Osu

[Kishi]

On ‎12‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 12:12 PM, Urgan said:

 

 

*

 

 

Despite all rumor to the contrary.

 

Okay, so, long and short of it:

• Training has continued to happen. Session volumes have begun to stall out, but the overall volume of this cycle appears to be higher across all lifts and movements. Except deadlifts, maybe; too soon to tell. Not much dojo time on account of holidays and people, but I've thrown some low-impact finishers on to make up and those have been fun. Figured they were warranted because...
• Diet's gone to crap on account of the holidays, but at least it's quantitative versus qualitative. More energy = more training.
• Writing's continued to happen.
• Sleep has remained largely consistent with general down times as opposed to shooting into 2 and 3 AM.

And, I mean, that's pretty much it. The girl that I had an on-again-off-again-barely-managed crush on soft-outed herself as an Ace, which means she's off-limits entirely now. That was deeply frustrating to me - not because of her, but because of me putting so much energy into something that had so little worth, not to mention being ashamed of myself in terms of being That Guy to a small extent. Something in me was tired and angry afterward, but it hasn't lasted. Thankful for that.

 

Trying to figure out an Epic Goal for next year. Not sure if it would be to be able to live on my own for a year or what. I don't think it's that epic, but maybe it would be. IDK. Or maybe it should be to continue working on the writing, although now that I've figured out that Lunch Is A Time For Words, that just feels easy. Part of me is tempted toward the vanity goal of getting well and truly lean, but again that seems so much like a process that I'm not sure I'm worried about it.

 

So, I dunno. But I'm still here! And that definitely counts for something.

[Mistr]

3 hours ago, Kishi said:

Trying to figure out an Epic Goal for next year. Not sure if it would be to be able to live on my own for a year or what. I don't think it's that epic, but maybe it would be. IDK. Or maybe it should be to continue working on the writing, although now that I've figured out that Lunch Is A Time For Words, that just feels easy. Part of me is tempted toward the vanity goal of getting well and truly lean, but again that seems so much like a process that I'm not sure I'm worried about it.

 

So, I dunno. But I'm still here! And that definitely counts for something.

 

Living on your own is a totally different beast from living with roommates. You get to figure out what you like. And you learn just how much mess you generate in daily living. No one else to blame, aside from entropy putting dust on everything. It will let you sort out how you spend all your time. Exercise, writing, sleep, cooking, socializing, you name it.

 

I'm tremendously glad that you are still here and still cheering us on. That counts for a LOT.

 

Happy New Year!

[Kishi]

1 hour ago, Mistr said:

 

Living on your own is a totally different beast from living with roommates. You get to figure out what you like. And you learn just how much mess you generate in daily living. No one else to blame, aside from entropy putting dust on everything. It will let you sort out how you spend all your time. Exercise, writing, sleep, cooking, socializing, you name it.

 

I'm tremendously glad that you are still here and still cheering us on. That counts for a LOT.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Good point! And keeping the place clean, hm. That will be a challenge. Shoot, keeping a space I'd want to live in might just be troublesome enough.

 

Anyway. Happy to be here and cheer you on. Y'all make it easy.

 

Happy New Year!

[Urgan]

1 hour ago, Mistr said:

 

Living on your own is a totally different beast from living with roommates. You get to figure out what you like. And you learn just how much mess you generate in daily living. No one else to blame, aside from entropy putting dust on everything. It will let you sort out how you spend all your time. Exercise, writing, sleep, cooking, socializing, you name it.

 

I'm tremendously glad that you are still here and still cheering us on. That counts for a LOT.

 

Happy New Year!

 

4 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

Good point! And keeping the place clean, hm. That will be a challenge. Shoot, keeping a space I'd want to live in might just be troublesome enough.

 

Anyway. Happy to be here and cheer you on. Y'all make it easy.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Here to echo that it's a big, BIG deal to feel comfortable living independently of helpful or harmful cohabitants. Logistically and emotionally. Securing the living space is only the beginning. 

[Kishi]

On ‎12‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 2:32 PM, Urgan said:

 

 

Here to echo that it's a big, BIG deal to feel comfortable living independently of helpful or harmful cohabitants. Logistically and emotionally. Securing the living space is only the beginning. 

 

I mean, I figure it'll be more logistical than emotional. While I've enjoyed living with people in the past, it's never been a situation where I can say that they 'got' me. They only ever tended to get in my way or else make demands on my time. That was part of the reason I wanted to move in with my brother - because despite his hang ups, he understood the training. OTOH, though, if I need help with the rent or anything like that, I'm pretty much on my own.

