Fake 275!, Mind games

Jul24
by Duf on July 24, 2017 at 5:44 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Endurance activities, Injuries

So Cindy and I did our track 5K over the weekend and as seems to usually be the case, it was a struggle due to heat, humidity and the fact my body just does not really like running.  Running normally involves a lot of mental endurance too as you have silent internal conversations with yourself to help push you along the way.  With a run around the track it can get even more maddening because you know exactly how far you have gone and how many laps are left to go.  So if you are feeling like shit on lap 4 of 12, it’s hard to feel optimistic.

So when I run the track I give myself little mini-milestones to help break up the challenge.  The first one comes at lap 4, meaning I have a mile under my belt and I should be pretty much completely warmed up by this point.   Lap 5 is pegged as a significant lap as well but I’m not sure why other than it means I am well underway into the misery.  Lap 6 means I am halfway done and lap 8 means I only have a mile to go.

Completing lap 8 is a big deal.  When I complete this lap my mind always flips to the three half marathons I completed and how great it felt to only have one mile left.  It is replaying that feeling that pushes me through those last four laps, every time.  I have no idea how long my body will continue to allow me to run a weekly 5K but I’ll push it right to the edge because if I don’t, death wins.

So today was a milestone in my Planet Fitness return, I decline pressed a fake 275 pounds (250) on the smith machine.  For the second week in a row I was able to secure a smith AND the ab slant board which allows me to lock my legs in.  I could tell early on I was feeling pretty good as the reps at lighter weights went pretty smoothly.  The 250 pounds that was the more realistic number on the bar was still a high water mark.  During the last day of Retro’s existence I had gotten all the way up to 245 pounds on decline bench but never could hit 250.

I followed up with light dumbbell pull overs, the same movement that caused me instant severe pain when I hurt my right side doing dragon flags.  I was able to do them but during the last set I felt a slight tweak that resulted in a dull ache right now.  It’s nowhere near as severe as the original injury but it’s a good reminder that things are still not as they should be.

Below are fake bench totals because they look more impressive, if you want the actual number subtract 25 pounds. 🙂

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Smith decline bench press – 135lbs x 12, 185lbs x 10, 225lbs x 5, 245lbs x 1, 275lbs x 1, 225lbs x 8, 185lbs x 12

Dumbbell pull over – 55lbs x 10 x 3

 

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Not meant to last

Jul20
by Duf on July 20, 2017 at 5:31 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Injuries, Today at the Gym

Today as I was doing heavy shrugs on the smith machine a younger guy and  I assume  his girlfriend were on the adjacent machine.  The woman, who was attractive and in decent shape, said something about how she wanted to lose some flab around her stomach.  Well her boyfriend pounced on the opening, saying how she needed to get to the gym everyday, do ab exercises, cardio, and eat better.  He told her how he gets to the gym everyday and how she needs to do the same.  When she said she doesn’t have time to get there as much as he does he shook his head and said, well then you can do ab exercises at home.  When the girl said she didn’t know how, her boyfriend rolled his eyes while simultaneously sighing loudly.  I don’t expect to see them working out together much longer.

I did a few belly to wall handstand push ups and struggled to get three rep sets.  Ironically, despite the pain I get in my shoulders doing pushing exercises, pushing straight overhead is not a problem, even a high stress movement like handstand push ups.  The combination of me not doing the movement for a long time combined with my weighing about five pounds more than I would like made the reps tough.

