Blueberries 101: The Basics

[Blueberries]

Oy. What a mess things are. I've been an MIA warrior (yet again), and a couple of years worth of "life" has taken its toll. Since that stuff doesn't seem to be going away any time soon, I think it's probably time to get things together. I've spent the last 3-4 weeks trying to establish some good habits, and cementing those is ultimately the goal for this challenge. I had to fight my "Go Big or Go Home" instincts on goal-setting, because right now I just need little stuff to start gelling and looking like it used to.

 

The Basics

1. Work out regularly (3x) week, preferably lifting. Add weight progressively as possible, maybe requiring a move to lifting out of the house with a real bar again.

 

2. Cook regularly & plan ahead. I know this sounds so simple, but it's been something that has really tripped me up off and on in the last few years.

 

3. UfYH. A combination of factors caused my house to look like it exploded this summer. I'm working (very) slowly on reclaiming a calming habitat and getting the Wee Berries to do a better job of not contributing to chaos.

[Grymm]

Welcome back!

[wildross]

Just don't get strong and turn the wee berries into berry juice!!

 

 

[Emerald_Dragonfly]

Welcome back!  Goals look pretty solid to me!

[Blueberries]

22 hours ago, Grymm said:

Welcome back!

 

15 hours ago, Emerald_Dragonfly said:

Welcome back!  Goals look pretty solid to me!

 

Thank you!

 

15 hours ago, wildross said:

Just don't get strong and turn the wee berries into berry juice!!

 

 

 

I'll do my best. Ha! Honestly, as fast as they're growing, I'd be content to be able to continue to take them down in a wrestling match. Gotta stay bigger and stronger than them, until I eventually lose out on the bigger part.

[PrincessHeather]

UfYH!!! I had forgotten about that blog! I need to be doing this too, but right now I'll settle for just doing my current goals... need to avoid the temptation of doing ALL TH GOALS.

 

Glad you're back... let's both stick around?

[Blueberries]

15 hours ago, PrincessHeather said:

UfYH!!! I had forgotten about that blog! I need to be doing this too, but right now I'll settle for just doing my current goals... need to avoid the temptation of doing ALL TH GOALS.

 

Glad you're back... let's both stick around?

 

Haha, DO ALL THE GOALS sounds just a little bit familiar. I have to fight that urge so hard, or nothing ever gets accomplished!

 

Yes! Sticking around. I think having gotten myself into a little bit of a routine before deciding to start a challenge will probably help me there. *fingers crossed*

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Did my 3rd workout of the week this morning. I think I'm going to start a battle log (ETA: Done!) so that I have a place to keep track of them. Keeping them in my challenges way back when never really worked, since they didn't migrate from thread to thread. 

 

I ditched the dumbbells I've been working with and had a real barbell on my shoulders today!!!! Without dragging out a long story, I have some pretty significant health issues that have prevented me from lifting for the last ~2 years. I tried to start again almost a year and a half ago, but that was put to rest pretty quickly with more health things. So I'm a little nervous to see how this goes, but also super excited.

 

Otherwise, I've been pretty good about cooking this week, but could be a little better. Haven't used UfYH for any spaces this week, so that needs to become a priority.

[MasterOfCows]

Hey BB!  Glad you're back!  One step at a time after all you've had to deal with!

 

Glad you got a real bar back on your shoulders again, very exciting.

[Blueberries]

On 9/30/2016 at 1:27 PM, MasterOfCows said:

Hey BB!  Glad you're back!  One step at a time after all you've had to deal with!

 

Glad you got a real bar back on your shoulders again, very exciting.

 

Hey there! Thanks. It feels really good to feel like I'm getting that little piece of myself back again.

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Goals! Only have time for two lifting workouts to happen this week, plus I'm counting a bike ride with the littlest Wee Berry that made my legs burn as my third. Lifting this morning went pretty well overall, and it still made me super happy to have a barbell in my hands again. I decided to start completely over again with new PRs, since I'm basically starting from scratch. I think that will help me with the blah feelings that I feel like are otherwise likely to come from lifting what used to be such light weights. PR every day!! 

