Medium Effort

Eating:  just had an apple, going to get some fajitae

Drinking:  water

Listening:  Rapid Spanish

 

Run 3 minutes at 5.5mph

 

deadlift 165# 12

squat 185# 10

WA pullups 50# 9

bench 145# 8 no spot

WG pull 120# 10

OH press 40# 3 x 8

sitting pull 50# 20

situps 45# 12

dips 5

 

I could go up on the deadlift but I think I should focus on range and form.  Squats were hard.  Bench was very, very uneven.  Maybe next time I should drop down and do reps, just once?  Situps were surprisingly hard.  I hate dips. 

A Weird Run

(on Sunday)

 

Ran 2.8 miles (very slowly).  Biomechanically I did not feel good at all, and after about 2 miles I got a very sharp sudden pain in my right calf that stopped me in my tracks.  I was able to continue running and the pain subsided pretty quickly, but it was pretty freaky.  My calf still feels pretty tight.  I need to track down a coach, I think. 

PERSEVERANCE IS KING

Eating: I had another salad

Drinking: water

Listening: La Ballade du Mois de Juin

 

WA pullups 60# 12 check

deadlift 155# 12 check

bench (spot) 145# 9

WG pulldown 120# 9

squat 185! 8

OH press 40# 3 x 8

CG pulldown 120# 8

situps 45# 12

dips 8

incline bench DND

 

My thinking on the OH press and dips and other stuff that I suck at is: shut the fuck up and keep at it. 

MH Tabata

Eating:  apple, and going to Le Paume for lunch in a few with JPM

Drinking:  a small matcha

Listening:  Hammer

 

Ran:

5' at 5.5mph

6 x 40" on, 20" off at 15 incline, 5.5 mph

10' at 5.5mph

 

Only laziness prevented me from running 15 or 20 minutes at the end.  Still, I had a good workout, and I was able to keep a good focus on my form for the entire time.  Better to do that than to run 20, end up slapping for the last 7 minutes and get shinsplints.

 

I liked the MH Tabata format.  I didn't get as winded as I do by the 8th rep on a regular Tabata (in fact, I probably could have survived another 2) but it was still tough to complete, and I was able to keep the running speed down and thus maintain form.  Form form form. 

Sanzen

Eating: Chop't Cape Town Cobb

Drinking: double macchiato

Listening: honshirabe

 

Run 5.5 mph 5 minutes

 

WA pullups 60# 12 still a little jerky at the end

deadlift 145# 12 easy

bench 135# 12 getting there

WG pulldown 120# 10

squat 175# check!

OH press 40# 2 x 10, weak form at end, should be doing 3 sets

CG pulldown 120# did not do

Situps 45# 12

Dips 8

Incline bench 45# 20

 

On the whole I felt really good.  I think I have done some kind of damage to my right quad / hip, so I may skip squats next time.  My running form felt very good, although I kind of felt a little lopsided, like maybe I was favoring one side. 

 

With OH press, I don't know if I should be staying at the higher weight and just doing 8 or 10 good reps, or dropping to a lower weight and doing 3 sets.  I wish Drew Baye would finish his book. 

Sunday 3/22

Ran 2 miles with Wife and Monstermobile. 

 

Some ache in left ankle and knee.  Right thigh kind of sore and wonky from squatting on Friday.

Friday 3/20

WA pullups 60# 10

Deadlift 145# 12

Bench 135# 12 (no spot, on that bar machine)

WG pulldown 120# 9

Squat 175# 10

OH press 60# 10 terrible form

CG pulldown 120# 10

Situps 45# 12

Dips (slow) 4

Incline bench 45# 20

Rehab

Eating:  cough drops

Drinking:  water

Listening:  the clack of my keyboard

 

Coming off a pretty rough cold.  Not as bad as the one I had in BC, but bad.  The Wife had to sleep on the couch last night because of my coughing, and prior to that I had a really bad earache and a sore throat too.  My doctor says the answer is lots of steam.

 

Anyway, I made it to the gym today:

 

15 pushups

Run 20' at 5.5mph

15 pushups

 

Felt very good - nice to get on the treadmill and listen to some music.  Biomechanically I feel very good too.  I took a really long steam bath afterwards and at the moment I feel superb. 

