Thu 12.29.11: PPPU, Rows, Crosses, Cond.

Sleep: 6.5hrs
Diet: great
Stress: good enough

Even a couple of days in a row without consistent sleep, strength-based workouts, and power tools leaves you in a bit of a funk. Fortunately, the stand for my Makita table saw arrived today and the saw body will arrive on Tuesday. 15 amps, 4800rpm, 3-5/8" vertical capacity, and 25" rip capacity. Daaahhhh!


Evening Workout - 1.5hrs:
Warm-up:
- bands and stuff

Strength:
Rings PPPU:
- 3x5
- decent RTO, decent depth, but it's been better
Ring Rows:
- 3x(3/3)
- up with both arms, then "archer" style eccentric on the down part
Cross Pull-outs:
- 5x(4-7)
- full ROM, block just behind the knees

Conditioning:
Parallette Routines:
- 3x1: jump to tuckstand, 2 straddle cycles, 1 overarch, left arm OAHS lean, right arm OAHS lean, eccentric full HSPU, left-side crocodile, right-side crocodile, straddle L
- fell numerous times
- really f'ing difficult; these parallettes wobble practically as much as rings when placed on a (highly) uneven concrete surface



Can't wait for my table s'aahhhhhhh!

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Week of Thu 12.22.11: Christmas

Vacation with my family at home following exam week.

Sleep: Lots. Heavy. Restful. Sporadic timing.

Stress: None whatsoever.

Diet: Pretty damn clean, all things considered. Had dessert with dinner on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday - cookies, pie, and ice cream, respectively. Also had some bread, milk, white rice, white potatoes, and jell-o with various meals while I was home, but nothing else out of the ordinary. (Nothing.) Took it lightly with the gluten and lactose. Arrived home weighing 206lbs, left weighing 212lbs - once again, it's mostly water weight. Not too shabby.

Workouts: Let me try to piece this back together again. It was a strength workout Thursday, rest day Friday, handbalancing and intense stretching Saturday morning, more stretching Sunday, parallel bar handbalancing routines on Monday afternoon, callisthenics conditioning and stretching on Tuesday night, then more conditioning Wednesday.



Vacation's over. Time to get productive.

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Sat 12.17.11 - Wed 12.21.11: Quick Update

So, I made it through finals week just fine, but I'm not disappointed that I'll have to wait until May to experience it again.

Worked out on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Saturday was something I can't remember, at home. Monday and Tuesday were Gymkana practices. Rings stuff and MXP balancing on Monday. Rings stuff and general nonsense on Tuesday. Also did a bit of ropewalking on Tuesday; good stuff. Wednesday was another workout at home. 80 minutes of warm-up, rings PPPU, rings biceps rows, manna progressions, stretching, and conditioning (pulling-based calisthenics).

Didn't get much sleep going in to Saturday. Got a full night's worth going into Sunday, then 3-4hrs each night Monday and Tuesday, then got 10hrs going into Wednesday.

Diet was great the entire time. I ate a lot, especially snacking, while pulling those all nighters, but they were all good snacks. Imported cheese, fruit, vegetables, nuts, meat, eggs, coffee. The standard fare. My bodyweight is up to around 203lbs now after being at 200lbs for a while, but I'm still showing signs of getting leaner, which is good. Still, now that I'm on break it's time to buckle down and cut weight to that planche-able 185lb range. It'll take longer than the five weeks of vacation I have, but I still intend to make some damn good progress in the meanwhile.

Stress was fine and dandy. Just rollin' with the punches.

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Fri 12.16.11 - OAHS, Strength

Sleep: 2hrs overnight + 2hr nap
Diet: great
Stress: fine

Exams, pfft. No biggie.

I can now hold the OAHS long enough to feel (and fight!) the rotation through the shoulder. Solid.

11pm Workout - 2hrs:
* warm-up (bands and stuff)
* OAHS practice for a good while
* rings PPPU, 5x(3 + 1 eccentric)
* RTO dips, 3x3
* assisted cross pull-outs 5x5, full ROM with a block just behind the knees
* rings bicep rows, 4x8
* manna progressions

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Thu 12.15.11 - A bit of Chairs

Sleep: 4hrs
Diet: great
Stress: fine

Got in the gym for 30 minutes and worked a bit of Chairs before going to an exam. Climbed five-high; didn't manage to press it, but I managed to hold an elevated pike well enough on both sides.

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Wed 12.14.11 - Strength

Sleep: standard, full night
Diet: great
Stress: fine

Had an 80 minute Gk workout. I forget what I worked on, but it was strength stuff. Rings PPPU, rope climbs,... Other stuff?

