< 1 month

Hard to believe i have this much trouble posting up more frequently than once a month. But it's been strange times in the 'hood--as, i gather, it's been for many of you. But i have been working out. It's been a li'l tenuous, a li'l sketchy, a li'l i-dunno-what-to-think-about-this at times; but i have, quality notwithstanding, doused the earth with some litres of sweat.

Last week on Wednesday i got 5/5/5 on deads with 360, 385, and 410. Followed that up with bent o'er BB rows and (finally) Good Mornings. i'm beginning to believe that Good Mornings have such a freakishly awesome crossover relation to deads as to be indispensable thereunto. Today was 3/3/3 day, and i felt like poopy doody. It was 385, 410, and 435 for weets, and 410 sucked so bad the week and a half before that i had only tenebrous, vague hallucinations of completing with any dignity--- not to mention i'd failed to pull a single with 455 those 2 or 3 weeks ago. But 435 locked out thrice with so little of the usual eyeball-bulging and near-loss-of-consciousness that i gave serious fractions of seconds'- worth of thought to pulling it a fourth go. i didn't; i just racked. But the presence of such a thought did wonders for morale. So i cranked out 4 sets of GMs, grabbed a chain belt, and headed to the pullup bar. In spite of weighing in at 213, i yarded a set of 20, then strapped on a 45 for another set of 8 and a set of 5 or so.

Then we went and looked at houses, which ate up the rest of an otherwise totally gorgeous Saturday. But at least i managed not to get bitten by a brown recluse. Word.

time for the purge

BLEEEEEEEEHHHHH. Been a strange couple o' weeks on the ol' workout front. i did finally get a problem on the climbwall that had been eluding me; but it probably went at solid v4. Not exactly a notch on the belt. But it was nice to lay it to rest.

Just finished a 5/3/1 cycle on deads. That's the odd bit. i just have had no time or energy to do the other workouts. Started out strong: got through the 5/5/5 bit on bench and OH press, and got 7 with the last set of 5 on bench. Then i just ... i dunno ... fell off. Went in on friday to see what happened, and gave up after a warmup set with 135--- it just hurt. Bleh. And then this 5/3/1 on deads was just sad. i couldn't pick up 95% of my max once. verylongsigh.

On the other hand, the last week of work went reasonably well. And there's Thanksgiving this week.

And i think we've found a church. That would be happy.

Gotta find a new start here soon.

Cupcake in the wild

It has been a long freakin' time since i've posted up. And you people are even worse. But i got a text from all of you about bringing bikes up here, so i'm confident you're still alive.

we're presently discussing churches here. i think i need more faith.

Bleh.

On the fitness front, the last two weeks were kinda intense. Two thursdays ago i did a bouldering comp here. Then, on saturday, i did the big comp at querque. Now a week and a half out, i can finally make a tight fist again without grimacing.

This last week ended up being a max week, so's i could get a baseline. Got 225 on bench (yeah...i know), missed locking out 470 by a smidge, and pushed i think 155, but not 160, on OH press. Something like that. Now i'm gunna try to restart the 5/3/1 thang. We'll see how this next week goes, and if i'm still employed at the end.

Quickie

Sloped in to the climbgym on the way outta town yesterday. Friday they had a bouldering comp so there were tons of new routes up. Good times: kinda wipes the slate clean. They take down all the frustrating crap you've been flailing on for the prior few months. Supposedly i snagged a v5 (which i'd downgrade) and several 3s and 4s. The one striking thing is how fast i get worn out these days. i don't think i've lost much power, but if i'm gonna compete, i've gotta start working on endurance. i need to just do tonnes more volume. And it wouldn't hurt to lose a stone or two.

Few weeks in

Methinks you people have checked out. But i'll post for me so's i can 'member what i've done. Week and a half ago i did a bouldering comp at the college wall there. That was kinda cool actually. They set some pretty fun routes. This last week i went reasonably hard on deads. i tried for a double with 455, but missed. Got that second one off the ground, but it wasn't gunna happen. Then i missed a single with 465 i think. But it worked out to be a good workout. Last monday on the way outta town, i popped in at the climbgym, and snagged a v5 i'd been missing. That was nice. Thurs i stacked shoulders and bench for a heavyish day, then swam a while. Swim's getting better. And there's a light at the end of the tunnel on the job-front, it seems: i might actually get privileged in the hospital soon. And i think it'd be just dandy if i could actually engage in doing the job i'm hired for. And i finally got a full paycheck this last week, and after a nearly-three-year drought in being payed that's a breath of oxygen. Now to find a house there large enough to store my wives and children and livestock...

Gyming again

i've (temporarily) rejoined the Borg Cube here for out-working, and i've thus far put in a hearty effort at getting my money's worth out o' it. There's a pool there, and i got in my first swim yesterday in-- well, since whenever i last was here-- 9 months or so. It actually surpassed my wildest imagination of how it was gunna go. My shoulder issued a filthy click through a certain arc in a certain plane of swing, so i had to tightly clean up my stroke: pro'ly a good thing at any rate.

Today i did sort of a free-form deads workout. Something like: warmup, 1x10x135; 1x10x225; 1 or 2x5ish x 315; then 2x2x405. That was happy juice, cuz that(ish) was my max a year or so ago, and i was afraid i might return to baseline after sitting on my arse for so long; but the couple of doubles didn't feel all that terribly stressful. And i didn't have a belt or chalk. So there's hope it won't take me ages to get back in the game. Also did some bent o'er bb rows (1x10x135; 2x6x185) and face pulls. Turns out their cable row pulley is mounted so high it's perfect for face pulls. Also did some p'lups, but mainly to remind my lats that they're needed and could they please not divorce me for my neglect.

Did shoulders on monday, and that went surprisingly well also. i think i have probably lost a lot of strength on OH presses, but i was just happy my shoulder didn't collapse and leave me crying in a crumpled heap in front of all the frat boys. Cuz it's hard to get your menacing glare back (and the elbow room that comes with it) once you've lost it.

Anyhow, so far i don't have any formal plan for getting all jacked--i'm just super happy to be stressing my bones again. But i'm encouraged that maybe i haven't slipped too far down the steep, steep slope. Still haven't managed to pull on the runnin' shoes, but that's coming.

tagup

i thought i'd post to post.  Nothing much to say. i've made a li'l progress on some projects in the climbgym. Gunna go in today if i can--see if i can put an end to one or two. Still haven't been in to the irongym. my shoulder is still bugging, and in the last few days i think i've surreptitiously strained (badly) my left iliopsoas. Which is kinda weird. i don't know how, and i didn't even know that was possible heretofore. Sometimes i think things happen just to remind you that you're rocketing towards old-geezer-hood. Ah well: this old geezer is planning to pull down some v5 today in as poor a fitness as i've ever been in.

Work starts monday, and i have a feeling that's gonna do wonders for my psyche, and my workouts. Nothing like having no family around and no climbgym to inspire me to go lift and run. And i'm pretty amped about the job. Feeling like a n00b once again; but i'm amped. Prayers please.

More two-a-day

Went again to the climbgym twice today. Got a v5 sloper problem in less than 800 tries.  nice day, really. And i have a start date for work. Pretty encouraging, really.

Two-a-days

i clumb this morning. Which was a bad idea upon retrospection-- i had not enough coffee before going. The grogginess was high, and the pain tolerance was very low. i was fairly well rested after the two day lay-off though. i nearly sent one of the Unclimbables; only i didn't. But i came soooooo. stinking. close.

So i went to the house, drank three cups of superblack, put some baseboard down in a room or two, then went back to the gym for another go.

i failed again. But this time i don't know why. i think my left hand has nearly adapted to the stress the penultimate hold demands of it. i really do think it'll fall next time i go in healed.

But the second time round i ran into a friend, and he asked me if i'd like to rope up. Hee hee! That was pretty amusing. i think the last time i'd been arope was long about December. i've developed into a very strong climber over about 6 or 7 moves. i fell off of some pretty sad holds to fall off of. Then we bouldered some more. And now my hands are meatloaf. It's kinda tricky to type just now, in fact. But i might just send that stoopid proj if i heal from this. And if i could keep that up, i might just be a fairly fit climber come comp season.

mundy...wait...MONDAY!!! (WooHoo!!)

Thought i'd post up, just to not be the wet towel i've been in my last couple of posts.

i climbed thursday and saturday, and so yesterday and today are off days. Been a while since i've taken two off days together, but i think my wee hands demand it after saturday.  thursday i got one of my standing projects--a very solid v5-- which shrunk the circle of Unclimbables. Goofy thing has this finish move that's just nearly impossible if you're not built for it. I've seen lots of strong v7+ climbers hit it, bounce off, and shake their heads and walk away. You gotta hit this glassy, directional sloper from the wrong direction. But i finally got a solid(ish) left hand on it, and did something wonky with my feet and matched for almost a second before i blew off of it. Don't know if it would have counted as a "controlled" match for competition, but i caren't: i'm taking it.

