White meat

Leetle catch up here. Bout to get on a plane fer vegas. I have a feeling i'm gunna miss the squat workout. But i'm ok with that. It's gunna hobble me i'm afeared.

On the other hand, I did get the bench workout in sunday. The bench part of it actually went ok. I really didn't think i'd get the last set but it went. The rest of the workout made me chuckle though. I got a kick out of the "weighted dips 4 x10". I can't do four sets of ten in my underwear. I did do all the reps, but it took more'n 4 sets. Then the "4 sets of pushups to failure" ...I got a sett of ten, then I couldn't do sets of one. I just have no man boobs.

Climbed yesterday. Lil stiff from the iron. But it was a workout.

Deads

Did the deads day today, 3x5--310, 330, 350. Went really well. Haven't done regular deads in a long while, so i had to get used to the form. But with the Inzer on, they felt pretty easy. Did have to give some growl on the last couple o' reps. Kinda liked the workout, though. Very different feel. And i had a crapload more back left for bent bb rows than i do after straight leg deads. Did pullups next. Set of 20 with bw, then 3x10 with bw+25. Was a li'l ragged after that last set. Not so pretty, the form. Then bent o'er bb rows, 3 x 12 with 135. These went well. Then good-mornings. Started with a set of 10 with 135, and that was way too much weight. Think i dropped to 95 for the last three sets. Hanging leg raises i did a set of 30, then (to stick with the schedule) 3 x 12 with ankle weights on.

That's a good workout. Couldn't figure why my arms were so drained on pullups, but i realized i did curls on wed. i think i'm gunna like the program.

Chemistry experiment

Did an "hour" run today. Same run i did a couple o' days ago. Only today it was long about 86deg 'stead of 70-something. HR was consistently about 10bpm higher through the whole run, and it took me 'bout 3 mins longer, so i was running slower at a much higher HR. Then towards the end, i started getting a li'l bit hypovolemic. Couldn't get my rate below 170, and i was barely jogging. Interesting how much difference 10deg makes. Made me appreciate why, exactly, you don't wanna run in that balmy Alabama weather you've got there. i ran out of sweat by the end. Definitely need to be in better shape before summer gets here for real.

Raggin' Day

Today started out well enough. i got a good day of it in at clinic, then got off early enough to climb. It was, for the record, a terrible climbing day. But even that was encouraging, in its own way. Thrice did i wrap phalanges 'round the finish hold on a wee v6, but could muster not the Wherewithal Of Sendingness. i thought, mayhaps i hadn't the Manliness or Fortitude. So i meandered in to throw on another 6 i was surer of getting (as i'd been close on it the last session). Only i couldn't stick the first hard-ish move. So i was assured that, in fact, i don't suck as bad as i was ready to give me credit for sucking; rather, i merely had no intact muscle fibres left in my nubbins. In other words, it's likely curable.

Then i mistakenly involved the estrogen-driven clowns in my school's administration in my day. i requested my immunization record from 'em for the place i'm working, and it came to their attention ('cuz i told 'em) that i hadn't completed my hep b series. This is because i was initially told i'd have to wait 6 mos to finish that series. But in fact i only had to wait 3. So basically, i was able to finish the series about this week-ish. So all of a sudden, it became vitally important that i not see patients until i'd finished that series (even though the place i'm working doesn't require their employees to have the series at all). It was understood up to that point that i'd just get the final shot whenever i was able. So the reason it became so important today was to punish me for not having done it at the first possible moment, even though it's totally superfluous by any standards. So i spent three hours today running around to get a shot i didn't particularly need as quickly as humanly possible just 'cuz someone was having a not-so-fresh moment.

For the last year, i've merely been seriously irritated by that tool shed. Now i loathe it. Less than a year to go.

Gotta go get a 5/3/1 in today. You'll be happy to know i'm skeered. It's gonna hurt. Oh, and the Xcel sheet you shipped me has a three week cycle, then a deload week. Do you do two of the 3-week cycles, then deload, or do you deload after every 3-weeker?

And....

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...There we go. OH press day. But we talked since then.

