Yesterday: 5.15 in 1:11:55 (13:58 pace; picked it up a bit); 2.15 mile commuter walk.
Today: weights and a 3.45 commuter walk from Moss to West Peoria. 15:47 was the pace and AFTERWARD there was an oh-so-slight right hip ache. I do have to watch my courses and mileage.
The weights: PT plus pull ups: 6 sets of 5 (regular, chin, mixed, mixed, regular, chin), 7+3 regular, 7+4 chin then a 44 second hold (timer at 45 seconds)
downstairs; deadlifts were 10 x 134 4 inch, 10 x 134 low, 10 x 190 low, 10 x 225 low (kind of sloppy)
bench: (super setted) 10 x 134, 3 sets of 7 x 145 (getting better)
high incline: 10 x 94, 1 x 115, 7 x 105, 2 x 120 (wanted 3-4)
Now about the NIT game
The crowd was mostly diehards: just under 4700 which was a bit under the season average. That makes sense as they use group tickets to get people there.
The game: Bradley roared out to an early lead and, in the second half, built it to 21 points. They were holding Loyola to 22-23 percent shooting.
But LU rallied and, at one point, cut the lead to 4. But BU made the plays it needed to make down the stretch and won 74-62. This was probably Bradley’s best game of the year, though BU got hurt by Loyola’s offensive rebounding.
I decided to sit in better seats and I might go that route next season. B is nearly 82 and struggles a bit with mobility.
So, extra day in February. I got 3 commuter miles (1 mile, 2 mile) and these went..well…well. Very little pain; I think the tide is turning. And I also think that squatting with any depth is bad for me; I lose lower lumbar position.
I might try shallow belt squats and only go down as far as lumbar integrity will allow; for now I’ll stick with trying to squat with the trap bar. And keep the squat hip dominant.
pull ups: 10 singles, then 8 sets of 5 (one of chins, 2 of mixed grip), then 40 second hold.
downstairs: bench: 10 x 134, 10 x 134, 10 x 139 high handle deads: 4 inch: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 224 (felt GREAT) 8 inch: 10 x 260
high incline: 10 x 94, 10 x 99, 8 x 99 (little rest)
Basketball: Saw Bradley dismantle Southern Illinois 86-67. But it was NOT that close: it was 81-52 at one point and BU let up quite a bit and played a lot of guys.
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?
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.
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 is flying by..exams, meetings out the wazoo and, well, just everything. Due to watching the Super Bowl on Sunday night, I switched walking and lifting.
Monday and Wednesday: 5 mile walk in the morning (lower Bradley Park to avoid the tree, plus a loop to get to 5.2 miles), followed by a 2 mile commuter walk in the afternoon. On Monday, I felt the tighness/ache in the left glute. Not so much on Wednesday; that was pretty painless. And on Wednesday, I used new shoes. Should have done that a month ago.
Times for the 5.2 mile course: 1:12:23 on Monday, 1:14:01 on Wednesday (less pain, but very sluggish until the end)
Weights: Tuesday I focused on the high incline: 5 x 94, 5 x 105, 5 x 115, 2 misses at 130, but 5 x 114, 5 x 114, and followed it up with 3 sets of 5 x 145 on the bench, 1 set of curls. All of this came after the 10 sets of 5 pull ups. Walking was a slow, commuter 5k.
Thursday: 2 sets of 10 singles, 6 sets of 5 pull ups, downstairs for 3 sets of 10 x 134 on the bench, 2 sets of 10 x 94 on the high incline, and deadlifts: 10 x 134 low, 10 x 184 low, 10 x 260 8 inch (too big of a jump? ) 5 x 280 8 inch (no leg drive), 5 x 280 8 inch (better leg drive). Some free squats too.
Walking was 1 mile then a 2.11 mile commuter walk; latter was a bit stiff at times.
Basketball: On Wednesday night, Bradley beat UIC 85-73 in a game that was not that close; at one point BU lead by 24, but got sloppy with the ball torward the end. Not many were there to see it though: 4400
The women’s team coach showed up and tried to exhort the crowd to go to the Women’s game tonight.
The Braves visited the Men’s game to throw out some t-shirts! Make sure to come on Saturday for our Be Bold, Go Gold game! Tipoff is scheduled for 2 pm at Renaissance Coliseum. The first 100 fans will receive a free t-shirt!!! 🟡🏀 pic.twitter.com/A7jU2QceFb
Well, very few came; in fact this was the emptiest I’ve seen it on a non-snow day and Valpo, who was 3-9 in conference play coming in, raced out to a 39-22 halftime lead and won easily 68-50.
Well, what can I change? Perhaps this letter to the editor is too idealistic, and perhaps out of touch. But I think there should be great caution when an organization decides to sacrifice quality for shallow “branding”, flash, and chasing after the latest trend.
From industry:
1/ The man who did the most damage to American industry was Jack Welch, as the CEO of GE. The Boeing engineering disaster had roots in Welch's deeply flawed management doctrines which were spread across American industry by his acolytes. This has to be understood in India too.
