The Never-Too-Late Tattoo Parlor

Training
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[quote]CBear84 wrote:

[quote] tiny freak wrote:
We’re fucking nuts, in the most charming possible way. Carry on. [/quote]

Nomination for the official PW slogan. [/quote]

That’s a good slogan. But, I like this one better: “If it’s not hard, it’s not worth doing.” Then I will have endless opportunity to say, “That’s what she said.”

Make no mistake peeps, I’m neither old nor mature.

I appreciate everyone’s comments and support. I did have a bit of a feel sorry for myself moment last night. And this is my dear diary so …wah, wah, wah.

I don’t know what I’m capable of. None of us do. And that is the joy that we get discover. I don’t want to be grounded or realistic or rational when it comes to training.

On the first page of this log I stated my training philosophy as “strength comes from taking risks and pushing limits.” I might elaborate on that and say that strength is born of failure, disappointment, and injury. It used to bug me when I’d read the logs/blogs of the lifetime lifters, who would say you don’t know shit until you’ve been under the bar for 20 years. But, I think I’m beginning to get it–think if the resiliency and the persistence that must be born or a 20 year commitment to a goal. That’s what strength is. To me anyway.

So, squats today. No more angst.

Let’s talk about cats instead. Last night the dog was barking. My husband got up, yelled at the dog, came back to bed. 10 minutes later, the dog is barking again. My turn. I get up. Go downstairs. Find the dog. He is agitated. See the cat. He is nonchalant. See a yellow eyed owl standing on the my carpet.

Scream. Run back upstairs.

Me: There’s an owl in the house!
Him: An owl?
Me: Yes an owl!

Husband assists the owl of the house, where it eventually, but not immediately flies away. And the house is quiet again.

Me: What the fuck is wrong with our cat?
HIm: What the fuck is wrong with the owl?

How does a cat catch an owl and bring it in through a pet door alive?

Waking up to find dead animals in my house is one thing. But waking up to find frightened still living animals is another. What’s next a bat? A raccoon? I’m afraid of my cat. I think he is evil.

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A freakin OWL?!

was it cute? And was the owl cooperative?

:slight_smile:

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That owl story made me laugh! Much needed today.

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youre such a girl.

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Your cat is just toyong with you. You need a cat like my moms…

It really doesn’t move.

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Mim: Owl was cute. And it did cooperate for my husband. He put a small laundry basket over it, then slid something underneath it, then carried it outside. Once he got it outside it hung around for a bit. We thought it might be hurt, but it was just stunned. It flew off eventually. I can’t believe we didn’t get a picture!

Kimba: It’s funny. But, it’s not. I really, really hate having these animals brought into my house.

Cbear: It’s true. I’m totally dependent on my husband for his small dead or alive animal removal services. I actually think I might have a bird-mice phobia.

2busy: Lazy cats are nice. I actually adore this cat because he has so much personality, I just wish he could keep some of his antics outside.
++++++++++++++++++++

So I squatted yesterday, but not well, and I jack-shitted my workout. BW @ 121. I realize that the 4lb drop is just water, but I wasn’t sure if the weight loss was contributing to my weak feelingness. And to the extent possible, I don’t want to lose strength at the expense of pounds. In an effort to slow the weight loss down I tried hard to eat more. This is challenging for me with cleanish food. Still, my husband was impressed:

3 eggs, 1 chicken breast, 2 chicken legs, 1 hamburger (no bun), a protein shake made with milk
2 cups of oatmeal, a banana, and a salad. BW today still 121. But, I feel better. I might go back and do some accessory work today. We’ll see.

Edited to add: Oh and I had some of the most delicious potatoes.

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The owl was a gift from your cat - nice and fresh and you just went ahead and threw it back out :wink:

It seeks your approval and affection. Problem is - I’m not sure if giving it to him will cause more or less critters to enter your house.

as for the training I have such a diff mentality as Kimba pointed out that I dare not make a comment.
I was a fat lazy kid - anythimg I do today is an improvement.
I am a fat PL - food is my friend not my enememy.
However I know that by some standards my 160lbs is considered “big/fat”
I’m cool with it, until I see some skinny bitch deadlift 315lbs. lol!

