The Never-Too-Late Tattoo Parlor

Training
881

[quote]Mascherano wrote:
Holy fuck!! You look amazing!! I can’t believe that’s 123 and you’re already 6 abs lean! You make me NOT want to eat carbs. Shit! Seriously, incredible. Your delts are gorgeous.

And those pullups are beautiful. I commend you on keeping after your goal of 25. YOU GOT THIS!! After my bout with pullups I just said, fuck it. lol! You’re perseverance amazes.

And you know what? Sometimes its good to get an ego hit when you’re in the midst of training for a specific goal - Makes you want it all the more and train even harder. You gotta be hungry for it.

Your daughter!! UGH! Its nice she wants to stay close with you. Being a parent ain’t easy, that’s for sure. You’re a good mom :)[/quote]

Masch:

I quit on the pullups for awhile after my 4Oth b-day attempt. I burnt myself out dieting and training and being so focused on them. But, it wasn’t long before I felt terrible about myself for coming so close and then walking away. I understand why I needed the break. But I wish I had been stronger and had been able to persevere. I understand completely where you’re at.

Don’t stay away from them too long. Cycle the intensity down–sure. Don’t make them a focus–absolutely. But, train them. Every week. Start somewhere easy. 5 sets of something? Build back up. Better yet, get help! Then you don’t have to think about them or program them.

Say the word and I’ll hook you up.

882

Cal: Growing up isn’t easy. Shoot. But, damn those 7 year olds who can do press handstands!

Frenchie: Thanks you! I love the image of a wild cat. Suits me I think. Yes, Ella will be fine. She really is a remarkably brave and independent little girl. I fully expect her to live her life true to herself–that’s what I hope for.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Bench today.

This lift is still messing with my head. Today’s challenge was 100x4. I did it. But I want to be dramatic and whine about it. I’m not going to give in to that temptation though.

Kroc rows. Only got 12 today. Last week I got 14. These are tough.

That’s mostly it.

883

[quote]Nadia Comeandeat wrote:

[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
WANT. Those abs are incredible. Screw the pull-ups, you look awesome.[/quote]

Cal, sorry I didn’t respond to you right away. Your post, as off-handed as it probably was, got me thinking quite a bit.

First, I think the high volume of pullups that I do is largely responsible for those abs. So don’t knock 'em!

But, “screw the pullups” is a sentiment I can actually relate to. I set the goal when I started lifting not just because I wanted to return to my former glory! HA. But, also because I was trying to find a way to keep myself in the strength training game. My Doc had been telling me for years that I needed to lift–skinny white girl= osteoporosis–and I’m fucking short enough already. But, I had never managed to stick with it. I had a reference point with the pullups from gymnastics. But, I had no idea about what I could or should be doing on the big lifts.

Anyway, I don’t need the 25 rep goal to keep me in the game now. Is it now counter productive to my other goals? Maybe. Probably. What’s worse is that the goal was never to do 25 pullups one time after dieting, deloading, and otherwise ideal conditions. The goal was to be ABLE to do 25–like I could when I was a kid, which was 3x a week when we conditioned–after practice. No cutting. No deloading required.

Why have I let the goal become something that it was never meant to be? [/quote]

Really Really Interesting. I read this a few times… and have been thinking about it.

I wonder… I wonder if its your inherent competitive nature? I have said this before and I truly believe that the one percenters YES THAT IS US. The one percenters that do what we do… we do it because we are inherently quite competitive. Ultimately those of us that stick around in the gym are competing with something or for something… frequently its just ourselves… that wanting to be better stronger faster prettier leaner OR against ourselves for that one more rep that next 5LB plate the next PR.

Someone once texted me “PR to PR thats how we live our lives” which was a joke of course… and the truth of course too.

It makes sense to me that your particular competitive nature locked in on these pullups it makes absolutely perfect sense to me. That is how we are and you gravitated to those damn pullups. I think you probably can easily transfer it away from them if they are becoming counter productive to your other training.

Well, that was an attempt at WAY MORE DEEP thought than I’m used to or comfortable with. I am going to go look in the mirror for awhile and clear my mind :slight_smile:

884

[quote]Hallowed wrote:

Someone once texted me “PR to PR thats how we live our lives” which was a joke of course… and the truth of course too.

[/quote]

Hallowed, you speak the truth. Nadia, you speak the truth too.

