@Bagsy @simo74 right now you are the two runners at the front of my mind.
I have two questions,
Thanks for the tag in mate. I’ll do my best to answer but given I stopped running five years ago now I’m not sure how helpful I will be.
1 To your first question my answer is unfortunately “no”. I have never had any Achilles problems when I ran. I used to run mostly early morning on an empty stomach straight after waking up. I always walked for maybe 200m usually whilst I waited for my gps watch to find a satellite and then the first 800m of run would be pretty slow. Once the blood got pumping the speed increase.
My answer to anyone who has foot pain, or any lower leg pain is usually ‘how old are your shoes?’ and ‘are they right for you?’ Running shoes lose a lot of spring after 1000km so are usually trash after 4-5 months. I used to have 3 pairs and rotate them which gave me more mileage and kept them fresher.
Something going ping in your calf sounds like tightness to me. Getting regular massages can help with this, they are painful as fk but it helped me a lot.
Other than the massages I really didn’t do anything else. Never stretched, warm up was just the walk I talked about earlier and cool down was a short walk at the end of the runs.
Sorry that isn’t very helpful. Years ago I ran so many stairs and sledding hills years a la brute force method and against my will that I think my legs and feet were not too shocked when I started doing them again last year.
You might still be able to get a good conditioning workout by walking up the hill with weight in your hands or a vest, maybe throwing in some bodyweight exercises at the top and bottom. Then your calves could gradually acclimate to the hill as well.
I run in minimalist footwear. I’ve worn minimal shoes for years. Anything remotely similar to a mainstream Adidas-type shoe nowadays wreaks me.
This sounds similar to my experiences.
I thank you for all your input. I’ll consider how I can be gradual and still get a workout in!
This is a good idea!
AM: Bouldering
Not my best send on this one (red - below 
). My camera-app kept crashing so I did it like 5 or 6 times…
PM:
4 sets of 7 seconds for three-finger open hand (-14 kg)
4 sets of 7 seconds for four-finger half crimp (-20kg)
AM: Just Run Week 5 Day 1
PM:
Diesel Shoulder Crew Warm-up
Log Press 5,4,5,5 @ 50kg
Also, band pull-aparts 50 reps straight. Banded Y-raises.
Centurion Push-ups 5 sets of 12
BB Seal Row, did 1 good rep at 80 (and one sloppy). Then 3 sets of 5ish reps at 70. Feel like this exercise is a good candidate for tempo work
Mixed BTN Presses with seated close-grip overhead presses. Trying to find new supplemental exercises that target my weaknesses.
Front Lever Work (tuck raises)
Shrugs and back extensions
Bouldering competition. Did not make it to the finals. That’s not really realistic when I still have to climb mostly on straight arms because of my elbow. I did walk away with some thoughts on how to adjust my bouldering training. I just have to go harder and fail more.
The night before a friend of mine had some festivities to attend so I offered to hang-out with her ---- for simplicity I’ll label it as — “boyfriend”. Me and him played chess, and had a really good go at things. Open, honest, guy. I like him. Sadly, my friend started sending texts that had him worried that she’d had too much to drink so I offered to come along and pick her up.
She was way too drunk for her own good. She’s just had knee surgery but she was too inebriated to feel pain, as I would note later that night when she spilled scalding hot tea on her feet without even reacting. Hopefully the exoskeleton around her leg kept the knee safe as she stumbled about but, still.
It ended up being a late night, playing a support character to both individuals over text messages. I also don’t really know the guy well enough, so I was worried, I don’t know how he deals with anger/disappointment and I’ve heard enough horror stories to keep checking up on my friend until way into the night.
Overall, I wasn’t in a good space to be competing but wanted to show up and be part of the community regardless. Or at least try to.
I did however get a t-shirt and guess what, the print is my design : )
A. High Handle Trap-bar Deadlift
Deadlift simul-ramp.
Conventional/Trap-bar (I hate that the bar weighs 22kg)
60/72, 5/10 reps, also sumo 5 reps
80/92, 5/5
100/112, 3/5, also sumo 3 reps
120/132, 3/3
Trap-bar:
3 @ 177 (PR!)
