Stairs

Just did the whole building, up to the roof, in the Five Fingers. I can't remember what floor that is, forty something. Felt pretty good, only had to stop and catch my breath a couple of times and then not for a particularly long time. I haven't gone back through the archives to look at how I handled this sort of climb around this time last year, but this felt easy.

Some stair sprints are in my future. I want to do Rock Center at a run this year.

More Circuits

4 x

 

10 pullups

10 30# thrusters

10 pushups

 

10 OH squats

 

10 60# goblet squats

 

10 dips

 

As promised, I tried to mix in a lot more grip-out pullups, to my detriment.  I need to do some sessions of sets of 2-3 of those fuckers.  The pullups were awful - lots of breaks and shaky form after round 2 if not earlier.  I don't know why they've gotten so hard. 

BF run

Ran .7 miles, at a good quick pace.  Weather was 28 degrees and windy.  Got some looks from passerby. 

I didn't feel particularly cold, but the second and third toes on my left foot went numb

Fran Less Lite

21 - 17 (should have been 15) - 9 of

pullups (various grips, 50% underhand, 35% parallel, 15% overhand)

thrusters (40#)

 

19 minutes

 

Compare to last time.  While I did go up on weight on the thrusters (supposed to be 95#), and I did do an extra two reps on the middle set, I also went up in time, probably because I haven't been doing a lot of pullups lately.  I also came closer to blacking out than I usually do, which was kind of fun, and got a heavy HGH flush. 

 

I need to do way more overhand pullups.  They are really slipping. 

 

40# on the thrusters is hard enough.  My form is shitty, so I should master that weight before going up.

 

Geniunely distracted today.  I didn't get anything done, and I was totally compulsive about procrastinating.  Not a good feeling at all.  I do feel pretty good after the workout though. 

BF run

0.7 miles. 

The ground is wet, and it's just under 50 degrees (10 pm).  My feet felt a little rough, and right now I'm getting a feeling on my soles like my hands feel after clapping for too long at the hockey game.  I kind of like it.  Off to the shower!

Unhungover Circuits

6 x:

6 pushups

10 straight-leg deadlifts (40#)

4 pullups

10 squats (alternating 40# goblet and 20# overhead)

5 40# swings / side

 

27 minutes

 

Steam, hot shower, long and very cold cold shower

 

For some reason, this felt a lot harder than when I did it hung over. 

 

OH squats are fucking killing me.  I need to look for tips on YouTube. 

BBS, back on the wagon

It's been a while.

 

Warmup was three nice, slow parallel grip pullups, 5 20# swings per side, and 10 40# goblet squats. 

 

pulldown 140# 13

overhead press 80# 8

leg press 300# 5

seated row 90# 9

chest press 100# 13

 

steam, hot shower, cold rinse

 

I got sick as shit over Thanksgiving.  It's good to be back.  Pulldowns at the new, higher weight were a snap.  I wrote down the wrong weight for OHP and ended up doing the same amount of reps at a weight that was 20# higher.  Leg press was a "fail".  I am almost there with chest press, maybe I'll get 15 one of these days. 

 

I am pretty spent now but I feel fantastic.  Really nice to get some good hard exercise in. 

Not Swimming

Planned to swim (which I did once last week - forgot to type it in) but forgot my suit (pattern?).  So I did 5 rounds of:

 

10 pushups (10, 10, 10, 5 5, 5 5)

3 pullups

2 dips

10 40# goblet squats

 

then steam, cold shower

 

The pushups were easy - in fact the whole thing was pretty easy.  Dips are hard on the wrist that I've broken twice, but that will pass in time.  I'm psyched that I did 50 pushups, maybe someday it'll be sets of 50?