 

*

 

Hoookay. Let's go ahead and catch this up.

 

Friday, I skipped out of Kali as my folks made the infuriatingly reasonable request that I have my stuff cleaned up by Saturday. I told myself I would, but then wound up watching Hogfather and missed out. I regret nothing.

 

Saturday, I finished the clean up and was pleased that beyond my clothes and workout gear, everything I had fit into a couple of small boxes. I still need to figure out what I'm going to do about the bunch of stuff that I have in storage which I never got to, but the good news is that the apartment I'm slated to see next has a lot of room. If the apartment winds up being a good match for me, I could probably just keep all of it there with me; at which point, the epic quest would be to divest myself of as much of that stuff as suited me to. After all. Boxes are messy.

 

Cleaning up didn't leave me a lot of time for training, but I did manage to squeeze in some practice for HSPUs, including a set of double-leg raises at the end which I thought was pretty kickin' sweet. The reason I didn't get a lot of time for training is that I was invited out to a dress-up party to celebrate New Year's Eve Eve. It was nice. I apparently clean up pretty well, if the ladies are to be believed. :'D

 

Oh, and I measured myself and I'm sitting at about 17.6% according to measurement. But that's not surprising. This was during the holidays when I was eating all the food; you can't out-train your fork and all that. I was actually pretty impressed; I would have thought I'd be higher than that. Now that the holidays are back down and I've switched back to maintenance, this should actually be interesting data to see once and for all if 150g of carbs per day are truly maintenance or not. Reason being that even eating that much, my overall caloric intake is reduced from holiday levels.

 

Sunday, I went and lifted heavy things. Assisted dip stations were all taken, so I switched over to doing regular dips and was able to put up 20 total as well as some scap dips for shoulder stability. Deadlift tonnage was 10,825. Tracking this against last cycle, this means that my overall volume in fact is higher from cycle to cycle, even if my body doesn't necessarily give me that kind of performance on a strictly linear basis. Finished it with some planks, a set of chest work, and some time on the versaclimber, since the cold snap has me paranoid about my lungs and doing things outside.

 

After that, I came home in time for, of all things, a D&D game with the folks. My brother was the DM. And I gotta give him credit - he's really, really good at this. He enjoys a particularly cinematic style of storytelling, and so he's one of those DMs who will play scene music and give different voices and things like that. I was genuinely impressed. His one weakness, which may be a quirk rather than a genuine problem, is that he homebrewed his setting and he really wants to show it off but in this game gave us a problem with a sense of urgency, and while he really wants us to explore his world so he can show off, the game atmosphere didn't quite lend itself to any kind of thing like that. I think I can see now why so many adventures start off so slow - they get you used to the idea that there's a percentage in exploring and seeing this world. Brother prefers the Big Damn Hero moments, and that's awesome and I had a blast playing, but building his game around those first and most doesn't lend itself to stopping to smell the roses.

 

But the folks had fun! Dad played a ranger, mom played a bard. That was a deeper end than would probably have been good, but they understood what was going on and brother was really good at holding their hands through the whole thing. Like I said. I was really impressed. Apparently so were they, because now we have a standing game every month going forward as a way to catch everyone up and keep close.

 

Monday was a restful day. DM for that game had a real life thing come up at the last second, which I was kind of glad for as I was kind of burnt out on people.

 

Tuesday, I decided to play with bells inside. The gym has a 30 and a 20 pound kettlebell, and by swinging both of those I was able to get in a decent practice. Played with bottoms-up TGUs with the 20, which was fine. Couldn't quite keep the grip, but it was fine. Karate afterward went well also - lots of focus on movement and getting to angles. Waifu wasn't there, so it was just K-sensei and I like in the old days. Good practice.

 

And today... whoof, kind of took me by surprise. Throughout this entire time, I've been practicing a single set of five inverted leg raises in the mornings. I went to practice this morning, though, and something in my right glute just wasn't having it. I woke up without pain and by the time I was done it felt like I'd pulled something in there. The good news is that I don't think it's structural. It doesn't feel like it's a bone thing or like something in my back. It's really localized into the right flank, which means muscle, which means rehab. I've been working the Trifecta stretches today, and they haven't made it worse, which is exciting and excellent news. The bad news is, however, that even with the rehab and gentle movement, I'm still really stiff there, and any kind of forward flexion on my part is painful right now. Judo's out tonight, which pisses me off, but then it might be off anyway because we're forecasted to get a dusting of snow, which is the first sign of Ragnafrost in these parts.

