~75-80 minutes. I move fast through the warmups and early swings, but it still takes forever.
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Did my pull workout. I’ll try to remember to come back and write it up, but now it’s time to grill and celebrate freedom with my pair of second amendments popping out of my shirt sleeves. Take that, my wrong side of the pond friends!
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Grill looked good and then you went and spoil it with shite beer, LOL
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But it’s brewed in Ohio! I only drink wussy beers
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More manly than me, i don’t drink any 
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More wise than me
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Na just older and more tired
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Quick update while I remember!
Fourth of July was super fun. The kids had friends over, we all got sunburnt and ate meat, good times all around. I am still learning this grill, and the ribs were a little tough, but that just means I need to practice more.
I went down the kids inflatable water slide (it’s like a bounce house, almost) a few times. I got a little confident, and dropped into one my slides. I went right through the cushion of air and landed right on the concrete before surrendering to the pool. My tailbone is definitely bruised and I’m super whiny about it. The worst pain of all, though, is my wife asking me how I find a way to get hurt no matter what we’re doing. Because I do it better, that’s why!
Anyway, the pull workout the other day brought me up to 4000 swings. I thought about not doing them today, to rest my weary butt, but I freaking hate them and I want this over with so we went ahead and got after it.
Today was a pump leg workout, so the breaks are supposed to be 60 seconds. Mine were definitely longer, probably 90, because I was not sprinting through the swings. It wasn’t too bad, though, because the long sets of 50 typically came between exercises. We’re at 4500; tomorrow will get us halfway. I thought they would hurt, but they really didn’t. I was a little tentative the first few, but then it was fine. It’s just touching my broken butt that hurts.
-
Seated Leg Curls
Couple warmups, then 3 x 15 to failure -
Leg Press
This freaking hurt sitting into it, but once I got set and it’s just back against the pad I was fine.
3pps/10
5pps/10
7pps/15
8pps/12 + 8 + 4
This smoked me. I sucked at everything else after this. -
Leg Extension
One set with flexes at the top, one cluster set -
Belt Squat
I started really pausing these at the bottom, which I felt like forced my quads to work. This was supposed to be a DB squat, but we have a belt squat and I like it, so there you go.
1pps/10
2pps/12
2pps/8 + 5 + 3 -
Standing Calf
2 cluster sets -
Hanging Leg Raises
This was supposed to be situps, but no way was I laying down.
4 sets
Got in a solid weighted dog walk this morning. I took the dying one. He lunged at a jogger pretty aggressively, which is absolutely not his norm (he loves people), so I know he’s a little scared. He’s towards the end of the time they gave him anyway.
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I should have added, @rugby_lifting, since you asked earlier: this one took me right at an hour. I think without the swings it was probably a 40-minute workout; I was definitely not pushing myself to move fast.
The main days are taking more like 80 minutes. I don’t think they would change significantly without the swings, because I’m fitting them into the rest breaks I would normally take.
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This was something I noticed during my run of it. You literally become a kettlebell swinging machine. Everything will feel awful, and then you hit those first few swings and settle into a groove and feel “natural”, then you put the bell down and self-destruct, haha.
That grill looks clutch! Glad you could put it to some use.
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I was surprised how “good” I got at them in just a few sessions. It’s a pretty natural movement for the body to figure out. I’m still sore all the time, though.
The grill is pretty slick! It lights up and cleans up really quickly and easily. I just gotta figure out the temperatures and time. I also used to use a lot of juice (usually apple) when I was smoking, and I haven’t done as much of that here, which is likely the main variable.
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Here’s a thought to throw out there to you crazy animals who have figured the world out:
How the hell do you pull off training any time other than first thing in the morning?
Here’s the background for my question - I’ve always been a first thing in the morning lifter. Even when I played, the weight room was in the morning and practice was in the afternoon. Then the Army was, of course, all about not sleeping. Then real life happened and I just think it made a ton of sense to go first thing: my kids don’t miss me while they’re asleep, the work day doesn’t get in the way, I never have an excuse, and I tend to be up anyway.
Here’s the wrench (well, a handful of wrenches):
- I’ve actually been sleeping lately. It’s amazing, and I am not going to mess that up. That’s really not a huge deal, because sleeping may just mean I wake up at a normal time instead of 2, but I don’t want to mess with it.
- My kids are older, which means the time spent with them is actually a little later into the evening. So now we’re out catching fireflies and doing their art projects and that kind of thing, so they’re staying up later… I can’t pull off my early bedtime anyway.
- I actually like being the person in the morning to help with their stuff - feeding them breakfast and the like. I’m not used to being the home person. I used to travel about twice as much as I do now and had an office when in town (I’m remote now), so this is fun for me.
- My son’s middle school (in the fall) will be further away and riding the bus would have him on there way early for a long time. He’ll have to do that in the afternoon, anyway, but things stress him out and I’d rather reduce it and drive him if I can.
In the summer, it’s been fine. I walk the dogs when I wake up, come home and do breakfast and get the kids to camp if it’s a camp week, then I’ve been able to lift around lunchtime because most of the work world is on various vacations. I doubt it will be that simple in the fall, but I’m probably overthinking that. Anyway, I’ll fit stuff in wherever I have to, so I’m not necessarily looking for “the answer.”