Weekend Running

Not much to report, I'm afraid.  Made a whole mile barefoot on Saturday morning.  In general, it felt really good, except that my second and third toes on my right foot were acting up a bit, and the spot in the middle of my left where I had a splinter / shard was aching.  By last night, it had really started to hurt, so I soaked it for 20 minutes in Epsom salts and then started looking for another shard.  I didn't find one, but I did manage to express about half a cubic cm of pus!  Sick!  I put on some antibiotic and it feels fine now. 

 

That was it for running.  I drank and smoked a bunch.  Still, I feel pretty good today.  Thinking about a swim but not sure if I'm going to be able to schedule it. 

Fran Lite

21 - 15 - 9 of

pullups (various grips, mostly underhand)

thrusters (30#)

 

17 minutes

 

I took it easy on myself on this a bit, with breaks and water.  BG was there too and we had a nice chat.  The pullups were the limiting factor.  My sets were between 5 and 2 reps each, and I took enough time off that my form remained solid throughout.  The thrusters were easier than anticipated and I can definitely move up on the weight on those.  In the true Fran it's 95#.  Maybe someday?

Another Round

4 rounds of

 

2 dips

5 pullups

10 pushups

5 per side one-handed OH squats (15#)

 

steam, hot shower

 

The pushups were really pitiful, and proved to be the limiting factor.  Should I go back down to sets of eight?  The OHOH squats are courtesy of DM and they were incredibly hard.  I did the first round with 20# and thought I was going to die. 

the weekend

Ran barefoot 0.7 miles, felt great, could have kept going.

 

Did 13 pullups (5, 5, 3). 

BBS

warmup 10 40# goblet squats, 10 25# swings/side, hang to ten count

 

seated row 90# 13

chest press 100# 13

leg press 300# 10

pulldown 130# 15

overhead press 60# 8

 

dips 6, 3, 4

hang to ten count

 

steam, hot shower

 

Not a great workout, although I did enough on the pulldown to go up to 140.  In general I felt like my stamina was poor.  The chest press felt hard from the very beginning, and while the pulldown felt easy at first (as it should, since I am used to doing pullups at this point) by number ten I was suffering. 

 

Dips were easier than I remember them.  Hanging is fun and surprisingly hard.  Hard to hang on and hard to take a breath. 

CrossFittish Rowing

10 x 250m row, 2 minute rest (erg set at 3-4)

 

hot shower, cold shower, steam, cold shower

 

I didn't bring a stopwatch unfortunately, but each 250m was under one minute, #s 2-8 were under 50 seconds, and I was at the limit both physically and in terms of skill.  In fact on one pull I exploded with the legs a little bit too much and launched my ass right off the seat of the machine. 

 

I still felt a little sick this morning but I feel pretty fucking good right now. 

Timed Workout

Inspired by a look at my archives, I decided to see what I could do in ten minutes.  In just over (about 11 minutes) I managed 4 x:

 

1 dip

5 pullups (chinups actually)

10 pushups

20 bosu squats

 

steam, hot shower

 

recovery food: 16 oz. milk, one apple, some cooked puer

 

Quite the progress from last year at this time, if I do say so myself.  I would have thought that the pushups would have been the limiting factor, and they were, but by round 4 I was starting to falter on the chinups too. 

 

So, total numbers for this week so far: 28 chinups, 40 pushups. 

 

Mark Sisson's latest post raised an interesting question for me.  Going to quote the whole passage that I found thought-provoking:

The best thing you can do to make the transition easier on yourself is to stick to your guns when it comes to diet (possibly why some people find it easier to give up sugar/grain carbs cold turkey) and take top-notch care of yourself otherwise. It can be tempting to tackle one thing at a time in taking on a Primal lifestyle (e.g. first the diet, then add exercise, then go to bed earlier for more sleep and finally work on decreasing stress). If you're really having trouble getting over the sugar/carb hump, that kind of pure sequential approach might not be the best choice for you. In truth, all the lifestyle elements influence physiological balance. Think about improving your lifestyle on other fronts first and/or while you simultaneously switch over your diet. Exercise, in particular, has been shown to both encourage dopamine release and increase dopamine receptors. Of course, it's important to do the right types and amounts.