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Tue 12.13.11: SRope, Pumping Iron

Sleep: 3hrs + 1hr nap
Diet: great
Stress: dandy

Went ropewalking for about 30 or 40 minutes in the evening. Basically until my feet got cold - I've had to wear shoes unfortunately often this semester, and thus haven't gotten the chance to let my feet adapt to the winter weather. I've regressed a bit, since this is only the fourth time I had the chance to work on it this semester, but it's still as relaxing as ever.


Next, I went over to the weight room to pump some iron. S'ahhhh! The workout was deadlifts, low rows, tricep push-downs, assisted OAC's, and pull-overs. On the deadlifts, managed to pull 385lbs for a single. Twice failed to break 405lbs off the floor. The weakness there was definitely in the legs. So, it looks like I've regressed a bit there as well (my PR's being 3x405lbs and 1x430lbs, roughly two years ago), but I also weighed about 25lbs more when I set my PR's, and I was actually lifting! For not having touched a barbell in two years, this is pretty good. Everything else in the workout was pretty standard.

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Sat 12.10.11 - Mon 12.12.11: All Nighters, Workouts, Etc..

Ok, here's the skinny.

Sleep's been shit these past few days - kind of my own fault. Lost track of time on Friday night (after my late-night workout) and wrote what was quite possibly the longest thing I've composed since high school. Got to bed around 7 or 8am. Whoops. Woke up in the early afternoon.

Saturday night, I went to bed around 2am (actually Sunday morning), which wasn't half bad.

Sunday night, I was working on a coding project - finished around 8am. Then I slept until about 1pm.

Now it's about 4am Monday, after finishing some homework sets and a workout, and I'm going off to bed. Not tired at all though; the workout got me pumped. Dammit. Anyway, I'll be getting up again in roughly 3hrs. No biggie. Exams start Thursday, so I'm pretty much home free.



My diet has been fantastic these past few days, though I've simply been eating too much. I still have that habit of snacking when I pull all nighters, but I haven't touched any junk food whatsoever since Thanksgiving. (The idea of "cheat meals" is starting to lose its charm as well. I can go without.) Still weighing in about 200lbs though, simply because the overall caloric intake hasn't had a deficit. It hasn't been too high either, but it needs that 500 cal/day deficit to make progress.

Stress is fine - got to keep on dancin', keep on dancin'. Boogie nights. (Damn, that's a good song.)


Now, workouts. There was that one at 12AM Saturday I already logged. Did another workout around 11pm, which was mostly pushing stuff. Can't remember the specifics, but I do remember that I can now do full-form RTO dips on short straps. There's no excess depth or horizontal lean, but I Got the basic dip solid, which is new.

Sunday wasn't a rest day (coding), but I didn't work out.

Monday, I got around to my workout at 2am Tuesday. It was about 90 minutes, and here we are. Rings PPPU, and progressions for front lever, straddle planche, and manna. Also, stretching, foam rolling, and hollow rock circles. Those PPPU are really coming along.

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Tue 12.6.11 - Fri 12.9.11: Gk Mockshow & Workouts

All right, a quick update to include up to and just beyond our 2011 Gymkana Mockshow.


Tuesday:
That's a bit in the past now, but I remember the Gk practice started with about 90 minutes of handstand work on parallettes, then there was some rings and chairs work. Also, balancing practice with an invisible flyer, since Ingrid wasn't around. Can't forget that. I do forget the rest of the specifics though, but it was a good workout.

Wednesday:
Practice this evening was a test-run of our show, addressing things from almost purely an equipment standpoint. We only ran about half the acts, though that did include Ingrid/me for balancing, Chairs, and Ladders (my freebie act). No rings. The practice was mentally fatiguing since I'm sort of in charge of coordinating the equipment transitions this year. Resisted the urge to workout when I got home.

Thursday:
No practice. Fought the urge to work out.

Friday:
Mockshow! Whaaa'?! Performed in MXP, Chairs, Rings, and Ladders. Nailed them all, including the handstand and the elbow lever -> back lever on rings. Honestly, the rings HS could have been more solid (elbows felt pretty damn bent), but I stayed off the straps. Videos of this will be forthcoming.

After this, a midnight workout at home. Spent some time working on kettlebell get-ups for the first time in a while. Basically, someone sent me a link of some CrossFit/Kettlekook douche doing one, saying I could incorporate something like that in Ingrid's and my balancing routine. My response was I could pull it off with one hand tied behind my back, and sure enough, I could.



All right. After that nonsense, I got around to a real workout. One-arm HS practice w/ fingertips supporting. Ring supports, 3x(max) guesstimating >40s each. Ring PPPU 3x5, decent form/depth. Ring tows 3x6, standard style. Ring inverted pull-ups 3x5, short ROM. Active compressions and manna progressions. Some SMR for the hips. Good workout.

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Mon 12.5.11 PM: MXP, Some Rings

Napped for 2x7min in addition to what I had overnight. Ate a small dinner at home.

5pm Gymkana practice was mostly MXP balancing. About 90 minutes worth of it. Got a lot accomplished. Ended with a bit of work on rings and handstand holds.

