@Furo: I think this may be a factor. I have gone relatively low carb. Ever since I have stopped playing football I have prescribed to the idea that I no longer need copious amounts of carbs as I am no longer running around in circles 3 times a week. My thinking is that if I reduce the amount of carbs, then I may be able to reduce overall training volume as well. I need my gym life to fit into my busy life schedule as well.
In the past 6 or so weeks I have reduced carbs a little more. I don’t weigh my food but eyeball and Im guessing my daily macros would be around P: 200 C: 100 F: 150. I re-feed every 3-4 days, but usually that just involves a sweet potato or maybe some wraps with my weekly Sunday Mexican wrap for breakfast. Maybe I need to bump the carbs up a little more??
@caesium32: Hey bro. Sleep has been ok. I occasionally wake up in the middle of the night for 20 minutes or so. Just lately though the feeling of anger has prevented me from falling asleep. One thing I have noticed is that my morning coffee seems to help dissipate the anger a little.
Im still not sure what is causing these intense feelings of anger. Maybe it has got something to do with my personal life as I have been having some slight issues with my GF at the moment and she is taking the brunt of it. Without writing a novel, there are somedays where I feel alone and alienated in this world. I have always been different and I have never been afraid of that, but just maybe my current environment is not working for me.
I suppose it could be a number of things, but I definitely find that if I haven’t had enough carbs I can just snap and get angry with minimal provocation.
Warmed up with the foam roller, mobility drills and banded monster walks.
15 minute warm-up ride around the hood.
5 repeats of hill sprints up the “smaller hill”, and then 1.5 hill sprints up the “longer hill”.
4 set superset: 5 chin-ups, 15 push-ups.
notes:
Ran out of juice on my final hill sprint. On one hand Im considering increasing my carb intake so I can get a few more reps, while on the other hand Im considering trying keto out of pure curiosity.
In other news Im thinking about having a run in the local football league. Its a step down to the previous league, but its more of a social thing and only involves 1 training session a week and 1 game every week.
BB bench press 5 x 5 with 90 kg (5 pull-ups b/w sets)
dB incline hammer curls 2 sets of 10 x 17.5 kg, 2 sets of 8 x 17.5 kg.
seated rows, 4 sets of 10 x 55 kg.
3 rounds of shoulder shocker, doing 7 reps for all exercises.
notes: Down in the big smoke visiting my folks. Diet has been below average and back is a little sore due to sitting down for too long with all of the travelling.
Warmed up on the foam roller and with some mobility drills.
Rode my bike around the hood for 15 or so minutes.
6 x bike hill sprints on the “small” hill, and 2 x bike hill sprints on the “large” hill.
4 sets superset: 5 x chin-ups, 15 x push-ups.
notes:
Felt a little less explosive today but my stamina was better. Most probably because of the extra calories consumed over the previous 3 days while I was visiting my parents in the city.
Warmed up on the foam roller and some mobility drills
Gentle 15 minute bike ride around the hood.
8 x sprint repeats up the smaller hill.
4 set superset: 6 pull-ups, 15 push-ups
notes:
Nice morning. I think this is my favourite workout at the moment. Great to get some sunlight early on, with some relatively impact free movement with some explosive element. I was thinking: you can’t beat a good bodyweight session
Decided to mix things up a bit this morning, so no “big hill” sprints but a few extra reps on the “smaller hill”.
Bike ride home, the long way including the steep climb at the end.
notes:
Good session. Had the gym to myself which is always nice. Would like to clean up my overhead press technique. Todays I concentrated on bracing before going under the bar, and squeezing the glutes when in position. For some reason I find doing those things feels strange when overhead pressing.
Re overhead pressing, you pretty much have to squeeze everything. In particular, abs to stop the lower back over arching. I also like to get a bit of an upper back pump before I move on to my work sets. It makes my shoulder positioning feel more stable.
