Monday's an off day for the tri work, but i clumb at the gym anyhow. Haven't been pulling down any big numbers lately, but i do feel like i've been climbing pretty well. The bathroom scale says i'm down in the 190-192 range, but i think it weighs in kilotons, converts, and wildly guesses to the sixth or so decimal place. Tues. i swam my first set of intervals in years. Did 5 x 100s fairly hard, with 5 sec. rests between sets. Weird how fast that 5 secs. goes by. Then i did kick sets (where you hang on a float and just kick across the pool) and that was worse than the swimming. Need some work on that. Yesterday i climbed again, although again nothing impressive went down. Then i ran fartleks last night, which are like hard intervals, but less structured. Within a 35min. run, took off for thirty sec. hard sprints with whatever rest interval i felt like for 6 intervals. That was surprisingly fun. Didn't know how my fat self would handle the full-bore acid bath, but i consistently overran the 30 secs., and felt pretty good at the end.
i bought a notebook to write my workouts in, so's not to bore you guys with it, but Steph found it, so it disappeared into the aether. Unlucky you.
On a more personal note, it looks like i'm gonna hafta drop school to get a job so Steph can stay home with the kids. That means we'll probably be moving. Not many jobs 'round here that'll replace her income with no related education. Looks like i'll be working on an oil rig, or the like. i'm supposed to start school on tues, and i'm kinda looking forward to it, so i'm having a li'l trouble wrapping my head around the thought of dropping out when i'm this close to grad school, but them's the breaks. It's more important that she keeps her sanity, as there's no real risk to mine: i lost it a long time ago. Anyhow, if you hear of any good-paying jobs about you, i'd appreciate the referral.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Revolution will not be televised
First, the weekend bundle: did an hour on the Dowel Rod of Torture on Fri. Didn't manage to get chest in (again.) Fri. night/Sat. morning we statyed up till 0300 playing Taboo. As a result, i did nothing whatever on Sat. In fact, i had to keep reminding myself to continue breathing. i was supposed to do another 1.5hrs. on the DRoT, but my swollen urethra won that one.
Yesterday (Sun.) however, i eked a good day out. A friend and i went bouldering in the foothills sorta early, and pulled down some spooky highballs up to probably hard v2. we wondered into this boulder field where there was just an ocean of boulders, and it didn't look like anything had been done. we found some really obvious, cool problems, and there was no chalk. There's a really popular bouldering area over the next ridge, but this place has easy access, good landings, just as good rock (read: it all hurts and requires a lot of tape), and no traffic (excepting the hot chicks out running trails that stop to watch you climb...who do not matter...only rapt focus on the route.)
Then i got in a 1600m swim, including my first 1000m continuous since the last time i trained to race maybe 2 years ago. Then i got in a li'l over 50mins. of "moderate aerobic intensity" running. The tricky part there was keeping my heart rate down. After the swim, and probably largely due to the heat, it was real hard to keep the ol' ticker in the low 150s.
Oh, and then last night we went to pick up Annie from a friend's house, and her dad says, Oh, bro... I got you a beer." He hands me a keg-in-a-can of Foster's. i'm all, "Well, i don't think i've ever had a Foster's before," and he says, "Well, you're in for a treat then."
Review: i made it to the bottom of the can, but it was a long, hard swim. And he's got me playing Grand Theft Auto at the same time (which i'd never played before), and Annie is like, "Daddy, why did you just run three stop lights?" And i'm all, "i'm sorry, hon, but i don't know how to drive this thing." Or she's, "Daddy, why did you punch that lady?" or, "Daddy, is that your car?" (then she fades out into introspective silence and sucks her thumb.) It didn't take too long to discover that it isn't really a children's game, nor why it leads semi-autistic inner-city junior high kids to kill each other over. Probably won't be purchasing a pack of Foster's or "GTA: Vice City" any time soon.
Yesterday (Sun.) however, i eked a good day out. A friend and i went bouldering in the foothills sorta early, and pulled down some spooky highballs up to probably hard v2. we wondered into this boulder field where there was just an ocean of boulders, and it didn't look like anything had been done. we found some really obvious, cool problems, and there was no chalk. There's a really popular bouldering area over the next ridge, but this place has easy access, good landings, just as good rock (read: it all hurts and requires a lot of tape), and no traffic (excepting the hot chicks out running trails that stop to watch you climb...who do not matter...only rapt focus on the route.)
Then i got in a 1600m swim, including my first 1000m continuous since the last time i trained to race maybe 2 years ago. Then i got in a li'l over 50mins. of "moderate aerobic intensity" running. The tricky part there was keeping my heart rate down. After the swim, and probably largely due to the heat, it was real hard to keep the ol' ticker in the low 150s.
Oh, and then last night we went to pick up Annie from a friend's house, and her dad says, Oh, bro... I got you a beer." He hands me a keg-in-a-can of Foster's. i'm all, "Well, i don't think i've ever had a Foster's before," and he says, "Well, you're in for a treat then."
Review: i made it to the bottom of the can, but it was a long, hard swim. And he's got me playing Grand Theft Auto at the same time (which i'd never played before), and Annie is like, "Daddy, why did you just run three stop lights?" And i'm all, "i'm sorry, hon, but i don't know how to drive this thing." Or she's, "Daddy, why did you punch that lady?" or, "Daddy, is that your car?" (then she fades out into introspective silence and sucks her thumb.) It didn't take too long to discover that it isn't really a children's game, nor why it leads semi-autistic inner-city junior high kids to kill each other over. Probably won't be purchasing a pack of Foster's or "GTA: Vice City" any time soon.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Knockin' the rust off
Climbed yesterday. Not much to talk about there. i think i just wanted to see what'd happen if i laid down three hard days in a row. Maybe i'll be stronger next week because of it.
Today i cracked open m' shiny new triathlon program, and there's to be no beating 'round the bush with it. Hadn't been on my bike in nearly a year, but i did an hour brick. 45 mins. of pink lining on the bike, and just over 15 mins. red lining on the run, with about 3 1/2 mins. transition time. Held onto an average of mid-160s h.r. for the duration. That made me 'member where i comes from. (And it kicked m' puffy white arse.) i have a feeling the squat workout tomorrow is going to be negatively affected.
i was reminded forcibly why i historically have had trouble hanging onto the gym workouts and the tri workouts at the same time: it sucks the very life out of my bones, and leaves me with the strong motivation to find carbs-- any carbs-- protein, and beer (which contains carbs.)
And exactly 4 seconds into the ride, my urethra was making promises it couldn't possibly keep if i would just please, please remove it from that saddle. i do believe i'm gonna save up and invest in a nice saddle before i do 3 hrs. on the Dowel Rod of Torture. (The one i'm on is 10 years old and was Steph's, so imagine where the gel might optimally be placed, and that's precisely where it isn't.)
[Late Night Addendum]
There: i made it into the gym. It'd been about three weeks since i've had the chance/energy to lift, but after two hours of having the "Guilt Trip 'Cuz You've The Wrong Hormonal Profile" card played on me-- Lo and behold, i found the friggin' energy. Did back with heavy rows for a focus. Definitely not at 100%, but i have plenty of stuff to blame it on, so i don't feel too bad about it. Just felt good to move. i think it was Bodybuilder Night at the gym tonight: All these not-particularly-large people milling about spontaneously flexing in mirrors, and occasionally stopping to play with their own nipples. This one skinny bastard had all the 45s in the gym on the leg press machine so's he could do a couple of half reps. i'm pretty sure he got more gigantic and sexy from lugging all that pigiron to the machine and back... anyhow, i'll give 'im the Motivated Serious Guy Award: i'm absolutely confident i wouldn't do that much work for so few cool points. (Seriously, i was in the Bubble, and i was setting up a bar for some high rows and it slowly dawns that there're no plates. So i'm like, "Huh... whay da hell all da fo'ty fives go?" And i look around and notice this jackass, and i nearly guffawed. It was like seeing Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas poised under enough weight to tether a 747 to the ground.) Mostly i stared at the ground a lot and assiduously avoided eye contact with anyone, but i thought of you, G, that you'd probably have had a good time of it.
Today i cracked open m' shiny new triathlon program, and there's to be no beating 'round the bush with it. Hadn't been on my bike in nearly a year, but i did an hour brick. 45 mins. of pink lining on the bike, and just over 15 mins. red lining on the run, with about 3 1/2 mins. transition time. Held onto an average of mid-160s h.r. for the duration. That made me 'member where i comes from. (And it kicked m' puffy white arse.) i have a feeling the squat workout tomorrow is going to be negatively affected.
i was reminded forcibly why i historically have had trouble hanging onto the gym workouts and the tri workouts at the same time: it sucks the very life out of my bones, and leaves me with the strong motivation to find carbs-- any carbs-- protein, and beer (which contains carbs.)
And exactly 4 seconds into the ride, my urethra was making promises it couldn't possibly keep if i would just please, please remove it from that saddle. i do believe i'm gonna save up and invest in a nice saddle before i do 3 hrs. on the Dowel Rod of Torture. (The one i'm on is 10 years old and was Steph's, so imagine where the gel might optimally be placed, and that's precisely where it isn't.)
[Late Night Addendum]
There: i made it into the gym. It'd been about three weeks since i've had the chance/energy to lift, but after two hours of having the "Guilt Trip 'Cuz You've The Wrong Hormonal Profile" card played on me-- Lo and behold, i found the friggin' energy. Did back with heavy rows for a focus. Definitely not at 100%, but i have plenty of stuff to blame it on, so i don't feel too bad about it. Just felt good to move. i think it was Bodybuilder Night at the gym tonight: All these not-particularly-large people milling about spontaneously flexing in mirrors, and occasionally stopping to play with their own nipples. This one skinny bastard had all the 45s in the gym on the leg press machine so's he could do a couple of half reps. i'm pretty sure he got more gigantic and sexy from lugging all that pigiron to the machine and back... anyhow, i'll give 'im the Motivated Serious Guy Award: i'm absolutely confident i wouldn't do that much work for so few cool points. (Seriously, i was in the Bubble, and i was setting up a bar for some high rows and it slowly dawns that there're no plates. So i'm like, "Huh... whay da hell all da fo'ty fives go?" And i look around and notice this jackass, and i nearly guffawed. It was like seeing Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas poised under enough weight to tether a 747 to the ground.) Mostly i stared at the ground a lot and assiduously avoided eye contact with anyone, but i thought of you, G, that you'd probably have had a good time of it.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Full Salad Bowl
Um. Ran a smidge over an hour on sun. That was nice. Climbed mon. Got a new v3 3rd try. Didn't have the chiddlers today, so i climbed again. Nearly flashed a "v3/4". Got it second try... well, third. i worked through the crux 2nd go, but i hadn't started on the start holds. Almost got two more threes. Now i have something like bilateral biceps tendonitis. So i will now go running. Tomorrow i'm supposed to climb again.
Oo, and i purchased Triathlete Magazine's Essential Week-By-Week Training Guide. i'm'a try to get back in shape for some racing. Hopefully, i will inadvertantly also drop 20lbs. and will find me accidentally flashing v6/7 by next summer. Piece owt.