Then saturday, i didn't even try for a proj. During the warmup, my hands tol' me without uncertainty that tiny crimps were not gun' happen. But they put a bunch of new routes up in the cave, so it was like being a kid in a candy store. Ended up just doing tonnes of climbing, and got a bunch of 3s and 4s. That was a fantastic day of climbing. Reminded me of how deep a rut i've gotten into. Been so long since i've done that quantity of climbing, my hands are still creaky and sore two days later. i'm absolutely going to have to interject more days like that into the regime.

Cirque of the Unclimbables

i have a new routine. it's funny.

really.

i go to the climbgym approximately every other day, i warm up a bissel, then i jump on one of my four or five standing projectos, and fall off of the finish hold.

Good, clean fun really.

But i can't help but think, "Ya know, it'd be just fine to send one of these any ol' time now, you wanker."


Oh well though. i keep in mind i'm not the only one aging at breakneck speed, and that any friggin' day now i might actually get to go to work, and in such an event i might just start feeling like a real live human again.

In the meantime i think i might be sloping off into some mild schizophrenia.

If i knew how, i'd post up an email from one of the credentialing people at the hospital. It's in maybe a 40ish pt italic font on a pink background, and it elucidates nothing whatever.

i'm beginning to hate people for a hobby. Some red flags go up about that, but i can't help but imagine how satisfying it'd be to just choke the hell out of a nearby idiot.

At any rate, i picked up a 10th anniversary Stone Ruination ipa, and it's really good. Let's just stick a pin in that thought... right there...

Speaking of which, sounds like Bolt got smacked down in the 100 and 200 qualifiers by some fellow Jamaicans. Good on 'im. His ego could use some deflation. just like mine.

Submission Hold

i don't know at this early point just what this post is gunna turn out to be. But G's right: not doing any good by flying under the radar. So post i shall.

It's been....let's just see here...aaaaalmost three months (that'd be 1/4 of a year) since i've lifted iron. i hurt my shoulder, and it's gone from "Damn, that do smart!" to i'm running out of muscles to hold my humerus in the right vicinity of a shoulder. i should be rehabbing it with bands and scrap, but ... i dunno. i'm stressed to the breaking point at the moment. i loathe waking up in the morning(ish), and i hate staying awake. Which makes it hard to find the motive force to move iron. So after months of working on it, i have my license to practice. i thought that this might maybe mean i could start working. But no. It means i  can apply now for my pharm board license, so that i can, thereafter, apply for my dea numma. And then (presumably) i might be able to start. Assuming i have insurance by then. i am so up to my effing eyeballs with this. We gotta sell our place 'fore we can get real serious 'bout buying another, and i've gotta have a job before that. So i might be living in a tent for my first month or so of working. Which, honestly would thrill just the hell outta me if i could just go get a damned paycheck.

But that's all about why i'm stressed. Not about working out. i have been climbing somewhere between every day and every other day. i have trouble going longer than that or i start losing my sanity at an even higher acceleration. And truly (that's without an 'e'. Don't get "truely" tattooed on your person, or i will call you a moron, and point at you and laugh) i have little to complain about there. i'm not making any progress, but i'm still working 5s and 6s, which is kinda impressive seeing as i'm fatter than i've been in most of my adult life, and i haven't done any other strength exercise in three months. It's kind of amazing how fast three months can slide past. Especially when you're living in a cloud of stress and beer and just nearly no sleep.

Well i'm pretty amped to see you people. So you better make it here safe. Peace.

Happy days and Sunshine and Lemon Drops and Crap

If i don't start working soon, i'm going to go insane. That's all i'll say about that.

i was going to post up yesterday, but it started coming out as dark, depressed diatribe, so i put it off 'til i forgot about it. But i climbed today, so i thought i'd post that up. i climbed. There.

i've been climbing pretty consistently like every other day for three-ish sessions, then i'll take two days off and start over. It's the only thing keeping me from a heart attack and MDD. Today was a pretty good workout, even if i didn't really smack down anything huge. Been working on this v6, and i finally got the crux move worked out. Didn't link, but i think it'll go on a fresh day. Po'rful moves on that 'un. Also got (i think) the crux worked out on another 6 i'd given up on. So i have several good 'uns in the hopper. And i was happy 'cuz i think this was the first session in a rather long series from which i left with actually broken down forearms instead of sore, swollen fingers. Felt like a real live workout.

On the work front, they got my signed contract and now i just have to jump through the next million hoops so i can finally do something. Waiting is not (it turns out) my forte. i feel a lot like crawling out of my skin.

Resolution and Stress

i've been not working out. Climbing a bunch for the last couple o' weeks; but not really working out. i really hurt my shoulder bad those several weeks ago. For some reason, climbing seems like the most logical way to rehab it (seeing's that's how i hurt it in the first place). i've been climbing pretty much every other day for the last few weeks. Interestingly, it hasn't led to too much carnage. Saturday i got a "v6" in three tries, and knocked out several 5s to boot. Which is an up-swing since i'd been failing at 4s up till then. Been working a hard 5 for the last couple of sessions, but i missed it today.

Got a contract at the ortho group in farm town. The worst part of all this is the paperwork. i loathe paperwork. And i hate asking people to be references for me. As in, it nearly gives me an anxiety attack. Hate. It. But at least i have a proper job in the cross hairs, and there's a paycheck on the horizon. Now if we could figure out how we're gonna afford to move there, maybe i can sleep at night.

-C

i'm official! Goes to show you that even the not-particularly-bright can make it into the game. But that large-ish planet has been lifted off'n m' shoulders, and i'm praising God. :)

Thank you for your prayers.

Horizon

i feel like i should post up something. i feel much as though there has been (and remains) a large-ish planet sitting on my shoulders. i suspect that much of my anxiety will dissolve if i find that i passed my boards. Otherwise i'm hosed, and i suppose i'll go find a job at Target. But to make the process as painful as possible, they only release scores on Thursdays; so even though my test was likely graded within seconds of my pressing the finish button, and i took it on a Tuesday, i didn't manage to make it in the cut-off as did my classmates who took it the day before, and i get to wait 'til this Thursday. And i have an awful feeling about it. If i passed that, it's because God wants me to.

In the event i did pass, i think i might just have the job in Farm Town. we're kinda excited about it. It's just hard to get really motivated when i know i might be scrubbing toilets at a gas station instead. Bleh.

Well since my last post, the only breed of workout i've done is climbing. i subtly dislocated my shoulder weeks ago, and it still is punishing me for it. But i've at least started pulling down some harder problems again. And my w'il pingers haven't really suffered from the cut-back: been doin' some right crimping even with my tubbier-than-ever butt hanging off the other end. In fact, saturday i second-tried a v5, then flashed another 5. It raises serious doubts as to whether either of 'em were really 5s, but (as usual) i'll take 'em.

i've progressed from a continuous respect of my deadlift workout to a base, gnawing fear. methinks i might just take a week and do a hard "deload" sort of workout so's not to eject a disc outta my back like it's a Batmobile toy.

'Preciate the prayers--thursday's coming like a freight train.

Distraction

i'm supposed to be writing my CV presently, but it's giving me heartburn and an anxiety attack, so i'm actually doing everything but working on it. So i thought i'd waste some time and scribble some workouts. i went climbing on saturday (i think) to see how the boys'd do freed, as it were, from some of their moorings, and a couple grams lighter to boot. During the warmup i realized that climbing wasn't going badly, but dropping to the ground was a bit jarring, and just generally a very unwelcome experience. So i sent this "v6" i'd been flailing on for several sessions prior, and i sent it first try. Crazy how the threat of pain can motivate a brutha to get in the zone.

Today i went back. i have--in addition to nearly rupturing a hamstring and electively taking on some iatrogenic pain--seriously jacked up my shoulder. For a while there it hurt to put it most positions above my head. For the last couple of days it's been hurting me to think of putting it in those positions. But i climbed. And it turned out to not be a horrible session. i got a "v5" that i'd failed out a few times before. For the record, i don't really think either route was actually up to the grade on the tape, but i still pulled out better climbing sessions post-surg than pre. But my shoulder buggeth. On the other hand, it was kinda refreshing for something besides my finger joints to be the weakest link in the chain. Getting old is for the birds.

elderly, but respiring

In a fit of exasperated irritation, i went to the gym for some dead liftin'. i really thought not to do it today, 'cuz i jacked my left hamstring just yesterday. And it was 5/3/1 day today, so i figured it could only go south. But i was, as i say, exasperated, and i went in to burn off some steam. Workout called for 360, 410 and 460. Put on the belt for the 460 lift and got a double, although i was mighty unsure how that was gonna feel on the dorsum. But i didn't pop anything, so i tried for the PR lift with 480. And she locked out for me. Very happy feeling, that. And having pulled a PR after 3 months of trying with a badly strained hamstring made the whole sport seem... unpredictable. No sense to it whatever. Maybe the messed-up shoulder'll get me a fresh bench PR. Be hard to publish an article on that sort of thing.

