Bardadin casts Lay On Fans

[Vaereyes]

I'm Vaereyes. I'm a rugby playing, roller derby flailin', veteran on the rocks with a twist of LGBTQ+ and a dash of Leather. (Sarcasm available free of charge.) This is my first battle log. There will be gifs of things I find funny, adult themes and no holds barred honesty that comes from a brusque upbringing. Below is my judgmental as fuck face.

 

 

I just completed my first 4 week challenge, and gained some good takeaways about myself. I'm suiting up to do the second challenge as well. (For those of you who like Warehouse 13, my challenges are artifact themed.) Accountability is a fun and important process for me, as I thrive on to do lists, accountability and having a record of the 5W's & an H. I know that for me personally, unless it's cutting something out I shouldn't have (cigarettes or energy drinks) that drastic actions don't take.

 

My daily battle log, for today:

 

1) I actually woke up within an hour of my first alarm going off! I have three cats, and my partner's alarm goes off at 7 a.m. He wakes up to feed them, but I always sleep in. This means my morning aren't leisurely, and I often do simple tasks on the way to work. Since he's visiting his sister this weekend, I have that responsibility. Nothing like three cats yelling at you, biting you, crawling on your head and getting tossed like shotputs to force you up. (Thanks dicks.)

 

 

2) I started logging my food in MyFitnessPal in an effort to figure out what the hell I'm doing wrong food wise. After gaining 12.2 lbs in the past two months I've realized that I'm above my preferred weight range. To figure out what the deuce happened, I've vowed to log my caloric consumption for the next month without changing my habits too drastically. I'm going to try to stick to the 1890 daily goal, but I'm not going to eat differently. This is to establish my baseline, not figure out what I need to change. Everyone knows you have a session 0 campaign in D&D, THEN you bring out the kobolds at session 1.

 

3) I began consciously drinking more water, starting today. Side effects: I get up from my desk every hour... So there's that?

 

 

4/5) I didn't listen to laziness tonight, and went rollerskating with friends! I am my own worst enabler when it comes to breaking engagements, and tonight I knew I'd be disappointing three people if I didn't show up to an event I planned. So I grabbed my skates, and drove down to the skate palace for adult skate night. The music was damn good, the people were ridiculously talented (and attractive), and I skated for an hour! Guilt and nagging are really good motivators for me personally.

 

I think this will a place to reflect on what went right, what went wrong and what can be improved on. The idea of doing a battle log EVERY day is daunting, but I will make a point to update my soft and hard copies when I do things. If you giggled at that last line, I see you.

 

 

Bardadin out.

 

[Vaereyes]

Today I woke up exhausted, and utterly unwilling to go into work. Yet again, my three cats yelled, bunted, purred and crawled all over me demanding breakfast. My laying in bed wasn't an option. 

 

1) I made my second food entry into MFP, and drank lots of water (aiming for a gallon over the course of 48 hours). I seem to be getting in a gallon a day, which is surprising.

2) Even though I didn't make it to the Yogalates class I scheduled, I still did workout. Admittedly, I did a mere 15 minutes of yogalates before realizing this was a rubbish workout the day after roller skating for an hour solid. So I said "Nope, not for me.", recorded the calories burned in MFP, and crossed that off the list of options for yoga.

[Vaereyes]

I had a great weekend, spending time with friends and in my local communities. I also drug my ass to roller derby practice.

 

1) I drank my daily required amount of water on Saturday, and didn't consume all too much on Sunday. Note to self, refill water jug at desk today.

2) I had a productive fight with my partner. Some things came to a head over a miscommunication, and we hashed it out. Crying, laughter, kisses, cold silence- it all worked out.

3) I went to roller derby practice! Due to this awesome occurrence, I also discovered an amazing squat workout.

4) I started taking women's and hair/skin/nails gummy vitamins again. Now that I'm drinking the appropriate amount of water, I'll hopefully be able to avoid the terrible zit problem I had last time I tried this. Ladies- if you take biotin supplements, you HAVE TO drink double your daily recommended amount of water.

[Vaereyes]

Oh look at that, I'm wildly behind on my battle log. Surprise.

 

1) Two weeks of MFP tracking completed. I started tracking my water and food consumption two weeks ago as of yesterday (2/22). Over that time I've averaged a 60 oz/day water consumption, and 1,923 calories/day. My MFP has set my daily calories to 1,890 in order to lose 2.5 pounds a week. Since a lot of the exercises that I do don't have accurate calorie counts in MFP, my calories burned for each day isn't accurately reflected.

2) Social calendar fails a will save. Rugby season has started up, and with it my social calendar has gone haywire. I now have rugby and derby practice once a week, one day dedicated to derby practice outside of the official practice, and the rest of the time for dates/socializing with friends/yoga/smoking cigars at the lounge.

