Zero Program: I just wanna break a sweat and have fun doing it.
Yup. Title says it all. I don't have any goals. I don't have a program. I don't really care if I gain or lose weight
half hour on the court a few days ago. felt like crap and my jump was weak, barely getting fingertips to backboard. continued to feel crappy for a few days in a row. then yesterday i had much more energy. thyroid adjustment and not eating much probably main factors. weighed 188.9 last night before bed wearing shorts.
40 mins on the court earlier today. left quad complained as soon as i started running, so i only touched the backboard twice after I was completely warmed up. only highlight was hitting 5 corner 3s in a row during corner rush drill. otherwise steady on course towards improving skills and stamina.
light workout an hour after basketball.
unweighted rotations: low external x 100. high internal x 60. low internal x 100. high external x 80.
hanging arm circles mixed in between sets more often than not.
pushup 10/25/20/15.
high pull 36 lb bar x 20/10/15.
my left knee started to complain earlier, so i figured it needed blood flow and activity.
front squat 106 lb x 3x5
overhead press 76x3x5
deadlift 196x1x5.
last workout was heavy at the end of deadlift. in the following days the only physical stuff was household man labor. otherwise i had no motivation to exert.
been eating well. grilling things. i was confident enough in my chicken thighs the other day to give some to my neighbor.
been weighing in just before bed wearing pajamas, around 188 and 189 lately.
new job starts soon. good starting pay for a labor position. i will be picking things up, putting them down, assembling and disassembling things, etc. bend reach stoop squat sweat etc etc. right in my wheelhouse.
there has been a fantastic notable absence of soreness lately, despite feeling crappy. there was a little shoulder soreness after the 70 pushup workout recently, but it was short lived and only mildly uncomfortable. same with the workout where i full squat cleaned 106 lb. my left quad complained at the court a few weeks ago, and my left knee does its usual discomfort thing several times a year. the nasty soreness issues of the past are gone for now, thankfully.
my shoulders have responded nicely to the light shoulder specific workouts ive been doing. lots of mobility stuffs, pushups, press reps and high pulls with just the bar, all led to the 76x3x5 press set last week, which was difficult on the later reps but only due to fatigue. haven't trained presses in a long time. im just happy my shoulders feel way better.
even after i stopped feeling crappy, I've had no motivation to exert for fun. I've felt great actually, which usually means I'll want to be active more often. i realized that a few weeks ago i got a request to walk 2 pit bulls that I've never met. someone else responded faster than me and i didn't get the job, however that morning i meditated on being very mindful of my body language. i slowed down and became methodical and deliberate. i had been stuck in that zone and i realized it this morning and decided enough of that. lets get the blood flowing.
there was a trip to the court for a fairly lazy solo shoot since last post a while back, and another today. last time i didn't have much stamina and quit after 30 mins. today wasn't much better around 45 mins, but i pushed my legs today more. once today in 3 tries i got my right hand fingertips on one of the net hooks that protrude about 1.5 inches down from the top of the rim. not actually getting the rim. also about 6 jumps hitting the backboard with both hands, and a few more alternating 1 hand. lefty jump reach feels uncoordinated. i did a 3 point rush drill that used 9 spots along the arc from corner to corner. i shot well during the drill and it was good for the hustle. made more reverse layups than i missed. post hook shot just meh about 4/10.
I feel like I'm in a good place physically and mentally, and I'm looking forward to getting to work. just waiting for the call now. I'm completely hired and ready to go.
got in almost an hour and a half on the court today. good stamina, mild intensity with bursts of hustle. right foot has been complaining since yesterday afternoon. leg swings and high knees pre shoot helped with warming blood flow that almost eliminated the discomfort. shot was really good. even 3pt + 15 feet out is coming off nice and smooth, with good confidence from anywhere within that range. I didn't push the jump at all today, just a few backboard taps and one unsuccessful rim tap to get reps in. didn't practice much technical stuff, just a few random moves to mix it up. 9 spot 3 point hustle drill went ok; near the end i really have to focus on footwork and alignment to get it in. corner hustle drill went poorly; I jumped for a rebound and landed awkwardly about 4 shots into it, cutting the drill short.
got the call from work. starts next week. had to buy a few tools. got airwalk industrial shoes on the way. they look comfortable and tough.
