Month: September 2020

Quickly

Work is getting crazy

warm up
pull ups (getting harder? Am I gaining?) broken singles, doubles, doubles, then 4 sets of 5 followed by 1 penalty set: 55 decent reps
bench: 10 x 132, 3 sets of 5 x 176 (tough..got ’em)
shoulder press: 10, 9, 10 with 88 seated
rows (single arm) 3 sets of 10 x 60
trap squats: 10 x 134, 10 x 156, 10 x 167 (deficit)
push ups: 3 sets of 20 (killed me)
headstand

Got it all in…nice sunrise.

I’ve become what I used to ridicule…

50’s and clear; just great, great weather.

Warmed up, went outside for broken pull ups: 10 singes, 3-2-3-2, 5, 5, singles/doubles, penalty set of 5 for 55 total (went ok)
bench: 10 x 134, 5 x 174, 5 x 174, 3 x 184, 3 x 184 (last set was hard)
rows: trap bar, 3 sets of 10 x 134
seated shoulder: 3 sets of 10: 79, 83, 88
push ups: 3 sets of 20..finished me off.

Topic of the post

From 1982-2004 or so …I’d finish a race. No, my time wasn’t a real “runner’s time” but 6:24-7:00 was a typical 10K pace for me then.
I’d see people finishing well over 10 minutes after me in shiny swank gear..Garmin watches, newest shoes, etc.
Secretly, to myself, I’d think “they’d be better off training more and focusing less on the gear..”; I was especially bad when I was in my 20’s. I did keep such thoughts to myself though.

I am now glad that I did.

My current equipment: big spotter bench with steel supports and spotter pins..trap bar, bumper plates and custom cut steel plates…VERY shiny!!! I have enough equipment for an NFL lineman to keep his strength (ok, I’d need a new bar and perhaps 6-8 more 45 lb plates..).

The bank account can afford it…but the body cannot lift it. The best I can hope for is to limit how far I slide into suckdom.

Serves me right.

Weights..ugh

Work is getting …invasive as I’ve gone past my prepared notes.

Still got the workout in:
warm up
pull up: singles, doubles, triples, 4’s and 5’s..50 total broken by 10 reps
bench: 10 x 134, 10 x 164 (good)
trap bar deadlift (deficit) 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 206
shoulder press: 10 x 88, 8 x 92, 8 x 92, 5 x 96
rows (single arm) 4 sets of 10 x 60
plank 2:30
headstand.

Not sharp but

I think that I need to eat after my noon class on the days I have a 4 pm; I tend to be higher energy on those days.

Workout notes: warm up
pull ups: did 2 broken sets of 10 (singles, doubles) then was able to graduate to 5, 4, etc. until I got 50; felt decent
bench: 10 x 134, 3 sets of 5 x 174
trap bar squats: 3 sets of 10 x 134 (careful) deficit
shoulder presses: 3 sets of 10 x 40 kg (88); decent sets of 10, seated
rows: 3 sets of one arm with 60: sets of 10
push ups: 3 sets of 20 on the two; this finished me off.

Took about 70-75 minutes..hard to see why.

COVID-19 We WERE the best per-capita in town..for a long time, 0 cases. Now we suck.

Election:

My map:

Electoral Vote

Just not that interesting in debate

If you want to discuss an issue with someone, there has to be a common knowledge base.

No, ignorance is not one sided (from 2008)

Of course, politicians know this.
They don’t even try to convince me; what I get are exclusively fundraising appeals.

And speeches, debates…well, they might try to persuade their own people to show up, but there isn’t much of the “let me help you decide” stuff.

And so, I might do some “social political” stuff, but that is about it.

No game for me so…

Ok, Colts and Bears on the road, but it really doesn’t matter: even if they allowed fans (Colts will allow 2500) I would not go this season.
I did watch the Colts give the game away 27-20 to the Jags, though I watched the former Illinois defensive end and Illinois State running back play. The Bears rallied from 20-6 down and were clinging to a 27-23 lead when the Lions dropped a sure TD pass with 6 seconds to go.

It is usually the Bears doing that stuff.

I did get in a nice 8 mile walk; the piriformis gave me some very, very mild pain on the hilly parts of the course and none at all on the flats.


The course was somewhat convoluted in that I did a Cornstalk Hill loop first (full loop) then the “out and back”; note the Garmin was REALLY shorting me on the distance in Bradley Park today.

You can see the major uphill sections by my pace:

Weather was perfect but I waited just a bit too long; there were….people out there. 🙂

I finished by taking Parkside all the way to University, then doubling back on Columbia then to Maplewood, Bradley, then going past the mail box and turning to Moss..

The weather could not have been better.

Election: I am trying not to think about it too much as I know who I am going to vote for and so do most of the people I know. Mostly, the minds are made up. But what I am finding irritating is all of the “I am not going to accept that….”…
Just how? One doesn’t get something on the strength of wanting it. And you have to get a sufficient number of people to agree with you.

And here is the deal: my retirement account is looking fine. I am employed and can work remotely and am in position to have all of my stuff delivered, if need be.

So: if those MAGATS want to mass together in a rally, well, they are really endangering themselves and those unfortunate enough to have to be around them. Yeah, I know..that means we’ll have to be locked down longer.
Not much I can do about it.
So I’ll contribute to Biden and vote..and do some GOVT efforts (Vote Forward).

Low energy

I admit that I am still feeling mild effects of the flu/shingles vaccine that I got on Tuesday afternoon.
I’d liken them, in severity, to an oh-so-mild cold. It is just enough to make my workouts subpar and it made work itself tiring on Wednesday

For the record:
Wednesday: almost full force weight workout, but I was wiped out after my workday
Thursday: 4 mile walk at 14:4x, work went a little better
Friday: decent workout though my bench pyramid was more challenging than I thought it should be. Work was ok.
Saturday: right now, I have that “I raced a 5k/10K this morning” type of fatigue.

Deadlifts (low handle trap bar)
Deficit (standing on 10kg plates) 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 5 x 222 (used Rage 45 pumpers, old cast iron 44’s)
Floor (low handles still) 3 x 244 (tougher than I thought it should be), 1 x 255 (harder), 2 misses at 260 (didn’t have that “grind gear” past my knees)
Then: 10 x 222. Full stop with each rep; NO bounce, NO touch and go: full stop and set; kind of like 10 singles with zero rest.

See how crazy this is? Note: I got 274 two weeks ago.

Afterward, I capped it with a 10K walk, doing my 5 mile hill course and then enough extra to get 10K.

it was subpar but..ok..and the HR was up there on those hills. Note: I saw the “kettle bell lady” again.

Personal I watched Duke vs. ND in football with mixed emotions. Those guys are not pros. But can they compete safely? Was what happened with Memphis a fluke? We shall see. I think it is smart for the Pac Twelve and Big Ten to take a “wait and see”; let the other schools run the experiment.

And I admit to feeling, well, just a bit down. Part of it is, I am sure, the fatigue. And part of it is that I think that I see “the extremes” on social media and I really don’t like either.
It is as if “MY issue is the most important one out there and if you disagree with me on that issue, YOU are a stupid, evil person.”