23 Feb 2017 - The Little things

This is meant to cover a lot of the little things I am doing that i forget to mention when typing out the weekly logs. Most of this stuff is done daily, several times a week, or in every training session in some form or fashion

Nutrition
Breakfast - I have switched to the MEAT & NUTS Breakfast. The Idea came from Charles Poliquin, i have read about it in the past. Coach Selkow Started it a little over a month ago and gave it his seal of approval. It is the real deal. My Hunger is way down as is my craving for sugar throughout the day. I also don't spend midnight shifts avoiding the canteen because of temptation or craving.

Bed Time- I drink a tasty drink of Boiled Water, 1 tsp Turmeric, 2 Cap fulls of Lemon Juice, and a 1 tsp of Honey. This has helped me sleep and kept my swelling, inflammation, and cortisol down.

My Coffee /Caffeine intake is down to a minimum. Working on becoming less and less dependent even when I work midnight shifts.

My Water intake is at prime levels, better than it has been in a long time.

I still Jack & Coke don't get me wrong

Prehab

This may not count as Prehab or Rehab. KB Swings get done every time I am in the gym in some form or fashion. I am getting to the point that things feel solid enough to try 2 x 35lbs KB for movements. Typically i do KB Swings with a single 53 lbs KB. My endurance in my glute is building. Overall my body is getting strong(er) as a full unit once again. A little more time.

I am doing something every morning when I get out of bed. The Hip rotations in a hands & knees position is coming quickly, I am getting the movement and the muscles are engaging properly.

I am finally able to feel like I am stretching my hip fully.

Other things I am planning on getting into:

This is my Saturday night.This is a very big deal for anyone who knows about the history of fighting in Ontario Canada. 

Muay Thai - I will be getting back into holding pads when I can at a gym close to my residence in Ottawa. When I am home in Kingston I will do the same. I am only going to do this at an adhoc basis right now as working a shift schedule i do not have the time to set up anything meaningful. Something is better than nothing. I will start experimenting hitting the heavy bag and mitts in a few more weeks.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - This has quietly been making a return in my life. I will be back to training full time rather shortly. This will also involve travel. i have a lot of friends spread all over. Some i have not seen in a very long time. It will be good to see them again, to train and to get choked by them.

First up in gyms to visit, train, and learn

other gyms - In an effort to push out of my comfort zone i will start travelling to other Powerlifting gyms to learn, get strong(er) and to the expand my knowledge. First up i guess is the Seminar in Connecticut. After that I will be looking at contacting the Whetham's in order to set something up. That will be a trip down the road to Outlaw Powerlifting

I will of course do write ups for all the places I travel.

Schooling
I am enrolling in a University course with the goal of eventually getting a full BA. This is something I will be doing part time and predominantly online. It is time i built up my future and stopped pretending to be a simple Knuckle dragger.

There is some other things still in the works with my career that leave somethings hanging in the balance under final decisions are made much later this year. Before those decisions happen I am going through a bunch of retirement seminars, resume writing courses, and some other stuff to help prepare me to find a new career /job with my existing skill sets. This unknown future is another reason I am doing the university thing as well.

Shooting 
I will be cleaning my guns and getting them ready for the year. A new range opened up closer to home (it is actually mid way between both my residences) so that has me excited. More on that when I get registered and figure things out. 

Wilderness
One of the things I have figured out is that if my job is not going to get me outside then I have to make time for it outside of work. To this end  I am looking at several events and training in Frontenac Park in May /June. When those are completed I will plan a few several day camping trips over the summer and in the fall. Of course there is also the Frontenac Challenge that I came up short completing last fall. I will be in a much better position to get it completed this year, I have even contemplated taking a week off work and doing the full 180+km in 7 days.

So yeah overall I am putting a fire under my ass or whatever cliche phrase you want to use. Quite simply it is time I got off my ass and did stuff. My living situation and my work situation are less than satisfying. So i will fill as much as my time doing other things.

18 Feb - Sun comes up and goes back down....

This week may be a bit of a write off for lifting. My Schedule has been all over. My sleep has been rough and as you will read below seeing the Demon Hunter has created more work than peace. Despite it all my nutrition has stayed on point. My Rehab has improved.

Deadlifting on Saturday seemed to really tighten up and piss off my hip. The timing worked out well as I had an RMT appt booked for Monday.

RMT Notes:
This time he really dug in there as far as he could get to smooth things out and get the rest of the tissue moving. I definitely did not walk out of there feeling like i did last time. I felt ok for about an hour or two and then the work he did seemed to settle in. The day after everything feels sore yet better than last night.

Afterwards I went for a lunch with a friend of mine. We spent 2 hrs laughing at a lot of random shit. Most of which I cannot discuss here. Most of it was not PC. Some might perhaps consider borderline legal (not illegal, just testing the letter and intent of the law). Definitely all funny. Oh and he pretty much demanded I go see John Wick 2 this. Although i have been warned I may leave the movie theater, get home, and then spend the next two hours practicing clearing drills in my house.

15 Feb
Got up, stretched. Then later I did my normal Bench /Upper back day.

17 Feb

The schedule at this point was all over the place. After seeing the Demon hunter on Friday i was in no place mentally to lift. So i took the day.

18 Feb

Since Deadlifting is a direct irritant to my piriformis (i figured this out the week before) I decided to Box Squat instead. My head was into the game better so I was able to focus and work some of my frustrations out and get some focus. 

