TUESDAY
BW: 155.8 lbs
waist: 34"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories / 40:01 minutes
=+= several hours later =+=
Conditioning
One-arm DB snatches @ 25 lbs
23 minutes / 46 sets for 276 total reps
(6 reps right / rest 15 seconds / 6 reps left / rest 15 seconds = two sets)
I think I’ve been abusing the nut meats of late (pecans, mmmm …), which would explain the waist size stickiness despite ok weight loss. Will cut that out over the balance of the week and lower fats a bit overall and see if that helps.
WEDNESDAY
BW: 156.6 lbs
waist: 34"
Still stubbornly high waist measurements. Backing off carbs and fats right now in not-so-mild frustration. Can’t help but feel as if I’m suffering from a touch of Michelle Obama-like low-grade depression and experiencing a little extra cortisol and fat retention as a stress response. Hard to feel level in a world of COVID denial on the one side and COVID panic on the other. Misanthropy fitting my mood like a tailored suit these days …
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories / 40:01 minutes
THURSDAY
BW: 154.6 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
EMOM Circuit (based on CrossFit WOD “Chelsea”)
30 minutes of:
3 bodyweight supinated chins (alternated with neutral grip pullups)
3 bodyweight dips
6 50 lb back squats
Made it 28 minutes today (+2 over last week). Looking to reach the full 30 minutes next week.
FRIDAY
BW: 153.2 lbs
Wheeeeee!
waist: 33 1/2"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 360 calories / 52:14 minutes
SATURDAY
BW: 154.6 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"
Conditioning
One-arm DB snatches @ 25 lbs
28 minutes / 56 total sets for 336 total reps
(6 reps right / rest 15 seconds / 6 reps left / rest 15 seconds = two sets)
+2 minutes/+4 sets over last week. Looking to reach 30 minutes next week.
= == =
SUNDAY
BW: 155.8 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
No training. Garage too hot.
= == =
MONDAY
BW: 157.0 lbs
Ah, the short ride back …
waist: 33 3/4"
EMOM Circuit (based on CrossFit WOD “Chelsea”)
30 minutes of:
3 bodyweight pullups
3 bodyweight dips
6 25 lb goblet squats
Got 25 minutes/sets this time (+2 over last week). A few rest periods as long as 22 seconds around the 8th and 9th sets when I was in the groove. Will look to push it to 27 or 28 next week, then 30 the week afterwards.
= several hours later =
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 255 calories / 40:04 minutes
This is make up work for Sunday. Will do another double tomorrow: cardio in the morning / snatch circuit in the afternoon. Looking forward to back-to-back 500ish calorie output days after the Big Nada on Sunday.
TUESDAY
BW: 156.0 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
Conditioning
One-arm DB snatches @ 25 lbs
26 minutes / 50 total sets for 300 total reps
(6 reps right / rest 15 seconds / 6 reps left / rest 15 seconds = two sets)
=+=jiu-jitsu logging=+=
Watched some grappling over the weekend (Fight2Win149 in Dallas). Saw a great setup in a purple belt match in which the victorious competitor used the gi to trap the far side arm from side control. This not only made it easier to take the mount (no ability to block with trapped arm), but also to set up a mounted triangle to armbar finish. I don’t like techniques that are too gi- dependent. But if the hold is for only a few seconds to accomplish a specific goal, I’m fine with it.
Happy 15th Jiu-Jitsu Birthday to Me!
I’ve got a few mementos from my earliest days on the mat. Above are my handwritten directions to my first jiu-jitsu class 15 years ago today. Below is the flyer for the first tournament I ever competed in - less than 30 days after my first class. I competed in the 159-171 lb division - which seems insane these days. One and done, I got armbarred in about 60 seconds
WEDNESDAY
BW: 156.4 lbs
waist: 34"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories / 40:03 minutes
THURSDAY
BW: 156.4 lbs
waist: 34 1/4"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories / 40:01 minutes
== hours later ==
EMOM Circuit (based on CrossFit WOD “Chelsea”)
30 minutes of:
3 bodyweight supinated chins (alternated with neutral grip pullups)
3 bodyweight dips
6 50 lb back squats
Finally managed to get all 30 minutes in. +2 over last week. Unfortunately, I pulled a groin muscle sometime this week (I think) that’s already started to ding my lower back. May back off the DB snatches on Saturday and just put in some extra time on the treadmill in that space until it feels a bit better.
Seeing the groin pull as punishment for not keeping up with my flexibility training during these lockdown months. I’ve never been flexible in the slightest, so stretching - especially static stretching - is most a defensive, preventative thing. Fortunately, you can stretch a strained groin so I’ll get after it starting today.
Doing a little math on MyFitnessPal. Looks like I need an average caloric intake of about 1200 calories to lose weight in the 1-1.5 lb/week range most suggest is standard. That explains a lot about my lack of progress; I really didn’t appreciate how much more I need to pull back on the calories.
