Strength day

Week B

Day 1
Squat 3x5 Working sets
Press 3x5 working sets
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted, dead hang, 9-6-5

I'm at least temporarily terminating my experiment with intermittent fasting. I've fasted through the morning and then my mid day workout today, and have now eaten. Since I'm on a strength plan right now, I'm finding it hard to believe I shouldn't be eating after a workout. I'm trying to improve my performance, not eliminate every ounce of unwanted fat. Once I go through the initial strength phase, I may come back to IF once or twice per week. For right now, I think regular nutrition is more important to my goals.

Cardio-Treadmill

I alternated speeds and inclines for 22 minutes and 2.5 miles.

Foot pain again.

Fasted today.

Starting Strength, Starting Over

After a week away being ill, I came back and decided to go back to week one of the program. I'd only completed two weeks and then missed one, so it makes little sense to try to pick up in week three. So...I'm back.

Week A

Day 1
Squat 3x5 Working sets
Bench press 3x5 Working sets
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted
Dips: 3 sets

I fasted for half the day...up until 1:30 today. I wanted to push it further, but decided I need to get my nutrition a bit more in line.

Metcon day

Saw this one on the CF site and did it today. It was scaled to something a bit more realistic:

For time:
Overhead walking lunges, 45 lb bar, 50 feet
21 Burpees

Five rounds

I scaled it to:
Overhead walking lunges, 18 lb bar, 50 feet
21 Burpees
Overhead walking lunges, 18 lb bar, 50 feet
15 Burpees
Overhead walking lunges, 18 lb bar, 50 feet
9 Burpees
Overhead walking lunges, 18 lb bar, 50 feet
9 Burpees
Overhead walking lunges, 18 lb bar, 50 feet
9 Burpees

Time was 13:16

When I finished, I walked for ten minutes on the treadmill on a 15% incline. I moved around within the 3.5-4mph range.

Lessons:
1. Overhead squats/lunges are a weak point for me. It's probably a core strength issue. I need to work on them on a regular basis to build up that lower back/core strength.
2. Crossfit style metcon requires a greater degree of cardiovascular fitness than jogging. It is the equivalent of running sprints, but with a strength element added in. The good thing about not being able to run is that I've been forced to learn this lesson. I need to make sure i worl this style of metcon at least three times a week.

Today was supposed to have been a fasting day. I made it until 2pm, so instead of the normal 21-22 hour fast, I shut it down at 17 hours. Too little sleep, too hard a workout. Needed food.

Start of second week

Week B

Day 1
Squat 3x5 Working sets
Press 3x5 working sets
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted, dead hang, 7-5-5

I barely feel like I even had a workout today, even though I did everything as prescribed and added five pounds to last weeks weights.

This just seems like I'm starting too light, and I'm worried I'm going to go backwards. I need to have faith, especially since I'll be trying to do more CF style metcon on non-strength days. That will be a lot more taxing than just running three times a week, though I will do some running. Soon enough, I'll be pushing my limits. Right now, I'm trying to work about 60 seconds between sets. As I reach limits, I'll add to rest time so I can still hit the target number of reps.

If this doesn't work as intended, I can always roll out a different program.

I'm fasting today. I'm hungry. Pennance for the weekend, I guess.

Working rest day

I really wanted to perform one of the Hero WODs today, and had settled in my mind that I would go with Michael. Despite legs that are as stiff and sore as they have been in ages, I got onto the treadmill for a brisk walk to try to loosen up. The walk turned into a jog, and after five minutes I knew I should stop. If it was the legs, I would have...perhaps foolishly...pushed on. What stopped me was this damned foot pain. I've had this before, and there is only one thing that makes it go away. I need to stop running for a bit. I've tried working through it, and it only gets worse.

The rowers were both being used, so I jumped onto a lifecycle for 25 minutes of interval training. It's not as demanding as running or many of the WODS, so it was kind of a working rest day. Yeah, yeah. Once in a while, I like doing the bike. I'll have to figure out a non-running metcon workout for Saturday.

Fasting day today...though I'm thinking maybe I should eat something. I've hit it pretty hard this week. I'll see.

Day one of program

I may have to make a few small adjustments to the routine I posted this morning. While I understand the importance of warmup, the reps/sets/weights of the warmup seem almost useless to me. I'll need to adjust accordingly.

