No, thank you for the compliment!
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I can’t believe this is being pushed considering all the data now says it was pointless and didn’t actually save anybody.
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Agree. Definitely too political, so i won’t say that out loud.
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I can absolutely believe it. Using a chain link fence to stop bullets from a BB gun.
It was never about people’s safety. The govt has a long track record of not caring about that.
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I can. It’s about control, not health.
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Upper Body Day
Superset
T-Bar Row: 4 x 10-12, slow eccentric with pause at the top
Lateral Raise: 4 x 10-15, slow controlled reps with pause at top
The tempo forced me to go lighter than I normally would’ve on these. That pinchy mid-back pain usually flares up when doing back work, so Chiro recommends going a bit lighter for more controlled reps.
Turns out that strategy worked! Mid back feels great. Zero pain right now. And those slow reps are freaking hard. By the final set I was dying at about 8 reps for both exercises. Pushed through to get a minimum of 10.
Giant Set
Straight Arm Pulldown (Lat Focus): 4 x 10-12
Tricep Pushdown: 4 x failure
Seated Cable Row: 4 x 10
None of these exercises were particularly heavy compared to when I do them alone (outside of a giant set). But it was heavy enough that, after the first set, I couldn’t get more than 10 reps for anything without my form breaking down.
Usually I try to place more of an emphasis on the long head of the triceps with that pulldown, but today I changed the torso angle and adjusted the elbows to place more tension in the lats. This move hits both areas, but certain tweaks will make you feel it more in one area over another.
Incline DB Bench: 4 x 10-ish
This didn’t feel great today. Left shoulder got weird, so I stuck with 30-lb dumbbells, went slowly, and kept my elbows tucked. Full ROM felt tricky. No timer, just intuitive rest periods.
Dips: 4 x 7 Full ROM, controlled
Seven reps was the goal, but on the last set I only got five. No biggie. Shoulders felt great on this, which was odd considering they hadn’t on incline bench.
Between sets I got to chat with my friend Tom about Led Zepplin, Fleetwood Mac, and Aerosmith. (More signs I was born in the wrong decade.)
Yesterday’s (Failed) Lower Body Day
The high ham strain flared up again right after some activation drills. So I was able to do hip thrusts, but nothing else for lower body. Not even lunges.
Luckily the pull-up rig was right next to my hip thrust set-up, so I did this…
Hip Thrusts: 4 x 10-12 full ROM with partial pulses at top
Neutral Grip Pull-Ups (chins?): 4 x 5
I wasn’t able to get even a single rep more on the pull-ups, but I did add 20 pounds to my hip thrust.
When I do chins or pull-ups on a lower body day, it’s usually spontaneous and depends on how my upper body is feeling. I just like to make sure I’m able to control my own bodyweight with a strict movement that 90% of the general population can’t do. This has become a personal strength standard.
Bonus: If there’s a zombie apocalypse, I will not be the one who holds back the group because I can’t pull myself to safety.
Off Topic, But Good to Know
I like stories about tough women. This one’s incredible and I never heard about it in the news when it happened.
This lady, Heather Saul, defended herself against a rapist. While he was trying to strangle her, she shot him with his own gun. Then when police looked into who the rapist was, they discovered that he was associated with the murders and disappearances of all these other women.
They also found his kill list which had 6 other women on it. Heather Saul essentially saved them too.
Neat, huh? Yay tough women!
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Busy week! Forgot to add stuff.
Health Wins of the Week
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Thyroid hormone labs came back all in normal/healthy ranges.
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I had an X-ray of my root canal taken, and nothing is wrong with it.
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Piriformis pain went away after chiropractic appointment. I went in limping and came out practically skipping.
Health Bummer of The Week
The tooth with the root canal is a pain. It’s manageable if I don’t chew on the right side of my mouth. Otherwise, it causes delayed-onset stabbing pain and migraines on the right side of the face.