The day after

Maxed yesterd'y. Got 275 on squats. That's a li'l sad, but it was pure glute fail. Can hardly walk today, so i'm skerd to think what i'll feel like after an actual squat workout. Got 145 on standing militaries. Just missed 235 on bench. So i'll call it 220-225ish. Didn't do deads cuz i'd climbed earlier in the day, but i've gotten 410 in the fairly recent past, so i'll go with that.

For the record, i clumb yesterday too, and got a new v5. Made good headway on a v6 that i think'll go on the next freshstrong day. Even made a good stab at a 5.12-, but i had no send juice left in the tank.

Planning to run here in a few minutes. It's a smadge hot out there today. Oh, and i weighed this morning at 194ish on the br scales. Can't say how accurate that is, but at any rate i've dropped a few gravitations.

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Later:

...And there's an hour run in. Really not a bad run. Even getting stopped both ways at the stop light, i still am only about 5 mins down on that run in really good shape. Kept the HR pretty consistently in the low 150s for the duration.

D'you getchoo a hardy run in then? Looked like you'd need a respirator and some sunscreen. Heheh! If i didn't already, that sure makes me 'member why i'm glad i don't inhabit Tejas any more.

Houston, tenemos una problema

First of all, i did go climbling, and scored a few new problems. Nothing real eyebrow-elevating, but i scraped the finish on a spicy 5 several times; my fingerflesh tasting of its texture, but cleaving not unto it with manifold fortitudes. But it's a crazy pow'rful li'l sloper problem, so i got a sick hand workout without tearing down m' crimpy tendons. And that was welcome after killing the grip with yesterday's deadlifts.

Now, the problem: i go to Vegas on the 31st. Call it gross miscalculation, but that's just over 3 weeks into this diet. i think you folks can probl'y see my quandary without further elucidation. i must find a workaround.

And speaking of wanting to tip a pint back, the lady's gone 'til sunday; so i've the younguns for the duration. But i'm'a watch a movie and sip some chamomile.

And (in case you didn't get my last comment) i'd welcome a change to my program. Lemme know what you need from me, eh.

Still on the wagon

First, i'd like to say a semi-public Thank You to God, cuz i just passed my end o' rotation exam, which i had nearly no expectation of doing. Still in the program! :-)

Wednesday i ended up doing nada. Nothing. Backsliding Wednesday, i call it. Yesterday, however, i did a pretty hard back workout. Pullups did not go so well. Couldn't wake up, and my pain tolerance was in the toilet. But i got my power-pellets for SL deads. Pulled 305 for two (although i wanted 3...hands started unravelling). But i hadn't gotten close to that in a while-e-O. i'm fairly sore today. i 'spect tomorrow will be worse. Planning on climbing and/or running today.

i need to retool my workouts. Bad. Getting a li'l flat here. But i am starting to lose a li'l bit of the spare tire, and i'm feeling fitter. i want to start hitting it hard, and get this workout retooled and periodized right (i.e., at all) before i get stale and burn out again. Gotta ride the wave to the next one.

But i'm done with this rotation, and i don't have to worry 'bout that any more. Huge load off. Thank You God!

confessional

Last night I went to a drug rep session at Pappadeaux. Had a slab of raw yellowfin in a sauce whose contents I refused to speculate on. But it was mighty tasty. Had a salad with a triangle of goat cheese on, and I pushed the cheese aside. But I took a single bite of it. And I felt guilty. Got a praline cheesecake to go for the kids. But I ended up having a single bite of it, and it was pleasing. Then I felt guilty. The redemptive part (in my estimation) was that they carried an open tab for us on wine and beer, and I had mineral water. That was painful. There was a kind of poetic irony in the whole thing..free food that I couldn't eat. And the meeting was on Aricept and I managed to lock my keys in the car. Hmm.

Did get a 32min run in. Gonna start taking the hr monitor with me soon. Good lil run. Tonight i'm hoping to do a hard back workout.

Today my co-workers bought me ice cream as a going-away present. Couldn't say no to that. But i do feel guilty, if that helps. Maybe i'll run again today after the back work. :)

New Shoes

 Well, i did take the Solutions back to REI. i thought these'd be better in pockets, and they have a killer edge, what with the stainless steel rims, etc.

i'm just foolin'. i actually traded 'em for some new Miuras---although i could kill a roach with 'em if i were so inclined. That's just the best climbing shoe ever made.