Tomorrow morning i go under the knife to end the expansion of my empire. i have to say i do not look forward to this at all. But i s'pose the threat of it helped fetch me a new PR. And i should have plenty of time to study, what with the sitting about o'er the next few days.

Second verse

Climbed again yesterday. This time i did some toe touches first. But before i could jump on the proj, i ran into a friend and got talked into leading some routes. That's fun. i have no endurance at all. But it was fun. Then i got on that route i'd hurt myself on a few days ago. i tested my hamstring lightly and it felt like it should hold. So i raced through the first bits of the route, dropped into that heel-hook boldly, and i actually heard (and felt) something crunch. i'm pretty sure i didn't completely rupture the 'string, 'cuz it doesn't hurt enough, but it's mighty stiff and sore today. i can straighten it out, so it can't be that bad, but i might just skip the deads this week. And that bums me out like crazy. i've really been feeling like i have another pr on the horizon. And i feel like i've chucked it in the toilet. And on top of it, my shoulder feels much like i dislocated it. Haven't figured that one out just yet, but i can't lift my arm above my head. i'm planning on doing back, so i'm going to try some deads to see how it feels--probably tomorrow. So who knows? But i can't wait 'til wednesday 'cuz i have a certain dead-lift-limiting procedure scheduled for that very morning. Now to go ride mountain bikes for three hours with a mauled hamstring.

Bleh.

i'm tired of being in limbo here. i think i need a job and a kind of routine.

Unscrewing the pooch

You know those moments where you think back into the almost immediate past, and wish you could maybe do something just ever so slightly different? i had one of those moments today. i went climbing, and--while a li'l on the foggy side of life--was actually looking at having an above average day of it. i warmed up on some v2ish thing. i did several pullups. i taped up my less stable fingers. Then i saw this "v6" that looked doable, so i jumped on it, nearly flashed, and came pretty darn close to shearing a hamstring loose. As i was dropping through the air, i thought Maybe if i'd have just done some toe touches first...

i gotta say that the quality of my climbing spiraled downward thereafter. Came to find out experimentally that every heel-hook in the gym is, in fact, a left heel-hook--left side bearing that hamstring i attempted to free from its moorings.

i can't help but think maybe this is gonna negatively affect next week's deads. But there's no point worrying 'bout that yet. It might not be as bad as it seemed.

Also i'm gonna say that Monday's combined shoulder/ chest workout was a li'l excessive, and my left shoulder is in a bad way.

i think i'm mostly just getting old. And i'm tired of it. Maybe i'll go run if i get the chance...see if the aged leg will support me in that endeavor.

But i'm done with school! (Yay for the home team!) So about that Man Trip...

back again

Did deads yesterday. 3/3/3 day with 385, 410, and 435. i got 5 with 435. i was pretty pleased about that. i've taken on some new rules for deads day. No carbonated water and very little to eat before. That seems to stave off the mediastinal bubbles. And i'm gunna conjecture that the active deload week worked better than sitting on the couch. i also got in some BB rows before i had to leave. i'm hoping to get some more in today. i feel more like taking a nap though. Vamos a ver.

percreta

Clumb before leaving town sunday. It didn't go too badly. It didn't go too goodly; but it didn't go too badly. Mostly, i didn't hurt just everywhere for the first time in a long while. That was nice. i'll happily attribute that to the couple of runs/ detox i did last week. i warmed up with some pullups, and my brachioradialis muscles didn't feel like they were about to pop. i cranked into some two-finger pocket hangs, and my joints didn't try to disavow association with one another. i came very close to flashing another v5. That was kinda cool. But my project didn't go. i did lots of warm up for it. i did lots of warm up around it. i refused to make eye contact with it. (i've gotten nearly superstitious about the thing). Then i jumped on the crux and sent from there first go. But i couldn't stick The Move. Couldn't. Could. Not. This i attribute to the pint of Scotch i had the night prior.

But i did some otherwise really quite solid climbing. And i didn't hurt.

Yea.

Today i smooshed together the benching i was supposed to do last friday with the usual OH press workout. 5/3/1 on bench (finally). It was 185, 210, and 235. This time i conscripted a spotter, got one with 235, but couldn't quite lock out the second. But it was a better workout. Spotters are worth every cent of the $0.00 i pay 'em. Then OH press was 3/3/3 day. 140, 145, and 155. i got 'em all, but locking out that last rep took some hitching, and generally hoping that the spring clips didn't slide off the bar. Li'l harder after heavy bench, methinks. Then i did dips: 4 x 12 with bw. Then DB militaries supersetted with lateral flyes. Those started just sucking. Also did some cable pressdowns. That's a different deal stacking shoulders in with chest/ tris, but i really liked it. Made for a very meaty workout, and i was still outta the gym in about an hour.

On a happier note, tomorrow's my last day of schoo', and She seems very interested in jobs all over 'Raddy. That makes me really glad. And i'll go home to my happy li'l strip-mall gym with a new appreciation for how never-at-all do they have Sexual Chocolate on the playlist. Now to get that resume in sendable condition.

Five days (weekend included) and counting...

Ran a half hour today. i'm still fat and slow, but i did shave 20 or 30 secs off of tuesday's time. If i can just shave 20 seconds off of each run, it won't be long 'til i'm clicking off 6 minute miles. :-)

Every girl is capable of murder....if you herd her

i used to think hip-hop was just mildly gay: as in Hey now, i do not think that was a well though-out lyric. In fact, i think maybe he/she just strung those words together 'cuz they rhyme. But having found it to be the only genre of music folks in this hemisphere can apparently imagine working out to, and having as such had it inflicted on me until i actually know most of the words to most of the songs, i now think it's either written by a random theme generator (as in, pick a theme--say, "her ass vs. my work ethic"-- and it sews together the 50 or so obligatory emotion-words with which that theme might be cathected) or else it's composed by IT, that central brain thing from "A Wrinkle in Time."

And being a kind of fan of Country and certain breeds of Rock, i realize that every genre has its ignorant, jingoistic, and just plain poorly-thought-out songs. I just have yet to run across a Hip-Hop song that isn't. i can imagine a song that isn't about the singer's balls or self-deification; only i haven't run across one yet. And how do you work out to that crap with a straight face? i mean, even if you like it, how to you work out to it? i like some Country, but i can't work out to it.

Anyhow. Today was deads/back. G inspired me with talk of density, etc, so i tore it up pretty good, imho. 5/5/5 day again on deads. Because i failed to move a heavier bar last cycle, i left my percents based on 480. So it was 360, 385, and 410. Then 20 p'lups. Then BB rows: 12 x 135, then 2 x 5 x 185. Then Face pulls: 4 x 10ish with some weight. Then Good Mornings: 4 x 12 x 115. Then DB rows: 10 x 80 (each side), 6 x 90, and 8 x 90. Right side's definitely a bit stronger than the left on these. Then DB shrugs: 3 or 4 sets of 10 with 100s, 'cuz they don't have any bigger DBs.

i've gotten used to doing deads in pants in the cold weather 'cuz i leave with skin on my shins, but it was a bad idear today. Way too hot. But the workout felt a bit easier than last go-round, so i've hope i might edge a li'l mo' iron on the bar here in a few weeks. Less than a week to go here. :)

acidote

You'll be proud to know that i ran for 31mins this evening. Okay....ok. Ran might be something of hyperbole. But i shuffled along with my heart running like a rusty sewing machine for 31mins. It's funny: in my early twenties when i still had serious thoughts of racing elite, i never thought old age would happen like this. i always thought i'd eventually drop dead from an embolic something-or-other; but i never thought there'd be a day when i'd be afraid of running. But that SUCKED, and my fears were well-warranted. Map says it was 1.5 mi out, so i was right at 10min miles.

i went to the doc yesterday fo' to acquire some labs. Plannin' on ascertainin' my CBC, 7 and lipids. See if this diet thing is killing me. But more germane, i weighed in at 209. i have just ballooned over the last couple of months. My diet just is outta control. And i hardly know why. i think mostly i just haven't been doing anything aerobic. But i definitely also have been drinking too much and eating too much cheese and fattening crap. We'll see: less than a week of this ob/gyn shadoodoo left. Mebbe things'll smoothe out some then.

Eet Mor Chikin!

So i switched gyms today for OH press. Very small place...kinda ghetto; but i sorta like it. Can't say what, exactly, i liked about it. i guess most of the people i was ignoring or otherwise pushing past were not altogether rude pricks. Lots of Fake Lat syndrome going on though. And a Zumba class happening in the room directly adjacent to the weights. And a continuous stream of hip-hop dance. Huh. Maybe that's what i liked about it: i've never finished a workout that fast, nor with that density. There's not a particularly good place to do something like OH press. There is a power rack, but some dude was doing knee raises from the bar on top. So i dragged a bar off of some bench (before anyone could notice that i'd stolen their bar) and i just cleaned the bar in the middle of an aisle trying hard not to hit the odd machine in front of me or trip o'er the bench just behind. As far as i know they don't have any 35lb plates, so i just started with 135 cuz it was easier. 5/5/5 day, then, with 135, 140 and 145. Went just fine. Then supersetted 4 sets of 12 on DB militaries with 40s and lateral raises with 20s or so. And i walked to the gym and back 'cuz it was a mighty pretty day. i'm gunna make a point henceforth to miss the prime-time zoo. There was even some dude's li'l kid running around. Cute kid, but that's nerve-wracking.

