“J how old are you”, the driver asks as we three are almost back at the shop.
“28” I reply, and to my surprise he says “older than I thought, I’d have guessed 23, 24”.
“Huh, odd – that’s the second time in the last few months people have guessed younger – the only two times that’s ever happened”.
It was a silly short delivery, minutes down the road from the shop, each of us making maybe five trips from the truck to the apartment.
Ten stories total, and each time I was gassing before setting the boxes down in the apartment.
What the fuck! Am I that out of shape, or was today a fluke?
(made funnier by the fact my hamstrings were tight, and my lower back a tad sore from wednesday’s 50/20 workouts – I went to work anyway, gotta get the “sea legs” – I’d rather get paid while sore, building the mental toughness that laborers have, that is oft missing from the gym – I don’t like these dudes being able to outwork me. And I think the driver saw that I was huffing and puffing and continuing anyway)
Either way, I know my answer as tomorrow is saturday and I run bleachers on the weekend.
In moments I’ll, I think deadlift or maybe front squat carry – that’s the closest without a good stairwell I can get to work stimulus I’d say.
I need to get over to the hardware store, purchase, better yet build, a sturdy step stool or box, and get to daily step up workouts on most if not all days.
What time tomorrow shall I run bleachers?
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16oz cranberry juice
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½ hour Duolingo – “paid linguist status”
(still being paid since 4hr minimum)
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1st Lift :
Isabel WOD
singles – e:15o:15 – just under 7:30
“paid athlete status” for all but the final seconds
(still being paid since 4hr minimum)
training this up (well technically down), using my old burpees method – the timed interval, next workout is every :14, etc
I just went when the timer went off in my headphones, got warm fast – I pulled the winter hat up, but not off so as to keep headphones on, was panting – should’ve worn mouth guard, it may help.
I feel real good having done isabel a bit quicker today.
Interesting how the interval timer has me go faster than just against the clock.
I noticed that I lowered the bar to the ground sl, my feet were a bit wide at the start of almost all reps, and many reps were just yank, then jump as it slowed around power point – not properly jump/shrug method.
Safe, but inefficient for heavier pulls, I’m using more back and traps than legs/hips this way.
The isabel wod – it feels like “it’s time”, may be a daily thing, I can feel the benefit.
The following will train glutes/hips however…
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•½ sandwich
•16oz milk
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Reading Ethan Reeve’s stuff I can find online.
As an adult you could play a sport as baseline, assume that your lifting is going to feed into that, both propping up the other, not taking away – go be awesome.
I like reading the anecdotes, here he is talking about the strength of college athletes, football players, wrestlers…
You should be as strong and conditioned as such, they’re human, you’re human.
Found this too :
https://swoleateveryheight.blogspot.com/2021/12/365-days-and-counting.html?m=1
Can only say thank you to the author – has me far more motivated to train in my circumstance.
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I remember me and another did 405lb deadlift singles for 50 or 60 minutes emom, finished the goal, kept going, and eventually seeing no end in sight spoke about calling it a draw and eyed each other suspiciously til the minute we both didn’t pull had passed.
Get back to that ability!
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2nd Lift :
Fat Grips Deadlift DOH
50 reps in ~3:30 w/135lbs
Maybe this morning was an issue with being empty of food and fluid – felt strong having a little in me.
This felt like kettlebell conditioning, I’d like one. What poundage though?
Great glute pump, felt it in my forearms a little – I was starting light with the fat grips on purpose.
Maybe tomorrow 50 reps with 155lbs, same movement.
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•16oz milk
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3rd Lift :
Press
4×185 STRICT pauses at bottom
Fat Grips SLDL DOH
2×185
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•16oz cranberry juice
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•went out to eat, mexican – fish dish, ate half – unlike me to not finish my plate
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My energy is so high right now, and I have nothing to do, nowhere to go – makes me want to move, start at square one somewhere else – a real blank slate (dude you can make it happen anywhere), start a social life, gym, career there (dude, anywhere).
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After the 41 hours fasting, then having smaller more frequent feedings today, I’m making note of how I feel, the small feedings felt good.
I’ve never really done frequent feedings, just very briefly in early 2021 – it wasn’t bodybuilder at all, just like “okay, a bar, cheese stick, and 8oz milk”, “oh, an hour and a half since I ate last, let’s eat two slices of american cheese”, and did that all day in addition to a meal or two.
Maybe that’s what I’ll do, and I won’t bother going no carb, just throughout moving shifts just pointedly every ninety minutes or so drink 8oz of cranberry juice or milk or eat a cheese stick or ¼ sandwich, do that for a time.
