Eye of the Tiger
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Song of the Day
I never intended for the following to be today's song and frankly, I am sure it was a part of a prior Expedition, even if that Expedition's playlist has been lost along the way. Yet, this song closed out today's resistance workout. Before slipping my phone into my Flipbelt onto my back, I pressed the loop button, thinking the playlist would repeat since my phone would be inaccessible. Nope, THAT did not happen. So, I drove up to the gym this morning, blaring Eye of the Tiger again and again. It is no Everlong, but I got into the groove nevertheless.
Not the version, but I like the recall of when I was a season ticket holder in '21 and feeling so thin...wanting to give away the XL apparel I caught from the t-shirt cannon because it was too big.
Training of the Day
Overall, while I felt I worked my body over effectively today, it does not show with my Garmin stats...so in time, it will look like today was underwhelming. That said, it was the first day I emerged in 2021's take: long-sleeved rash guard and spats along with my Sanabul combat shorts with my Flipbelt underneath.
#1: Quad City DJ
- 5-min Shadowbox
- Squats*
- Leg Extensions
- Step Ups
- Calf Raises (ran out of time to finish sets 4 and 5)
Shadowbox
* - This is the first time I did NOT do a Bob & Brad assisted squat, but added light dumbbells to see my status. I will up the amount next week.
Getting strong now
Won't be long now
#2: The Gym
I invested a mere 11 minutes into the arc trainer this morning. While I doubled up my band-aids this morning, my switch to a thin sock stripped away the protection to prevent my shoe from sawing into my heel. As soon I felt that, I stepped off the machine.
I immediately kicked off workout #2 into my couch-to-5K program. The heels were not an issue, but I absolutely HATE my speed. I need to build up my legs, but also revisit the ChiRunning technique. I will have to find a metronome for my phone that plays atop music.
At the same time, I recognize I am starting out around 15 lbs heavier than I did in 2021 and do not have all of the hours on a treadmill as I did before.
I ended things with a 2nd ride atop the spin bike, going for a 1:1 minute ratio between the saddle and climbing for a total of 10 minutes. I will up it next week. I like having that session after the run.
#3 The Carnivore
Thus far, today is a 190/76 gram day. I do find that my body is adapting quickly to the loaded stress. Again, the below the knee ache I once felt on just 2 laps of the track from walking is very fresh on my mind! And less than 2 months ago, I could not lift my leg up an inch off the bed! My descent down the stairs is not as controlled as I like, but in time, this, too, will change.
It is true that carnivores are resilient against the Sun's rays. I was unprotected outdoors yesterday from 1:30 - 3:00 PM with my shirt off (and shaved head) and I did not burn. My back took the brunt of the Sun as I pulled up stalks and honeysuckle brambles from what was once a raised bed. The biggest issue I had with the event that my forearms came away itchy from those plants. I could not wash it down with Dawn fast enough. Plants hate me.
No Easy Way Out
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Song of the Day
Training of the Day
While not as impactful as yesterday's foundation (how could it ever be), today plattered an effective serving:
#1: The Incline Bench
I squeezed something new to my strength regimen: a proper warmup involving those 16 oz. gloves. Just that 5-minute warmup ratcheted me up to take those dumbbells to task. While I was unsure if I ought to lead into a heavier weight into future renditions of the 1st exercise as it seemed easier, but contextually, it was the first out the door, I totally knew that I outperformed last week's final exercise, DB incline flys. So, I noted it down for next week.
Speaking of which, an updated version of my doc template. It is still not there yet.
I was stoked to have earned the May Gains Garmin badge:
Join this challenge and record a total of four hours of strength activities in May.
You would think that one would be "Super easy. Barely an inconvenience." But, it does not count rest between sets. So that 45-minute session? Yeah, don't count it. It is the time I am actively doing the reps. I am proud of pulling off that badge!
The clock ticked 4:44 AM, leaving me with no time for the shadowbox at the end. So, I strapped on my 2lb weighted gloves and drove off to the gym.
#2: The Tedious Cardio
It was an uneventful 30-minute ride on the elliptical this morning. I did want things to be more focused and not ride it out with a checkmark, so I shored up things and cut things off earlier.
#4: The Intervals Backwards
Now, this is a new area for me, so it is not as mapped out. I spent 10 minutes walking on the track. With the width ends, I'd jog backwards. Thus, it was more of an interval workout in terms of distance. I may consider setting up a Garmin schedule to make this time-based, though should I do this on a rest day for my running?
#5: BRC Outdoors
I ended things with a ~30-minute walk around the outdoor BRC track. It was my best pace for that track thus far, though not overall. It may be something I will track in the future per track.
