imprimis5 gets creative

[imprimis5]

Challenge #3

 

I tried writing a story for the last challenge, and it was... fine. I don't think I'm going to do that again, though, unless the spirit moves me. I'm just not feeling it today.

 

One interesting thing I've noticed as I think up my challenges. I've discovered that my challenges are increasingly less physical fitness focused. I'm not sure if this is because I'm putting my priorities elsewhere these days, because I feel like I've achieved all I care about achieving somehow, or because I don't know what I should be doing. I don't know that I actually need to do anything about this right now, but it's definitely good to notice it.

 

• Paleosity: The food challenge this month? Switch it up! I basically eat the same thing every day, with only minor variations. Let's try doing something other than baked meat, sweet potatoes, and veggies for lunch, and ground beef and onions, sweet potatoes, and veggies for dinner.
• Gym Respawn: I really messed up on gym stuff last month. I need to get that discipline back. So, again, two personal trainer sessions a week, then at least two of my own sessions.
• Create Something: I used to be a super creative person. I wrote stories and designed games. Then I got super depressed and didn't have the energy. Now that I'm getting my energy back, I want to make something! I'm either going to write or work on a new game design for this challenge.
• Ukulele!: I picked up the ukulele a while back, then a bunch of travelling forced me to put it back down. I'm going to start learning it again, from scratch.

[Broba Fett]

Reporting for following duty. 

 

I'm also doing a bunch of writing this challenge.  Excited to see what you come up with. 

[Oramac]

21 minutes ago, imprimis5 said:

• Create Something: I used to be a super creative person. I wrote stories and designed games. Then I got super depressed and didn't have the energy. Now that I'm getting my energy back, I want to make something! I'm either going to write or work on a new game design for this challenge.

 

I'm in!  Love this goal too.  My current long-term challenge is writing a book, and I spend far too much time writing homebrew for D&D too.  Creativity is a great way to get the mind moving! 

[imprimis5]

Just now, Broba Fett said:

I'm also doing a bunch of writing this challenge.

 

I saw that! Urban fantasy is a good choice. Are you the next Jim Butcher?

 

My writing will probably be alternate history or fantasy. I'm a big fan of both.

[imprimis5]

1 minute ago, Oramac said:

 

I'm in!  Love this goal too.  My current long-term challenge is writing a book, and I spend far too much time writing homebrew for D&D too.  Creativity is a great way to get the mind moving! 

 

I used to do a lot of RPG homebrew. Then that turned into writing my own RPG systems. Now I'm pretty content just to play other people's systems. :-P

[Broba Fett]

Just now, imprimis5 said:

Are you the next Jim Butcher?

He, Larry Correia and Kevin Hearne are probably my biggest influences honestly.  I'd like to think the world I'm building is very similar to all of theirs. 

 

Speaking of homebrews and those three authors, I've long wanted to run a World of Darkness game where the Dresden, Monster Hunter International, and Iron Druid universes all existed together.  Someday it will be a reality.  I kickstarted the MHI RPG hoping that would make it easier but ended up not being a big fan of the system. 

[imprimis5]

3 minutes ago, Broba Fett said:

He, Larry Correia and Kevin Hearne are probably my biggest influences honestly.  I'd like to think the world I'm building is very similar to all of theirs. 

 

Speaking of homebrews and those three authors, I've long wanted to run a World of Darkness game where the Dresden, Monster Hunter International, and Iron Druid universes all existed together.  Someday it will be a reality.  I kickstarted the MHI RPG hoping that would make it easier but ended up not being a big fan of the system. 

 

My ultimate homebrew system is Burning Wheel. If you don't mind wading through a rulebook that's written like a novel for a system full of exceptions to its own rules, I highly recommend it. :-)

[imprimis5]

Week 0 Tuesday Update

 

