like this. No people, no work, nothing but back pain (from bad posture via cell phone staring) and boredom. Senior programmer was out all week, one is out for two days, one is out for at least one day due to New Video Game Release, and the others flaked out during different points of the day. Boss wasn't at work, don't know why. I'm sure there was a really good reason. One of them went to work from home and gave me something to kinda poke at late in the afternoon and when my observations were met with "yeah whoops I should have shown you the old functionality on the other site you clearly don't know what you're looking at".....well okay then.

 

 

Went home early because see the above gif. This is clearly going to be an action-packed sprint. My luck the latter half actually will be...

 

Annnnnnyway, the bloaty feels and new breakouts are dying off. Weight's staying about the same, higher than typical. Choosing not to flip out about that because I am maintaining 200 calories higher on weekdays than I have asked of myself in years. My strength is continuing to go up and my performance is on point with the ever-increasing poundages on the bar. I've got to stop experimenting with my intestinal health before I can even entertain the possibility of adjusting calories. Besides, if nothing else I also need to give myself a few more weeks before backing off due to this new job alone. It may look like I'm over the new job nerves, but that shizz is deceptive. 

 

Managed to get to bed on time, but just barely. It was so. very. tempting. to just close my eyes while watching Youtube around that 10:50 mark. Nope. The minute I close 'em, I'm doomed. Doomed. 

 

I have a stack of Benefits-related mail sitting on my nightstand. That's gonna be a blast to sort through. I am not sure which parts are available and which aren't, except they become accessible next week, so this weekend I'll figure it out and be ready to go on Monday. That's what I tell myself. This same Monday my dad is having some kind of cardiovascular-related procedure done. Yeah, see the doctors aren't sure what we're dealing with until they go in and look. He's a repeat customer of the angioplasty/stint, so it may be a blockage in the same spot or another spot, maybe getting work done on a valve this time, maybe not. Next week is going to be Interesting. No idea if I'm going to Aikido and if so, where food is going to come from (given this procedure is minor and I'm more worried about keeping to a normal schedule vs doing damage control with my mother--she is about 10000x more worried about this than dad is and is going to take everything about it harder as well), since my Monday and Wednesday dinners have been handled by mom and since she may be halfway to a breakdown that is hardly a sure thing. Life Aikido in 3, 2, 1....

[RisenPhoenix]

3 hours ago, Urgan said:

. Life Aikido in 3, 2, 1....

 

It's amazing how few people use Life Aikido who practice Mat Aikido.... Sayeth the pot to all the kettles around him, but that's not the point.

 

Positive thoughts to you and your dad for the surgery thing!

[Urgan]

22 minutes ago, RisenPhoenix said:

 

It's amazing how few people use Life Aikido who practice Mat Aikido.... Sayeth the pot to all the kettles around him, but that's not the point.

 

Positive thoughts to you and your dad for the surgery thing!

 

Hey, the main thing is we're trying. Being "flexible" is not in my Top 1000 strong suits, so. Trying.

 

We'll see what we get on Monday. Will be glad for it to be over, because it's clearly affecting his energy and ability to do stuff.

[Kishi]

4 hours ago, Urgan said:

This was one of those There's So Nothing to Do Today, Like There's Nobody In the Office and I Depend On Others To Create My Work kind of days. There's a layer in Hell just like this. No people, no work, nothing but back pain (from bad posture via cell phone staring) and boredom.

 

Mm. Good day for stretches in the cubicle.

 

5 hours ago, Urgan said:

I have a stack of Benefits-related mail sitting on my nightstand. That's gonna be a blast to sort through. I am not sure which parts are available and which aren't, except they become accessible next week, so this weekend I'll figure it out and be ready to go on Monday. That's what I tell myself. This same Monday my dad is having some kind of cardiovascular-related procedure done. Yeah, see the doctors aren't sure what we're dealing with until they go in and look. He's a repeat customer of the angioplasty/stint, so it may be a blockage in the same spot or another spot, maybe getting work done on a valve this time, maybe not. Next week is going to be Interesting. No idea if I'm going to Aikido and if so, where food is going to come from (given this procedure is minor and I'm more worried about keeping to a normal schedule vs doing damage control with my mother--she is about 10000x more worried about this than dad is and is going to take everything about it harder as well), since my Monday and Wednesday dinners have been handled by mom and since she may be halfway to a breakdown that is hardly a sure thing. Life Aikido in 3, 2, 1....

