Thursday, February 25, 2010
169.5#
Here lately I have been dealing with what I think is some pyriformis syndrome on my right side. I think it is a result of my right leg dominance and its tendency to overpush the left leg. What started it was using the flutter kick while doing my cave diving training. The chiropractor had straightened it out, but I've exacerbated it again. I'm pretty sure one of the bases for the aggravation was my tendency to overpush with my right leg in the swing and snatch. If I don't pay very good attention when I do these exercises, my hips will hitch slightly back to the left at the bottom of the swing instead of hitching back to center.
One of the things that I have been trying in an effort to overcome this tendency is practicing my swings and snatches with my eyes closed. It is allowing me to take the focus off where I'm looking and off what my head is doing and focus more on how things are feeling, where my hips are, how my body is lining up. Part of why this works is it takes away the proprioceptive (where in space the different parts of my body are) feedback of the eyes and forces me to use the proprioceptive feedback from my joints. In a sense, I am feeling my joints better because I am depending on their information since I no longer have the info coming from my eyes. I feel the groove of the motion better, the placement of my traps and shoulders, the tightness of my lats, the snap of my hips, the drawing up of my quads and hams. I'm liking this addition to my practice.
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 12kg VO2Max 80 sets of 7
YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT: 5 sets of back and purple pullups x 5, 5 perfect pushups, partial pistols x 2.
5 min of 16kg snatches
TUESDAY'S WORKOUT: 650 20kg swings in 33'
MONDAY NO WORKOUT
SUNDAY'S WORKOUT: 5 rounds of 20kg C&P 2/2 (last rep each side a push press),Perfect pushup x 3, box jumps, rest
20kg snatch5r/3l, 3r/1l (not as many as last time b/c I just wasn't feeling it)
Squat thrust with a jump 30 in 3'5"
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Turning the Mirror
Monday, February 15, 2010
Initially I was going to write yet another post bitching about my patients. Tonight seemed to be a night filled with people who care no more about themselves than to smoke 2 packs a day, maintain a BMI over 60, ignore their doctors' recommendations and live life off the government wallowing in their disability but who then expect me to give two shits about them when they show up in the ED. Wait a minute, you have no self-respect but you expect me to respect you? Yeah, that was how the tirade was going to start. In the midst of my griping, one of my well-meaning comrades placed not only peanut M&M's but also Dove caramels under my nose and left them there! And after fighting with myself not to eat even one (which would then turn into the whole bag), for some odd reason, the mirror that I had so desperately wanted to hold directly in the face of the idiots I was taking care of abrubtly turned 180 degrees and shined its light on me.
More often than not I do SO much better with some sort of external motivator--a personal trainer, a friendly contest with a pal, some sort of accountability. For whatever reason, it seems to help to know that someone else gives two shits about whether or not I eat that bag of M&M's (the party bag, not the individual or even king sized). It's hard, though, to find that external motivator, that person who will compete and hold me to it or harrass the hell out of me regularly to keep me in line. And suddenly it clicked...Why should they? If I have no more respect for myself or no more ingrained desire to do the right thing, why should they? Certainly I have more stake in it than they do. So I've made it through the night with narry an M&M or Dove candy, and today has been my best all week with regard to nutrition. Now I just have to keep looking in that mirror.
TODAY'S WORKOUT:
This was the first time with a new workout and it wasn't ideal. I didn't get to tweak it quite like I would have liked since I was greeting new arrivals to our place and chasing bulldogs and puppies and certain golden retrievers.
5 sets of: 20Kg C&P 2/2, Perfect pushup x 2--the last rep of C&P on each side was a slight pushpress. I'll up the pushups here and start a ladder structure as I'm able to manage the press reps without a pushpress.
20kg Snatch: 5r/4l, 5r/5l, 5r/5l, 5r/5l, 4r/4l--these felt much stronger than the last time I did them.
30 squat thrusts with a jump in 3min 28sec.