Back-off sets
3x5 @ 157
No Drop-set today, too tired. See yesterday. Also, this simul-ramp is only okay on days when I’m fire. I feel as if a continuous ramp (conventional → sumo → trap-bar) would be better. Why am I doing it? So I can do conventional pain-free at some point in the future.
B. RDLs slow ones for an adequate number of sets
C. Hip-thrust going for a glute pump.
Conditioning 3 rounds
Sumo deadlift 10 reps w 60kg
One “lap” of (I should measure this out in paces)
AM: Just Run Week 5 Day 2
PM:
MP, a single at 52. I don’t think that is an all-time PR TBH. but, in reference to recent periods it sure is. I feel like a winner
3x3 @ 47
ss: BB seal row at 60&50 going for a 6 second eccentric. Didn’t quite like tempo work on this movement to be frank. Not without a ramp beforehand at least. Wasn’t feeling it until maybe the final set.
Dips 8,7,6,6,7 (final was a bonus set after some extra rest)
ss: hammer row, 10 @ 35/h, 50/h, 60/h, then one set with paused reps at 50kg/h.
Then I tried to do some handstand stuff, but wasn’t feeling it. Tried some arm stuff, same. Thought about going home. Ended up doing traps and face pulls.
AM: Bouldering
PM: Hangboarding 20mm edge
4 sets of 7 seconds for three-finger open hand (-12 kg)
4 sets of 7 seconds for four-finger half crimp (-18.5kg) (didn’t have any clean 1kgs around)
AM: Centurion Walk 40 minutes
PM:
A. Front Squat (ss: abs 29, 12, 9 ab-wheel)
5 @ 40
5 @ 50
3 @ 60
3 @ 70
3 @ 85
2 @ 95 (failed rep 3)
Did a bunch of Zerchers at various weights as back-off. Not too worried about missing this. Had a sense that I’d not be able to progress this workout and just wanted to check if my intuition was on point. Will try again next week before considering adjustments (5 forward/3 back)
B. SSB Squat to 16 inch box
4x10 @ 70
C. Backwards sled-drag
2 sets of double distance from last time @ sled+80 and sled + 105
D. Sled pushes
2 sets of 1m of work @ sled+30
I can’t for the life of me make this hit the glutes
E. Hip Thrusts
10, 12, 15 @ 80. Became a weird ramp, more reps on each set
Conditioning
2 rounds
10 swings
2 dips
15 swings
3 dips
25 swings
5 dips
50 swings
Unsure of the exact time but beat my previous. 9:18 I think. I’ll revisit and edit if necessary
AM: Bouldering
PM:
Hangboarding 20mm edge
1 set of 7 seconds for three-finger open hand (-2.5kg)
3 sets of 7 seconds for three-finger open hand (-12.5 kg)
4 sets of 7 seconds for four-finger half crimp (-17.5kg)
Did these at the climbing hall today and was too distracted to remember to attach a 10. It hurt, a bit, but I was okay to lead after. Hurt for about 3 routes and then no pain. Not smart, but I’m lucky.
Also cool that I can almost hang at my bodyweight and almost pain-free.
2hrs of very chill lead climbing just to socialise.
Talked to my place of employment today that I’m not getting the help I need here, as I’ve yet again been placed in year long queue for further evaluation. So, I’ve applied to study in a bigger city (did this months ago), I’ll try and work part-time to make ends meet. They were willing to help out and give me some liberties with regards to being remote full-time if that’s necessary.
Time to start looking for apartments…
Warm-up
Diesel Crew Shoulder Warm-up
Wrist Circle (30s)
Supinated Wrist Stretch (30s)
Flipped Wrist Stretch (30s)
Flipped Wrist Squeeze (30s)
Mobility & Joint Strength (3 rounds)
1st Knuckle Wrist Flexion 10 reps
Fingertip Wrist Flexion 10 reps
Flipped Wrist Extension 10 reps
Downward Facing Dog 60 seconds
A1. Log Press 4,5,5,5 at 50 kg. Forgot my belt, but still repeated my past performance. That must be good, right?