 

Prayers for you and yours. Heart stuff is scary. I'm glad to hear that he's in good spirits; I hope that your mom comes around to being okay too and that everything works out.

[Urgan]

10 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Mm. Good day for stretches in the cubicle.

 

And prayers for an end to the suffering. 

 

10 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Prayers for you and yours. Heart stuff is scary. I'm glad to hear that he's in good spirits; I hope that your mom comes around to being okay too and that everything works out.

 

I think he's just kinda "...meh * shrug *" about it. He's had a lot of heart crap go wrong, so there's only so much freaking out left in you? At least the visible kind. If he lives, she probably will too, lol. Just...a lot more noise than is helpful for anybody. Anxiety has been proven to do precisely jack all for blockages and defective valves....oh wait. It makes other people miserable. It does that.

[Urgan]

7/20/2018 - 7/22/2018

Zooming around at the speed of no idea what I'm doing

 

Recovery

Sleep - 13/19

2500 calories - 2454 / 2503, 2352, 2546

 

Aikido

Jo - 5/8

 

Adulting

Chores. Sink, Toilet, Floor, Kitchen Counters

New Tires

 

Friday

OHP

45         3

50         3

60         3

65         3

71.5      5x3

67         3

 

Bench

45         3

65         3

75         3

85         3

94         3

80         6x3

 

That OHP 3RM of 71.5lbs is so ho-hum I did 5 sets of it lol. Okay no really, it's actually plenty heavy, I'm just a masochist. Otherwise, not much to report for Friday?

 

 

Saturday

Squat

45           3

125         3

145         3

160         3

187         5x3

 

Deadlifts

145         3

165         3

185         3

213         5x3

193         3

 

Not technically a PR, but that 187lbs done for 5 sets is a volume PR not seen since April where I did 5x5 at 165 and 160 5x3 a month prior to that. So I casually jumped 27lbs and smashed the mess out of it, too. 213lb deadlifts for 5 sets was aggressive, but not nearly as remarkable. 

 

Brushed cats, got enough shed hair off of them to make another cat. Stayed up stupid-late, did some jo practice in the dark, as one does. Did not break anything.

 

Sunday

This was the day of Adulting. Hubs smoked a brisket and lawn work while I made tamale pie, cleaned the bathroom sinks, and read up on all the new cards and stuff related to Benefits. I'm still not sure when the best day is to do tires, it doesn't seem like there will ever be a good time, financially or logistically. Sigh. The plan for Surgery Day is Salad for dinner. No matter where we are, salad will work. Hopefully it doesn't rain and hopefully the surgery is low key. Hopefully Mom is low key. Dad isn't half as worried about it, which is normal.

[Urgan]

So we're dealing with a bit more than we'd hoped and it's back to the drawing board. The docs have to put their heads together to know where to start. We're hoping for round two tomorrow instead of a discharge and another surgery date that just delays the inevitable. Not so fun. 

[shaar]

20 minutes ago, Urgan said:

So we're dealing with a bit more than we'd hoped and it's back to the drawing board. The docs have to put their heads together to know where to start. We're hoping for round two tomorrow instead of a discharge and another surgery date that just delays the inevitable. Not so fun. 

 

Oh wow, so was today, "hey let's do surgery", and they did the surgery, and then realized "oh frick we gotta do a better surgery even though we're not sure what that is yet" or....?

 

Hope your mom is hanging in there and not actually hanging from the ceiling.  (You guys too!)

[Urgan]

Just now, shaar said:

Oh wow, so was today, "hey let's do surgery", and they did the surgery, and then realized "oh frick we gotta do a better surgery even though we're not sure what that is yet" or....?

 

More like "* pokes with stick * Wow this is a deeper shit pit than we thought. Need to get a bigger stick." But yeah. The valve we knew was bad is reeeeally bad and we have multiple blockages, one of which will prolly require a bypass or something greater than a stint, because been there done that 2x in that spot and you can't do it thrice. 

 

2 minutes ago, shaar said:

Hope your mom is hanging in there and not actually hanging from the ceiling.  (You guys too!)

 

She's doing okay right now, we're in the same place of wanting it to be over already. It has been 3 weeks of waiting for the surgery after like two months of deliberating on the tests (Hospital being weird + dad does not Phone Talk Gud, Adulting Wut?). SO DONE NAO.

