2015-01-02 training log

5! Woo!

I did not want to go to the gym this morning. Ever since going hunting a few weeks ago and waking up around 2:30 AM for that, my body now thinks 2:30 is the time to wake up. /sighs So I laid in bed for a little while, got my motivation up, and off I went.

Started out on a high note – got 5 chin-ups in a row. Yes, that’s an accomplishment. Frankly after hitting that, I felt so good, like it was the best PR I ever hit, and in some ways it is. I mean, I look back on being a kid and doing the Presidential Physical Fitness test and always meeting the standard in all areas, except pull-ups — couldn’t do one. I also remember realizing (and I didn’t know much about bodybuilding and getting stronger) that the P.E. teacher having us do push-ups wasn’t going to help us do pull-ups, as well as the lack of any exercises or work to ever help us get better at doing pull-ups. Hrm. But whatever… the big thing is going through life just sucking at chin-/pull-ups.

I’m not the only one. Just Google on the topic and there’s tons of articles dedicated to the topic of being able to just do 1 chin-/pull-up. It’s a tough thing. So really, that I banged out a nice 5 in a row today, plus 4 more sets of more, yeah, felt really damn good.

Thing is, a few weeks ago I realized that 5 was not that big a deal — that I wanted 10. It’s like all things: you get close to a goal, you’ll keep working to reach that goal, but you can’t help but (re)set your goals to something higher and better. To help me get there, I’m going to do a few things.

First, I do think chinning as often as I can helps. So I go to the gym, it’s not a back day, but at some point while I’m at the gym just grab the bar and bang out a few chins. Nothing much, nothing intensive, but just try to do some often enough. This is a reoccurring theme in “how to get better at chin-/pull-ups”, is frequency and just doing them often.

Second, just keep working up to 10. Normally I like working up to a number in sets across. So if I’m going to do 5 sets, now that I hit 5 reps on the 1st set, I’d keep working until I was hitting 5 reps across all 5 sets, then I would go up to 6 reps. But here, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to just keep chinning to (almost) failure, and do that on every set. I don’t want to go to true failure, where I’m struggling and can’t finish a rep — if I truly don’t think the next rep will be solid and clean, don’t do it, save it for the next set. But otherwise, just keep going. When I do hit 10 reps, I’ll probably work to deal with sets across, but for now it’s all about forging ahead on every set to 10 reps.

I know losing weight is going to help here too… I mean, it’s always easier to lift less weight.

As for the rest of the session, it was fine. No complaints. I am discovering new things about how my biceps really like being pushed. That when I think I can’t move any more, well, just keep moving because they really will keep going. Yah the reps get slower, but they keep working. Time will tell how well this pays off.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

  • Chins
    • BW x 5
    • BW x 4
    • BW x 2
    • BW x 2
    • BW x 2
  • BB Rows
    • 145 x 8
    • 145 x 8
    • 145 x 8
    • 145 x 8
    • 145 x 8
  • BB Shrugs
    • 205 x 12
    • 205 x 12
    • 205 x 12
    • 205 x 12
    • 205 x 12
  • Wide, Neutral-grip Lat Pulldowns
    • 130 x 10
    • 130 x 10
    • 130 x 10
    • 130 x 10
  • Hammer Curls
    • 30e x 12
    • 30e x 12
    • 30e x 9
  • BB Bar Curls (350-Method)
    • 45 x 20
    • 45 x 15
    • 45 x 15
  • 2015-01-01 training log

    Hrm. I don’t know what to do about my pressing.

    I’ve been pretty stagnant on my pressing for some time now. Granted, I’m not trying to really grow this lift, it’s just assistance work. But still, everything else goes up and this just remains stuck, maybe even regressing a bit. Like on the 4th work set, the last couple reps were true grinders — barely got the 8th rep to lock out. Consequently I was tapped for the 5th work set and barely got 3. I did a couple more rest-pause, but still. Why has it been hanging this way for weeks? I’m not sure how to change things up to break through this. Thinking on it.

    Otherwise, things chugged along fairly well.

    Weighed in at 235# this morning too. Down…down…down.

    Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

  • Press
    • bar x 5
    • bar x 5
    • 65 x 5
    • 85 x 5
    • 105 x 8
    • 105 x 8
    • 105 x 8
    • 105 x 8
    • 105 x 3/2/2 (rest-pause)
  • Upright Rows
    • 70 x 12
    • 70 x 12
    • 70 x 12
    • 70 x 12
    • 70 x 12
  • Polquin-style Side Laterals
    • 20e x 10
    • 20e x 10
    • 20e x 10
  • Face Pulls
    • 70 x 12
    • 70 x 12
    • 70 x 12
    • 70 x 12
    • 70 x 12
  • Close-Grip Bench Press (350 Method)
    • 115 x 23
    • 115 x 15
    • 115 x 11
  • Triceps Pressdowns
    • 60 x 15
    • 60 x 12
    • 60 x 12
  • on New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight…

    With the new year comes all the resolutions. One of the most common is some flavor of “losing weight” or “getting in shape” or other such thing.

    I’m no guru on this, but in my time of doing both of those things (and just being an old fart that’s experienced a few things in life) there are a few things I’ve picked up on.

    1. You have to really want it

    Many new year’s resolutions are made out of some weird obligation to the calendar — because the year has incremented by 1, now we will make changes in our life.

    Pfft.

    If you really want to make a change in your life, you start “now”. Doesn’t matter if it’s January 1 or July 1 or May 22. If you want to change, start right now.

    But it’s more than starting now, it’s starting and really wanting it. I mean, wanting it so bad that you’re truly willing to make the lifestyle changes and the sacrifices needed to make it happen, because it will be difficult, it will be uncomfortable, it will suck at times. That you accept the weird looks, the backlash and flack from family and friends, the fact you’ll be called “obsessive” and that people just won’t understand. That it aches to the pit of your stomach and in the marrow of your bones as to how much you really want this.

    Because if you don’t really truly seriously want it, it won’t happen. You’ll be on the train for a few weeks, then somehow will drift away and back to where you started. Been there, done that.

    It’s OK if you don’t really want it. Be honest with yourself. This is just like any long-term endeavor: success will take a long time, and will come from consistent application of whatever is needed to accomplish the goal.

    2. Weight-loss is all about food — and eating less of it

    The thing today is to talk about what food you eat: carbs or not; GMO or not; gluten or not; local or not; etc.. That matters, but not as much as you think.

    I mean, you could eat a truckload of no-carb, no-gluten, GMO-free, locally raised, blah blah whatever buzzword food, and still get fat because you’re eating a ton of it. Or you could live on McDonald’s and just eat very small, modest amounts and you will lose weight.

    Calorie balance is still the #1 — by a longshot — factor in determining if you’ll gain or lose weight.

    I really didn’t want to admit it for a long time. I wanted to lift more weights or find other ways to drop the weight. It just didn’t happen or didn’t happen on the long-term. I had to simply eat less, and continue to adjust my intake to eat even less as my body adapted. It’s a constant downward movement in terms of intake. I did increase my exercise levels too, which has helped (it does burn calories), but ultimately it’s about your food intake and regulating it.

    Sometimes it sucks, but it really doesn’t have to. Part of making it not have to is ignoring a lot of the media messages about “what’s bad for you”. Yeah I know, diet soda and artificial sweeteners are evil and horrible (tho there’s more and more mounting science that is actually moving a lot of this into the realm of: less certain, needs even more research). But if not for diet soda, I’d freak out and fail on this diet, because I have much deeper “stress/comfort eating” and sweet-tooth issues to overcome. I’ve never been a diet soda drinker, and most of them still make me wretch (Diet Hansen’s sodas have been my go-to), but if having a Diet Hansen now and again is what helps me get a fix and stay on the wagon, fine. It sure hasn’t hurt my progress, and long-term I don’t see myself drinking them — it’s just a tool to get me through this period.

    Another thing that helps?

    3. Get Help

    I spent many years trying to self-direct my diet, and it failed. Some people can do this, and while it worked for short-term stuff, it didn’t pan out long-term. Getting on with Renaissance Periodization helped tremendously.