A2. Barbell Row 5x5, weights various
B1. DB Savickas Press 4 sets of 1m work
B2. T-bar Row, weights various 4x6-10
C1. Reverse Pec Deck 3 or 4 sets of 1m work (mid-back)
C2. Centurion Parallete push-ups, beat some rep PRs
Tried to do some shrugs and back-extensions but I had lost a strap which made the shrugs not as viable. Went home and did some banded shrugs instead. Maybe did one or two sets of back extensions in the GHR at the gym before leaving. I wore my weight vest for this. I normally do this with a bar on a 45-degree back extension thing.
Tried some German hangs in my rings after but I was just beat, and upset, about having lost equipment (and forgetting my belt at home). Really a forgetful day. Forgot a meeting. Forgot my keys in my bike (fortunately I could find them anyway). Lost my saddle protection.
AM: Lead climbing, went okay, tired in my forearms.
PM:
Arm day!
A1. Barbell Curl 5 sets of ~10 reps
A2. JM Press 5 sets of ~10 reps
3 sets of ~1m work
B1. Cable Curl
B2. Rope Triceps Pushdown
3 sets of ~1m work
C1. DB Hammer Curl, tried these on an incline too (torso facing bench, arms hanging freely)
C2. DB Decline Triceps Extension
Deadlift, ramp to 5x120
Sumo-deadlift 1 set of 5 @ 120 as well
Continued to ramp to 182 of a high-handle trapbar deadlift for a single
3x3 @ 162
Then a drop-set
32 @ 132
15 @ 112
15+5@ 92
30 and more reps after 12 breaths but don’t remember the count and the camera wasn’t recording@72
B1. Single-leg KB RDL 3x15 w 16kg
B2. Split Squat 3x10 w 15kg
B3. Ab-wheel roll-out but with hamstring emphasis 3 sets (did 3 sets prior to this during deadlift back-off sets)
Called an audible on conditioning. As I’m writing this I still feel the drop-set in my chest. A friend was in the climbing hall yesterday and he was still recovering from a cold, I’m guessing it is that.
The dropset moved horrendously compared to previous experiences. It might have been that I had to go to the loo immediately prior to it. Something is up with my digestion for over a month now, won’t go into details, but I’ve visited a doctor and they are running tests.
Did some PNF-stretches after
Tried some decline one-leg extended raises during the deadlifts but my tricep insertions weren’t feeling it so I did garhammer leg raises instead. They really hit my abs. 3 or 4 sets.
I think all the back volume I did this week ended up being too much (I increased it). So, backing off from conditioning today to get some more room for recovery feels sensible, but it isn’t something I’m elated about. Will adjust back-volume to somewhere inbetween what I just did and what I was doing prior.
Crazy back DOMS
Still feeling a bit worse for wear, like I’m carrying a bug that just won’t manifest itself clearly. I have a competition on Saturday, and a concert to attend to, so rather than forging ahead and hoping it either manifests itself clearly — or dissipates entirely — I’m dialing things back a little.
Warm-up
Diesel Crew Shoulder Warm-up
Wrist Circle (30s)
Supinated Wrist Stretch (30s)
Flipped Wrist Stretch (30s)
Flipped Wrist Squeeze (30s)
Mobility & Joint Strength (2 rounds)
1st Knuckle Wrist Flexion 10 reps
Fingertip Wrist Flexion 10 reps
Flipped Wrist Extension 10 reps
A1. MP: Ramp to 2 reps at 52 (hey-o!)