Oo, and i purchased Triathlete Magazine's Essential Week-By-Week Training Guide. i'm'a try to get back in shape for some racing. Hopefully, i will inadvertantly also drop 20lbs. and will find me accidentally flashing v6/7 by next summer. Piece owt.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Letzte Woche
ich machte fast nichts (activ, ich meine) in dieser letzte Woche. Actually, i climbed three times. Mon. and wed. i took Aeon and Katja with me. Fri. the parents in law kept the kiddos so we could get some talk time in, and i had a chance to sneak off and climb before Steph got off work. Can't say there were any inspired sessions in there, but it didn't go too badly. They put some new routes up, and i made some progress on a few of 'em. i guess i've been down in the doldrums lately with respect to the workouts: hard bouldering for every session works really well for little people who weigh 140lbs. It doesn't work so well for us clydesdales because the tendon damage is so much more extensive. Anyhow, inspired by Bryant, i hung 25lbs. on a chain belt and did some finger board work on slopers on wed. i didn't get in to the iron gym at all this week, and i didn't swim or run. No time at all. i've been exhausted with getting Annie ready for school. The irony is that i'm at the point where i'm pretty sure the most important thing i could do to move to the next level is whatever it takes to drop weight. i'm becoming inspired by Michael Phelps: if i can get to the point where i'm burning 18,000 calories a day, i'm pretty sure i could drop some weight.
Oh, and i found the Lewis tartan. Maybe we can just start our own clan. Wanna compete for Clan Leodhais, B? Damn, i wanna throw something heavy. And i wanna throw it in a kilt. And i wanna do so with no women around me, but with a dark malt lurking weightily within convenient access. Slainte!
Oh, and i found the Lewis tartan. Maybe we can just start our own clan. Wanna compete for Clan Leodhais, B? Damn, i wanna throw something heavy. And i wanna throw it in a kilt. And i wanna do so with no women around me, but with a dark malt lurking weightily within convenient access. Slainte!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Rundown
Perfectly miserable day of chest on thurs. Shoulders hurt, and i was really too tired to be there. Squats went ok, but i'm really glad i cut it short. m' butt still hurts. Swum sat. Put in 2000 m. there, including 2 x 500s. Not the best swimming ever, but i'm glad i got it in. Today i ran for the first time since Katja was born. There have been times in my strange running career when i felt like i could just keep on going forever, so long as i had enough food and water to fuel the machine. Today was not one of those times. The pain started in my knees, moved upward through my arse, and finally decided to settle down in the quads to punish me for the squat workout. Took me over 45 mins. to do a 30 min. run. Anyhow, it felt good to be out there.
Steph started back to work this next week, and Annie starts school (1st grade!) tomorrow. i have to have her there at 0800. The prognosis for continued workouts are grim, but i'm gonna shore's heck try to find a way (i.e., a regular babysitter).
Steph started back to work this next week, and Annie starts school (1st grade!) tomorrow. i have to have her there at 0800. The prognosis for continued workouts are grim, but i'm gonna shore's heck try to find a way (i.e., a regular babysitter).
Friday, August 8, 2008
Didn't have much time yesterday, but i snuck in a really skeletal workout. Worked up to a single with BW + 100 on pullups, got in some rows, and pulldowns. Felt pretty good in spite of dislocating m' shoulder for the 1,000th time the day before. Speaking of which: i tagged that v4 on wed. One of the cooler climbs i've done. Techy, stretched-out heel hook to an "undercling" toe hook to a pair of big dynos in a row. Fun stuff. Gave me hope that i might be on the verge of breaking into the next level. Haven't lost a single pound, but at least it's becoming some slightly useful muscle instead of plain old puffy fat. So while extra water and extra muscle is nearly as useless as the same mass of fat, at least i can see small footholds beneath my gut now.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Finalmente
'S a new week, thank Heaven. Didn't get much done, activity-wise, o'er the weekend. Ma and Pa Grape showed up on fri. He came bearing JW red label. End of weekend. i didn't ever get that pusher day in last week, so we'll see how it goes this week. Lessee-- yesterday was mildly encouraging. Snagged a new v3, and almost got a techy v4 ('cept i was too drained by the time i tried it.) Tomorrow it might just go. Just got back from a swim. Did 1800m-- main set was 3 x 400s. It's a very fine feeling when you get past the toxic, gasping-for-sweet-life stage, and feel like you could keep going forever. i'm not quite there yet, but i could definitely have held form (if a slow, fatboy form) for 800+. i long to get back to 4 and 5K swims. Get as deep into the bubble as you can get, and there's just this rhythm, and you forget why you're there and who you are, and you drool a lot. i like being i the most when i'm not present to be put up with, and'm drooling.
Friday, August 1, 2008
The week of it
Weighed in yesterday at juuuust over 891 newtons. Irritating, that, so i went and bought me a beer to console meself with. Swam on sat., sun., tues. (on which i did 1500 m. (happy)), and yesterday. yesterday's swim i kept deliberately short 'cuz i wanted to see how it'd affect m' iron workout: i.e., would it help or hurt? i'm gonna say it hurt. i felt kinda' sluggish, and i couldn't get very heavy on rows. Worked up to 270 for a double, and i didn't get the first one clean, so i quit. Otherwise it's going fairly well. i love swimming. It's doing nearly miraculous things rehabilitatively for my shoulder/rotator cuff.
Climbed on mon. and wed. Fairly good days, i'd reckon. i've tried this one stupid move on a project so many times that i feel something like arthritis in my right hand; but i'm close, and if my dumb hand doesn't ossify into a useless club i'm certain it will soon be strong as a meathook.
