Month: January 2021

Gadgets and gear

Today’s walk: my Garmin “said” it was faster than than Tuesday’s one, but the course was more or less identical and the time was about 1 second different…

The pain never did come but the tingles were there; focusing on my core and posture seemed to help. I think that, moving forward, my endurance will be how long I can remember to keep the posture erect.

Now about those courses:

3.09 miles

3.23

I think that my first mile was early (13:42..should have been about a minute longer. This was from earlier… so, no, the Garmin is not perfect.

Home gym inventory

Home gym: well, it appears to be in place. I started with old stuff from 1984: old 66 inch long, 1 inch bar (17 lb), old cheap DP Olympic bar (44 lb) along with plates for both, and a very cheap 1 inch curl bar that I don’t use much. I also had an old flat bench (still decent, but no spotter arms)

January 16, 2020, just over 1 year ago. Trap Bar.

About the same time: 45 lb. bumper plates.

Then came the pandemic in March; I knew gyms would be closed for a while (didn’t dream this long). I got ahead of the rush a bit:

March 2020: 25 lb bumper plates.

Pull up, push up and dip station (outdoor)

March 2020: dumbbell handles and 10 lb. plates

March 2020: inexpensive, portable squat racks with spotter arms.

These wobble a bit; rated at 400 lb but I wouldn’t go that high with them. They are adequate and portable.

March 22 2020: spotter bench: MY BABY.

Though the dumbbell handles are the most practical purchase and I use the trap bar more than any of my new toys(rows, deadlifts), this behemoth is my favorite.

This set up served me for a while, but then I wanted to upgrade from my rusty old cast iron plates.

August 2020: new steel 45’s, 4 10’s, 2 5’s.This made trap bar loading just a bit easier.

November 2020: weight seat I was running out of confidence in those old folding metal chairs. Sure, the weight plus my body weight was still less than my old top weight, but I wanted to be safer.

November 2020: new steel 25’s, 2.5’s, and another set of 45’s This allowed me to not have to empty the bench press barbell for “heavy” trap bar deadlifts.

December 2020: weight plate holders: one for 2 inch, 1 for 1 inch plates

January 2021: new squat rack to use as a pressing rack. This makes racking the weights MUCH easier.

So…I put together this “gym” using sales and being opportunistic.

Where next? Incline bench? Uh, not sure if that is necessary as shoulder presses and flat benches are doing the job. Low priority though one that is light weight and portable can be used outside for nice spring/summer/fall day workouts (along with the portable squat stands)

Bar? My two bars are from 1984 (37 years old) BUT they are getting the job done. The 1 inch bar is frankly better than what I can find right now; it is sold and, at the sleeve width, stood up to 300+ lb. deadlifts. It’s current “wide configuration” is fine up to what I can either bench or shoulder press. So no need for a 1 inch bar.

Olympic? My current one has chipped chrome and a few rust spots, but it is still …getting the job done as all I really use it for is bench presses these days. Another Olympic bar might allow me to take a wider grip on shoulder presses…but..I don’t know; it might be wise to wait until there is a glut (post pandemic) or a sale.

A cancer removed, but challenges remain

Ok, I was relieved to see the previous president FINALLY out of office.

I can say that I did not have the white hot hatred of him that many of my friends had; I kind of saw him as a cross between Arthur (from the Dudley Moore flim) (rich and irresponsible) and the Cartman character from Southpark: Amusing when not in power, but unpleasant to be around, incompetent and uninterested in learning to be competent.

You might call him “unserious.” Much of what a good president has to do is tedious, difficult, and will inevitably make at least 30-40 percent of the country upset (in most cases).

Nevertheless, 74 million voted for Trump and think he did well.

Some STILL think Democrats are about bribing people with “free stuff”. This was posted by one of B’s former students (now an attorney):

“it seems like the goal now is income redistribution and to tax, tax and tax and bribe folks to vote for Dems by providing more “free stuff”….I would much prefer rewarding folks for working and providing value and thereby incentivizing hard work and innovation ….as Reagan once stated, you can’t tax your way to prosperity”

You have nonsense like this too:

And let’s remember: many who stormed the Capitol were reasonably well off (state lawmakers, private jet users, CEO’s, Service Academy grads, police officers, etc.)

