A Tale Told by an Idiot
Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 6:10 pm
1/10/23 Update:
Changed the name from The Unforgiving Minute to A Tale Told by an Idiot. I like to pretend to be poetic...
Motivation is very low, I barely trained at all the past couple years, and I'm really dissatisfied with my career. I don't feel like I'm doing anything worthwhile and I don't feel like I'm developing mastery in anything. I am a project manager that spends more time trying to figure how somebody else wants me to say something and building bloated, vacuous PowerPoint presentations than I do building a quality product that supports the needs of my end users. I hate that, but don't see a lot of alternatives to move towards. It's hard not to feel like the past 5 years at this job have been a complete waste and that I'll waste the next 20 waiting to retire. So that's cool. But maybe I'll lift a little and not feel like such a fatass? Or not. Let's see.
7/8/21 Update:
I took a hard break from foruming and lifting. Had a wonderful baby boy last year and failed repeatedly to get back on the lifting/exercise wagon. I started 2020 off pretty good, going from 200 to 187 by March, but got back up to 195-200 pretty quick and have stayed there ever since. I managed to get heavier while getting weaker and less fit, so I feel like maybe I should start up a new log at the other place?
I learned to play guitar (badly) and achieved my 5-year goal of doubling my salary from 2015. I read a lot last year (60 books) compared with previous years, not unlike comparing my lifting tonnage between 2019 (5M rep-lbs) and 2018 (< 2M?). I miss the community here, but think it's important that I control my time very closely, because there are a lot more aspirations I have that I feel like I don't make sufficient progress on. I want to be fit, but I don't really care all that much about a big total (and, to be honest, a big total comes at a detriment to fitness), I want to do more writing, study more and focus more on my family. My job is very demanding but in a mostly tedious and needy way. It pays good but I want to find ways to make it more satisfying. If I had my way, I'd spend the first 2 hours of the day writing, the next 2 hours practicing guitar, then exercising before lunch. Then I'd spend the rest of the work day on a craft (writing, coding, designing) and studying something. Then focus completely on my family the rest of the evening. I don't know how to do that while securing sufficient income to maintain my family's welfare and quality of life, but that's something worth figuring out...
I don't know if I'll start logging on here again. My work laptop was reimaged and I lost my workout app. I have a copy that I could run on my personal laptop but it's pretty clunky and I'd rather refactor it if I were to reuse it, but that takes time I don't feel like I have. I know everyone is busy and I'm not special, but like I said, I miss the community and wanted to share.
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5/4/19 Update:
Not entirely sure what I want to get out of lifting, but I'm starting to come into my own in my post-military career, have a family that deserves more of my time and attention, and a renewed interest in "general" fitness. Haven't had much fun lifting in a while and don't really know what to do to make progress anyway...
Right now I'm just trying to find a sustainable rhythm, and lose some weight (shooting for ~30 pounds).
==============================================
2/19/19 Update:
Got a couple PRs over the summer last year training under @Hanley and have done just about nothing productive since then. I'm now playing around with a 5,000,000 rep-lbs tonnage goal for this year, and would like to actually achieve a goal for the first time in a long time. I figure it's also an opportunity to apply some of the Hanley-derived training principles (because his "program" involves lots of volume). Following that, I don't know what, but it may not involve as much lifting...
=======================================================
Original Post:
Let us embark on an extensive case study in unimaginative ways to inhibit progress through inconsistent execution of poorly developed plans.
I'm looking forward to re-joining the community and hopefully contributing more here.
Stats:
M
5' 7"
~195 lbs
33 years old
Lifting experience -
Lifting erratically since 2010
Lifting "seriously" since 2014
Competed in USPA coupla times
Competition PRs (all in the year 2015, 82.5 kg wt class) -
Squat - 202.5 kg (446)
Bench - 147.5 kg (325)
Deadlift - 242.5 kg (534)
Looking for a 1500 in the 90 kg class within the next year or so, if I can figure out how to train in an effective way.
UPDATE ON 5/26/18:
Competed in the Exodus Strength Online Meet. Results aren't in, but I think my lifts are good. New PRs:
BW 200.8
Squat 455
Bench (paused) 335
Deadlift 510 (Not a PR, but contributed to a PR total)
Total 1300
Changed the name from The Unforgiving Minute to A Tale Told by an Idiot. I like to pretend to be poetic...