On another note, here's an interesting article: http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/760275?src=cmemp
i think this article left some very vague, loose ends begging some questions, but there're some good points in, and some interesting thoughts. Tawk amongst ya'selves. Discuss!

bench again

After nearly 3 weeks off of bench, i made myself go in yesterday. Did chest and abs. 3/3/3 day on bench. It was 200, 210 and 225. Only i did 5 with 200, and missed the last rep with 225. Not as bad as i deserved, i'd reckon. Did some dips, and DB flyes too. Abs was sad. Been a couple of weeks on those as well. Straight leg raises for 1 x 30 and one with 20ish. Then a couple sets of 20 hanging crunches and a couple sets of 20 on each side of DB oblique thingies with a 70. i need to stay on that better. The workout just always falls on a friday, and i go home (usually) soon's i can on friday afternoon. But it wasn't too bad, for all that. And it was a nice day, so i walked the couple of miles to the gym. Prob'ly won't get anything in today, but hopefully i can pull off a nice climb sesh this weekend sometime. It was deload week, so hopefully i'll be nice and healed. Peace.

holla' back

Deload week. Still. i do believe this is the first deload week wherein i've actually done anything weight-lifty at all. Pretty good back workout today. Deads first: 2 x 10 with 225, then 2 x 10 with 315. No belt and i tried the overhand grip thing, but my hands started unraveling after 3 reps or so with 315, so i switched to the staggered grip. And i didn't take chalk in for some reason. Them there hurt: felt like my spine was coming unhinged toward the end. Then did bent over BB rows: 135 x 12, then 2 x 6 with 185. Then good-mornings: 4 x 12 with 115. Then a set of 20 pullups with bw. (i ain't getting any skinnier, it turns out.) Then one-arm DB rows. Hadn't done those in a while-e-o. Umm, think it was 12 with 70, then 2 x 8 with 80. Left arm wasn't feeling quite as spry as my right. But i like those things. i'm gunna hafta add 'em back in. Then 4ish sets of face pulls with increasingly heavy random amounts of weight. Those are tricky. i like the motion, but the only way i can get the angle right is to so 'em standing up. Only then i have to lean back to not pull myself forward--which tends to change the angle. The stoopid seated row machine doesn't adjust, and the angle of pull's so low, it doesn't work what i want to work. Anyhow: still a pretty fine workout.

CoR

Monay I went in for shoulders. Deload week, so it was boring. Did 4 or 5 sets of 10 on OH press: something like 95, 105, then 2 or 3 with 115. Then I did a set of 20 pullups, and generally walked to the water fountain a lot so I could flex my neck muscles for the hot chicks. I may have also done some toe touches and arm swingy things. I do recall clearly trying to get my mojo on to some song from the Twilight soundtrack and wanting to break my teeth on the bar. But the last time I went to the desk to request a change in music, the chick went to her secret lair and switched it to an all-British-80's-band station. Amazing what you can dredge up with satellite radio.

Yesterday I went to city of rocks for some bouldering action. There are very few places I've been where I just felt overwhelmed and all about taking pictures, but that place was seriously cool. I ended up doing very little bouldering, cuz many of the possible problems were very highball, and nearly nothing was developed. I suppose the place was a volcanic bubble like Hueco. The ground is all a plate of rock, and the boulders sorta just rise up outta the floor. Imagine this 30 foot thick plate of lava with "boulders" carved out of it by the wind. So lots of the rocks were more like sculptures than fallen chunks of mountain. And not a lot of holds, oddly. Love to go back with a posse and more pads. Be a good time.

Hemarthrosis

So i ended up with an extended, lazy weekend. i ended up doing just almost nothing at all. But i did climb on the way outta town today. i've had a headache and a near-anaphylactic reaction to the whole world going on for the prior 4 days or so. Today was the first day i felt vaguely human. so i thought i'd put it to the test. Actually felt pretty strong. i got that v5 i nurly got on thursday. That was very encouraging. One of those sends (and, in the end, sessions) where it didn't matter so much whether my footwork sucked or that all the holds were crappy crimps; i left finger divots pressed in the plastic and there was no way i was gonna fall. Very cool feeling. Then i went up and worked on the project. i've developed an approach to the thing. i start at the final crux (which is this really big, very precise throw under the ceiling) and make sure my head and hands can handle that ('cuz if they aren't there for the end, what's the point of starting it?) Then i start working backwards from that point. There was a single move before that point that i had not yet stuck. And honestly i wasn't sure i was strong enough to stick it. But i stuck the crux to the finish 'til i felt good about that bit. then i started working that middle piece: directional, not-too-savory left hand high; no left foot; horrible right foot; then the right hand moves from an ankle-high crimp to an above-the-head flat pinch. Every single time i stick that pinch, my feet cut and i rock off the holds before i can swing back in to the footholds. But i stuck it today. It was like my right hand somehow got stronger since thursday. And i linked through to the finish. i didn't manage to link from the start. Too tired. But i got the wonkiest, hardest bit of climbing. Now i absolutely know it'll go. i'm super psyched to get in fresh and on. i mean, sending that piece of climbing was this huge victory. i hopped off the finish pumping my fist like i'd sent. And for sure, that piece of climbing was very stiff v5.

Somewhere along the way i also managed to hurt my middle finger. i thought maybe i had bled into the joint because it was taped. But i think i damaged a collateral ligament. i'm hoping that heals by thursday, 'cuz i found a really good-looking place to boulder down here, and i brought the crash pad with me. Right then.

deads. stale. obese.

5/3/1 day on deads yesterday on m' lunch break. i think it was 380, 410, and 460. i tried a double with 460, but it didn't happen. Then i tried for a new max with 480, and that also was an epic fail. i was glad to finish the prescribed sets, but i was hoping for better than that. But i have a culprit. i pulled a hamstring last week doing deads, and it was still bugging me a lot. So i don't feel too discouraged. Didn't do any of the rest of the workout cuz i was outta time and left for home after work.

Today i climbed. Started off as a "Mehh" kind of session, but it improved. Actually did a bunch of climbing. i tried my project v6, which is...very arm and core dependent. i'm gonna say the deads yesterday did not contribute in a positive manner to this particular climb. i gave it a few burns and gave up. And the vibe was very thursday afternoonish. Lots of n00bs in tennis shoes. It makes me nervous to climb around folks who don't know what they're doing. Nothing snobbish about it; but they'll walk right under you and never know how close to death they came. This group of teenage guys was upstairs and had a never-ending assembly line going on this v1, taking up the entire wall. So i squeezed in and got on this very hard-looking not-terribly-hard problem that i had done before. Got me a "Whoa. That's strong. i'm going downstairs." Then i had the whole cave to myself. And i was happy. That kind of arrogant crap never works for me.

Went downstairs and watched this guy working on a 5+. Then i flashed it. i think that might be the first time i've flashed v5. So i question the plussiness of that one. But i'll take it. Then i came terribly close to getting another 5. Got one hand on the finish, but my feet popped before i could match. So it ended up not being a bad session.

blown keg

Did OH press for 5/3/1 day today. 130, 145, and 165. i got 'em all, then tried (twice) for a new max at 175, but i missed. i think it went much better than the last cycle, but i'm thinking i've hit a sort of plateau here. And that bums me out. i mean, i realize you can't just keep making gains to yer max on every workout every four weeks indefinitely. But i had a pretty good run there, and i kinda got used to the feeling. So i've decided instead of changing the workout up and making it more complex just to make small gains, i'll just totally decondition for the next six or eight months and start over. That way, rather than ever having to deal with the tedium of crossing the mesa, i'll constantly experience ultra-steep gains up to a sort of pinnacle and then BASE jump off the other side.

Speaking of which, i have a consult on thurs to go under the knife. And how could that not be fun?

pec free

i didn't get to do chest on fri 'fore i left for home. Then i didn't get to do it saturday either. So i've decided to leave it till next week, or else it'd mess with OH presses tomorrow. i did stop by the climbgym on the way outta town, just to see what'd happen. Wasn't climbing badly, but i can tell that once a week is not enough to keep the meat hooks strong.

verylongsigh

i got on my project, and did indeed manage to repeat the "crux". i think i've got that ironed out and wired now. But i still can't stick this one stinking flippin' stoopid move. You hafta throw for this pinch off of two bad feet and a bad left hand. i can hang the pinch, you see. But then my feet cut and i squidge off the crappy thing at apogee every fraggin' time! It is becoming a study on the descent into madness. i friggin' know i can hang that move, and i pop every. flippin'. time.
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I TOTALLY KNOW I CAN HANG THAT FRICKIN' MOVE!(!)

It's a matter of going in calm and strong and awake. ijustknowitis.

Hey, we should do one of these climbing festivals one of these times. That'd be a party. Do some tough mudders or so, and meet up for Hueco Tanks' Rock Rodeo next year. That'd be one sick time. There's a road trip a gnawing at my soul, homies. i think we're about due one. Can i get an amen?

pummeled

i had a hard time getting outta bed this morning. i had a hard time bathing my further-distal appendages. i had a hard time securing my shoes on my feet. My back felt exactly as it tends to the day after a hard deadlifting session. Only i hadn't done that session yet. My spine felt compressed. Anyhow, i moseyed in to where i was s'posed to work today, and the FNP i was to work with was off for the day. Yay for the home team!! So i moseyed right back home and thought seriously about doing my impending back workout. Then i was struck with an epiphany: why not walk to the gym? Maybe it'd loosen m' back up a bit. So i did. Packed the Inzer and chalk into my backpack and took advantage of a sunny breezy day for the walk.

It was 3/3/3 day on deads. Umm: 385, 410, and 435. But i had to seriously convince myself i was gunna look like a little girl if i didn't. (i don't know whom, just exactly, for i'd look like such; only i knew i didn't wanna post up that i'd bailed.) It hurt a ton, and i think i might have actually damaged a hamstring. But once again what hurt the most was the air in my chest. i can't seem to figure that one out. When that's not there, i feel like a monster. But when i get air --i dunno-- trapped in my chest? trachea? esophagus? it hurts like hell. And that sucks. Anyhow, i otherwise finished out with pretty much the same workout as last week, only i didn't do all the good mornings 'cuz they were further damaging my hamstring.

Then i peered out the window and it looked like i had a view from inside a submarine in a toilet full of diarrhea flushing around me. i walked the mile and a half or so back in maybe a 35mph sandstorm.  That out-sucked the workout, so i guess i have that to be thankful for. Anyways, i gots to modify my sleeping arrangement or i'm going to be an invalid soon. i'm happy to have that workout over with.

Sacacorchos

Yesterday i did OH press/ shoulders. 3/3/3 day, it was: 140, 145, and 155. Didn't get any extras, but i got 'em all locked. Then did super-sets of DB militaries (with 40s) and lateral raises (with my finger nails).

Today i failed to run. But i got closer. i found last night (and much to my chagrin) that there is no corkscrew at this casa. So i walked the 2 miles to wal-mart for a corkscrew. Very motivating. Maybe not yer typical motivation for a constitutional, but it worked. i even avoided the temptation to plug in some grizzly for the occasion. And i saw a couple out for a jog along my route, so i'm building confidence.

Tomorrow it's deads/ back. Should be a really good time.

-------------------------------------------------------
so presently 

it's 10:41, and my NP preceptor didn't come in to work today. so i'm looking down the barrel of back work. This makes me want to cry a li'l. i sleep on something akin to a squishy slab of plywood. And my back currently feel fused. i mean, i feel as though i just finished deads, and-- Lo!-- i'm 'bout to go get started. This bodeth not well.

Creaky

So i came in the door last night and Soren saw me and puked a few times. Effortless projectile...duodenal atresia style. (Probl'y a li'l late for that). i think all of 'em managed to hurk at some point yesterday/ last night. Made for a hectic homecoming.

Worked chest over lunch yesterday. Didn't have a ton of time, so it was truncated. But i got bench in for 5/5/5 day. Think it was 185, 200 and 210. Once again, i didn't feel super with it, but i got all the reps--even if i racked it on the last set and had to rest a sec to finish. i'm getting fat. Not exactly a runner-friendly town, methinks. i might have to resort to treadmilling. But i'm way outta shape. Had to seriously suck it in to get my belt buckled in the third holes. That's sad. Let's see: also did i think 4 sets of 10 dips. Then i left. Today i feel like an eighty year old. Worked abs a couple of days ago, and you'd think i hadn't used my abdominal wall for righting myself outta bed in 3 months. Absolutely pathetic. Today i'm having trouble moving. i think i'm gunna try climbing. Not looking for a powerful day out there, but i gots to move the diarthrodials. i really have been wondering if i'm coming down with something, or if i'm just exhausted. Anyway, let's see how a little climbing feels. At least my finger joints have had a desperately-needed week off.

---------------------------------------
And then...

So climbing didn't go so badly. i put a few burns in on my v6 proj, and couldn't repeat the crux moves, but i did get a new "4+" that'd tossed me last time in, and several other 4s. My hands definitely benefited from the week off; my gut definitely picked up some gravitons. And i'm also gonna say the murderous back work and ab work didn't exactly contribute to the monster factor whilst climbin'. But if i can find a way to use this not-climbing time to also lose some lard and rest constructively, that project might just fall. And that'd be just fine.

Hurt

Yesterday I did back. That was nearly crippling. 5/5/5 day on deads. That was 360, 380, and 410. I think I nearly tore open my lower esophageal sphincter on the last two reps. Seems like the last cycle or two, i've been ending up with 405 on these, and it didn't feel that bad. But this made me hurt for it. Took some introspection and soul-searching to not quit after number 3. I just didn't have much pain tolerance. Then I did bent over bb rows, face pulls,Oh, and weighted pullups. Haven't done those in a coon's age. I've lost some serious strength on those. But every time I do'em I get like a crazy tendonitis in my brachioradialis. Can't seem to get over it. And good-mornings.

Today i did abs. Even less pain tolerance. Hanging leg raises, side bends with a db, some crunches. Bleh. Not that it was a terrible workout--i just had no strength and sad, sad pain tolerance. Hopefully i'll sleep some before next week.

And i get to go home tomorrow. Pretty amped about that. Peace.

Back on the Borg Cube

Today i shelled out really way too much jack for a month's membership at Ultimate Fitness. The reason i did this is because apparently Ultimate Fitness is the only gym in town that carries weights in increments greater than 10lbs.  The way too much money i paid grants me access to an almost-comically large array of buttock-shaping machinery. In fact, they have another warehouse-sized building (that i refuse to peep into) in which they hold spinning classes, and (according to the slightly over-excited elderly lady trying to sell me on the whole package) sundry other jazzasteppazumbic herd exercises. Ultimate Fitness very clearly invested significantly more of it's retirement fund into the tiled bathroom and mirrors than into its way ghetto "free weights." Why can't a gym sustain itself by spending 1/3 as much on a mortgage, 1/3 as much on equipment and then charging me 1/3 as much money? i just wanna pick up a bunch of steel. Why do i have to pay a bundle to have also to watch people doing silly things with hydraulics?

Well anyhow, for my 50 bones i got to do 5/5/5 day on OH press. They do have a power rack, and i finally cobbled together enough plates of roughly the same brand and shape to do a workout. It was 135, 140 and 145. Then i supersetted DB presses and lateral flyes. Seriously, deadlift day is gonna suck. i mean i actually do not know if they have enough of the same shape of plates level out the bar. They really must'a hit all the garage sales in town.

On a cooler note, i got a call from a doc in Farm town asking if i'd be interested in a job in heme onc. i got a shining recommend from the surgeon i worked with there. And that is cool. i'm so intimidated by the thought of heme onc that i wouldn't even know where to start studying just to not look like a moron. But the fact that i got my name dropped frankly kinda chokes me up a li'l bit. And the guy said they'd like to meet me and have me maybe come out and follow 'em around for a week or so to see if i'd like it and if we're compatible, etc. Kinda wild. i'd appreciate the prayers about that. Li'l bit overwhelming. But definitely the good kind of overwhelming.

try

So yesterday was long. Had a four hour mock version of our boards which i passed. So supposedly i'm ready to sit for my boards now and pass. That's somehow comforting. Then we had another 3 hour test over many of the same things but also an EKG read, x-ray read and a bunch of dermatological nastiness i.d. i think i passed that one. Had my last mock clinical today. Slam dunked that one without the jitters i had on thursday. So i think i might just graduate one o' these days. And that'd be just fine.

i take off for the dirty South tomorrow, so i sloped off to the climbgym to see if i could knock off my proj before i go. But it didn't happen. i had the crux moves pretty much wired on thursday, but today i couldn't do 'em. That thing is righteous hard, and it's gonna take a special, strong day do get 'er done. And i'm kinda glad. There're a lot of climbs i project that i think are really hard and even get a stiff rating, but once the beta falls, the climb just really isn't that hard. This does not appear to be one of those. And i'm absolutely certain i can get it. But it's gunna be a very crisp, superhuman sort of day for me. i just hope they leave it up long enough for me to get back to.

...on my way to where the air is cleeeeean. Can ya tell me how to get...

Climbed tonight. Ok, ok...rewind. First of all, i passed my first OSCE (whatever that stands for) which is a clinical trial. Tomorrow i take a four hour long test followed by a two hour test. Then i have skills tests in EKG, radiology, derm id, and... i dunno, something else. Then another osce saturday afternoon. Then i'm free to hang out with the fam for several hours before i head south. Prayers. Please. But today was a good day.