 

So. Color me annoyed. But this is... instructional. Truth is, I've been dealing with some chronic pain in that region for a while now, but I'd not made the link that the practice I was doing was aggravating it. Now that I know, I can adjust myself moving forward. I guess that means that that particular protocol is a poor fit for me. But now that means that, while I heal, I need to figure out if I want to keep struggling with GB's progressions or if it's time to try something else.

 

On the bright side, though, it could've happened at a worse time. I'm about to hit a deload period on my other training, so rest and recovery are going to be emphasized for a while. Hopefully some naproxen and quality time on the foam roller should get this managed without too much fuss.

[Urgan]

13 minutes ago, Kishi said:

I mean, I figure it'll be more logistical than emotional. While I've enjoyed living with people in the past, it's never been a situation where I can say that they 'got' me. They only ever tended to get in my way or else make demands on my time. That was part of the reason I wanted to move in with my brother - because despite his hang ups, he understood the training. OTOH, though, if I need help with the rent or anything like that, I'm pretty much on my own.

 

It's one thing to say that inside your parents' place. It's quite another for the first few nights alone in a new space with the lights off.

 

12 minutes ago, Kishi said:

His one weakness, which may be a quirk rather than a genuine problem, is that he homebrewed his setting and he really wants to show it off but in this game gave us a problem with a sense of urgency, and while he really wants us to explore his world so he can show off, the game atmosphere didn't quite lend itself to any kind of thing like that.

 

So basically he made FFXIII-3. It happens, right? EVERY PACING EVER AT THE SAME TIME.

[karinajean]

I love that you now have family D&D night! that's really awesome, and also sweet.

[Treva]

your family D&D night makes me smile.  What a fun and cool way to keep the family close even though you are MOVING TO A PLACE OF YOUR OWN????

 

Congrats dude!  That's awesome!!

On 1/3/2018 at 3:00 PM, Kishi said:

Waifu wasn't there, so it was just K-sensei and I like in the old days. Good practice.

Sounds pretty good to me.

 

On 1/3/2018 at 3:00 PM, Kishi said:

Judo's out tonight, which pisses me off, but then it might be off anyway because we're forecasted to get a dusting of snow, which is the first sign of Ragnafrost in these parts.

"Ragnafrost" is amazing and I wish to borrow it with appropriate citations.

 

On 1/3/2018 at 3:00 PM, Kishi said:

The good news is that I don't think it's structural. It doesn't feel like it's a bone thing or like something in my back. It's really localized into the right flank, which means muscle, which means rehab. I've been working the Trifecta stretches today, and they haven't made it worse, which is exciting and excellent news. The bad news is, however, that even with the rehab and gentle movement, I'm still really stiff there, and any kind of forward flexion on my part is painful right now. Judo's out tonight, which pisses me off, but then it might be off anyway because we're forecasted to get a dusting of snow, which is the first sign of Ragnafrost in these parts.

 

So. Color me annoyed. But this is... instructional. Truth is, I've been dealing with some chronic pain in that region for a while now, but I'd not made the link that the practice I was doing was aggravating it. Now that I know, I can adjust myself moving forward. I guess that means that that particular protocol is a poor fit for me. But now that means that, while I heal, I need to figure out if I want to keep struggling with GB's progressions or if it's time to try something else.

 

On the bright side, though, it could've happened at a worse time. I'm about to hit a deload period on my other training, so rest and recovery are going to be emphasized for a while. Hopefully some naproxen and quality time on the foam roller should get this managed without too much fuss.

I'm sorry to hear that you've done a thing to your back.  But you found the cause of the chronic pain, which is A+++ in my book, because now you can address it.  Sounds like naproxen is good for what ails ye.  At least it came at a convenient time in your workout model so you don't have to completely overhaul your training plan, but I totally hear that frustration.  But things aren't making it worse!  You can still sort of move forward with your life!  Us mortals get to watch as you overcome obstacles with herculean grace!  Will it be the hydra next?? Will we totally stay within the appropriate mythos and see if you defeat Fenrir all by yourself?  We are waiting with baited breath over here.  

[Kishi]

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 3:14 PM, Urgan said:

So basically he made FFXIII-3. It happens, right? EVERY PACING EVER AT THE SAME TIME.

 

Yeah pretty much.

 

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 10:08 AM, karinajean said:

I love that you now have family D&D night! that's really awesome, and also sweet.

 

Yeah! I didn't know what I was expecting going into this, but it was good. I was glad.