2 lame workouts since last post. first was rotations, chin ups, push ups, and bodyweight squats. second was rotations, overhead press (76lbx3x5), pull ups, chin ups, 20lb chest height alt lunges 10 each leg, and 36lb bar high pulls. maintenance reps, sort of.
first assignment for new job was delayed till June, but an animal job came in 10 minutes later. im on the job now. the job includes a blind dog. he's sensitive, which makes the job an exercise in calm and assertive body language.
the job went well. got home Friday. while on the job, the dog collar remote was pulling the collar of my hoodie tight against my thyroid. i didn't notice until it was painful to swallow. felt like the thyroid had swelled uncomfortably, and the left side of my throat near left tonsil was particularly irritated. switched hoodies and started wrapping the dog remote around my wrist instead. felt better the next morning.
there was some household man labor since then, but I've been feeling weak and tired during the more intense exertions. usually once i get going it feels good. I'm due for thyroid labs between now and June 1 after a small dosage tweak. we'll see if its all connected to that.
yesterday evening i was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. maybe my metabolism needs a jolt back to reality. short workout last night:
pull up 3/4/3 (later reps = eyes over bar)
chin up 3
push up 10
36 lb bar high pull 16/12/10.
new airwalk industrial shoes are awesome. im probably going to preemptively buy more, different color. very light, so comfortable. time will tell how tough they are. sole probably a little too soft for lifting.
i had ramen 2 nights in a row on the job. there was a noticeable decline in gut function. otherwise im eating well.
a muscle in my neck has been crampy since the thyroid swell issue. its the one tucked just in front of the trap. its not uncomfortable and its receptive to stretching, which is weird. non standard cramp. been putting weed oil on it which seems to help with the cramp.
otherwise i feel good. no nagging pain sources. good sleep helps im sure, but i probably need to go sweat on the court to really start feeling great.
2 trips to the court recently, otherwise no exercise. shot is getting hot. technical moves are meh, reverse layup sucks, post hook shot has been falling. catch n shoot drills satisfactory. jump plateaud just touching the bottom of the rim with my middle fingertip. should probably increase jump reps per trip now.
yesterday i won a $5 satty to a $50 mtt(25 total players) and got 1st. $5 to $500 in 3.5 hrs good parlay.
haven't weighed in for a few weeks. feels steady.
big picture? 45 year old smoker can break a sweat and have fun doing it. a body in motion stays in motion.
lots of poker, not much exercise to report. i did well in a small buy in 1 week series. 54 small field events. i think i played less than half of them. 3x 1st place and a couple smaller cashes. finished 7th overall and got a leaderboard bonus of about $160. so far with bonus tourney tickets ive cashed for $195, and i have 2 x $30 tickets left. this has been taking up lots of my time.
i benched yesterday morning but that was all. it was mostly a maintenance test for my shoulders. felt really good, stable. didn't go high at all. just up to 116 lb x 3 x 5.
weighed in 188.9 lb in shorts and a tshirt 2 nights ago. woke with a stiff neck, likely from using my head as a pivot point to roll over in my sleep and also falling asleep without a blanket covering me for the first few hrs. its still bugging me today. treated with weed cream yesterday and some light massage. slept better last night, well enough that i wanted to do exercise today that would bring blood to the affected area. very short rests between sets.
bw squat 1x30
36 lb bar shrug 1x 10.
bar high pull 1x20.
bar bent row 1x20.
thyroid results in yesterday. slightly out of range thyroid stimulating hormone level, but normal free t4 levels. haven't heard from dr. edit, dr says close enough for now as its trending towards normal range with new dose, and its almost there. no change.
no hoops to report. booo
stiff neck persisted a few days more. rubbed some nerve stuff on it yesterday and instantly got better. its the spot where the arm nerve comes out of the spine, and the neck extrnsor muscle right there cramps around it underneath the trap. its been a chronic issue since i was 15. this nerve stuff is a game changer.
felt good this morning so i did a light workout.
40 pushups plus
25 bw squat
25 pushups
20 pushups
3 sets of(36 lb bar high pull x 5, then rack n squat x 5)
overhead press 36 lb x 1x10. felt tightening in my neck and quit here.
everything else felt good. some hip pops in rack n squat but it wasnt painful.
then i did arm hang circles for a few mins.
