Pseudo's declaration of Intension

Discussion in 'Training Logs' started by pseudo, Dec 27, 2013.

  1. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    I've decided that I'm tired of being out of shape, clumsy, or at least clumsy for my standard. I want to surpass where I once was, I want to surpass my old man, and I want to maintain whatever results I achieve. Believe it or not I'm quite nervous about posting this Thread, I'm terrified of failing but I need to try something that will help me conquer my laziness. Perhaps starting a thread will give enough incentive to stick with the program and Stop procrastinating, by far my worst trait. I can find an excuse to put off just about any task to a much, much, much later date.

    Starting weight
    220 lb
    Hight
    5'10"
    Max Bench (past)
    245lb
    Max squats
    300lb

    Old man

    Max bench
    300lb
    Max squats
    545lb
    Max front squats
    300lb

    My main focus will be core exercises which I bloody hate but also my weakest area and the reason I injured my lower back and quit all physical activity. I will also start martial arts again. I have a punch card for Aikido I need to use up, I believe I have 8 classes left. Looking forward to being done with this particular dojo and moving on to the next dojo that I found more practical. I will also be starting taijutsu in January once or twice a week.

    The obstacles

    The main obstacles being me

    The gym, I really have no reason for my current physical appearance. When I was in high school, the local gym in town burned down but most of the equipment was salvaged. The owner never rebuilt but held on to the equipment in storage, my old man found out and made him an offer. We ended up with a lot of training gear at a very reasonable price. Over the years we added to the equipment, however when I stopped working out, our makeshift gym became a storage area. I need to dig everything out and resurrect the gym.

    My job, I am an apprentice plumber however most of my experience is in industrial, commercial mechanical rooms. At the moment im unemployed, there is just no work, chances are I will have to go outside to find work which means shift work. X amout of weeks at a time working in camps.

    I think that covers my 3 main obstacles.

    I plan on starting end of January, this month is obviously no good, next month im in Hawaii until the 18th.

    This concludes my first entry.
     
  2. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    Good luck, pseudo.
     
  3. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    Hey pseudo, I can understand having a hard time starting a log! The first time I've really logged anything actually started with MAP a normal training thread which was pretty poor and unstructured, then a boxing training thread which taught me the use of having a log (nice to be able to look back and see what you were doing for training ideas/progression) but even that wasn't as strict as it could have been, and now I've started a training log about coming back from a head injury and dealing with anxiety attacks/migraines that are lingering results from the head injury. This thread is something I'm being so detailed in I would be surprised if people even read (along with the type of work time logged in which is pretty pathetic by an "uninjured and normal" standard :p)

    That said, it's been slowly teaching me to develop some good habits and really pay attention to what I'm doing. It takes time and don't get discouraged when you miss logging in a day or even a week. Just like getting on a good fitness or diet program, being able to update and maintain a good log takes time and you have develop certain habits. You have to let it take a priority at some point in the day where you log on. Even typing something like "making sure I visit my log this time of day, nothing to add though" will help out in developing good logging habits.

    Your goals are very realistic though. I would suggest working out early in the morning given your work situation. Getting a good pump along with getting the lungs going helps put you in either a good mood, or an aggressive and "I'm going to get things done" mood which will help put a kind of crummy life situation into a good perspective at the start of your day. Always good to have a positive mental attitude to start your day out when things are crummy.

    Also, it's always good to do bodyweight exercises when you can't get into the weight room, especially since your goals are in bench press and squats. If you don't want to life or are in a rush, busting out a circuit doing 10 pushups, then 20 squats and repeating without rest for a total of 100 pushups and 200 squats (10x10 pushups, 10x20 squats) goes a long way in developing the neuromuscular connections for a movement that transition very well into developing increased strength or maintaining a current level of strength.

    One more thing I would suggest as I battle with lower back issues myself due to injury and overuse in the past (due to construction work, drywall was my profession for years). Do planks, and plank variations. Work your way up to 2 minute holds. They're an exercise that can be done for a warmup, during a break period between sets, or a post workout cool down exercise. A strong core helps tremendously in the back pain area.

    Good luck!
     
  4. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    Well today I've decided to start tackling the gym... the pictures dont show just how messy it is. Not looking forward to starting this, I have no idea where I am going to store all this junk, some of it doesn't even belong to me. This is going to be a nightmare.

    Currently having technical difficulties uploading pictures.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Good enough for now, I have no PC, all I have is a tablet and a smart phone which makes doing anything, including typing tedious.