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Mon 12.5.11 AM: Chairs

Sleep: 6.5hrs
Diet: great
Stress: great

6am Gymkana. Worked a ton of Chairs presses, then ended with some manna progressions and handstand holds.

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Sun 12.4.11: Quick Workout

Sleep: 8hrs
Diet: great
Stress: great

More welding, etc. to do today. Got a quick workout in during the afternoon. 3x5 each of rings PPPU and flat tuck FL pull-ups, then 3x1x(max) ring support holds.


Still weighing in at about 200lbs, but I'm starting to get the ridge forming between the obliques and abs. Another week or two and I should start seeing divisions in the quads and distinct veins in the lower abs. I need to drop that weight though, not just the body fat percentage, but the absolute number.

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Sat 12.3.11: Rest

Sleep: 6.5hrs
Diet: great
Stress: great

Spent all day welding. Hell yeah!

(This was the first time I got a chance to weld since September.)

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Fri 12.2.11: Blood Donation, Mobility Work

Sleep: 8hrs
Diet: great
Stress: great

Blood drive in the afternoon. Ate lunch beforehand with two bananas; I was fine. This was my first donation in a while due to scheduling constraints; time to start keeping track of them again so I can get going more regularly.

In the evening, worked on mobility stuff for an hour. Stretching, foam rolling, active stretches, and some Ido Portal-esque handbalancing/flow/mobility stuff. Broke a decent sweat, but it wasn't strenuous.

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Thu 12.1.11: Chairs, Abs, and I forget

Sleep: 6.5
Diet: great
Stress: great

Lagged behind on the updates, so now I sort of forget this workout. It was the standard 3hr Gymkana practice, and one that I felt particularly tired both during and after. Worked Chairs for a large portion of the time, both practicing miscellaneous presses and running through the routine. Turns out I've been pike pressing all my poses, so I got that fixed to a tuck and now a three-high is substantially easier. I might even go for five-high after Mockshow.

Worked a lot of abs this workout. Hanging leg raises, hollow rock circles, hollow-arch rolls, V-ups, and active compression stretches. There was something else I did between Chairs and abs too, but I can't remember what it was. It remember that it wasn't MXP, but that's about it.

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Wed PM2 11.30.11: Light Strength, Coordination Drills

Ate a dinner (+2 cups coffee) prior to this workout.

It's nearly 4am now, and I'm not even tired, but I figure I'll go to bed in a minute anyway. It's not even the coffee keeping me up - the caffeine doesn't do anything for my energy levels. I drink it primarily for (in order): the taste, the testosterone boost*, colon health** the antioxidants, the overall metabolism boost (improved body composition), and the diuretic effects. I don't get a direct pick-me-up from it though, and never really have.

*This is a side effect of doing manly shit (like drinking black coffee) but not a result of the coffee itself. It's same reason I shave with a straight razor, use contractor-grade power tools, and cook with cast iron. In contrast, that pansy-ass Starbucks "grande double espresso with cinnamon and whip cream" nonsense packs plenty of caffeine, but still lowers your testosterone and overall man-points.

**Hell yeah. My colon's so damn clean you could eat off it.

1am Workout - 1.5hrs:
Warm-up:
- jumping jacks
- band stuff

Strength:
Rings PPPU:
- 3x5
- decent RTO and depth
RTO Push-up Circles:
- 3x(lots, both cw and ccw)
Cross Pull-outs:
- 3x5
- with leg-assist, as elbow conditioning
Wall HSPU:
- 1x3
- wasn't feeling hot
- only hit the first rep full ROM
Rings Biceps Rows
- 3x8

Conditioning:
- stretching and coordination drills between every set
- some manna progressions at the end

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Wed PM1 11.30.11: Practice Show

Sleep: 8hrs
Diet: great
Stress: fine

Finally getting back to where I was pre-Thanksgiving, in terms of leanness and bodyweight. Still 5lbs over my old weight, but I'm about as lean as I was before. The way I see it, this is about a three week loss. I'll be another 3-4 days before I'm full back to where I was. That means I lose 1.5 weeks in a set-back, and I lose 1.5 weeks of what could have been progress.

That's three weeks lost from two cheat days, after three weeks of work. In reality, the math doesn't work out quite that cleanly, but f' it. I'm staying off the junk, period. It doesn't do anything good for me, and at worst, it's going to raise my genetic predisposition for prostate cancer, which is some s' I seriously don't want. A Hershey bar doesn't even taste that good compared to a nice chunk of Jarlsberg anyway.

7pm Gymkana - 3hrs:
This was just a practice show in our gym. There was a brief warm-up, then we got to it. So, I was in MXP balancing, Chairs, Rings, and Ladders. Honestly, I botched all of them, but my mind was consumed by trying to think out the equipment changes that had to take place.

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