Friday was the first day on a new job. it was pretty easy on site furniture assembly stuff. only worked half a day but even partial shifts get paid a full 8 hour day. good deal.
i wouldn't go so far as to say that i did a workout yesterday, but i did some rotations and a few pull ups. maybe 1 to 2 mins between pull up sets:
low external rotations 1x 75
high internal rotations 1x 75
pull ups 5/3/2, then jump holds 3x 15 to 20 seconds. later reps = eyes over bar.
and some arm hang circles.
not really a workout. more like i said to myself "whatsamatta you cant do some pull ups?" which i do sometimes to put my lethargy and sloth into perspective.
my plan right now is to add reps to the first sets of rotations, pushups, pull ups, chin ups, high pulls, and let the later sets catch up naturally. my shoulders are starting to really feel good consistently.
i was hoping to start getting bench press volume but my setup is slightly off; im having trouble racking it after bench press while holding my head off the bench; the bench is slightly too far forward; i need to cut off the side pins so it fits in the rack better. i felt like this was a negative factor that contributed to my stiff neck and ill probably avoid bench until i fix the setup.
was 189.x lb a couple nights ago in pajamas.
today's low weight high rep shoulder centric workout. plan was to get more pushups on first set than previous first set of 25 on jun 5. i used to get 40 on first set when i weighed 160 lb half a lifetime ago. pushups are harder at 189 lb.
unweighted rotations:
low external rotations 1x100, high bent over internal rotations 1x100, high external rotations 2x40.
pushups 29/15/20
bent over row 36 lb bar 30/20.
arm hang circles mixed in throughout.
a peculiarity that I've never mentioned, I've had to start consciously taking deep breaths if I'm holding a squat for a while. whether I'm pulling weeds or petting an animal or whatever, when i stand up i get lightheaded and dizzy. this became a regular issue about 15 years ago when i started psych meds. im on 3rd different med now and all 3 had this effect. drs did a blood pressure lay/sit/stand cycle of tests in 2010, which was normal enough, i guess.
its really only an issue when i stay in a lazy squat(have a few hundred innings logged as a baseball catcher, the laziness runs deep for me). if im consciously taking deep breaths in the squat, i get much better results when i stand up.
in other news, i stacked a guy in a $25 tourney yesterday. hes a respected adversary, but we've never interacted much, never friends. after the game he said there's nobody he'd rather lose his stack to. it felt good to hear that. it felt like a big compliment to my sportsmanship.
oh, i bubbled the $25. my jj < aa. 6 handed cooler, meh.
im stewing on the idea of building a glute ham/back extension stool. think someone here made one and inspired me, but i forgot who(monte i think, dont quote me). actually ive already envisioned one that might utilize my squat rack tipped over, with a pad assembly that attaches to the rear horizontal support. or just a stool that bolts to the ground and straps, old school. or ive taken some screen shots of prefab ghd, but trying to replicate seems like the most difficult option.
shoulders feel good today. i plan to add a soup can to the rotator cuff stuff, and subtract reps. 100x seemed excessive yesterday, but good to know i got it. there was fatigue pain but otherwise felt good and smooth, note the 16 year personal record for first pushup set(29) on short rest after 300 rotations. second set of pushups(15) was 2 mins rest. 3rd set(20) was about 5-7 mins rest, got distracted for a minute but volume benefitted.
more light stuff, shoulder centric.
horizontal and vertical leg swings 10 each leg.
all just the 36 lb bar with short rests:
front squat 3x10.
rack n squat 3x10.
high pull 3x10.
bent over row 2x20.
overhead press 2x20.
followed by arm hang circles n swings.
short workout earlier. neck felt good enough lately to put a little weight on for front squat.
front squat 86 lb x3x5.
pushups 27/22/12/10. maybe 3 to 4 mins rest each.
thats all.
i pulled weeds Saturday morning, holding lazy squats for 10 to 15 mins. i think thats why my right glute medius got progressively tighter around my sciatic nerve as the day went on. got minimal sleep Saturday night.
lots of bw squats, stretching, leg swings, kicks, high knees, and stepovers yesterday. it loosened up a lot by bedtime. the 5 hour afternoon nap helped a lot.
i wouldn't say I've been lazy, as ive been fairly productive since last post, but no dedicated exercise. my appetite has been minimal, and i lost a few lb. 183.2 lb in my underwear this morning after coffee.
talked myself into a mild workout a little while ago.
20 bw squats
5 slow push ups
7 chin ups
28 push ups.
3 chin ups.
