UIC has a good team: 30-13 overall, 13-7 in a tough Missouri Valley Conference. BU is 12-32-1 (yes, one tie) and 1-9 at home. The team is trying but, well, circumstances are tough.
My workout: PT, deadlifts, 4.3 mile walk (W. Peoria via Moss plus a 1.2 Campus loop) in 1:02:05. First mile was predictably slow. Weather: glorious. Perfect.
The deadlifts: I was sort of a head case this morning: low: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 7 x 225, 7 x 225 (wanted to not bounce my reps) Wagon wheel (4.25 inch) 5 x 255, 10 x 255 6 inch: 10 x 280
Legs were quivering and that was the goal.
Deadlifts: today went well.
The monster walks: this is part of my daily PT that is boring, time consuming and unrewarding, at least in the short term. There are no PB, PRs to set. But I do them anyway because I sure don’t miss being in pain 1/4 of a mile into walking.
I am 64 and will turn 65 at the end of the summer. I’ve been lifting weights in some form or another since 1972, when I lifted to get ready for 8’th grade football.
I was never good; for the curious, my bests (late 1970’s to mid 1980’s) were, in the gym, 310 touch and go bench press (butt on the bench), 410 deadlift (probably not powerlift legal) and 195 in the clean and jerk (intramural meet); my pull up PR is 27 (early 1980s)
So, it isn’t as if I am pining for past glories; I had none. Still I miss being able to bench 2 plates. I think my last time was in the mid 1990’s. 1993 was the last time I got 300 on the bench.
So, what’s up now? Like most lifters my age, I had some chronic conditions; I’ve had 5 knee operations and putting power with my knees bent at 90 degrees hurts. I have spondylolisthesis (foraminal stenosis as a result) which means that I have to make a few modifications, and os acromiale (minor shoulder defect that make me prone to rotator cuff problems)
But again, most people have some sort of chronic condition and these tend to show up at this age.
The real issue, for me, is just plain age. Here is what I have to watch for:
Am I pushing myself or am I trying to lift for the ego by handling a weight that is too heavy for me, right now? Yes, there was a time when I used 225 (two plates) for 7-10..then that became 205, 185, then 12-14 years ago, 170. Now..I am ashamed to say, that is 145. I admit that part of the issue is that I now have to bench with my feet on a chair and a flat back; arching (even a legal arch) causes radiating pain due to my lumbar conditions.
Are my gains (local gains) real? Example: I felt I was making great progress in my high incline press; I even maxed at 134 and did a set of 10 with 105 and sets of 5 with 115. BUT video showed I was sliding my hips away from the back support, and tying myself to the support…well…I am not as strong as I thought I was. It is so easy to compensate to make myself appear stronger than I actually am.
Recovery time. During a workout: if I am working regular hours, I have only so much time. If I compress the rest periods, I have to lighten the weight used, period. If I walk first (usually brisk, vigorous walks), I need to lighten the weight used. Fatigue last longer. I recover slower. And it, say, pull ups go very well, the lifts afterward suffer.
One rep maxes: usually a bad idea, especially for the deadlift and bench press. At all out efforts I lose form discipline and that leads to my chronic conditions firing up.
Small aches and pains: here, I compensate by using different equipment: different handle heights for trap bar pulls, different hand positions for pull ups and chin ups (and sometimes mixed grip), Swiss bar (football bare) for bench on occasion.
Sometimes, I get down and need an attitude check. My old levels of strength are not coming back. BUT I am stronger now than I would be were I to quit. And my wife reminds me: “be grateful you aren’t picking out tennis balls for a walker.”
Yes, it is a different mentality now that I don’t have PBs to look forward to. I am working to slow my slide. That is all I can do.
I’ll have more to say about other topics in a bit, but right now is workout recording and a baseball comment.
Friday: 7.1 miles in 1:45:44. It was a bit slippery and I started slowly. Still I was at mile 5 in about 1:13:50. Then a final and a lot of grading.
