Platypus lifts/reads

[platypus]

4/20/19
Calisthenics

Chins	bwx4x7
Pushups	bwx7x7

Swim

100m breaststroke

1:53 1:47 1:53 1:55

Notes:
- 100m breaststroke proves far more doable than 100m crawl. The crawl also irritated my shoulders a bit, while they find breaststroke very agreeable.

- This never happened to my 150lb self during swim team in highschool, but now I get a pump from swimming.

- I went to Mormon church with a buddy today. Not a whole lot of pageantry there; incense, crosses, icons, and congregational involvement in the service seemed to be taboo. It was sort of like a class, where we all sat down and listened to people give testify about their belief in Jesus and the teachings of Joseph Smith. After about an hour and a half my buddy, who's more of a cultural Mormon than a religious Mormon, whispered, "Let's go." We very conspicuously exited the front pew and left. The pews were pretty awesome, with padding on the seat and the back.

12 reps is a great effort.

Thanks, Ben!

[hector]

Great news about your improved breath control!
I think the role of cardio in lifting is greatly unappreciated. Even slight cardio gains can help enormously.

(1) you recover faster between sets, so you can do more sets in the same time
(2) sets even as low as 3 or 5 reps are not just atp/glycolitic fueled. Aerobically fueled also. And if you can push harder on 3s and 5s that will improve your 1RM, even if your 1RM is not aerobically fueled.

(I may be using this terminology wrong. But the ideas are solid.)

[platypus]

I think you're right, @hector.

4/22/19
Calisthenics

Chins	bwx4x8
Pushups	bwx7x8

Weights

Incline press	145x5x2 145x9
Curl	67.5x12 60x12
Squat	310x5x2 310x8
Neck ext.	15x25x3 15x40

Notes:
- Pretty sure my legs were still wiped out from squatting Friday. I might alternate between front and back squats each time to avoid this.

[platypus]

4/23/19
Calisthenics

Chins	bwx4x8
Pushups	bwx7x8

Swim

100m breaststroke

1:50 1:55 1:56 2:00

Notes:
- Finished Lost to the West and started Reconnaissance Man by Aaron Clarey. I'll probably get through all his books at this point.

[platypus]

4/24/19
Calisthenics

Chins	bwx4x8
Pushups	bwx7x8

Weights

Press	130x5x2 130x8
Chin	20x6 10x6
Yates row	175x9 175x11
Deadlift	340x7

Notes
- Yes, I slaughtered last week's Yates row numbers on my first set, then slaughtered my first set's numbers on my second set. Usually a second to-failure set for me involves both a reduction in load and reps, but today the gods smiled on me.

- And then I promptly proceeded to suck at deadlifts, presumably because the gods were only handing out Yates row PRs today.

- Made a bet with one of my coworkers: I have to get my waist measurement down to 34" by September 1st. I'm at 38.25" at the moment, so I'll need to lose about a quarter inch per week. It seems doable. I stand to lose $100 if I fail, and gain $10 if I win. Why did I take a bet with such horribly skewed odds, you ask? Because fear of public humiliation and losing money will motivate me to actually reach this lofty goal.

Also, the seasonal workers are starting to arrive for summer, and some of them are pretty attractive. It certainly wouldn't hurt to take myself from a 4 to a 7 before they migrate south for the winter.

On a related note, I'm down to 202lbs, so I can't weigh myself during the diet. As long as I don't actually see the number on the scale drop below 200, the possibility remains that I'm still an adult male.

[platypus]

4/26/19
Weights

Incline press	147.5x5x2 147.5x11
Curl	70x9 60x14
Squat	315x5x2 315x6
Neck ext.	16.25x25x4

Notes
- Took a couple days off calisthenics due to aching elbows. Wanted to nip that in the bud before I experience tendinitis.

- I have no idea what’s going on with squats. I was expecting to get 315 for 10 or 11 reps, but the 7th rep stapled me. On the flip side, I definitely didn’t expect to get 11 reps on incline bench.

- Finished Reconnaissance Man. It was about the need to travel around the country before deciding where to live and what to do. Looking back on the various states I’ve been stationed, that’s a pretty good idea. If I’d grown up in San Francisco, for example, and never spent much time elsewhere, I might never realize how much happier I’d be living somewhere nice. Aaron Clarey’s list of places worth visiting was definitely different than mine, though. He thought Miami was worth a visit; whereas having spent a month there I’d say that even the fantastic Cuban restaurants aren’t worth the hellish traffic. To each his own, I suppose.

- And now I’m rereading The Leangains Method by Martin Berkham. There is much valuable information, and the diet plan looks basically like what every actor did to get jacked for any movie: eat a ton of lean meat and veggies, and little else. I think I’d struggle with compliance on a diet like this though.

In the last couple weeks of eating with no concern for nutrition, I’ve averaged 304g carbs per day, 102g fat, and a mere 164g protein. My tentative plan is to shoot for 200g protein and 200g carbs, letting the fats fall where they may.

[hector]

You read interesting sounding books!

Natives often hate it, but I think Phoenix (in particular, Scottsdale) is an awesome place to live. Almost everyone there is from somewhere else, which makes for a slightly more interesting population. Lots of free outdoor stuff. Incredible views.

I enjoyed Berkhan's book, but it added nothing if you've read his articles. Except for fun.

If the seasonal workers are from another country then dating makes for a phenomenal language hack.

[platypus]

4/28/19
Calisthenics

Chins	bwx4x8
Pushups	bwx7x8

Notes:
- Turns out the pool closes long before the rest of the rec center closes. I missed my opportunity to swim.

Natives often hate it, but I think Phoenix (in particular, Scottsdale) is an awesome place to live. Almost everyone there is from somewhere else, which makes for a slightly more interesting population. Lots of free outdoor stuff. Incredible views.

That was one of the recommended cities in Reconnaissance Man. I'm putting it on my list of places to check out. I like sunshine, low taxes, and mountains. And ASU has an electrical engineering program and a great party school reputation.

[platypus]

4/29/19

Calisthenics

Chin	bwx5x3
Pushup	bwx12x3

Weights

Press	132.5x5x2 132.5x7
Chin	22.5x6 20x6
Squat	320x5x2 320x7
Neck ext.	16.25x25x3 16.25x32

Notes
- After debating lots of diet ideas in my head, my current plan is to just eat a pound of chicken at every meal and follow it with other healthy foods. It's day 2 right now.

- TB1 switched to highbar squats finally, after struggling with depth and hip pain on lowbar for several months. He highbar squatted beautifully today. I joined him in a show of solidarity.

- I found my Milo shirt that got a hole in in last year, and had a flashback to when Herbison suggested I just cut off the sleeves. I went ahead and did it, and wore the cutoff to the gym today. I saw myself in the mirror; high and tight haircut, mustache, chest hair extending above my collar, cutoff shirt, resting bitch face, and long scratches on my arms from trying to liberate a discarded chest-of-drawers from a monstrous thornbush on earth day. Ten years ago I would have crossed the street to avoid someone like me.

In my grungy gym clothes, I ran into a woman who I hadn't seen in a while. She responded to my "hey" with an enthusiastic greeting, struck up a conversation and maneuvered herself deep inside my personal bubble, grabbing my bicep and bringing her face just inches from mine. My buddy was watching the interaction with a look of amusement. The girl was all done up, with makeup and earrings and nice clothes. As I talked distractedly to her about the weather, I couldn't help but think, "I look like white trash personified, and you look really classy. There's something deeply wrong with this picture."

Seriously, just a few years ago I ironed my shirts, combed my hear, was leaner, talked like I was educated, and never caused so much as a rubberneck. Either a trashy vibe suits me, or people's taste has gone way downhill since the 30s. Maybe I look just salvageable enough to be intriguing.

[platypus]

4/30/19
Calisthenics

Chin	bwx5x3
Pushup	bwx12x3

Swim

100m breaststroke

1:48 1:51 1:58 2:00

Notes
- Day 3 of eating a pound of chicken at each meal and I nearly reached the breaking point. My favorite recipe has about equal parts sugar and protein despite the seemingly miniscule amount of sauce, so I've been eating pretty plain shredded chicken with a few spices. It doesn't sound that difficult on paper, but a pound takes about 45 minutes to chew and swallow. The fact that I'm finishing off all the junk food in my house with the reckless abandon of a sororistute at the mall with daddy's credit card hasn't mitigated the voluntary hardship of spending that much time chewing chicken.

Then I got an idea. A&P sells chicken tenders that are pretty edible, even in large quantities. It's actual breaded chicken, not some mcdonalds thing. And the carb-protein ratio is much more favorable than my beloved orange chicken. They're actually 10c cheaper per pound than the bulk frozen chicken I normally buy. That's very suspicious, now that I think about it.

There's also something very suspect about a fat-loss diet that's based around chicken tenders. We'll see how it goes.

[SeanHerbison]

- Day 3 of eating a pound of chicken at each meal and I nearly reached the breaking point. My favorite recipe has about equal parts sugar and protein despite the seemingly miniscule amount of sauce, so I've been eating pretty plain shredded chicken with a few spices. It doesn't sound that difficult on paper, but a pound takes about 45 minutes to chew and swallow.

You are very definitely doing it wrong.



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There are tastier ways to do chicken, but I'm not sure about easier. And I just ate 2/3 lb of chicken with slightly more potatoes in a little more than the time it took to read your post.