    By the way, thanks for the good wishes and support. Ero, im a big fan of yours, I red your log, and I know how difficult recovery is from an outsiders point of view. My uncle the man who helped me threw life when I was an adolescent, who got me into boxing and weight lifting was in a severe mining accident when I was 20. He had 3 clean breaks and 30 some fracture in his hips, he had been crushed between two mining carts. The doctors said that he probably wouldn't walk again, he took this as a challenge and started his own recovery program and I had the privilege of being his training partner. I got to see a man who was never going to walk again, to walking on crutches, to walking with a cane, to now riding his harley davidson. He had been a personal trainer and a Strong Man coach.

    Anyways, I have a large amount of respect for people who don't let bad events dictate who they will become In life. It takes a lot of mental strenght, strenght that I know I probably dont have. I bow to you sr.
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2013
  5. HarryF

    HarryF Malued Vember

    Where there's a will there's a way man; decent evidence of 'will' here, you'll find a way ;)
     
  6. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    The Gym clean up isn't going as planned, I live in a multiplex and I'm positive that everyone in this building has stored something in that gym, I don't know what to do with it all or how to approach it. It was never ment as a storage area and the only people who were supposed to have access was my father and I.

    Anyways, decided to do a bit of body weight work out today, I felt motivated and didnt want to lose it.

    Crunches,

    1 set of 10 reps
    3 set of 18 reps hold the last one 30 seconds

    Push ups

    1 set of 10
    1 set of 12 hold last 15 seconds, transition into plank, hold 1 minute
    1 set of 14 hold last 15 seconds, transition into plank, hold 1 minute
    Sloppy last
    1 set of 20 gassed

    Squats 20, hold last 30 seconds x3

    Slow start, it's been a long time, waking up the muscles, probably going to be sore tomorrow. It's a start, just going to keep telling my self that, make the shame go away :cry: :)
     
  7. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    If people are storing stuff in an area they're not supposed to, it just means they were trying to find a convenient place to put it so they wouldn't have to deal with throwing it away. They'll probably never know if you just chuck it for them! As for things that you own, my cleaning creed is "If you haven't had a use for it in a years time, you don't need it!" Aside from things like camping equipment. :p

    Good work on getting something in regardless though. The hardest thing about getting started with anything is just imply doing it and you're already making headway.
     
  8. matveimediaarts

    matveimediaarts Underappreciated genius

    Nice start to a training log. I'm rooting for you, and looking forward to news of your future success. It will happen if you put the effort (physical and psychological) into it. A few years ago, I could barely lift the 25 lb dumbells and only pushed ~140 on the legpress. Now I can legpress more than 200 (almost 2x my body weight) and have seen this sort of imrpovement in most muscle groups as well. :) Your primary obstable will almost always be yourself. Cheers.
     
  9. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    Just wanted to post a quick update, I haven't done much today, family's been taking up most of my time and im exhausted. A little sore from my meager effort on the 30th however it's nice to feel I have muscle that are still there even if they are dormant. I also managed to get into the gym and do a bit more clean up, I separate stuff into piles and will try and locate owners of stuff that looks like may have value, give them a chance to reclaim before I throw it out. I'm going to have to build shelving and section off a small area for organized storage and office space, no big deal.

    I've kind of come up with a small game plan as far as my MA training is concerned. Im leaving for Hawaii for a short vacation so this wont be starting until I return. When I get back, I will be finishing off my punch card with my current Aikido dojo, I think I have 8 punches left. Once that's done I wont be renewing my membership, I feel relatively bad about my choice as the owner is a friend but I just don't like the training there, not that it's bad, I just need more resistance. Depending on my financial situation I will be joining another aikido, aki jujutsu dojo that I found suited my needs a little better. It is however much more expensive so if after 3 month I feel im not getting my moneys worth, I will be quitting aikido all together.

    A friend of mine is starting a bujinkan dojo in town not for profit, he misses training and wants people to train with, he is a 5th dan and will be splitting the cost of the location between the interested party members. I've always been curious, so I'm going to give it a try.

    September I will be joining the judo club in town, I've been meaning too and even tried a class a year or two ago, I said I would go back and I never did... I feel kind of bad, I really enjoyed it but I was always too dirty and tired to attend after work. Finally, depending on my fitness level, I would like to start boxing again, I have about 4-5 year prior experience, I think it would do me some good and it's something I wouldn't be a complete beginner at.

    Hope everyone had a splendid new years and that 2014 brings much happiness, prosperity, and good fortune to all. To those of you who have set them selves new years resolution goals, YOU CAN DO IT!:)
     
  10. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    What's it like living in the Yukon? :)
     
  11. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    It's good, it's home. I've traveled a lot, been to a lot of different places, imagined moving somewere else but somehow I always come back to the yukon. It's hard to explain, I love and hate it here. The winters are long, society is very divided, it's isolated so nothing is cheap, you dont have access to as many thing, competition is cut throat and service can be below good standard (most likely due to lack of competition). On the flip side, it's beautiful, there are a lot of good and interesting people, their is a lot of support for those who need it, summers are fantastic, right next to Alaska (sea food), hunting, fishing, and camping to your hearts desire, really good art community (if your into that sort of thing), lots to explore and discover.