Motivation is very low, I barely trained at all the past couple years, and I'm really dissatisfied with my career. I don't feel like I'm doing anything worthwhile and I don't feel like I'm developing mastery in anything. I am a project manager that spends more time trying to figure how somebody else wants me to say something and building bloated, vacuous PowerPoint presentations than I do building a quality product that supports the needs of my end users. I hate that, but don't see a lot of alternatives to move towards. It's hard not to feel like the past 5 years at this job have been a complete waste and that I'll waste the next 20 waiting to retire. So that's cool. But maybe I'll lift a little and not feel like such a fatass? Or not. Let's see.
7/8/21 Update:
I took a hard break from foruming and lifting. Had a wonderful baby boy last year and failed repeatedly to get back on the lifting/exercise wagon. I started 2020 off pretty good, going from 200 to 187 by March, but got back up to 195-200 pretty quick and have stayed there ever since. I managed to get heavier while getting weaker and less fit, so I feel like maybe I should start up a new log at the other place?
I learned to play guitar (badly) and achieved my 5-year goal of doubling my salary from 2015. I read a lot last year (60 books) compared with previous years, not unlike comparing my lifting tonnage between 2019 (5M rep-lbs) and 2018 (< 2M?). I miss the community here, but think it's important that I control my time very closely, because there are a lot more aspirations I have that I feel like I don't make sufficient progress on. I want to be fit, but I don't really care all that much about a big total (and, to be honest, a big total comes at a detriment to fitness), I want to do more writing, study more and focus more on my family. My job is very demanding but in a mostly tedious and needy way. It pays good but I want to find ways to make it more satisfying. If I had my way, I'd spend the first 2 hours of the day writing, the next 2 hours practicing guitar, then exercising before lunch. Then I'd spend the rest of the work day on a craft (writing, coding, designing) and studying something. Then focus completely on my family the rest of the evening. I don't know how to do that while securing sufficient income to maintain my family's welfare and quality of life, but that's something worth figuring out...
I don't know if I'll start logging on here again. My work laptop was reimaged and I lost my workout app. I have a copy that I could run on my personal laptop but it's pretty clunky and I'd rather refactor it if I were to reuse it, but that takes time I don't feel like I have. I know everyone is busy and I'm not special, but like I said, I miss the community and wanted to share.
=======================รท======================
5/4/19 Update:
Not entirely sure what I want to get out of lifting, but I'm starting to come into my own in my post-military career, have a family that deserves more of my time and attention, and a renewed interest in "general" fitness. Haven't had much fun lifting in a while and don't really know what to do to make progress anyway...
Right now I'm just trying to find a sustainable rhythm, and lose some weight (shooting for ~30 pounds).
==============================================
2/19/19 Update:
Got a couple PRs over the summer last year training under @Hanley and have done just about nothing productive since then. I'm now playing around with a 5,000,000 rep-lbs tonnage goal for this year, and would like to actually achieve a goal for the first time in a long time. I figure it's also an opportunity to apply some of the Hanley-derived training principles (because his "program" involves lots of volume). Following that, I don't know what, but it may not involve as much lifting...
=======================================================
Original Post:
Let us embark on an extensive case study in unimaginative ways to inhibit progress through inconsistent execution of poorly developed plans.
I'm looking forward to re-joining the community and hopefully contributing more here.
Stats:
M
5' 7"
~195 lbs
33 years old
Lifting experience -
Lifting erratically since 2010
Lifting "seriously" since 2014
Competed in USPA coupla times
Competition PRs (all in the year 2015, 82.5 kg wt class) -
Squat - 202.5 kg (446)
Bench - 147.5 kg (325)
Deadlift - 242.5 kg (534)
Looking for a 1500 in the 90 kg class within the next year or so, if I can figure out how to train in an effective way.
UPDATE ON 5/26/18:
Competed in the Exodus Strength Online Meet. Results aren't in, but I think my lifts are good. New PRs:
BW 200.8
Squat 455
Bench (paused) 335
Deadlift 510 (Not a PR, but contributed to a PR total)
Total 1300