• Paleosity: The food challenge this month? Switch it up! I basically eat the same thing every day, with only minor variations. Let's try doing something other than baked meat, sweet potatoes, and veggies for lunch, and ground beef and onions, sweet potatoes, and veggies for dinner.
  • Note: Unless mentioned otherwise, assume I drank water with a meal.
  • Note: Items in bold are not paleo.
  • Monday breakfast: Two hard boiled eggs
  • Monday lunch: Baked chicken thigh, baked sweet potato fries, broccoli/carrots/cauliflower
  • Monday dinner: Ground beef and onions, sweet potato fries, broccoli/carrots/cauliflower
  • Monday snacks: 90% chocolate, apple, homemade spicy toasted almonds
• Gym Respawn: I really messed up on gym stuff last month. I need to get that discipline back. So, again, two personal trainer sessions a week, then at least two of my own sessions.
  • Upper body day with my trainer yesterday. Definitely a tough workout, but easier than the last time we did this one. And my arms aren't still in horrible pain today. :-)
  • My bench press is miserable. Like, seriously, it's embarrassing. It'll get better, I know, but it's a hit to the ego when I can't make it through my third high-speed set of 20 reps with only 55 lbs.
  • I'm going to the gym solo today. My solo workout right now is actually pretty fun, so I'm looking forward to it.
  • I don't know whether this belongs in the diet portion of my challenge, in the gym portion, or somewhere else entirely. But I weighed in at 186 lbs this morning. That's literally one single pound away from my goal weight. And my body fat is staying consistent at around 18% right now (measured with calipers by two different people on separate occasions). I started at 231 lbs and about 27% body fat around the end of June.
• Create Something: I used to be a super creative person. I wrote stories and designed games. Then I got super depressed and didn't have the energy. Now that I'm getting my energy back, I want to make something! I'm either going to write or work on a new game design for this challenge.
  • I'm still deciding what I want to make. Right now, I'm leaning toward a game design. Something I've wanted to do for a long time is create a "thousand year game." That is, a game that feels like it could have been played in much the same form a thousand years ago, like chess or go. There are a lot of great modern examples for me to draw from (like the recent success of Tak), and that's been super exciting to me.
• Ukulele!: I picked up the ukulele a while back, then a bunch of travelling forced me to put it back down. I'm going to start learning it again, from scratch.
  • I've not started back in on this just yet, since my arms were wet noodles last night. Seriously, I tried to read for a little and couldn't even hold up the book. Perhaps tonight!

[Oramac]

1 hour ago, imprimis5 said:

• • My bench press is miserable. Like, seriously, it's embarrassing. It'll get better, I know, but it's a hit to the ego when I can't make it through my third high-speed set of 20 reps with only 55 lbs.

 

High-speed.......20 reps..........

 

Yea that sounds miserable.  Why u do dat?  No, seriously, why do you do that?  I've never heard of that sort of training and don't understand.  I want to understand.  

[imprimis5]

7 minutes ago, Oramac said:

 

High-speed.......20 reps..........

 

Yea that sounds miserable.  Why u do dat?  No, seriously, why do you do that?  I've never heard of that sort of training and don't understand.  I want to understand.  

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/24734902/

[Oramac]

1 hour ago, imprimis5 said:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/24734902/

 

Interesting.  I might have to give that a shot.  

[Broba Fett]

3 hours ago, imprimis5 said:

it's a hit to the ego when I can't make it through my third high-speed set of 20 reps with only 55 lbs.

Don't feel too bad. I didn't read the study you quoted but I'd guess that it is designed to induce muscle failure so it should be tough. 

 

My previous gym often did sets of 20 squats with 50% of our 1RM and it was absolutely brutal.

 

3 hours ago, imprimis5 said:

I started at 231 lbs and about 27% body fat around the end of June.

Congrats!  That's awesome!

[Oramac]

17 minutes ago, Broba Fett said:

My previous gym often did sets of 20 squats with 50% of our 1RM and it was absolutely brutal.

 

The 20-Rep Squat program is a legit workout.  I've done it.  It's tough.  But you don't do them high-speed like.  So that's what threw me off.

 

18 minutes ago, Broba Fett said:

Congrats!  That's awesome!

 

Yes!  Yes it is! 

[Xena]

Way to bust out the pubmed (I'm 1% making fun of nerdiness and 99% serious)! So many health and fitness claims are based on anecdotal evidence and who-knows-what-else that I'm surprised to see a legit scientific study referenced.

 

Was interested in your reflection that your goals are less focused on physical fitness than they had been in the past. One of your possible explanations was that you may have achieved all that you care about achieving. That would be fair enough, and really nothing wrong with it. I don't know much about your fitness programs and goals, so it's hard to say. Another explanation could be that the program you have set up is working for you and doesn't need to be messed with right now. 