    First, I can just listen to Nick, do what he says, and the results come. I mean, it’s been 5 months and I’ve dropped 30 lb. He sends me a spreadsheet, and as long as I follow it, it works. It’s kinda nice to offload that work to someone else. 🙂

    Second, it’s an ability to have a teacher. Here’s someone to whom I can ask questions. That if I need a little support, have a concern, whatever, I can go to. That’s invaluable.  Being able to learn so I can start to do things on my own? That’s big, because believe me, there’s tons of chaff out there, and having someone who know what’s wheat makes a big difference.

    Yes, make sure you find someone solid. There’s lots of “fitness gurus” out there that don’t know a damn thing. Vet ’em well.

    Third, when you get someone who knows what the heck they’re doing, it can actually make for a diet that is manageable. I mean, some of the stuff I’ve tried before was just bullshit that drove me nuts. But this diet approach RP and Nick have me on? It’s really workable. Oh sure, dairy is cut out, and while I miss a good cheese, it’s really not so horrible. A lot of diets label fruit as evil and bad, but pfft… not here; fruit good! Carbs aren’t evil either; in fact, I drink straight-up Tang as a part of my peri-workout nutrition. Really, this is about the most sane and manageable dietary protocol I’ve ever dealt with, and it certainly is one you could adopt for the rest of your life and not go crazy.

    4. Be Patient. Be Disciplined.

    This is the hardest part.

    It takes time. Again, I’ve been doing this for 5 months now, and I still have more to go, possibly another 5 months, before I hit my Defattening goal. Whatever time it takes tho doesn’t really matter; it’s about getting where I want to be, and doing what it takes to get there.

    Yes, there are times that it sucks.

    But this is where you need that deep desire down to the marrow in your bones to want this. That drive, that hunger (so to speak), is what you need to keep you strong when it gets tough.

    For me? Taking off my shirt and looking in the mirror is a serious motivator. In one respect, it’s seeing what I don’t like to see and being mad enough about it (and that I ever let myself get to that point) that drives me. In another respect, I can also see what is emerging, and what will be when I get there, and I cannot wait for that day when I pull off my shirt, look in the mirror, and see this sexy beast staring back at me. I know if I want that to happen, I have to stay focused, I have to stay disciplined and dedicated.

    And you just don’t get that from some trite New Year’s Resolution.

     

    Wither empathy

    Stop scrolling. You need to take 2 minutes out of your day and read this. Seriously, stop scrolling and read this article. (h/t Brian Brown)

    And then remember what “empathy” is and figure out where yours went.

    As the 2015 comes upon us, perhaps a good resolution for everyone is to rediscover empathy.

    2014-12-30 training log

    Again, I threw caution into the wind and just upped the weights. I don’t regret it.

    I do regret forgetting my knee sleeves tho. 🙂

    So I bumped up the weights another 10#, recalculated and away I went. What gets me is hitting 285 fairly easily and without a belt — it wasn’t too long ago that number was tough WITH a belt, and a better set of knee and ankle joints.

    The work sets @ 200 worked well. I really focused on keeping my upper body tight. One thing I’m trying to correct is how I come out of the hole. Two things. First, I’m thinking back to Starting Strength and “leading with my hips/ass”. That when I start my descent, I break at the hips first followed almost immediately by breaking at the knees (it’s almost simultaneous, but certainly the hips break first). Down I go, then when I come out of the hole lead with my hips/ass coming up first but NOT so much that I bend over (shoulders/bar remain at the same place while the butt rises… no everything goes up, just the hips lead the motion). Second, that I keep a little bit of forward lean in my back. What I’ve found myself doing lately is trying to correct so much for lean forward that I’m too upright… it starts to feel like I’m front squatting. Not really, but that’s the feel of it. I’m trying to drive the head back a lot, really get the torso upright, but it’s too much. First, I’m just not as strong this way (who front squats more than they back squat? if you will). Second, it’s moving the bar back behind my center — the bar isn’t remaining properly centered over the mid-foot. I think those mild corrections in form helped move everything really well today. I mean, doing the 200 work sets today felt better, easier, more powerful (more C.A.T.) than then 195 work sets last week.

    That all said, I did leave the house without my knee sleeves (just forgot to pack them). I still can’t say for 100% sure if the knee sleeves truly help me or not, if it’s just a placebo. But I certainly do feel better with them, and seem to have fewer knee issues in the gym with them on. I don’t think they give me any help with the weight moved (not like tight knee wraps), but whatever they are giving me — even if placebo — seems good.

