DarK_RaideR's BattlE_LoG

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Well, maybe in September the D_R beatings can be limited solely to the physical plane. Hopefully there will be no emotional beatings like in August.

[shaar]

Supporting someone else through their struggles takes a big ol' mental toll on the supporter, too.  I getcha.  Good for you for staying strong and being supportive!!

 

Emotional breakdowns are totally okay (and in my opinion, rather necessary) to get out stress and bad juju.  You can get out all the bad juju and move on stronger.

 

Needs 500% more Jabba the Cat pictures!

[DarK_RaideR]

Thursday, September 1st

 

Nutrition: Switching this to an easier tracking of whether I'm ok with it. My eating for the day was fine, although I did eat more than I should have for dinner.

 

Workouts: Rest day, still struggling to walk.

 

 

Friday, September 2nd

 

Nutrition: All good.

 

Workouts: Second training of the week, went to Muay Thai class. It's funny because it feels like I'm underperforming compared to the past, but with classes lasting 2 hours, I end up with a one hour surplus at the end of the week. Coach said this would be an endurance stess and boy was it just that. I've realized that although Crossfit's programming and some Games workouts call for the occasional long workout, the reality of "commercial" boxes means sticking to the 1 hour plan, thus I'm conditioned for the typical 12-15' WOD but not longer than that. It was a tough experience but I made it, including receiving the goodbye blow (knee shot to the side of the gut) and not even feeling it.

[DarK_RaideR]

Saturday, September 3rd

 

Nutrition: Not perfect, but good.

 

Workouts: Guess what, my calves are fine and my stomach never felt that knee shot!

[DarK_RaideR]

Sunday, September 4th

 

Nutrition: Decent.

 

Workouts: Rest day. I've been reviewing the Crossfit pyramid that's on the first post of this Battle Log in relation to my new Muay Thai training. Nutrition is always the foundation, as far as workouts go we're doing some brutal conditioning and plenty of bodyweight stuff. Lifting doesn't get the same attention as crossfit, but last time we did some running while carrying tires, so I guess it's technically an odd object carry, plus we haven't gone into grappling and takedowns yet. My big bonus here is the Sports part at the top of the pyramid. Even Crossfit competitions don't fit the mold of high intensity and unpredictable, competitive action where one's skills are tested. Sparring and fighting certainly do.

[Xena]

Seems like muay thai is filling an important niche for you right now. Exploring, learning and challenging yourself. Congrats on getting the motorcycle license!

 

It sounds like August had been hard. Dealing with stress from your parents and trying to be a good partner to SLRF is a tough thing and no one is perfect. Just keep trying to be the best version of yourself.

[DarK_RaideR]

Thanks @Xena, you know it's a daily struggle. Muay thai is certainly challenging me and is a more convenient solution being next to my home, rather than having to drive far for Crossfit. As Rangers, we do ALL the things and frankly, I thought I was well conditioned already but the reality check was enough to make me put my head to the grind again. Besides, I'm more of a Glassman than a Castro type, meaning I understand CF as a training method that allows me to excel in other sports and not as a sport unto itself (although @Rurik Harrgath might disagree). That said, I analyzed it in my previous post as well, feels like I'm now tackling the entire pyramid as compared to simply crossfiting which lacked the top tier. My only concern is having to spend money once more to build up my gear in gloves, elbow/knee pads, shin guards etc.

 

Monday, September 5th

 

Nutrition: Pretty good. The SRLF ordered some great chinese for dinner. Haven't had that stuff in ages!

 

Workouts: First workout of the week. After a lot of conditioning work, we did clinching drills. Starting from controlling the back of the opponent's head, we progressed into escaping from being controlled, then added a side knee shot. It all amounted into a full on contest, which included keeping our elbows together to prevent opponents from coming in and grappling the back of our head. Pretty intense, even when I mixed it up with female athletes who kept asking me to tone it down a bit. We finished it off with punchbag conditioning, throwing rapid fire knees to the bag.

 

Fun fact 1: What made everything harder than it sounds is the stance. We're supposed to be standing on the balls of our feet, ankles never touching down. This is a balance issue but also destroys the calves in the long run.

 

Fun fact 2: I had seen others using their own jump ropes, so I brought mine too. Teacher took it away, saying it's "for speed" and handed me another instead that looked like a bullrope. Oh well, it's not like I'm trying to do double unders here. Pacing and high jumps it is, then.

 

[Mr_Willes]

I had to play catch up a little . I really liked the way the tone of your posts just seem more positive towards the end. Hopefully this resembles your current state! You seem to have found focus again.

