weight training – Life of an old goat

Not what it seems

Today was kind of routine. But what is interesting is that I filmed pull ups from different angles, and what a difference it made!

Note: all of these sets of 5 (done while fatigued) were pretty much the same quality (and yes, too much kipping)

Front, and low: “looks like zero pull ups!”

Similar set, very different angle:

Now, I had my wife hold the phone high and from the front:

Yes, the chin was over the bar; I even tapped it on the final rep.

It goes to show you: angle makes a lot of difference in what you “see”. What is clear is that I am away from the bar; that is probably due to my not wanting the bar to rock.

The weight part of the workout: (mixed PT)

5-5, 5-5 (both 5 chins, 5 pull ups), 10 pull ups, then 3 sets of 5 (seen above), 2 attempting to be strict, then 47-48 second hold.

Downstairs: only lower inclines and deadlifts.

Lower incline (lots of messing with the rack settings) 2 x 134, 2 x 134, 10 x 114, 10 x 114, 3 x 134

deadlift: deficit: 10 x 107, 10 x 133, 10 x 195 (all felt good),

6 inch: 10 x 280 (no problem)

Later: 5K commuter walk

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.

surprising…

I didn’t sleep all that much; kind of restless for a while. Still, my weight room session went well.
pull ups: 15-15-10-10, incline: 10 x 135, 6 x 150, decline: 10 x 165, military: 10 x 50 standing, 15 x 50 seated, 10 x 45 standing. rows: 3 sets of 10 x 50 single arm. Usual planks, headstand, knee stretches (started with 4 lb. medicine ball),..went very well. Goblet squats: 6 x 30, 6 x 50, 6 x 62 to the sill.

Weight: 187.

Moving right along

Just a workout catch up: Monday: weights only. rotator cuff, pull ups (5 sets of 10, one of 5), bench: 10 x 135, 3 x 185, 7 x 165, military: 8 x 50 standing, 15 x 50 seated (supported), 10 x 90 machine, rows: 3 sets of 10 x 50 each arm, goblet squats (sets of 6: free, 25, 50, 62 to the sill), planks, knee stretches, etc. Knee: start with the 4 lb. ball.

I ran to and from yoga class, taking the long way home.

I am calling this 10, as I did a couple of unintentional out and backs (on Cooper, and again in upper Glenn Oak Park). Yeah, it was slow; 1:30 on the way back or something to that effect. the 2.5 miles there took about 30 minutes.
I was able to knee on the yoga blocks which were stacked on their side.

Ten miles in the mud

The idea: I was to pace a friend who was planning on doing a slow 50 miles, starting at noon on Friday. The course was 5 ten mile loops in McNaughton Park, near Pekin, Illinois. She changed plans due to the nature of the course; it is a challenging course to begin with (featuring 13 uphill segments per loop; mostly 70-80 foot hills) but spring rains and a lack of drainage turned much of the course into a river of mud.

But I had signed up for the 10 mile even (Potawatomi Trail Runs) which began at 8 pm on Friday, so I went ahead an attempted the event. I wasn’t prepared to compete, so I went out and walked at a deliberate pace…when I wasn’t falling down.

Yes, even my handheld flashlight got muddy

The course used to be single track with breaks on grassy prairie. Now, with the exception of the initial “almost a mile” meadow loop, the grassy parts looked like narrow dirt roads which were rivers of mud. And yes, the old shoe sucking mud was there in force.
In fact, on Golf Hill (about 4 miles into it..a rope assist hill), my left shoe got sucked into the mud. My trail gaiters were also sucked in..I lost them. I feel 2-3 times (on my butt) and was off balance many more times, but my knee stretching program (part of my fitness) kept me from getting hurt.
Also, the elastic in my headband gave way so I had to use my headlamp as a hand held, and I supplemented it with the above flashlight..that actually worked out very well.

It took me 4:09 to walk this 10 mile loop (I used to finish my 100’s on this course at that pace), but I had a lot left in the tank.

Today: I slept in, did a standard weight workout (light on the bench, 1 x 185, 7 x 165, 10 x 165 incline, usual military, pull ups were good: 5 sets of 10, 1 of 5, etc) and then caught some Bradley Softball (sadly, they lost two very competitive games to Missouri State..1 run each time.)