Anecdote Des Tages:
i was doing straight leg deads, and i went up another ten lbs., so toward the end there was some weeping and gnashing of teeth. Occupying the gym at that moment were myself, one other feller, and the chick that works there. For some reason she had it in mind that it was extremely important to vacuum the floor in that particular part of the gym right then. i was assiduously avoiding eye contact with her and the other guy-- who was "stretching" and staring at me like he really wanted me to drop the bar on my feet. Anyhow, on the last set this chick was vacuuming underneath my bar each time i lifted it. So i finished and laughed, and said i was sorry for sweating like a cow on her floor. She seemed to snap out of whatever meditative trance she'd been in, looked a li'l abashed, and said something like, "Oh, um, vacuum cleaner, uh."
Anyhow, nice week of workouts. i'm hoping to get pushers in today, but Annie's b-day party is today, so the prognosis is bleak. i need some rest from climbing. And i'm apparently gonna hafta start running long and cycling if i'm gonna lose any weight. i can't seem to break 200, and i'm eating better than i have in years. i wonder what the ink in a full back piece weighs. Hmm.
Climbed on mon. and wed. Fairly good days, i'd reckon. i've tried this one stupid move on a project so many times that i feel something like arthritis in my right hand; but i'm close, and if my dumb hand doesn't ossify into a useless club i'm certain it will soon be strong as a meathook.
Anecdote Des Tages:
i was doing straight leg deads, and i went up another ten lbs., so toward the end there was some weeping and gnashing of teeth. Occupying the gym at that moment were myself, one other feller, and the chick that works there. For some reason she had it in mind that it was extremely important to vacuum the floor in that particular part of the gym right then. i was assiduously avoiding eye contact with her and the other guy-- who was "stretching" and staring at me like he really wanted me to drop the bar on my feet. Anyhow, on the last set this chick was vacuuming underneath my bar each time i lifted it. So i finished and laughed, and said i was sorry for sweating like a cow on her floor. She seemed to snap out of whatever meditative trance she'd been in, looked a li'l abashed, and said something like, "Oh, um, vacuum cleaner, uh."
Anyhow, nice week of workouts. i'm hoping to get pushers in today, but Annie's b-day party is today, so the prognosis is bleak. i need some rest from climbing. And i'm apparently gonna hafta start running long and cycling if i'm gonna lose any weight. i can't seem to break 200, and i'm eating better than i have in years. i wonder what the ink in a full back piece weighs. Hmm.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Swami
Swum today for the first time in a year or two. i love swimming. There's just something about sumo-ing around in a Speedo...
Lessee: 200 m warmup, 400 m of laps. Did the first 200 in 100m sets, but my shoulder kept trying to relocate itself to a different part of the pool, so i backed down to 50s for the second 400. Gunna hafta rehab that rotator cuff before i can go long. Cooled down with 200 of the usual. Felt mighty good to be in water again.
Oh, and yester'sNacht i did chest/pushers again. i think this setup will work out better for climbing at the beginning of the week. Actually pushed 85s on DB bench for a bunch of reps. It's weird having a chest again. On Incline DBs, on the last rep of my last set i was using the force to get my elbow to lock out, and my shoulder just decided it'd had all it wanted and tried to fail. After some discussion with it, we parted company, and i locked out with my humerus sitting directly on my rib cage. That might have been a mistake, but i locked out. So while i might be doomed to shoulder arthritis, i shan't have arthritis of the morale. Ooo, and i actually broke out the Inzer leather for squats. i was plenty glad to have it too, cuz my low back was unhappy after deads on thurs.
Lessee: 200 m warmup, 400 m of laps. Did the first 200 in 100m sets, but my shoulder kept trying to relocate itself to a different part of the pool, so i backed down to 50s for the second 400. Gunna hafta rehab that rotator cuff before i can go long. Cooled down with 200 of the usual. Felt mighty good to be in water again.
Oh, and yester'sNacht i did chest/pushers again. i think this setup will work out better for climbing at the beginning of the week. Actually pushed 85s on DB bench for a bunch of reps. It's weird having a chest again. On Incline DBs, on the last rep of my last set i was using the force to get my elbow to lock out, and my shoulder just decided it'd had all it wanted and tried to fail. After some discussion with it, we parted company, and i locked out with my humerus sitting directly on my rib cage. That might have been a mistake, but i locked out. So while i might be doomed to shoulder arthritis, i shan't have arthritis of the morale. Ooo, and i actually broke out the Inzer leather for squats. i was plenty glad to have it too, cuz my low back was unhappy after deads on thurs.
Friday, July 25, 2008
The rest o' the week
Lessee here... wed. i managed to get in a fairly good workout. The hard back workout on sat. was a bad idea, and screwed with the climbings, but wed. went ok-ish. However, i resolved to not do that again. went in for the back work on thurs. (yesterday) this time. i was pleasantly surprised that it went so well after climbing the day before. Main thing is i switched up the heavy work from rows to pullups this time. i wanna experiment to see if i heal better and still make progress like this. Thus:
Pullups:
BW x 21
+25 x 8
+50 x 3
+60 x 3
+70 x 2
+80 x2
+90 x 1 (almost got a second one here)
+100 (didn't lock this all the way out...close though)
Straight Leg Deads:
Pretty much the same as last week
Wide Grip Rows:
3 sets fairly light. The wide grip is much harder, and m' biceps were fried.
Rest of the workout was similar to sat's.
Steph snagged us a family membership at the pool. i'm hoping to get to start swimming long again. Went out yesterday and purchased a shiny new Speedo. Nothing like hanging it out in public in a banana hammock to wake a body up in the morning.