That being said, I need to have faith that this program is going to allow me to gain strength in a somewhat linear fashion. I did fewer heavy sets and reps than I have been doing. Hopefully, that is what will allow me to raise the weight week after week. If I burn myself up getting to working sets, I may not be able to do that. We'll see. how it goes.

I need to watch my squat form. I feel like my knees are coming a bit too far forward. I need to focus on hip drive. I'm a bit concerned that my posterior chain is too tight to maintain proper form while I increase the weight. I'll need to watch this closely.

I'm a bit spent today. It is a fasting day. This is the first one in weeks that has me feeling like this. Of course, my eating was garbage yesterday, and featured a bit too much sugar. I'll have to make note of how I feel the next time I do that. Not that I'm planning it or anything!

My feet hurt

They've been hurting for days. Hurt like someone took a ball peen hammer to the bottom of them. What's up with that?

So...I'll be running at lunchtime today. Going to do some hills on the treadmill. Time to turn it up a notch.

Fasting again today.

A grumble and a smile

I started today's workout intending to run a 5k at about a 7:15 pace. After starting, I decided to settle on a 7:30 pace, which had me right there at the edge of too fast/just fast enough. I ended up stopping at the 1.5 mile mark, because the arch of my left foot was hurting. It's been hurting since I ran one day last week, and I aggravated it a bit again on Sunday. I need to make sure I only run in the proper shoes. When I use the wrong ones, my feet end up hurting.

Anyway, I switched to a 2k row, and finished it in 8:03. Once again, I had trouble with the straps. I stopped twice to reattach them, and the third time I just let it go. I think I could have ended up with at least a 7:30 if they didn't screw me up again. Next time I row, I want to make sure the straps are connected in a way that won't allow them to slip. Or I'll bring duct tape. Or something.

I'm fasting again today. I'll not discuss the eating that went on this weekend, other than to say it would NOT qualify as low carb. At all.

I got what I deserved

Today was an upper body strength day. I duplicated last Monday's workout, but added weight to every set. I'm working my way back up to where I was...slowly. I don't want to jinx myself, but the shoulder has been great. I have avoided kips and knees to elbows to limit the strain on my shoulders. I miss K2Es. I'll start them up slowly soon.

At the end of my workout, I decided to do a 4 minute set of Tabata Squats. I finished with 105, which is more than the 93 I did on June 18th, but two fewer than the 107 I did on July 9th. I got what I deserved. Since the squats were a spur of the moment decision, I didn't have a record of my last performance with me. I was certain I hit a record, so I slowed down. Why? Why would I? Why would I leave anything on the table, PR or not? Lesson learned the hard way.

Today is a fasting day again. I feel completely fine, and had no adverse effects during my workout. This thing may actually work!

Sprinting day

Today I decided to do some running. I alternated a moderate jog with a fast one, one minute intervals each for 16 minutes. Then I finished up with a set of Tabata Sprints. I did some TGU sets yesterday on rest day. I know it was rest day, but I really like how the TGUs work the entire body. I needed to get my blood moving.

I indulged in a few extra carbs yesterday, which is probably what I will always do on a Saturday. That's part of my plan; a bit of a BFL holdover and an understanding that I do have to get along in the real world.

I should note that I really don't think I'm carb starving myself. I'm just getting the majority of them from fruits and vegetables, and eating the amount I SHOULD eat, rather than the excessive amounts I was eating. It makes you realize how crazy the diet of the average person really is, and how it is pushed on us at every turn.

One interesting observation is that I am really feeling lean and...I don't know...primal? Feral? I won't say that I'm constantly hungry, because I'm not. But I do feel much more alive for lack of a better way of explaining things. Interesting.

What's it good for? Absolutely nuthin'!

Back in my BFL days, I was weighing myself on a somewhat regular basis and attempting to measure my bodyfat percentage using both a caliper and one of those scales that claim to measure such a thing. The calipers always showed a BF level that was about 30-40% lower than the scale. I put much more faith in the calipers not just because I wanted to believe them, but because I could see and feel that the scale percentage was just plain wrong.

