pull ups – Life of an old goat

Toward the end of break

I did a bit more catching up. But..well, there is a math conference on campus and I feel compelled to go for at least a bit. What the heck. It is embarrassing given that our math major has been cut.

But I was able to take my time during my morning workout: more PT than usual (and I swear; it appears to be helping) and I did my 4.3 mile course (3.14 W. Peoria plus a 1.16 Moss loop) in 1:02:48 (pace: 14:36); yes, I was sore from yesterday’s hike. The walk came between pull ups and weights as there was a break in the rain.

Pull ups: 5 pull ups, 5 chins, 5 pull ups, 5 chins, 8 pull ups, 4, 7 chin ups, 4, 5 mixed, 5 mixed, then 3.8 “pause” chin ups: pause 1/2 way, pause at the top. Those were humbling. (56 total reps)

Walk: 4.3

Downstairs: low: 10 x 94, 10 x 135, 10 x 190. 8 inch: 10 x 260 (kind of tired)

Bench: 3 sets of 10 x 134
high incline: 2 sets of 10 x 94

It did not seem as if I did THAT much but I did rest between sets.

Oh yes, my new 55 lb (25 kg) bumpers came today. I need to get the light oil off.

Friday and Saturday

Well, let’s just say that I am upset at what I am seeing; more about that later. I am upset over a specific work related situation that none of my friends or family caused.

Aside from that: I had the luxury of doing a weight workout at a leisurely pace yesterday, followed by an afternoon 4 mile walk at just under 15 minutes per mile (flat ground)

The weights; pull ups, singles (20 reps), then 6 sets of 5 (2 of them chins) trying not to kip, then 37=38 seconds of holding.

downstairs: high incline: 5 x 94, 5 x 105, miss 130, make 125, 5 x 110, 2 sets of 5 x 115. Bench: 3 sets of 5 x 145 with pause Curls: 3 sets of 10; 2 with the Swiss bar (unloaded), one with the curl bar.

Today: my classic out and back 5 mile course (measured at 4.85 by my Garmin today) with one mini-median loop to get 5.17. I was about 1:08:30 at 5.

Illness: felt pretty good but was woken up twice by coughing. Post nasal drip, I think. I will take steps this evening and see how it works. My second sleep: until 9 am! For me, that is outrageously late.

Last night: saw a ball game.

Bradley lost to Cleveland State 76-69. In a nutshell: Cleveland State had a two man wrecking crew; one was a guard who hit a lot of 3 point shots. And in the first half, they out worked Bradley, who had 10 first half turn-overs. Cleveland State only shot 31 percent in the first half but still lead 30-27. BU played better in the second half, at least until the final 3 minutes. It was a close game for the vast majority of the game, with CSU taking command in the final 90 seconds.

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.

working on the pull up

Yeah, I know; it has been a long time since I talked about anything of importance here; during the COVID 19 pandemic this has been more or less a workout journal.

Yeah, things are going relatively poorly, with respect to COVID 19 so keeping track of my workouts has kept my emotions occupied. And well, I am finishing up some math stuff.

Note: knee has felt great almost all day.

Warm up: 5 minutes bike, assorted glue exercises including 1 leg bridge, clam shell, hip hikes, etc. And yes, the usual rotator cuff

mostly outside today:
pull ups: focus on getting my chin over the bar; NO BAD REPS today; 7, 7, 8, 8, 5 (narrow), 6, 4, 5, 4 (chin) 4 (wide) 3 for 61 total, plus a few demos for photos.

shoulder presses: 3 sets of 10, one awful set of 1, then 1 more of 10 with 44 lb. dumbbells.
single arm rows: 5 sets with 60
push ups: (deficit) 4 sets of 15, 1 of 10
goblet partial squats (working down, upright torso, knees over toes: 5 sets of 5 with 22 (learning the motion). One time I went a bit too deep.

trap bar deadlifts: 10 x 184, 10 x 211 (went very well)

Pull ups: