More Trouble Than I Am Worth: Chaos Is The Plan (T3hPwnisher Log)

[T3hPwnisher]

@dagill2 @Friedrich @EmilyQ Thanks so much all! Appreciate the love from my online family.

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AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm, really good night of sleep)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 1, Workout 5

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN: Week 1, Workout 3

MAIN WORK

Buffalo bar squat
4x8x308

Axle strict press from rack
3x8x148
1x6+2x148

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) DB Incline bench
3x12x65s
1x11+1x65

DB rows
4x12x115

GHRs
4x12x20

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Lateral raises
40x10

Notes:

• Squats felt absolutely incredible. Zero issues finding depth, knee only ached on the very first rep, smooth and strong. I always look at the video and don’t care for the depth, so I spend time during the squat in training ensuring that I’m going as deep as my body will allow. The low bar placement with my bizarre anthropomorphy just makes for ugly squatting. This was also technically less work than Monday, since I screwed up the reps on that workout, but considering I finally recovered from my DOMS, I ‘m good with that.
• Progress all around on the pressing. The GHRs also hit different doing it at the end of the workout vs breaking it up like I did on Monday.
• Tang Soo Do was challenging this week, and helped me identify that I’m dealing with two different issues with my knee, which is helpful. The tendonosis is resolving but the pain in the knee cap itself worsens with jump/snap kicks. Good to know.
• Keg carry was 203.5lbs yesterday. Weighed in at 82.9kg this morning.
• Going to get in some extra steps escorting my kiddo and their friends Trick or Treating today. They’re finally too old to trick or treat with dad, but at least willing to have a off in the corner chaperone while they’re out and about. I fully plan to “go as the Punisher” and don my skullshirt and leather jacket, just to make people think twice about messing around with that particular pack of kiddos.

[T3hPwnisher]

Nutrition recap

Breakfast was the same as its been all week. Dinner, I cashed in all my birthday freebies and got 2 sidekicks of ribs and a bowl of chili from Texas Roadhouse and 6 naked wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. Just ate the meat out of the chili.

[TrainForPain]

Glad you still get to go trick or treating! This was the first year I was totally uninvited - it hurt a bit.
I really enjoyed your MtG blog series.

[T3hPwnisher]

@TrainForPain Glad you dug the series dude! It was a blast to write. One of those where I start typing, finish up and discover that I’ve put 6000 words on page, haha. And yeah, I took the W where I could on the Trick or Treating. Even if it’s just as a chaperone, it’s still some time left. Although maybe when I’m fully uninvited I’ll just run the smoker and offer brisket. Which actually relates to today…

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Just going to narrate today. Kiddo got me up at 0440 because the dog had an accident in the kennel and wouldn’t go back to sleep. I dozed next to the dog’s kennel until about 0600, then we got up and played for a bit while the rest of the family slept. I fasted until noon, just a black coffee with some electrolytes around 0800. I did one meal today, and made it worth it: we went to a new Brazilian steakhouse to officially celebrate my birthday, since Tuesday wasn’t really a great day to do it.

I’ve only ever been to Texas de Brazil to compare against, but in turn, I liked this place more. The meat wasn’t overly seasoned or marinaded like it is at TdB, and, in fact, needed salt, but I could salt to taste just fine. There was a much larger variety, to include brisket along with lamb chops, ribeye, shrimp, salmon, pork belly, and then the classic staples, to the point that there were only 1 or 2 meats that actually came around twice.

Typically, I’m eating at one of these places for about 90 minutes, but today was a modest 45 minutes and I was more than satiated. It was very enjoyable. Got a free slice of Tres Leches cake for my birthday, which my kiddo is a fan of, so they enjoyed some of it and then we brought the rest home.

I definitely don’t feel like I need to eat again for a while. I really dig this approach to nutrition.

We got home and I unloaded groceries from the truck and rested for about an hour before getting in some training

EMOM Sandbag sprawl and carry

EMOM sandbag sprawl and carry. 200+lb bag, sprawl and bearhug carry the length of the driveway. Got through the first 6 rounds without issue, died on the 7th, took a minute to finish it and called it. I see this having some very direct carryover to the grappling competition on the 7th.

I’m really in just an awesome headspace these days. Gaining phases just really lift me up. I love having a clear goal I’m chasing in training and being able to see that goal get realized, and then to be able to eat with a purpose to support it. I appreciate the leaning out phases for setting me up FOR these phases in training/life, but it’s when I’m here that I’m where I want to be.