Pullups:
BW x 21
+25 x 8
+50 x 3
+60 x 3
+70 x 2
+80 x2
+90 x 1 (almost got a second one here)
+100 (didn't lock this all the way out...close though)
Straight Leg Deads:
Pretty much the same as last week
Wide Grip Rows:
3 sets fairly light. The wide grip is much harder, and m' biceps were fried.
Rest of the workout was similar to sat's.
Steph snagged us a family membership at the pool. i'm hoping to get to start swimming long again. Went out yesterday and purchased a shiny new Speedo. Nothing like hanging it out in public in a banana hammock to wake a body up in the morning.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Prophetic
went in to climb a bit today. Actually, i went in to buy some new Kletterkicks, and inadvertantly climbed some stuff. As predicted i put down one sad day of climbing. Back work on sat. had me torn down for today. But that's ok. i gotta fine tune ye olde schedule, but as long as i'm getting a few stellar workouts in then there's some progress. Went in to REI yesterday cuz i was shopping for La Sportiva's fairly new Miura velcros. Tres sexy, but the closest they had to my size was a solid half size too small. So today i went to the gym to see if they happened to have it. They didn't have the velcro version in my size, but they did have the lace up Miura for $89.95 instead of $140. Couldn't say no to that. Sick shoe. i'll recommend it. If you need a pair of shoes, lemme know and i'll snag you pair. The Miura's one of Sportiva's bestest shoes and this is $50 off. Although i'm pretty sure Glenn's climbing shoes have that same new-leather fragrance as my Inzer lifting belt.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Yesterweek
200 lbs.
Well. After mon's. mediocrity i ended up having a fairly successful week of working out. Wed. i snagged a couple of v3s at ye olde klettergym. Ended up doing two sessions same day. And i blew a hole in the toe o' me shoe, so's i hafta go buy a new pair (as i don't think they'll hold up to a second resole). i wanted to get some back work in same day, so's i'd have time to heal for mon. (tomorrow), but it would'a been a lousy go at it. Instead, i went in thurs. for a pusher session. Bumped the squats up another 50 lbs. so i'm finally over 200 on squats again. Had a mighty fine chest workout with DB bench and DB incline. Went ahead and did hanging leg raises (cuz i'm wanting to start working abs twice a week). And i finished up with one-arm cable triceps presses. These felt kinda cool, and they involve the shoulder, T. major and subscap more than two-handed presses.
Then yesterday i tore my back down proper. i'm gonna try alternating heavy pullup weeks with heavy row weeks. i'll write m' weights down so's i can remember 'em.
Pullups x 10 warmup
Narrow Grip Cable Rows:
10 x 195
8 x 210
6 x 225
4 x 240
4 x 255
3 x 270
2 x 285
1 x 300
These felt good. The last one at 300 i didn't get all the way to my sternum, but i plan to correct that.
Straight Leg Deads:
14 x 95
10 x 145
8 x 165
10 x 185
8 x 205
6 x 225
4 x 245
This was the heaviest i've gone with straight leggers, and my back is unscrupulous about reminding thereof. It's the good kind of pain.
Wide Grip Cable Pulldowns:
3 x 10 x 180
i like these things. i lean back at about 45ish deg. and pull the bar down as far as can past my sternum. Works a vector of lat it's hard to get at with pullups.
Bentover B-bell Rows:
3 x 10 x 135
Experimental. Did these with a supine grip. i wanted to keep the movement as close to a climbing "low lockoff" as possible, but i couldn't get quite the same r.o.m. with a supine grip as prone. Had to use a wider grip to get a similar elbow height. This was a very fine movement. Mucho like-o. i do think i should'a done 'em before the deads though.
Lateral Delt Flys and Reverse Delt Flys (on the pec deck):
Some weight for a bunch of reps. Rehab.
Rarely do i leave the gym, pump a fist skyward Rocky-style, and thank God that i woke up that morning; but this was one of those days. Didn't feel quite so much like a fat old guy. i don't have much hope for a good climb sesh tomorrow, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice. Out.
Well. After mon's. mediocrity i ended up having a fairly successful week of working out. Wed. i snagged a couple of v3s at ye olde klettergym. Ended up doing two sessions same day. And i blew a hole in the toe o' me shoe, so's i hafta go buy a new pair (as i don't think they'll hold up to a second resole). i wanted to get some back work in same day, so's i'd have time to heal for mon. (tomorrow), but it would'a been a lousy go at it. Instead, i went in thurs. for a pusher session. Bumped the squats up another 50 lbs. so i'm finally over 200 on squats again. Had a mighty fine chest workout with DB bench and DB incline. Went ahead and did hanging leg raises (cuz i'm wanting to start working abs twice a week). And i finished up with one-arm cable triceps presses. These felt kinda cool, and they involve the shoulder, T. major and subscap more than two-handed presses.
Then yesterday i tore my back down proper. i'm gonna try alternating heavy pullup weeks with heavy row weeks. i'll write m' weights down so's i can remember 'em.
Pullups x 10 warmup
Narrow Grip Cable Rows:
10 x 195
8 x 210
6 x 225
4 x 240
4 x 255
3 x 270
2 x 285
1 x 300
These felt good. The last one at 300 i didn't get all the way to my sternum, but i plan to correct that.
Straight Leg Deads:
14 x 95
10 x 145
8 x 165
10 x 185
8 x 205
6 x 225
4 x 245
This was the heaviest i've gone with straight leggers, and my back is unscrupulous about reminding thereof. It's the good kind of pain.
Wide Grip Cable Pulldowns:
3 x 10 x 180
i like these things. i lean back at about 45ish deg. and pull the bar down as far as can past my sternum. Works a vector of lat it's hard to get at with pullups.
