Well that's it for me for a few weeks. My schedule is creating a forced deload as I will not be able to lift again until 9/13. Probably just as well I haven't done any periodization or taken any breaks for a long time. I will be involved in some outdoor stuff, some of which will be physically vigorous, but no lifting. In anticipation of the time off I started a cut a few days ago.
Be good boys and girls, we'll catch you on the flip side.
Was out in the field all day today. Cutting trails in the brush, climbing trees, cutting limbs, trimming lanes............. vigorous outdoor stuff. All my muscles were cramping. Felt like I haven't been working out at all. I really had the thought to come back to the gym and do every single variation I can think of and with more volume to get fit. I guess this is what they mean when they say "strong like a farmer". That I am not and that's for sure.
Was out in the field all day today. Cutting trails in the brush, climbing trees, cutting limbs, trimming lanes............. vigorous outdoor stuff. All my muscles were cramping. Felt like I haven't been working out at all. I really had the thought to come back to the gym and do every single variation I can think of and with more volume to get fit. I guess this is what they mean when they say "strong like a farmer". That I am not and that's for sure.
Real manual labor is hard. Way harder than a gym workout. Makes a person think a little, nice work.
10 times up the sledding hill with the 40lb weighted vest.
Afternoon:
2 mile walk
Notes:
I spent the weekend doing vigorous outdoor manual labor type stuff and I'm not sure that I want to jump right back into the weight training. A buddy of mine floated meeting up on Wednesdays and his one leg has atrophied compared to the other, so the hill is great for that because there's no way to cheat. So I'll be doing that on Wednesdays for 6 weeks. I had a pretty easy time of it so the Squats I would say have paid dividends.
I've just been reconsidering how I want to focus the training. One of the factors was that on our vacation my wife was genuinely blown away by how cut I was, the combination of a little more size and a little leaner made an impression. So there is that. The other factor is that when I went into the field and applied myself I didn't feel particularly capable. I want to consider both those things as I think about the path forward.
Notes:
I've got 6 weeks before I participate in a Conservation district program which will take me away from the weights for 3-4 weeks. So I decided to go back to an old bodybuilding program that I used to do that gave me good results. I would hit the entire upper body in one workout and go twice a week. This used to get me in really good shape. The only difference is that I decided to go with the barbell on the pressing because I want to keep that form instead of using dumbells and usually I only did one variation for arms, but stations were being used so I had to jump around. 5 sets of 10 for the working sets for the DB bench and Pulldowns and 3 sets of 8-12 for the rest. The pressing and shrugs were actually too heavy, by the time I got there the shoulders were fried, but I think that will be short lived. A little lighter, a little more volume, everything super sets. Still thinking about what to do with the Squats.
Notes:
Drove down to Wheaton Colllege and hit the bleachers with the 40lb weighted vest. These are very steep bleachers and taking the steps 2 at a time right now is just beyond my ROM so that was very challenging. This is a workout that I used to do some 15 years ago when I had a strong Squat so I thought I'd give it a hit. I'm going to get some more sessions on this, right now emphasizing functional strength and getting fit.
Notes:
Drove down to Wheaton Colllege and hit the bleachers with the 40lb weighted vest. These are very steep bleachers and taking the steps 2 at a time right now is just beyond my ROM so that was very challenging. This is a workout that I used to do some 15 years ago when I had a strong Squat so I thought I'd give it a hit. I'm going to get some more sessions on this, right now emphasizing functional strength and getting fit.
Nice day. Especially wearing the vest.
Strength doesn't come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will. -Gandhi
You cannot dream yourself into a character. You must hammer and forge yourself into one. -Thoreau
12 flights on the Sledding hill with the 40lb weighted vest.
Notes:
Weight was 183.6 yesterday so the meal plan is going good. I've decided to just do the hill/bleachers twice a week for legs and I'll just do upper body once a week for the next 5 weeks. I have prep that I need to do for the up coming conservation district program and that's about all I have time for right now. I'll start back up with the weights around Thanksgiving so this will be a nice deload. A little light on strength work but I am extremely active.
Notes:
Drove down to Wheaton Colllege and hit the bleachers with the 40lb weighted vest. These are very steep bleachers and taking the steps 2 at a time right now is just beyond my ROM so that was very challenging. This is a workout that I used to do some 15 years ago when I had a strong Squat so I thought I'd give it a hit. I'm going to get some more sessions on this, right now emphasizing functional strength and getting fit.
This is impressive. do you feel like this helps with your lifting performance? I really like this, may have to grab a vest.
"It's in our blood. You feel what I feel. You hear what I hear. You see what I see. That's what gets you going. Thankfully we have the internet or we'd all probably feel alone in this world." - Cellardweller
This is impressive. do you feel like this helps with your lifting performance? I really like this, may have to grab a vest.
It depends entirely on the grade. The sledding hill by my home is long but not as steep and that is more of a conditioning deal with a small strength component. The bleachers at the college are so steep it's like doing heavy lunges so those have a much bigger strength component. In both cases though because of the need to balance with one leg at a time it translates to more functional strength that is transferable to the field. Even with just a few sessions under my belt I feel more athletic.
It depends entirely on the grade. The sledding hill by my home is long but not as steep and that is more of a conditioning deal with a small strength component. The bleachers at the college are so steep it's like doing heavy lunges so those have a much bigger strength component. In both cases though because of the need to balance with one leg at a time it translates to more functional strength that is transferable to the field. Even with just a few sessions under my belt I feel more athletic.
Excellent. I want to give it a shot, i really like the feeling of that explosiveness developed from doing sprints etc, esp. when using un conventional methods like wearing a vest for certain movements
"It's in our blood. You feel what I feel. You hear what I hear. You see what I see. That's what gets you going. Thankfully we have the internet or we'd all probably feel alone in this world." - Cellardweller
Notes:
Really hot out today so it was tough but we did a little better than last time. ROM was a little better on the double steps but still a stretch. I tried to do upper body on Friday but developed a migraine. Those florescent lights without the diffusers at the gym are such triggers, especially when I haven't been lifting regularly. I'm thinking to do something in the basement for the upper body in the interim till I get back to it full bore.
Weight this morning 183.4, still looking to take it down to 182 especially here where I'm not doing too much. I wanted to do more upper body work in the basement, but I've been doing archery sessions 3 times a week and my left shoulder was just fried so I just called it. Doing what we can.