Brown pudding with sprinkles,
Brown pudding with pineapple chunks,
Brown pudding with… 
I’m too good at this for my own good.
Kidding aside, that is a good strategy. I don’t do buffets anymore, but when I did I’d zero in on one or two things and just crush them.
@Koestrizer It’s been a helpful revelation for sure. Helps with portion sizes too. Went from 16oz steaks to 6oz that way…but I still miss them, haha.
@simo74 One of my kid’s favorite places to go to has a nacho bar…the temptation…
@SkyzykS My dad did a lot of business in Vegas and would take me along as a kid, so buffets will always hold a special place in my heart, haha.
AM WORKOUT (0300 wake up via alarm)
10 rounds of the following
8x225 front squats
Rogue dogsled pushes (distance unknown, but consistent)
75 seconds rest between rounds
20 GHR sit ups
50 band pull aparts
25 band pushdowns
Tabata assault bike
Notes: Last workout before getting home, and this has become a bit of a tradition. Left calf cramped up pretty good on the 6th round. Dehydration has been an issue here. This was a solid lungbreaker.
Always found that to be a bigger struggle than the oxygen when I’ve been in the elevation.
I lived in CO for ~4 months back in college and did a lot of running and hiking out there. I remember the first run I did when I got back home sucked big time. The air was so thick (summer in New England) and I felt like I was cutting through it with each step. Oxygen be damned haha.
That and the work ops tempo combine. Not much time for bathroom breaks, which means not as much freedom for hydration. It’s a tight rope for sure.
Feel that man. Completely different line of work, but similar bathroom availability. Always makes for an interesting day when I get called in after Thai dinner.
Training Log: Entry 2522
LUNCHTIME WORKOUT
20 chins
Texas Deadlift Bar TnG Deadlifts
5x135
5x225
5x315
5x405
5x455
5x505
14+3+4x405 (rest pause)
Axle shrugs against light bands
112
GIANT SET CIRCUIT (no rest between rounds) hyper-ab-dip
Reverse hypers 360
4x10
Standing ab wheel
4x5
Dips
2x13
2x12
20 chins
Kroc rows 115
1x19
Band pull aparts
50
Notes: Had some family drop in, so schedule was a little different than usual. I spent the whole morning with my head spinning feeling weak, then came in and crushed these deadlift sets, and then the workout was over and I was back to the head spins. Most likely a sign of low calories, but it’s crazy how tuned in my body is to perform when the time comes. These were some of the strongest pulls I’ve had in a while. Belt is fitting loose again, and that’s later in the day no less. I was just thinking about hitting a deload week and transitioning to SVR II before this, but now things are seeming to be moving solid again. Got a few days to think about it.
Working a 12 tomorrow and then a decent amount of downtime.
AM WORKOUT (0300 wake up via alarm)
FAUST (Make a deal with the Devil…press)
100 devil preses w/50lbs
EMOM: 5 chins
28 rounds to completion
50 pull aparts
25 push downs
50 dips
20 standing ab wheel
40 reverse hypers
Tabata high handle trap bar pulls w/135lbs
Notes: Came up with Faust sometime yesterday after the deadlifts. Traditionally I do burpees the day after deads to avoid loading the body, and figured this would be close enough. I’ve had “100 devil presses” on my mind for a while, and this was a solid way to go about it. Very Kalsu-esque. Similar difficulty level, but it moves quicker. Think if I do it again, once the presses are done I might wrap it up with 100 burpees.
First 50 chins were strict. Remainder were done kipping. Kipping actually works better as far as the workout construction goes, but I wanted to include my daily work.
Did a make up Tang Soo Do class last night, since I was away during my normal time. Was invited to participate in the senior student class…but since this is martial arts, that meant it was teenagers vs adults. I at least got to show that the old man could keep up with the physical conditioning. Got to spar the instructor for a round. Threw several spinning back kicks. Ask me the last time I EVER did that. When the sparring rules are so restrictive, you start finding a use for some of the more interesting moves. That said, I’m still having a blast doing SOME kind of sparring. My conditioning shows itself. One round is about all these folks can manage. Biggest issue I have is “control”, as I really want to spar for real but I’m doing my best to hold back.
Did you use Danse Macabre for the soundtrack?
It was mostly the sound of me saying “of f**k me” every time my timer told me a minute had passed.
If we ever meet, as the space-time continuum collapses, I’ll give you one hell of a sparring session.
For some reason I envision it going like this
God, I love that movie.
It was such a crowning moment for Muay Thai nerds the world over.
Finally got the rest of my lab results back. My triglycerides are 37, which is a 9 point drop from my last measurement. That’s just nuts.
Glucose was at 93.6, which I think speaks to how the body is good at making that stuff out of protein in the absence of eating enough of it. Hemoglobin was 4.89%.
So just great news all around. Along with that, found out I won’t have to move until summer 2023 at least, so we’re all pretty happy about that now.
With things looking solid healthwise again, I’m looking to expand red meat consumption some. I’ve got a bison tri tip and pot roast en route to my location, and have a fair amount of gorund bison in the freezer.
Awesome news all around. Great to hear about your health markers being on the up and up, and a little more stability in the home is always a plus. Glad to hear things are falling into place all around.
On the topic of health, its interesting to me that difference between “athletic” and “Healthy.” Even when your health markers looked a little concerning… 7 months ago? Whenever that was, you were still a physical animal. great conditioning, very strong, low bodyfat, but still had a couple issues. There is definitely a crazy strong correlation between physical fitness and actual health, but it is always surprising to see when the two dont always align. Happy to see you’re crushing it in both aspects now.