Finally, once you've hit your groove, I'd suggest staying the course. You might think a short-term break from the Primal diet might not have an impact, but for some people (especially early on in the transition) even a brief interlude (e.g. holiday weekend) is enough to derail the train. As much as we do talk about the 80/20 Rule, try to keep your eating as Primal as possible during this time. Resist momentary temptation, and you might save yourself a week's worth of efforts regaining lost ground. Keep Primal snacks handy to get you through moments of temptation. Maybe have an extra piece of turkey rather than dessert!

I don't, at least at this stage, have a junk food problem, but then for the last couple of years at least I haven't had much of a sweet tooth at all.  I also agree that it's best to attack on all fronts simultaneously, but I am having a hard time talking my dad into doing this, so for him, and for me to a lesser extent, I am following the 80/20 rule pretty literally.  For myself, the demands of convenience plus a wife who is not at all interested in Primal (although is a very good sport about my weird cooking) means that I take a "good enough" approach in all areas.  I focus on eating the right macronutrients, but don't worry about the source of the stuff that I eat.  I eat a lot of stuff at work that is probably cooked in really nasty oils.  The meat is not grass-fed.  I eat pasta and pizza or a sandwich maybe once or twice a week.  I even have a brownie or a pain au chocolat from time to time.  I don't let it trouble me.  Not sure what to do about my dad though.

Running (Sunday); Slightly Sick

Ran 2 miles with SM and pushing the Monstermobile, and did 8 pullups, yesterday.  Felt great.  One of those runs where I could have kept going forever, but couldn't, as the Little Dictator was commanding me to take her to the playground. 

 

After the run, while drinking beer with SM, I started to get the telltale bitter taste in my throat that presages a head cold and generally means that I will be experiencing one of those lovely false ear infections within about 8-12 hours.  I sprang into action by irrigating with NeilMed and taking a hot shower.  When I woke up, I still had some pretty uncomfortable ear pressure but I irrigated again and seem to be fine now.  I hate to say it but this could have something to do with the Bolivar Royal Corona I had on Saturday night. 

BF Running (Saturday)

Ran 0.4 miles barefoot.  An unillustrious beginning to the "Run Barefoot One Mile Per Week" project!  It was quite cold (low 50's, I think) and early in the morning, and two toes on my left foot went a little numb.  Whether this was from the cold or from some kind of neuralgia (I originally typed "neurasthenia" - suppose it could be that too) I can't say.  I also got a little pain right in the middle of my right foot.  This felt like Morton's Toe acting up, but I now think I may have stepped on something that was sharp enough to break the skin. 

BBS progress

pulldown 130# 16

overhead press 60# 15

leg press 280# 19

seated row 80# 16

chest press 100# 14

 

hot shower, cold shower, hot tub, cold shower

 

Next time, up on the leg press and seated row.  And, I should be able to go over 15 on the pulldown on the next round.  I was very close on the chest press, but failed at 14 1/2, just not enough ATP left.  The leg press was a real accomplishment.  I set the seat at 5, which lets my legs bend past 90 but not too much.  I am not really worried about using the leg press to build up the full range since I do so many of the other kinds of squats. 

 

Now, for some Korean food. 

Fun at the Gym

6 x

6 pushups

10 SL deadlifts 45#

4 pullups

5 OH press 20#

10 OH squats 20#

 

8 x 6 40# dumbbell swings, 10 sec rest (alternating sides)

 

Hot shower, cold shower, steam room, cold shower

 

Compare to this. 

 

Fun fun fun.  The OH squats are, like, total misery.  Misery in a really amazing and unique way.  Not hard, and not painful so much, but they give me this feeling like I can't breathe.  I saw a tutorial a while ago about how to do them, need to look at it again. 

 

The dumbbell swings were really great.  Left me feeling like my heart was two sizes bigger.  I think next time I'd like to drop down to 30# and do ten or twelve swings. 