 

15 hours ago, Treva said:

your family D&D night makes me smile.  What a fun and cool way to keep the family close even though you are MOVING TO A PLACE OF YOUR OWN????

 

Congrats dude!  That's awesome!!

 

 

Off to see the place today. If I like it, we'll see about taking the next steps to get in there, but even if I don't go to this place, I'm still OMW. \o/

 

15 hours ago, Treva said:

"Ragnafrost" is amazing and I wish to borrow it with appropriate citations.

 

Go right ahead! I borrowed it from a friend of mine, so, I guess you can say this is a hallowed idea from ages past? It works especially well if you yell "Repent, ye sinners! Ragnafrost is upon us!"

 

It's appropriate, though when you consider that this

 

 

was shot in my town the last time this happened. I dunno if you ever saw the memes that came of this or if it was just a local thing, but, yeah. Snowpocalypse is totally a thing down here.

 

16 hours ago, Treva said:

I'm sorry to hear that you've done a thing to your back.  But you found the cause of the chronic pain, which is A+++ in my book, because now you can address it.  Sounds like naproxen is good for what ails ye.  At least it came at a convenient time in your workout model so you don't have to completely overhaul your training plan, but I totally hear that frustration.  But things aren't making it worse!  You can still sort of move forward with your life!  Us mortals get to watch as you overcome obstacles with herculean grace!  Will it be the hydra next?? Will we totally stay within the appropriate mythos and see if you defeat Fenrir all by yourself?  We are waiting with baited breath over here.

 

Yup! Things are not worse. And it did happen at a good time. Now I just have to take the next steps and work on healing up.

 

*

 

So, Thursday, the roads had turned to ice and I couldn't leave for work. Oh darn.

 

Right flank was not happy with me yesterday. I dunno what in the world happened, if maybe the stretches I was doing before weren't the right medicine for this movement. But yeah, spent most of yesterday being stiff and sore. At a point in the evening, I did get up to do some stretching and some bodyweight work, which I seemed to tolerate well, and I was also able to engage in some rehab which I've done in the past when this has flared up. But yeah, no karate last night.

 

Woke up this morning, and while I'm still sore, I'm not as sore as I was. I switched up some of my Trifecta stretches for lighter, less strenuous alternatives, and so far today I'm feeling better. I seem to have regained some forward flexion, which is good, and I'm not all that sore when I get up to go walk somewhere.

 

A friend invited me out to food truck and beer tonight. Think I'll take her up on it. Because of that, I measured myself a day early and I'm sitting almost smack dab at where I was a week ago, after having put myself on "Effortless Maintenance" macros. Fascinating. Too soon to tell if that'll last, but fascinating nevertheless.

 

Also, off to see the apartment today. Was surprised to find that it was a place I'd dropped people off at before back in my Uber/Lyft days. So. This should be interesting.

[Kishi]

Weekends~

 

Friday was a lot of fun. Didn't partake in the food truck, but managed to get some microbrew and hang out with some ladyfriends. That was pretty great. Just hanging out with people, without any sense of expectation or purpose. It was a good. We also played with a baby. (don't worry, it wasn't one of ours). (alternately, do).

 

Saturday I was mostly better. I was invited out to film and food with another friend which turned out to be multiple friends, but that's what happens and I don't hang with them enough. So, since I didn't get a lot of time to practice, I just focused on handstands and what I had. I ran through wrist prep stuff and popped myself into tripod a few times, which was easy and felt like a good stretch.

 

Saturday's film was Coco, aka Pixar's first Disney Musical, although they being Pixar, they did it in their own unique way that made it feel less like a musical and more like a story that happened to have a lot of music in it. Probably the happiest film about death and dying that I've ever seen, and certainly different for being a Western film exploring some decidedly non-Western ideas about what death really is and how it works. I liked it enough to go looking for fanfiction afterward (although I respected myself enough to stop reading when I saw that most of it is bad). But yeah, really good. Go see it.

 

Sunday, I got that restive feeling which means that the deload is doing its work. I hit the gym and managed 8 reps of dips and 15 reps of deadlift at 180 lbs, plus the warmups. I'm pleased to report that my volume cycle to cycle has increased substantially from ~33000 lbs to ~37000 lbs. I guess that means it's working.