[burien_top_team]

@T3hPwnisher

That’s what “the industry” is: take simple things and make them complex.

Bill Cosby (I know, I know …) had a great line: “Intellectuals are people who go to school to learn how to do things naturally.”

I share this as a proud intellectual, by the way.

[EmilyQ]

@T3hPwnisher

That said, @EmilyQ shined light on something that was really so awesome to me: the whole world pretty much forgives “self-centeredness” in the month of January. It’s the month that you get to be all about you, because it’s all about “New Year, new me”. And yeah, that’s SUPPOSED to be for ALL year, but no one sticks with that.

I’ve been meaning to come back to this, because it surprised me as a representation of my love of January. I read it while out of town, and spent time thinking about it on the drive home. What I came to, reflecting, was that you tend to have an external focus with regard to the differences between you and the others you may feel are judging you, whereas I come from what I think may be a very “mom” place. For me, January represents the time of year when no one wants or needs anything from me. In mom-speak, “I finally have a minute to myself.” Everyone is tired and overstimulated, so we barely check in with one another, and I can relax into budget- and body-friendly behavior. Loads of sleep, weekends at home, and too cold to want to go out to eat and drink after dark but not too cold to go out snowshoeing during what little bit of daylight we have here.

So what makes me unusual is that I have four kids, and now they’re multiplying as adults with new people coming in at a steady rate, either by invitation or birth. Once upon a time there were the kids and the high energy dogs and work, and before that school for a long time, and through it all trying to find time for my workouts and for posting here. Visiting my son last weekend, in fact, we laughed over my crazy over the top reactions when he would wake the babies while I was working out, or when they later startled me on the treadmill for non-essential requests/questions.

What makes you unusual is your quite exceptional level of achievement. I’ve always gotten some attention for my physique, so I know how it feels to hear people either express surprise over food quantities/choices or tell me that I of all people can afford to slack, so I can only imagine the crazy responses you get. I urge you not to feel defensive about it, like you have to have permission to be exactly who you are. January as the month when nothing interferes, rather than the month when you have permission to be focused on yourself. EVERYONE is self-centered, just in different ways. I should perhaps have waited for my kids to be grown to start grad school, as it completely stole me from the family. Was it selfish of me to want that achievement and the career that followed? Yes! Does it matter that I’ve profoundly helped other peoples’ kids as a result? Depends who you ask. But at the end of the day it only matters what I think and what my children think, because I’ve given them (internal to me) permission to weigh my actions. Three of the four are fitness oriented, two very much so, and the fourth followed me into social work. So it would seem that the people whose approval deeply matters to me are making similar choices, which I take as violent agreement (lol).

January:

Sorry for writing a book!

[T3hPwnisher]

@EmilyQ

Sorry for writing a book!

Never be sorry: I love hearing your thoughts!

@EmilyQ

I urge you not to feel defensive about it

The only time I’d say I feel defensive is when the effort is diminished. “You can eat whatever you want: you’re just built that way”. That’s a little annoying. But when it’s the typical “oh go ahead, you work so hard, you can relax”, I appreciate where the sentiment is coming from.

I love the way you’ve framed up January here. It’s just such a positive way to embrace what is typically a throwaway month of resolutions.

[EmilyQ]

@T3hPwnisher

a throwaway month of resolutions

Hey now, I’ve almost gotten my standing “be more patient” resolution knocked out. I think just another 15-20 years of resolute focus on the matter for 1.25 weeks each year will finally see it accomplished!

[T3hPwnisher]

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL Week 2, Workout 1

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN: Week 2, Workout 1

MAIN CLUSTER

Buffalo bar squat
4x6x330

Axle strict press from rack
4x6x158

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

(3) Incline DB bench
4x10x70s

DB row
4x10x125

GHR
4x10x30

ASSISTANCE

GHR sit up
3x10

Notes:

• Seemed to be running slow this morning: didn’t have time at the end of the workout for any additional assistance.
• Squats felt great. Very strong and smooth. Knee is in a good way. Bar placement was right. Got cold enough to wear a shirt, which meant the bar wasn’t quite as grippy.
• The lower rep sets bode well for pressing. Zero issues completing sets. Rested 2 minutes on the main, 90 seconds on the incline, 1 minute everywhere else.
• Keg carry yesterday was 207.5. I’m moving fast again with the lighter weight, and actually ended up tripping over my feet and tossing the keg to the ground on the return trip. Picked it back up and carried through.
• Called my weight pretty well this morning. Thought I’d be 84kg, was 84.1. Also, my resting heart rate jumped 5 points yesterday, from 39 to 44. Once again, this correlated with the day after I’ve had a large meal (the Brazilian steakhouse), which I feel points to a notion of NEAT increasing in the presence of increased food intake. I’ll get to repeat the experiment, as we booked another reservation on 11 Nov. It’s a great time to be gaining.
• On that note, family meal last night of spaghetti with piedmontese meat sauce, some sourdough fried in ghee, and a dessert bar of some leftover birthday pumpkin cheesecake, a banana bread minimuffin topped with some raw honey, and 2 of the Valkyrie’s peanutbutter Halloween cookies. She took some of the leftover chocolate candies we had, cut them up and threw them in the mix. Wonderfully delicious.

[T3hPwnisher]

Nutrition Recap

Breakfast for this week is 13oz of leg of lamb, 1oz (cooked) of pork loin, some beef liver, 3 whole eggs and 5 whites. Employed some sour cream as well.

For dinner, we did some pork tenderloin. I ate until I was satisfied, with 3 whole eggs and 5 whites.

[T3hPwnisher]

AM WORKOUT (0520 wake up via Valkyrie’s alarm, rough night of sleep)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 2

“ROW ROW ROW YOUR BLOAT”

20minute recovery row

Notes:

• Kiddo got me up at about 0330, informing me that the puppy wouldn’t go back to sleep. Laid down next to it’s kennel for about an hour, then inch wormed my way out of the room to go sleep off the rest of the night in my own bed. It was honestly a pretty good ab workout, as I’m in no way being hyperbolic about inch worming: if, at any point, my upper torso was not connected to the floor, the dog would wake up and cry. So I had to move only my lower torso to drag me slowly across the floor to create the illusion I was still sleeping next to the dog. Remember when Conan had to do the same thing to escape from the slumbering wolves? Yeah, me neither.
• Semi-related news, but I’ve rediscovered a love for coffee I didn’t know I had. The cold weather brings it out of me. I’m limiting myself to 1 cup a day, in the morning, a few hours after breakfast. I have a tendency to easily become addicted to things.
• I tried to make this workout slightly more intense than usual while still keeping it low intensity. Basically focusing on a smooth transition between phases of the row, rather than anything herky jerky.
• Had my annual physical today, and it was a let down. Wanted to get some imaging on my right knee, but the doc just did a hands on exam, remarked at the incredible shape my knee was in for a 40 year old, and then offered some Vitamin M (iykyk) as a solution. Told him I flat out was NOT going to get on a daily anti-inflammatory protocol, especially after hearing about Nick Best losing his kidney doing that, and when I informed him that alleve makes my bowels bleed, he was at least willing to entertain a physical therapy solution, so I have that in my future.
• Keg carry was 208.5 yesterday. Weighed in at 84.7kg this morning. Tang Soo Do on the schedule tonight.

[s.gentz]

@T3hPwnisher

Had my annual physical today, and it was a let down. Wanted to get some imaging on my right knee, but the doc just did a hands on exam, remarked at the incredible shape my knee was in for a 40 year old, and then offered some Vitamin M (iykyk) as a solution. Told him I flat out was NOT going to get on a daily anti-inflammatory protocol, especially after hearing about Nick Best losing his kidney doing that, and when I informed him that alleve makes my bowels bleed, he was at least willing to entertain a physical therapy solution, so I have that in my future.

Will they not send you for imaging on your request? It seems insane to me that they will have 0 issue dishing out meds with 0 imaging.
It’s amazing to me how clueless doctors have become. Good on you for being your own advocate.

[T3hPwnisher]

Thanks man! After my recent experiences with the medical system, I’ve learned where to stand my ground. My doc said “Well I use a daily anti-inflammatory, and I wouldn’t ever prescribe something to a patient I wouldn’t take myself”, and my immediate thought was “Doc: you don’t look like something I aspire to be”. I was more polite than that, haha.

Unfortunately, the terms of my insurance provider prevent me from getting imaging unless the doc rules it necessary. However, my hope would be, in the presence of a physical therapy team, I may be able to opt for a second opinion. Or, even better: perhaps PT is all I need.