Today’s Workout 

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Pull ups x 15

Static wall handstand x 60 sec

Pull ups x 10

Belly to wall handstand push ups  x 3

Pull ups x 10

Belly to wall handstand push ups  x 3

Pull ups x 10

Belly to wall handstand push ups  x 3

Pull ups x 7

Seated rear delt – 70lbs x 10

Seated low row – 130lbs x 10

Standing behind the back smith shoulder shrug – 200lbs x 10, 250lbs x 10, 300lbs x 5

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What does and doesn’t

Jul11
by Duf on July 11, 2017 at 5:25 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Injuries

Since I planned to do lower body today I hoped the pain in my right side would be less of an issue.  As I went through the workout I discovered several things.  Chin ups hurt more than pull ups, I tapped out after rep 7 or 8 as the pain increased with each rep.  Squats hurt some but hurt less if I took a deep breath and held it during the max exertion portion of the movement.  Surprisingly, deadlifts, even heavy deadlifts didn’t cause much discomfort.  I even did one rep at the weight I bowed out at last week because of knee pain.  I’ll keep trying to define the boundaries of acceptable movements.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

8 chin ups (stopped for pain)

Smith squats – 110lbs x 10, 160lbs x 8, 200lbs x 3

Smith deadlift – 200lbs x 10, 290lbs x 5, 340lbs x 2, 360lbs x 1

Seated leg extension – 150lbs x 10

Seated leg curl – 140lbs x 8

Leg press calf extension – 290lbs x 10

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A definitive NO

Jul10
by Duf on July 10, 2017 at 5:19 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Injuries

So like I mentioned Friday, I had another sharp pain on my right side during my third set of dragon flags.  I have had this happen a few times before but this seemed like the most severe example as the pain lingered longer than before, affecting my activity through the weekend.    The pain did lessen over time. I was curious how things would go during my scheduled chest day at the gym.

I felt some discomfort in the area during the last several pull ups I did at the front of my workout however during most of the pressing movements it wasn’t a big factor.  However when I got the idea to do some dumbbell pull overs that all changed in a hurry.  I grabbed a 55 pound dumbbell which is about 10 lbs lighter than what I would normally start with.  I got to about 10 degrees off vertical on my first rep and immediately felt the pain rushing back into the area.  I immediately stopped and finished off with some push ups and front raises.

I definitely will need to do some trial and error with this injury.  Hopefully the errors can be kept to a minimum.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

15 pull ups

Seated incline chest press – 120lbs x 12, 160lbs x 10, 200lbs x 4

25 push ups

Pec dec – 110lbs x 10, 130lbs x 10, 150lbs x 10

25 push ups

Standing supinated front barbell lift – 40lbs x 10

25 push ups

Seated supinated front dumbbell lift – 20lbs x 10

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Back to dumber

Jul07
by Duf on July 7, 2017 at 5:17 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Injuries

Remember earlier in the week when I patted myself on the back for not trying a 1RM deadlift when my knee was hurting?  Well I am back to being dumb again.

I have not done dragon flags for months.  You may recall the last few times I did some at Retro before it shut down I always had to cut the reps short because of a sharp pain in my right side.

I hadn’t even thought about dragon flags at Retro because there was no good place to use as an anchor point originally. Well as part of the renovation they installed a 1.5″ pipe along the back wall which is just about perfect.  I figured I may as well give it a test run.

So I got through my first set of 5 reps without any noticeable pain in that area.  During the second set of 5 I was starting to feel something in that spot but it was dull enough that it didn’t stop me.  Well on the third set coming out of rep 3 it popped and I dropped to the floor like I was just tasered.  It’s a very disconcerting feeling, like something shifts around or is breaking loose.  However after laying on the floor for a few seconds I was able to get up and do some other less intense core work.

When I got back to the office I looked up what vital organs are on that side of the body.  The liver seemed like a possible candidate due to it’s placement and size.  I really do like the challenge of doing dragon flags but the fact that the same pain came right back after months of not doing the movement is not a good sign.

I left a few minutes early, my motivation was sort of zapped along with the side pain.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

50 push ups

Dragon Flags x 5

Standing straight arm oblique rotations x 20

Dragon Flags x 5

Standing straight arm oblique rotations x 20

Dragon Flags x 3

Standing straight arm oblique rotations x 20

Hanging knee raises x 20

Dowel oblique rotations x 20

One arm dead hang x 30 sec (both arms)

 

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