This was, by far, the best crowd of the season (8000). Unfortunately, Drake had a strong start at shot 64 percent from the field in the first half and built up a 41-30 lead at the half. The lead was to grow to 17 points with about 16 minutes to go in the game. Bradley rallied furiously to pull within 2 a few times but ultimately Drake made the plays it needed to make to win 74-67. Note that Drake shot 10-12 from the free throw line. Bradley was a terrible 6-16..and missed a few front ends of a 1 and 1. This was the second time Bradley fell behind by 16 or more in this week (road loss to Evansville); they just can’t keep digging those early holes.
Workout notes: I had a gap between my weight workout and walk. I can say the walk was painless and the pain has been going down..AFTER I started to stretch my hamstrings more.
The walk: 43:30 for my 3.15 segment and ended with 4.3 in 59:34 (13:51 average).
The post PT weights: 10 x 134, 10 x 184 low, then switched bars: 10 x 225 low (felt good), 5 x 270 4 inch (bailed..didn’t feel right), 10 x 270 4 inch (widened my stance), 1 x 300 8 inch (awful; forgot to bend my knees), 3 x 300 8 inch (much better) then light goblet squats: 5 to the box, then 3 sets of 5 to the stool plus a plate. Last set was the best; the next too last set was “too much good morning” like.
I am setting into the academic year. I watched our men’s team beat Murray State 71-63 and our women’s team lose to Drake 77-65 (outscored Drake 34-32 in the second half..so there is that…in fact, 20-13 in the 4’th).
Predictably, attendance was low for both games. Though the men are winning (9 wins in a row) the game started at 6 pm on a week night, and, well, the women are not winning.
Today: PT and walked OUTSIDE. I did my 5 loop campus course on non-icy pavement (big puddle at one point though) in 1:14 instead of 1:24:36 (with the ice); this was about 5.25 miles total (14:06). Left hip/outer glute ached slightly; I was having this problem last year about when the weather got cold and stayed there. Ok..then came COVID.
I rolled afterward and I hit a big sore spot. Will have to keep that up.
Watched football on TV/streaming, caught the women’s team winning a game in the final seconds and workout out, shoveled snow, etc.
It has been frigid here.
Saturday: the walk was 1:08:17 for 5 miles on the treadmill. Weights: it was COLD so I did 2 sets of 10 singles, 2 sets of 10, then 5-5 chins and a final set of 5 No hold.
Downstairs: 5 x 94, 5 x 105, 3 sets of 5 x 115, 1 x 130 High incline bench: 3 sets of 5 x 145 (struggle) PT squats, 3 sets of 10 curls.
Sunday: deadlifts and attempts with light goblet squats. Bad, but getting better. 10 x 134 4 inch, 10 x 134 low, then a weird collection of 1 rep with video: 134, 154, 174, 184, 204, 224 trying to gauge my form.
then 10 x 224 (tried to push the butt back more) low, 10 x 260 4 inch).
Then a 2 mile treadmill walk in 26:40, lunch, cold (-6) outside hike for 3.2 miles at 18 minutes per mile (some snow, lots of cold)
I didn’t get everything I wanted to get done, done, but I got enough.
Now…I did see some basketball: Bradley Men blew out Evansville 86-50 though few were there to see it. Note: BU men have scored 86 three games in a row.
The women got blown out by Missouri State 94-66 and few were there to see that as well.
Note: I had trouble with Google Wallet: Google Pay wanted to update (my wallet has disappeared from my screen) and when I got things back, the basketball tickets would not load.
Workouts: Wednesday: PT, 7 miles on the track (middle lane) in 1:30:03
I was tiring at 5 miles so I walked an easy mile then a steady one.
Today: PT, pull ups (55 reps; one set of 10, several sets of 5, sets of singles too), goblet squats: 4 sets of 5 x 28, 2 sets of 5 x 60 and trap bar deadlifts:
10 x 134 4 inch, 10 x 134 low, 10 x 184 low, 5 x 228 low, 5 x 228 low, 10 x 228 low, 10 x 255 4 inch.
Then the slow walk.
Back: kind of stiff the past two days…squats? No pain upon squatting though.
Sunday: 4 miles in 57:57 (felt drunk from the NyQuil I took the night before..lost 1-2 hours of sleep )
Monday: first a weight workout then a very slow commuter walk (1:08:58) to Bradley Park (Cornstalk hill) and to the office. It is getting COLD…
The weight workout: 10 singles then 7 sets of 5 (one was 7) then 5 singles; then a “hold to 40 seconds”
downstairs: bench: 5 x 134, then 3 sets of 5 x 150. High incline: miss 125 (thought it was 115) then 5 x 94, 7 x 105, 3 x 110, 3 x 114, 5 x 94 (ready to quit)
deficit dead lifts: 10 x 110, 10 x 154, 10 x 185 (used 25 lb plates as the large plate)
It sure does not seem like much but it challenged me.
Now the treat: Sunday I went to an Illinois Basketball double header: men vs Colgate (74-57 win), women vs Missouri (69-66 loss). The men raced out to a big lead and then cruised; note that Colgate is a good mid-major. The women got a small lead but Missouri took control down the stretch.
There was a contrast compared to what I am used to.
Life of an old goat 