Newcomb's Battle Log

[Nuke_em_05]

Today's lifts:

Deadlift 5x5 @ 210lbs

Bench 5x5 @ 160lbs

Pull-Ups 5,5,5,4,4 w/ 40lbs assistance bands

[Nuke_em_05]

Had an off day yesterday; stress and lack of sleep (2yo had a nightmare, and other things on my mind). Missed morning run and PLP, going to have to check damage on nutrition. Crushed it this morning, however.

[Guzzi]

Looking good! Apart from the wee blip on Monday, but hey! Shit happens.

 

Are you going to do a "stats update" each Sunday or are you planning on doing monthly updates?

[Nuke_em_05]

Looking good! Apart from the wee blip on Monday, but hey! Shit happens.

 

Are you going to do a "stats update" each Sunday or are you planning on doing monthly updates?

 

Thanks!

 

I've typically been tracking on Sunday mornings, so I'll probably post here when I do.

 

This Sunday I'm out of town, so maybe Monday; but that's the plan.

[Nuke_em_05]

On a band trip to OR. Ate some fast food on the way, but ditched sodas and sides. Wife and I left the kids with grandma, so that's a little liberating. Got up early anyway to walk to a park, found a little trail along the river, then did some PLP with the monkey bars. Wife tagged along, which was great. No PLP for her, but she does like to walk around and take pictures.

[Nuke_em_05]

Today's lifts:

Squat 5x5 @ 190

Press 5x4, 4 @ 105

Row 5x5 @ 160

Getting this close to locking down Press at this weight. Probably next go.

Updated stats for yesterday:

Weight: 232lbs
Waist: 41.5"

Gonna call that a misfire on the scale... maybe. Had terrible nutrition this weekend, but I don't think I'd gain that much, especially with my waist staying the same. We'll see what next week looks like.

[Nuke_em_05]

Today's Lifts:

Deadlift 5x5 @ 215

Bench 5x5 @ 160

Pull-ups 5,5,5,4,4,4,4

 

Regressed a little on pull-ups. Didn't get enough sleep last night, and nutrition's been kinda crappy this week.

[Nuke_em_05]

Lifts from Saturday:

Squat 5x5 @ 195

Press 5,5,5,4,4 @ 105 (regressed a little, I'll blame nutrition and lack of sleep; so my own bad decisions)

Row 5x5 @160

 

Lifts from today (switching to MWF lifts, babies are unpredictable on Saturdays):

Deadlift 5x5 @ 220

Bench 5x5 @ 160

Pull-ups 5,5,5,4,3 w/ 40lbs bands (regressing; sleep/nutrition)

 

Stat update:

Weight: 226. Pretty sure last week's reading was off, I probably gained and lost a little, still net gain but a jump like that seemed off.

Waist: 41.5". Steady as she goes.

 

Just not eating good last week (birthday on the 30th; overdid some bad things).

 

I met with my Doc about my recent bloodwork, and he's took diabetes off my chart! My A1C last year was 5.2 (with meds), I went off meds after that, and I'm 5.1 this year. My fasting blood glucose was 88, so doc says no more problems there. He actually had to put a special note on the header, because many docs apparently don't believe diabetes can be "cured". I still gotta be smart about it, but yay! He was very impressed with my progress and my health plans. Suggested I see a personal trainer about my weight lifting to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid. I was thinking that would be good anyway. At least I'll probably get serious about those form check videos.

 

He still wants me to lose the final 30 lbs to get under 200lbs, and I agree. He's giving me phentermine (I tried that a couple years ago when I lost 50 lbs, worked pretty well), and something else to take before carb-heavy meals acarbose. Just a 3-month stretch on those to kick things in gear; not going to depend on meds chronically, but if it helps for a bit I'm game. Gotta get serious about portion control, though. Maybe that upcoming challenge...

[Nuke_em_05]

Today's lifts:

 

Squat 5x5 @ 200

Press 5,5,5,5,4 @ 105 (back to where I was... just gotta get that elusive last rep)

Row 5x5 @ 160

 

Having worked with this weight on the row for a while, I'm thinking I need to get my form checked...

 

Otherwise, doing pretty good nutrition-wise. Kicking up Protein on morning lift days, and getting serious about PLP in the evenings. Not sure if I should do PLP or some other light bodywork stuff Sat/Sun, or just truly have them "rest" in the morning and do the PLP at night.