YESTERDAY NO WORKOUT
Initially I was going to write yet another post bitching about my patients. Tonight seemed to be a night filled with people who care no more about themselves than to smoke 2 packs a day, maintain a BMI over 60, ignore their doctors' recommendations and live life off the government wallowing in their disability but who then expect me to give two shits about them when they show up in the ED. Wait a minute, you have no self-respect but you expect me to respect you? Yeah, that was how the tirade was going to start. In the midst of my griping, one of my well-meaning comrades placed not only peanut M&M's but also Dove caramels under my nose and left them there! And after fighting with myself not to eat even one (which would then turn into the whole bag), for some odd reason, the mirror that I had so desperately wanted to hold directly in the face of the idiots I was taking care of abrubtly turned 180 degrees and shined its light on me.
More often than not I do SO much better with some sort of external motivator--a personal trainer, a friendly contest with a pal, some sort of accountability. For whatever reason, it seems to help to know that someone else gives two shits about whether or not I eat that bag of M&M's (the party bag, not the individual or even king sized). It's hard, though, to find that external motivator, that person who will compete and hold me to it or harrass the hell out of me regularly to keep me in line. And suddenly it clicked...Why should they? If I have no more respect for myself or no more ingrained desire to do the right thing, why should they? Certainly I have more stake in it than they do. So I've made it through the night with narry an M&M or Dove candy, and today has been my best all week with regard to nutrition. Now I just have to keep looking in that mirror.
TODAY'S WORKOUT:
This was the first time with a new workout and it wasn't ideal. I didn't get to tweak it quite like I would have liked since I was greeting new arrivals to our place and chasing bulldogs and puppies and certain golden retrievers.
5 sets of: 20Kg C&P 2/2, Perfect pushup x 2--the last rep of C&P on each side was a slight pushpress. I'll up the pushups here and start a ladder structure as I'm able to manage the press reps without a pushpress.
20kg Snatch: 5r/4l, 5r/5l, 5r/5l, 5r/5l, 4r/4l--these felt much stronger than the last time I did them.
30 squat thrusts with a jump in 3min 28sec.
YESTERDAY NO WORKOUT
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Temptations
Friday, February 12, 2010
Sometimes, no matter how intelligent we are, we are tempted by the shortcuts...okay I am tempted by the shortcuts. Here lately I am finding consistency with my nutrition difficult, and one of the guys at work spent the last 10 weeks or so on the Optifast diet. Yep, he went all the way through the holidays drinking only Optifast shakes--and lost 40 pounds in the process. Forty. Frikkin'. Pounds. Granted, a fair amount of it was muscle since he did NO working out during that time, but 40 frikkin' pounds! 35...Can I please just have 35?...the right way?....the wrong way? SOME way? Okay, so you've talked me out of it...
...but...
....okay, no more titty-baby. :(
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 12kg VO2 Max--80 sets, mostly of 7 reps. I was struggling with the puppy on some of them and only got 6 reps.
YESTERDAY: Valentine's Date, no workout.
WEDNESDAY NO WORKOUT.
TUESDAY'S WORKOUT: Double 16kg C&P x 3, double 16kg squat x 2, double 20kg deads x 5, rest 1 min, c&P 20kg 2/2, goblet squat x 3, double 20kg dead x 5, rest 1 min---for 4 sets.
rest
black and purple band assisted band pullups x 2, perfect pushups x 2 for 5 sets
MONDAY'S WORKOUT: 20KG TGU 1/1 X 3
REST black and purple band assisted pullups x 3, perfect pushups x 3, partial pistol 2/2--x 5
rest
16kg snatch 5/5, 5/5,4/4,4/4, 3/3, 3/3, 2/2, 4/4
rest 20kg TGU x 1/1
Sometimes, no matter how intelligent we are, we are tempted by the shortcuts...okay I am tempted by the shortcuts. Here lately I am finding consistency with my nutrition difficult, and one of the guys at work spent the last 10 weeks or so on the Optifast diet. Yep, he went all the way through the holidays drinking only Optifast shakes--and lost 40 pounds in the process. Forty. Frikkin'. Pounds. Granted, a fair amount of it was muscle since he did NO working out during that time, but 40 frikkin' pounds! 35...Can I please just have 35?...the right way?....the wrong way? SOME way? Okay, so you've talked me out of it...