    Stiff-legs continue to be a light thing, as I work on ensuring I get technique right. I still find myself sometimes bending more than pushing the hips back. There seems to be a sweet spot where I’m really feeling it in the hamstrings vs. just moving the weight. I hit it sometimes, and am still zeroing in on it. It’s coming along tho.

    I’m also going to try to up the volume a bit on the calf raises. They seem to be happy with the standing raises, a little heavier and fewer reps (i.e. 10 reps instead of 20), and then like 5 sets. We’ll see how it fares long-term.

    All in all, good day.

    Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

    • Squats (model 1)
      • bar x 5
      • bar x 5
      • 165 x 5
      • 190 x 4
      • 225 x 3
      • 250 x 2
      • 285 x 1
      • 200 x 5
      • 200 x 5
      • 200 x 5
      • 200 x 5
      • 200 x 5
    • Stiff-Legged Deadlift
      • 195 x 8
      • 195 x 8
      • 195 x 8
      • 195 x 8
      • 195 x 8
    • Leg Press
      • 135 x 20
      • 135 x 20
      • 135 x 20
    • Standing Calf Raises
      • 65 x 10
      • 65 x 10
      • 65 x 10
      • 65 x 10
      • 65 x 10

    KR Training December 2014 Newsletter

    The KR Training December 2014 Newsletter is up.

    Lots of good things on tap for 2015, and it starts right off in January with the 3rd Annual Suburban Dad Survivalist Preparedness Conference. I won’t be able to attend due to other commitments, but Paul always puts on a great program and the roster this year is solid. Hope you can make it.

    See you on the range in 2015!

    2014-12-29 training log

    I know I wanted to move faster, but eh… I bumped up the weight. I think that was better, because I realized a few things from it.

    First, I bumped up the weight because… I could. I actually felt like it was an alright thing to do, in line with everything. I continue to enjoy the fact I’m losing fat but still growing in strength. The strength gains are MUCH slower than normal, but hey, progress is progress, especially since I’m dropping the fat pretty well.

    Second, I’ve had this issue with my butt coming off the bench, especially when I get leg drive going. For some reason today I did something different…. something that’s been known about forever but for whatever reason I didn’t apply it in this context until this morning: I lifted up my big toe (well, all my toes). When I did this, it really helped to keep my leg drive force going “back” in a plane parallel to the bench, and not so much force going “up” which would cause me to lift my butt off the bench. This made all the difference in the world in terms of leg drive. No idea why I didn’t apply this “lift the toe” in this context before but well, better late than never. I’m going to have to play with it because it did change a lot, how things felt, and I’m going to have to adjust my setup because I was driving myself off the end of the bench. But hey, I’ll go with this emotion.

    Third, I am tossing around the idea of using DB’s for the inclines, as it may be nicer on my shoulders.

    Fourth, on my assistance pressing work (maybe should do it on all my pressing work), going to full lock out. Yeah, you get in a groove and you go to extension but not a full lock. I noticed while doing dips that going to that full lock did a bit more of a number on my triceps. I may not do it on everything, but certainly dips and other things that really can stress my triceps, keep some more tension on the triceps and squeeze them at the top, etc…. yeah.

    Fifth, the Polquin Flies don’t feel like they really work me, so I keep thinking about dumping them. But then I do them and gee if I don’t think they are helping my shoulders out, to really strengthen and prehab things in that area. Frankly, I think that’s more important than a “nice pec pump”, y’know? so I will continue with them.

    Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

    • Bench Press (model 2)
      • bar x 5
      • bar x 5
      • 120 x 5
      • 140 x 4
      • 165 x 3
      • 180 x 2
      • 205 x 1
      • 215 x 1
      • 205 x 5
      • 205 x 5
      • 205 x 5
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
      • 180 x 5
      • 145 x 13 (AMRAP)
    • Bench Dips (between benches)
      • BW x 12
      • BW x 12
      • BW x 12
      • BW x 10
    • Incline Press (350 Method)
      • 85 x 17
      • 85 x 12
      • 85 x 12
    • Polquin Flies
      • 12e x 12
      • 12e x 12
      • 12e x 12

    Sunday Metal – My Favorite Black Sabbath

    Where to begin with Black Sabbath?