[shaar]

3 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

More like "* pokes with stick * Wow this is a deeper shit pit than we thought. Need to get a bigger stick." But yeah. The valve we knew was bad is reeeeally bad and we have multiple blockages, one of which will prolly require a bypass or something greater than a stint, because been there done that 2x in that spot and you can't do it thrice. 

 

 

She's doing okay right now, we're in the same place of wanting it to be over already. It has been 3 weeks of waiting for the surgery after like two months of deliberating on the tests (Hospital being weird + dad does not Phone Talk Gud, Adulting Wut?). SO DONE NAO.

 

Oh holy heck.  Yeah cranking it up to 11 there.....

 

SO.  DONE.  The waiting bullshit is LITERALLY the worst.  Months and months ugh, here's hoping you all can keep your sanity through it all and whatever Other Procedure they do will be smooth sailing.

[Urgan]

3 minutes ago, shaar said:

Oh holy heck.  Yeah cranking it up to 11 there.....

 

We don't do this thing halfway. And it sucks because he's started Trying between this and the last joust with Heart Trouble three years ago. Then again, the fact that we got 1.5 - 2 years of heavy lifting and actually caring somewhat about what he's eating in between bouts might be making the difference. The man had given up on himself until just the last few years.

 

7 minutes ago, shaar said:

SO.  DONE.  The waiting bullshit is LITERALLY the worst.  Months and months ugh, here's hoping you all can keep your sanity through it all and whatever Other Procedure they do will be smooth sailing.

 

I'm hoping this is sufficient levels of Currently On Fire that they get him taken care of within the next 24 hours. This doesn't need to persist. 

[ixaera]

Good thoughts your family's way <3 <3

[ChrisWithaStick]

1 hour ago, ixaera said:

Good thoughts your family's way <3 <3

From me as well.  I hope things improve rapidly.

[Urgan]

7/23/2018

She goes boom boom boom

 

Recovery

Sleep - 14/19

2500 calories - 2475 / 2475

 

Aikido

Jo - 5/8

 

Adulting

Chores. Sink, Toilet, Floor, Kitchen Counters

New Tires

 

Bench

45         5

60         5

70         5

80         5

98.5      5

90         4x5 -- 3RM PR+1.5!!

 

OHP

45         5

55         5

60         5

68         2

65         5x5

 

We'll just take a moment to recognize that my ass got impatient with the 80s and took a leap for the brass ring that is 90lb 5RM. I'm going to say my performance isn't being hurt by anxiety or my left elbow still not liking ballistic motion (hahawhatisAikidohahaha.......), which is characteristic healing pattern for these things. Snappy arm motions are the last things to become okay. I'm not too fussed about this, it's a lot to expect of a joint, doing what I do. 

 

I wrote up a lot of bugs and things at work because I'd made a list last week, and kept an eye on my cell phone for le Hospital Updates. Then drove to my parents' house with salad and chicken and that was our dinner. And also tried dark chocolate-covered honeycomb for the first time. Imagine a Butterfinger bar except actually good (I have nut allergies but can eat them...I did it once, just because Curiosity. So yuck and so not actual peanut anything because I can eat it....). It's a very similar texture, actually. 

 

Aikido was suwari waza ikkyo with a teeeeensy bit of kokyunage at the end. We warmed up with some randori and the black belt who 'broke' me went a lot more gently this time which was a plus for my longevity. Spent most of the rest of class with someone who has good control, so it didn't hurt much to even be spun down by tenkan motions. Then we did knife randori and I feared for my life. Then spun out of technique multiple times, possibly with my left arm, because YOLO? Spinning out too good? I dunno. Anyway, I'm still alive and this morning my elbow is only a tiny bit grumpy. In my book, that's no harm no foul.

 

Speaking of, I turned off the light more close to 11:30 than 11:15, but I am giving myself credit for that shit because I stopped my laptop MID VIDEO to get ready for bed and just had too much bedtime prep to do. So.

 

Weight is stabilizing in the 118s...I'll take it. Fun fact: While experimenting with changing my body wash and adding in yogurt and BBs by turns, I noticed a few things other than the bloating and the breakouts. My face stopped being so oily during the day and that gross biofilm crap that gets on your teeth overnight? I'd feel it form like, instantly after eating a sugary thing like a peppermint or some chocolate? This did not happen after stopping eating experimental foods. The most bizarre. 

 

12 hours ago, ixaera said:

Good thoughts your family's way <3 <3

 

11 hours ago, ChrisWithaStick said:

From me as well.  I hope things improve rapidly.

 

Thanks, guys. Will update as we learn things.