...but...
....okay, no more titty-baby. :(
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 12kg VO2 Max--80 sets, mostly of 7 reps. I was struggling with the puppy on some of them and only got 6 reps.
YESTERDAY: Valentine's Date, no workout.
WEDNESDAY NO WORKOUT.
TUESDAY'S WORKOUT: Double 16kg C&P x 3, double 16kg squat x 2, double 20kg deads x 5, rest 1 min, c&P 20kg 2/2, goblet squat x 3, double 20kg dead x 5, rest 1 min---for 4 sets.
rest
black and purple band assisted band pullups x 2, perfect pushups x 2 for 5 sets
MONDAY'S WORKOUT: 20KG TGU 1/1 X 3
REST black and purple band assisted pullups x 3, perfect pushups x 3, partial pistol 2/2--x 5
rest
16kg snatch 5/5, 5/5,4/4,4/4, 3/3, 3/3, 2/2, 4/4
rest 20kg TGU x 1/1
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Zombies
We often go through our days on automatic, not taking the time to think about what we're doing. For those of us who read each others' fitness blogs, part of that day is getting in a workout. Many days we just get out there and do it, some of us following a plan laid out days or weeks ago, others just getting out there and playing. At some point, though, almost all of us stand back for a moment and examine why. Occasionally we even get a little reminder of why we get out there regardless of heat, cold, rain, or other discomfort. A dear friend of mine recently got one of those reminders when out of the blue he was called upon to sprint, lift, and otherwise demonstrate his prowess in what for the stranger he was helping may very well have been a life-or-death situation. He likes to say (maybe only half jokingly?) that he trains for when the zombies come. He met his zombie the other night, and he won. He's started me thinking about my zombies and how well I'd measure up. Hmmmm. How about you?
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 550 20kg Swings in a little over 28 minutes.
YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT:
4 sets of
Double 16kg C&P x 3, Squat x 2, double 20kg dead x 3, rest 1 min, 20kg c&P x 2/2, Goblet squat x 3, double 20kg dead x 3, rest 1 min.
rest
5 sets of black and purple band assisted pullups x 2, perfect pushup x 2, rest 1 min.
FRIDAY'S WORKOUT: 1000 16kg swings in a little over 52 min
THURSDAY NO WORKOUT
An updated picture of the puppy. Check out those Gremlin ears! They are totally awesome.
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 550 20kg Swings in a little over 28 minutes.
YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT:
4 sets of
Double 16kg C&P x 3, Squat x 2, double 20kg dead x 3, rest 1 min, 20kg c&P x 2/2, Goblet squat x 3, double 20kg dead x 3, rest 1 min.
rest
5 sets of black and purple band assisted pullups x 2, perfect pushup x 2, rest 1 min.
FRIDAY'S WORKOUT: 1000 16kg swings in a little over 52 min
THURSDAY NO WORKOUT
TODAY'S EYE CANDY
An updated picture of the puppy. Check out those Gremlin ears! They are totally awesome.
Monday, February 1, 2010
What Percentage Frowns?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
168.5#
The hubby and I made a short trip to Wal-Mart the other night, not something we do very often. We purposely avoid Wal-Mart (probably not a subject you want to get me started on) as much as we can, but sometimes living in a small town limits our options for acquiring specific goods and we are left with no option. Certainly, both of us going to Wal-Mart at the same time is virtually unheard of, so when we found ourselves together there the other night, we had an opportunity for some interesting conversation.