[Nuke_em_05]

Got my acarbose yesterday, we'll see how it goes. My wife made pancakes with berries for dinner; so I took the acarbose, had a small berry pancake, and then one of my mini-quiche breakfast thingies.

 

Went for a run this morning, felt pretty good. App told me at 1min that I'd gone 2 miles already, and then another mile at 2min... so I just stopped the app at that point. Some days it tracks great, some days it is just dumb.

[Nuke_em_05]

Today's lifts:

Deadlift 5x5 @ 225lbs

Bench 5x5 @160lbs

Pull Ups 5,5,4,3,4 w/ 40lbs bands.

[Nuke_em_05]

Stat update from yesterday:

Weight: 220lbs

Waist: 41.5"

 

Lifting logs today:

Squat 5x5 @205

Press 4x5, 4 @105 - seem to have stalled out... just can't get that last rep.

Row 5x5 @160

[Nuke_em_05]

Taking it easy this week. Got really sore and tired on Monday, and really fatigued on Tuesday. Think I just need to catch up on sleep, and really work on getting in a regular pattern.

 

So far, bed by ten every night. Even pulled myself away from Lair of the Shadow Broker early last night; I'd just boarded his ship, realized it was 9:30, and instead of my usual "meh, I'll just gun through it"-and then stay up 'till midnight or later approach, I was like; "It can wait, I need to go to bed". Boom! Self-control.

 

If I can get my sleep back on track this week, I'll get back into lifting next week. I'm realizing I need to get sleep and stress under control or else lifting just adds to the problem. Lately that's been huge; the kids are either growth spurting or getting teeth, the church put me in charge of AV considerations for a chapel remodel, my auditing class is just well, what you'd expect of an auditing class, and at work I've got a whole new set of duties (on top of my existing ones) involving a software update that isn't actually fully functional yet. I might still be adjusting to my meds as well. Sleep to deal with all that takes a little precedence over lifting, and once I get sleep down (mostly by going to bed on-time); then I can really get back into it.

 

Keeping nutrition mostly on-track... though my wife made mac and cheese (with bacon!) last night. I can't blame her; boxed meals are pretty easy when you've got two minions running around, and she's been making an effort to do less carb-centric meals. That, and I always have the option to portion control anyway.

[Nuke_em_05]

Not sleeping good at all, and when I sleep on my side, I get aches in my back. Usually dissipate when I get up, though. Mattress trouble? Waking up at 1:00 (usually to pee), and 4:00 (for no good GD reason), and unable to get back to sleep. Also probably stress.

 

Stopped the heavy lifting until I can get in with a PT for serious form check; maybe after this class or after school altogether (December). Doing PLP every morning, just working my way up to 3x12. Watching my intake.

 

This class has me beat. It's not the concept of auditing, but all the minute differences in definitions and descriptions. I haven't felt like getting a C would be acceptable in a long time... but now I'm hoping for it. Next we're going to get into analysis and materiality calculations, and boy howdy is that going to be a boon for me. So, again, part of the stress problem and trying to get sleep under control. I have a month off after this class, but I'm not sure if I want to get back on heavy lifting in that time, as my final semester will have 3 classes, possibly simultaneously. Maybe I'm just making excuses, because after this year, I'm going to start CPA review and testing, so I'll still be "busy" and "stressed". I'm thinking of taking a week or two off of work during my school break, just to get centered.

 

Also, my car was stolen Tuesday literally out of my back yard (alley parking). They recovered it Wednesday morning (less child car seats), which is great, but it only takes care of the "missing car" half of the equation. The "holy crap someone stole my car from my and now I feel violated and insecure and am now super worried about my wife and kids at home while I'm out" situation is going to take a little more to get over.

 

Anyway, that's where I'm at, stressed as hell. Still working out, still watching my nutrition.

[Guzzi]

Eeeek! Sorry to hear about your car! That sucks!

It's no wonder you're stressed, but keep your chin up man! Remember - This too shall pass. And kudos for not letting the exercise and healthy eating slide because of it. That gets a Big Thumbs Up in my book

[Nuke_em_05]

Eeeek! Sorry to hear about your car! That sucks!

It's no wonder you're stressed, but keep your chin up man! Remember - This too shall pass. And kudos for not letting the exercise and healthy eating slide because of it. That gets a Big Thumbs Up in my book

 

Thanks Guzzi!