So I feel compelled to get it X-rayed every few months just to check things out. The endodontist says it may be a very mild form of trigeminal neuralgia, for which there’s no cure. You just kinda deal with it. It’s not hard to chew with only one side of your mouth. That sounds ridiculous but you get used to it.
Here’s where that nerve is located. If TN is actually what I have, then I’m SO lucky. People who have severe cases, have it a thousand times worse. They get pain when a light breeze blows across their face.
Also, if that’s the official diagnosis, then it’s comforting. Because it tells me to relax. Sometimes pain is a liar. It’s not always a sign that further damage or injury is happening… it may just your body being dumb.
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Can I ask what your TSH came back at? Ideally it should be at 1.0
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You can! It came back at 1.5. It was the same last year too.
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That’s great. I wouldn’t do anything to adjust or “optimize” it. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for popping in!
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POPs, VOCs, and PFAS… Oh My!
I first heard about VOCs when paint brands started offering low-VOC options. Apparently these things (VOCs) are no beuno and you don’t want to be breathing them in. But so are a lot of other things we’re told to avoid, like phthalates .
My friend, Dr. Jade Teta, has also written about POPs or persistent organic pollutants. He mentions them briefly in this article: The 5 Laws of Metabolism.
As a person who’s not a chemist, I’m not even sure what exactly all these chemicals do, aside from potentially being endocrine disruptors. But as a person with eyes, it sure does seem like every generation is getting more and more metabolically messed up. Obesity is higher than ever, and you have to wonder if there’s more to it than just excess calorie intake.
Nobody tracked their macros in the 60s and 70s, yet most of the population was lean back then.
So all these chemical things (“toxins?”) are hard to escape, and I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not giving up makeup or hair dye even if they contain weird chemicals. Those are nonnegotiable. But I am going to be picky about where my weird chemical exposure comes from.
I’ll choose cosmetics over Glade plug-ins and candy-scented laundry detergent any day. If I’m aware of my exposure in certain areas, then I can mitigate it elsewhere.
But it’s interesting to see where people stand on this. So…
An Informal Poll For Anyone Who Sees This
What are your thoughts about VOCs, microplastics, phthalates, parabens, and other things we’re told to avoid? Do you:
A. Do your best to avoid them completely
B. Limit them, mindfully
C. Use, inhale, and wear whatever you want because chemicals-shmemicals
Drop your answer below if you’re feeling social.
There’s a stark contrast between what people do and it’s kind of fun to notice. Some have gone full-hippie and don’t even use shampoo, deodorant, or aluminum foil… nor do they buy clothing made with non-organic fabric.
On the other end of the spectrum are those who drench their laundry, bodies, homes, and car interiors with artificial scents, then eat out of plastic containers they’ve microwaved a thousand times with zero care in the world. I envy them.
And Then There’s THIS
(IKEA, January 2021, our only masked selfie)
Researchers examined the TVOCs (toxic volatile organic compounds) in masks. Here’s the study. Even the best ones are full of these things, and you breathe them in when this material is right in front of your mouth and nose.
This article puts it into layman’s terms a little better:
Cloth masks surprisingly contained the least amount of TVOCs, and N95 masks contained the most.
But if you spend any amount of time in the fitness world, you know studies aren’t always reliable. So it’ll be interesting to see if someone debunks this one or not. I’ve always suspected that breathing through fabric isn’t super healthy… yes, even if surgeons do it.
If the study is legit, it’ll be an interesting conundrum for those who say we must mask up because it’s the compassionate thing to do. Because expecting others to cover their breathing holes with TVOCs, doesn’t seem super compassionate.
This will also be a challenging situation for the health-conscious who don’t want to make waves or offend the maskers who say you’re trying to kill their grandma.
Of course, I write all this with the assumption that the mandates are coming back.
We don’t know if they are, but there are signs of it. And if that happens, will you comply? If masking is optional where you are, is there a way to be loving and respectful toward those who want your face covered?
