Simo - The Red Shoe Diaries (Part 1)

I have been having some pain in my lower right abdomen and after some blood test last week I went for an ultrasound today. The good news is my kidneys and liver all look healthy so tick there, the bad news is i have a small hernia on the right hand side. The ultrasound technician said it was very small but obviously it isn’t going to improve by leaving it, so the Dr is likely to suggest a small surgery. The results wont go to the Dr till later this week so I will go and see him early next week. I have no idea what that will mean to my training in the short to mid term, The odd thing is that I don’t get any pain from it when I train only pain when sitting !!. I will still train this week and then see what the Dr advises when I go to see him. I am not happy !!!

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Bugger. Hope it all goes well

I am going to stay optimistic and hopefully the news isn’t too bad. Either way it will have to be sorted and then some recovery and then the comback 2.0 :wink:

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Monday 1 May squat and bench

After my news today about a hernia in my lower abdomen I decided to not go too heavy tonight and instead just do some volume.

Usual agile 5, box jumps x 10 and ball slams x 10 to warm up

Squat
Warm up - bar x 10, 65kg x 12
65kg x 10 (the first 5 reps were done all the way down, then quater of the way up stop then back down and then all the way up. The last 5 reps were done as a fast tempo.)
Did 5 sets of this, which ended up giving me a nice leg pump.

Bench
Warm up bar x 10, 45kg x 10
75kg x 8
75kg x 8
75kg x 8
75 x 8
75 x 8
These were Superset with bent over row using a fixed bar 25kg x 20 reps, 5 sets

Barbell Curls fixed bar 25 x 15 x 3

Good quick session, ended with a good leg, chest back and arm pump and hopefully not too much straining of my abs !!!

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Lucky your tough mate! I’m sure it shouldn’t keep you out of action for long though :sunglasses:

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Thanks Irish, That’s what I am hoping, there is a good chance I have had this thing for ages anyway so not too worried. When you train for being strong and healthy for life then a few weeks is not a log time.

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Haven’t heard from the doctor yet about the results of my test so keeping training a little lighter just to maintain. Don’t want to go too hard and make the hernia any worse!

Friday 4th May

I did my usual warm up, stretching and 10 x box jumps and 10 x ball slams. Missed my footing on one of the box jumps and took a good chunk of skin out of my shin… fk that hurts !!!

SquatBar x 10
65 x 15, 15, 15
Deadlift
65x 10, 10, 10
OH press
45 x 12, 10, 10
Superset with bent over rows
25 x 20, 20, 20
Barbell curl 25 x 30

Kept the rest very short so worked up a good sweat. Short but effective.

Still kicking @simo74?

Yer still breathing mate. I started a new job 10 days ago and have been doing long days and actually having to work for a living, so time during the day to smash the internet and less time at night. It will settle down a bit after this week so should be back on here a bit more. Thanks for asking it’s good to know someone realised I was missing in action. How’s your training going ?

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Yeah it’s going ok. When it’s gym day, I love it and smash out good sessions but when it’s running/Rucking/sprinting I don’t seem to have the same enthusiasm.

To be honest I kind of anticipated this, so I’m glad I’ve given myself several months to get up to scratch.

What’s your new job?

@Irishman92 what’s your training goal? If muscle mass is any part of the equation then sprints will help. Ever seen a sprinter? Try not to view it as cardio. It’s just a method to increase muscle and decrease fat. If you can see it as a positive training tool then maybe it won’t be so hard to get motivated.

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My goal is to get into the Air Force and not die in the basic training. Muscle mass has definitely been my primary goal for the past 2+ years but now that the defence force is looming, I’ve got to get my cardio up to scratch and also improve my running capacity.

Sprinting (Hill Sprints rather) is definitely the easiest out of those ‘gait’ exercises that I’m motivated for. I think i just miss lifting 3 times a week!

Still with the same logistics company but move from a head office desk job back into an operational role running one of our customers DC’s. As with any new role there is a fair bit to learn and the operation runs at a million miles an hour so there’s not a lot of time spent in front of the computer. Days go real quick through which is great and all I need to do now is plan in my workouts and stick to it.