Today i climbed a bit. Good session really. Felt really nice and strong after nearly a week since the last lat workout. It's funny, but when i'm actually healed from that workout i can come pretty darn close to doing a one-arm pullup. Or at least, i can lock off on one arm, which seriously improves my climbing. Warmed up, then campused a v2. Then i flashed a v4 (although i question the grade). Then i got a "v6" second try. Definitely would down-grade that un, but it was still a cool climb. Had a nice li'l full-wingspan sideways dyno at the top of the boulder. Very nice feeling to stick that. Not a bad session. i am definitely feeling stronger and better in general with better eating, better sleep, and no alcohol or crappy sugars. Can't say i've lost any real weight, but i do think the spare tire's a little less floppy. And, crud...i'm just plain climbing better.

Week one

Let's just see here... That was friday. So yesterday i did do chest and abs. That actually went well enough. Worked up to i think a couple sets of 5 with 80s on incline DB press. Pretty good for me. Sucked it up on dips (as usual). Um, set of 30 on straight leg raises; then 3 more sets of 10 with ankle weights. Then i worked up to a few sets with an 85lb DB on side bends. Then some kind of weird pec-deck-esque machine they just got in. Strange polyarticular beast. Jury's still out on that un. Not a bad workout though. i would like to get a li'l more serious with the core workouts.

Today i ran. It went better than the last run. 35ish mins. Didn't take the hr monitor, but i pushed it fairly hard. Wasn't sucking wind quite so badly today (or if i was, it didn't hurt as bad).

Anyhow, that caps the first week of this here diet. i feel like it's going fairly well. i have been eating some rice, and i've been eating many non-green veggies. But i've otherwise been pretty faithful. No beer, and no dip--and i was jonesing somethin' awful today. Also i've been doing some fruit/protein smoothies post-workout nearly daily. i'm hoping flax seed don't have gluten in, 'cuz i've been throwing some of that in for fiber and omega 3.

Thoughts? Anyhow, praying for yas. Peace.

Nurly a week o' it

Catch up:

Tuesday i did nothing. (i guess i did make some meaningful progress on Prince of Persia).

Yesterday i worked back. Weighed in at just about 207. i'll just call that my starting weight for this thang. That has a lot of explanatory power for my pathetic climbing sessions, and, really the less-than-par back workout yesterday. It wasn't a horrible workout; just uninspired. And i felt too heavy (which i am). And my ring finger was in bad shape for clutching heavy things. i have got to start running. Even short distances. Just got to.

Today the plan is to do chest and abs. And i'd really, really like to get a wee run in. Le's see if i can find the wherewithal.

On to the diet commentary: is it just me, or do you feel hungry pretty much all the time? i love that. Last night i made this hamburger salad bowl, and it seems like an hour later i was ravenous again. i love not feeling bloated all the time. Amazing how not eating cheese and crappy carbs for every meal shaves the calorie intake down. i can eat 2lbs of food, and am still hungry an hour later.

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Later On:

i couldn't post this yesterday, 'cuz blogger was down. It's fri now. (Yea!!) Lesee here: i didn't work back yesterday, but i did go for a run. Got me a 30 min run in just under 43 mins. i have become one seriously outta shape cow. Got passed uphill by a 40-something chick in not-particularly-fit shape who looked like she was suffering. To my credit, she looked like she was in more pain than me. Then i made me a protein shake with ice and flax seed, and an apple--kinda like on the velocity diet. That was tasty. i was hungry again 30 mins later, but it was a useful apres-workout tonic.

Today i climbed. And, frankly, things were better. Got a crimpy v3 that had pitched me a few days ago. Got a "v5" on the 3rd or 4th try. Hard to say it was real 5, but it did have an obligatory 4 foot,  all-points, backward dyno in the middle. So it took some cajones, if not so much tendon integrity. Anyways, i felt like less of a little girl after i snagged that un. i slept better last night, and i wasn't sore today--neither my finger tendon, nor my lats from the back workout. There's no way i lost a bunch of weight from one 40min run, but i really do think that helps me heal faster. That, and a truckload of high quality protein, sans sugary crap and booze.