Saturday: started with 5.2 in 1:13:04 (lower 4 plus a campus 1.2) Perfect walking weather and it felt almost effortless. I did 3/4 of my PT before the walk and 1/4 after (super setting with pull ups) 5 pull ups, 5 chins 5 pull ups, 5 chins 10 pull ups
8 chin ups, 4 chin ups
6 pull ups, 6 chin ups. Had the burn going.
Downstairs: bench press: 10 x 134, 4 sets of 4 x 155 (difficult..every set was hard)
curls: 3 sets of 10 high incline; 10 x 80, 10 x 85, 7 x 90 all being strapped in. Those latter reps were difficult; strapping myself in prevents recruiting the upper chest when tired. BURN.
Much to my surprise, B went to baseball game with me. Bradley lost to a strong UIC team 18-4; it was 15-4 when a rain delay occurred in the top of the 9’th. We left, ate Indian, and then I followed the carnage. One BU player had a 3 hit game. One of their players hit 3 home runs, got one walk and a double.
First one tomorrow. Sleepy. Still walked 7; first 5 (out and back 5 hill course) was 1:12 and the Moss out and back was 29:20 (about 2.06) for about 7.1 in 1:43:53 (14:38) Great walking weather.
Well, this academic year is almost over. I have enjoyed working with the students. That is as much as I can say.
Today: had a hard time sleeping, so I had extra time for PT (few more monster walks) and pull ups:
4 sets of 8, (alternating sets of chins and pull ups), 8 pull ups, 5 pull ups, 5 chin ups, then 3 pause chin ups.
downstairs to superset.
Deadlifts (low) 10 x 134, 10 x 184, then 10 x 204 (trying to NOT bounce the weights…VERY humbling)
wagon wheel: 10 x 234 (no bounce)
bench: 10 x 134, 3 sets of 8 x 145
high incline: 3 sets of 10 x 94
curls: 3 sets of 10.
Over lunch I walked 5K at 15:55 mpm (commuter walk; just toured campus and the neighborhood and dodged showers.
I am still having left leg symptoms; tingling and superficial numbness. These are not new but I am noticing them more. Walking: slightly stiffer than normal. But thankfully, that stabbing glute pain appears to be history.
In my previous blog life, I used to write about a lot of things. Now I rarely do. Frankly, I see little point in it.
Yes, things are happening and I have opinions on some of those things. Ok, i have opinions on many of them. But I rarely express them in public anymore.
It appears as if the online community has become polarized to the extent that even deviations in thought…and I mean, in “thought”..not in actual preferred actionable policy, are greeted with cursing, cries of “bigotry”, etc. It appears to be all “politics by meme” or “politics by slogan” now.
So, any meaningful online discussion is all but dead for me.
Workout notes: Well, I did my 5.2 mile course (lower Bradley Park plus campus loop) in 1:12:56; just a hair over 14 minutes per mile with the final 2.2 done in just under 30 minutes (13:36 pace) Later: 2.2 miles at 16:37 in glorious weather; both walks were painless though the back got tired from sitting.
Well, my spouse ended up in the ER again; this time for an infected tooth. Yes, the infection was serious. It did impact classes on Thursday. She will certainly need more work and assistance.
Wednesday: 5.2 mile walk in the morning. 1:13:49 (14:20 pace) then a 2 mile commuter walk. Thursday: 3.4 mile walk to the hospital to pick up the car and drive her home. Class was impacted.
bench press: 10 x 134, 5 x 155, 5 x 155, 4 x 155, 4 x 155
high incline: 10 x 94, 10 x 94, 10 x 105
curls 3 sets of 10.
Saturday: 2 mile warm up walk. 5K Interplanetary race: 11:10, 10:42, 10:25, 1:00. Final time: 33:20, which is faster than last year. But I am lighter and not fighting COVID. Then 1 mile cool down. This gives me 156.9 miles for the month; even 5K tomorrow should get me to 160 miles, which will tie my “post stenosis” high water mark.
It rained all day and was chilly; this is more typical Illinois spring weather. I still walked my 5.15 mile course in 1:16:33 (14:52 pace; slow as hell first 2 miles) but it was rainy, windy, etc. Got in a commuter walk too. (1.1 miles, SLOW)
I wonder if tomorrow’s baseball game will be called off.
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).
Life of an old goat 