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So I went back to the doctors today to get the results of my tests and ultra sound from a couple of weeks ago. The good news was all my bloods came back OK and the the ultra sound have all my internal organs the all clear. The less good news is that I have a small hernia but the doc says it’s so small that it’s probably not worth operating on. So basically I have an all clear to just carry on as normal. Pretty happy about my and will get back in the gym next week and start working hard again. Happy days

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Well after 2 busy months in a new job I finally got my act together got out of work early enough to see my kids, put them to bed and do a workout. Haven’t done much other than a few push ups and some body weight squats over the last 2 months so kept it easy and light tonight. Legs are hurting and I am expecting some decent DOMS tomorrow.

  1. squats 35kg x 10 reps x 3 sets
    superset with sit ups 10 reps x 3
    2 bench press 35 x 10 x 3
    superset with pull ups 5 reps x 3
    3 deadlift 35 x 10 x 3
    superset with sit ups 10 x 3
    4 oh press 35 x 10 x 3
    superset with pull ups 5 x 3
    5 bent over row 35 x 10 x 3
    superset with hammer curls 10kg dumbels 10 x 3

It felt really good to be in the gym again and it’s good to be back here too. Hope you are all well.

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Second workout for the week tonight. Did the same as on Monday, moved pretty quickly and finished it including the warm up in just over 30 mins. Felt like puking by the end.

  1. squats 35kg x 10 reps x 3 sets
    superset with sit ups 10 reps x 3
    2 bench press 35 x 10 x 3
    superset with pull ups 5 reps x 3
    3 deadlift 35 x 10 x 3
    superset with sit ups 10 x 3
    4 oh press 35 x 10 x 3
    superset with pull ups 5 x 3
    5 bent over row 35 x 10 x 3
    superset with hammer curls 10kg dumbels 10 x 3

So glad I trained tonight, I wanted to do it last night but got stuck late at work. Just happy I kept my promise to myself and did my 2 workouts this week. Now to keep it up week after week.

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Wasn’t planning on training tonight, thought I was taking my daughter to karate but she bashed heads with someone at school and got a blood nose so decided it was best to give her the night off. So with my evening free I went next door to the gym. Started a new plan today weights are starting pretty light to help me get back into it.

Warm up - stretch, 10 box jumps and 10 ball slams 9kg ball

Squats
65 x 9 reps x 3 sets - these felt a little slow out of the whole but otherwise form was good and the effort wasn’t too high
Bench
50 x 9 x 3 These felt easy and moved quickly
Bent row
55 x 9 x 3
Upright row
25 x 12 x 2 (should have been 20kg but grabbed then wrong fixed bar and didn’t realise till the end)
Good workout weights didn’t feel too heavy, form was good and got a nice little pump. It felt odd not to be doing superset exercises in the rest periods like I am used to, but I know I will be glad of the rest when the weight goes up.

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Thursday 3rd Aug

Deadlift and OH press tonight, first week of the new plan so weights are on the light side. Felt pretty good tonight weights all moved fast and no issues with form or little niggles. I noticed I was getting a bit puffed at the end of the sets which is probably the higher reps combined with my lack of recent conditioning. I am going to start weight vest walks in the morning before work next week.

Warm up - stretch, box jumps x 10, ball slams x 10

Deadlift
Bar x 10
65 x 10
82.5 x 9
82.5 x 9
82.5 x 9 rpe on these was 6-7, got a bit tired on the last couple of reps but weights didn’t feel heavy.

OH press
Bar x 10
35 x 9
35 x 9
35 x 9 rpe 6-7

Pull ups (wide grip)
6 reps x 4 sets

Finished off with a set of 20 hanging leg raises superset with hammer curls 10kg x 20 reps.

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No training today just lots of walking at work. Upper back and traps have that great post workout tightness and hardness today, Quality.

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Couldn’t train on Monday or Tuesday because my daughter had karate in the evening. So I moved my first workout of the week to today.

Wednesday 9th Aug Squat and Bench

Warm up - usual stretch, 10 x box jumps and 10 x ball slams
Squats:
Bar x 10
65 x 5
85 x 5
85 x 5
85 x 5
85 x 5 RPE was 7-8 first 2 sets felt smooth, last couple of reps on the final 2 sets started to feel heavy. I probably didn’t rest enough between sets. Finding it hard to slow down and have proper rest between sets. Going to try a timer next week.

Bench
Bar x 15
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5 RPE 6-7 Focused on set up and tightness and Bench felt really good. Only 2nd week back and light weight but it felt easy.

Bent over row
35 x 5 x 4 sets - light weight felt easy

Upright row
25 x 12 x 2 sets

Really enjoyed the 5’s tonight, just need to get used to resting properly between sets instead of going too fast.

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