    Maybe “Hole in the Sky”? Bill Ward’s drumming is so laid back, it just makes the groove.

    Maybe some Dio-era stuff, like “Heaven & Hell”?

    Perhaps “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”?

    For me, it’s “War Pigs”. Music yes, but lyrically even more so.

     

    The changing face of violence in the UK

    From Chuck Rives, an article about how violence in the UK is getting… worse.

    Horrific wounds have been caused by screwdrivers and spoons as attackers look to circumvent knife-carrying laws by switching to “improvised weapons”.

    […]

    Doctors say a trend has emerged of teenagers being stabbed in the rectum – a practice known among gangs as “dinking” that can leave the victim requiring a stoma bag for the rest of their life.

    […]

    Chris Aylwin, a consultant surgeon at St Mary’s hospital, said: “There seems to be a decreasing value of people’s lives. One of the more worrying features that we have certainly seen are stabbings around the buttocks and thighs. People don’t do that without good reason.

    […]

    Duncan Bew, the clinical lead for trauma and emergency surgery at Kings’ College hospital, said: “There is an intention to leave someone with an outward sign that they have been punished by a gang – a stoma bag or some other injury to ‘clip their wings’.”

    You should read the entire article as there’s just too much to detail here.

    Here’s my take-homes:

    Bans Don’t Stop Violence

    UK essentially bans guns, so people turn to knives. Now knives are being severely restricted, and so they’re turning to screwdrivers and spoons and other improvised weapons.

    Ban all you want, it doesn’t stop people from engaging in the base behavior (how’s that “War on Drugs” working out?). If evil people wish to do evil things, they will always find a way. Instead of focusing on the tools, how about focusing on the root evil(s)? You only have so much time, money, and energy in your lifetime, so why waste precious resources on ineffective solutions?

    Statistics Tell Certain Stories

    According to City Hall, the number of knife assaults causing injury rose 7.7 per cent across London between April and September this year, compared to the same period last year. There were 335 incidents in September – 51 per cent up on the 222 recorded in March.

    People love to quote how “gun violence” is low in the UK, and that it is. Maybe it is support that “banning guns” leads to less “gun violence”. But “banning guns” does not lead to a safer society, a society where there is less violence.

    People like to quote homicide and murder rates as indication of how things are getting better or worse. Alas, murder rates only tell part of the story, because for it to be murder the victim has to die. Every year medical ability improves, and these days if you make it to the Emergency Room with any sort of vital signs, your chances are extremely high you will live due to the miracle of modern medicine. Thus, at most your attack will only be classified as “aggravated assault” – what used to be called “attempted murder” – and consequently “murder rates going down” are in part due to good ER’s, not reduction in crime.

    Consider the contents of the article: the very intent of the attack is not to kill, but to severely maim and inflict not death but a lifetime of agony and suffering. How does this affect your statistics? And do the statistics really matter when you’re the one spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair with a colostomy bag?

    Get Medical Training

    A week after Joel was attacked, the trauma team at the Royal London saved a 16-year-old stabbed in the leg. “It was a really deep wound,” Mr Konig said. “That struck me as real intent, and that was just shocking. [In a week] we had one dead, one survived. Left alone, these people would all die.

    “Passers-by were excellent at putting pressure on his groin and stopping him bleeding to death right there. If members of the public are having to come to your assistance to stop you bleeding to death, it’s like soldiers relying on their buddies in a war zone. If we have to start educating people how to stop someone bleeding to death, that does change things.”

    This doesn’t mean you need to be a medic, an EMT, or anything of the sort. But get some basic First Aid training. Then maybe get some more advanced care in things like Wilderness First Aid, or other training that goes beyond “boo-boos and bee stings” to help you deal with things like severe bleeding and when and how to use a tourniquet.

    Carry some form of medical equipment. Heck, my Dad has always carried a single Band-Aid in his wallet: it’s not a tourniquet, but you’d be amazed at how often it’s come in handy.

    Some People Are Just Sick

    I’m sure you are a positive person that surrounds yourself with other positive, uplifting, productive, contributing, and generally “good” people. Thus chances are you may not realize or really fathom that the world is filled with horrible people. Thankfully they are a minority, but they are still there and all it takes is one to ruin things.