 

On reflection, the only place that seems to not be working now is pull ups. I am getting high volume on warm ups leading to it, but when it comes to actual reps I'm only consistently managing 3-4. There's a lot of different ways to address this, but I'm not really sure which one would work best right now. I'm kind of leaning toward doing some kind of static hold up top, but I'm concerned about my left elbow, which has been doing okay but still has some lingering pain which I'm working to treat and correct. Another option might be to do chin ups, but they're not that much easier and I still don't know if I'd get the volume I'm looking for. Another might be to do scap pull ups and focus on tightening myself down at the bottom, but I'm already doing those at the end as I kind of therapeutic superset thing which is feeling good at this present dose and seems to be useful.

 

I've got a few days to figure it out; I'm sure I'll have it before long.

 

Anyway, hit the Versaclimber for finisher since it's still super-cold and I didn't want my asthma to flare up. Core after. And today, I feel good. Flank is back under control. I've begun practicing those progressions again, but this time focusing on slower cadence and keeping everything tight and controlled. Body seems to like that so far.

 

And, yeah. Onward we go.

[Mistr]

I love your description of your family D&D night. Your parents are awesome.

 

Nice that you have only a few boxes of stuff. I think you are going to discover things living on your own. Not just the stuff from your storage locker.  

 

I hope you find a good place to live. You deserve to have a nice space of your own after all the work you've put in helping your family and friends.

[Kishi]

18 hours ago, Mistr said:

 

I hope you find a good place to live. You deserve to have a nice space of your own after all the work you've put in helping your family and friends.

 

Well, I think I did. Ceilings are a little low, but it's got a bathroom, a bedroom, laundry, and storage space, and it's a couple of blocks from a good grocery store. There's good eating around there too, and it's only 15-20 minutes away from work. The ceilings are higher in the storage space, and I might just be able to do my S&S there at the place versus having to keep the weights with me at all times.

 

*

 

Monday was a restful day. Lots of stretching and such. Played Harnmaster with friends. Thought it would be a good idea to get a jump on batch cooking when I got home. That was not a good idea. Wound up shorting on sleep.

 

One of the things I like about this apartment that I've applied for is that the bedroom is a windowless cave. I like that. Given how picky my body is about sleep, it'll be good to hide in the dark.

 

Anyway, woke up this morning with flank feeling twingy, so just popped a tripod and kept the work light. Tonight should be S&S and Karate. I'm kind of playing with the idea in my head of doing S&S after things too, given that I've got classes that end early and that I've got the time. Given that judo and kali end at 20:00, that leaves an hour for me to go do my stuff, and I'd kind of like to get the dosage back up to a level that I know is effective. Long as my elbow will let me.

[Kishi]

Tuesday wound up being an adapt-improvise-overcome kind of day. This being January, we're quite in the middle of the holiday gym rush. You can barely notice it in the gym I go to as it's pretty packed by the time I get there. But it's present. The few parking spots that are available during the rest of the year when I get there are not available now. I wound up having to park a lot further away than I normally do, and I found the idea of having to carry all that weight as far as I'd have to across a busy parking lot to be a rather daunting task.

 

So, I wound up not carting them with me. Instead, I decided to run push ups that night instead. And, following Wade's advice, I decided to do a quick workout for once instead of the usual long and slow. I warmed up with a round of wall push ups and incline push ups, and then decided to test my single-set max, and was pleased to see a jump from 17 last time to 23 this time. Got here with only one day's training per week and with high reps on low-difficulty movements. That was fun to find out.

 

Spent the rest of my gym time foam rolling before going to dojo. And that training went well as well. Spent a lot of time working on movement, which sadly highlighted that I move heavily on my feet. Need to work on that. May need to start incorporating the skipping rope into my training again, although I'd want to do so in such a way that I don't get hurt or something. But I was able to incorporate the lessons into sparring, and that's always a good night.

 

Unfortunately, got shorted on sleep again. When I went to grab dinner, the folks at the Chipotle wanted to chat me up as I was a regular, and then I had to go pick up food from the grocery store for today, and then when I got home most of the stuff had been put away so the landlord of the townhome could take photos to sell the place, and one thing led to another.

 

I tell you, miss one day in the week and the cycle turns vicious AF. But one thing went right: I took some advice and stretched myself out before going to sleep, specifically my flank and my left elbow, and when I woke up this morning I felt really, really good. Since I can't seem to get enough sleep, I have to work to make the sleep I get as good as possible. I felt good enough to do my HSPU prep again, and that went without incident.

 

Anyway. I want to judo tonight, so I'mma judo tonight. I'm gonna see about hitting S&S afterward too, since class should be letting out at 20:00 and the gym parking lot should be emptier. Should make things easier all around, just in terms of logistics and things like that. Unless I get too banged up in judo. We'll see.