Ambition is good, drive is good, but when you hit “zen mode” self -reflection, are you happy? are you happy in the now or will you only be happy once you can get those 200 pullups?

This thing about being happy when I lose 10lbs, deadlift 315, do 25 pullups. That’s what gets to me.

I truly think everyone should spend a week in a third world country and then come tell me how this is the life force of your life.

I lift today cause it makes me smile. Somedays I am strong, somedays not so much. I am NOT better than a marathon runner/crossfit/olly lifter/ gymnast hockey player. I am just lucky that I found something that gives me a happy, gets me moving and gives me a nice ass.

well sorry, I ended up commenting after all…

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Frenchie: I’m glad you commented because it gives me a chance to clarify something. I am actually not as one dimensional as this log perhaps makes me appear. Lifting is not the “life force” of my life. My training life is but a single thing in my life.

I am a mother.

I am a wife.

I have a job that allows me to do meaningful work. (to me)

I don’t need to go to a third world country. I bear witness to human atrocity every day.

I could write or speak passionately about my family, my work, the importance of public schools and various other things that matter to me. But this is a training log. And so I speak, I hope, passionately about that. Doing 25 pullups and pulling 300 isn’t going to make me happy. It’s not a number I seek. It’s a feeling.

My competition with my younger self is born, in part, of the joy that comes from the honest act of striving. That makes me happy. It is also born of regret, and perhaps that is what comes through in my posts. My mid-life crisis. At 40, if this is an out and back race, I am at or close to the turn around point of my life. I feel inspired to pick up the pace.

When I no longer care or feel challenged or inspired by pull-ups or deadlifts then I?ll move on to something else. Until then. I’m here. Training hard. Never satisified. But NOT unhappy.

Perhaps it is the absence of punctuation mark smiley faces from my log… still, I can’t do it. +++++++++++++++++++++++

Training:

Short and quick: some front squats. Still trying to set these up right. Some prowler pushes. HLRs. GHR attempts.

On tap for the day, the dog’s b-day party. The kids are decorating.

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That is some stout clean eating. A day or two is not long enough to tell whether this way of eating is optimal for you. Give it a couple of weeks of strong effort and then evaluate. This nutrition thing is so interesting to me because every body is just SO different. But I would be all over that menu…mmmm.

For me, your happiness with your good life shines through this log. Its just that, this isn’t a feel-good warm-n-fuzzy “oh you poor dear” sort of place when training stuff goes pear-shaped. How boring would that be!

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[quote]Nadia Comeandeat wrote:

My competition with my younger self is born, in part, of the joy that comes from the honest act of striving. That makes me happy. It is also born of regret, and perhaps that is what comes through in my posts. My mid-life crisis. At 40, if this is an out and back race, I am at or close to the turn around point of my life. I feel inspired to pick up the pace.

[/quote]

Perhaps I was focusing too much on the regret in you posts. As long as the challenge keeps you happy than I say go kill it :slight_smile:

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Lots of catching up over here.

First, nothing brought up all my son’s swimming skills/ getting all the strokes down really well / like swimming on a team. That’s great! She’ll improve soo much.

I LOVE that little plaid swimsuit with the skirted bottom! I have an all black version, that’s similar, but the plaid is just retro perfect.

I hear you on the pull-ups. Mine were easier when I was a bit lighter. No surprise that an 8-10 pound weight gain would make a big difference on an upper body lift for me, right? Hehe. I thought I’d add 10 pounds to my bench so fast, and that’s taking longer too! And I had a goal of a pretty set of 5x5 pullups by now and NOPE! Harder than I thought. I know you want 25. For you, I really think that’s realistic. Keep the goal, just figure it’s going to take a bit longer. That’s my thought on mine anyway. I know I’ll have 5x5 widegrips, and soon I hope.

And I understand the life balance thing. I’ll admit, my training is something I just get so excited about and love so much, I have to be careful or I can get out of balance with other things. Especially the wife and mother stuff. Being out with my recovery and with kids out of school has brought some of these things to my attention. I think for me there’s a constant juggling, and reassessing to try to keep myself from getting things out of balance. Both in terms of my time, but also what I THINK about all the time. If left to my own devices, I could be engaged in my hobbies ALL the time. Not so good for the relationships in my life, right? I admire your drive. It’s a good thing. The only time it becomes problematic is if things get out of balance, or you are pushing yourself to attain something that is either mentally or physically unhealthy or unattainable. Only you can determine that, but it sounds like your weight goals are right within the range of where you’ve been as an adult. You aren’t shooting to weigh something that you haven’t weighed since before puberty. Just my thoughts there.

I love to read your log. So many things that I relate to. And see in myself.

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proud of you and your eats…
Now STICK WITH IT! I dare ya :wink:

And I wish N. would stop referring to herself as fat. :confused: grumble

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Kimba: It’s sort of concerning to me how quickly I’ve dropped weight–120.2 today–even though I ate, cleanly, but to satisfaction yesterday. And after my morning run, I was 118.2. I know inflamation is a terrible thing, and it appears that I have/had a bad case of that. I’m going to try to increase carbs again today. Although I feel good, energy is fine and I’m not hungry, I’d still prefer to slow this process down.

Frenchie: Yes, I love a challenge.

Puff: Balance is a struggle. And it’s easy for women and moms in particular to forget we are more than just our relationships to other people–mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, volunteer, employee. But it’s important for us to to take time to be ourselves–Nadia and Puffy–and to nurture our interests. Don’t feel guilty about finding something that challenges you and brings you joy!

Mim: Yes I’m sticking with it. Thanks for the dare!

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

Training 8 mile run. Made it!

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

Yesterday,my son had a drs appt. He needed a physical so he can play 3rd grade football. I’m not excited about football, but maybe it is the sport for him. He’s big: 96% for height; 89% for weight.

Anyway, in the waiting room he’s climbing the walls and I see some black marker on his stomach. I ask:

Q: Henry, did you write on yourself?
A: Yes.
Q: Come here, let me see what you did? (lifts up shirt, looks)
A: I drew a six pack.

Holy shit did I laugh. And laugh. And then I made him hold up his shirt so I could take a picture. And I laughed some more. There goes my MOther of the year award.

In the exam room, dr gets to looking at that part and before Dr can say anything Henry explains that he drew a six pack. Dr does not laugh. Fucking dr. It’s funny!

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Henry’s six pack

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[quote]Nadia Comeandeat wrote:
Henry’s six pack[/quote]

If it only could be so easy…

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heh, that is very cute.

i never really thought properly about the how being heavier would affect bodyweight exercises. maybe that explains why chin-ups don’t feel any easier for me than they used to (since i’ve gained a few kilos and some of that has got to be fat).

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Going back to you answering my question about the pullup program. I’d say trust in the guy helping you. Maybe shift the goal to trusting in the program and following it instead of thinking about the 25 pullups. Especially since you like to be in control so this can be a “letting someone else be in charge” exercise. :slight_smile:

As for the owl, out here the owls carry off the cats so it must have been little. My cat used to bring in little chickadees all the time, they’re hard to catch. Sometimes I’d only find heads. :-/

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HAHAHA!!! Thanks for the laugh Henry!

:smiley: :smiley:

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2busy: Ah yes, but then everyone would have one.

Alexus: Strength to weight ratio is for sure tricky stuff.

Charlie: That’s very good advice. Trust is huge. THanks for reminding me.

Mim: Kids!

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

5-5-5 Bench

Mostly a deloadish type workout for me and not worth writing about. The only thing of note is that my weak right leg is starting to work! As part of my warm up I’ve been working on 1 legged deck squats–Right leg has always been just attempts–but today I got them!

For accountability purposes, I owe a progress pic post to this log, and I have one, but I’m having trouble adding it to my hub. So, that’s going to have to wait.

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…i’m way behind on your log…but from what i surmise its loaded up with some good raw stuff…self evaluation and inner strife…my kinda thing:)

I’m going to go back and catch up. keep it up my beautiful elegant Nadia :slight_smile: