Tag: Bradley Women’s Basketball

Boring workout post

Aren’t they all? 🙂 But not much of substance today; enjoyed watching the Bradley Women hold on to get their first conference win (61-51 vs Evansville; watched the second half on ESPN3) and now enjoying the Men’s game vs Indiana State. BU leads 35-34 at the half.

I timed today’s workout so I’ll get a feel of how long everything takes. Big picture take away: bench press: 1 x 184 (best with my feet up on a chair..sans leg drive), 4 mile walk at 13:25 (Riverfront) with only slight discomfort, mostly in the final mile; 2 sets of 5 x 105 “touch the chest” on the high incline. That’s getting better too. Throat is a lot better.

Details:

7:55 am start. Mixed PT sets with pull ups/crunch pull ups.

The pull up sets: 10 crunch singles (start with legs up), 10 crunch singles (start with feet on the ground), 10 crunch singles on 10 seconds, 3 x 6 pull ups (one of the final reps was bad), 5 pull ups, then 5 singles with 10 seconds rest between reps. Total: 58 reps.

The PT: I do 3 sets of 3 different exercises for the rotator cuff (well, two exercises are a combination of 3 different exercises, so really 7 total), and for the back: one leg glute bridges, dead bugs, spinal balance (aka bird dog), two leg bridge with march, psoas march (today standing), one knee with a twist, two different kinds of crunches (2 sets of 10 straight leg quarter crunch), 50 regular crunches, banded “clam shell, glute bridge, clam shell other side”, banded walks (2 sets) This takes up about 30 minutes.

Push ups: 30 incline outside. 8:52 finish.

Downstairs: 8:55 start

Bench press: 134 x 5, 155 x 2, 170 x 1, 184 x 1, (ugly)

165 x 4, 160 x 5, 155 x 6 . That took me to 9:27 (lots of rest between sets)

High incline: 10 x 85, 8 x 94, 5 x 105, 5 x 105 (touch the chest) 9:52 finish

Curls: 7 x 7 x 7 (low, high, full), then 10. 9:58 finish

Upstairs: between sets of push ups and chest taps: pelvic tilt, open book (5 each side)

20 push ups, 10 chest taps 20 push ups 10 chest taps. 10:11 finish, or 2:16 total.

Then to the Riverfront. Start 10:34: 4.13 mile walk in 55:24. Home at 11:45.

So 2:16 for the weights, 1:34 for the 4 mile walk, which includes the drive there, back, and some stretching. 3:50 total time.

Long workout where I didn’t do much

Yes, my full workout took about 3 hours from start to finish, but..I really did not do that much.

Around 8:30 I started with a light stretch, followed by 2.15 miles of commuter type walking.

Then I mixed PT with pull ups/stretches:

3 sets of 10 singles (final 2 unsat), then 2, 6 (so so), 6, 5, 7 (57 total reps) mixed in with a LOT of physical therapy for both the back and shoulder. That got me to 10:10 or so.

Downstairs: bench: 5 x 134, 4 x 165, 4 x 165, 4 x 165, 4 x 160 (disappointing); maybe arched in one of the reps (butt down but I don’t need to extend my back under load)

high incline: 10 x 85 then 3 sets of 7 x 94 (touch in every single rep)

curls: 2 sets of 10, 1 set of 7, 7, 7 (burn) That got me to 10:55.

Then upstairs for MORE pt and stretching (open book, etc, included 5 sets of 10 full push ups, 2 sets of 10 chest taps).

Finally, started walk 2.15 at about 11:20 and finished at about 11:46

That is a lot of time to spend on doing..not much.

But the second walk went very, very well; no pain at all. It was roughly the same course.

Later: I walked to our final home game for our women’s basketball team. We were playing a team that was “midpack” in our conference and of course we got creamed 64-38 in a game was was even worse than the score might indicate.

The lead grew to 30 and, well, lots of women got to play. Unfortunately, our team was overmatched at almost every position; speed, quickness, athletic ability, everything. The ladies ARE scrappers; one is a former team trainer who stepped up to help out. But practice, hustle, hard work and desire, which our team has, can go only so far. I am confident our first year coach can get us going in the right direction and bring in players who can do what she wants the team to do. This was a rough transition year.

Rough and cold

PT, and a walk that became hard about 2.5 or so; it was not the worst however.

I felt good enough to try a 1.3 mile commuter walk after lunch and it was..ok..was ready to stop.

It feels as if I am in a type of limbo; not quite well, not quite injured..and thank goodness, NOTHING like a year ago..or even April, May, June, July, etc. I’d say September or October like.

Oh yes, my mini-handles are here. Farmer’s walks when it gets a bit warmer outside. Can’t wait to try them out.

Basketball:

Before the game, I thought Bradley had a good shot at getting its first conference win, and after 1 quarter, I still thought that. But it was 53-37 after 3 and I thought that it was “same old, same old.” But then look at that 4’th quarter; BU had pulled within 2 with 38 seconds to go. 35 points in the 4’th: BU was making everything they put up. Normally, 35 points is a good HALF for us.

But it was not to be; Valpo hit their free throws down the stretch (ALL of them) and won in the end.

Trying to get it right

Workout: PT, deadlifts (134 x 10, 184 x 10, 204 x 10 low, 251 x 10 4 inch), 2 mile walk. PM: commuter walk from the game.

Both walks ended on “the verge of mild discomfort.”

Later, I took a flex shot; yep, not awful for my age (63) but the muscles are soft.

I did watch the Bradley women lose to Southern 83-59; SIU lead for most of the game, but it was 55-47 going into the 4’th; too much inside, and too much quickness at the guard spot.