[mbasic]

- I went to Mormon church with a buddy today. Not a whole lot of pageantry there; incense, crosses, icons, and congregational involvement in the service seemed to be taboo. It was sort of like a class, where we all sat down and listened to people give testify about their belief in Jesus and the teachings of Joseph Smith. After about an hour and a half my buddy, who's more of a cultural Mormon than a religious Mormon, whispered, "Let's go." We very conspicuously exited the front pew and left.

you should of went to the whole kit and caboodle...
...unless the format has changed, its like this:

1 hr +/- sacrament meeting; the whole congregation in the main part 'church' (sounds like what you went to, "pews", etc)

1 hr +/1 of sunday school/scripture study ; men and women, of specific different age groups.
Informal class. Very social.

1 hr +/- of priesthood / "sister hood thing" (beehive thingie)
Basically small groups in classrooms grouped by sex AND age.
Learn about stuff specific to being a man (father, brother, son, citizen ...with church emphasis)
or same thing but the females in the other classrooms.
Same thing. Informal structured class ... social thing...

The pews were pretty awesome, with padding on the seat and the back.

Their churches are normally pretty well kept up ... nice, but not overly gaudy.

For all its faults, and how they are made fun of for certain beliefs (and I admit, deserved in that regard) ...
... its probably one of the best typical religions out there, by a wide margin.
Well run too.
And I don't mean the wacko poly renegade weirdos on the Arizona/Utah border....I mean mainstream LDS.

That one Southpark episode is so spot-on its freaky to me; the ending is so true.

[platypus]

5/1/19 - Wednesday
Calisthenics

Chins	bwx5x3
Pushups	bwx12x3

- On duty so I couldn’t make it to the pool.

[platypus]

5/2/19 - Thursday

Calisthenics

Chins	bwx5x3
Pushups	bwx12x3

Weights

Incline bench	150x5x2 150x9
Curl	65x13 60x11
Yates row	185x7 185x8
Deadlift	345x6

Notes
- Once again my second to-failure set of Yates rows beat my first set. I’ve just been doing one warmup set for these at 135x5. Maybe I need a bit more of a warmup.

[platypus]

5/3/19 - Friday

Calisthenics

Chins	bwx5x3
Pushups	bwx12x3

Notes
- @seanherbison you’re a lifesaver! I’d assumed buffalo sauce was loaded with carbs without actually checking. Just downed my lunch chicken about 3 minutes, roughly 1,500% faster than before. It was infinitely more enjoyable than plain chicken breast or tenders.

... its probably one of the best typical religions out there, by a wide margin.

Can’t say I know much about what they believe, but they do seem to have a great culture. When I meet a coastie who’s been married to the same person for more than 10 years, it’s like a 50/50 shot they’re Mormon. They frequently have intelligent, well-behaved kids as well.

It sounds like I missed all the best parts of the service.

[BenM]

Sriracha is also fantastic when dieting, if you're into that sort of thing. And mustard - not the sweet honey type (carbs) or dijonnaise (fats) but just English or in my case, Australian style mustard. Super low calorie but goes great on steak, chicken, salads, just about anything.

[SeanHerbison]

- @seanherbison you’re a lifesaver! I’d assumed buffalo sauce was loaded with carbs without actually checking. Just downed my lunch chicken about 3 minutes, roughly 1,500% faster than before. It was infinitely more enjoyable than plain chicken breast or tenders.

Glad I could help.

[platypus]

5/5/19 - Saturday

Calisthenics

Chin	bwx5x3
Pushup	bwx12x3

Swim

100m breaststroke

1:47 1:50 1:50 1:50 1:49

Weights

Press	135x5x2 135x7
Chin	25x6 10x6
Front squat	205x5x2 205x10

Notes
- Lifetime PRs on every lift!

- Slowly increasing the number of swims.

- Read Becoming a Barbarian by Jack Donovan. It sounds like a scam workout ebook, but it's actually about tribalism. Specifically, how we need a group of people that we care about, and who care about us. He makes the point that in modern culture we advertise how virtuous we are by acting like we care about people/problems way outside our sphere of influence, while failing to actually help the people who should matter to us. I was reminded of Ivan Fyodorovich's words in The Brothers Karamazov: "The more I love humanity in general the less I love man in particular."

- Currently working on Diabolical by Milo Yiannopoulos. It's about the sex abuse coverup scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, why non-Catholics should care about saving Catholicism, and I think later in the book he's going to offer solutions of some kind.

[platypus]

Sriracha is also fantastic when dieting, if you're into that sort of thing. And mustard - not the sweet honey type (carbs) or dijonnaise (fats) but just English or in my case, Australian style mustard. Super low calorie but goes great on steak, chicken, salads, just about anything.

I need to give sriracha a try; some of my friends love it with rice and eggs but I haven't used it yet.

[BenM]

Sriracha is also fantastic when dieting, if you're into that sort of thing. And mustard - not the sweet honey type (carbs) or dijonnaise (fats) but just English or in my case, Australian style mustard. Super low calorie but goes great on steak, chicken, salads, just about anything.

I need to give sriracha a try; some of my friends love it with rice and eggs but I haven't used it yet.

Yeah it's great with those too. Assuming you like spicy foods of course.

Congrats on the PRs!