all posts post new thread

Always Be Smashing

07/09 07:00

Trifecta
Shoulder sequence

No evening training. Life got in the way, and I'm still kind of in recoup mode.

Had an interesting thought about my recent energy issues (i.e. lack thereof). When the whole COVID thing started in the US, I suddenly found myself with a lot more time on my hands. No more preparing lunches for the kids for school. No more driving in to work. No sports to coach. So, I filled it with more training. Added a 3rd strength training day. Started using my competition maxes to figure percentages, rather than a training max. And on the whole I think it worked out well - I feel stronger, and made some good progress on my endurance.

The energy drop coincides pretty closely with baseball and softball starting up again. Even though I'm just coaching or watching, not playing... it's an energy drain. So... perhaps this is just a sign of real life coming back into play, and I simply need to go back to something more like what I was doing before COVID.
 
You may be on to something here Doc. Seems pretty logical to me.
However... I'm also thinking that many of these 'reopening things' may be shutting down again...
 
However... I'm also thinking that many of these 'reopening things' may be shutting down again...

No joke, sir. My neck of the woods has managed to stay pretty flat, thanks to a reasonably responsible local government and to not being a densely populated area in the first place. But it kind of feels like we're riding a razor's edge. One family we're friends with is currently self- isolating because the mom came down with some symptoms, and they're waiting for the results of a test. Not everybody is that responsible...
 
07/10 07:45

60min treadmill run/walk 4.5m
- 1W 14E (4T 1W)x4 24E 1W

As part of my pre-run warmup this morning, I did a few chinups. Has been a long time since I did one, I've been a bit of a pullup purist. The pull itself was easy, but it put a bit of strain on the inner elbow. Which probably tells me that I could stand to do the variation now and again to address the weak spot.

07/10 21:00

Cossack shoulder dislocates 2x8
KB1HS 10x10 40
TGU 10x1 40
Light testing
- BP 225# x2
- SQT 315# x2

Thinking for a while I'll run a "durability focus", which will be S&S plus some easy grinds, along with my running. Hopefully laying off snatches for a while will help my wrist heal.

Encouraging to find that I can still do a timeless "Solid" pretty easily - still had some energy after finishing up.

Haven't done a bench press in quite a while, and it definitely showed. Another place were I could probably benefit by recovering a little of my college strength. I was never a great presser, my best was around 330#.

Have been slacking off getting my stretching in, which is another result of the return of real life. We had a baseball game this evening, so with that and evening training all I wanted to do when I got finished in the gym was sit down and fall asleep. Since GTG work has really fallen off, figure I'll transition back to stretching around lunch time.
 
07/11 08:45

Trifecta
Shoulder sequence

Rest of the day was filled with baseball practice, working in the garage, and watching softball.

Interesting observation: I track my weight daily, at least when I'm actively trying to cut weight. I know that makes some people crazy, but I actually enjoy seeing the variation up and down, along with the underlying trend. There's a solid correlation between the days when I run (and eat reasonably) and the days when my weight jumps down. There's the same correlation with days I work in the garage.

Therefore, working in the garage is a good weight loss strategy.
 
07/14 07:00

60min treadmill run/walk 4.6m
- 1W 14E (9T 1W)x2 24E 1W

High RPE on the run today, I assume a little fatigue from Monday work.

07/14 16:30

Cossack shoulder dislocates 2x6 (I've been counting these weird, x6 is really more appropriate)
Dragon squats 2x3
KB1HS 10x10 40
TGU 10x1 40
BP 3x5 165#
LTK 4x5

Definitely feeling some fatigue in the evening as well. Will have to keep an eye on this, might need some slow ramp time to get used to the new program.

Credit where it's due, my ideas for a durability focus came from Tom Furman's blog here: Becoming Durable: Most Ain’t.. I'm not following that as a program per se, but it aligns with some of my ideas on being useful and hard to kill. In my mind, durability is largely about being strong at all angles - having no weak planes of motion, being capable of absorbing force no matter where it comes from. But at the same time, I also put a lot of stock in being very strong in the primary movements, so I'm not wanting to put away the heavy stuff completely and just train the odd angles.

This is why I love the TGU - it's all about building strength at odd angles. The TGU is a lesson in durability. Been too long since it's been a regular part of my training, this has been fun for the first couple days. But I'm definitely going to have to experiment with how much gas is left in the tank afterwards. Ideally, I'd like to get in a couple grinds, then maybe some crawling and/or grip work. But today I was pretty wiped after the TGUs, so it was grinds and done.