 

 

[imprimis5]

10 hours ago, Xena said:

Way to bust out the pubmed (I'm 1% making fun of nerdiness and 99% serious)! So many health and fitness claims are based on anecdotal evidence and who-knows-what-else that I'm surprised to see a legit scientific study referenced.

 

Thanks! I may not be an academic at this point in my life, but I was raised to be one. Data, data, data.

 

10 hours ago, Xena said:

Was interested in your reflection that your goals are less focused on physical fitness than they had been in the past. One of your possible explanations was that you may have achieved all that you care about achieving. That would be fair enough, and really nothing wrong with it. I don't know much about your fitness programs and goals, so it's hard to say. Another explanation could be that the program you have set up is working for you and doesn't need to be messed with right now. 

 

Yeah, I don't really know. My fear is that, being super goal-oriented the way I am, my brain feels like it has done what needs to be done and can shut down that program now. If that's the case, I need to restart it with new goals, but that's always harder to do than with the initial goal.

 

Or you might be right. Maybe I don't need as many physical fitness challenges because I'm already doing what needs to be done without external pressure.

[imprimis5]

Week 0 Wednesday Update

 

• Paleosity: The food challenge this month? Switch it up! I basically eat the same thing every day, with only minor variations. Let's try doing something other than baked meat, sweet potatoes, and veggies for lunch, and ground beef and onions, sweet potatoes, and veggies for dinner.
  • Note: Unless mentioned otherwise, assume I drank water with a meal.
  • Note: Items in bold are not paleo.
  • Tuesday breakfast: Two hard boiled eggs
  • Tuesday lunch: Baked chicken thigh, baked sweet potato fries, broccoli/carrots/cauliflower
  • Tuesday dinner: Ground beef and onions, sweet potato fries, broccoli/carrots/cauliflower
  • Tuesday snacks: 90% chocolate, homemade spicy toasted almonds, Halo Top chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (because I had kind of a s****y day)
• Gym Respawn: I really messed up on gym stuff last month. I need to get that discipline back. So, again, two personal trainer sessions a week, then at least two of my own sessions.
  • I went to the gym yesterday, all by my lonesome. My trainer has given me a conditioning circuit to do on my own, but he encouraged me to explore on my own a little, too. So I did. Tried a shorter, fairly intense full body workout. Squats, pushups, rows, farmer's walk.
  • I really like this kind of workout. With the longer ones I'd been doing, I felt like I was struggling at the end because I was tired, not  because of the exercise or the weight. This one, I was able to push myself much more.
  • I'm not sure I get the point of the farmer's walk. Like, it's mainly a forearm exercise, right? Why do I see so many people recommending this one in particular?
• Create Something: I used to be a super creative person. I wrote stories and designed games. Then I got super depressed and didn't have the energy. Now that I'm getting my energy back, I want to make something! I'm either going to write or work on a new game design for this challenge.
  • Nothing just yet. Yesterday, my free time was a choice between this or playing the ukulele. I chose the latter.
• Ukulele!: I picked up the ukulele a while back, then a bunch of travelling forced me to put it back down. I'm going to start learning it again, from scratch.
  • I did my first ukulele lesson last night. It's a little hard to start over from scratch, but I'm glad I did it. I had formed some bad habits previously, and this is letting me break those. But I know how to properly hold and strum it (where my major bad habits were before) and the three most important chords! Just need to build up my callouses so I can play longer.

[Oramac]

45 minutes ago, imprimis5 said:

Or you might be right. Maybe I don't need as many physical fitness challenges because I'm already doing what needs to be done without external pressure.

 

Maybe give it this challenge, plus maybe one more to determine if it's the workout, your brain, or the right thing to do.  Sometimes we get in a groove, and it's good for a time.  Sometimes we hit a plateau after a while and that's the time to switch it up.  I feel like I'm not being very clear here.  

 

31 minutes ago, imprimis5 said:

• • I'm not sure I get the point of the farmer's walk. Like, it's mainly a forearm exercise, right? Why do I see so many people recommending this one in particular?

 

Forearms, yes, but walking with the weight also helps the stabilizing muscles as well.  You could just do lunges with the weight too.  It'd still work the forearms, but also the legs and other stabilizing muscles a bit more as well.  

[Broba Fett]

4 hours ago, imprimis5 said:

•  
• I'm not sure I get the point of the farmer's walk. Like, it's mainly a forearm exercise, right? Why do I see so many people recommending this one in particular?