[Urgan]

One of the virtues of going to the gym at 6AM sharp-ish is the Resolutioners here rarely seem to make their 2-4 week foray at fitness in the stupid early morning time.

[Kishi]

21 hours ago, Urgan said:

One of the virtues of going to the gym at 6AM sharp-ish is the Resolutioners here rarely seem to make their 2-4 week foray at fitness in the stupid early morning time.

 

I agree! If I could just get the other people in my life to let me sleep early in a cool, dark place, that would be feasible. But everyone wants me to be out late, and when I come back the heat's on despite the warm break, and I'm a paranoid sleeper who fears missing the alarm so when that first bit of pre-dawn gray hits my window, I bounce back into consciousness with memories of my latest FB argument and some truly awesome J-Rock to keep me company.

 

Point is, I'm not in a situation that facilitates morning person-hood.

 

*

 

Judo'd! It was great! I have a long way to go on the throws that I have, but I have a direction to develop in now. J-Sensei was in a mood to train for shiai, so we went over the rules and about how now we have to perform some manner of engagement at least once every five seconds. He's of the opinion that good judo should have engagement every second, and to that end he said that you should default to a throw in at least four different directions. If you can throw in four different directions, your judo works; if you can't, you got work to do.

 

So, yeah, I got work to do. But honestly, it doesn't bug me that much. Actually, I kind of feel like it gives me some direction to train in, or at least a new way to think going forward.

 

S&S afterward was a smart play. The crowds were gone, the close parking spots were open, and the weather was nice and cool. Mind, we're in the midst of an unseasonable warm break around here, so when the weather shifts again I don't know if it's still going to be nice. But it shouldn't be bad. S&S is all about anti-glycolytic training, meaning I shouldn't be out of breath and taxing the lungs as a matter of course. So... maybe things will be okay.

 

Gotta be careful about lifting heavy things after 1.5 hours of wrassling dudes, though. But still. It's a way to get my dosage back up again, and I'm pretty stoked about that. It didn't even interfere with my sleep or my ability to get dinner after.

 

Skipping out on Karate tonight to go watch a friend of mine do improv. There will be ladyfriends there, so I stayed up trimming and shaving to look at least a little presentable because even if I'm not dating and even if they don't want to date me, I'm still vain enough to want to look good better than I normally do.

 

Oh, exciting news! I ordered a pair of office shoes from a company called Softstar, which specializes in no-raise, flexible-soled shoes. They've been featured on the site before. I got them last night and have worn them today to the office. They are super-comfy compared to the office shoes I was wearing, and I feel loads better about life already.

[Urgan]

15 minutes ago, Kishi said:

I agree! If I could just get the other people in my life to let me sleep early in a cool, dark place, that would be feasible. But everyone wants me to be out late, and when I come back the heat's on despite the warm break, and I'm a paranoid sleeper who fears missing the alarm so when that first bit of pre-dawn gray hits my window, I bounce back into consciousness with memories of my latest FB argument and some truly awesome J-Rock to keep me company.

 

Point is, I'm not in a situation that facilitates morning person-hood.

 

I hear somebody's getting their own space, so....options are coming soon??

 

16 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Judo'd! It was great! I have a long way to go on the throws that I have, but I have a direction to develop in now. J-Sensei was in a mood to train for shiai, so we went over the rules and about how now we have to perform some manner of engagement at least once every five seconds. He's of the opinion that good judo should have engagement every second, and to that end he said that you should default to a throw in at least four different directions. If you can throw in four different directions, your judo works; if you can't, you got work to do.

 

So, yeah, I got work to do. But honestly, it doesn't bug me that much. Actually, I kind of feel like it gives me some direction to train in, or at least a new way to think going forward.

 

It's what you're there for, right? New horizons and greater challenges.

[Kishi]

16 minutes ago, Urgan said:

I hear somebody's getting their own space, so....options are coming soon??

 

Of some stripe or other.  Like I said, if my application is accepted, I'll get to live in a cave. The bedroom space is a windowless room; best possible outcome as far as sleep goes.

 

And if that doesn't work out, well. I'll just figure something else out.

 

19 minutes ago, Urgan said:

It's what you're there for, right? New horizons and greater challenges.

 

Yup! At one point, after having identified this gap, J-sensei was lecturing. I looked down in a moment of pensiveness, and he thought that I was in low spirits since he said, "Hey! You see the color of your belt? You're supposed to have this problem right now." Which knocked me out of being pensive but also definitely helped in terms of framing things and keeping perspective. So.