Note: the game got chippy; BU had an intentional foul called, and on one common foul, the team’s players drew technical fouls (one on each team).

SIU had a 6′ 5″ center who was able to get a “wedged ball” by jump that required no run up.

The deadlift videos: improved but the low handle position: still having trouble getting the back angle correct.

Bradley men, women split.

Last night the women played a good Missouri State team tough. They lead at the half.

Bradley lead 50-49 going into the 4’th and it was still a 1 point game with 2 minutes to go.

But alas Missouri State made the big plays between 2 and 1 minute (steals, breakaway lay ups) and ended up winning 74-64.

I took a couple of shots.

Today: the men dominated Murray State 83-48; it was close with 3 minutes to go in the half, then BU went on 13-0 run to take a 31-21 lead into the half.

The bigs dominated the paint and blocked 5 shots; help defense was outstanding. Then in the second half, BU started hitting 3 point shots and the slaughter was on.

An aside: Illinois knocked off no. 24 Rutgers 69-60 and Navy blew out Army 70-53.

Enjoying the warmth

Yes, finally, a reasonably warm day! (by February in Illinois standards).

I broke up my workout: first PT and deadlifts. Then T. came by to deliver a lamp. She is an Army vet and KNEW I wore the Navy shirt for her benefit.

Afterwards, I walked my West Peoria 5K course.

Bodywise: I had some glute ache after deads in my RIGHT glute, but in the evening, just the usual in the left. The walk itself: some minor tingles at 2.2 then again at 2.8 but nothing like the bad old days. The walk itself went well.

The deadlifts: I decided to tackle the “hips rising too fast” problem. I think one issue is mobility, though I show decent mobility with 134. Another issue might be that my feet are a bit too far back; I’ll try to scoot them up just a bit.

From 1 week ago with light weight. I wonder if my feet are slightly more forward? The back position looks much better.

Afterward, I decided to catch a Bradley Women’s basketball game against Belmont. I told B that I thought BU would play a competitive first quarter, and that they did: they made 4 of 6 three point attempts to lead 20-17 after 1. But then came reality; it was 34-29 at the half and 55-37 after 3 quarters. The lead reached 22 points then Belmont put in their reserves and coasted to a 68-54 win..that really wasn’t as close as the score might indicate.

Rough season for the Bradley women; they are starting from scratch.
From my end: I am just grateful I got to go and plan to make the rest of the home games (both men and women)

New Year, old me

This came after PT and lifting.

It was in the 40’s but my watch really didn’t want to give me credit for distance.

The lifting: 10 x 134 10 x 184 (low)
10 x 265 4 inch, 10 x 280 8 inch. These went ok; my 184 reps showed me that the low position is not a good position for me to challenge myself.

Watched the Bradley Women play Drake; 35-30 Drake at the half, but a 22-8 run in the 3’rd quarter and 30-20 in the 4’th lead to a 87-58 pasting. Once again, we gave up lots of 3- point shots in the second half.

Catch up: end of year

Workouts:

Yesterday, weights and 5K walk. Walk was a slightly less comfortable than I’d like.

Weights: 70 push ups with PT: 7 sets of 10, including 2 chest-tap/push ups

Pull ups: sets 10, 5, and singles (to get to 50 reps; some were chin ups)

Bench press: 5 x 134, 1 x 155, 1 x 170, 1 x 175, 3 x 165, 4 x 160, 4 x 160
curls: 3 sets of 10
Swiss Bar incline 3 sets of 10 x 94

Then the walk.

Today: lots of PT, more stretching, then a 10K walk (some discomfort at 3.5) but less discomfort than yesterday.

Weight: 193 before walking.

Basketball:

Last night: the women got hammered by Northern Iowa. Oh, it was 35-30 Bradley at the half. But at 34-9 3’rd quarter but Northern in command (a LOT of 3 point makes) and it ended 83-64.

Today: the men pounded Illinois Chicago 79-45, and were up 39-13 at the half. The lead was over 40 points at one point.

Too late of a start

Did not get everything I wanted to get done, but I did PT and managed a 90-95 percent pain free 10K walk; note I do wake up with a stiff back, and yes, the heartburn (too much hot sauce) is getting to me again.

I did catch the Bradley Women’s basketball game; BU lost in overtime 71-68, but did rally 18-6 in the final quarter to get it to overtime to begin with.

Down by 1 with 13 seconds left, BU had the ball, got trapped, had to call time out, and the inbounds pass was stolen which lead to a BU foul.
Final 3 point shot was blocked.

Yes, B came from PT to join me, unexpectedly. That was a treat.

Midbreak

Last night, I drug Ms. O to a BU Women’s basketball game vs NAIA Missouri Baptist. And while it ended 66-46, Baptist had it tied at 39 going into the 4’th and lead 42-40 in the 4’th before being outscored 26-4 the rest of the way. BU put more defensive pressure on the ball and forced a ton of turnovers. This could have also been depth talking as well.

Sadly, but predictably, the arena was all but empty.

Today’s workout:

PT plus push ups: 30, 30, 40…got it! Pull ups: 50 reps (53 if you count partials plus 3 penalty reps), deadlifts (10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 228, all low handle)

Then 3.2 miles of walking at a brisk-ish pace. My legs actually felt good; 30’s and sunny. I wore long sleeves; no sweatshirt.

Health: yeah, I had a reflux flare up but a strong antacid knocked it out within 10-15 minutes. Back: not an issue.
No, I am not healed; I am in a “management” situation. But at long last I don’t feel like talking about it.