@TrainForPain - Started a reply over your way, but it got long and I didn’t want to clog up your log, so I moved it here.
Not at all, my man—I haven’t said too much about it, really. Mostly I just whine in my log from time to time. You really haven’t missed anything!
In any case, I only meant “rough” w.r.t. work/life balance (and mostly training/nutrition in the “life” part of that balance). It’s why your “I’ve earned my way into Y” resonated with me: I’ve earned my way into the work/life balance issues—and in some sense, that’s been my goal all along.
My awareness of the imbalance has become more acute as my daughter starts high school in the fall, which itself starts the 4-year clock. As former university profs, both Mrs. SvenG and I are very aware of just how little time 4 years actually is…
But on the whole, we’re doing well: I’m working the work, we’re enjoying the added benefits it has afforded, my wife and kids are thriving, I’m still getting time under the bar, and my daughter’s launch into the high school years is both appropriate and exciting!
Sorry I wrote a book. But I appreciate you asking!
It sounds like we’re both in the same place in a lot of ways! It really can be a bit overwhelming, so I totally get it. Honestly just typing this out and thinking about my own son about to turn 14 is having me a little morose.
I am a little late to the party but still want to wish a happy belated birthday! I know things haven’t been easy lately but I am sure a lot of people reading this log will agree with me when I say: You are an inspiration, man!
Fasted. And pretty much a repeat of last time (w3d1), right down to the last set of HLRs—today, though, even the 2 extras were sketchy, so I tried even more… But nope! Abs were shot. (Pretty sure it’s from yesterday’s ab wheel reps, though.)
Squats, dips, and rows were super-solid today, went slow on everything and really focused on the muscules rather than on just moving the weight.
Thanks Sven, I agree with this! Move every day. I try to do split squats in the stairwell multiple times a day to promote healing of my left knee as well as flexibility. Feels great. Ideally I’d do light clubbell work too, but often I’m just too knackered, especially my grip. Would defo benefit from being more consistent with light work on my off days. How many heavy days do you do per week?
@amaeland - With 5/3/1, which has been my go-to for the past few years, I’d say it’s typically 4 days of heavy lifting: The work sets of overhead, bench, dead, and squat each get their own day.
But now with the BB-style training I’ve been doing lately, it’s been a PPL split with added squats and deadlifts on the weekends. Not sure if that’s 5 days of heavy lifting or just 2, because I’m not sure “heavy” applies to the BB workouts.
On the other hand, “make light weights feel heavy” has been my mantra for the past several weeks, so… I’ll let you be the judge!
Sorry to hear that things are a little tough right now. The funny thing I find with training is how hard it is to get back to regular conditioning. After a break hitting the gym is easy even with the soreness. But talking myself into 100 burpees or sandbag runs or echo bike is like a drawn out political debate where nothing gets decided and nothing gets done. I am sure the work rut will pass with time, I know it can be hard but try and focus on the positives and just get it done.
Semi-fasted: Black coffee upon waking, 0.5 serving of Surge as above.
Several nights of poor sleep is definitely catching up with me, but I made it through. Tried using a KB with a deep deficit on the sumo deadlifts this morning. I could feel it in my adductors and glutes more, but the 32 kg KB just wasn’t really heavy enough. Might try those with a landmine T-bar setup or something next time, because I think it was more effective in the end, despite being lighter.
Thursday - 18 July 2024 Workout: Conditioning, 0435-0515 (40 minutes)
5 rounds of:
Assault bike - 12 cals
Air squat - 10
KB swing - 32 kg - 15
Seated calf raise - 180 lbs - 12
Ab mat crunch - 10 lbs - 10
Fasted.
Fumbled around with the setup because I tried to do the ab wheel this morning, but crashed to my knees on the first rollout. My abs have been sore all week—last time I did the wheel was Saturday, and although I don’t remember pain or anything, I must’ve messed something up.
I’m hoping to do the sled and some farmer’s walks later today, but we’ll have see if the weather cooperates.
Speaking of which: We got a break from the heat yesterday, and I slept like a champ last night. We have central air, but it’s been so ridiculously hot that it just hasn’t been able to keep up. Anyway, point is: Decent sleep makes such a difference!