@atlas13 Much appreciated dude. In an ideal world, health and performance link together, but it’s definitely possible to make them diverge. At the time of my really high LDL rating, I was the strongest I’d ever been, but I was also pushing hard to go up a weight class and was making some awful nutritional decisions to get there. When I got to my leanest, same story different outcome: crashed my hormones. Finding this balance has been a journey, but a good one.
PM WORKOUT (1500)
20 seconds on/10 seconds off of the following
Round 1: Stone of steel to shoulder
Round 2: 40k KB swings
Round 3: Burpees
For 50 rounds
Notes: Still a solid circuit. Pushing the rounds gets punishing. Also knocked out all my daily work in the AM.
AM WORKOUT (0545 wake up via alarm, 0700 workout)
25 chins
GIANT SETS (press-chin-pull)
Axle clean and strict press away
5xAxle
5x146
5x166
5x185
16+5+5x146 (2 rep PR)
Chins
6x5
Band pull aparts
6x10
(3) Incline DB bench 100s
9+3+4 (2 rep PR) +2 w/reactive slingshot +4 w/metal catapult
Dips
8xBW
8x30
8x55
8x80
9+4+4x105 (2 rep PR) w/immediate stripset of
2x80
4x55
5x30
5xBW
+25 band pushdown
Meadows rows 100
1x24 (2 rep PR)
Poundstone curls
173xAxle
Notes: This went much better than expected. My hips are killing me these mornings, and I’m still dealing with pretty persistent headspins, but I crushed everything. PRs abound, and my belt is fitting much looser than it was at the start, so the fat loss is on point as well. I kept my TM the same here: I think having a PR to chase works better for me and is giving me some ammo to dig deep.
Thinking of doing a weighted vest walk later for some lower intensity conditioning. If weather is nice, I’ll get a run in with the Mrs tomorrow.
@simo74 & @T3hPwnisher - sorry gents, I saw that you’d replied, was going to wait to respond till the evening, then promptly forgot all about it.
I think just to get healthier. I’m sure looking better would be on there as well, but like I said, they’re just trying to begin making healthier choices for themselves.
I’ve definitely seen this. Some guys I’ve started helping in the past take so long to learn how to squat, hip hinge, etc. I’m not even a huge stickler for form, but I do try to have them look at least somewhat good, considering they’ve always been complete beginners with zero body awareness and weak bodies, and not lifting veterans like yourself who are aware of what their bodies can handle. Anyway, they take sooo long to get anything down. It’s like they have no clue how to control their bodies.
But thanks for the layout. That’s kind of what I was thinking. I don’t know that they’ll get involved in a sport - it’s a little different for an adult with a job and not a kid with endless rec leagues available to them, but if they sincerely want help, I’ll mention a sport and let them make their own decision regarding it.
Those Tate articles are pretty good. I remember reading them way back.
I think Pwn already gave a pretty good path starting at some general movement through a sport, then transitioning to BW movements, machines and lastly big barbell movements. I totally get your point about an adult not having options or having less options to join a sport. I think if the goal is just to get healthier then some simple BW stuff with some walking thrown in is a good place to start. Being or getting healthy is a lot about creating new routine and consistently doing something rather than nothing. If a new trainee cant find time to walk three times a week and do some push ups or BW squats then its unlikely they are going to stick to a complicated gym session that they don’t understand. Once they have created a stuck to the new routine and it is clear they will continue then you can start to add more. it also goes without saying that this also applies to what they put in their mouth. Simple changes can make a big difference but they only work if the person sticks to them.
@jshaving Those physical skills are pretty incredible. It’s SO worth developing in youth, as they last forever, and their absence is very noteworthy as you have observed. I remember you having a bit of a martial arts drought over there, which is a shame, because I find that to be a little more approachable of an “adult sport”. I’ve honestly thought that the next big wave in fitness would be “adult recess”. If I cared enough to lose a lot of money, I’d set it up so you get a group of like minded adults together and just play. Tag, dodgeball, 4 square, half court basketball, etc. “Play” is really big for fitness.
@simo74 It’s honestly what’s so awesome about fitness: at the start, a little bit goes a LONG way. Switch from regular soda to diet and lose 10lbs. Go for walks in the evening and drop your blood pressure. But like all good drugs, we develop a tolerance and have to up the dosage.
Speaking of…
AM WORKOUT (0530 wake up via alarm, 0700 workout)
GIANT SETS (jump-squat-row)
Box jumps
3x4
Buffalo bar squat
5xBar
5x140
5x230
5x335
5x385
5x425
SSB squat
10+4+4x330 (rest pause)
T-bar rows
10x100
10x125
3x10x150
SUPERSET (hyper-squat) 1 min rest
Reverse hyper 360
4x15
Belt squat
3x20x200
STRIPSET (no rest/lockout)
28x200
Reps of 175, 150, 125, 100, 75, 50, 25 and bare axle
SSB lunges 100
1x35
20 standing ab wheels
AM WORKOUT II (1040)
95lb thrusters/45lb KB snatches
10x5
5x3
5x1-Time: 17:18
Lawn maintenance as well
Notes: The SSB still swallows my soul. I’m out of practice with it and it finds all my weaknesses. Tough balancing act between it and the buffalo bar, which also has a habit of finding where I am weak. I’m pleased with how the heavy topset went. I’m really appreciating having 5s pro in this approach. Lunges are a good idea, but I need to go heavier.
Conditioning workout is still just a great one. One of my better bad ideas. Needs a name.
Going for a run with the Mrs later, then up early for training in the morning.