 

Even with toning down the weight lifting, I've still been chipping away about 2-3lbs per week.

 

This morning I'm 215lbs, 40" waist.

 

Still stressed and tired, but the progress helps. I'm also much less sore; if I'm honest, I think I was cheating in the last few reps of my later sets in some of the bigger lifts. Might drop weight and just go 3x5. Still, I think I'll have a pro look me over before I get heavy into it again.

[Nuke_em_05]

Still here, still trying.

 

Got down to 204 a few weeks ago, then went on vacation. Came back at 214; but we'll see Sunday how much of that was from 8 hours sitting in a car the day before.

 

Made the effort to run and lift weights while on vacation, brought my 40lb dumbbells with me.

 

Since we got back, I'm just tired and stressed. The vacation was a "family trip"; we took our two year old and one year old with us to the other side of the state to see my dad, my sisters, and their (the sisters') husbands. None of them have kids, so we weren't just regular parenting, we were parenting in a new place with "assistance" from family whose efforts, bless them, generally didn't help or made things worse. Also, it was freakishly hot and humid over there, and no one has AC. All in all, it was fun and great, but not exactly relaxing.

 

Meanwhile at work, I had an altercation with a co-worker where we both made some dumb choices (no violence or anything), but she went to management about it (whilst I was on vacation). No discipline came from it, but my professional standing may have taken a hit. Also, the promotional position for which I am going to school opened up; but I'm not qualified yet (I will be in October). There is no leniency on the deadline or requirements. That's all well and good, but this is a Civil Service establishment; they're taking applications and testing for the position now, but there is no position available. So, if an actual position opens up after I meet the requirements, I won't be considered because they are using the list they make now. They won't make a new list for another two years, unless this list runs out; but they've extended the testing (not far enough for me), to get enough names to make sure that doesn't happen.

 

I find myself tired, stressed, and not really motivated to do anything. This will be the first weekend where my wife isn't working and we aren't off doing something else, so maybe that will give me a chance to "reset".

[Nuke_em_05]

Well, I've been making progress in the "PLP" I'm doing; up to 3 sets of 6 this morning.For pull-ups I had to rest for some of the last reps, so it's more like 6-(5-1)-(4-2), but still, one more each day.

 

Got a pretty good morning routine going, and getting to bed semi-decent. I'm shooting for 22:00, but sometimes it's late.

 

Had a co-worker last week praise my progress last week, and ask about what I'm doing, so I must be doing something good. Another co-worker yesterday was like "notice you've been doing good, gives me hope for myself"; mostly joking on the last part. So, that's all pretty encouraging. The CFO stopped by my desk and asked how much I stand; which is all day; with sitting on my breaks every two hours (I go to the break area and read on my breaks now, it's nice actually, not taking a "break" at my desk), plus mixed up with a lot of walking around the floor/building. He was pretty impressed.

 

Got a doctor appointment next week to check my progress. It's pretty good so far, but I really want to lock it down until then.

[Nuke_em_05]

Hit and miss week.

 

Kept up with morning workout; switch to traditional PLP instead of forcing reps/rest pause within 3 sets. Yesterday was 28, and reps were: 7-5-4-3-3-3-3. Leading with pull-up to set pace. Missed one day.

 

Started food logging in earnest again, not doing too great in that department. Daughters birthday on Wednesday, "date night" on Friday, and fair yesterday. Didn't do too hot.

 

Also have the in-laws in this week; lots of "family food" and eating out. Getting to bed on time has been problematic as well.

 

However, Thursday I had a Dr. Appt, and I'm at my lowest weight in 9 years, 212lbs (on his scale anyway). He was pretty impressed, and I feel pretty good about it, except I know I could have done better. So, I will.

[Nuke_em_05]

As of yesterday, I am 210lbs and 39.5" at the waist. These past two weeks have been tough with the in-laws in town. Lots of eating out and family cooking. My mother-in-law cooks for a dozen, and there's only six of us. We've also been staying up late after the kids go down. I think I only got to bed before 10:00 twice in as may weeks, and not many more before eleven. One night, not actually in-law related, I didn't get to bed until 1:30am. Lots of stress just with all the people in the house; plus school, plus work, plus, oh yeah, my daughter turned three last week and my wife has started the potty training. Also went to upgrade our phones (getting iPhone 5s after price drop, trading in the the 'ol 4), and that became more of a cluster than I care to recount.