Edited to add this:
Mind Pump discussed mandates and masking recently, and it seems relevant here.
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Sitting for any length of time DESTROYS me. Butt, hips, low back - all trashed. Doing nothing is poison - for real!
It’s a B for me. I do what I can, but I’m not super obsessive about it. I’m already super obsessive about way too many things, I just can’t add another one to the list. Maybe that’s lazy but, I figure if Jesus wants to take me home because I ate out of a plastic bowl at my parents house, then well, I get to see Him sooner - so really, it’s a win. lol
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This is what I try to do. To avoid them completely today is almost impossible.
I have made the switch from bottled soaps and shampoos to bars and shampoo pucks to avoid some of the worst offenders I put on my body regularly.
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I hate this for us! But it’s really comforting to know that I’m not a special (messed up) snowflake here. LOL Thank you so much for sharing the struggle!
I hear this completely. And honestly, I don’t think it’s mentally healthy to be crazy-strict about it. However, for those who’ve done it with ease (no obsessiveness) and for those who can still socialize without making themselves the odd one out who can’t enjoy life without worrying about GMOs or pesticides or whatever, then good for them. But it seems like that’d be hard to do unless you’re a Menonite or quaker. (No idea what they do, I’m just making assumptions.)
HAHA Definitely not lazy, and I like that perspective. Stealing it!
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Right? And sometimes the replacements are worse than the originals. Paper straws, for instance. They’re worse for the body AND the environment according to the latest studies.
This is smart. I wish more brands would turn their products into bars. It’d also save a lot of space in our shower niches. Ha!
Upper Body
This may be my only workout for the week, so I used a higher volume and emphasized time under tension rather than dabbling with heavier loads. I couldn’t lift yesterday because of early morning appointments, work, and sleeping only 3 hours on Sunday night.
Cable Rear Delt Flye: 4 x failure, with drop set
Superset
T-Bar Row: 4 x 10
Lateral Raise: 4 x 15
Incline Bench: 4 x 10
Kneeling One-Arm Dumbbell OHP: 4 x 10
Superset:
Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown: 4 x 10-12, drop set
Seated Cable Row: 4 x 10-12
Navigating Visits With People Who Aren’t Meat-Heads
Got any strategies?
I’m going to see my parental unit this week in AZ, and they’re not into lifting or gyms in general. They do some healthy things, like bike riding and walks, but not the biggest things I consider foundational to fitness: build muscle, eat protein, stay lean.
I could hit a gym while there, but this may actually be a good time to let stuff heal. As for meals, depending on what’s available, this is my strategy: halve (or delete) the carbs, treat high-fat stuff like a condiment, and double up on protein.
I’m not anti-carb, but a sane amount is a lot less than what restaurants and moms tend to serve you.
Save the planet!
And this one is way too relatable.
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Depends on how long the visit is.
If it is only a few days then I would treat it as a bit of a deload. Do some simple movement like walks or a bike ride, probably find time to do some morning squats and push ups, maybe even some burpees.
In terms of diet you seem like you have a good plan. I would either take a complete break and just eat what ever mum gives me, or I would eat the protein and veggies and miss the carbs.
If it is a longer stay then I am definitely finding a gym or planning some good high intensity body weight sessions and probably taking a shaker and a bag of protein or asking mum to buy a lot of eggs. LOL
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Good call. It’s pretty short, so that deload idea is looking good.
I might have to alternate between these two strategies haha.
Yes! I’ve got the protein packed already, but somehow we lost all our shaker bottles. Eggs are definitely a must; my mom loves making them, so that’s a bonus. I just don’t think she realizes how much I eat.
Two eggs mom? Do I look like an infant?
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This made me chuckle. My eldest daughter is 13 (and nearly as tall as me damn). She loves eggs and will often get out of bed early if she hears me in the kitchen making my breakfast, in the hope I will do her some eggs. I asked her the other morning how many eggs, 2 ? and she said ‘dad I am not 5’. LOL
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