BB floor press: 4 sets of 8 x 80 kg (4 reps of pull-ups b/w sets)
Supersetted 3 sets of : incline hammer curls (10 x 15 kg) x 2, (8 x 15 kg) x 1, T-bar rows (10 x 35 kg) x 2, (8 x 35 kk x 8)
Finished off 3 rounds of shoulder shocker.
notes:
Was mean to do this session on Monday but I had a headache and was feeling sleepy. Slept for 12 hours and felt 100% the next day. I will try and catch up with my programming with a few extra sessions closer to each other to make up for lost time. I had attended BJJ training on Tuesday and Thursday evening, and did my usual bike hill sprints on Wednesday morning
Im considering changing programs to more of a “less volume, more frequency” style. I have made a thread in the “Bigger, Leaner & Stronger” thread and I have got a couple of suggestions for programs. Also considering changing gyms closer to work, so I can ride to the gyms in the morning and then walk to work straight after. I will also have access to a hex bar and prowler at the new gym.
Dips: 4 sets of 8 x 25kg (4 reps of pull-ups b/w sets).
Supersetted 3 sets of: dB rows (10 x 30kg), BB curlz (10 x 35kg)
Finished off with some rear debts
Went straight to BJJ training after the gym. Did some self defence stuff, and then drilled some low passing in open guard using the “over under” method.
Regarding the possibility of changing to the new gym:
Pro’s:
Closer to work so I can get a session in before work and walk straight to work afterwards. Plan is to cycle to the gym in the mornings, workout, go to work, and then cycle back home in the evenings.
Better equipment, including trap bar, prowler and TRX. My current gym is using equipment purchased in the 1980’s
A change of scenery might be good for my motivation.
Belongs to a chain of gyms, so when traveling to see my folks in another city I will have easier access to a gym
Cons:
A little more expensive, but not really a issue.
Further away from home, so less convenient on weekends.
Its very busy in the evenings, so I will have to try to commit to training in the morning (I tend to mix things up with am and pm sessions at the moment depending on mood, work, social life etc)
At the moment my gym is run and owned by locals, which I prefer to support over a “franchise chain”
I will probably go have a look at the newe gym this weekend and have a closer to look at the equipment before deciding.
Usual warm-up including handstands and pistols done onto a bench.
Shoulder shocker: 3 rounds
Superset: 3 sets of dB hammer curls (10 x 15kg), T-bar rows (10 x 35kg)
dB floor press: 5 x 5 with 35 kg dBs.
Bike ride home, the long way including the large hill climb at the end.
notes:
The gym was packed. Going to avoid the gym on a Monday night from now on. I did this session backwards as I was hoping to use the barbell for the floor press, but that never eventuated.
Felt like everyone was trying to kill me today. My GF almost dropped the 35kg dB on my head while she was passing the weigh to me. And on the bike ride home a few semi-trailer trucks got pretty close to me on the highway. I suppose it was just one of those “Mondays”.
Warmed up with some mobility exercises and a 15 minute ride around da hood.
8 x hill sprint repeats on the “smaller hill”, and 1 x hill sprint on the"bigger hill"
At the local park I finished off with a 4 set superset: 6 chin-ups and 12 push-ups.
notes:
I had more energy today for the sprints. My normal pre-workout is a espresso, bcaa’s and some berries, but today I had a banana instead of the berries. Possibly the the more starchier fruit gave me that little more fuel for the sprints.
Feeling good at the moment. I feel strong, my body-fat levels have seemed to drop a few %, and my lower back is feeling relatively good. I wouldn’t say its 100%, but I think I can start to consider adding in some light squatting into my routine again at some point. I am still considering changing to a “high frequency, lower volume” program. Just need some more time to work otu a plan.
Usual warm-up including handstand practice and pistols onto a bench.
BB floor press: 8 sets of 3 x 90kg. (4 pull-ups in b/w sets)
Supersetted 3 sets: dB hammer curls (10 x 15kg), T-bar rows (10 x 35kg)
Finished off with a couple of rounds of shoulder shocker.
Bike ride home the long way home including the epic hill climb.
notes:
Managed to wake up early this morning to avoid the afternoon chaos. I do feel somewhat weaker for early morning sessions, but i dont think the difference is significant, and does not outweigh the pain of working out in a packed gym.