And so, yes, while some of the 74 million liked the tax cuts, business deregulation, the way that their retirement accounts looked, right wing judges, etc, …these are what I call the “Faustian bargain” types..

But, there is this aspect too:

And there is the left wing. These are the ones who were upset that Biden was nominated…the ones who just KNEW that Sanders or Warren would win.

And I see them going around, thinking that Biden won thanks to the sanctimonious left wing “activists.” Frankly, the “defund the police” type stuff hurt us in Congress and darned near tipped the election to Trump; he needed only about 43K votes switched in Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia to flip the EC.

Frankly, a lot of these types may have helped Trump win to begin with.

Remember, Trump improved his performance among minorities, ..NOT just Cubans in Florida.

Liberals keep falling for this (ok, this was about Brexit but the principle applies)

I really wish liberals would look at those large Trump rallies, or even those large Trump boat parades and ask themselves: “did I find this convincing?” Then maybe they might get the answer to “what did our demonstrations do?” (besides possibly spread COVID19….and liberal hypocrisy on that is another matter both at the individual and mass levels)

First day of Biden/Harris

Damn…I tear up every time I listen to this rendition. It was my Dad’s favorite.

I’ll think that I’ll leave this post right here. Well, maybe I’ll say one thing.

Back when Joe Biden announced that he was running, Barbara immediately chipped in. I was backing Klobuchar at that time…

I asked her “why?” and she responded “Honey, I am a realist.”

And she got it right.

The day workout

Yes, I am aware of the significance of today and utterly banal my workouts are. Nevertheless, this post will be about the workout (and my setting up my new squat rack/stand) and the next one will be about more important matters.

Yes, it was cold for my 75 minute workout. And for the past few years, M, W, F (lately S) have been weight day, with run/walk Tu, Th, S, S.
This semester, it makes more sense for me to do my shorter workout (right now, 45 minutes) on M, W, F, possibly on Sat, Sun. and my now longer workouts (1:30-1:45) on Tu, Th, S, S. So I’ll switch to that so I won’t be rushed and stay with that until I CAN go longer…switch this weekend (Sunday upper body lift)

Today: pull ups; just got ’em in. 51 reps; included a set of 10, sets of 5, and a final two sets of 7, 3, 1; did a few with palms facing me, most palms facing out. No gloves. Rotator cuff and hip hikes in between sets.

Inside: superset dead and bench:

bench: 10 x 134, 10 x 150 (pause)

deadlift: 10 x 134, 10 x 184 (balance?) with low handles, 10 x 224 high handles.

shoulder presses (tried to get the proper height for the j-cup height; got it right on the 3’rd try)

3 sets of 5 x 109-110 (17 lb bar, 1 kg collar, 20 kg plates) 109.4 lb.

1 set of 10 x 91-92(17 lb bar, 1 kg collar, 10 kg, 6 kg plates) 91.8 lb

rows: 3 sets of 10 x 134

plank: 2:30 then the event.

Too high; had a hard struggle to rerack

A little lower, but still too high for smooth reracking.

Just right, I think.

Note: I have such a long femur and torso length that, on my knees, my arms reach the top of the poles. So trying to put a pull up bar on this would be useless.

The uprights are my height (72 inches)

Not there yet

Yep, some ache right in the glute..too much sitting? I did manage a slow-ish 3 mile walk and not much pain until the end.

Probably stick with 2-3-4 depending on the day.

But today, I did get a nice surprise: Crystal, friend and then Larry. They caught me on Waverly.

They blew past me pretty quickly

But as turned on Manor Parkway, there was Larry! (small, moving toward me and them)

That was sort of a nice “race reunion” so to speak.

Finally…sort of

Yeah, I know, more workout stuff. These videos hopefully will enable me to look back and see how my form as progressed/digressed. I won’t have time for videos in the upcoming semester; more teaching this time.

The workout itself:
51 total pull ups; 5, 5, 10, 10, 5, 5, 5, 3, 3 and I mixed the grip a bit; did one set of 5 wide, one set with palms facing me (chins) and the 2 sets of 3 were chins as well. Better height this time.

bench: 10 x 134, 2 x 184, 2 x 184, 5 x 165, 5 x 165, 5 x 165

trap bar dead: 3 sets of 10 x 134 neutral (low handle): focus on form.

trap bar row: 3 sets of 10 x 134

shoulder press: 10, 10 with the following on each side: 10 kg, 6 kg, 1 kg collar = 34 kg of plates and collars. The bar: weighed it a 17 lb. So, this is 92 lb or thereabouts.