Anyway, the lowest weight I recorded in my log was in March of 2007 at 192.8 pounds. I seem to recall that at some point thereafter, I weighed in at 186 pounds on a visit to the doctor, but I'll go with the 193 since it is my written record.

I weighed myself this morning, and I came in at 209 pounds, which at least is down from 215 from a couple of weeks ago. At 6'3", that's not horrible. I knew I was gaining weight and wasn't overly concerned because I was on a mission to add some muscle mass and strength. I have undoubtedly accomplished that goal. But still. Depending upon which weight you take as my low point, I've gained between 17 and 23 pounds in seventeen months. There's just no way that's all muscle. In fact, I'd be thrilled if half the weight gain was muscle.

What is this extra weight good for? Nothing. In fact, all it does is hurt my performance. I'm not a big scale whore at all. Visually, I already knew all of this. I don't need a scale to tell me what I need to do.

I really believe the combination of IF and more of a Paleo style of eating will make a huge difference in my body composition. I can see and feel it already. I'll try to keep zone like in terms of caloric intake, but where those carbs come from will be mostly from paleo foods.

It will be interesting to see how all of this affects my performance as well and my body composition.

I feel lean and mean

I've been limiting carbs for two days now, and I feel lean. Okay, I know it's a bit silly to think I'm going to have immediate results, but it is how I feel. At least initially, I won't be eliminating all grains/carbs enitrely. I do need to live in teh real world, you know. I'm not going to say I'll never have a bowl of macaroni or oatmeal or rice or a baked potato or an ice cream cone. That just isn't realistic. What I will do is limit these things dramatically. I will rely on most of my carbs coming from fruits and vegetables. I'm sure it will take a bit of adjusting too but I'll get there.

I've been weight training on and off for over twenty some years. I've come close to having the physique I'd like, but have never really gotten over that last five or ten percent of stubborn belly or love handle fat. Some would say that I'm bordering on exceptional fitness for a man of fifty, and that I'm nuts. As I've written before, I will not accept that kind of excuse from myself. Age is NOT a limiting factor as far as I'm concerned. Many people blame age for destroying their bodies, when age has nothing to do with it. Anyway, having gotten serious again about three years ago with the BFL program and now morphing into a modified CF routine, I still seem to be unable to get over the top with this. I know part of it is that I have the occasional food breakdown on weekends or on vacations. But I think the real culprit is excessive carb intake...and carb intake of the wrong kinds.

Don't get me wrong. The biggest reason for what I do is health based, not image based. I have made significant improvements in my health, and I plan to continue to do so. I also want to be able to maintain a high level of perfomance. Of course, there is a strong correlation between these things...and improving in one area often helps improvement in another.

Here's one more bit of reading about the Paleo diet. I encourage you to read it. You'll actually think twice before sticking another hunk of bread in your mouth.

I'll be strength training today...and I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow will be fast day again.

Interesting article

Interview with Art Devany

I'll be doubling up tomorrow

I missed my workout today due to something much more important that I was tending to....and I'm not sorry.

The more I read about IF and The Primal Blueprint, the more it makes sense to me, and the more interesting it gets. I'm going to remove all but a very small portion of grains/starches from my diet. I'll get my carbs mostly from fruits and vegetables. I know I'm doing something a bit dumb here. I should IF or eliminate these nasty carbs one at a time, so I can figure out what effect each of them has. By doing them both at the same time, I won't know whether it's one or the other, or the combination only that works. Oh well. I'm doing it anyway. I've been known to do a stupid thing or two on occasion.

Runnishment

I had the fun of taking my kids and myself to the dentist this morning. I was scolded for the length of time since my last visit, and for not flossing often enough or well enough. Now she wants me to come back every three months.

I decided to give myself a consequence for a less than stellar appointment. I call it runnishment. Yes. I'm kinda copying funnishment. What can i say. Sue me. Anyway, I need to train myself to run at a faster pace for a longer distance. I used this workout a couple of weeks ago, and liked it. Well...you know what I mean by like it. Not like-like it. Well anyway...I did it again today, and I was smoked...and happy...at the end of the workout.