 

Used my UfYH goal to reclaim the entryway, which had accumulated backpacks, shoes, more sports equipment than any one family should own, etc. I'd been avoiding/overwhelmed by it, which is ridiculous since it was stressing me out every time I walked in/by/through. 20ish minutes later and everything was good again. So much of this goal is really just about doing the shit that I'm bad about procrastinating. 

 

Cooking is still going okay. Definitely WAY better than before. I discovered on Friday that lifting BB is hungry BB, so this is likely going to be forced into submission so that I have easy things to grab.

 

[Blueberries]

Oh! I got my knives sharpened this weekend, which makes me incredibly happy and should help with my cooking goal. They're so much easier to use now! 

[Blueberries]

Happy Thursday! Kicked my own ass with my workout this morning, which Felt. So. Good. Might not feel so good tomorrow, haha!

 

Weights are moving, and I've been pleasantly surprised with how well my deadlift weight in particular has been coming along. I mean, there's still so very far for it to go, but given how long I've been down and out, I would have thought it would take a lot longer to get to what I've been able to do relatively easily already. Woo!

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

So happy to see you  back. Heath issues resolved? I like the resetting PRs idea.

 

On 10/4/2016 at 10:44 AM, Blueberries said:

Used my UfYH goal to reclaim the entryway, which had accumulated backpacks, shoes, more sports equipment than any one family should own, etc. I'd been avoiding/overwhelmed by it, which is ridiculous since it was stressing me out every time I walked in/by/through. 20ish minutes later and everything was good again. So much of this goal is really just about doing the shit that I'm bad about procrastinating.

 

We have that area too. Starts at the front of the gym side of the garage, then slowly moves back, around and onto the DL platform. It's to the point now where I just have about 3 feet of platform that I'm lifting on. Need to take those 20 min an fix it soon. Happens every 6 months or so.

 

On 10/4/2016 at 11:35 AM, Blueberries said:

Oh! I got my knives sharpened this weekend, which makes me incredibly happy and should help with my cooking goal. They're so much easier to use now! 

 

How long did that take? Sounds like a good idea for one of Wifey's xmas presents.

[Blueberries]

1 hour ago, Gainsdalf the Whey said:

So happy to see you  back. Heath issues resolved? I like the resetting PRs idea.

 

Health issues are... stable. As long as nothing crazy happens (which is obvs not out of the question), I'm on the watch-and-wait plan with yearly scans. I'm taking lifting soooooo slowly, just to be on the safe side.

 

 

1 hour ago, Gainsdalf the Whey said:

We have that area too. Starts at the front of the gym side of the garage, then slowly moves back, around and onto the DL platform. It's to the point now where I just have about 3 feet of platform that I'm lifting on. Need to take those 20 min an fix it soon. Happens every 6 months or so.

 

Do it! It's crazy how little time it takes when I actually buckle down to get it done. If only I didn't have a million other spots that also need to be done...

 

 

1 hour ago, Gainsdalf the Whey said:

How long did that take? Sounds like a good idea for one of Wifey's xmas presents.

 

I found a guy who does mobile sharpening, so he came to me with the truck and it only took 20 minutes or so to do 7 kitchen knives and a pair of yard lopper things. It makes SUCH a huge difference. I'd just search "knife sharpening [city]" and see what comes up.

 

[Grymm]

A good, sharp knife is a chef's best friend.

[Blueberries]

On 10/7/2016 at 4:01 PM, Grymm said:

A good, sharp knife is a chef's best friend.

 

 Yes! It irritates me that I'd let them get as dull as they had.

 

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Two weeks down! I'm really thrown off by challenges only being 4 weeks long now. When did that switch happen? It's looking a little bit like UfYH is going to have to stick around for a few challenge cycles to really be able to make the difference that I want it to. Seems like by the time I get something Uf-ed, the Wee Berries and/or the weekend have managed to f something else. 

 

I had to work a little harder for my chosen weights this morning, so I think that's good news on getting to some working weights finally. I've also (mostly accidentally) been playing around with intermittent fasting for the last week or two, so it's possible that lifting fasted is slowing me down. We'll see. 

 

 

[Blueberries]

Didn't get in the workout I'd hoped today, due to sickish Wee Berry, but I did still lift, so I'll take it. Two so far this week, so I just need to get in there one more time. Fingers crossed that sickish Wee Berry gets better quickly and does not share with anybody else.

