Starting this to help myself keep track and maybe stay accountable.
Former college football player, currently practicing martial arts since graduating. Competed in several kickboxing matches but not recently. 5’11 205
Dad of two kids under 4 years old. Persistent back/glute pain and could probably be described as a functional alcoholic.
Goals are to… get back on the mats/in the ring more (at least twice a week and maybe a match)… Stay around the same bodyweight but look leaner… Get my back and glutes to stop hurting all the time… Cut down on random alcohol binges and get back to drinking once every other weekend.
Youngest has a fever and I was able to work from home. Might try to get something in during her nap but no promises. Got great news that the gym I goto for striking started morning classes. With my schedule this will make it so easy to train without asking more from my girlfriend or kids. Also will be able to start grappling along with striking as well before work. Excited to get on the mat again
Missed 6am grappling at the gym because of daycare drop off. Still made it in before work and got a good bag work session in. No lift today.
Still hanging around 205. One of my biggest triggers with drinking is those middle of the week store trips. Usually I’ll have to pick something up and while I’m there I’ll grab a 1$ 25oz can on malt liquor or beer. Haven’t done that once this week. Tonight and tomorrow will be a big test but I don’t feel a craving for it.
Bench and weighted pullups “superset clusters” (goal is 25-30 total reps for each lift. Both around 225, chain to load the pull-up + my bodyweight is around 225, turned into sets of 5 for the bench and a bunch of 3s for the pullups)
Suitcase @ 70lbs. 5 laps each hand but the laps are twice as long as last week. Added rest between unlike last week.
Neck bridge rolls on the back and front till failure
Did not make it to the gym this morning, coach cancelled class and girls took long at daycare drop off. No biggie.
Lifted before work. Poliquin dropsets (6-12-24) lat raises, dbell curl and kickbacks.
Every lift was the same weights 6 reps at 35lbs, 12 reps at 25lbs, 24 reps at 15lbs. 3 rounds of each exercise. Shorter rest times than usual but not sprinting through the lift. Felt a good pump. I’ve found this is one of the better routines for adding size or at least making me feel bigger in the arms.
Friday, got a half decent clean workout in. Weight just wasn’t moving well. Had a beer after dinner Thursday but definitely wasn’t enough to affect the lift.
Saturday. Drove 5 hours and spent the night last night for a powerlifting meet. I wasn’t competing, just tagging along to help and encourage. Loaded alot of weights in the warmup room and got a 5 minute “workout” on an exercise bike during down time just to get some blood flowing. Finished the day with a few drinks to celebrate the completed meet.
Sunday no training. Ready to get after it this week. Plan on taking this whole week until Thanksgiving off drinking. Trying to keep it one weekend on one weekend off. I respect and admire people who totally cut it out. Although I feel I’ve worked on my relationship with alcohol enough to where if I’m consistent and honest with myself I can have some every now and again.
This is the approach my husband takes. He said he knew he would fail if he went for abstinence and then spiral when he slipped. He drinks NA most of the time as he likes the taste of beer, but will go for regular on occasion. Balance is good.
Sunday no training. Ready to get after it this week. Plan on taking this whole week until Thanksgiving off drinking. Trying to keep it one weekend on one weekend off. I respect and admire people who totally cut it out. Although I feel I’ve worked on my relationship with alcohol enough to where if I’m consistent and honest with myself I can have some every now and again.
I’ve never drank before, so it’s not something I can speak to…except I CAN speak to it because of that, haha. Some folks are abstainers, and either have to ALWAYS do the thing or NEVER do the thing, and some folks are moderators, where they’re able to do the thing every now and again. Like introverts and extroverts, one isn’t right or wrong: they’re just different. The key is to identify which one you are and work within that framework, which it sounds like you’re doing. I’m naturally an abstainer: I’m SO good at NEVER doing a thing, because then I free up my mental bandwidth by not thinking about it. But I know moderators, and I know that, if I tell them “Never do the thing”, that’s ALL they’ll ever think about. It will seem like I’m punishing them. Why can’t they do the thing SOMETIMES? But if I try to do the thing sometimes, I’ll just binge and do the thing ALL the time, because that’s my framework.
Very longwinded way to say, it’s awesome you’re recognizing how you function and, in turn, coming up with a plan to function that way. You’re doing good by your kids.
Got out of the routine a bit and did some singles of back squat, front squat and deadlift just to get an idea of how heavy weight feels. Nothing crazy or impressive
Tuesday 11/18
Bench and pullup “super set clusters”
25 reps of each was the goal
225-245 on the bench 4-8 reps at a time. Pullups 5-6 reps at a time
3 min continuous curl→tricep ext→Overhead hold 20 seconds each with a 45lb plate