Bentover B-bell Rows:
3 x 10 x 135
Experimental. Did these with a supine grip. i wanted to keep the movement as close to a climbing "low lockoff" as possible, but i couldn't get quite the same r.o.m. with a supine grip as prone. Had to use a wider grip to get a similar elbow height. This was a very fine movement. Mucho like-o. i do think i should'a done 'em before the deads though.
Lateral Delt Flys and Reverse Delt Flys (on the pec deck):
Some weight for a bunch of reps. Rehab.
Rarely do i leave the gym, pump a fist skyward Rocky-style, and thank God that i woke up that morning; but this was one of those days. Didn't feel quite so much like a fat old guy. i don't have much hope for a good climb sesh tomorrow, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice. Out.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Failure to Rage
Just got back from a relaxing [read: slothful] weekend in Red River, NM; home to a higher density of Texans than most comparably-sized Texas villages. Before we left on thurs., i did an irongym workout. Kept it real skeletal cuz we were trying to get away same day, but it was decent notwithstanding. Bumped up m' weights in nearly everything, including a 50lb. jump in squats, for which i paid during the remainder of the week. The depressing bit was that i weighed in at 202, which meant that (as suspected) i gained about 4lbs. over the 4th weekend. Haven't weighed since.
First thing i did at RR was go to the visitor center and ask for some climbing. The chick ran off a mini guide for me. Turns out there're maybe four or five bolted routes within a 30sec. drive of town. Problem was the 15 min. 45 deg. scree approach. Annie and i scouted it immediately, and i thought it was maybe doable, but it was dumping rain. Next day i hauled my wee family up this approach, and all the while Steph (when i accidentally made eye contact) was giving me the nuclear brow. Anyhow, i ended up with the baby in the snugli, Aeon on my shoulders, and my rope bag and gear on m' back grunting up this quasi-trail/erosion-diarrhea-rut and we got up to the base of the rock and it was immediately apparent that i'd be inviting my own death or the death of one of my children were i to climb. Annie would'a just kept climbing till i made her stop (and i'm not terribly sure she wouldn't'a sent the 5.7 at the base of which i yelled her down.) The belay stance was this craggy 40 deg. number, Steph would'a had to belay with the baby on, and Aeon was running amok. At some length, and fuming, i let it go and we hiked/glissaded back to the car. O for a babysitter! At any rate, the result was that i got four nearly-unadulterated days of forearm tendon-knitting.
Climbed today. Forearms are approaching 90%. Felt fat as before, though. i have been sticking with my rule from last posting, and i haven't felt like i've overeaten since; only i haven't done much of anything active at all. i gotta start running.
First thing i did at RR was go to the visitor center and ask for some climbing. The chick ran off a mini guide for me. Turns out there're maybe four or five bolted routes within a 30sec. drive of town. Problem was the 15 min. 45 deg. scree approach. Annie and i scouted it immediately, and i thought it was maybe doable, but it was dumping rain. Next day i hauled my wee family up this approach, and all the while Steph (when i accidentally made eye contact) was giving me the nuclear brow. Anyhow, i ended up with the baby in the snugli, Aeon on my shoulders, and my rope bag and gear on m' back grunting up this quasi-trail/erosion-diarrhea-rut and we got up to the base of the rock and it was immediately apparent that i'd be inviting my own death or the death of one of my children were i to climb. Annie would'a just kept climbing till i made her stop (and i'm not terribly sure she wouldn't'a sent the 5.7 at the base of which i yelled her down.) The belay stance was this craggy 40 deg. number, Steph would'a had to belay with the baby on, and Aeon was running amok. At some length, and fuming, i let it go and we hiked/glissaded back to the car. O for a babysitter! At any rate, the result was that i got four nearly-unadulterated days of forearm tendon-knitting.
Climbed today. Forearms are approaching 90%. Felt fat as before, though. i have been sticking with my rule from last posting, and i haven't felt like i've overeaten since; only i haven't done much of anything active at all. i gotta start running.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Domino Effect
i'm trying to think of when i've felt more like hammered crap (without a proper clinical diagnosis) than i have today. Haven't actually slept in just over a month now. Yesterday, in an act of desparation, we went to Sam's Club and picked up one of those slow-return foam mattress toppers. Don't remember sleeping quite that badly in a while. Went to the climbing gym for maybe the most pathetic workout i've laid down in a while. Hands still haven't healed from whenever. Anyhow, tomorrow we're supposed to go to Red River (the n.m. one) for the weekend for some r&r. Hopefully that'll help. i get this sleepy and worn down, and i get a li'l psychotic, and things start falling apart. In an effort that nearly cost me my soul, i managed not to have a dip yesterday evening, or today. i've even managed to eat fairly well the last coupl'a days. i'm just too tired to move. i'm hoping i'll have the juice to go work out at the irongym tomorrow before we leave.
Oh, i thought of a kind of plan. Might be corny, but it might just work. You wanna lose yer saturated midriff, and i wanna lose mine; and i'd guess one of the biggest mutual problems we have is a lack of accountability and perspective. So i'll propose we play a game of HORSE. i'll lay down a rule/mantra/commitment and stick with it, and if you can hang, you can add on. Umm, some rules maybe: no starving (obviously), and no giant, sweeping commitments that you can't really stick with. You can modify/qualify liberally, but say so. You can take or leave a rule, but you gotta explain yerself. That'll do. The point is i could use some accountability here, but i don't want someone telling what to do if they ain't gonna do it themselves.
#1) No high fat foods (i.e. cheese or meat) after 18:00. If it's unavoidable, i'll eat half of what i think i want. Supper's when i usually overeat, cuz i can chill. More fiber here, and more low fat protein.
