Indeed. I’m in training now for stage 1 of 4. AAP. Assistant ambulance practitioner.
Friday was sick infant and child and cpr on infant and child.
So even though we are a step from the real thing intentionally or not the tutors pull the heart strings. I’m also quite close on a lady that lost a baby to sudden infant death syndrome. And she found it hard. And I found that hard through proxy. I also almost lost my little one. And seeing the equipment now is a bit mad. When you move from “one size fits all” adult kit to “it’s got to fit the smallest baby imaginable” it’s a remarkable difference.
But hey - this is the job.
Work out:
110kg 2x10. Front squat
110kg 1x20. Back squat
Incredible news on the retraining, that’s a bold thing to do with a family to support, my dad was a paramedic for nearly 30 years, he loved it, you training whilst working on the job?
Bold - yes. But I have faith it’s the right thing. We make our sacrifices and we will not be as financially comfortable. But I’m happier. I have a calling to medicine and helping people. I will never be happy unless I’m doing this. I honestly believe that.
I’m told by many people it’s a true vocation. A life’s work. I can’t wait.
FYI to those leaving comments and likes etc that I’m not engaging with. Or old members I’m not checking in on - I am sorry. I’m so busy I’m just struggling to make much time for internet chat….
Today:
Log press 80kg on the min;
5, 4, 5, 4, 2. 3 weeks back I tried this work out and got 4, 4, 4, 4, 1. So not only and I 3 reps up. But I squeezed them in early in the work out. Lumping 3 more reps in set 5 would be easy. Getting some in set 1&3 is so much harder. It extends set times and decreases rest times. Making sets 2&4 harder by proxy.
I’m working on 80kg grace in under 5mins. If I get each set to 6 reps I’m there. Currently at 20. 2/3 of the way there……
Fantastic, that’s so admirable and a joy to hear you’ve found your vocation!
Crazy busy, not much new still working full time alongside on-call with the fire service, still fostering, my own kids are growing up too fast (youngest goes to secondary school this September) still doing a lot with the church. Back to pushing hard on training and working on my mindset (focused on doing hard stuff and stuff I hate in general, with the concept of callousing the mind, and the reality is the stuff I hate is just because it’s hard and I’m being weak mentally, so strengthening that, enduring through the suck will help in every facet of life).
Also in need of a holiday, got some time off coming up which I’m very much looking forward to.
I won’t lie. The reason my log is good at the minute is when I was lacking motivation, It was very easy to just pick it up. Do a silly workout in 5 maybe 10 minutes and then put it down.
Uniquely the log works just about everything, keeps you fit, reasonably strong and helps you look okay. Also because it’s all concentric you can do it every day which means that it’s really good for building discipline and habits.
Yeah, that’s it. Really, no great talent. No, Great secret. Just a couple of months of sole focus.
I think there’s a great deal of the truth in what you say. When you teach yourself that there is an easy out, everything becomes a little bit easier to get out of.
I’m finding this a lot of the moment, where sometimes it is quite easy to wish that you were the sort of guy who is disciplined enough to work out every day or to eat well every meal. Or even do their course studying for an hour every night. Where as in essence, we are all that disciplined if we choose to be. Or at least we’re all displayed enough to become that disciplined.
Because choices aren’t always “easy”. To have the willpower to make difficult decisions or easy decisions all the time isn’t something everyone has. Will power can run out.
But will power can also be grown over time. In a way, very much from reminiscent of linear progression or progressive overload. You just have to start small and take it one step at a time. And exercise is a key part of it.
I’m currently lying breath on my garden lawn regretting the day I ever bought a log. I’m starting to get just a little bit of anxiety about my log workouts. Nowhere near the anxiety I got for my 20 reps squats. However, he is enough to let me know. I’m definitely working very hard.
Today I almost made an excuse for myself to have an easy session. Yesterday was a PR on the 80 kg log in my tent to get Grace with 80 kg to a sub five minute time. Today I almost made an excuse for myself to have an easy session. Yesterday was a PR on the 80 kg log in my attempts to get Grace with 80 kg to a sub five minute time. However by Settings more manageable intervals I managed to complete 60 reps with 60 kg (double Grace) in eight minutes 30 seconds. Hardly a world record time. However I’m really proud of it. The goal is eventually sub six minutes with this. I know this is incredibly difficult and it’s a goal I might not reach for maybe 6 9 or 12 months. However, it’s worth pursuing. The same as the 80 kg 60 times in five minutes
It’s a unique plan.
Brutal in its simplicity
Simple in its brutality.
Feeling it today. All over body aches. So much for can do their every day lol.
But all joking a side I will be doing 90kg for max reps tonight. To work strength. Then grace for some volume.
Voop voop - 90kg for 8. This is a rep up from the 1st of this month. And honestly I had more. I stopped as I’m feeling tight and shit. And I’m trying to manage this feeling. As I have an hour of course work to do post work out.
Thank you kind sir.
Again, this really is just as simple as it’s all I’ve really done for a good couple of months. When you become solely focus on something for any period of time with any real effort, results to come fairly fast. I will add this log progression is at the expense of other parts of my capacity. Back squat and deadlift; no progress & probably severe aggression really from where I was last year. But that is something I can address going forward.
Looking at tonight’s workout have several options. I spoke to punisher about some ideas. It’s really about knowing how hard to pitch a work out. I do not want to go tearing into work out that I have abs in the hope of completing. But likewise, I do not want to start a workout to get 3/4 of the way through and realise that I have wasted 30 minutes of something that is a kin to a gentle walk.
