Saturday, June 08, 2019
06-08-19 Check In
So after Tuesday I switched to no weight lifting. What that means is to ride the exercise bike 20 or more minutes. I've been using a setting called "rolling hills" with the goal of getting 5 miles in 20 minutes. That requires me to average 95 RPM for the speed. My heart rate gets to 150 beats per minute at times. 160 was the highest for this week.
Then I do some calisthenics. Usually 5 circuits of exercises. I can write and post these if there's interest in that. Today I didn't make it to the gym so I ran 1.04 miles around 6PM. The first full mile in a long time (literally years). I did 50 push-ups, walked a lap, then ran 4 laps, then walked a lap and did another 50 push-ups.
The longest bike ride of the week was 25 minutes plus 5 minutes of cool down. That had me sweating more than usual. It is still interesting to notice the "second wind" effect. The video below relates to that.
I missed reporting push-ups one day so I did 110 on the following day. On another day in the calisthenics workout I did 147 push-ups, and one day I did 60 burpees and 100 push-ups for 160 on that count. I also do sit-ups every day and have done 4 count jumping jacks, back extensions, mountain climbers, and more. I get to 3rd or 4th circuit and tell myself, "no one will care if I stop as long as I get my 100 push-ups in." Then I talk myself to get back to finishing up to the 5th circuit.
I ran into lots of friends today. I had a few people tell me that I look well. One person even said they didn't recognize me at a distance. I am still not motivated by "looking good." However some people mentioned how even doing a few air squats, or push-ups once a day helps them in one way or another. That ends up inspiring me. Even though I'm consciously pushing hard it is great to remember that everything counts. So even if you aren't going to a gym every day, or running several miles a week, it's great to do something. Challenge yourself to do 10 push-ups, sit-ups, or air squats a day. Once you start if you feel like doing more, go for it! Share your story, it inspires me and others.
For me it's part of my diabetes reversal which I know takes a lot of work. If you can prevent getting to that, it's even better. It's also diet, sleep, and mental attitude. Work those things as well. I don't know if I'm sharing enough or too much on any of those topics.
KEEP GRINDING and KEEP HEALTHY!!!
Then I do some calisthenics. Usually 5 circuits of exercises. I can write and post these if there's interest in that. Today I didn't make it to the gym so I ran 1.04 miles around 6PM. The first full mile in a long time (literally years). I did 50 push-ups, walked a lap, then ran 4 laps, then walked a lap and did another 50 push-ups.
The longest bike ride of the week was 25 minutes plus 5 minutes of cool down. That had me sweating more than usual. It is still interesting to notice the "second wind" effect. The video below relates to that.
I missed reporting push-ups one day so I did 110 on the following day. On another day in the calisthenics workout I did 147 push-ups, and one day I did 60 burpees and 100 push-ups for 160 on that count. I also do sit-ups every day and have done 4 count jumping jacks, back extensions, mountain climbers, and more. I get to 3rd or 4th circuit and tell myself, "no one will care if I stop as long as I get my 100 push-ups in." Then I talk myself to get back to finishing up to the 5th circuit.
I ran into lots of friends today. I had a few people tell me that I look well. One person even said they didn't recognize me at a distance. I am still not motivated by "looking good." However some people mentioned how even doing a few air squats, or push-ups once a day helps them in one way or another. That ends up inspiring me. Even though I'm consciously pushing hard it is great to remember that everything counts. So even if you aren't going to a gym every day, or running several miles a week, it's great to do something. Challenge yourself to do 10 push-ups, sit-ups, or air squats a day. Once you start if you feel like doing more, go for it! Share your story, it inspires me and others.
For me it's part of my diabetes reversal which I know takes a lot of work. If you can prevent getting to that, it's even better. It's also diet, sleep, and mental attitude. Work those things as well. I don't know if I'm sharing enough or too much on any of those topics.
KEEP GRINDING and KEEP HEALTHY!!!
Thursday, June 06, 2019
Continuing to Rebuild 6-6-19
Did all calisthenics today. Ended up doing 100 push-ups, 60 burpees, 75 sit-ups, and 50 bicycle kicks. For the machine I decided to do the treadmill and did a VO2 max test. I'm at 60.2. I'll have to check back in the blog and find my last result.
I had a massage this week. The massage itself was amazing. It made me notice where my body is stressed. That's not as fun, yet helpful. Can't improve if you don't know something is off. Also tried foam rolling today. My hips seemed fine until I leaned a little to the outside. That was a sign of where I need to work. Back at it tomorrow!
KEEP GRINDING!!
KEEP GRINDING!!
