Cylon357's Super Cool Covid 2020 Weight loss comp log!

[wango]

Hey, it’s hip to be square.

I have 3 outfits for the gym.

Grey sweatpants with grey t-shirt.
Grey sweatpants with navy t-shirt.
Grey sweatpants with black t-shirt.

For daily life, replace sweatpants with jeans.

Simplicity.

[Cylon357]

Good deadlift workout today. Good, not great. Did deads, then barbell rows, followed by pulldowns of various varieties and calf work. Seems like that was it, except the mile walk to warm up and cool down. No HIIT today, mistimed my meals, I guess. Plus lunch was short today so I had to get in and get it done. HIIT tomorrow with overhead press day, though, probably the heavy bag if I had to guess.

Tonight was a cheat meal: ground sirloin burgers and tots! This is round 1 (round 2 was more of the same)

PS - That's not a salad, just baby spinach with ketchup and mustard on the top part of the bun.

[Cuz]

Good deadlift workout today. Good, not great. Did deads, then barbell rows, followed by pulldowns of various varieties and calf work. Seems like that was it, except the mile walk to warm up and cool down. No HIIT today, mistimed my meals, I guess. Plus lunch was short today so I had to get in and get it done. HIIT tomorrow with overhead press day, though, probably the heavy bag if I had to guess.

Tonight was a cheat meal: ground sirloin burgers and tots! This is round 1 (round 2 was more of the same)

PS - That's not a salad, just baby spinach with ketchup and mustard on the top part of the bun.

Damn, now im hungry

[Cylon357]

Damn, now im hungry

It was tasty! One cheat meal a week is all I'm allowing myself right now. The rest of my diet isn't as clean as it should be at the moment, but baby steps!

[Cylon357]

Good overhead press workout today. Man, I am SO glad I started buying equipment before the pandemic. Anyhow, I got my 3x5 on the OP weight... Actually, for the final set I went ahead and got 6. Anyhow, then did dips, final set with a 25 pounder. Worked in some high rep (25 - 30) sets of shrugs... that hurt so dang good. Moved on to pushdowns alternated with ez curl bar curls. Did lateral trifset (front raises, side raises and rear laterals supersetted). Then went on to HIIT that I missed yesterday.

I worked the bag for 3 minute rounds, with 1 minute between rounds. But that 1 minute ain't completely sedentary, brothers and sisters! Have to knock out 10 pushups (in the gloves for the first two sets) and get water (again, with the gloves on.... I just know I'm going to lose it at some point). So the rest of the minute is rest time. Did 3 sets, and took the gloves off for the final set of pushups.

Man, it is fun working the bag. I enjoy working out combos, though I still don't have a good way to do upppercuts. I've thought about buying a slam ball, 10 pounds or so, and hanging it as an upper cut bag. Multi purpose equipment is handy. But I have also just thought about hanging a heavy pillow or something. We'll see what I end up with.

BTW, here is the pic I promised up above about the cable fly setup. I had a few attachments from way back, and have assorted cable lengths to do pushdows and pulldowns, plus one to do low rows or any sort of work with a low pulley. Yes, it is kind of rigged up, but it works, jack! For cable flyes, you have to put your back to the loading pin and walk forward a few steps, but it gets the job done.

[Cylon357]

Nice squat workout tonight, but I kept it brief... not quite "I ain't doing sh!t" but close to it.

Squats (got my 3x3 weights), then calf work followed by reverse hypers super setted with hyper extensions. 1 mile walk to warm up, 1.5 to cool down and it was in the books tonight. No HIIT, but I will do something... 'inventive' tomorrow in place of LISS.

Took 12.5 mg of MK-677 last night and ate pretty much all day. I'm guessing it has gotten to the point where I can't even trust myself with small doses. But, it's all good, brothers and sisters. Life is cool otherwise.

[Cylon357]

Got both my LISS and some HIIT in today (though the HIIT portion was somewhat brief).

Did a one mile walk at a good pace to warm up. Then did 2 rounds of the following:

3 minute run/jog on the treadmill - no intervals
3 minutes on the rower - with intervals
8 pullups

No dedicated rest between sets or exercises, only what was needed to transition (and get water as needed). Then a one mile walk to cool down, though still at a good clip.

