Adarq.org

if there's not going to be a gym where you are, ross enamait's card deck workout is always fun. each suit means an exercise, face value means a number of reps. so like spades-squat, hearts-push ups, clubs-band pull aparts, diamonds-sit ups. work your way through the deck.

Been in several different performances and late rehearsals the last couple weeks, so I've focused my time on actually going to the gym to do something and practicing my horn, kinda just forgot to update, been so focused on listening to and practicing jazz improv (which I suck at haha). Here's the last two days

Friday 2/21/2014:

Bench: 125 2x8, 135 3x8
Pullups: 4x5
DB Split-Jerk: 40s 3x10
SA DB Lateral Raise: 20lb 3x8
Face pull: 70lb 3x10

Straight bar cable curl: 65lb 3x12
Pushups: 3x10


Saturday 2/22/2014:

Squats: 135lb 2x5, 185lb 3x8
DB Step up: 40lb ea hand, 3x8
SL DB RDL: 50lb ea hand, 3x10

Didn't do auxiliary stuff saturday because I didn't realize the gym closed at 3, had to cut short.

70lbs is pretty heavy for a face pull? Do you focus on the movement or just pull away?

Focus on the movement. Especially since it's auxiliary for shoulders which I'm focusing on developing and fixing after years of neglect. Its on a cable machine with a couple pulleys, so the actual weight I'm pulling is less than that, though I have no way of measuring it, so I just mark the weight listed. In some old physics classes I actually knew how to figure out the true force needed when pulleys are used. Maybe one of these days I'll do some review then go figure out actual weights on the cable machines in that gym.

Back around. Again.

It's been a while since my last post. I hate excuses but I'm trying to get some people to be accountable to for staying in semi-decent shape again. One of my last "come-back" posts was in January of 2014. I tried to make sort of a comeback but for about to years now I just haven't been able to get the motivation to go to the gym. My focus has been entirely on finishing school. I didn't realize what was stopping me until a few months back. I was having a conversation about life in general with a close friend. I basically broke down about how I wasn't all there. I could never sleep well and too many things were in my head. I realized that the ridiculous school/workload combined with taking summer classes burned me out and left me no psychological recovery or time for myself after my aunt lost her battle to cancer, a close friend died in a bicycle accident, and several other friends and acquaintances in a short span passed from sickness, and some even by their own hand.

I'm now graduated and it took me until a month before graduation to realize that it had all caught up to me because I never took care of myself, physically, or mentally. What really made me come back was the speech a director gave to all the college students at an educator's conference somewhat recently. He said that there's no way you can take care of your students or your family, if you haven't taken care of yourself first. Without an emphasis on caring for yourself, things start to break down and what you once focused on is out of reach because you haven't bothered to make sure you're capable of it.

So now I'm getting back to a focus on me for a while. I try to let things go and not worry about them when they're out of my hands. I've been sleeping better, even if it means waking up late (not a concern, since I'm between jobs). The last thing I'm really missing is getting back to working out, and eating more because my diet has consisted of almost nothing for a while.

TL;DR: I didn't realize until recently just how much certain life events had affected me psychologically. I'm back to the forums as a sort of accountability system to focus on improving my physical and mental health to be the more motivated and energetic person I once was.

Plus you're all really chill and helpful, especially LBSS, who always gave me good feedback and a hard time all the same like big brother and I appreciate that.

welcome back, breh. commence to eating. 

It's good to be back!

I'm setting this up somewhat loosely like the actual Scrawny to Brawny program (the one that you pay for that's absurdly overpriced haha). I'm building one habit at a time and making myself accountable for that habit at first.
My first habit, which is the only meal I will stress over for the next two weeks is breakfast and a mid-day shake.

Minimum breakfast for the next two weeks:
3 egg omelette with sausage link
2 cups whole milk with two heaping spoonfuls of pinole for carbs (Mexican corn powder mix. Basically a nonfermetted version of tesguino, the corn beer stuff that Tarahumara Indians in Mexico drink)

This is good for about 700kcal, and will be the bare minimum. I'm calling this standard breakfast. Anything added will be bonus like +banana or +toast

Minimum midday shake:
2 cups whole milk
2 scoops EAS protein powder
1 Banana

Good for 800kcal. I'll call this standard shake.

Every day I'll have a brief post that basically says whether I got my minimums done or not. If I happen to workout that day I'll also log that, but I'm not gonna stress about logging workouts for now, or stress about missing workouts. Getting energy back by fixing one part of my diet is priority for the next two weeks and it's the only thing I'll be making myself accountable for.

6/21/2015:

Habit building:
Standard breakfast, standard shake

Rest day

6/22/2015:

Habit building:
Standard breakfast +1 large egg, standard shake

6/23/2015:

Habit building:
Standard breakfast, standard shake

1hr+ biking around town

6/24/2015:

Habit building:
Standard breakfast, standard shake

30 minutes bicycle

1 cycle MadBarz routine:
8 dips
10 pikes
8 pull ups
15 squats
10 pushups
10 seconds planche progression#1
15 calf raises ea. leg
10 close grip chinups

Side note:

Once in a while new people still find my old lifting videos from 3-4 years ago. I've gotten a lot of props for the max back squat on YouTube and it still motivates me to get stronger for weight than I was then. I wanna break 2x bodyweight squat.

But there was some dude that came on the videos saying the plates weren't as big as a different set on the rack and I was only lifting like 185.... thanks, guy. haha

back !

This gym situation is perfect, make sure you take full advantage of it!