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Time to Step Back
Coach Lee from The PowerPlant has been checking in with me and has suggested that I stop most lifts for at least a week. Given that my lift schedule is usually Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday that means that it will likely be the 18th the next time for deadlifts, rows, rack pulls, overheads, bench, etc. Squats will be played by ear. They have been OK so far.
This means that there will be more calisthenics. I'll do dead hangs and skip pull-ups and dips for at least the same amount of time that I'm not doing most lifts. The 100 push-ups a day will continue.
What will I be doing besides squats? 4 count jumping jacks, burpees, sit-ups, flutter kicks, air squats, mountain climbers, wrist roller, grip machine, seated leg lifts, back extensions (not the hyper-extensions), dead hangs, single leg box squats, monster walks, and more.
Had the buddy who is working on reversing diabetes call. I was not able to get to the phone because of work. We were able to check in by text. He was having a rough morning and at least reaching out was helpful. While individual fortitude and toughness is important, things work better as a team. There is research showing that "survival of the fittest" more realistically means that species survival goes to animals that work best in groups.
A quick update on the bike and run work. I've been testing the perceived exertion and it seems to hold true that we can find ways to talk our body into doing more. The central governor approach has something to it. I was able to get to 5 miles more than a little ahead of last time and I was on less sleep. On days that were lift days I'll do the original high intensity interval training (HIIT) I started with (20 second sprints and 2 minutes recovery).
We will see how it goes! I'll check in again over the weekend.
KEEP GRINDING!! KEEP HIITING!!
This means that there will be more calisthenics. I'll do dead hangs and skip pull-ups and dips for at least the same amount of time that I'm not doing most lifts. The 100 push-ups a day will continue.
What will I be doing besides squats? 4 count jumping jacks, burpees, sit-ups, flutter kicks, air squats, mountain climbers, wrist roller, grip machine, seated leg lifts, back extensions (not the hyper-extensions), dead hangs, single leg box squats, monster walks, and more.
Had the buddy who is working on reversing diabetes call. I was not able to get to the phone because of work. We were able to check in by text. He was having a rough morning and at least reaching out was helpful. While individual fortitude and toughness is important, things work better as a team. There is research showing that "survival of the fittest" more realistically means that species survival goes to animals that work best in groups.
A quick update on the bike and run work. I've been testing the perceived exertion and it seems to hold true that we can find ways to talk our body into doing more. The central governor approach has something to it. I was able to get to 5 miles more than a little ahead of last time and I was on less sleep. On days that were lift days I'll do the original high intensity interval training (HIIT) I started with (20 second sprints and 2 minutes recovery).
We will see how it goes! I'll check in again over the weekend.
KEEP GRINDING!! KEEP HIITING!!
Sunday, June 02, 2019
06-02-2019 Weekly Check In
Just finished a run. I did 0.79 miles at a 12:03 pace. It was a 9 minute and 35 second run. There is something helpful for me to focus on the privilege of being able to go out and run, use an app to measure my pace. I could tell that it could be easy to focus on my elbow/bicep pain, small pains in my legs and hips. So I'm working on the mindset while running to.
During the week I kept working on cardio on the exercise bike set to "rolling hills" and was able to get 5 miles in before 20 minutes. I'll keep working to step that up. It is interesting to notice the "second wind" and try to figure how to work that. There's a theory I ran across on YouTube and I'll share at the bottom.
Weights for the week
Tuesday
Bike for 5 minutes, Range of Motion exercises and stretching
Squat 165lbs for 5, then 185x3, and 210x3 (that was my 1+ set)
Partial set on 14 on the rack, I couldn't get 245 off the pins so I tried 225lbs and was ale to get that weight up 5 times. I'll stay at this place until I can do 245 here.
Seated Calf Raises 57 1/2 lbs for three sets of 10
Then I did a circuit of push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, mountain climbers and 4 cout jumping jacks
I did four circuits of 10, then the final circuit was 15, 12, 11, 10, and 13
Ended with stretching
Thursday
Bike for 5 minutes, Range of Motion exercises and stretching
Bench press 130lbs for 5, then 145x3, and 165x5 (my 1+ set)
Farmer Walk with dumbbell on each side across the gym 20lbs, then 25lbs, then 30lbs
Barbell curls 40lbs for 15 and it was a little uncomfortable (I assumed it was from the farmer walk), then 50x10, and when I went for 60lbs and immediately felt a lot of pain in my bicep. I'll talk about how I'm dealing with that below.
The circuit for the day was push-ups, sit-ups, 4 count jumping jacks and air squats.
Push-ups 42, 20, 20, 20, 25
15 Sit-ups and 20 four count jumping jacks for all 5 circuits
Air squats were 10 on first and 15 on the rest
Stretching
Saturday
Bike for 5 minutes, Range of Motion exercises and stretching
Deadlift 200lbs for 5, 225lbs x3 and this is where my grip starts to falter on overhand, 250 for two reps and it required opposite hand grip. More on this below too!