Warmup jog 6mph 2 minutes

Run 800m @ 8.5 mph
walk 2 minutes @ 4mph
Run 400m @ 10.5 mph
walk 2 minutes @ 4mph
Run 800m @ 9.0 mph
walk 2 minutes @ 4mph
Run 400m @ 11.5 mph
walk 2 minutes @ 4mph
Run 800m @ 9.5 mph
walk 2 minutes @ 4mph
Run 400m @ 12.0 mph
walk 2 minutes @ 4mph
Run 2 minutes 7mph
walk 1 minute 4mph


All runs were done at a 1.0 incline

I was tired and felt a little drained and irritable last evening before dinner. I think the fasting may take a little bit of adjusting to. If 24 hours ends up being too much, I can cut it back 4-6 hours and probably still get teh same benefits anyway.

Workout is finished

I had a good workout, adding weight and sets from what I've done over the past few weeks. I'll spend a number of weeks working myself back up to my previous weights again. I've got a plan that has worked in the past for setting new PRs, and I'm going to implement it again.

I'm still a bit hungry, but it is better than this morning. I can now see dinner coming up over the rise, and I'll easily make it until then. Piece of cake. Oops. I didn't need to write that, did I?

Fasting day

As I've written before, I'll be fasting on Monday's and Thursdays. More technically, from dinner the night before until dinner the night of fasting day. I'm hungry as hell today. The same thing happened last Monday. Perhaps it is the effect of eating a bit more than I should over the weekend. When I fasted on Friday, I was pretty much fine all day.

Anyway, I'll be doing a strength workout today at lunchtime. I'll go a bit heavier than I have the past couple of weeks, and add a bit more. I will bring myself back up sowly so i don't sidetrack myself with an injury.

More later.

Today's plan

After having not worked out today, I'm planning on doing ring pushups and dips, some overhead cleans and presses with a KB, some ring pullups and some Turkish getups. I'll wrap it up with a set of Tabata burpees. I haven't done them in a while.

I'm fasting again today. I'll see how that goes again.

This weekend, I want to develop the program I'll be starting next week. I'll be following a combination strength/metcon schedule that was laid out in one of the CF journals.

I'm thinking of contacting a local CF affiliate near my weekend house to see if they can work with me on some of the Olympic lifts. It's hard to self assess in front of a mirror.

That's all for now. I'll probably poke back in a bit later.

I was tired as hell

by the time I got halfway into my workout. Could it be the residual effects of yesterdays fast? Could it be that I hadn't eaten enough yet today? I've had that happen to me in the past. I had Western egg beaters and whole wheat toast for breakfast, and cottage cheese mixed with yogurt for a snack. I'm long since past keeping a food journal, but maybe I'll do a mini version for a couple of weeks to see if I can change things up and identify trends. I'm thinking of going IF on Monday and Thursdays.

Oh...I hear you Wigan. I also enjoy eating, and I do it six times a day. Still...you never know how something will work if you don't try. If it does work out, it will be nice to not drive myself crazy about missing meals on days that are really hectic. Anyway, I'd think IF would be easy for you Brits! You're not known for your food, now are you!! ;-p

Speaking of food, I came across this blog recently. The writer is some nurse that writes about a bunch of different topics. Sometimes she has a point. Others, like today's post, she seems to have either no point or she seems to imply something ridiculous, or she doesn't connect the dots to what may be a logical conclusion, potentially leading the reader to the wrong one. Why do I bring it up? No good reason, other than she pisses me off. Biggest reason? She allows no comments. Sure...if you dig you can find a way to contact her, but I view blogs as a place of interaction. I think people stumbling into her blog should have the opportunity to see another viewpoint. I'm guessing that she may have had comments active at one point, but was probably made to look foolish on so many occasions, she turned them off. By the way, check out her credentials....A nurse and certified childcare professional. Now...there's nothing wrong with these...they are worthy professions...but it hardly makes her an expert on nutrition and health.

One last thing....There's some new "club" near my office that keeps on handing out crap promoting their business. They keep on repeating the mantra...lose your gym. join a club. Little do they know they are speaking a curse word to me...even though I do use a globo gym. I know. I know. It's okay though. I can get in 95% of the CF workouts there, so it works for me. (They only thing they don't have is rings and the proper weight wallball.) I also have the flexibility of using different locations, which is impoprtant to me. But really. Join a club. Sheesh. Do people want to hang out and bullshit, or train? Don't answer. I already know.