So anyhow, i climbed. And it was good stuff. Got that "v5-" this time. And it really didn't feel all that horribly hard. The crimpers were intact for the session, and it makes a world of difference. It really is funny how one day i can't even imagine hanging my chunky butt on some hold, and another day i can hook it like it ain't no thang, chalk up on it, adjust my spectacles, wipe my nose, meditate into a transcendental state, then press it out to full extension. i knew that 5ish thing would go. But happier still, i finally worked out the crux moves (in a long series of crux moves) on this serious v6. It's one of those things: it has until tonight seemed totally impossible. But then i figured out the move, and in real, live, disciplined redpoint style i kept linking it further and further back toward the start. It's really a long climb for me, and every move on it is very powerful. If i can link it, it would be the hardest climb i've yet done by a tidy margin. It's maybe 14 moves--twice as long as most of the 6s i've sent, and every move is balancy and powerful. In fact, i've popped off of every single move on it. That would be a step upward. But i have the really hard bit wired. It's all about getting into the gym on one of these bird-are-chirping-and-the-sun-is-shining kind of super-tendon days. But i don't wanna get to strung up about it. i know i can do it. And there are bigger fish to fry in the next few weeks. But it sure would be swell to tick that one...

blip

Clumb yesterday. It could have been worse. i think i was going for the "flame out" session before i'm sentenced to Deming for OB/Gyn. Ummm...well, my hands have been in worse shape. i can say that. i have felt more arthritic, and have at times had less mobility in the pingers. Highlights: i got a couple of 4s, and i barely missed the finish hold on a "v5-" that will end up having been one of the hardest problems i've done in a very long time. So even though my hands hurt, and i still can't crimp for poop, i have hope that i can attain a high enough anabolic state to perhaps one day heal enough to pull hard again. i figure descending to the third world for a while might just do my hands some good. i'm hoping to find a cheap gym down there.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
...and because nobody read that post, i'll just keep writing until someone does bleeding read my handiwork...

Clumb again. Yesterday, again, now. It hurt. Really rather a lot. As in, it hurts to brush my teeth. As in, the 2 year old grabbed my finger, and i thought he'd broken it. As in, it hurts the nearest joint to tap my fingertips on my lap. But i caressed the finished hold for a goodly while on the proj before i glooped off. And i actually did get some homework done this time 'round.

There is nearly no skin left on my tips. It stings to brush my thumb across 'em. Good times.

D. Crepit

Went in today for 3/3/3 day on bench. Warmed up good, stretched a little first. Got the first set of 200 done, racked the weight and walked right back out to m' car. Totally pointless. Arching my back was like trying to bend a 2x4. So i ran some errands and swung in to the climbgym to see what i could see. That actually managed to be even worse than the benching. i left there after 45mins or so, beaten.

i climbed last night. It was not a great session, but it was an ok session. i stayed too long, but i got a mini-project that was kinda fun and hardish.

Today i'm positively arthritic. My back/posterior chain feels like it's made of cinder blocks. My fingers feel poisoned. i taped the really bad ones up to climb today, and decided i hadn't taped nearly enough of 'em. i am just broken down--old man-hood has seriously started catching up here. Maybe i'll take up running again for the next week.

On a happier note, i passed my peds test this morning. That's behind me. If i can make it through the next week of Summative Evaluation shtuff, i'll be on the home stretch. That's happy juice.

extravasation

Did deads and OH press today. 'Cuz i didn't get to do OH on monday. Which worked out to be just peachy cuz i just did another cram sesh on friday. So it was 5/3/1 day for both workouts. Deads was 355, 405, and 450. i missed a third rep with 450. But i felt all right, so i loaded up 470 and locked that out for a new PR. Happy times.

By contrast, i didn't really manage to finish the workout on OH presses. It was s'posed to be 130, 145, and 165 (on a max of 170). i got all but the 165. That just wouldn't move much. But oh well.

No accessory work. wanted to get some in, but there just wasn't enough time today. But on a brighter note, when i took the tape off my pingers, i'd extravasated blood into the untaped bits for some interesting hemosiderin staining. And how could that not be healthy: Forcing extra blood into sundry joints? And also i was down about a lb and a half from last week. Yea! i'll hafta get some blood work done and see how i compare with B. That oughta be a good time too.

Sunday

Climbed. It went ok, i think. Not a big-numbers day, but i did a ton of climbing. Very nice workout. i degloved most of a ring finger, and my hands feel generally arthritic without sharp, localized pain. So mission accomplished. And i did some reasonably strong climbing, even if i didn't pull the finish hold on any big projects. Just left with that warm feeling that a big, happy, sick, sick day of pulling is on the horizon if i can heal.

Today is OH press. i'm hoping that i didn't really do much damage with the less-than-impressive catch-up session on friday. we'll see.

GarthWalker the Barometric Marauder

i've been a li'l off this week, honestly. i missed OH press on monday, then i missed deads on wednesday. Today would'a put me about 3 weeks off of bench. So i made 'em all up today. 3/3/3 day on deads. It was 385, 400, and 425. i did 405 'stead of 400 'cuz of the plate issue. i planned to pony up 5 on the last set, but i got that weird air-bubble thang stuck in my chest on rep two, and i settled for 3 reps. But it didn't feel like enough of a workout. Even did the first set without the belt on. Then it was 5/5/5 on bench. Should'a been 185, 200, and 210. Didn't get the last rep with 210. i think i could have, but i figured i'd probably be rolling the bar off'n me chest. Could'a used a spotter there. Then 3/3/3 for OH press. i think bench had a negative impact on these. 140, 145, and 155. i got one rep locked out with 155. i was just trashed. Didn't do any accessory work.

Did climb long about wednesday afternoon. Had the babe 'bout 0330 in the morning, and had to stay till the next day; so by five that evening or so i was pretty stir crazy. She let me slip off for a bit since the gym was just down the road. i think it went better than monday's session. Hard to say. Still not particularly great. It highlighted for me that i have matching biceps/brachioradialis tendonitis that, for whatever reason, just won't heal. Maybe that's stress too. And i also managed to inflame the DIPs in both pointer-fingers. That's getting old.

But my brand-spanking new bebe is awfully cute. Very likable li'l feller. You should meet 'im one o' these days.

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'Pparently now the Man can now create random links in yer text to other sites as though you endorse those sites. A soulless lot, those advertising firms. "Text-Enhance links are designed to create meaningful relationships between advertisers and consumers." And the neat thing is you can opt out :-D

i opted to climb yesterday in lieu of shoulders. Just felt like i needed to sweat a little--lube the joints, as it were. It was not a good session. i did get a handful of v4s. That's good, i s'pose. i'm trying to keep in mind that in the not-too-distant past i was very excited when i could go in and rip down a handful of v3s. And i recall i was very excited when i could go get three v4s in a session. That was a breakthrough. So i guess it should be a nice feeling that i can feel a little dejected over only snagging a bunch of 4s. But i wanted more. It was made just super clear to me that i ain't gonna pull at the next level unless i get very serious about losing some weight. And i do not know how to do that. i think that's what really got me down. If i can't get below 190 on a flippin' liquid diet, i just don't know what would work. i guess i need someone to spoon feed me exactly the appropriate number o' calories. Maybe i should'a gone in for shoulder work after all. Hopefully today...

Pre-partum Scribble

At the moment i'm reposing in L&D hoping a baby emerges today. Thought I'd jot down friday's out-workings before it becomes superfluous. I climbed. Got my v6 project, although I tried to disengage my lower spine. The route is only 4 or 5 moves long, but it's an all-sloper problem. Start out hanging on a ledge and you throw a heel up by your hand, then lunge out for a terrible slopey side pull. Match on that and corkscrew up to an awful slopey pinch. Ratchet a left foot up to a chip (left still hooked) then pull across to another terribly non-satisfying sloper side pull. Get "solid" on that and toss for the finish sloper. First burn, i fell going for the last side pull; only there was a big juggy start hold for a different route right I've the start hold for my climb, and when I pitched I toe-hooked that hold, heel-hook still in place. So I fell but my foot stayed put, and I twisted around my sacroiliac joint and hung upside down from my foot. When I jerked loose I wasn't sure I was still ambulatory. I sat down and spun around and this couple working a nearby problem both clutched their mouths and looked horrified like I was in need of a good taping to a back board. Took me a few minutes of twisting and toe-wiggling to convincemyself of my spinal integrity, but then I sent with a new sense of how important it was not to fall.

Then I failed to go in for bench press. So I'm once again behind on chest. But it was a tolerable session of climbing. I can live with that. Now I'm planning to induce a labor. Thinking bout running some stairs.

scattered days

Wanted to tip in to ye olde climbgym yesterday after work to see if i could lay to rest a projecto, along with its ghost which haunts my closed eyes. But She was certain She was gunna loose a baby on the world, and i figured if i went climbing in the face of that i'd look like a true ass. So i came home and got some Plants v Zombies played. (i got the cob launcher, but i haven't had a chance to use it yet.) So today i was torn between lifting and climbing. i've actually gotten kinda attached to both of 'em. i hate having to face this kind of choice on wednesdays. It's an off day from the clinic, and it would (as such) be the perfect day to go climb for three hours, seeing as She isn't generally here anyhow. It is for that reason that i've taken a shine to sneaking a quickie in at the climbgym on mon or tues evening--then there's no temptation to spend today on it, and i don't end up with fulminant tendonitis. But today was deads, and i didn't wanna miss that. So i lifted.