30 pushups plus.
uhh, the longer you go without exercise the higher the probability of having a mystery injury. woke early yesterday with an aching swollen left foot. insert paranoid delusions about someone hurting me in my sleep here. it was very painful till i went to urgent care. he said looks like gout. tramdol shot felt great enabling sleep all afternoon. up for a moment in the evening then back to bed till morning. started meds yesterday and feel almost all better today. mystery solved. all day ive been saying thank God i have gout. not a mystery broken foot or something weird.
spent some of today learning about how fatty food and sugars cause gout flares. and i had grok rank common foods according to the foods influences on gout. got a nice cheat sheet. some of my favorite foods are now very bad for me. gonna switch to honey in my coffee and reduce coffee intake. no soda. lean meats ok but no ribeyes. no organ meat, too bad i love giblets. milk yogurt eggs all ok, boom, thats my protein foundation now. salmon and white fish ok. others not so much. no shellfish fk.
i cut out very spicy foods when i was 25. i dramatically reduced my alcohol intake over the last 15 years. i reduced sweets when i got fat. i haven't had fast food in a long time. none of those things really disturbed my diet. actually those things helped my diet become better by process of elimination.
this is a major diet overhaul like I've never experienced. guess im learning how to cook some new ****. being able to eat whatever i wanted for most of my life, im grateful for all the delicious food that ive had the pleasure of devouring with minimal health effects. /waves goodbye to ribeyes
usually i think if im not exercising nor playing sports that i shouldn't post in here. however thats akin to having a poker blog and only posting when youre doing well kicking ass. plus this is now more like a health log than just fitness anyway.
i ate ok early Tuesday, but not much in the middle of the day. then i ate a bunch of almonds on an empty stomach and went to bed. woke 430am, stomach churning with the sensation of rocks in my stomach. fought it till 7am, puked intentionally not spontaneously. usually my stomach is solid, eat whatever. that was my 3rd not drinking related puke of my life. factors likely include dehydration, almonds, and gout med last day effects. didn't feel better until much later in the day, some fish went down ok. feel good today.
i managed to break a sweat doing some household man labor after puking, trying to get the gut juices moving around. it was fairly uncomfortable but i pushed through it for a few hours like ive done with a hangover numerous times.
im a week removed from the swollen foot and ive gained some confidence that i can get some legitimate exercise in.
few nights ago in underwear i weighed 186.x. having a legitimate meal every day just got that much more important.
i did just a little bit of exercise yesterday. starting small build confidence in my joints.
no rest between sets.
3 chin up
10 push up
3 chin up
10 push up
thats all.
getting good poker results lately. this weekend is the final weekend of a 3 1/2 week tourney series. not keeping track, but ive won 3 events(75% win hu) 1 second, 1 fourth, maybe a couple other min cashes. the wins were 40 to 50 player fields. took 42% of the total prizepool in a 50 dollar pko the other night, which may have been the crest of the wave of good cards. i freerolled into the 220 dollar game on Sunday the 13th, of which i already sold 35%. no chance for top 10 big leaderboard prizes but im right around 20/32(top 32 players get pko freeroll entry after series)
weight last night before bed wearing shorts and tshirt 185.0 lb. yikes. my appetite sucks. more activity would boost it im sure.
still no confirmation from the lab that my uric acid levels indicate gout, but since the meds worked so fast im content with the diagnosis and treatment.
another 1st place, plus a second place in the series and im creeping on the top 10 leaderboard bubble. a good run or 2 today might earn a bonus with top 10 leaderboard finish tonight. looked up results and im up about 1k on the series. being disciplined not playing anything but tourneys and the occasional sng.
ive come full circle with gambling again to be here. at 20 years old i couldn't tell the good bets from bad bets. 23(hello poker and ev study) to 34 i was very strict, trying hard to see the good bets from the bad. cough insert abilify decade cough. 42 to 45 present was an adaptive period. old habits die hard. environmental management (not going to casinos) helps a ton.
so now im better than ever at seeing the bad bets from the good bets, game selection and strategy feel solid. the pressure to hit a big run up isnt there. the late nights chasing losses turned into lots of good sleep instead. replacing bad habits with new fulfilling things like learning to grill tasty stuff, golfing, basketball, taking walks. all that stuff is way better for me than poker. its showing now.
on the other hand, my body isnt happy. thats the big picture. gout foot 1 day and puking a week later. i have to do better for my body. havent had soda since gout diagnosis. sugary cereal has all been eaten. cut sweetness of coffee in half. cut out ~20% morning coffee intake. eating tons of plain unsweetened yogurt with fresh berries in the morning. plain cheerios and milk is a frequent snack.
will probably take a while for me to find my favorite new filler foods. i think thatll help me find my groove with appetite. id rather get up to 190 and stay there. feeling a little skinny.