3) Vitamins! I haven't noticed any specific hair growth since I started taking vitamin gummies. On the flipside, I haven't noticed any terrible acne appear like last time. Admittedly I am drinking a half gallon of water a day, which helps. I think my acne cropped up last time after a month on gummies? We'll see how I do now.

 

All in all, things are going really well.

[Vaereyes]

I'm absolute rubbish at keeping up with logs, and trends. Like most I cycle back to it every couple months, determined to buckle down again. Here I am once more, and below are three new battles I'm undertaking.

 

1) Weight. I've gained 10 lbs from my initial NF forum post weight, putting me at the top end of my weight preference at 165 lbs. I want to build muscle and lose belly fat.

2) Strongman. I've started a very low key strongman specific training program. Tire flips, squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, and farmers carries are going to be the bulk of my strength training workout- alongside cardio because it's evil, but useful.

3) Calendar. I'm trying to make more time for my partner while also making time for my friends. Lately that's been my struggle. The balance can be hard to strike, but I know something's gotta give and that give will be the significant time I spend with my friends over my partners.

I've stopped playing rugby (the team is at too high a competition level for me), and I've stopped doing roller derby (team sports, man, just not feelin' it). Now that I'm no longer doing either sport, I need to be a lot more vigilant about my physical activity, as I work an 8-4 sedentary job. Maybe an exercise ball chair? 

[Vaereyes]

I've found a good mix between cardio I'll actually do, and weightlifting training.

 

1. Weight. I'm sitting comfortably around 166 lbs, and I'm fine with 1-2 lbs especially given that I've undertaken cardio and strongman training regularly.

2. Strongman. I'm working on finding my happy space for working out. What the weight is, what the reps are. My workout is below. I really like the FitNotes App, because it lets me add my own exercises and has an easy to use interface. I've also included a post-workout happy smile.

3. Calendar. I've gotten better about taking time for myself, and for my partner(s) during the week. In order to do so I've had to be conscious about my social calendar, and how quickly I tend to fill it up.

4. Cardio! I tried rowing, and I'm not going to say I love it. (Let's be honest, I really only love picking up heavy stuff and putting it back down.) What I do enjoy about rowing is that it's not running or stationary bike. It's a whole body movement that I can really dig.

 

Workout

Tire flips: 270s lbs; 3 reps, 3 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps

Dumbell squats: 15 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

Overhead barbell press: 55 lbs, 3 reps; 35 lbs, 7 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

Deadlift: 55 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

Farmers carry: 90 lbs, 50 meters; 100 lbs, 50 meters, 50 meters

 

[Vaereyes]

This weekend I went to my gym with my buddy, he was gracious enough to take a short video of me flipping a tire. (Seen here: Tire flip clip!)  My stats for the workout are below. I went up massively for my deadlift and farmers carry, I think I'll stick there. Thankfully this go around I made a point to stretch out. I'm still sore, but not nearly as bad as I would have been.

 

Workout

Tire flips: 270s lbs; 8 reps, 6 reps, 6 reps

Bar squats: 35 lbs, 10 reps; 45 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps

Overhead barbell press: 45 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

Deadlift: 55 lbs, 10 reps; 75 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps

Farmers carry: 150 lbs, 50 meters, 50 meters, 50 meters

 

I think my weights are currently at a great place to make them my standard.

[Vaereyes]

1. Strongman. School has started, and this means that my wonderful gym is over run by teenagers whose parents pay for them to partake in lacrosse, baseball, softball or track & field after school programs. These people, and their offspring, pay good money for these camps, and I don't begrudge them their attendance. But oh how I begrudge them their space. The program occurs from 4-6 in the afternoon, then 7-9. My gym closes at 9, and in the brief hour of quiet before the program resumes once more the coaches/trainers/instructors are setting up for the next class.

 

I have had to cut my workouts short by at least an hour and change. This means that I don't do tire flips (because that occurs in the batting cage), or farmers carries (because that occurs in the general training area.) *grumps* I'm frustrated that my workouts have been cut short, and I also don't feel that I'm in a good place for transitioning to strongman specific training events. To that end, I haven't decided entirely what I'm going to do.

 

2. Cardio. Rowing is still wonderful, but I've been remiss in doing it regularly. My nutritionist recommended 30 minutes of rowing three times a week, which isn't that bad.

 

3. Nutrition. On the recommendation of my nutritionist I've started eating 2 cups of fruits & 2 cups of vegetables a day, and having fish or seafood twice a week in lieu of chicken, beef, or pork. I've found that I have a lot more energy because I'm getting fruits and vegetables, and that I'm not nearly as exhausted after lunch. I've also cut the sugar in my coffee back to half on her recommendation. I can't really see much nutritional benefit as far as the fish and seafood go, but cutting back on beef helps the environment so I'm down for it.