5/5/5 day for deads on a 470 max. Should'a been 355, 380 and 400, but i upped it to 405 so's to get to put bigger plates on. Funny how motivating that can be. Anyhow, got 'em all. On the the bent o'er BB rows i dropped my heavier weight to 175 from 185, and my form improved rather a lot. i tried some face pulls, but i'm not coordinated enough with 'em yet to know if i'm working what i'm supposed to be working. Plus, i did 'em on the low row machine so's to have some leverage to pull against, and i ain't sure that's right. There's no machine with a pulley at face level, and it seems like it'd pull a brutha off balance from just standing. i'm probably over-thinking it, but that's gunna take some practice. Finished with good-mornings, 4 x 12 x 115. Think i might bump that up a notch next time. i like them thar--they hurt. i didn't do abs. Gunna try to integrate 'em with bench at the end of the week. This workout takes too long with abs. And i need to make some major tweaks on the ab work. But deads went well enough, and that's good. i sorta feel like if i were to stagnate right now, or hit a bad plateau, i'd just topple off into the abyss. Between school crap and the looming birth, sitting at home nursing a beer or 6 kinda sounds like the responsible thing to do.

On that note, i'm getting kinda obsessed with the weight loss thing again. Went to Wild Oats today and got a bunch of oils. (They actually have a pretty impressive collection). Didn't find red palm oil, but they had avocado oil, walnut oil, virgin coconut oil, and hemp oil. i poured some avocado oil on my steak this morning, and it wasn't nearly as weird as i'd expected--actually kinda tasty. Put some hemp and walnut in my blueberry protein smoothie, and that's a new winner. Hemp oil kinda rocks.

new cycle

5/5/5 this week. Yesterday was OH press. S'posed to be 130, 140 and 145; but i did 135 instead of 130 'cuz i got to use bigger plates. Did some DB OHs supersetted with lateral flyes. Kinda want to add in some posterior delt work, but i don't want to screw my back up for deads. Not sure how to work that. Maybe i'll be more inspired next week. How's the 4th tier of hell treating you? Warmer there?

Reload

i think i ended up doing a total of one of the deload workouts last week. Mostly i slept poorly, ate poorly, and generally had no time. Friday the gym had an informal comp, but i didn't get to compete. i ran in after work to finish a route that'd been haunting me for a few days, but they'd already replaced everything and had all the bouldering areas closed for the comp. So i went in yesterday, and then again today with the eldest. It's a li'l overwhelming to go in just after they've replaced all the routes at the same time. It's like being a crack addict in a huge warehouse full o' free crack. It's hard to focus on where to start, so i flutter around like a butterfly kinda piddling with projects. Today was a little higher-quality pulling. The first begotten went with, so i was forced to take some lengthy rests--which i think worked out to be a good thing. i'd work my proj for 30 or 40 secs, then she'd need me to watch her for 30 or 40 burns. m' hands still feel arthritic, but it's 'cuz i pulled down some hardcore schmidt, and not 'cuz i pinballed to too many routes. Nothing has a rating on it yet, but i got some stiff problems out of the way. Be interesting to see what they call some of 'em. And i came out of it with a tic-list that's got me amped. i felt the texture on the finish hold of a problem that i'd venture so far as to say might have a 6 on it when the ratings get doled. i think i'll have that one on the next fresh day.

And 5/5/5 week ensues, inexorable as a freight train. i think i bumped my maxes up in everything but bench. It's gunna suck pow'rful, but i 'spect i'll be more of a man on the other side of it.

deload

Definitely a down week here. i'm only happy that nothing heavy is being demanded of me this week. Climbed yesterday. It...it hurt. One of those inexplicable days where normal things just hurt. There's a comp this friday, so they're gunna yank down most of my projectos whether i go to it or not. i thought i'd go tag this v5 i'd nurly got last time in. But from the first sloper i felt weak and torn down. It didn't go so well. i took several drops off the last move, and i managed to actually hurt my hip. And my shoulder. Like, i didn't do anything to 'em; they just hurt anyway. And i'd finish a burn and be huffing like i had emphysema. Then i failed to go in and do deads. i'd kinda like to go pick up some weight just to keep the ol' back limbered up, but i don't think it'll do any real harm if i skip it. i think i need to man up and go for a run or something.

bloodflow

Shoulders tonight. Put 100ish on the rack and did 4 sets of 10ish overhead press. Then some lateral flyes. Then i left. Never actually do these de-load weeks. But i wouldn't mind keeping an upward trajectory. i sorta feel bad when i go in and don't push hard.

But there's a comp at the climbgym this friday. i doubt i'l get to do it, but it could happen. And i'd love to have a good session of it if i get to go. Freshly resoled Miuras came back from the shop today, so i'm jonesing to have a go at some elusive projects. They're so sticky. And i can heel hook in 'em. i've ripped my foot out o' the Optimus Primes more times than i can count. we'll see.

Shrugging with Atlas

Thesis done. That's happy juice. A veritable world off'n the shoulders there. Now it's just trying not to look like too big an idiot and jump through all the remaining hoops to get to the end.

Friday i did bench. 5/3/1 day. It was a workout. 185, 210, and 235. i got 'em all, but it was a non-inspired session. Did 3 sets of 15 on dips 'stead of 4 x 10. They're getting nominally easier. i just started out with no triceps. Started doing some incline bench, but i nearly dropped the bar on myself so i stopped that. Did some flyes. Inclines are weird. Funny how different the movement is.

Saturday i climbed a while before heading to the dungeon and chaining myself to my paper. Climbing went just pretty darn well. Flashed a few 4s, kept missing the last move on a fun v5. i'm hoping to rectify that on wednesday. Vamos a ver. Ended up doing quite a lot of climbing for a good workout. Nicest bit was i kept hitting this shallow two-finger pocket on the 5 and i had no tendon pain. It's been a while since i've been able to pull pockets without fear. It'd be nice to declare my pingers healed for a while.

Deeds

Just for the record:

5/3/1 day on deads. 345, 395, and then got 3 with 440. So i tried 460 and got it for a new pr. i did this last cycle on a 460 max anyhow, so i might bump 'er up to 470 and see how 5/5/5 feels.

Props to Jack Lalane

Once i heard the Guru on television dissing the idea of warming up and stretching before working out. His thought was that lions don't stretch before they take off at 35mph chasing down a zebra, ergo the warmup is superfluous. That was just before he took off swimming across Manhattan Bay or some place hauling 70-some boats to commemorate his 70-somethingth birthday. i scoffed, with images of ruptured quads. But there is a tiny possibility i got it all wrong.

On saturday i got shut down on a v3. i was climbing like a septic platypus, but it was a v3. i worked the finish out finally, but i was too tired to send. That sort of failure haunts my dreams. So i sloped off to the gym last night after work with the intent of crushing and leaving. i untucked my shirt, cracked my knuckles, and send i did. But i didn't leave. i thought i'd ride the wave a li'l further. Retro-flashed a v4ish thing i'd totally floundered on last go round. Then re-sent a v5ish thing and another couple of v3s. Then i went downstairs and got that v6 again. All without any serious arm-swinging or a pre-route pullup. Maybe Jack had it right after all. But i didn't get to shoulders. Planning on doing that tonight. If it works out, i might have just bumbled onto a climbing cycle that actually fits into the iron schedule. That'd be just fine.

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Toozdy:

Yessiree, Bob! This just might work! That was an odd workout. 5/3/1 day on overhead press. So i did my 30 or so with just the bar to get the blood flowing, then i put 135 on to warm up. i totally spaced what lift i was doing. Cranked out 5, then looked at my paper. S'posed to be 120, 140, and 155. So i added on the five mo' lbs and did the set of 3. Then i figured i'd stay consistent and not max, 'cuz i wanted to rep out and make it hurt on the last set. Ended up getting 4 with the 155 (which did, indeed, hurt). Then i thought i'd try to max anyhow 'cuz why not?--i was already toasty and had nothing to lose. So i got 170 for a new pr. And i'm gunna say that was as heavy as i could'a gone right then. i got the bar halfway up, and stalled. Nearly lowered it, and i thought What are you doing?! It's nearly there. Just keep pushing you sad moron! and it crept up to the lockout. That's a pretty happy feeling. And thanks for the cheering there, bro. i needed that. :-)

weekend

Thurs i did nothing. At all. No, false! i played some Pokemon. Made some real progress there with my Emboar. He's like a level 54 now.