FRIDAY
BW: 156.4 lbs
waist: 34"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories / 40:01 minutes
Weekend Update (and then some)
SATURDAY
BW: 156.0 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 354 calories / 53:01 minutes
SUNDAY
BW: 157.4 lbs
waist: 34"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 352 calories / 52:16 minutes
Spent a few hours staining the fence after cardio and developed brutal lower back pain and stiffness. Had to cut it short and go lay down for a few hours. Groin strain definitely migrated to lower back. Wow. Not fun.
MONDAY / TUESDAY
Took days off. Back issues.
WEDNESDAY
BW: 158.8 lbs
waist: 34"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories / 40:03 minutes
Back feeling a bit better. Maybe around 65-70% and no more Ibuprofen necessary. Need to step up my stretching and try and tighten my diet back up after a few days off course.
THURSDAY
BW: 157.6 lbs
waist: 34"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories / 40:01 minutes
Back is back on the mend. Actually felt a little twinge in my groin earlier, which I appreciated since that was where the injury started. More cardio tomorrow.
A little uncertain as to what I’ll start doing next. Was about halfway through Mad Midsummer Metcon when I had to stop. I wasn’t scheduled to start my next bodybuilding program (DC by DB 2.0) until September 21st, so maybe I can get in the last three weeks of the program starting on Monday, skip the deload, and start bodybuilding on time next month.
Watching the Republican National Convention tonight (like you do …), my wife out of nowhere commented on the size of my quads. I’ve been feeling it in the jeans (not so often in these COVID days of WFH and sweatpants), but to hear her call it out was something else. Last year, she (rightly) criticized me for getting too skinny and stringy (I was more than 10 pounds lighter this time last year; my lightest in many years). So I’d be smart to pay attention to what she’s seeing.
That means that rather than go into a full bodybuilding routine, I think I’ve got the space to leave my legs alone and do an upper body specialization program, specifically, Arms Uber Alles.
CT crafted an on-demand, arm specialization program sometime back. I’m going to tweak that to accommodate my limited, at-home resources, and start that program as soon as Monday rather than pick up the second half of the Mad Midsummer Metcon workout as I’d planned. MMM has a good amount of potentially-lower back aggravating squatting and snatching, so I’m going to ease off that just to be on the safe side.
This way I hit an area that’s still lagging a little bit (arms), give my back more time to recover, and top off on the quad hypertrophy.
FRIDAY
BW: 155.8 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories / 40:01 minutes
Working on that arm specialization program. More than a few moving parts, but I think I can make the necessary substitutions. Still debating whether to start it on Monday or pick up the second half of MMM and start bodybuilding in mid-September as planned.
SATURDAY
BW: 156.0
waist: 34"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 353 calories / 52:24 minutes
SUNDAY
BW: 155.2 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
Did some yardwork today. No training
= == ===
MONDAY
BW: 155.6 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
Modified EMOM Circuit (based on CrossFit WOD “Chelsea”)
26 rounds of:
3 bodyweight pronated grip pullups
rest 15-20 seconds
3 bodyweight dips
Decided to switch up my Metcon, removing the squats since I’m experiencing more quad hypertrophy over the last few months of training than I’d like. Will add two rounds each week for the next two weeks, then move back to bodybuilding again.
TUESDAY
BW: 155.8 lbs
waist: 34"
A little stubbornly girthy around the midsection these days. Going to bail on what would be a very, “so-what?” August Check-in this year. May want to ease back on the carbs with this resumption of metcon.
Conditioning
One-arm DB snatches @ 25 lbs
26 minutes / 52 total sets for 312 total reps
(6 reps left / rest 15 seconds / 6 reps right / rest 15 seconds = two sets)
Getting back into the swing of things with MMM. Will add two minutes/two sets each week for the next two weeks.
Starting to think the only thing that’s stopping me from canceling my gym membership and going the home gym route until there’s a COVID-19 vaccine (or treatment or testing/tracing regime) is a pair of 35 pound dumbbells.
Local Facebook Marketplace offers for a pair are running at $120-$150. That’s almost double what I’d ordinarily pay, but if you factor in the $40+/month gym membership, those bad boys might just pay for themselves in a quarter.
WEDNESDAY
BW: 155.1 lbs
waist: 34"
Busy work day followed by catching up with my oldest friend for our first beer of 2020 - postponed from mid-March! No training.
= == ===
THURSDAY
BW: 153.8 lbs
waist: 34"
Modified EMOM Circuit (based on CrossFit WOD “Chelsea”)
26 rounds of:
3 bodyweight supinated grip chins (alternated with neutral grip)
rest 15-20 seconds
3 bodyweight dips
Working on my post-MMM program, Upper Body Uber Alles, starting in late September/Q4. Rest pause in most instances. Max reps in others.
Monday
Chest Dips
Standing DB Press
Overhead Triceps Extension
Pullups
DB row
Standing DB Alt Curl
Hanging Leg Raise
Standing Calf Raises
Wednesday
DB Incline Bench
Seated DB Arnold Press
Tricep Dips
Straight Arm Pulldown
DB Pullover
DB Pinwheel Curls
Goblet Squat
Hip Thrust
Friday
Incline DB Flye
DB Front/Overhead Raise
Tricep Pressdown
Chins
DB High Pull
Seated Incline DB Alt Curls
Ab Crunch
RDL