One week left of this rotation. 1/8 of the way to a paycheck. :-)

New Day

Queue some Enya or Celine. Chucked the skoal in the garbage last night, and started me a diet. And i'm hoping that without a beer to stay up for after the kids go to bed, i might be able to inter my carcass by 2130. Sleep would help many, many of my problems. So far the diet's in check. i was a li'l worried, cuz i managed to inhale maybe 3 bites of my breakfast this morning (which included a healthy helping of Fischer's sausage) before i got to work, and they were serving breakfast burritos to the staff at the hospital. But i got to go the doc's lounge, and they had a breakfast bar. So i managed to dodge the tortilla and (i think) the cheese. Bunch of eggs, bunch of bacon, green chile stew, and berries. But i gotta admit there's a leftover IPA in the fridge mocking me, and it makes me realize how used i've gotten to drinking, and how bad i am at not drinking. i think a few days of detox, and i'll start noticing how craplike i've been feeling for the last few months. Then it'll start getting fun. Right now it looks like a long dark tunnel--not fun.

m' doc's gone for the week, so i got to head early to the climbgym for some psych readings. i really wanted to do the back workout, but my hand wasn't bugging me, so i thought i'd get some laps on the walls. i actually didn't climb too bad. i didn't climb particularly well, mind you. But it has been much worse. It at least gave me hope that when i'm healed and maybe 5lbs slimmer i should be climbing tip-top again; maybe making some progress. i really think more than anything i gotta start athloning again. i think my blood is starting to jelly.

Lastly, i gotta thank you lads again fer letting me tag along for the ride. That was a good time! Didn't realize how dead my battery was 'til i got a little recharging. And i appreciate you letting me be a sponge. Hopefully next time we manage a man trip i'll be a contributing member.

i'm gunna try to post up daily something about how the diet's going, if only to keep myself accountable. If you come up with any dazzling recipes, etc, let a brutha in on it, eh.

Peace.

circling the drain

First of all, i'm absurdly tired--more tired, indeed, than i could imagine. i feel like i imagine an 80yo would feel. Stack of effects, methinks. i'm still sore from that deadlift workout. Hamstrings are tight like bowstrings. Also i've been sleeping like shadoodoo, which i think is most of it. Mon i think i managed to do nothing. Yesterday i "climbed." i didn't have to come to the clinic in the afternoon, so i went to the gym to study. Thought i'd put a nice relaxed thorough workout in. It was easily the worst climbing session i've had in mellennia--yea, eons. i was reminded of how i climbed in high school: like the contents of a malodorous diaper. They put up a bunch of new routes, which i didn't notice til i'd been climbing a while. So i was tired when i started projecting, but i shouldn't have been that tired. i got shut down on a v3. i had no balance, and my widdle pingers clutched like boiled Top Ramen. Pain tolerance was lodged in the P-trap.

Anyhow, looks like i have fri off, so i should be getting down there in time for a not-particularly-late ETD from snytown. i'm thinking hard 'bout sliding in for another (hopefully redemptive) climbsesh tomorrow at lunch. i wanna do that back workout again before next week, but i'm afraid my sad li'l hams'll be sore for riding. And i kinda suspect i'll need all the reserves i can muster if i'm to fail to die out there.

Positivity

i actually did my full back workout yesterday, and my chest/abs workout today. This is a good thing. i was starting to wonder if i could still do the workouts. Mostly i've spent the last month or so getting more and more sleep deprived, fat and injured. i also climbed a couple o' times in the last week. In fact, i've nearly trashed my left ring finger 'cuz of it. i'm starting to feel the deconditioning/fat gain. But it was nice to make it through the iron workouts this week. It gives me hope, cuz i really haven't lost just tons of pull. Worked up to a couple of sets of 2 with 100 on the pullup chain. Worked up to a set of four with 275 on straight leg deads. That's within spitting range of my heaviest lifting. i made a point to take it easy cuz i didn't want to hurt my old self, but i really didn't end up shaving much off of the workout. Still worked up to 2 x 6 with 185 on bent o'er BB rows. i've just been pulling that weight in the recent past, so to still be able to pull it at the end of the workout is a happy sign. Only thing is i'm super sore today, and i've felt that special nausea of massive toxin release i only get after a several-weeks lay-off. But i know it gets better from here, so i'm happy to have that out of the way.

Now i just gotta start doing something with me lungs again.