Digression: so the 20kg on each side is: 109.4 which sounds about right. It is not 114.7

so, 2 sets of 10 with 92, and 1 set of 10 (ugly) with 48 shoulder press.

push ups: 40, 30, 10

Later: my new squat rack came in and so far, I love it. It is a huge hunk of metal: Titan T-3 short rack.

And video of me trying out the rack:

Form videos: pull ups (1-5, 6-10 then 31-35)

Bench: 2 x 184, then 5 x 165

Little by little

The Garmin measures distance by armswing. Given that my form on my manual treadmill is a bit different, my Garmin tends to measure shorter than my treadmill. But it appears to be a bias..increasing my treadmill speed (it is a manual sporttech) increases my Garmin speed.

Not that it matters to my body.

Note: I thought about going another mile, but felt it better to not stress the piriformis too much. Keep to 3-5 miles for now and move up when it is ready.

Side note: Rafala, Tracy’s cat.

Trap bar deadlift

I did wonder about stability when I saw my videos; I’ll have to lock in the arms, especially when deadlifting with high handles.

This low handle single with 255 didn’t look too bad:

But this high handle set of 5: too wobbly. Note: I spend the first 40 seconds psyching myself up..lift starts at 40 seconds.

The workout itself:

10 x 134, 10 x 184, 1 x 224, 1 x 255 (all with low handles)

High handle: 5 x 285, 1 x 285, 5 x 274

Low handles again: 10 x 224

Note: my goal was 2 sets with 285 but on the second set I gave up after 1 rep as I felt my form..not great to begin with, falling apart. The 274 was much more in control. The final 10 x 224 was almost comfortable, though I did get out of breath.

Road was slightly slippery; just above freezing and I did have to navigate some slush patches. I did straighten up and it kept the glute discomfort to a slight ache.

My progression:

August 5, 2019: managed a High Handle hex dead 225 (1 rep)
August: typical sets were 4 x 175, 4 x 195 (handles up)
September: 4 x 205 head dead (handles up)
November: got 4 x 225 hex dead, handles DOWN
December: got 1 x 225 bar dead, then 4 x 225
December 20, 2019: got 1 x 230 bar deadlift
DEcember 25: got 1 x 233 bar deadlift (home)
Dec 27: got 1 x 235 dead
Dec 29: got 1 x 240 dead (bar)

2020
Jan 11: got 245 hex dead (handles down)
Jan 25: got 255, then 260 conventional dead
Feb 1: got 255, 260 Sumo, 6 x 233 conventional
Feb 8: got 266 conventional, 5 x 238 Sumo.
April 5, 5 x 244
April 18: 5 x 244

Gap for sore back: switched to low handle trap deads

May 23: 10 x 206
June 7: 10 x 217
June 20 1 x 250 trap
July 4: 10 x 222
August 1: 4 x 250 (trap, low handle)

Gap for Virtual ultra (24 hour)

August 22: 4 x 254 (trap..low handle)
August 29 1 x 274 (trap, low handle)

September 5: switched to full stop deadlifts: sets with 244
September 12: 10 x 222 (full stop)
September 27 4 x 254 5 x 244 (full stop)
October 4deficit: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 5 x 224
regular: 2 x 259; didn’t try a 3’rd rep as I felt a tug in my right hamstring (high)high handles: 10 x 224:
October 17: High handle: 5 x 254, 5 x 264 (fairly easy)Low handle, neutral: 5 x 244
October 24: High handle: 5 x 264, 5 x 274, low handle: 10 x 224

October 31: 1 x 254, High Handle 1 x 284, 1 x 274

November 7: High Handle: 5 x 274, Low Handle: 5 x 249

November 14: Low Handle: 1 x 254, High Handle: 1 x 289, 1 x 294, Low Handle: 10 x 224

November 18; High handle 10 x 234 (by accident; added an extra 5 to each side)

November 21: Low Handle deficit: 1 x 254. High handle 1 x 301, 10 x 244. Low Handle: 10 x 224.