If you're going heavy enough, it works your whole body.  You'll feel it in legs, back, and traps.  The forearms are always going to feel it the most though.  If you're only feeling it in your forearms try taking it up a few notches in weight.  Usually if i'm doing around 75% of my deadlift max to grip failure I'll feel it pretty much everywhere.

 

I always prefer shorter workouts as well.  Short and intense is 100x better than long and deliberate any day IMO. 

[imprimis5]

2 minutes ago, Broba Fett said:

If you're going heavy enough, it works your whole body.  You'll feel it in legs, back, and traps.  The forearms are always going to feel it the most though.  If you're only feeling it in your forearms try taking it up a few notches in weight.  Usually if i'm doing around 75% of my deadlift max to grip failure I'll feel it pretty much everywhere.

 

Good to know. It always helps to know what I should be looking for specifically, when setting initial weight. I'll definitely be upping the weight.

[Broba Fett]

12 minutes ago, imprimis5 said:

 

Good to know. It always helps to know what I should be looking for specifically, when setting initial weight. I'll definitely be upping the weight.

I imagine it'll vary for everyone depending on your grip strength.  I do the strongman stuff so my grip threshold might be higher than some.  I'd say shoot for something you can JUST finish the designated distance at before losing your grip.  Escalate it over a couple trips down and back until you're pretty sure you couldn't finish the next trip without putting a dent in the floor. 

[Oramac]

1 hour ago, Broba Fett said:

I always prefer shorter workouts as well.  Short and intense is 100x better than long and deliberate any day IMO. 

 

+11ty billion to this.  Short and intense is way better than long and deliberate. 

[Xena]

I was kind of curious about farmer's walk too. To me it seemed decidedly more like "household chores" and less like "fun lifting". Thanks for the info Oramac and Broba Fett.

[imprimis5]

Week 0 Thursday Update

 

• Paleosity: The food challenge this month? Switch it up! I basically eat the same thing every day, with only minor variations. Let's try doing something other than baked meat, sweet potatoes, and veggies for lunch, and ground beef and onions, sweet potatoes, and veggies for dinner.
  • Note: Unless mentioned otherwise, assume I drank water with a meal.
  • Note: Items in bold are not paleo.
  • Wednesday breakfast: Two hard boiled eggs
  • Wednesday lunch: Baked chicken thigh, baked sweet potato fries, broccoli/carrots/cauliflower
  • Wednesday dinner: Ground beef and onions, sweet potato fries, broccoli/carrots/cauliflower
  • Wednesday snacks: Almonds, dram of oh so deliciously amazing Laphroaig 10 year
• Gym Respawn: I really messed up on gym stuff last month. I need to get that discipline back. So, again, two personal trainer sessions a week, then at least two of my own sessions.
  • No gym yesterday, but that's ok. It's just my regularly scheduled rest day. Instead, I sent swarm after swarm of Imperial stormtroopers after the Rebel scum invading my base in Imperial Assault (and still managed to lose). Board games with friends.
• Create Something: I used to be a super creative person. I wrote stories and designed games. Then I got super depressed and didn't have the energy. Now that I'm getting my energy back, I want to make something! I'm either going to write or work on a new game design for this challenge.
  • I had no energy to devote to this yesterday.
• Ukulele!: I picked up the ukulele a while back, then a bunch of travelling forced me to put it back down. I'm going to start learning it again, from scratch.
  • I also had no energy to devote to this yesterday.

[Broba Fett]

39 minutes ago, imprimis5 said:

Laphroaig 10 year

I'm ready to learn to enjoy such things correctly.  Asked the future in-laws for a decanter and glasses for christmas to do it right.

 

Time to level up in sophistication beyond Evan Williams.  

[imprimis5]

2 minutes ago, Broba Fett said:

I'm ready to learn to enjoy such things correctly.  Asked the future in-laws for a decanter and glasses for christmas to do it right.

 

Time to level up in sophistication beyond Evan Williams.  

 

Good scotch is a particular weakness of mine. Specifically, single malt Islay. Highland and Speyside whisky are the others you can find easily in the US, but I find they don't have quite as much character or personality as a heavy, smoky, peaty Islay. Basically, I want my scotch to taste like it smokes a pack a day.

 

First tip? Never chill your scotch. It deadens your taste buds, and you'll miss some of the more subtle flavours. A drop or two of water can open it up, though, so don't feel bad if you do that.