Overhead Press 50lbs for three sets of 12 my biceps on both sides hurt when I got to the bottom of each rep
Farmer walk again this time 25lbs, then 30, then 35lbs
5 Circuits of 10 burpees, 10 sit-ups (20 on last circuit), 20 push-ups, 20 for count jumping jacks, and 10 back extensions
Ended with stretching
So I'm trying to work around my bicep injury. I figured out it's still not better so I'll have to take longer before trying arm curls or pull-ups. It will be wiser to only deadlift with overhand. That means limiting my lifts to those I can do overhand. At 225lbs my grip starts to falter. I'll do farmer walks, rack pulls, and other things to get the grip stronger without having to use alternate lifts. I have until December before I'm planning to compete so that will give me time to heal before going heavy. I ran into coach Lee today and he took time to check in on how my arms are doing and gave me the advice above. Totally makes sense.
From above: this video talks about how the mind is more important to fatigue than lactic acid. I'm looking for other information on this. I kept this in mind while running today. I could feel my mind wandering toward negative thinking. I could feel the discomfort in my bicep, I noticed my hips hurting, and a little headache. I worked at focusing on what a privilege it is to be able to choose to run. Had a family member out with me. That makes it more fun. I'll keep at it and work at adding a 1/4 mile each week until I'm at 3 miles then go for increasing speed.
KEEP GRINDING!!!
During the week I kept working on cardio on the exercise bike set to "rolling hills" and was able to get 5 miles in before 20 minutes. I'll keep working to step that up. It is interesting to notice the "second wind" and try to figure how to work that. There's a theory I ran across on YouTube and I'll share at the bottom.
Weights for the week
Tuesday
Bike for 5 minutes, Range of Motion exercises and stretching
Squat 165lbs for 5, then 185x3, and 210x3 (that was my 1+ set)
Partial set on 14 on the rack, I couldn't get 245 off the pins so I tried 225lbs and was ale to get that weight up 5 times. I'll stay at this place until I can do 245 here.
Seated Calf Raises 57 1/2 lbs for three sets of 10
Then I did a circuit of push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, mountain climbers and 4 cout jumping jacks
I did four circuits of 10, then the final circuit was 15, 12, 11, 10, and 13
Ended with stretching
Thursday
Bike for 5 minutes, Range of Motion exercises and stretching
Bench press 130lbs for 5, then 145x3, and 165x5 (my 1+ set)
Farmer Walk with dumbbell on each side across the gym 20lbs, then 25lbs, then 30lbs
Barbell curls 40lbs for 15 and it was a little uncomfortable (I assumed it was from the farmer walk), then 50x10, and when I went for 60lbs and immediately felt a lot of pain in my bicep. I'll talk about how I'm dealing with that below.
The circuit for the day was push-ups, sit-ups, 4 count jumping jacks and air squats.
Push-ups 42, 20, 20, 20, 25
15 Sit-ups and 20 four count jumping jacks for all 5 circuits
Air squats were 10 on first and 15 on the rest
Stretching
Saturday
Bike for 5 minutes, Range of Motion exercises and stretching
Deadlift 200lbs for 5, 225lbs x3 and this is where my grip starts to falter on overhand, 250 for two reps and it required opposite hand grip. More on this below too!
Overhead Press 50lbs for three sets of 12 my biceps on both sides hurt when I got to the bottom of each rep
Farmer walk again this time 25lbs, then 30, then 35lbs
5 Circuits of 10 burpees, 10 sit-ups (20 on last circuit), 20 push-ups, 20 for count jumping jacks, and 10 back extensions
Ended with stretching
So I'm trying to work around my bicep injury. I figured out it's still not better so I'll have to take longer before trying arm curls or pull-ups. It will be wiser to only deadlift with overhand. That means limiting my lifts to those I can do overhand. At 225lbs my grip starts to falter. I'll do farmer walks, rack pulls, and other things to get the grip stronger without having to use alternate lifts. I have until December before I'm planning to compete so that will give me time to heal before going heavy. I ran into coach Lee today and he took time to check in on how my arms are doing and gave me the advice above. Totally makes sense.
From above: this video talks about how the mind is more important to fatigue than lactic acid. I'm looking for other information on this. I kept this in mind while running today. I could feel my mind wandering toward negative thinking. I could feel the discomfort in my bicep, I noticed my hips hurting, and a little headache. I worked at focusing on what a privilege it is to be able to choose to run. Had a family member out with me. That makes it more fun. I'll keep at it and work at adding a 1/4 mile each week until I'm at 3 miles then go for increasing speed.
KEEP GRINDING!!!
