Take care of yourself

Yikes. That sounds insane and even harder than what I did.

 

That's why you do it in rounds, to let your muscles have a bit of a break.

When I was really in shape and doing CrossFit exclusively, there were weeks where you would wind up doing 500 or 600 pullups. That was especially true when I would have to sub 3 pullups and 3 dips for one muscle up in a workout. So if it called for three rounds of muscle ups, that's 90 of each right there.

Or something like a 20-minute workout where you do as many rounds as possible of run a quarter mile and then do max pullups, back and forth, back and forth. Amazing how hitting the cardio hard can negatively affect your strength.

Or worse still, the workout where you do, in order, 100 pullups, pushups, situps and squats. Best time on that dog was something like 34 minutes. Pushups are surprisingly hard after 100 pullups.

 

I hate doing pullups, but I like to challenge/punish myself, so tomorrow I'll shoot for 50 as part of my workout and go from there.

 

A really popular diet at my gym now is something called "carb backloading." It starts with a 10-day very low carb phase. After that, on days you train (strength train and has to be heavy strength training) after the workout, you get to eat a lot of carbs, including bad ones. The rest of the time, you eat a very low-carb diet.
Some poeple have gotten great results with it but the trainer who works with me doesn't recommend it.

 

Good news. My chiropractor gave me the OK to start lifting again but cautioned me against doing anything over my head so as not to re-aggravate my L5 vertebrae. So, that means mainly machines and traditional lifting at my shoulder level or below. Much better than nothing. I've been able to do cardio the last couple weeks, but it just isn't the same as the feel you get after lifting.

And I can play golf without restrictions.

 

After our stretching warmup, here's what we did for PT this morning. 10 rounds of....

10 pushups
10 situps
10 squats
100 meter run

Once we got done with the rounds, we ran about 2.5 miles, with the tail end of it being "last man up" style. Pretty good workout, but I suspect I'll go running again tonight (maybe 3 miles) and do some pushups and situps. PT test is next week, so I have to make sure I can do as well as possible.

 

Good luck, Joseph. You've been busting it pretty hard, so I hope you're pleased with your PT scores next week. Once. Again. Faster.

Go, soldier.

 

Did bench press and seated row with plates today at the gym. After about 1 1/2 months of not lifting, I'm weak as a damn kitten. I'll be a little sore tomorrow, the good kind.

Rowed 3,451 meters in 15 minutes, a pace of 2:10.4 per 500 meters. Not my best by any stretch of the imagination, but I'll take it.

Joe

 

Thanks, Joe. I've been working hard at it and am hoping it'll show come PT test time. I finished up today with 35 pushups, 35 situps and 20 squats, a 2.9-mile run and a second round of pushups, situps and squats. Not a bad day and am feeling a little more confident. Just have to keep it up after the PT test and not slack off.

 

Is there a more humbling exercise than the pull-up? I went to the doctor the other day and was reminded I'm 30 pounds over my prime fighting weight. I can get in a groove on the treadmill and I feel perfectly fit, and the extra weight rarely affects me when I'm lifting. But there's no escaping every extra ounce when you're hanging from a bar trying to pull yourself up repeatedly.

I hate pull-ups.

 

Learn to kip. You're moving the same weight the same distance as dead-hang, and in a more efficient manner.

And for sure pullups are much easier when I weight in the 170 neighborhood than in the 180s that I'm at right now. When I was in the 170 range and cardio fit, I could do 15 to 17 pullups in a row. Today, more than one is tough. Fucking fat.

 

I cannot remember the last time I did a pullup. Maybe never. God bless those who can.