[Urgan]

9 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Yup! At one point, after having identified this gap, J-sensei was lecturing. I looked down in a moment of pensiveness, and he thought that I was in low spirits since he said, "Hey! You see the color of your belt? You're supposed to have this problem right now." Which knocked me out of being pensive but also definitely helped in terms of framing things and keeping perspective. So.

 

I know you aren't doing BJJ, but honestly the two arts are like cousins, right??

 

[Kishi]

39 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

I know you aren't doing BJJ, but honestly the two arts are like cousins, right??

 

 

Very much so! In fact, old school Judo, prior to international competition, used a lot of movements that have a very BJJ-like flavor. And a lot of BJJka come to roll with us at our dojo. We both do groundwork, but the different rulesets mean we have different approaches to getting to position and which positions are any good. As a result, there's a lot of cross-pollination in styles, and I take the picture at its value.

[Mistr]

The new apartment sounds great. I hope they approve your application. You have a full-time job and a clean slate, both of which landlords love. They'd be fools to turn you down.

 

Yay for making progress in judo and pushups! I like your examples of being flexible in what you do at the gym when it gets busy.

 

Hearing your accounts makes me appreciate my company's support of employee wellness. The January rush in our exercise room means two people using it at the same time.  

Most of that is due to being away from the main buildings. There were a lot more people than usual in the really nice fitness center where I do weapons training on Monday at 7:00am.

[Kishi]

21 hours ago, Mistr said:

Yay for making progress in judo and pushups! I like your examples of being flexible in what you do at the gym when it gets busy.

 

Thanks! Semper Gumby and all that.

 

21 hours ago, Mistr said:

Hearing your accounts makes me appreciate my company's support of employee wellness. The January rush in our exercise room means two people using it at the same time.  

 

 

Well, it's not as bad as I make it sound (it's that writerly penchant for drama, don't you know). The gym itself actually has a lot of space yet because it's a pretty popular spot throughout most of the year anyway. I still have access to the power racks and the dip stations, and there's no shortage of equipment at this point. And even when things are at their normal level I'm usually parked pretty far away. It's just that with January Rush, I'm parked in some other business' parking.

 

21 hours ago, Mistr said:

The new apartment sounds great. I hope they approve your application. You have a full-time job and a clean slate, both of which landlords love. They'd be fools to turn you down.

 

So about that.

 

*

 

Update on the apartment front: application went through without difficulty, but the landlord had a prior applicant get through first who decided to take the apartment, so it's a no-go.

 

I'm not really sad or angry about it, but it's annoying to have considered a problem solved only to find that it wasn't. Fortunately, however, the landlord told me that he has another apartment opening up that he hasn't put out for rent yet. He and I are working to schedule a time to see it; hopefully it fits my needs and sits within my price range. I would like to think that he's not stupid enough to try to sell me something that's dramatically more expensive than the initial offer. If he is, well, I'll just have to walk, and I'll be back to square one.

 

So. Yup. That's that right now.

 

Anyway, went to the gym and practiced violence on the iron.

 

Front Squat:

3x45

6x5x75

4x4x75

8x3x75

6x2x75

4x1x75

Vol=6,585 lbs.

 

High Rows x15

Low Rows x12

Scap Pull Ups x12

Chin Flex Hangs: 3x10s

 

PT: Assisted Flex Dips x20

 

Hollow Body Squat Thrusts: 60 in 5 minutes

 

Flat Knee Raises: 3x12,12,15

 

It reads like a lot of activity, because it is a lot of activity, but it didn't take long. Big good news is that my elbow didn't freak about the flex hangs, even though I was on the bar and not on the rings. The PT is probably going to be a thing going forward as well, when I can squeeze it in and manage it, since that's just something I'm doing to balance and maintain my body and I need to own that rather than waiting for things to go wrong.

 

I wouldn't have tacked on a finisher, but as I said, I skipped out on Karate to go take in some improv for/with a friend who was performing that night.

 

Speaking of, they did a pretty good job! Not good enough for me to make a Thursday thing of it - I have a commitment, after all - but good enough for an odd indulgence. Went out dinner with them afterward to celebrate the friend's birthday as well as to hang with them in a social setting, but that led to me getting shorted on sleep again. Surprise surprise.

 

Plan tonight is Kali and S&S. Speaking of, my last sparring bout with K-Sensei was video'd and I haven't watched it in depth yet but apparently I did some trapping under pressure. Which is weird. The only place I practice anything like that would be Kali. Which I guess means maybe it's coming out somehow despite the fact that we aren't directly pressure-testing it?