For an interesting anthropological experience, go to a Wal-Mart during a busy time and count the number of smiles you see on faces and the number of frowns you see. Though I've noticed that more people frown than smile pretty much everywhere (interestingly enough even in amusement parks), the percentage of frowns at Wal-Mart that night was staggering.
As we were getting what we needed, I felt the weight of worry and unhappiness beginning to settle on me just from being around these people. They were down-trodden, weary, miserable people. They argued amongst their groups. They ambled aimlessly through the store as if they had nothing better to do. Initially I smiled in greeting as I came up to people, but after the umpteenth "WTF?" look I got, I gave that up. I looked at the hubby and said, " I'm pretty sure the happiness could get sucked right out of us if we stayed here too long." He agreed. For an hour or so after we left, we talked about how surrounding oneself with misery invites misery. Part of fitness is happiness, and part of being happy is making a conscious effort toward being happy. We can choose to go to places and do things that feed our good spirit, or we can go places and do things and be around people who require sustained effort to be happy around, who virtually suck the happiness right out of us. I am coming to realize that choosing the happy places is not only okay but necessary. Fitness not only comes with good nutrition and exercise but also with the sunshine of happy faces and the comfort of pleasant surroundings to feed our souls.
Feeding our souls at home is our new addition to the family, Luna, our German Shepherd Puppy. She is ten weeks old, and we brought her home last Wednesday.
Big sister is NOT convinced that she is a "happy" addition. LOL
TODAY'S WORKOUT:
168.5#
The hubby and I made a short trip to Wal-Mart the other night, not something we do very often. We purposely avoid Wal-Mart (probably not a subject you want to get me started on) as much as we can, but sometimes living in a small town limits our options for acquiring specific goods and we are left with no option. Certainly, both of us going to Wal-Mart at the same time is virtually unheard of, so when we found ourselves together there the other night, we had an opportunity for some interesting conversation.
For an interesting anthropological experience, go to a Wal-Mart during a busy time and count the number of smiles you see on faces and the number of frowns you see. Though I've noticed that more people frown than smile pretty much everywhere (interestingly enough even in amusement parks), the percentage of frowns at Wal-Mart that night was staggering.
As we were getting what we needed, I felt the weight of worry and unhappiness beginning to settle on me just from being around these people. They were down-trodden, weary, miserable people. They argued amongst their groups. They ambled aimlessly through the store as if they had nothing better to do. Initially I smiled in greeting as I came up to people, but after the umpteenth "WTF?" look I got, I gave that up. I looked at the hubby and said, " I'm pretty sure the happiness could get sucked right out of us if we stayed here too long." He agreed. For an hour or so after we left, we talked about how surrounding oneself with misery invites misery. Part of fitness is happiness, and part of being happy is making a conscious effort toward being happy. We can choose to go to places and do things that feed our good spirit, or we can go places and do things and be around people who require sustained effort to be happy around, who virtually suck the happiness right out of us. I am coming to realize that choosing the happy places is not only okay but necessary. Fitness not only comes with good nutrition and exercise but also with the sunshine of happy faces and the comfort of pleasant surroundings to feed our souls.
Feeding our souls at home is our new addition to the family, Luna, our German Shepherd Puppy. She is ten weeks old, and we brought her home last Wednesday.
Big sister is NOT convinced that she is a "happy" addition. LOLTODAY'S WORKOUT: 3 rounds of:
double 16kg c&P x 3, squat x 2, double 20kg deadlift x 3, rest 1 min
20kg C&P 1/1 x 2, Goblet squat x 3, rest 1 min
5 rounds of:
Black and purple band assisted pullups x 2, perfect pullup x 2
YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT:
5 Rounds of assisted pullups x 3, pushups x 3
10 12kg tgu, alternating sides.
FRIDAY: 550 20Kg swings in ~31min
TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY NO WORKOUT (Brought Luna home Wednesday).
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