In furtherance of deep thought, what REALLY gets us through the days? For most people, its the expectation of pleasure…looking forward to vegging on the couch with the remote and a bag of Doritos, going to the bar after work with the guys for a few brewskis, buying yourself the latest techno-gadgets/fancy workout clothes (me)/expensive purse etc.

We are skewed. For us, its the chance of betterment of our physique, and/or of being more by lifting more than we could last week, month or year is the motivator. Its pleasure, but in a twisted sort of way.

And my point is? Don’t know. I’m sick and on cold meds. Don’t mind me.

885

been busy so I havent been posting but I just wanted to say…
I read somewhere that a person can be someones elses inspiration without them ever knowing. That they are looked up too…
You are one of those to me. I just wanted to say “thanks!”
You are an inspiration to me!

886

we are addicted to those goals/prs. it lights our brains: the challenge, the focus, the hunt. the setup for the next challenge. I feel alive. I remember dealing with depression, low self esteem, being tired all the time when life was pretty much centered around TV and books. I was living through other people. This makes me feel in control of something, creating myself. It’s also changed me mentally, a little tougher a little smarter.

good work on pushing through the bench session.

887

I am about pleasure, or specifically, senation. I love the exhiliration of riding rollercoasters. I enjoy the complex notes of artisan perfumes. The flavours of gourmet chocolate (and good food, when I can afford it). But I also relish in the feeling of a strong body, the sense of satisfaction and badassery when I pull a PR.
Yes, I enjoy watching good TV shows, reading a good book and playing an involving game (in fact, my obsession with games goes beyond the norm, enough that I made a career out of it when I was a games journalist during the 90s). But I know on the days when I just watch TV and play games, something is missing. I need to feel that I achieved something in order to go to bed feeling as though I spent my day well. I think we can all relate to that.

888

Hallowed: I love how you come in to my log and blow my mind with your insights and wisdom. YOu are a delight. I am competitive. I am stubborn. I hate being wrong. This pretty much stymies me from ever backing down when I say I’m going to do something. I’m fun to live with.

Kimba: I understand you and your point is well taken. It’s the journey not the inn. If it’s not the pullups it would have to be something else…

Coyote: Goodness. You don’t know what your post means to me. And your timing is impeccable. I’ve been trying to silence the excuses, explanations, justifications, and rationalizations that are going on in my head right now. I can’t tell you how much your words have helped me to do that.

Thanks Frenchie: Your post reminds me of this passage from “Strong Enough? Be Alive. Be very Alive” that pullup guy had me read.

“So let me say something a little meatier: you owe it to yourself and the millions of lives that generated yours to live as though you appreciated it. * * * there is just something wrong with getting up every day and moving through existence with the least possible effort. Doing it this way makes you more than merely less than optimium. It makes you afraid of cows, and unable to understand that you shoud not be.”

Cal: I share your love of beautiful things. I like being an observer in life and am pretty introspective and solitary as a general rule. This training business–it’s certainly just a part of who we are and what fulfills us. A very small part in fact.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

So DLS today.
5x155
5x185
3x205
3x225
1x245.

Some GHRs. DL day is very light. I didn’t mind today. I’m fucktardly sore from squats. Still. Damn.

++++++++++++++++

Finally, to the extent my committment to the 25-rep pullup goal was waivering–that equivocation is gone. I’m back full in. Thanks guys!

889

Fuck those are some strong Dls! I want.

The bench is messing with you because of the shoulder? Or youre being a puss? What gives?

And yay! for full commitment to pullup guy! You’ve come this far, for this long!! Trust the program, Nadia. You’re gonna get that shit, girl. They’re yours!

890

Masch: My bench issues started with the shoulder, but the shoulder is good now. Now I’m just being a puss. I’m not used to the heavier weight lower rep scheme. I don’t like it. And pullup guy has me making 15lb jumps from my second set to my third set–it feels too big–from 85 to 100?!! Eeek. I know it’s just evidence that I’m not confident with the heavier weight. I’ll get there eventually.

With respect to the pullups, the training is great. NO problem there. For me, the committment issues are all about the diet. Me hates dieting. And I suck at it. I gotta try again though.

++++++++++++++++

Training.

Went to the track today. And there was a full, huge ass amazing rainbow. I have video of it on my ipod. SOme people go to church on sunday. I go to the track. I was feeling smug. Clearly, if there is a god, he loves me more than the church dwellers. But, then I couldn’t run. Did some drills to warm up. That bitch sciatica is back. I knew I pissed it off DLing yesterday, but I was super friendly with my foam roller yesterday, and I hoped that would be enough, but it wasn’t.