November 28 Low handle 5 x 254 (no bounce)

December 5 Low Handle 1 x 284, 10 x 229. (no bounce)

December 12 High handle: 1 x 274, 1 x 304 (easier than the 301 2 weeks ago), 1 x 274, 10 x 244
Low handle: 10 x 224 

December 19: 5 x 274 high handle, 5 x 254 low handle. (missed 301 low handle 4 times)

December 26: High handle: 1 x 314, 5 x 279, low handle: 5 x 254

2021

Jan 2: 5 x 279 high, 4 x 259 low, 5 x 234 deficit (lots of misses with 319 high)

Jan. 9: High handle: 5 x 279, 5 x 279 (effort) Low handle 5 x 255

Jan. 16: High handle: 5 x 285, 1 x 285, 5 x 274, Low handle: 10 x 224.

My relationship with the pull up..

I admit that my pull ups have gotten kind of ragged as of late…weight gain? Weakness? We’ll see. But for now…when I attempt a set, AFTER being warmed up, my first few look nice and high:

(from earlier in the year).

But on my final sets..oh my…this was 45 to 50…still don’t quite fully trust the shaky bar.

My fat gut gets in the way, but as you can see, I seem to want to center my body directly under the bar so as to keep my slightly unstable apparatus stable. I’ll have to work on finding stuff to shim it with.

And that is the thing will pull ups; there isn’t a standard definition. By some people’s standard, no reps counted (ok, I was toward the end and tired).

This guy wins competitions though I suppose some might not like it as he looks up all of the way:

I might try some of these.

Workout ok, 51 reps in singles (some with 10 count rests), 3’s and 5’s. Better than Wednesday but I need some work..and I need to lose a bit of weight too.

Bench press: 10 x 134, 3 x 184 (light touch..mini pause), 3 x 174 (missed no. 4), 4 x 170, 5 x 165 (had to grind out rep 5) Thank you spotting pins!

rows: 4 sets of 10 x 134

shoulder presses: seated, 2 sets of 10 x 48, then 2 sets of 8 x ??? I am calling it 96 (10 kg, 6 kg on each side, 10 kg bar? 1 kg for each collar)

Push ups: 40, 30, 10.

Head stand.

Note: did my usual back and later, rolled my left glute.

I am going to have to get a bit stricter with eating as I cannot do distance ..yet.

Grievance

First, my pirifiromis: not so good this morning, though 3 miles on the treadmill (or 3.3 if you use the treadmill odometer) was ok, after a sluggish, “more painful than it should have been” 2 outside.

Yes, I forgot to start my watch. I also did a lot of mat “glute stretch” exercises.

Once again, it seemed to appear after squatting. So, perhaps I ought to cut that out.

5 miles total: better than zero miles.

Capitol attempted insurrection

Ok, what caused this…I mean, how did conditions get to where Trump was able to get so many to behave so badly?

Now…in case you might have underestimated the degree of violence:

So, what caused this? I’d guess there was a perfect storm of several factors.

No, I do not believe that “aggrieved non-educated white male” argument explains all of it. It may explain the vote for Trump. But this…remember many flew to get here; you had the offspring of judges, medical doctors, service academy graduates, Olympic medal winners, real estate people flying on private planes, sitting members of state legislatures, etc.

These aren’t exactly under-privileged people.

My guess:

  1. Some (not all) Republicans believe the election was stolen, and some of those who really don’t feel pressured to say so.
  2. The immaturity of our population.

Seriously. Yes, this applies to Republicans at the “Beer Belly Putsch” and perhaps to some liberal protesters. Life..well, much of life consists of doing ordinary, boring tasks…nothing that will get you kudos on Instagram or Tick-Tock. And the same applies to doing good…basic stuff like giving your money to charity, volunteering your time to serve some, well, non-famous people.. etc.

But…to STORM the Capitol..that would be just AWESOME!!!! BAD ASS!!!

Well, untill…

But I digress a bit…I’ll direct you to this excellent Tom Nichols thread:

Read the whole thread. A lot of winning in life is grinding…instead of trying to do something big and being viewed as a BAD ASS.

And that might be part of the problem: real life is NOT fantasy. It has a lot of “ok, let’s take care of that even if it is not fun and won’t get you kudos.

So, will this finish the Republicans as a party? Probably not but…here is Fareed Zakaria’s take.