Well, I’ve regressed just a bit. PT, then a 2 mile walk in 14:38. I certainly had some discomfort and some power loss.
Did my usual pull ups (10 sets of 5 with different grips; “eyes over the bar” was my cue) plus 5 penalty reps.
Downstairs: high incline: 10 x 94, 3 sets of 5 x 115, 3 x 120 (should have pushed for another rep)
bench: 3 sets of 10 x 134 (challenging but the sets got …easier?) 2 sets of curls.
Ironically, my “commuter walk ” of 2 miles (16:22) felt better..much better than my workout walk. Weight: 183 after my workout.
Next leg day: I’ll have to give those “thigh squats” a try. I am thinking that I can still do belt squats, provided I don’t try to go too deep right now.
No, this isn’t like the “mean” days but I did have some glute pain today, especially on the first walk: I could feel it a bit and it was moderate during miles 2 and 3, but got much better after that. (14:34 pace for 5.16, lower Bradley Park loop plus the Cooper to Moss 1.15 loop) The commuter walk started out tough but got better; (1.08) but I was stiff as a board when I did some McKenzie press ups.
I think I’ve been exceeding my back-budget lately; if I walk more I need to be careful with lower body weights.
I thought the recent episode of some glute ache flare ups was going away. But this weekend, my wife went places with me. Why that matters; she is old: 81 right now, and she walks very, very slowly. And such slow walking is tough on me if I don’t remind myself to brace properly: it is one of the hardest things for me to do. I have to really work on the pelvic tilt and abdominal bracing when I am walking so slowly.
About all of those trips: last night, we went t0 the Illinois State at Bradley men’s basketball game (9200 showed up; best crowd of the year) and Bradley won a very ugly game 48-45.
Today’s women’s game: It was very tight for the first 3 quarters; back and forth. But ultimately Indiana State’s inside game prevailed (Bradley was hurt by having a key big player out with an injury) 75-68
Still, there was better offense today than last night.
While there was good action on the court, few were there to see it. It has been a rough season.
Workout notes I am stopping goblet squats for a bit and experimenting with other movements. I have to balance the limitations of my back and my knees.
I finished with a 4.25 mile walk (Cornstalk hill) in just over 1 hour. In terms of discomfort, the walk went very well, if just a bit slow. Perfect day.
Full PT
deadlifts: low: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 225 (went well)
4 inch: 3 sets of 5 x 274 (these went ok; glutes and quads were throbbling.
I experimented. I ended up doing 3 sets of squats with the farmer’s walk handles and a step stool (arms?); not quite enough range of motion. 52 lb each arm. Then I did 3 sets of belt squats (10 reps); heaviest was 74 lb (pretty weak, I know). My legs are toothpicks!
I might try these (the bar on the thighs squats) again. For belt squats: I got better results holding the balance bar lower.
I like the way these felt, but the range of motion is lacking. Maybe try these with the trap bar?
The back/piriformis was better today, as was the foot pain. The latter: I stretched my feet out in the morning. That’s it. (I have some tingling due to S1 impingement)
The other stuff: no squats, save a few stretches and I tried to not “raise my chin” on pull ups; new cue is “eyes over the bar.”
So: PT, pull ups/chin ups: 4 sets of 5 singles, 5 sets of 5, 1 set of 4 with a single, then a 40 second hold (timer set to 42). Head position was much better but I can still improve, especially on the latter reps.
Then a 4.25 mile (flat) campus was painless 1:00:48, 14:18 pace.
Then downstairs. Bench: 10 x 134, 5 x 150, 3 sets of 4 x 150 (it is a struggle; my bench has really went south, though much of it, I think, is the “legs on the chair”)
high incline: 10 x 94, 7 x 105, 6 x 110, 3 x 115 (out of gas)
curls: 2 sets of 10.
So, this was not a bad workout (I do have to watch my hips sliding on the high incline). But at times, my current weakness is discouraging. Pull ups: PB was 27 but that was in 1983. It was 20 in 1998; I have not had a set of 15 in over a decade (did a few sloppy sets of 10 this year, but suffered from radiating pain due to lower lumbar extension..hence the “chin down” quest) Bench: been decades since I did “2 wheels” (lifetime PB was 310 in 1986); but now with age and “feet up”, best is 174 this year. I did get 200 during COVID but that was with the feet on the ground (and about 20 lb more bodyweight).
I had some weird pain in my left foot this morning; it settled down (not as noticeable in shoes) and didn’t bother me too much during my walk.
Course was my 4 mile Lower Bradley loop (went ok) and I ended up with 5.2 in 1:11:22 (13:43 mpm); followed it with a fine 1 mile commuter walk.
I had a rough week with the back; it may well be the squats (compression? some extension? Too deep for me now?) But I have some ideas.
And I have some ideas for the pull ups: since this is not a competition, there is no reason to lift my chin to get it over the bar. I might aim for the eyes over the bar for the later reps.