 

My nutritionist has recommended that I go with 1/2 plate veggies, 1/4 plate protein no bigger than a deck of cards, and 1/4 plate carbs for lunch and dinner. Oh, my sweet rebels, let's talk about how much that chafes. Deeply, madly, truly. This is the nutritional requirement that I'm frustrated by. I get my vegetables in when I eat a salad daily for lunch. *grumble grumble*

[Vaereyes]

1. Strongman. I've cut my workouts down to what I can currently do due to after school program space constraints.

 

9/11 Workout

Squat: 10 reps x 65 lbs, 3 sets

Barbell press: 10 reps x 45 lbs, 2 sets, 6 reps x 45 lbs, 4 reps x 45 lbs

Deadlift: 10 reps x 65 lbs, 3 sets

Stationary bike: 12 minutes, 4.1 km

 

2. Competition. I figured out the base weight and distance requirements the competitiors are using for this years Charm City Strongwoman competition. I'm in the MW category at 165 lbs.

 

2017 Categories:

• Yoke weight: 325 lbs for 50'
• Log press un-laden: 60 second to clean and press 95 lbs for reps
• Weight for height: 75 second to throw 1 x 10 lbs ball, 2 x 15 lbs ball, 1 x 20 lbs ball over 10' bar
• Stone to shoulder: 95 lbs
• Truck pull: 12,000-13,000 lbs for 75'

I'd like to start training for these specific goals, since the competition next year is sure to have some variation on them.

 

3. Gym. I located a gym where I can potentially get help with my form for lifting. It's called "Sand & Steel", which I love because it makes me think of a Pokémon gym! I'm going there next week to get a tour, and talk about my fitness goals.

[Vaereyes]

Last night I went to the gym, and added to both my deadlift and my squat. The squat is the one I'm most proud of, because I started out squatting with a 15 lbs dumbbell in June.

 

Workout

Barbell front squats: 75 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

Overhead barbell press: 45 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

Deadlift: 75 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

 

The overhead barbell press is still kicking my ass, and I can hear this crunching noise in both my shoulders as I bring it all the way down. :-/

 

Tonight I head off to Sand & Steel for a one-on-one with a personal trainer, a frank conversation about my goals, and a tour of their facility.

[Vaereyes]

My tour of Sand & Steel was... *shrug* I didn't get a trial session in, mostly it was informational. They quoted me $800 for 10 sessions to be used over 3 months, but I wasn't too keen on the idea. Tonight I'm going to a different gym to talk to a personal training.

 

September 29 Workout:

Stationary rowing: 30:05, 5, 299 m

 

September 30 Workout:

Stationary rowing: 10 minutes, ? m

Barbell front squats: 75 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

Overhead barbell press: 25 lbs, 10 reps; 35 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps

Deadlift: 75 lbs, 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps

 

October 2 Workout:

Stationary rowing: 30:05, 5,644 m (!)

 

I was 400 meters short of my 5,000 in 25 goal, but it's a pretty good place to be. I'd like to hit that goal before the month is out.

 

Rowing during work hours works nicely for me, because it breaks up the monotony of the day. I also get a change of scenery, and get in some cardio. Tomorrow I will have to park my car about a 20 minute walk away, but that's even more cardio. Whee!

[Vaereyes]

Short workout:

I had to park further away from my building, so I took advantage of it and worked cardio into the equation. This means a 20 minutes walk to work, 1.1 mile each way, so I've gotten cardio in two days in a row. One intense (rowing) and one leisurely (walking). I'm not sure it's feasible every single day, and I also worry about its sustainability if/when I transition jobs. :-/ For now though, I'll focus on the excellent benefit that it provides me.

 

Last night I spent the evening doing laundry, prepping ingredients for supper today (crockpot vegetarian split pea soup) and cleaning. Then I goofed off on my phone for a great while, chatted with my friend and overall enjoyed myself. Tonight is soup, s'mores and alcohol around our fire pit with a friend who needs some quality time. I'm excited to see her. She's... one of my quirkier friends, and I like her for it. Although pop culture references don't fly because she's not a movie or t.v. show human...

[Vaereyes]

My stationary rowing goal is to hit 5,000 m in 25 flat. I'm working on it, but my partner thinks I need to sprint to the finish line.

 

Today's workout: 5,586 m in 30:06.

 

I managed to hit 500 m in 3 minutes, and 1000 in 6. So I need to shave a minute off my time for 500/1000, and do the same for 5,000 m.