Bench press was humbling... but to be expected, given I've been away from that lift for a long time, and fatigue from TGUs.

First time I've experimented with the dragon squat. Another good strong-at-strange-angles movement. No plan to load it any time soon, figure it's just a nice addition to warmup time. I think of warmups as a good time to practice "skills".
 
07/16 07:00

Trifecta
Shoulder sequence
10min Crawling
- 2:1 work/rest ratio (~6.5min crawling)

07/16 18:45

Cossack shoulder dislocates 2x6
Dragon squats 2x3
KB1HS 10x10 40
TGU + push press 10x1 36
SQT 3x5 230#
Pullups 3x4

That's the right weight for a light day, felt good.

I managed to touch my head to the ceiling on a few pullup reps. Not quite at chest to bar, but getting close.
 
07/17 07:30

60min treadmill run/walk 4.5m
- 1W 14E (4T 1W)x4 24E 1W

Had a life-got-in-the-way night on Friday, so pushed training to Saturday morning.

07/18 09:45

Cossack shoulder dislocates 2x6
Dragon squats 2x3
KB1HS 10x10 40
TGU 10x1 40
DL 5x1 330#
BP 3x5 165#
LTK 4x5
Grip work

Other than that, spent the day in the garage again. Almost done with this project.
 
Too many pints...?

Good guess! But in this case, it was an unexpected sports-free evening where we could just hang out as a family.

07/19 09:30

Trifecta
Shoulder sequence

Sunday afternoon, while out shopping I got myself some new shorts. Realized when I got home that I'm actually getting close to stepping down to the next waist size down. Which I think means that my current waist size is somewhere around the size it was in middle school. ? I'm down about 10# from when I started with IF, has been slow but steady loss over the last few months. I'm not as strong as I was when I was younger... but there's a lot less of me.

Even so, still have a long way to go. I've become more and more convinced that the only way I'm ever going to hit some of my goals is by dropping another 20# (at least). My brother has a similar frame to me, but he's about 40# lighter - so I know it can be done. But he also tends to subsist on a diet of chicken, tofu and oatmeal. I like actual food. And, indeed, pints.
 
My brother has a similar frame to me, but he's about 40# lighter - so I know it can be done. But he also tends to subsist on a diet of chicken, tofu and oatmeal. I like actual food. And, indeed, pints.
After I stripped off 50# by the summer 2019,it's more than a year that I don't go up or down in weight. I eat actual food and having pints just alright, the only thing that keeps me going is quantity of spent energy vs eaten. It's completely up to you how you distribute your meals and what you eat, just don't eat too much junk and spend more.
 
After I stripped off 50# by the summer 2019,it's more than a year that I don't go up or down in weight. I eat actual food and having pints just alright, the only thing that keeps me going is quantity of spent energy vs eaten. It's completely up to you how you distribute your meals and what you eat, just don't eat too much junk and spend more.

My experience has been pretty similar. If I'm not actually trying to cut weight, maintaining isn't too difficult. Several years ago I dropped about 50#, and afterwards was able to eat about the same as I did before losing the weight and just stay flat. For me, maintaining seems to be mostly a matter of avoiding the periodic stupid binges that cause the weight to creep back up. I'm about back to that low point now after a few months of getting lazy with food discipline.

I believe Dan John once said something to the effect of fat loss being a war, not a program, and that's been true for me. Cutting weight actually requires some discomfort for a while, and it's not something you can (or would want to) keep doing forever.

In my brother's case, he's not big on exercise, so he prefers to just not eat much. And it's not that he's starving himself, that's just what works for him.
 
Cutting weight actually requires some discomfort for a while, and it's not something you can (or would want to) keep doing forever.

Yes, absolutely. Looking at my logs, the deficit of 1k calories a day takes you through stable 1-2# a week loss, not too fast, but ok and steady enough for a period of 3-4 months. Surely a discomfort, I was just extending my fasting periods by having more sleep and liquids. Just one of the many possible ways...
After all, when we really need to achieve something, we'll find a way.
 
Yes, absolutely. Looking at my logs, the deficit of 1k calories a day takes you through stable 1-2# a week loss, not too fast, but ok and steady enough for a period of 3-4 months. Surely a discomfort, I was just extending my fasting periods by having more sleep and liquids. Just one of the many possible ways...
After all, when we really need to achieve something, we'll find a way.
Or you could get Covid-21 like I had and drop 11lbs in a week....
 
Back
Top Bottom