[s.gentz]

Imaging is not super expensive out of pocket(depending on what you want of course). My insurance poo pood a calcium score test and it was only $170 out of pocket. The gold standard of heart testing and insurance would rather pay for heart surgery/heart attack recovery than a simple 5 min scan. I’m sure they are charging the insurance company a little more than $170 though!!!
Hopefully this get worked out for you. Injury is very frustrating!!

[T3hPwnisher]

Much appreciated dude. It’s not even really injury as much as just chronic pain. I can perform just fine, but sitting for 20+ minutes just puts me in agony. As soon as I stretch out the knee, it’s fine again. I definitely have out of pocket as a solution, but I’ll also be able to change my insurance provider in about 1.5 years, so we’ll see how things go as we go along. I’m definitely keeping that avenue alive if I ever have to get my blood lipids done again (which, thankfully, I avoided this time).

[T3hPwnisher]

Nutrition Recap

Breakfast was the same as yesterday. Dinner was 20 paleo Italian style chicken meatballs (From Amylu foods), 1 Don Lee Farms grilled chicken breast patty, 3 whole eggs and 5 whites.

[T3hPwnisher]

AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 3

TACTICAL BARBELL MASS PROTOCOL GREY MAN: Week 2, Workout 2

MAIN CLUSTER

Axle bench press
5x6x231

(5) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
10+5+4x470

SUPPLEMENTAL CLUSTER

Lever belt squat
5x10x205

Dips/axle curls superset
4x10x65/76

ASSISTANCE

Reverse hyper/standing ab wheel superset
2x15x360/2x10

Chins between sets

Notes:

• Last night, I had a subluxation in my right knee, the very knee my doctor yesterday remarked was “incredibly healthy for a 40 year old knee with no sign of damage) when locking out a kick in Tang Soo Do. It swole up a little and felt a little junky this morning, but as training went on it seemed fine. During the mat pulls, the weight felt a little heavier on the knee than usual, but zero issues during the belt squats. Honestly, switching to flat soled shoes has been a gamemchanger there, and I’m an idiot for not trying that sooner.
• Bench is perfectly dialed in weight wise. Rested 2 minutes between sets of that, then 1 minute on the squats. For the superset, I rested a minute after the superset was done, but had shorter rests between the dips and curls, just for the sake of time. I was moving slow today.
• Once again, I have no idea how I managed those mat pulls. It really is like a miracle every time it breaks off the mats, and then somehow I find 9 more reps, and then the next two pulls are easier than the first one. I have no idea if I’m on borrowed time on this, but I’m just going to keep riding it out as much as I can. When the wheels fall off, I’ll reset the weight and go for some rep PRs.
• Carried a 210lb keg yesterday, weighed in at 83.9kg. Funny to see the weight drop after eating 20 meatballs for dinner.
• Someone signed up in the weight class above me and 2 master’s categories below me for the grappling tournament, making him a young whippersnapper at the age of 31. However, I’m excited to have someone a little closer to my age, and this will mean I really don’t need to sweat making weight, so if no one shows up for my own category, there’s at least a chance I have someone to play with in Dec. It happens to be the same day as our Tang Soo Do holiday party, so it behooves me to move quickly.
• On that note: Tang Soo Do tonight as well. I’ll try to keep my knee in one place, although I truthfully wanted to experience a full dislocation just so I could have limped back to that doctor and been like “Hey, how about a second opinion now?”

I’ll always be a Colossus fan, but also a Juggernaut fan, so this picture challenges me.

[simo74]

@T3hPwnisher

so this picture challenges me.

Depends whether you think this depicts Colossus throwing Juggernaut, or Juggernaut diving on Colossus from the top rope.

[T3hPwnisher]

AM WORKOUT (0350 wake up via alarm)

TACTICAL BARBELL GREY MAN Week 2, Workout 4

“GO RUCK YOURSELF”

Treadmill walk w/20.4lb tac carrier

Speed: 3.5mph
Incline: 4.5
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 90 minutes

Notes:

• Felt good again. Time passed pretty quickly, minus a few parts that felt like it sucked. Still keeping it reasonable and more in the realm of recovery vs an actual workout.
• Keg carry 211lbs yesterday. Weighed in at 82.8kg this morning. Been a lot of lean dinners this week. Pork tenderloin, chicken meatballs, and last night was venison ring bologna. But this extended weekend is going to have a LOT of feasting.
• Tang Soo Do was pretty low energy last night. One more class tonight.

[raven78]

@T3hPwnisher

subluxation in my right knee

Partial dislocation obviously didn’t effect Tang Soo Do based on above post? let the chaos continue!