A2. Cable Face Pulls ~15 reps for I don’t know how many sets
B1. Ring Dips: 9, 9, 8, 8, 7 (better than last time but the RPE was beyond technical failure and I don’t think that’s the best thing for my shoulder)
B2. Banded Y-raises (trying to hit lower traps, did not manage well this time)
C1. Lu Raises ~15 reps for 3 sets
C2. Band Pull-aparts ~15 reps for 3 sets
D1. Kelso Shrugs 4 sets of 10, 4s pause contraction
D2. DB Triceps Overhead Extension 4 sets of ~15 reps
Cool Down (2 rounds)
German Hang 30 s
Pike Stretch 60 s
German Hang Dynamic Reps ~10
Pike Stretch 60 s
Felt kinda low-stress and focused more on my upper-back which was basically the only part of my back that isn’t sore. Maybe not low volume (which maybe I need #deload) if I scroll back to what I was doing just a few months ago.
Worked extra at the climbing hall, just walk around like an instructor ready to help out and fix some safety issues if need be. I divided the people attending into groups and had them create their own warm-up boulder problem within the groups. I felt it was a nice change of pace to running through a warm-up on the ground. I hope they learnt something.
AM: Bouldering, not a peak performance day, flew off things I’ve “flashed” before. But, the holds were very rubbery now that the hall is half-dismantled in preparation for the comp. But feels as if maybe my sleep had a little to do with that (worked late yesterday, see above) and also the digestion thing.
PM: Well, I’ll hangboard any minute now. Here’s the plan
Hangboarding 20mm edge
4 sets of 7 seconds for three-finger open hand (-10 kg)
4 sets of 7 seconds for four-finger half crimp (-16 kg)
Starting to feel a niggle in my right elbow (my left elbow has been consistently tendonitis-y but is responding somewhat to rehab). I’m guessing maybe the extra back volume last week is to blame. Considering taking two weeks off of climbing — continuing to hangboard — after the competition.
I feel somewhat okay not having done conditioning or my cardio given “the bug”.
PM: Here’s the execution
Hangboarding 20mm edge
4 sets of 7 seconds for three-finger open hand (-10 kg)
1 sets of 7 seconds for four-finger half crimp (-18.5 kg)
3 sets of 7 seconds for four-finger half crimp (-16 kg)
The open hand was a challenge. I don’t think I can progress weight next week, maybe just 1 kilo if so.
The half crimp felt strong. Like, wow.
A. Front Squat (ss: abs 29, 12, 9 ab-wheel)
5 @ 45
5 @ 55
3 @ 65
3 @ 75
3 @ 85
2 @ 95 (failed again)
Even before my top-set I was feeling woozy
Back-off
2x2@85, was going for 3x5 but I failed twice on 2 reps.
5@70
Can’t even tell why I failed really. Didn’t feel like I lacked the strength, I just lacked the “ability” today. Even on the top-set it felt as if I could give 3 reps another go, like I hadn’t fried my CNS or my muscles, I just wasn’t able to tap into what I really could do.
*B. Walking Lunges SSB
4x10 w +10kg. Deeeeep and controlled
C. Iso-linear Hack Squat
3x10 (1)
Leg Extension
3x12-15 (2)
DB Hammer Curl
2x10, 1x6-8-10 dropset.
Ab-wheel 4 sets of 20 reps fairly early on.
If anyone is keeping track @SvenG can confidently claim first on liking my posts as of late. He’s been super quick! Glad to have you along mate.
Awoke in the middle of the night between Wednesday and Thursday and caught myself in the mirror after a birthday party. Pretty rapidly I was having thoughts I’ve had many times before. As I’ve ixnayed conditioning and cardio this week but still retained my hunger I experienced myself looking a little soft. Friday morning, I found myself viewing my body in a much more positive light. Glad it didn’t stretch out for longer.
But, while I have those thoughts and know that they are knee-jerk reactions, I do still feel somewhat overwhelmed because sometimes they do not go away rapidly and they insidiously affect every action I take thereon for quite some time. Can be weeks, or months. So, when they rear their head I experience a sense of fear. The fear isn’t new, last year when I had access to a psychologist I described it that way too. That, I get stuck in the lulls of habits that further serve to entrench me in disorderly habits because I do not want to experience the anxiety that I sometimes get when I withdraw from those habits and put on a skewed amount of fat compared to muscle.
It’s sad, in a way, that this still haunts me. I wish I had done more with my time to work on it.