16 Feb

 Physio Notes:
He figured out who he has a patient. He was super impressed with my progress in such a short time. My reply "I am here to win, not to lose".
We spent the next 20 min with him smashing my pirifomis with his elbow. it made me think i really need a BOOMSTICK from Kabuki Strength.
I spent another 20 min or so with a heat pad on my hip to let things settle.

17 Feb

Demon Hunter:
As much I have made progress with my mental game the last 2 weeks have been rough. My living and work situation are rough to say the least. I found out I am going to have to live it another year. I really seemed to have an issue accepting it. My resiliency as a result has been nearly non-existent or at least that is how it feels. I am working on this this. I also learned an important lesson. Do Not go back work after an appointment. I do need time to process.

Yeah this log is all over the place. Thanks for reading.

I am facing some adversity right now. I will find my path through it or learn to embrace the chaos. 

08 Feb 2017 -Never understood what was wrong or what was right...

"As you grow spiritually, your approach to negative emotions naturally matures. First, you flounder in negativity, alternating between denial and shame. Then, you embark on a well-intentioned effort to transform negative emotions into positive ones, improving yourself so that you become a more successful and lovable person in the mirror of your self-worth.
Finally, you can't help but live true to what is, whatever is. You stop trying to buoy yourself with motivation and positive thinking. You open as the lack and the darkness you sometimes feel. You are willing to feel, breathe and be everything, dark and light. Opening in every now-moment, your life is no longer lived as a hope for success and love, but as an unfolding openness."
-David Deida, 'Blue Truth'


Got the above quote off Facebook a few weeks ago.

So De-Load week is completed. I got a few cardio sessions in, did a few short lifting sessions just to cause blood flow, figured out a rep max for Incline Press and got in to see the Shaman for some much need massage therapy.




SHAMAN (RMT):
-Scar restricting movement hindering extension which led to Glute shutting down.
-used the cups (felt like a crossfitter) to move things are and loosen up my piriformis, TFL, hip flexor, and quad.
-used the Stim machine to make the glute fire properly now that the stuff in the front was not fighting things.
-I walked in there with my hip feeling like i had molasses in the muscles and that I would be semi-crippled with my low back pain and weakness in my hip.
-I walked out feeling like i could run again and i could stand in proper posture without having to fight to be in. Zero low back pain and nearly non-existent hip discomfort.
-He also gave me activation and strengthening homework.
There is a reason I call him the Shaman. He proved it yet again. I did honestly not think i could that much better in under an hour. I was in a real bad state physically and mentally going into this appointment so it was a very much welcomed relief.

The New Schedule which looks very similar to the last 3 weeks:
Monday
Squat (5/3/1 w/ FSL 5x5)
Incline Bench 1x10x40%,50% /3x10x60%
Pull Ups (Bodyweight) 10x5 (increasing volume weekly)
Abs 5 sets
KB Swings 1x30x53
Stuff*

Tues
Conditioning -Step Mill- 2 x 20min CHI
KB Swings 1x30



Wednesday
Bench (5/3/1 w/ FSL 5x5)
Cable Rows 5x10-20reps
Triceps 5x10-20
Abs 5 sets
KB Swings 1x30x53
Stuff*



Thursday
Conditioning -Step Mill- 100 floors as fast as possible

Friday

DL (5/3/1 w/FSL 5x5)

OH Press (5/3/1 w/FSL 5x5)

Weighted Pull ups 5x5

Abs 5sets

KB Swings 1x30x53

Stuff*

Weekends and some evenings I will do 40-60min of "Cardio" simply to sweat and recover. It usually looks like this:

10-30min each of:
Elliptical -30secON/2min Off Intervals
Treadmill -I mess with the incline while trying to increase the pace
Bike-Intensity and Pace that is quick but does not induce Muscle Acidosis (formally known as Lactic Acid build up /burn)
KB Swings
I sweat from these session and never walk away tired. This is active recovery and simply an added calorie burn during the week.









*"Stuff" refers to exercises such as:
Band Pull Aparts, Facepulls, Bicep curls-various in nature, Tricep work-various in nature, push ups-varius in nature
All Stuff exercises are completed in 1x100 or a few sets as possible to get to 100reps.

Abs: consists of Stir the pot, Bosu Sit Ups, Side Plank (alternating on a 5count), and kneeling or standing static holds

Back Ext to start every session 2-3 sets 5-20 reps.
KB Swings

Nutrition:

Tightening it up. I just need to get through mids without hitting the shift canteen for snacks. In other words I need to eat more before shift and bring more food. Otherwise I only eat eggs, bacon, ground pork or ground beef, rice, spinach.

Still drinking the Tumeric "Tonic" i described last time. Calling it a "Tonic" makes me feel like it came from Victorian Era Great Britain.

PHYSIO Notes:
So I also got a new Physio this week. This guy has been doing the job for 16+yrs so he has seen and treated alot of things. So having the experience is nice. I expressed my situation and displeasure having 4 Physio's since Surgery realizing it is also situational. He is not going anywhere so i should be good for the next few months. It is getting to the point where i need hone in and focus fully. My medical category at work expires around the beginning of June. I need to be 100% by then. I know I will get there, I simply need him to keep me healthy enough to keep pushing as hard as I need to.

My career is riding on this recovery and we are nearing the time for the final prepatory training stage.

No Jits last week during my deload. First my back was too messed and then after seeing the Shaman i wanted to rest it a few days to make sure everything had time to settle. The week before was a successful return to the mats. 4 trg sessions within 5 days. I will continue that this week now that things are feeling better.


I will go through and cover the new exercises next time. Thanks for reading.