 

Made some progress yesterday on what Mr. BB has started calling "the stuff room," which is actually my piano room that currently has no piano and therefore has accumulated all the crap that we don't know where to put. This room is basically the reason that UfYH was even invented. I told my parents a few weeks ago that I want to move my piano up here sooner rather than later, so at least I feel like I have a little bit of a deadline on it. 

[Blueberries]

Posterior chain.... hates...... me....... so much. Owwwww.

[Blueberries]

It's always so funny to me how I can be so stiff/sore/achy, and then it's like it all just disappears as soon as I get moving in a workout. Even if I've been moving around doing regular stuff! Something about a workout makes it all go away. Temporarily, anyway. We'll see how I feel later...

 

Workout 3/3 for the week checked off my list. In the two weeks since I managed to work up to using more than my tiny dumbbells, I've taken my lifts from empty bar to:

• 3x5 Squats: 38kg / 83.6 pounds
• 5x5 Bench: 28kg / 61.6 pounds
• 3+x5 OHP: 25kg / 55 pounds
• 2x5 Deadlift: 70kg / 154 pounds

 

This is why the blank slate for new PRs is so important for me. My instinct is to compare those numbers to what I used to be able to do and scoff at myself, but instead I'm stopping to realize that the BB who could do that stuff hadn't been through the ridiculous things the last two years have brought me, and that right now I'm kicking ass at my own speed. Two weeks ago, I was a little scared of how hard it was going to be just to lift the empty bar, so these numbers look really damn good to me. 

 

TL;DR: I'm really freaking proud of myself right now. 

 

[Emerald_Dragonfly]

You should be proud  - great job!

[Blueberries]

Last week of this challenge cycle and I'm still here! I'm pretty certain that has not happened since 2013, so I feel like it might finally be sticking. Woohoo!

 

Workout this morning was pretty cut-and-dried. I almost tipped over and/or lost the bar twice during squats - once during my warm ups! I wasn't quite awake enough yet, apparently. Until now, I haven't been a lifter since way before I quit drinking coffee last year, which might possibly make my morning workouts a little bit more interesting...

 

My cooking goal has been going pretty well. I try to keep meats pre-cooked and easy to grab, which is sometimes a challenge with all the other people in my house, but I've been okay so far. I need to make friends with my slow cooker again, which really saves me so much hassle. I realized yesterday that aside from the very occasional bit of peanut butter in a protein shake when I've run out of bananas (and, of course, the protein powder itself), I haven't had any processed food at all in 4-6 weeks. Probably closer to 6. 

 

[Blueberries]

Oh! I also noticed that I'm starting to get my barbell callouses back just a little bit, which makes me way more happy than it reasonably should. It's the little things. Haha!

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

You're doing awesome BB, that's great progress on those weights.

[PrincessHeather]

Yay callouses, yay for no processed junk, and for working out and being here and lifting lots of weights! So proud friend

 

And thank you for checking on me... the email notification got me back here  

[Blueberries]

On 10/17/2016 at 11:19 AM, Gainsdalf the Whey said:

You're doing awesome BB, that's great progress on those weights.

 

Hey thanks! 

 

 

On 10/18/2016 at 1:07 AM, PrincessHeather said:

Yay callouses, yay for no processed junk, and for working out and being here and lifting lots of weights! So proud friend

 

And thank you for checking on me... the email notification got me back here  

 

Aw man! I just realized that I forgot about mayonnaise and sriracha when I was thinking about processed foods. Womp womp. 

 

Any time! I hope you can make it work in your schedule. You're in chaos mode for now, which is totally understandable. Been there! It's tough.

 

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Workout 2 of 3 complete for the week. The weights are still going up, which for some reason almost catches me off guard every time. It's almost like I expected to be struggling more than I have been to add weight. I know that time is coming, and probably soon, but for now I'm trying to just enjoy the process and add smallish, manageable chunks of weights each workout.

 

The RHOP proprietor was on-site this morning when I went to lift, so I caught up a little bit with him and it got me thinking about how I need to work on getting to know more "new" Warriors since most of my old buddies aren't active around here any more. I'm thinking that I'm going to find a way to make that part of my next challenge.

[Emerald_Dragonfly]

I made one of my challenge goals a while ago,  "comment twice a week on 3 or more threads of people who are new to me" or something like that.   It worked for me.