Never More Than 10

Eating: had wurst for lunch (Atkins)

Drinking:  espresso about an hour ago; water

Listening: GOCJ 9

 

Running 5' at 5.5mph

 

WA pullups 60# 12
Deadlift 135# 12
Incline bench 95# 12

Bench 135# 11
WG pulldown 110# 12
Squat 165# 12
OH press 60# 11
CG Pulldown 110# 12
Situps 45# 12
Dips 10

 

Running 5' at 5.5mph

 

Weight 187 and change.

 

A pretty good workout, all considered.  Went with BK, so I had a spotter.  I hated the pullups but got them done, and sailed through the deadlifts, squats, pulldowns and situps.  The squats were really great, felt superb.  I should go up 10 on all of those.  The bench was tough, but I'll get 12 next week, and then I can go up.  The OH press was atrocious.  My form was fucked after 9.  I blame the inclines, which were BK's idea.  I think inclines are sort of stupid, and I would much rather save my energy for the bench and OH presses. 

 

Another point worth mentioning is the warmup.  The little jog at the beginning was very pleasant and I think it really helped with the squat and the deadlift, which were totally painless.  I can't say if this is because it got my HR up a bit or if it loosened my legs up.  Thinking about warming up with rowing instead but I do like a nice slow jog and an opportunity to work on form a bit. 

 

The real point of depression is the dips.  I can't do more than 10 to save my fucking life.  Maybe I should do them first next time?

Hell is Round the Corner; My Secret

Eating: Cold-Eeze

Drinking: nothing

Listening: Grant Green

 

Running:

5' 5.5 mph

Tabata 6.5 mph

10' 5.5 mph

 

I felt pretty good during the first 5'.  The Tabata almost killed me.  I was feeling a little sick this morning and now I feel like I'm getting the flu.  Terrible, achy joints and bones feeling, like I had in BC.  So much for my vaunted immune system.  I don't think the next 24 hours are going to be fun. 

 

Also, it occured to me while I was running during the very pleasant and rewarding first five minutes that I should formally state something that I have been thinking for a while but that I haven't told a soul: I want to qualify for Boston. 

The Idea of Progress

Eating: Chop't
Drinking: nothing, but I will have some matcha shortly
Listening: GOCJ 5

WA pullups 60# 12
Deadlift 135# 12
Bench 135# 9
WG pulldown 100# 12
Squat 155# 12
OH press 60# 12
CG Pulldown 100# 12
Situps 35# 12
Dips 10

weight: 188#

A repeat of last week, but with very different results. Look at all those 12's! On the squat - I think it was 155 last time too, although I may have written down 165. I am of two minds on raising the weight for Friday. It might not be a bad idea to just repeat and really master form, which on a number of exercises (WA pullups, OH press, deadlift) is not perfect on the last rep or two. Maybe I'll hold off on those 3 and go up on the other 12's.

I have been meaning to record my weight for a while, not because it really matters but because I am interested in its fluctuations. Just looked through the archives and I don't think I've recorded it before, but it was in the neighborhood of 200 when I started.

The plan with running, for now, is to add a mile every weekend, for a couple of weeks anyway, and to do Tabatas on Wednesdays, with a little change - no running faster than 10 minute miles except during the actual sprints, which should always be uphill. Slow and steady wins the race.

Yesterday

Ran 2 miles in the Five Fingers.  I kept the speed down, although I don't have any sense of whether I was above or below 10 minutes, and I felt pretty good.  Some tightness in the left ankle, and my left knee hurts / feels a little weak today. 

Home

Eating:  just had some pork loin, bok choi, broccoli from the Caf

Drinking:  water

Listening:  This Must Be The Place

 

(totally out of order)

WA pullups 60# 11

deadlift 135# 8

bench 135# 8

WG pulldown 100# 12

squat 165# 10

OH press 60# 12

CG pulldown 100# 12

situps 35# 12

backups 8

dips 10

 

Felt pretty good.  Next session I should not change the pulldown weights - one of the real problems I have with that area is stamina.  I should get 12-12-12 at least twice before moving up in weight. 

 

The deadlift and squat were kind of touch and go.  This kind of puzzled me.  I think of myself as having pretty strong legs but I am benching as much as I deadlift!  Any more weight on the deadlift and I will be pushing my luck with form, and the squat was actually hard too, although I bet I can do an easy 12 next time and then move up. 

 

I decided to focus on form on the backups this time, and then did them right after deadlifting, which was dumb - it's almost the same muscles.  I ended up doing my 8 with pretty good form but getting that old carsick feeling.  I hate that shit.  I wonder if I should even bother. 