 

Nonetheless, I've kept things up workout-wise. I was stalling and even regressing on the PLP, so I switched it to alternating days, that seems to have helped, and I'm back to running on alternate days. On the running: need fall-weather vibrams.

 

I guess that's about it for now.

[Nuke_em_05]

Been a while, had a free moment.

 

The missus has been trying to get into the whole "fitness" thing with me. Apparently I'm an inspiration. However, trying to guide her hasn't worked out; some things don't quite click like that. I've also been lagging a bit; just kind of going through the motions on my regular stuff. So, we signed up for the Academy here. She's really gotten into it, and it's kind of kicked me back into gear.

 

Got back into food logging, I try to stay within calories range, but mostly I think just recording it keeps me accountable. Back in the 205lbs zone, this is where I always stall out. Got a pair of insulated vibrams so running in the cold won't bother me. Working out well, and I think i got a better fitting size this time.

 

As always, sleep and stress are a problem; I have one regular class at night, and I've taken on an independent study. I have ever-increasing duties at work (I just got 3 more departments added to my responsibility list today). I'm chairing a sub-committee for my church's remodel so I'm juggling vendors and all sorts of activities for that. Someone broke into my car (again) over the weekend, I'm looking into installing a big 'ol security light. Then we spent too much money with the in-laws in town, and on flights for a mid-October visit.

 

Anyway, that's it for now.

[Nuke_em_05]

Bad, bad weekend. I did my morning run on Saturday, which was good... and that's where it ends. Saturday night my wife and I ordered Chinese (we usually do as our "cheat" or whatever), and instead of immediately portioning out half to save for later as we usually do, we just kind of binged on the whole everything. Then we marathon-ed the last few episodes of "How I Met your Mother" until about midnight, my wife got way into it (not that I don't enjoy it as well, but I could have waited on some of the "hanging" plot points). Sunday I slept in, but did my usual "rest day" warm up and cool down; then we skipped lunch (well, I snacked on the kids fried shrimp). Then my mom took the kids and we ordered pizza (a small to share)... again, usually we just take a slice or two each and bag the rest, but no. That sucker is gone. So are most of the bread sticks. Then we stayed up semi-late playing WoW. Then I slept in this morning and missed my workout. I think today I will have a "strategic" fast. I'm seriously not hungry anyway. Bad news, though, we had a little trouble ordering the pizza, so they offered us a free pizza. I can just, you know, not order it... but, free pizza. Anyway, maybe I'll save that for a rainy day.

[Nuke_em_05]

Okay, I'm back. Lots and lots of life happening the past few months. I finished my second degree in December, and got a promotion in March, but they haven't back-filled my old position for random political reasons, yay Public Service! So I've basically been doing two jobs for the price of one. I've also been working on CPA (Certified Public Accountant) examinations. There are four, I took my first (REG - Business Law and Taxes) last month, should get the results any day now, but I'm not optimistic. Student loans are coming out of grace, and wouldn't you know it? My monthly payments exceed my promotional raise. At least I got a promotion out of it, and it sucks worse for those who don't make more money after spending the cash, taking on debt; but generally speaking; you shouldn't be worse off cash-flow wise after education and a promotion.

 

I tried to keep up, but did a lot of backsliding this year. I'm up to 248lbs. I keep taking too much time off and resetting my lifts to "novice" level. I haven't kept up on PLP, and my running is terrible. I did worse on a 12k this year than I did last year; by like 20min.

 

So, I'm "resetting" this week. I think a couple of things had me off. 1. I'm just not a morning person; morning runs and heavy lifting would drain me for the rest of the day. I'm going to try lifting on nights when I don't have anything else going on. I'll try to do a short PLP type session in the morning at least. 2. I don't really like running in circles or "around"; so I'm going to try to get cardio in by biking/walking/running to work and back.

 

I am also starting tracking my nutrition again; need to keep myself in-line. I've really overdone it the past few months.

 

That's part of why I'm back here. I think if I keep up somewhere, even if no one else reads it, I'm at least keeping myself accountable.

[Nuke_em_05]

Well, I seem to be back on track. Down to 245 this morning. Kept good on my calorie goals all week. Did my PLP in the mornings, and my lifts. Yesterday I did overdo it on a barbecue we hosted, but we'll call that a "cheat" day. Err... a "planned deviation" or something. Anyway, not too bad.