    Some people are just twisted and sick. Consider the attackers in this story: they are out to cause their victim a lifetime of suffering. I mean, intentionally stabbing someone in the rectum to cause the victim a lifetime of difficultly? How fucked up is that? Sorry for the language, but there’s no other way to describe such a vile, despicable act. It’s truly the mindset of a sick individual.

    It’s important to accept the world contains such scum. You don’t have to like it nor tolerate it, but admitting and accepting they exist improves your ability to address the realities of the problem.

    Real Solutions

    Mr Bew is a trustee of Growing Against Gangs and Violence, a partnership between the Association of Surgeons, Metropolitan Police and Home Office that aims to end gang and serious youth violence through proactive work and “pupil power”. This Autumn it has reached 17,080 students in 70 schools in 11 boroughs – four times as many students as two years ago.

    He added: “Trauma centres have made a massive difference to mortality and morbidity in the last couple of years, particularly in that younger group. The challenge for us is how we stop the kids coming to us in the first place.”

    2014-12-16 training log

    Oh yeah…. carbs are good. 🙂

    Yesterday being Christmas, I took a break from the diet. Generally stuck with the plan, but I had no reserves about having 2 slices of my wife’s awesome apple pie, and partaking in some of the confections baked, prepared, and given to us by friends and neighbors. I also had a little bit of cheese, which I haven’t eaten since I started on The Defattening Project back in August.

    You’re never going to look back on your life and wished you had dieted harder. But you will wish that you had loved more, risked more, and laughed more. Put your “training and diet” aside for a day (or even two!) and put life first for a while. – Paul Carter

    That said, today I’m back on the Train to Loserville; in fact, tightening it up just a bit. After I have my oatmeal (which I’m eating as I type this), no more carbs the rest of the day. Then Sat/Sun will be the normal carb-less days, so that should fair well.

    I also got to nap… huzzah!

    Given the carb-loading (ha ha), I knew today would be pretty good, and sure enough it was. 🙂

    Chin-ups are coming along quite well. The general plan is to just do them, multiple sets, and as many as I can cleanly do, and strive to have the total done be more than last time. Don’t struggle out another rep if it can’t be clean, save it for the next set. Things are getting better. I also am sneaking in a few chins on other gym days, nothing serious, but at some point I’ll just hang from the bar and do a couple. Like I said, there was a time when 5 was a great goal, and of course I still want that. But whereas before 10 was never a thought, now 10 is a goal. Thankfully my shoulders are not complaining so much about the chin-/pull-ups. Basically I’m fine with the modifications to the chin-ups to make this happen (e.g. I do not go 100% down to a dead hang, close but not enough to let my shoulders get “out of joint”, if you will; grip width is slightly less than shoulder-width).

    Everything else went pretty well.

    One thing I’m discovering about biceps work is that I can crank it out. The reps get slow, but I certainly can keep cranking out fairly strict reps long after I think I can’t. And so I’m doing that… just keep going, even if it’s slow, and don’t stop until the muscle really can’t lift it any more. Then today after the 350’s I did a drop set going to 30 for AMRAP then 20 for AMRAP… only got like 6-8 reps each time, but whatever. Just focused on contracting the muscle. I’m starting to think that for direct biceps work I need to have something “compound and heavy” that taxes things well, then something that’s higher reps, and in both cases focus on the contraction and just keep going because there’s more in the tank than I’d think… and that seems to work things out nicely. Not sure how it’ll parlay into growth and strength given I’m not focused on that right now, but at least it makes me feel like the muscles are getting worked.

    Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

  • Chins
    • BW x 4
    • BW x 3
    • BW x 2
    • BW x 2
    • BW x 2
  • BB Rows
    • 145 x 8
    • 145 x 8
    • 145 x 8
    • 145 x 8
    • 145 x 8
  • BB Shrugs
    • 205 x 12
    • 205 x 12
    • 205 x 12
    • 205 x 12
    • 205 x 12
  • Wide, Neutral-grip Lat Pulldowns
    • 125 x 10
    • 125 x 10
    • 125 x 10
    • 125 x 10
  • Hammer Curls
    • 25e x 12
    • 25e x 12
    • 25e x 12
  • BB Bar Curls (350 method)
    • 45 x 18
    • 45 x 15
    • 45 x 15