A Tale Told by an Idiot

[EricK]

Tue, 7/26/22

198.9

I did plan to work out this morning but for some reason I couldn't fall asleep until well after midnight and had very restless sleep on up until 5 when my alarm went off. Not sure why. That's not much of an excuse but I want to figure out why I have such a hard time getting to sleep even though I'm often so tired. I'm going to visit my parents this weekend for 10 days on Thursday; I'd like to think about how to do something during that time but it will be disruptive either way.

Managed to do some press tonight: 45 x 10, 95 x 5 x 3

Sorry man. If/when you figure out the sleep thing, do share.

Something, something, add 5 lbs...

[hector]

Is your bed comfortable?
How dark is your bedroom? Can you get it darker?
Have you tried slow meditation type breathing and consciously relaxing your shoulders?
Have you tried reading before bed?

[EricK]

Is your bed comfortable?
How dark is your bedroom? Can you get it darker?
Have you tried slow meditation type breathing and consciously relaxing your shoulders?
Have you tried reading before bed?

Thanks, hector. I've looked at a few of those things before, I think the biggest problem is stress management and consistent exercise...just gotta get back o that horse. Which brings me to:

Mon, 8/15/22

200.7

Squat / pullup:
[ 135 x 8 / BW x 5 ] x 2
185 x 5 / BW x 5

Bench / curl:
[ 135 x 8 / 82 x 8 ] x 3

Vacation in California to visit my family was great, although stressful with 2 little ones. I should have started lifting again last week, but my process of getting back on the horse is more like, getting one foot caught in a stirrup, then slipping off the side and getting slowly dragged around for a while until the horse decides to take a shit...

[hector]

Is your bed comfortable?
How dark is your bedroom? Can you get it darker?
Have you tried slow meditation type breathing and consciously relaxing your shoulders?
Have you tried reading before bed?

Thanks, hector. I've looked at a few of those things before, I think the biggest problem is stress management and consistent exercise...just gotta get back o that horse. Which brings me to:

Mon, 8/15/22

200.7

Squat / pullup:
[ 135 x 8 / BW x 5 ] x 2
185 x 5 / BW x 5

Bench / curl:
[ 135 x 8 / 82 x 8 ] x 3

Vacation in California to visit my family was great, although stressful with 2 little ones. I should have started lifting again last week, but my process of getting back on the horse is more like, getting one foot caught in a stirrup, then slipping off the side and getting slowly dragged around for a while until the horse decides to take a shit...

I hope you find something that works. Poor sleep is the worst.

[EricK]

Tue, 8/16/22

200.8

Bench: 145 x 2, 4, 3, 6, 4, 8
I saw this structure in some hotshot's training log a few times with much heavier weight.

Deadlift / dip:
[ 225 x 5 / BW x 8 ] x 3

Treadmill:
30:00, 373 cal, 2.86 mi

What makes this time different? We'll see. I have a business trip week, so I plan to use the hotel gym and at least get on the treadmill, hopefully they have a pullup bar and maybe even a dip station...

[EricK]

Thu, 8/18/22

198.7

Squat / pullup:

[ 135 x 8 / BW x 8 ] x 2, 185 x 8 / BW x 8
[ 205 x 5 / BW x 8 ] x 3

Bench / curl:

135 x 12 / 82 x 8
[ 155 x 8 / 82 x 8 ] x 3

Very close to a full week...

[EricK]

Fri, 8/19/22

199.9

Bench / pullup:
135 x 15 / BW x 8
[ 165 x 8 / BW x 8 ] x 3

Deadlift / dip:
225 x 12 / BW x 12
[ 275 x 5 / BW x 12 ] x 3

Treadmill:
30:00, 402 cal, 3.05 mi

[EricK]

Mon, 8/29/22

Squat / chin:
[ 135 x 8 / BW x 8 ] x 2
185 x 8 / BW x 8
[ 225 x 5 / BW x 8 ] x 3

Bench / curl:
135 x 12 / 82 x 8
[ 155 x 8 / 82 x 8 ] x 4

Treadmill:
30:00, 382 cal, 2.88 mi

[mgil]

How’s things?

[EricK]

How’s things?

Things are good. That work seminar I went to last week was very busy and I was pretty tired by the time I got home. I'm glad to be home with the wife and my boys and I hope to stay more consistent for a little while...

How are you doing?

[mgil]

How’s things?

Things are good. That work seminar I went to last week was very busy and I was pretty tired by the time I got home. I'm glad to be home with the wife and my boys and I hope to stay more consistent for a little while...

How are you doing?

With summer wrapping up, work looking chaotic in September, and the kids going back to school, I know I’m in for a struggle to get lifting in. Oh yeah and these classes I decided to take. Smart idea.

It’s tough burning the candle from multiple ends. Just doing what I can and not worrying too much about stuff.

[EricK]

How’s things?

Things are good. That work seminar I went to last week was very busy and I was pretty tired by the time I got home. I'm glad to be home with the wife and my boys and I hope to stay more consistent for a little while...

How are you doing?

With summer wrapping up, work looking chaotic in September, and the kids going back to school, I know I’m in for a struggle to get lifting in. Oh yeah and these classes I decided to take. Smart idea.

It’s tough burning the candle from multiple ends. Just doing what I can and not worrying too much about stuff.

Fortunately, I have a bit of a lull at work in September and getting back to the school routine might help mellow things on the home front a bit (the oldest had a very busy summer). I hope to pick another graduate program at some point but I'm still procrastinating that... Hope things stay manageable for you and that we can both have some success sticking with at least some amount of exercise.

[EricK]

Wed, 8/31/22

202.9

Bench / chin:
135 x 12 / BW x 8
[ 175 x 8 / BW x 10 ] x 4

Deadlift / dip:
225 x 10 / BW x 12
275 x 8 / BW x 12

Might regret that one tomorrow...didn't do any other sets because it didn't feel so good.

Treadmill:
35:00, 402 cal, 3.12 mi

A boy does not need a father unless he is a good father, but a good father is indispensable.

-Judge Farris (The Stand, by Stephen King)

[EricK]

Fri, 9/2/22

203.2

Squat / chin:
135 x 8 / BW x 8
185 x 8 / BW x 8
[ 235 x 5 / BW x 8 ] x 3

Bench / curl:
135 x 12 / 82 x 10
[ 185 x 8 / 82 x 10 ] x 3

Treadmill: 35:00, 433 cal, 3.32 mi

[EricK]

Mon, 9/5/22

Squat / chin:
135 x 8 / BW x 10
205 x 8 / BW x 10
[ 245 x 5 / BW x 8 ] x 3

Bench / curl:
135 x 15 / 82 x 10
175 x 8 / 82 x 10
[ 205 x 5 / 82 x 10 ] x 3

Treadmill:
39:00, 456 cal, 3.55 mi

[EricK]

Getting back into running sure does make me tired. Instead of forcing myself to do 4 days a week and burning out in a couple weeks, I'll start with 3 and see if I can tolerate adding another one in a few weeks. I think I should figure out a better schedule, because getting up early enough to work out before work doesn't feel sustainable, especially 3 or more times a week. I'll be lucky if I can get to bed by 10, and I usually lay there wide awake for 40 or more minutes before getting into a fitful sleep. Then my alarm is set for 5. If I go to bed around 9, that means my wife and I get no time with each other because that's around the time I finish putting my oldest to bed. I leave the house around 7:30-8 every morning and don't get back home until 6, usually. My son has jiu jitsu twice a week which means I won't get home until 7. Work is mostly wasted time and I'd love to figure out a way out of that, then I would have no problem sleeping in later...

[hector]

Does your work have a shower? Maybe you could run during lunch?
Or is a gym close? Maybe you could take a slightly linger lunch break and get a run and shower there.

[EricK]

Wed, 9/7/22

Bench / chin:
135 x 15 / BW x 10
[ 185 x 8 / BW x 8 ] x 4

Deadlift / dip:
225 x 8 / BW x 12
[ 275 x 8 / BW x 12 ] x 3

Treadmill:
36:00, 455 cal, 3.43 mi

@hector, thanks for the thoughts. Work doesn't have a shower, but I have been going home to work out during the day sometimes, when I don't get it done in the morning. I could probably do better by splitting the workout (do the lifting in the morning and run around lunch time), but the inefficiency of the extra commute annoys me.

I realize these are pretty complaints; it seems like a job I valued would relieve a lot of the issues. That way all this time I spend at my job wouldn't feel like such a waste.

[hector]

Wed, 9/7/22

Bench / chin:
135 x 15 / BW x 10
[ 185 x 8 / BW x 8 ] x 4

Deadlift / dip:
225 x 8 / BW x 12
[ 275 x 8 / BW x 12 ] x 3

Treadmill:
36:00, 455 cal, 3.43 mi

@hector, thanks for the thoughts. Work doesn't have a shower, but I have been going home to work out during the day sometimes, when I don't get it done in the morning. I could probably do better by splitting the workout (do the lifting in the morning and run around lunch time), but the inefficiency of the extra commute annoys me.

I realize these are pretty complaints; it seems like a job I valued would relieve a lot of the issues. That way all this time I spend at my job wouldn't feel like such a waste.

I'm sorry.

My last job had a gym in the building, the one before that a gym across the street.
Being able to do something during lunch, even if it was just squats, was a game changer. The rest of the day after a lunch where you exercise you just feel great.

[EricK]

Fri, 9/9/22

Squat / chin:
135 x 8 / BW x 10
185 x 8 / BW x 10
225 x 8 / BW x 10
[ 250 x 5 / BW x 8 ] x 3

Bench / curl:
135 x 15 / 82 x 12
[ 185 x 8 / 82 x 10 ] x 4

Treadmill:
45:00, 557 cal, 4.20 mi

One big perk of my job is that they have flexible hours but the standard schedule is 4x10, with every Friday off. Which, for me translates into 9 hour days Monday through Thursday and a half day on Friday. Which makes me feel like even more of an asshole for whining about it...

Anyway that's my second successful week of at least 3 sessions in a row...