Through the sand tonight, the goal will be;
1-10-1
Empty log & 100 kg squat.
The end of the night I would’ve done 100 clean impresses of my log, and 100 squats with a 100 kg Axel. I’m sure this will take me towards a 30 minute mark. However, it is one that I can guarantee I will be able to complete as the rest times might get extended towards the end of the workout even by the time I start with 10 reps. I will only have done 55 total. And those weights are manageable at those repetitions past that.
Edit:
I went outside the warmup and realised that my lower back was hurting. A gentle reminder that I am approaching 40 and working out quite hard several times a week. Where is that in mind I took 30kg off of the squat. But otherwise attempted to stay to the plan. Unfortunately, on the second clean and press rep of the down 6 (81) my lower left back finally gave out. This isn’t a major injury and assist and aggravation of an old injury. I’ll be right as rain tomorrow probably maybe. Whatever happens tonight was a bit Kickass. I can feel pretty f***ing proud.
Video to come (now added). Also back is now okay. A hot shower and I’m all good.
Read something today can’t remember where I can’t member what. But it made me rethink about how I’m behaving with regards to training and other parts of my life at the moment. Diet has long been an issue for me. I am and I feel probably always will be a comfort heater. I eat when I’m happy, I’m sad and when I’m bore. When I’m stressed. It’s long been a part of my identity even for my kid.
I am though getting older and I am seeing people I know get very ill. I am in rude health. My resting heart rate is 55 beats per second. My blood pressure is 125/80. But bodyweight remains stubbornly high. Perhaps it’s time I stopped acting like a child with that regard. My body weight is entirely within my gift to to control. Any other assertion is really really pathetic. I need to decide what’s important to me and decide how to attack it. it’s a Dan John quote I think “assess your current goals assess your current behaviour. Do they match”.
Take it one step further. I believe someone’s true goals can be derived from the behaviours. People can articulate their goals verbally. Anyway they wish. But action speak louder than word. What you value will be shown in what you do. Not what you say. And I think if I value my long-term health I will have to start to act.
So starting very shortly (about now). I will start to enter a different mindset with regards to food. Sweeping changes won’t work however, slow deliberate change will. Stage one will be a simple removal of all junk and crap. The definition of which will be anything that I wouldn’t let my kids eat more than a portions a day. Simple.
We will do this for a week and see where I get.
With regards to today’s workout.
Front squats mixed with overhead press. I used to be able to get 40 reps out with 50 kg in under five minutes. However, this was done against the clock and I’m not sure this is the best way to go at the moment. I’m looking to work for slightly longer and not quite as intensely. Something around 15 to 20 minute mark. I was thinking potentially:
1-5 then 10 emom for 18 minutes. This gives me hundred reps.
Possible sidenote I’ve forgotten how much I enjoy ladder progression. It means you can jump straight into a workout with the first three sets are effectively, a warmup. And building that resilience knowing that by sets 678 things are hard. And by set 910 things are very hard. But then you can play a trick in yourself by almost discounting the previous sets. Because the weight should be manageable for those reps.
I agree with this to a point. I think it is possible to have a goal and for your behavior to not match that goal. For me it really just means that either goal is too stretch or too far away, or that the immediate desire to meet that goal. I think in general humans are very bad with doing things now to get a benefit in the future, we are however very good at doing things now for instant gratification. It is why telling someone to stop smoking and put the money in a jar and they will have thousands at the end of the year as well as all the health benefits, just doesn’t work. But if a woman tells a guy to put out that cigarette and come to bed, he hit that ashtray so hard he nearly breaks it.
Maybe you need to either re-assess the goal or have some small daily goals that are easily achievable and reward yourself for them in some way.
We are through the process of evolution very good at dealing with acute issues. And not so much chronic ones. This is true. And I do concede that this does cloud the discussion. However the truth is - even if you are not doing the right things right away. A person will always do what they want. But what they think they want and what they really want might not be the same thing. Which is why lots of people fail their diet. They say they want to lose weight. But they do not. They like the idea of losing weight. They do not want to under take the sacrifice to get there.
any way - exercise stuff:
Touch rugby for 90mins on Sunday. Easy enough. I tried to work out Tuesday night but I have REALLY tight glutes. I got 3 reps in and pulled up. Tonight I have changed a few things. I have stopped back squats and clean and press. As these are the exercises I was doing when this pingged.
I have replaced with front squat and press / push press. I will just work this and work on fixing my anterior pelvic tilt. Which this is all part off. Basically I’m a little bit mess up around the hips. But a few weeks of core work and stretching and I’ll be fine. Until then less posterior work and more anterior.
Tonight:
1-10 press and front squat with 50kg not timed or in a rush.
100 burpees. Not timed or rushed.
Simple work out tonight:
Press - two working sets 6 & 7
70kg
Front squat 1 working set of 10
120kg
I was SO tempted to do back squats afterwards. But I held off as my kid simply asked “are you stupid”. He saw me struggle into the bath last night.
Also - weight wise. cutting out lots of bad stuff. But not all. I’m much better. However older habits are harder to break. The main issue is that for 6 months I was doing manual labour for a job. Now I’m sat down. The rapid drop in calories required has not filtered down to my eating habits. And they are habits. I’m sat here now not hungry but wanting to eat out of habit.
I want a chocolate spread sandwich. I have 2 chicken thighs in the fridge. It is not the same.