    Its not for everyone, I'm definitely due to get out for a short stint:).
     
  12. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    Society there divided in what respects? Have's/Have not's, ethnicities? I've been fascinated with polar explorers, the frozen North and the like since I was a kid - reading about Peary, Cook and the like.

    As far as getting out for a bit - you should! Just be mindful that individualism and freedom are not as greatly esteemed as you might assume.

    Living in a place where no one else can is sometimes advantageous ;)
     
  13. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    Hmmm... I'm trying to find a way to explain it with out sounding overly negative. Everyone is divided into groups, you have that everywhere but you feel it more here. For example, you have the Native bands here like the kwanlin dun, they have their own government building, their own bank, their own construction company, so on and so forth. Same thing with the Asian community, they have their own store, their own bar, and places they associated with. The French community have their own assosiasion as well. In a place that has a population of only 28 000 the weight of those divisions can feel a little foreboding. Same thing with social class, you know which areas are poor, middle, and high class in the city. It's an atmosphere I would expect in a large city that is Ill suited or rather not normally expected in a small city. However that being said, everyone gets along with one another they just don't associate with each other much either. A more comical example, a friend of mine has an english and a french board game group that meet on different days.

    I lived in New Zealand for a year, 8 of those months in Kerikeri and I never got that vibe.
     
  14. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    I googled 'Kerikeri' and got just what I expected in Google Images, lots of big but manageable rocks/stones! Between having space and nobody to look at you like you're weird, a course where you carry heavy stones and put them down (all with correct form and posture) sounds like a great forearm/leg/shoulder/whole body workout. :p

    An easy fix to "man, I don't really feel like the whole lifting weights process today." Solution: make pile of heavy stones, pick stone up and walk 40 meters and put stone back down. Repeat until all stones are relocated to next spot. Anybody would get a decent workout with that for 30 minutes and there's no thinking or planning involved. And nobody around to look at you and think, "man what a weirdo" :D
     
  15. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    Sorry for the long break, im in Hawaii. Its been a nice trip for the family but traveling with two kids sure is a lot of work. Looking forward to being back in the north and starting up my training once again. I'm suppose to go on a hike up Diamond head I think its called this Tuesday, really looking forward to it. Be back home on the 18th. :)
     
  16. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    Keep us posted, dude :)
     
  17. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    Back from Hawaii

    Well, im back from my glorious vacation, actually with two young kids, it was a lot of work and I'm quite happy to be back. The kids had a wonderful time and the lady got pampered which is what counts. My youngest is 14 months and im sure she had a blast but I doubt she will remember much if anything. I think we will wait until she's a little older before we go on another trip such as this one.

    As for me, well that trip made me feel very self conscious. Now that im back I feel very unmotivated because I realized the immense amount of work is ahead of me before I can attain my goal. I know it's no excuse but this goal is feeling very daunting. :cry: :bang: getting this regime started is going to blow chunks.

    That being said, it's time to get started. Im not a 100% sure on my progression but I do know that my first two months is going to be bodyweight training with a heavy emphasis on core exercises. After the first 2 months I will transition into a power lifting regime which is where I am most comfortable, I am familiar with the exercises and I know how to progress.

    For the time being I may need to call on the expertise of MAP members who have a experience with body weight training regimes. As it stands:

    Push ups and variations
    Sit ups
    Pull up/chin ups
    Lunges
    Wall sits
    Squats

    If anyone wants to chime in, I'd appreciate it, I really want to focus on abbs, lower back I can't afford to aggrivate or re injur my self which is why I really want to put a lot of emphasis on core. I will take yoga again once I can afford it.

    Im starting tomorrow, I will probably do 4 to 5 progressive sets with the last one to failure, I will also do a lot of sets with a lot of slow retention.

    I think thats it for now

    :)

    Oh yeah, one of my goals is to be able to do a handstand and unassisted handstand pushup, my long term bodyweight goal is to master my body weight. Two inspiration for this is Frank Medrano and "Hannibal for "king" which can be found on youtube in Street workout.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2014
  18. matveimediaarts

    matveimediaarts Underappreciated genius

    I would only add a bunch of variations on pushups to your routine. One hand, one foot, etc...there are lots on the interwebz. :)
     
  19. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    To be honest, most people would probably recommend holding the plank position in sets. It's low impact and works far better on your back and abs than standard sit ups do.
     
  20. Mangosteen

    Mangosteen Hold strong not

    Do you have access to a squat rack and weights at the moment?
     

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