In talking with my psychologist then I made the parable that it was akin to living with an abusive person. I stand by it.
Maybe I was more inclined to go through those familiar thought patterns as my brain was already revving on how to adjust my training load now that I’ve stalled on squats. Making adjustments was already a consideration, but more of a background process, as I feel that the trap-bar deadlifts are not helping me get back to conventional deadlifts as a main.
I know that I probably should just employ a three-steps back approach on the squats and see what happens but I’ve toyed with the idea that lower-body day should include a squat variation and a deadlift variation each time for a period of time.
Went for a run yesterday despite not having had my bug clear out entirely. Set a PR, haha.
Did a bouldering session on a spray wall in the morning, run late afternoon, and hangboarding again in the evening. Overall, quite happy with the day.
Sometimes I think about maybe not logging every workout. I wonder if it’d have greater utility to log every month the deltas for the lifts I care about and any changes. One does not exclude the other but I see some benefits to the approach.
Now that I can do push-ups and dips routinely I’m thinking about when/if I’ll be able to include any horizontal pressing. DBs aren’t safer for me there than barbells for some reason. Currently mulling over if Incline Bench is the way, staying with a shorter ROM and a fairly low RPE (which is already a struggle). It won’t happen anytime soon though. I want to get to 25 ring dips first, and then revisit the notion. The dips actually translate to athletic performance (for me) while benching would be nice to grow my chest which is now overshadowed by my delts.
Took a peek of my back after yesterdays climbing session. I couldn’t get a good picture, as my phone is so “advanced” that it blurs and softens contrast but if I were to explain how it looked IRL I saw similar definition to when I was very very light despite being at a healthier/maintainable/sustainable bf% now
Nothing specific to say, except I’m glad you’re here logging. But you gotta do what you gotta do.
Oh, and congrats on this! 
A1. Log Press 6,6,5,5. RPE 9.5 on every set more or less
A2. Bent-over Barbell Row, ended up doing 8 at 90 kilos.
Then 20 reps empty log
20 reps 60kg BB Row
B1. BTN Press 3xAMRAP
B2. Cable Rear-delt thingamajig 3x12-15
C1. Centurion Push-ups (Parallettes) +1 on last weeks performance 5 sets of AMRAPs
C2. Face pulls of various variety 5 sets
D1. Shrugs w 4 second pause ~8 reps, 4 sets
D2. PJR Pull-overs 3 sets of 12+ reps.
Should I maybe repeat this session again, thus driving the RPE down?
Good job, stepping up and taking action!
Exciting developments! Studying what I think?
How long would you say is dangerous? Can you describe what kind of thoughts go through your head there? I find myself thinking about my appearance/ body very frequently and almost ever present. Not to the point that it would trigger anxiety but probably more than what’s healthy. In my case the added duality of peformance vs. physique makes things more difficult.
Yes! Leaving OMT alone too, I very much appreciate your input on that.
For me? I don’t have an exact number. If you recall the podcast you linked me, I’d like you to remind you of the story she told about rats and how they developed certain behaviours if given cocaine (heroin?) several days in a row and would even after a life-time of abstinence revert into the behaviours they developed late in that drug-binge. I find that I don’t have to stay in it for long to revert back to being in the deep end. So, I take it quite seriously when it happens.
I can try. I’d say that I experience a heightened sense of anxiety and desperation and feel emotionally very strongly about doing something about it as quickly as possible. Despite all the knowledge I’ve amassed, I would say that I experience a driving urge to throw everything I can at the “problem”. I don’t feel as if I can approach it in a calm, collected, and structured manner but I’m ready to throw the kitchen sink at it almost straight away.
I’ll even depart from things I know, such that you can’t maintain the same training volume if you are in a deficit. I just go into annihilation mode. It can keep me up at night, the thoughts. I’ll lay awake structuring training/eating, running the numbers in my head incessantly. Usually I’ll have it all figured out, and then feel an urge to visit the rest room one final time before falling asleep. When I return to bed I start the thought process anew. This can’t really be helped even if I take out a notebook (I’ve tried).