I’m just curious, for those of you that lift not first thing in the morning, how do you make it happen without life taking over and getting in your way? Do you block your calendars, etc.?
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I’m a swinger, baby, and my forearms are killing me.
Halfway through!
Did a push workout I don’t feel like writing out. It was punctuated by pin presses at the end, which were super fun and really smoked my triceps. After this 6 weeks, I need to do something with a focus on some of those ugly 90s move.
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Better than being a baby swinger.
I work remotely and either block my calendar off, or just disappear for a bit and do a quick workout at home. I have fewer responsibilities (read: children) than you though.
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I’ve always worked out in the evenings or afternoons. With the exception of when I was wrestling in college when we had mandatory lifts early in the morning before classes. Nowadays, It’s always After work, unless I was working a job were I worked evenings and then I’d lift around noon. I just feel more awake and like I can give a better effort and love my session more if it’s later in the day. I’m very bad about getting up early and I love sleeping in. I have no kids, just a wife. I lift on the days she works and rest on her days off, which is a rotating nurse schedule of 3 days on 2 off.
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It is hard to balance everything. I’ve also been a morning workout person and usually gone straight to work afterwards. Ow my kids are older they really put the pressure on to be there in the mornings as well. That’s how I end up doing 4 days a week in the gym.
I from one home either Monday or Tuesday so both mornings I go gym and one I see them and one I don’t. Then Wednesday they always get me at home in the morning before work, the.man I do the same Thursday/ Friday being seeing them one day and not the other.
I also make sure I’m always around early evenings and weekends as the norm. If I’m out I try to see the kids after work and then go out a bit later.
It’s all about balance though and I’m not sure my wife agrees that I’ve always got the balance correct but it seems to work ok.
Only problem is when I work or something else comes up it can cause an issue with routine.
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Great conversation - thanks, all!
Today was a pull day. 5500 swings
-
HS Low Row
1pps/10
2pps/6
3pps/8
2.25pps/12
2.25pps/ 12 + 3 + 3 -
Assisted Pull-ups
3 x 10 -
DB Hyper
This was supposed to be with a BB, but I cannot set that up in a way that gives me any ROM. I also didn’t do swings between these - mostly because this was upstairs and I didn’t want to lug the KB up, but it also just worked out.
I used two 50s and held them together and did 2 sets of 10. -
Straight-arm Pulldown
2 x 10 -
Standing DB Row
65/8
85/12 x 2
Got a good connection with these today.
Then I hung from a pull-up bar, because I’m Batman. -
Cable Crunch
This was supposed to be sit-ups, but my butt still hurts and I didn’t want to.
4 x 10 -
EZ Drag Curl
Because I make drag look easy
40/10
60/10
70/10
70/10 + 6 + 4 -
Machine Preacher
3 x 10
Then off to train my people and now I need to shower and get the kids to Kings Island so I can throw up on roller coasters
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It is a simple case of planning and having a understanding partner.
Today is Monday.
That means the kids went back to school (just been on 2 weeks break down here).
Get up at 5.30, shit, shower shave, dressed
Breakfast which means clean up anything left in the kitchen from the last evening, cook my own eggs, wake up the kids (just open their doors and say good morning, that’s usually enough to get them at least thinking about waking up).
Get the kids breakfast sorted and pack my lunches for work (these were food prepped on Sunday and in the fridge).
Clean up the kitchen again, and say good bye to the misses (shes just getting up now).
7.00 leave for work.
My kids are all old enough and we live close enough for the to ride bikes to school so their is no school drop off or pick up.
Home around 4.30. say hello to the misses and kids, both daughters will already be doing or have finished their homework. I will have to have a negotiation with my son to get him started on his homework and keep at eye on him for the next 45 mins,
While he is doing that I start any prep needed for dinner. The misses usually cooks but I will help with anything I can, this means I will also clean the kitchen again because my wife will lovingly leave the mess for me. She works from home and is usually still working when I get home, or of she is done working she will go for walk to get some ‘me’ time.
5.15 take my son to Karate, I will usually stay and watch this, its only 45 mins so not worth driving their and back again.
Get home from Karate just after 6.30, change into my gym clothes and go to the gym. Whilst I am at the gym my wife will drop my daughter at Karate. She is older and has a later class.
I will finish my work out and then pick my daughter up from karate on the way home from the gym around 8.15.
Once I am home from the gym it is the usual, shower, eat and then crash on the couch. Obviously somewhere in there I get the kids to bed and clean the kitchen again…
I go to the gym 3 days a week and we literally have a calendar with time blocks on it and who is doing what. Days when I am not at the gym it is a lot easier My training in these days is generally only 20 mins of conditioning so there is lots of time to fit that in and then have more time to spend with the kids.
You just make it work.
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Not sure I’ll be much help here because I don’t have kids, but I just make sure the first hour and a half when I get home from work is training time. Just no questions; it always happens. My wife knows that’s what’s going to happen and it’s just part of my day. She is very supportive of my training. I usually leave for work between 5 and 5:30 in the morning, and I’m much too lazy to get up 2 hours before that to lift.
I work, at least, 10-hour days now, so adding an hour and a half of lifting afterward, plus shower and dinner, makes it almost bed time before I get to spend any time with my wife. I kind of feel bad about that. But she gets me pretty much all weekend.
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