#6: Refuel
Critical to everything, there was the post-workout meal. Yes, by definition, I intermittently fast every day. But, that is not even in my program. It is just what I do. I'd have to think I am walking in my ancestors' footsteps—who would chase after game in the afternoon after the morning's run?
Standard stuff:
- 3.3 oz of cooked bacon
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp of bacon drippings
- 5 oz of cooked ground beef
I am considering dialing back on my morning butter from 12 to 10 tbsps for my 16 oz iced coffee so I can bring it back to that 200-gram fat mark. The protein was a bit high, though 9 days in, the average for this Expedition is at 70 grams.
The Walking Dead Inspiration
Over the weekend, I binged all 24 episodes of the final season of The Walking Dead. Now, I was running out of time with my subscription to pull off that feat, so I maxed the speed out to a paltry 1.5x. The experienced reminded me of my time with audiobooks and everything I pulled down and applied at that 3.0x pace. Sure, I can no longer subscribe to the Brooklyn Library, but there are still resources out there. I can do it again. And when I am on the elliptical or outdoors, why not multithread the event? The acquisition of knowledge is the spice of life.
The spice extends life.
The spice expands consciousness.
The spice is vital to space travel.
BILL2K24
Monday, May 15, 2023
The second song of the training-centric 32E is...
I have moved beyond Sunday's fat fast and its 220/3.3 macros. This morning, I carried out the first day of my new implementation: a 3 AM alarm. I felt it was time to hand over an additional 30 minutes to my mornings. It came about very organically.
Amusingly, I was five minutes late to my garage workout. Eh, it was one thing after another: did not grab stuff the night before, forgot to print out this week's resistance sheet, etc. I was going to start something else new today, a 5-minute shadowboxing with my 16 oz gloves, but that will just have to start tomorrow.
Everything felt good. I remember thinking that my body responded to lifting weights just as it does when it absorbs sunlight: there are natural processes that are flipped on in response that just make me happy. Shrugs were good, though I think I will double the reps next week to 40. The incline rows were edging toward the redline, which is good.
But the straight-leg deadlifts...wow. At the time I was doing them, it felt more like...a cardio endeavor. Everything is controlled, not bouncing. It is so easy to wreck myself there, right? I am bending down and not using my legs of all things! Honestly, I felt like I could do more weight than these 20 lbs dumbbells, but I recognize the value of form and (continued) function. So, it is 5x20. Or, I am bending over with my back and picking up 40 lbs some 100 times. I felt really good at the time, though a little taxed. Now 5 hours later, I totally feel my spine! In the moment, I felt empowered. I felt alive.
And thus the time came for me to go to the gym for as it has been said,
You wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
I warmed up with the arc trainer. Set it to its greatest height and got my heart rate up. Ran it through its paces for 20 minutes. Typically, I will go for an hour, but NOT today. I spent the night before configuring my Garmin watch for something new...
I climbed up the stairs and fiddled with my watch's GUI for a bit. OK, for about 10 minutes I walked around and could not figure it out! I even did a preset interval thing and started, but that just would not satisfy me.
I finally was able to kick off the program I set out to do and began an interval approach based on a couch-to-5K program: 5-min warmup with 1-min run / 1.5 walk sets. Honestly, I did not even know if I could run. It was not that long ago in March I held no claim in my ability to walk. And I had quite the audience. There must have been 20+ doing circuit training below me—I immediately regretted not bringing my earplugs inside for my Aftershokz. There may have been 5-6 others on the track.
But like Taylor Swift, I Begin Again.
I knew I had the stamina to pull it off. I possess the mental fortitude to pull off each set. The question mark I had was my wheels. Could I do it?
Oh, I was slow. SO SLOW. But, THIS was whether I could go the distance. It was four weeks ago to the day where after just walking a couple of laps around this track, my shin ached terribly.
Well, I did it.
I finished 25-30 minutes later then immediately afterward, I climbed atop the spin bike and set the seat height to 11 because...
I began pedaling. I did not use my Garmin this time because I had no plans today to get familiarized with the bike and the training approach. I chose to use intervals again but applied 30 seconds out of the saddle followed by a 1-minute return. I did this for 10 minutes, knowing I could continue, though I spent 8 minutes of that time figuring out how I could bump up the resistance!
I ended my morning by going down the stairs. Normally, this would not be a big thing, right? And yet, for the first time in a very long time—since August, some 8 months ago—I did not use handrails to safety net myself.
I did all of that on a fat fast which was broken afterward by 5 oz of canned salmon fillet, 3.3 oz of cooked bacon, 2 eggs and a tablespoon of bacon drippings.
Things are changing.
Like the opening song references, I was a monster. It was the best workout I have had in years, maybe the best on this side of 30 in context to everything and challenging myself.