[darkfoxx]

That fun fact sounds zero fun at all - killer workout, though - and I can see ankle strength being absolutely necessary. But damn .... mine get tired from yoga balance poses.

Sent on dragon wing

[Broba Fett]

15 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

Fun fact 1: What made everything harder than it sounds is the stance. We're supposed to be standing on the balls of our feet, ankles never touching down. This is a balance issue but also destroys the calves in the long run.

 

I went through something similar when I was practicing Modern Arnis after my teacher pointed out that I was almost always resting back on my heels and letting my weight sit on my skeletal structure instead of actively supporting it with my muscles on the balls of my feet.  The difference in agility is astounding... once you get past the calf shredding.

[Rurik Harrgath]

20 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

Besides, I'm more of a Glassman than a Castro type, meaning I understand CF as a training method that allows me to excel in other sports and not as a sport unto itself (although @Rurik Harrgath might disagree).

 

I lean towards Castro's methodology in that I consider CrossFit my sport, but I completely appreciate Glassman's vision for using CF only as a base to build athleticism toward other pursuits in life.  I just wish I had more opportunities like a local Krav Maga/kickboxing/Muay Thai joint to apply my fitness toward.  Sadly the options are limited unless I'm willing to commit to hours on the highway that only further complicate an already full lifestyle.

 

Respect for using your CF baseline to kick ass in other activities!

[DarK_RaideR]

18 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

That fun fact sounds zero fun at all - killer workout, though - and I can see ankle strength being absolutely necessary. But damn .... mine get tired from yoga balance poses.

It's more of a calf than ankle strength, although I suppose we're saying the same thing using different words here. @Broba Fett nailed it really, and I quote:

8 hours ago, Broba Fett said:

I went through something similar when I was practicing Modern Arnis after my teacher pointed out that I was almost always resting back on my heels and letting my weight sit on my skeletal structure instead of actively supporting it with my muscles on the balls of my feet.  The difference in agility is astounding... once you get past the calf shredding.

Heels and ankles offer support and stability required during squats and lifts in general. "Active" support on the balls of the feet is more tiring and can't bear heavy loads, but offers much better agility. But yeah, you gotta go through the calf shredding first.

 

3 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

I lean towards Castro's methodology in that I consider CrossFit my sport, but I completely appreciate Glassman's vision for using CF only as a base to build athleticism toward other pursuits in life.  I just wish I had more opportunities like a local Krav Maga/kickboxing/Muay Thai joint to apply my fitness toward.  Sadly the options are limited unless I'm willing to commit to hours on the highway that only further complicate an already full lifestyle.

 

Respect for using your CF baseline to kick ass in other activities!

If you read the CF Journal articles, Glassman backs everything he says with hard science (nerd alert!) which to me feels more concrete than Castro's showmanship, even though I've participated in my fair share of CF events. Ultimately, it's down to taste but we both agree it would be great to combine it with a little extra on the side. I'm just building on what I have, bro. Ranger on!

 

 

Tuesday, September 6th

 

Nutrition: Average. I made up for some not-that great choices by reducing quantity and practicaly skipping dinner. I'm not counting macros, but it feels like I pulled off an IIFYM save there.

 

Workouts: Rest day, neck still sore from all the grappling, plus some barely noticable DOMS on my calves and quads. I'm learning to live in a state of physical imperfection really.

 

 

[shaar]

Physical imperfection means progress though, yeah?!

Accidental IIFYM days are kind of the best days sometimes. In an "Oh yeah, I'm educated enough in my food needs to realize I got this" way!

Sent from the depths of the Dravanian Forelands.

[Rurik Harrgath]

13 hours ago, shaarawy said:

Accidental IIFYM days are kind of the best days sometimes. In an "Oh yeah, I'm educated enough in my food needs to realize I got this" way!

 

Or intentional IIFYM days.  Like post-workout cheesecake for Doughnuts & Deadlifts day when doughnuts could not be sourced. 

[Xena]

Good job holding onto the nutrition!

[Mr_Willes]

Hope you had a "quiet" and enjoyable weekend for once!

[DarK_RaideR]

 

Quote

 

Wednesday, September 7th

 

Nutrition: Again, not great but maintained within reasonable boundaries. The post-training hunger was one tough beast to contain.

 

Workouts: Second workout of the week, this time focused on sparring. I finally got to use my starter gear plus gloves, in learning pace, spacing and proper defense above all. Felt good throwing punches. I also arranged to skip Friday's training in order to attend a beach class on Saturday morning with two more schools.

 

 

 

Oh wow, I thought I'd posted the above but apparently it simply stayed saved on the posting box. Anyway, long-due update incoming

 

Unfortunately @mr_willes, there ain't no rest for the wicked. I've been holding onto nutrition with varying degrees of success, but everything else has pretty much gone wrong. Thursday morning my car wouldn't start, which was strange because it's only been a month or two since I replaced the battery. SRLF would never make it to work in time, so she went to a hospital to get a sick note while I dealt with the car. I called road assistance but since my new contract went into action the previous day, I was told that for the first 72 hours, stuff like that is considered "pre-existing damage" and isn't covered. Bummer No2, the car electrician near my home apparently has moved out of town so I asked a mechanic from a nearby garage for assistance. He did come over to check, but didn't have the tools to plug into my car's CPU and see what's wrong. Fortunately, he pointed me towards another car electrician, who said he'd drop by when able to check it out. Meanwhile, SRLF called in tears to tell me that the doctors had her take a pregnacy test "just in case" and she was waiting for the results. Considering she was already in the middle of "shark week" that was insane, but somehow I had to calm her down while being unable to drop by as I was waiting for the car guy. Results came back negative of course, but of course it had to come and pile up on top of everything else. 

 

Back to the car, dude said a sensor had died and he had a replacement. He drove back to his shop to bring it, but of course he couldn't install it. 90% of cars have it up front, accessible simply by popping the hood. Mine has it deep in its guts and had to be brought to his shop, so he could more or less remove everything besides the engine to be able to replace it. I called road assistance again and was told I not only have to pay for my car to get towed, but they also didn't have one available for at least an hour. Car guy's shop was closing in two, so I accepted my temporary defeat and said I'd deal with it Friday morning. Which I did, skipping work for the second day in a row and paying handsomely for it.

 

I'll skip Thursday's Masters class because it was just like all the others before it and move straight into Muay Thai. I decided to skip Friday's workiout in order to attend a beach workout with 2 other schools on Saturday morning. I'd said I had a car and could give people a ride, which was an extra worry during the previous car crisis, but anyway. Due to autumn weather, we were told it might be done simply at another school and eventually it was turned into a mountain training. Not bad, considering I've done a few trail races up that mountain. Thing is, SRLF and me had an argument Friday night, so I slept little and uncomfortable. It wasn't any better when we woke up Saturday morning so I bailed, knowing I had little left in the willpower tank and would mentally collapse during such brutal training. We managed to talk it out though and saved the rest of the weekend. Sunday noon I went to a colleague from work and fellow crossfitter who was baptizing his 5 month old daughter, then met the SRLF for lunch at her place. We went out with one of her friends and it seems I'll be joining them for the Athens International Film Festival in a couple of weeks.

 

Onwards and upwards!

 

[Mr_Willes]

Dude... WTH hopefully the pile of shit you have to come to process will make for a smooth(er) ride the next couple of weeks (months).

 

Just keep swinging at it like there's no tomorrow, they can try to break us but we will prevail! Summoning @Tanktimus the Encourager because A: he is just much better at this, and B: even the wicked GL's need some mental support at times!

[Charlie_Quinn]

Jez, Sorry you had to go through all that. That's a lot to deal with in a short space of time. Stay focused, stay strong, and everything will be alright in the end. 

 

That's cool that you're going to the film festival.

[deftona]

That's a lot of crap piling down all at the same time but great work on "staying afloat". 

[Xena]

Wow, yes...so much that it's hard to even know where to start. So I guess I'll start with the obvious...Unreliable transportation sucks! Sorry you guys had an argument and glad you were able to talk it through. All the stress around the car and hospital situation must have put a huge strain on you both. Hope the week starts smoothly.

[shaar]

Holy cats, dude.

 

Car trouble is literally the worst.  Stressful and EXPENSIVE.  I have to take mine in in a few weeks and I've been ~*~*~gently avoiding it~*~*~.........

 

But, check you out.  All that adversity and you Rangered it!  Sometimes Getting Shit Done isn't about epic mountain scaling and fireworks and big achievement, but keeping your nose to the grindstone and getting the dirty work done and dusted.  Rock on~ \m/

[darkfoxx]

I think taking care of the shit you need to take care of is the definition of adulting.

And wth is up with your cars' electrical system?! That battery was just a few months ago!

Sent on dragon wing

[RES]

Vehicles and their issues...ugh...I agree that this should totally count towards adulting though

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

DR you handled that situation as well as any of us could have. You and SRLF were able to talk things out, you kept your wits about you, and you managed to get through the weekend. Take care of yourself and get back into the swing of things as needed. We're here for you.