Workout notes: PT, some weights. Then, due to an early rain storm, my commuter walking was a slow 5K over lunch at a 16:30 pace (sun, just gorgeous for this time of year)
The weights: PT with pull ups: first 12 singles, alternating grips between pull up, chin up, mixed 1, mixed 2. Then 4 sets of 3 (same grip sequence) plus 2 more sets of 3, then 3 sets of 5, followed by 5 chin singles.
Finally, 40 second hold (set timer to 42 seconds)
downstairs: dead (all low) 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 225 (tiring )
high incline: 10 x 94, 3 sets of 5 x 114
bench: 10 x 134 curls: 10
commuter walk: started off stiff..got better as I went along.
I have had some recent trouble and wonder if it is the goblet squats. I don’t SEE extension but there may be some compression. I might try some of the ideas here and here.
Have a new laptop and a HUGE monitor…lol..living the dream!
(sarcasm)
I did get in some lifting and commuter walking: 3 miles and 1 mile.
Lifting: 10 singles, 8 sets of 5 (2-3 were chin sets); tried to avoid swing. 40-41 second hold at the end.
downstairs: bench: 10 x 134, 5 x 150, 5 x 150, 4 x 150 plus 1 more rep
goblet squats: to the box: 3 sets of 5 x 46 (some free squats first)
high incline: 10 x 94, then 7 x 105, 7 x 105
curls: 2 sets of 10.
It sure seems like a little.
The first commuter walk was 100 percent painless; felt great. Later in the day: some stiffness. Need to roll. Glutes were somewhat sore in the morning (muscle?)
Weight in the morning (before the bathroom; just upon waking up) 186
I decided to walk a multi loop course: 3 long 1.37 loops plus enough to get to 5. It was 5.3 in 1:16:27 and it felt a bit clunky; accidentally wore my work shoes. But there was little, if any pain. I followed it up with a 2.11 commuter walk (17:16 pace).
It seems as if my body is recovering from the blood donation and from the bug I had.
Friday: 4.08 mile walk on campus in 1:03:34 (15:35 pace); pace was hampered by snow cover. I cut it short so as to not inflame my somewhat tight glutes anad back.
Saturday: PT, weights (upper body) and then a cold snow walk (17-18 F) with better footing than on Friday.
Usual PT, outside (cold) for a set of 10 singles, 8 sets of 5 (ok, one was a 7-3 set), then a 39-40 second hold. It was 10 F.
Inside for high incline: 5 x 94, 5 x 105, 1 x 115, 1 x 130 (ugly), 3 sets of 5 x 114 (got ’em all), bench: 3 sets of 10 x 134 (felt better) 2 sets of 10 curls.
The walk was 4.11 in 1:00:31 (14:44); much better footing.
Sunday (that’s today) lower body weights then 4.5 miles in 1:04 (14:12 pace; slow mile 1).
Usual PT then 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 224 (low), 10 x 270 4 inch, 10 x 280 8 inch. All felt good, though the 10 x 270 was challenging. Then 3 sets of goblet squats to the box. Note: the last set with my heels on a weight plate felt the best, by far.
Back note: yesterday my back started to feel better; today it feels good. I am wondering: I still did some squats and I still lifted and still walked. BUT, I am wearing new walking shoes and the last 3 walks were “4 miles on flat ground.” I wonder if I was doing too many hills. Or, was I responding to changes in weather, which went from unseasonably warm, to cold, back to unseasonably warm?
Basketball Yesterday, I made the women’s game. Bradley lead 20-18 after 1; torrid shooting helped. UIC pulled ahead 39-31 at the half and then blew it open in the 3’rd by limiting BU to only 2 points. It was 51-33 and ended up 68-47. Toward the end, the UIC team was cheering their walk ons getting points.
This kind of rubbed me the wrong way: their coach keeps pushing promotions; keeps trying to do things to get people to show up, only to get run out of the gym over and over again.
The game was attached to a great cause (childhood cancer) and they posted this after the game. I suppose it is a fine line between promoting something good and signaling that one’s “on the court” results matter.
π§πππ‘π π¬π’π¨ for coming to our second annual ππ ππ’ππ ππ’ ππ’ππ game! ποΈπ pic.twitter.com/zJV2kNNjAM
I caught the men’s loss to Northern Iowa on ESPN+. BU trailed by 21 in the first half and trailed 44-26 at the half. BU cut the lead to 4 (outstanding foul shooting) but could get no closer and lost 74-63.
The MVC race to the end will be interesting. Indiana State got ranked, and then promptly lost 2 in a row. Drake won big and it appears that UNI, Southern Illinois and even Illinois State are playing better late. It might well come down to who has the most gas in the tank come the MVC tournament. Anyone who finishes in the top 4 (they get a first round bye) can win, though I wonder if Indiana State’s short rotation will bite them. I’d say Drake is playing the best basketball right now, and Bradley appears to have a large rotation of capable players, but I’d look for a dark horse like UNI or SIU to pull off a surprise.
Life of an old goat 