Oh, i thought of a kind of plan. Might be corny, but it might just work. You wanna lose yer saturated midriff, and i wanna lose mine; and i'd guess one of the biggest mutual problems we have is a lack of accountability and perspective. So i'll propose we play a game of HORSE. i'll lay down a rule/mantra/commitment and stick with it, and if you can hang, you can add on. Umm, some rules maybe: no starving (obviously), and no giant, sweeping commitments that you can't really stick with. You can modify/qualify liberally, but say so. You can take or leave a rule, but you gotta explain yerself. That'll do. The point is i could use some accountability here, but i don't want someone telling what to do if they ain't gonna do it themselves.
#1) No high fat foods (i.e. cheese or meat) after 18:00. If it's unavoidable, i'll eat half of what i think i want. Supper's when i usually overeat, cuz i can chill. More fiber here, and more low fat protein.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Paying the Piper
"...led rats through the streets/ Dance like a marionette/ Swayin' to the symphony..."
Anyhow. Keeps going through m' head for some reason. All said and done, not a particularly healthy weekend on the physical front (unless you're given to considering the psychical front a subset of the physical, in which case i could rightly say that everything came out just fruity in the wash.) Hard to pinpoint if the poisonous bit was that we started drinking at 11 a.m., or if it was that we continued until 1:00 the following morning, or if it was just that i ended up eating so damn much bacon. At any rate, i didn't have especially high expectations for this afternoon's climbsession, and i nevertheless still managed to vault right under the bar. i'm pretty confident this is a solid three extra pounds of blubber i'm gripping here, and my hands (strangely) still haven't healed from last week's climbing. i've heard one has to sleep in order to heal, so it is to the lack thereof that i'll attribute my shortcomings; not to flipping that wussy li'l tractor tire and the farmer's walk.
Right then. i'm looking forward to getting those video copies for the Highlands gig, so don't forget eh. And it'd be mighty fine if you guys could nail down some sort of date to come up here, 'cuz i could shore 'nuff use some motivation to lay off the poisons and drop some weight.
And, again, i'm favorably impressed with the spread there G. Makes me wanna invest in windmills.
Nastrovya.
Anyhow. Keeps going through m' head for some reason. All said and done, not a particularly healthy weekend on the physical front (unless you're given to considering the psychical front a subset of the physical, in which case i could rightly say that everything came out just fruity in the wash.) Hard to pinpoint if the poisonous bit was that we started drinking at 11 a.m., or if it was that we continued until 1:00 the following morning, or if it was just that i ended up eating so damn much bacon. At any rate, i didn't have especially high expectations for this afternoon's climbsession, and i nevertheless still managed to vault right under the bar. i'm pretty confident this is a solid three extra pounds of blubber i'm gripping here, and my hands (strangely) still haven't healed from last week's climbing. i've heard one has to sleep in order to heal, so it is to the lack thereof that i'll attribute my shortcomings; not to flipping that wussy li'l tractor tire and the farmer's walk.
Right then. i'm looking forward to getting those video copies for the Highlands gig, so don't forget eh. And it'd be mighty fine if you guys could nail down some sort of date to come up here, 'cuz i could shore 'nuff use some motivation to lay off the poisons and drop some weight.
And, again, i'm favorably impressed with the spread there G. Makes me wanna invest in windmills.
Nastrovya.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Supa' Tweak
Had me one of the best days of climbing yesterday i've had in a while. Climbed a li'l bit on mon. & tues., but took the rest of the week off till yesterday evening. Every 6 weeks or so, the gym puts on an informal bouldering comp for members, and they put up a plethora of new routes for it. i'm anxious to see how i ranked, and what some of the ratings will turn out to be; but i flashed nearly everything i tried. There were a few routes i got shut down on, but it was totally 'cuz i tried 'em too late. You could climb all the routes you want, but you could only tally up yer top ten point-value routes, so i didn't try many high-value routes, cuz i didn't want to fry on 'em before i had ten to count. But i'm pretty confident i got a nice big handful of 3s, and nothing under 2. Couldn't tell if any of 'em were 4, but i doubt it. Did see a bunch of skinnies getting spit off'a my flashes, but it could just be that they were females in men's clothing. At any rate, it gave me warm fuzzies. Couldn't help but think i'd'a clumb even better if i'd been wearing a kilt.
Went in to the irongym today for chest, abs, and "legs." It's becoming a natural split to save hard back work and shoulders for after wednesday's climbing. Here's today:
DB Bench:
60s x 10
65s x 8
75s x 7
75s x 5
Squats:
135 x 10 x 3
Still keeping these real light and rehabilitative.
Incline DB Bench:
60s x 8
65s x 8 x 2
ish.
Straight Leg Deads:
95 x 14
115 x 12
135 x 10
185 x 8 x 2
i do these on a 6" high platform and use 25lb. plates or smaller so as to get full r.o.m. That last set evoked flashes of an ibuprofen bottle at the bottom of each rep, but they felt good. No sproings.
Straight Leg Lifts:
15 x 4
Pec Deck:
What difference does it make? i just do 'em cuz i get to flex in front of a mirror.
Soon i wanna start integrating more ab work: get kind'a jiggy with the open chain stuff. Thought of some nice shoulder work i wanna try. Thought about hucking hammers at things, and that made the incline bench and squats take on a happier aura.
Went in to the irongym today for chest, abs, and "legs." It's becoming a natural split to save hard back work and shoulders for after wednesday's climbing. Here's today:
DB Bench:
60s x 10
65s x 8
75s x 7
75s x 5
Squats:
135 x 10 x 3
Still keeping these real light and rehabilitative.