BBS; I am getting weaker

No doubt about it.  Metabolically, at least.

 

Warmup:

5 snap pushups

5 push-down pullups

10 40# goblet squats

10 20# OH squats

 

seated row 80# 20

chest press 100# 14

pulldown 130# 9

overhead press 60# 9

leg press 280# 9 (to true failure)

 

Kind of embarassing, but it felt nice, so whatever, I guess.  Also might have had something to do with the janjaweed and cigar that I smoked yesterday.  I have also gained weight, getting close to 190# again.  Time to get hardcore about the diet again. 

 

The OH squats are *killing* me.  My arms look like weak scaffolding under a heavy load in a high wind.  My hips are like "FUCK YOU" every time I do them.  With the goblet squats, in contrast, I feel like Skeletor and I can get my ass about four inches from the ground with my back completely straight. 

 

Tabata etc.

20 pushups

7 pullups

 

Tabata 8 at 9:22

 

hot / cold shower

 

In a rush tonight but two full days of office sloth left me in a real burn for some exercise.  Kind of odd that I only managed 20, 7 but no warmup and not enough caffeine so there you have it.  The tabata gave me a nice HGH flush but didn't cripple me and didn't give me that old puky feeling so next time it's either 10 or a faster pace. 

How Did That Happen?

3 x:

4 pullups

10 goblet squats

6 pushups

5 swings / side

 

8 pullups

 

20 pushups

 

I did the first sets with no breaks.  Wow does that ever make a difference.  After that I had planned to do a rowing machine tabata, but having forgotten my shoes I was unable to get my feet to stick in the little foot-holder things.  Then I remembered that it was Thursday, when I would normally do BBS, not Tuesday, which is what it felt like because I was out Monday and Tuesday.  So, I then did pullups and pushups to failure.  I am surprised and delighted to learn that I can do 20 pushups *after* my little workout. 

 

Should do some OH presses too at some point - I would like to be able to do thrusters. 

Back from Vacation

I didn't do a hell of a lot exercise-wise on vacation, and I did a lot of drinking and smoking, so there you have it.  Pretty fun and a nice break.  I did manage to hit the Cal gym the first morning there and do this:

 

6 x:

6 pushups

10 straight-leg deadlifts (45#)

4 pullups

10 squats (alternating 40# goblet and 20# overhead)

5 40# swings / side

 

I took plenty of breaks, but still left there feeling great.  Got very sore in the middle of my back, on either side of my spine, and backs of legs. 

 

Trying to think of something fun to do today.  I was planning a Tabata session but I forgot my iPod.  I might do one anyway and just keep an eye on the timer. 

BBS

Warmup:

5 snap pushups

5 push-down pullups

10 40# goblet squats

10 20# OH squats

 

pulldown 130# 17

overhead press 60# 13

leg press 280# 13

seated row 80# 12

chest press 100# 10

 

Not much in the way of athletics has been going on lately.  I've been on the scooter a fair amount lately, probably three nights since last Thursday, and even had my first wipeout (very minor).

 

Seated row was very disappointing.  I just felt like I had no snap.  Also had the persistent feeling that I am not really progressing in general, and compared to my last version of this sequence, I'm not, really.  I was kind of undercaffeinated, and it was at lunchtime.  Lame. 

BBS

Warmup:

5 snap pushups (rest at bottom)

5 push-down pullups (form faltered on fifth)

10 40# goblet squats

10 20# OH squats

 

seated row 80# 19

chest press 100# 13

leg press 280# 11

pulldown 130# 9

overhead press 60# 8

 

I was in an incredible rush, so this was a true BBS workout, with no rests to speak of.  Doing it this way is both harder and more satisfying, and, considering that endurance is a perennial problem for me, I may do it this way in the future. 

 

OH squats were a nightmare.  I was leaning forward 15 degrees by number 7.