I’ve also experienced myself becoming so invested that I’ll send away orders for fat burners, more supplements, maybe buy a training program. It’s also during these times I’ll consider cosmetic surgery to get rid of that wee-bit of excess skin that I do in fact have.
The thoughts just become all encompassing. How I look becomes the One problem, and all my mental faculties are brought to bear on “solving” it. Nowadays, it’s not as “pure” and laser-like as I’ll try and remember the progress I’ve made and how I feel better now despite carrying more fat. Maybe because I carry more fat.
I also find that my mindset skews. I stop seeing people, I see physiques. And, points of comparison. I don’t know if it is right to @ the person in this instance (so I won’t) but, once when I was a bit softer I looked at a picture of flipcollar from a competition and decreed that until I could deadlift what he did in that competition at that same bodyweight I wasn’t “allowed” to be heavier than he was. I don’t think we are the same height.
Logic and common sense just flies out the window. Even if I’m currently progressing, I can’t even have an internal dialogue wherein I can get myself to “see” that if what I’m doing is working there is no need to change anything. Even if I can say the words, the “anxiety” overrides that.
The two best stints I’ve had with gaining weight, and eating have been now and when I ran the @isdatnutty program. His program had a higher degree of volume than my current program, so I had to eat to recover. I didn’t do the conditioning then, just the weight room stuff, and lived an overall very active life as it was summer so I got a lot of extra activity for free just taking my rollerskates places.
Now is good too, but I find that the moment I stop doing a lot of stuff to lay-off or something I struggle with eating. Right now I lift 4x/wk, run twice, conditioning twice, and climbing 3x. Walk 10k+ steps per day. That’s enough for me not to think too much. There’s barely a meal that isn’t adjoining to some activity.
Did I mention I got the diagnosis “atypical anorexia”?
I can certainly relate. I have a climbing experience when I was lighter when it felt as if moving my body around was moving warm-up weights around. I just don’t have that same degree of strength/bw-ratio anymore. But overall I think I’m better now. Luckily? I can’t give it an honest comparison because of the elbows — and that boulder problem no longer exists.
Sorry to read that these thoughts keep tormenting you like this. I hope you’re able to combat them because what you describe sounds like a nightmare. Your log always suggests that you’re very introspective, or at least more openly so than others. Whatever you decide to do with this log moving forward, it has been interesting to read. Anyway, nice to read that some exciting things have sprinkled into your life.
I think I’ve been silent about life-stuff for a while, which is really the main benefit I find that these logs have. I believe that’s why we show up in one another’s logs, because we care about the person more than their training. That’s also where I’ve derived the most value personally, and learned the most from others. Sharing has also been helpful, at times.
The training is all well and good but really the life-stuff is where it is at.
This year has been a can of worms, that I’m dying to speak out about, but I’m conflicted. I know I’m anonymous enough here that in practice I’m confident I could share all that has happened to the extent that I feel that I’d need to, for me, and to accurately portray all that has transpired.
However, I promised I’d keep my mouth shut until the wheels of justice have turned as that happens to be the level that it is at.
And a promise is a promise.
In a similar way, I’m torn about other things that I’d like to share when other people’s actions have been fueled by the bad things that have happened to them — who am I to share their story? Because, if I just say what they did to me without context it just becomes “asshole, cut them out of your life” but with the background it becomes gray.
It’s for sure not dead
Boulder competition, have no idea how I placed since I don’t have social media haha!
Had fun, but went completely ham. My elbows feel worse for wear as a consequence.
My hands are starting to feel strong again.
Mulling over taking two weeks off from climbing, as I can do pulling movements in the gym pain-free. I’d also back-off of rehab, believing it might have become too much as both elbows are acting up now.
But since my hands are finally feeling better I don’t want to stop climbing now. For sure I’d want to keep with the hangboarding. I know some say that 5 days might be adequate, but I think for me it’d be better to decide to take 11 days off, do 3 days of rehab, and then start climbing again.
But I’ll wait and see how the inflammation pans out tomorrow/day after tomorrow.