 

Mind you, that doesn't change my mind on my pedagogical preferences. Trapping still strikes me (har) as a niche technique that should only be pursued after a solid grounding in the basics, because 90% of what you throw under pressure is the basics. That being said, now that I have that grounding, it's interesting to allow other things to pepper into my game and to flavor it differently than it was before.

 

Unless, of course, it was just a fluke. I suppose we'll see.

[Kishi]

So! Kali happened, S&S didn't. We had a new guy in last night who moves really well and was not a shitbird. I liked him.

 

Manong basically went into his mindset about Kali, and essentially tried to tie it to lots of mathematics and numerology and such. Dude is crazy, but the basic gist is that you use a lot of circular work to protect your center. Which finally explains why it feels so alien - Karate's about straight lines; Kali is nothing but curves. Good Lord.

 

Anyway, we spent the night drilling and went long. S&S couldn't have happened anyway, though, since the night ended with a good hard rain which would have done things to the bells. I wouldn't have approved.

 

Weighed and measured myself today and I've dropped back down to 16.9% despite keeping my calories and CHO at maintenance. Nice.

 

Anyway, putting in OT at work today and then headed off to the gym to practice. My PT dude called out sick for tomorrow, so that'll be just extra bonus time tomorrow too. Groovy.

[Urgan]

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

Manong basically went into his mindset about Kali, and essentially tried to tie it to lots of mathematics and numerology and such. Dude is crazy, but the basic gist is that you use a lot of circular work to protect your center. Which finally explains why it feels so alien - Karate's about straight lines; Kali is nothing but curves. Good Lord.

 

Crossfit brought us muscle confusion. Martial arts 1upped with Kishi confusion.

[Kishi]

On 1/13/2018 at 3:44 PM, Urgan said:

 

Crossfit brought us muscle confusion. Martial arts 1upped with Kishi confusion.

 

As long as I don't hurt myself in my confusion it's all good.

 

*

 

Okay. When last we left our intrepid hero it was about a week ago.

 

Since then, things have crystallized as far as the apartment is concerned. I'm moving in next weekend and may even begin moving things in sooner if I can manage to get my hands on the keys. Although, have to admit, I'm kind of freaked out that I have so little to move. Pretty much everything that can be boxed has been boxed and it fit into a couple of small ones at that, like a cubic foot. I double-checked with my folks and they confirmed it - I just have to get some help getting my furniture moved and that's pretty much it. I seem to have people popping out of the woodwork, though, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

 

The week's been eventful. It was supposed to be a short week with MLK Jr Day, and then we had snow. Real accumulation, which is rare for us down here. I ended up losing a couple of day's work, but thanks to the paid OT over the prior weekend, I was able to get a huge jump on the week, and basically got everything I needed to get done for the week done in a single day. Because that's how I roll sometimes.

 

Of course, with the government shutdown, paid OT is no longer in the budget, and until the governing party (which has all the power and still somehow can't keep the lights on) gets its act together, there's no reason for me to get in there on the weekends except to have to make up time at some point. Which I reckon I'll have to. But not this weekend. Because I'm moving into a new apartment.

 

I'm pleased to report that I found a gym nearby to the new place that's cheap and has a couple heavy bags, and even tires and sledgehammers. This should be interesting; I'll want to ask Sensei about ways to bring those in.

 

Training, as you can imagine, has been a bit rocky. Since I left the bells in my car and had no way to get them into the garage (my mom's car being there) I haven't been able to swing bells or do TGUs. I feel like I don't know who I am. I ended up having to improvise some stuff on Thursday for squats and pull ups, switching in Skater/Shrimp Squats and warming up into chin hangs different. But nothing new about that. It felt good to get that stuff done.

 

Also, eating went off the rails this week. Being snowed in, I was plied with wine by the folks and I allowed that to be a trigger food for bad dietary decisions. I know better than that, but all the same, I've marked in my logs that I skipped out on the measurements this week. I don't really fast anymore as a rule, but it feels right to this time - I have that bloated, overfull feeling, and I think I might need a good 20+ hours to sort it out. Longer, maybe.

 

So... yeah. It feels like a lot's going on, but it's really not that much, and there's not much I can do about it until Saturday. So. Onward.

[Mistr]

Yay for getting the new apartment!

 

I hope the government BS does not mess up your life too much. Good that you were able to get in overtime last week.

 

The new gym sounds promising. Give yourself some slack as you uproot your life. I'm sure you will be back to your normal insane workout schedule by next week.