And on days off it’s “sea leg training” – as many mini sessions as possible, eating all the time, and keeping up the growing of my beard.
I genuinely feel that this is a prep period, that stuff is going to line up for me after a period of hell for me.
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Think about this, I’m not out chasing skirts, I don’t drink, it’s friday night – I’m not getting laid.
I ate dinner with my mom again, maybe that’s a twice month thing or something.
Spent a good portion of my tiny paycheck, like 20% after taxes to eat out – the hours weren’t there this week.
Hey though – the fun stuff, the experience, the memories – we were in the same car, and hammed it up jamming to miley cyrus, katy perry – the pop station on the way back to my parents.
“Mom, it’d be a blast to be in a city, doing this same thing at a stop light, me serenading those next to me with pop music, me hamming it up – hey, that intersection in 2020 while everything was shut down I had a funny stoplight car to car interaction with two chicks…”
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I look forward to both lifting and running bleachers tomorrow.
I’ve made note to amrap a 165lb power clean, reading deep water PRs the other day – man I have work to do.
May also do isabel but at either 7:00 to today’s 7:30 (technically seconds less as I’m going against an interval tic – the 30th interval isn’t how long it takes to get the last rep) or…
Same interval but up it 5lbs.
That could be run to 155lbs, maybe higher, THEN drop it with 135lbs from 7:30 down to say 4:00, mixing the two progressions for interest.
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That dip odyssey in 2019, I got real strong by just throwing lots and lots of reps at the movement, got reps easily with bw+45, I remember being all giddy, pumped up to go tell the (6’3″ 335lbs at his peak) bodybuilder, oddly, working desk there (I’d known him from a few gyms over the years) that I’d dipped at 400lbs between bw and plates.
Right now, I have the opportunity to really see what lots of light deadlifts, and lots of olys will do for my deadlift.
I’ve got the fat grips, no reason this couldn’t be 50 in 5:00 at 300+ doh within six months.
No reason I couldn’t hit a 225lb isabel in 10:00, a snatch every :20.
Between Ethan Reeve and Jon Andersen I’ve read some anecdotes that put fire in my belly for seeing what I can do with olys.
Just gotta find the more than lifting weights physicality and get my wind.
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•ritz bitz
•kit kats
•milk
Yeah, high frequency training and high frequency feedings for awhile.
I’d like to “out train a bad diet”, but at the same time eating a couple hundred calories a million times throughout the day isn’t that high calorie in the end.
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Does Working As A Mover Take Away From The Gym?
Well, having been in and out of moving since 2017, always lifting weights in some form alongside it – here’s my thoughts.
Pay attention to the lower back – don’t train it if you’re sore from work or a lift – save it for work.
If something is sore don’t train it.
I was, with my trex arms, generally unable to do much if any biceps work alongside moving – nicely this is changing.
The little hours allow me to get in shape, muscular and otherwise, for this job, outside of, and alongside it.
Sometimes my grip will get freakish inside the gym from labor – and yet still the meth head 100lbs lighter than me can pick up nearly as heavy as me, but seemingly hold it for much longer than I.
Seriously, the labor world and the gym lifting weights world are not much the same.
Gym strength carries over to the pianos.
Two things ; right now lots of boxes and lots of stairs, the stairs moreso, are my nemesis.
I remembered teasing this chick “I don’t use the stair climber, after being paid to carry boxes a 100+ stories all in all today, nope not stepping on that hellish thing after work as part of my workout – everyone on it should try carrying boxes for one of the four hours we ran boxes of books to that attic today”.
Funny, now I’m doing bleachers for the sea legs – I have a slightly different mentality now.
I’ve heard of all the professional fighters who worked manual labor then boxed daily.
I don’t see a reason that I have to be soft.
There’s no reason I couldn’t be as capable as the men of yesteryear.
Moving can be, an odd, base for strongman which seems the physical path I’m most likely to aim myself.
Labor is tougher than lifting.
Use both to your advantage.
My grip strength needs lots of work.
Luckily the job and all the fat grip pulling fixes this.
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The morning after my first 495lb deadlift (a friday night in 2016), I was squatting every day, and so sore – but I wanted to still work up to a 405lb squat…
2×5 bar, 2×5 95lbs, ~75×5 135lbs THEN loose enough, 3×185, 3×225, singles at 275, 315, 345, 365, 405
Everyone thought I nuts.
It’s a lesson that regular work gives you ability fast.
The whole thing was maybe 75 minutes.
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Persistence & Tenacity