Friday i benched. Not exactly an inspired workout, but it felt heavy to me. 3/3/3 day with 200, 210, and 225. i got 2 with 225. Could'a used a spot on that last one. Then dips, flyes, triceps pressouts, and straight leg raises. i'm getting my abs back in better shape. Need to add more ab work though.

Saturday i climbed. Terrible session, numbers-wise. i finally worked all the moves out on a v3. Funny sport, (just to wax philosophical for a sec) but every climb is different, so it's hard to tell if i'm just having a sickly, weakaxed day, or if the climb is seriously sandbagged. i know i was climbing sub-par, and had flowering, fulminant tendonitis bilateral upper extremities, but if that's really a v3, that is one stiff v3. V3/4+. ish. i think if you dabble in v10, maybe there's no meaningful difference, but i wish they'd let fatter people write the rating on the tape. It kills my morale. Bleh. i'm planning on sneaking in for 15mins after work today to link that in my Earth shoes and blue jeans.

Today it's shoulders. Results ensue.

A bad place for diarrhea

Today it was 3/3/3 for back work. Started with deads. 370, 395, and 415. i got a 4th one with 415, sampled a fifth well up my shins, and decided it wasn't worth the prolapsed rectum. But i got a couple of guys in on it cheering me on. That was a nice touch. Then it was p'lups. Here the tendonitis was a real limiter. Basically got 3 with 90#, but it was sketchy enough to know 95 and 100 weren't gonna happen, so i dropped to 80, and 85. Still hurt. i climbed yesterday, so i don't feel too terrible about a poor performance through the biceps. Then did bent o'er BB rows: a set of 12 with 135, then 2 x 6 x 185. Then good-mornings: 4 x 12 x 115. Presently i don't show that i'm crippled whilst walking if i keep my spine balanced perfectly over my pelvis and take little steps.

Yesterday (as noted above) i clumb. This was a bad idea for many reasons. i did send that v6 again, but i couldn't get anything else. Very sad session, and it added greatly to my inflammation pool. Should'a just gone home. Anyhow, no more climbing planned 'til sat or sun.

Monday was shoulders. Good sesh, really. 3/3/3 day with 130, 140, and 145. Got 'em all. i threw around the idear of a fourth rep with 145, but as it got to the bottom of numma 3 my shoulder said Nopers. That'll 'bout do it. So i racked it. Then supersetted DB militaries and lateral DB raises. Quick session. Got the job done.

Now i'm working on my thesis, and'm generally up for doing anything but putting more effort into the daffy thing. i think i'll go have a beer now. That should make me feel better about accomplishing nothing.

Sports Psychology

Went climbing today with the singular goal of not being in the house for a while in order to regain a modicum of sanity. But i hadn't climbed since thursday (if a brutha could consider that climbing), so the mitts'd had a li'l time to re-knit. Paid off, 'cuz i got that v6 i'd been working on last session. Very hard to say if it's really v6, but i'm taking it. Kind of a one move problem, but the one move took me a whole buncha burns to 1) do, then 2) repeat/link through. Big pull-through from under a roof with the right hand on a pinch and the left foot way back under the roof toe-hooking the start. When i finally got it from the crux, it felt fairly easy, but then i could not repeat it for some reason. Finally i'd nearly given up on it 'cuz my hand was exhausted from the pinch, and i got distracted by some hoser waiting on a climb behind me, and suddenly i'd linked through the move. i snapped back to, and realized it was very important that i not fall on the finish moves. Kinda trippy, really. Funny how failing can be purely in yer head.

So to celebrate, i went upstairs to the cave, and got a v5 second try. That, i'm fairly confident, was not seriously a 5. Fatboy doesn't second-try 5s. But it sho was a nice feeling. And i was needing a nice feeling after flailing through the last week. Beautiful way to start the week.

a week back in it

The mantra of the week is Prophylactic Ibuprofening.

 i am a wrecked shell-- the empty hull of what i was before. i do think i've purged most of the poisons i took aboard over the last couple of weeks. But i'd lost a lot of fitness, and several different breeds of fitness. Being back home, it's been like being in a candy store. And i've basically climbed myself into a hole. Been trying to climb like i was climbing pre-Farmtown, and i'm not there yet. Power-wise, i'm in pretty good shape--no real loss there. Enduro-wise, i'm a fat guy trying to climb on li'l girl arms.

So the 5/5/5 deads took their toll. i went in yesterday for p'lups. S'posed to be 5/5/5 with 85, 90, and 95. i got 4.5 with 85 and couldn't lock out a fifth. So i dropped to 80, and failed solidly on number 4. So i went climbing instead. Took my harness with me to just do laps on routes, and i took homework so i could take long breaks 'tween burns. But i spent the lion's share of the session working all the moves out on a v6. Didn't link, but that'll go on a fresher day. i did do some routes, i was fried on a 5.10, and totally melted off of an 11. This was on autobelay, mind, so i weighed probably 10-15 lbs less.

Today it's bench. Results pending.

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Yeah...

...i am mostly inflamed tendons. i could'a used a spot--or at least someone yelling at me-- on bench today. 5/5/5 with 185, 200, and 210. i got 3 with 210, but i had to will it up there. i would definitely have tried the last two if i'd have had a spot. Also did some DB flyes, dips, and cable press-downs. i feel kinda ill now. i have that feeling of poisonous tendonitis starting at the deltoid tuberosity, wrapping 'round the inside of biceps,  spreading across the back of the forearms, and ending kinda at the base of the thumbs. Both arms. i can't figure out what to rub or stretch. It's just everywhere. Maybe some light jogging this weekend?

But that climb is so doable! It is like a drug.

New Year's DPI

Last friday i posted. i went to the climbgym that day to start a kind of downward spiral. The power steering went out on the van as i was pulling out of our street, but i drove it across town anyway. Kinda like steering a very old tractor. Good workout. But the power steering pump had seized up, and we had to replace it. So we spent big swaths of the next few days doing that. And a cylinder is out on the other van. That's why it kept dying on the way home from your place. Spent a load of time diagnosing that, and it looks like it'll only cost about 1,500bones to get 'er fixed (if we do it ourselves), so we're down a van 'til i'm gainfully employed. But at any rate, i climbed that friday, and the thursday before. i think i climbed on sunday--day 1 of the year. That was a li'l much, but i didn't feel like running. It's funny, but the worse i climb (or do anything else for that matter) the more i feel compelled to keep doing it 'til i get it right, and (of course) the worse i keep doing. So i went for over head presses monday: 5/5/5 day on the shiny new max. 120, 130, and 140. That stung a bit. i was squealing up the last two reps with 140 (which was my max a couple of cycles ago) and i didn't wanna break knee and drop under the weight, so i ended up subconsciously standing up on my tip-toes and dropping heels so's to drop through the 90deg point. Then i "supersetted" DB presses with 40s and lateral raises with 20s and 15s for 4 sets of 12ish. i put finger quotes around supersetted 'cuz i think by the end i was taking 3 or 4 min rests between 'em. Shoulders were torched. And i felt kinda dizzy and nauseous from the toxin release.

Yesterday i went back for some more unexpected left shoulder action at the climbgym. Wasn't climbing spectacularly, but i ran into some friends who gave me some motivation, and started working a v7 with 'em. my hands weren't even sorta healed for that, but i put down some good growls. Then we started making up routes, and when we stopped the tiny crimps and started on the heinous slopers the power juices started flowing again. i tried doing a direct finish out of this stupid hard v3, which would skip over half the holds on the route (and which i think would turn it into a stiff v5) and it required this crazy gaston onto a slopey crimp. i didn't snag the finish, but i tried it prob'ly 7 or 8 times for a sick left posterior delt meltdown. i think it'll go if i can heal. i'd like to set a symmetrical version of that move up on a system wall--be a ver' nice workout.

Today is 5/5/5 day on deads. i didn't get 460, but i think i'm'a recalculate my numbers off of 460 anyway...see if i can do the workout without crying. i'll post up when that's done. At any rate, it's nice to be near my gyms and at least looking at getting on a track even if i haven't figured that out completely yet. And i'm with you: i need to gun for <200lbs. i think taking 6 weeks off and loading up on weights has been beneficial, 'cuz i'm locking off one-arm hangs at 208, but i can't help but feel like things'd go better if i were to drop a stone.

On that note, i've stumbled accidentally onto an astonishing discovery: it turns out the less i drink, the better i seem to be able to stay motivated and the easier it is to lose weight. i ran outta sauce the other day, and i felt like a million bucks for the subsequent days.

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...And the deads

Did indeedy manage to go in for deads. Still trying to figure out how to break the workout up into a deads day and pullups, but it's basically working so far. Deads was 5/5/5 day, and i did 345, 370 and 400. (S'posed to be 395, but that's a gay place to end). On that last set i got four, tried the fifth (even had some dude cheering me a "C'mon man!), but i failed. My knees seriously were buckling. So i walked away for a few seconds-long vision quest, came back and saved face. That friggin' hurt. Then i did 4 sets of 12 with 115 on good-mornings. Oh, and 3 x 30 of straight leg raises. Then i went home for protein.

Praying for yous.