 

MH and I met up for a beer last night.  He had lots of good exercise tips, although I don't remember them because I had like five lambics and then some stout.  He does Crossfit, and seemed to think that my plan of getting strong and then doing Crossfit was a good one.  I wonder how long that will take, maybe a year?

HIIT or HIT

Eating:  a steakhouse salad from Chop't, but with mesclun and extra pepper

Drinking:  water

Listening:  Hammer

 

Run 5' at 9:30 pace

Tabata hillclimb at 6 mph / 10' pace, change to 6.1 mph after 4

4' rest

Run 20' at 10 pace

 

Inspired by Fitness Black Book's ghetto-ass fat loss thing.  Note that I did not fast first, so of course I totally missed the whole point, but I didn't have the nerve to not eat anything all morning and then do a Tabata.  That is something I will work up to for sure.

 

The Tabata was - dare I say it - easy.  It flew by, I did not feel like I was going to go into cardiac arrest, and I got a little skin flush but nothing like in the past.  I must be doing something right!  I just wish I had responded a little more quickly and kicked it up to 6.3 or something.  I guess I was worried about overdoing it.  The 20' run also felt pretty good, a little tightness in my left ankle and continuous clock-watching aside.  What I should say is that it was boring but didn't feel bad, and it was nice to set a goal and not flake out by bailing early or turning the speed down, both things I was strongly tempted to do.  I need to get one of these in a week in order to be finishing half-marathons and marathons in a couple months.

Back in the Saddle

Eating:  just had yet another Chop't harvest cobb

Drinking:  water, thinking about adding some caffeine

Listening:  Orbital

 

WA Pullups 60# 10

Deadlift 115# 10, 125# 12

Bench press 125# 12 unspotted

Pulldown 135# 8 (didn't see the five-pound barbell left on the stack)

Squat 165# 10

OH Press 60# 11

Close grip pulldown 100# 12

Weighted incline situps 35# 10

Backups 12

Dips 8

 

Some thoughts:

• It would not kill me to do some lunges.
• Every so often I should do a dumbbell day, where I do all applicable exercises with dumbbells, and maybe drop ten pounds or so.
• I am still having doubts about whether or not I'm on the right track to doing pullups.  I also think I should be doing at least one of the exercises as a wide-grip.  And maybe I should only be doing one of the exercises each time, and rotating?  Shit. 
• Should I be freaking out if my numbers have dropped a bit from last week?  No, right?
• I feel like I can go a lot heavier on deadlifting, but the squats I am finding very hard. 

Sunday - Climb to the Top

Sunday was the big day.  I was up early and in a scary livery cab for the 6:15 check-in.  I then had an hour to wait around the Rock Center concourse.  I was feeling pretty nervous.  I had received a Facebook message from JM the night before telling me that JP, who was a friend in high school, has MS, and while I was pacing around waiting for the start I checked status updates and saw one of his saying that he was fighting the MonSter.  I found that very motivating.  I wasn't going to race with anyone's name on my back, but after I saw that I went over to the name thing table and wrote out his name. 

 

I got into the start corral early, around 7.  I was mostly keeping to myself and warming up, but the dude in front of me noticed the Five Fingers and asked about them.  We had a nice, nervous conversation.  He said he was going to try for 10 minutes and I tried to hide my incredulousness.  He also told me about the fire fighter test, which made me think a weight vest would be a neat thing to have.  Anyway, we made it to the front of the line.  He was off like a shot and I think that eliminated any lingering concern of mine to have a conservative race.  I beeped in and took off, in the process failing to hit my watch's timer button.  I made it up ten flights or so before noticing this.  At this stage I was alternating double and single steps.  I quickly realized that double steps would cause me to, uh, die, so I went to singles but kept a very sharp pace.  I passed dozens of people.  I skipped the first rest stop, grabbed a cup of water at the second, and basically just kept the pace.  I was feeling very, very motivated.  Some clown in a team t-shirt that I had passed earlier caught up to me in the 60's but I turned it on a bit more and he did not pass me.  The whole way I was thinking "15 minutes might actually be possible," but I ended up on top in light snow after only about 13:30.  I feel very, very good about the whole thing. 

Saturday

Ran 2 miles at a comfortably slow pace with The Wife.  Great to see her exercise.  I had planned to take Saturday off completely and relax but I ended up going because I didn't want to miss an opportunity to encourage her.  Had a great time.  Felt nice and loose.