Incline DB Bench:
60s x 8
65s x 8 x 2
ish.
Straight Leg Deads:
95 x 14
115 x 12
135 x 10
185 x 8 x 2
i do these on a 6" high platform and use 25lb. plates or smaller so as to get full r.o.m. That last set evoked flashes of an ibuprofen bottle at the bottom of each rep, but they felt good. No sproings.
Straight Leg Lifts:
15 x 4
Pec Deck:
What difference does it make? i just do 'em cuz i get to flex in front of a mirror.
Soon i wanna start integrating more ab work: get kind'a jiggy with the open chain stuff. Thought of some nice shoulder work i wanna try. Thought about hucking hammers at things, and that made the incline bench and squats take on a happier aura.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Detox
i climbed on mon. for a horrible bad day of it. Depressing. Then i went back on tues. to rectify the situation. i failed to rectify it. i haven't slept in two or three weeks now, and i think that has something to do with it. i think you're right, G: booze is poison. For a good long while there i was holding myself to a "one drink per day" policy. For the last two weeks i've been sticking more or less strictly to a "mildly hammered" policy. i stayed up 'til 5:00 this morning thinking about normal forces on an inclined plane. That's irritating. Tomorrow i have a climbing comp. i must sleep tonight. And i need to lose 10 lbs. before tomorrow, so i'm gonna go running today. Oh, and i looked up the site you posted on the highlands games. That looks like good clean fun. Where would one find a caber to practice with though. And i need one of those hammers. And some tassled socks.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
sat. 21 jun.
weighed in at 198.
Went to ye olde irongym yestern. was a li'l pressed for time, so i kept it skeletal, but i wanna scribble down the progressions so i can remember 'em. It's starting to feel like i can do real workouts again, and they're complex enough that i really need to break 'em down into at least two parts. i've been working back, legs, chest, abs, and everything else on the same day. Mostly it's because i never know how many times i'll actually manage to get into the gym in a week, and i want to make sure to get everything in. i've been getting in fairly faithfully two times a week for the last three weeks or so. i think, though, that i could get in more if i broke it into smaller parts and knew a workout wouldn't take two hours. This has always been my nuclear blowapart point: trying to juggle hard gym workouts and really any other form of hard training and running. The running's fallen out for the last coupl'a weeks, but it's mostly 'cuz we're out of pocket with Katja in the hospital.
Bench:
3x3x375
Got those raw, then i put some hydraulic jacks under my elbows for the rest.
DB Bench:
10x60s
8x 65s
2x5x75s
Pullups:
bwx18
+25x8
+35x6
2x+45x4
On a whim i did squats:
2x135
The adductors scream now if i make any unexpected movements with m' legs.
Incline DB Bench:
i think i did:
10x50s
2x8x55s
Cable Rows:
8x210
6x225
2x4x240
Form felt perfect on these.
Didn't have time for the rest of the workout. Usually do Dips, Hanging Leg Raises, Straight Leg Deads, DB Shrugs, Pec Deck, and Shoulder Flys/Flexion. i wanna incorporate more ab work, more lat work, posterior delt work, and sagittal shoulder extension work. And i think some tricep iso would be helpful. i've tried to keep the iso work to a minimum, but i'm starting to find some weak links. Don't know if i'll keep the squats up, but i sure do like doing 'em. Gotta go visit m' baby. Peace.
Went to ye olde irongym yestern. was a li'l pressed for time, so i kept it skeletal, but i wanna scribble down the progressions so i can remember 'em. It's starting to feel like i can do real workouts again, and they're complex enough that i really need to break 'em down into at least two parts. i've been working back, legs, chest, abs, and everything else on the same day. Mostly it's because i never know how many times i'll actually manage to get into the gym in a week, and i want to make sure to get everything in. i've been getting in fairly faithfully two times a week for the last three weeks or so. i think, though, that i could get in more if i broke it into smaller parts and knew a workout wouldn't take two hours. This has always been my nuclear blowapart point: trying to juggle hard gym workouts and really any other form of hard training and running. The running's fallen out for the last coupl'a weeks, but it's mostly 'cuz we're out of pocket with Katja in the hospital.
Bench:
3x3x375
Got those raw, then i put some hydraulic jacks under my elbows for the rest.
DB Bench:
10x60s
8x 65s
2x5x75s
Pullups:
bwx18
+25x8
+35x6
2x+45x4
On a whim i did squats:
2x135
The adductors scream now if i make any unexpected movements with m' legs.
Incline DB Bench:
i think i did:
10x50s
2x8x55s
Cable Rows:
8x210
6x225
2x4x240
Form felt perfect on these.
Didn't have time for the rest of the workout. Usually do Dips, Hanging Leg Raises, Straight Leg Deads, DB Shrugs, Pec Deck, and Shoulder Flys/Flexion. i wanna incorporate more ab work, more lat work, posterior delt work, and sagittal shoulder extension work. And i think some tricep iso would be helpful. i've tried to keep the iso work to a minimum, but i'm starting to find some weak links. Don't know if i'll keep the squats up, but i sure do like doing 'em. Gotta go visit m' baby. Peace.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Like Arby's "Cheddar"
Found out yesterday just where meltdown lies. Went climbing, but there was really no point. Fell off'a most everything, including some climbs i've done real tired. Won't go back 'til at least mon. Maybe tues. Got a comp one week from today, and wanna be strong for it, so i'll probably put in one day this next week before then. i'll go ahead and commit myself to the other gym tomorrow. And also probably to finishing off this liter-and-a-half o' vin. my joints are creaking. Oh here's a movie recommend: The Bucket List is pretty good. Katja should be outta the pen on tues, GOD allowing. Please keep praying for her.
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