Not sure what’s going on. DL day was really light. But, I still wasn’t recovered from my squats. So maybe I compensated in a bad way in some way.

Anyway, it wasn’t my day. I hung out until the rain washed the rainbow away, and then I walked home.

891

Sounds more like you had a mental and emotional deload today with the rainbow and rain. Always a necessary in our hectic hell of a life.

892

You do have a way with words…I have the mental picture of the track today very clearly in my mind.

So neither one of us can run at the moment. Bummer. We’ll be back soon.

893

[quote]Cal Jones wrote:
I went through a shit time when I was 10. Kids at school called me Fatty Jones (even though I wasn’t actually obese - just a little puppy fat combined with my naturally stocky build) and I didn’t really relate to anyone in my class other than one other painfully shy girl. Being an only child, I found it much easier to talk to my parents’ friends than to kids my own age. It sucked, but I got past it. I’m sure your little one will too.

Talking of little ones, I got the year 3 (7 year old) gymnast in my school to show me what she could do. And yeah, she can do that straddle press handstand. She is fucking strong, considering she won’t eat anything for school lunch except bread and butter.[/quote]

dats mind buggling

894

Ugh, one thing I know? The sciatic is an SOB.

895

I only get the sciatic pain if I run. Figured that out because I haven’t been able to run because of the foot and achilles tendon (the latters is being an utter bitch, btw) and now I have no sciatica. Hmm.

Sorry to hear about yours, though. I know you have a take-no-prisoners approach to training but sometimes you need to cut your body some slack. Especially if you are in the over 40s camp. Whilst our brains all tell us we are 20-something, the body won’t always cooperate.

896

nike really did put out some great ads.

i need to try and remind myself what my goals (with olympic lifting primarily) are really about, sometimes, too.

897

Yeah, you definitely have a way with words. That was lovely. Training can be bittersweet. Don’t I know it!

Hm, confidence under the bar is important. “You can’t fight yourself” I think they say. Anyways, I come to watch your squat vids because you exude confidence under the bar, and it shows in your form - which I think is near perfect! You just need to get that same confidence with the bench. And I agree, you will :slight_smile:

How do you feel about your bench form? Does it feel solid?

898

I’ve been following along with the “why?” conversation, lots of tidbits to chew on in here. I have thoughts, but they aren’t yet properly settled. I’ll pop back in and leave my 2 cents once they do, but I wanted to say I love how much your log makes me think. It’s also good to know that I’m not the only one that has the random thoughts that flit across my brain. I had a ‘just not my day’ yesterday and it was reassuring to come in here and see that it’s not just me that has those.

899

[quote]Nadia Comeandeat wrote:
Track today.

Trying to decide what to do while doing my drills, I knew that I didn’t want to do repeat 400s. They are so hard. But, they are so good for you. So, I thought of Kimba. Somehow knowing someone else voluntarily subjects themselves to 400 repeats made them doable today. Like a virtual hand holding. I’m grateful for this forum.

To keep the pain threshold unpredictable I mixed up my rest periods and my repeats. They went like this. run 400, walk 200, run 200, shuffle 200. Repeat the pattern.

I did 4. And then had a goldilocks moment. 4 was not enough. 5 would be perfect. But, I can’t do 5–an odd number of repeats–it’s an abomination. I don’t know why. We never did an odd number of repeats in HS. Pretending that I am trying to decide what to do, I untie and retie my shoes–really I’m stealing some extra rest. I know what I’m going to do.

During the 5th 400, the rain turns sideways and I choke on the wind. I tell myself Mother nature is trying to help me be less crazy. She says, “What is wrong with you child. YOu can do an odd number of repeats.”

Her effort is wasted She knows it too. Because by the time I finish my 5th 200 the rain has stopped and the wind is quiet.

The 6th 400 is brutal. The last straightway feels like I’m running the wrong way on a moving sidewalk. It is endless. But I finish. And I finish my last 200.

And I am suffering and I feel delighted.

I try to run the last mile home. But I can’t. I walk. And i think crazy feels pretty damn good today. [/quote]

That was awesome. Your perseverance through agony and your mastery of and proficiency with words - both are amazing and inspiring. You are an incredibly good writer and an even more incredible person. I always enjoy catching up on your training.

900

I was hoping to catch up with everybody today and my log, but shit it’s been busy around here. And I’ve been busy. I’ve got stuff I want to say. Pictures to post. Videos to share. Time is my enemy right now though. Hopefully, tomorrow.