 

Working out at work has been a good thing for me, but I haven't hit the Strongman gym yet this week. Somewhat frustrating. :-/

[Vaereyes]

My cardio today was cut short because I left my athletic socks in the car, and ended up rubbing skin off my feet by rowing sans socks. I decided to switch it up and do interval sprint rowing going hard AF (between 34-39 strokes) for 30 seconds, then slow down massively (23-25 strokes) for a minute. I did pretty well before losing flesh became too much trouble for me.

 

Today's workout: 3,606 m in 20:05.

 

Doing sprint interval rowing was a really good way to actually push myself, and kick my own ass. I'm smoked today, in part because it's a long day and in part because I went way, WAY harder than I normally do.

 

Next time I'm bringing socks.

[Vaereyes]

Cardio

Ankle socks + tanker boots = shit foot wear for 1.3 mile walk. Cardio accomplished for today.

 

Injuries

Blisters on my heels from last week, blisters developing on my ankles from today, and a knot in my left calf are causing pain. I rolled out my calves out yesterday, but I've still got muscle tightness. •sigh•

[Vaereyes]

Today's cardio:

 

Stationary bike: 18:00, 3.44 miles

Stationary rowing: 15:06, 2,659 meters

 

One troubling thing that I've noticed recently is that I get shortness of breath from walking. It's happened two or three times in the past week. I'm concerned because it's never happened before.

[Vaereyes]

This morning I participated in diagnostic testing for my work, which offers a health savings account credit. (Yay for good companies that want to collect information on employees but understand the concept of incentives!) When I weighed in on the digital scale, I was 167.6 lbs! This is a wonderful thing for me because I'm down 2 lbs from my last weigh in with my nutritionist at our September 29th check-in meeting. I told her I wanted to focus less on food, and more on exercise, which is definitely a thing I've done pretty well. My eating habits aren't bad since I made small changes. My rowing is starting to show in my physique, and in my weight. I'm pleased.

[Vaereyes]

I've been gone for the better part of a month and a half.

 

You: Vaereyes, what happened?!

 

Me: *cracks knuckles* I broke up with my girlfriend, and went into a really intense mourning/depression spiral for a month. Shortly after I broke up with my girlfriend, I had a terrible visit to my paternal grandfather where I was made to feel unsafe around someone I've known almost my whole life. As a result, I haven't spoken to him in the better part of a month. I won't be visiting him by myself ever again. When I did get over my grief, I got a nasty cold.

 

I finally got back on track a couple days ago. The cough still lingers, but I've registered my first cardio session for December. Success!

 

Cardio: Stationary bike, 30 minutes, 6.92 miles

[Vaereyes]

12/5 Workout:

 

Rowing: 5,516 m, 30 minutes, 350 calories burned

 

Excitement:

 

I found a Strongman trainer! I'm excited about it. I start next Saturday, and it's actually really affordable. ($200 for 4 hour long sessions a month plus programming). The trainer has current competitors, past competition winners, and he himself competes. I'm pleased.

[Vaereyes]

Holy Hera it's Christmas Eve! For those of you that celebrate, merry Christmas. For pagans, happy belated solstice. For atheists- I hope you got your laundry done.

 

My first strongman coaching session was last week. He sent me my training plan on Monday night, and I started working out on Tuesday and Thursday. My current exercises are:

 

Primary exercises:

 

Tuesday:

• Squats (5 sets of 5)
  • Set 1 & 2: air squats to low bench focusing on form for 8 reps
  • Set 3: 45# bar x 5
  • Set 4 & 5: 50# x 5
• Bench press
  • Set 1 & 2: 15-20# dumbbells for 8 reps each
  • Set 3 & 4: 45# bar x 5
  • Set 5: 50# x 5

Thursday:

• Overhead press (5 sets of 5)
  • Set 1: 15# DB x 8 reps
  • Set 2: 25# bar x 5 reps
  • Set 3 & 4: 30# x 5 reps
  • Set 5: 35# x 5 reps
• Deadlift (5 sets of 5)
  • Set 1: 95# x 5
  • Set 2 & 3: 105# x 5

 

Conditioning work:

• Prowler (sled) push: sprint for 10-15 seconds, rest for remainder of 2 minutes. Repeat 6 times.
• Medicine ball throw: Squat and lift medicine ball focusing on form, toss into air and walk repeating 6 times

Accessory work:

• Seated cable rows: 3 sets of 10
• Good mornings: 3 sets of 10

 

Good mornings are proving difficult to do, no matter how many times I watch my form.

[Vaereyes]

It's been a hot second since I put anything up here. Over the past month I've gone through family holidays, a break up with a long term long distance partner, and grueling work hours. As a result, my workouts have been a bit of a yo-yo. My goal is to get in two strength training sessions during the week, and a coaching session on the weekend. I also want to get back to rowing two times a week during work. This will be the first time I'm able to get back to the gym during the work week in the past two weeks. Excitement abounds!