[Cylon357]

NICE bench workout today. I got my 3 rep goal (because this is the 3 week of 5 3 1), might have had another in the tank, but I wanted to get some slightly lighter work in. Dropped down to my 5 rep goal from last week and got 6 or 7. Then dropped even more and did a nice wide grip set for 8 or 9 reps.

BTW, these are what I call legit bench presses, not the arched back thing you see sometimes. Just do declines, man! Anyhow, these are probably not competition approved because I don't pause real long at the bottom, but there is no bounce or cheating.

Anyhow, moved on to dips. I REALLY like leaning my upper body forward and bring my knees towards my chest. That seems to hit the pecs HARD for me. 3 sets of 10 then moved on to shoulder lateral triset, followed by skull crushers alternated with dumbbell curls. Did my standard 1 mile walk to warm up and to cool down, but did not do HIIT today since I did it yesterday.

Oh, some stuff arrived today. Got my first HGH, will be running it at 1 to 2 iu per day for the long run. Will update here when results are clear.

[Cylon357]

You ever have one of those days where you don't feel like working out but go ahead and do it and end up with a GREAT workout?

Saturday was not one of those days for Cylon.

BUT I did force myself to get in there and do my deadlift workout. It was good, not great, but better than no workout at all.

Since this is the second week of 5 3 1, I'm doing 3x3 for the work sets. I got my weight tonight, though I don't know how. I was really not feeling like it today, but once I got going, things moved along reasonably well. I did barbell rows after the deads. Oddly, I felt stronger on the rows than I did with deads. I did some calf work, then supersetted (not HIIT) goblet squats and kettlebell swings, 4 sets of squats with 3 of swings. It was enough this day. The standard one mile walk to warm up and a bit over a a mile to cool down and it was in the books.

Kind of an odd occurrence for me today. During deads, I noticed some soreness in my left triceps and in my right lat. No clue what that was about, but at times it made me wonder if it was an injury and I needed to back down. I didn't and the lat feels fine now, though the left tri is still sore. Not sure what is going on there, perhaps I'm just falling apart from age. /shrug

BTW, I did start the HGH yesterday. 1iu in the morning for now, but I will be moving that up to as much as 2iu in the next several days. Nothing much to report there. I also have some Ipamorelin from Peptide Sciences that I may run before bed. I've had good luck with it before but I kind of want to hold off for a bit and see what the HGH does by itself.

Tonight's dinner was a healthy shrimp stir fry, damn tasty and all gone, though The Wife did help make it go bye bye

[wango]

Congrats on the perseverance of grinding out that workout! And, great looking stir fry!

[Cylon357]

Given that yesterday's workout was just sort of meh, I really wasn't expecting much from today.

Man, that was a mistake!

I started with one mile walk to warm up, then went to the rack.

Today was the final day, Overhead Press day, of week 2 (aka 3x3). I did my warm up sets, then got to my 5 rep weight from last week. I did it for 3, just sort of wanting to get that deep warm-up but not over do and have nothing left in the tank for the real work. It didn't feel as light as I thought it should. I went ahead and set up my 3x3 weight, and did my pre-lift ritual (clear the mind, focus, attack). I stepped up to the bar, brought it out of the rack and the first rep... got.... stuck about half way up. I soldiered though it but was kind of baffled. Maybe that was what I needed because I got my sh!t lined up and knocked out 3 more solid good reps. I felt like I had some more left in the tank, but I went ahead and racked it. So, I thought well hell, lets see where we land. So I loaded my weight for next week (3x1) and long story short, got 3 solid sets of 3 out of it. New PR on the horizon? Maybe.

But I didn't push it this week. I will adjust next week's weight up appropriately and see where I land. No HIIT again today, because I don't typically after over head press work and that got me to thinking. Maybe scaling back the HIIT this week contributed to busting this plateau. I don't know, but it seems like a theory.

Went on to do dips, shrugs, push downs and curls, then did a two mile walk, in part to celebrate, in part to make up for the lack of HIIT. As I'm sitting here typing this up, I realize that I completely missed my lateral tri-set... No bigs, I will take a good solid workout and be happy!

[Cylon357]

Congrats on the perseverance of grinding out that workout! And, great looking stir fry!

That's the joy of getting to the end of the week and realizing I didn't eat all the rice for the week. Throw it in there!

[Cylon357]

Good Squat Workout today. This is the start of 3x1 week. I did not do 3x1 with my target weight, but I did do 1 set of the target weight, then got froggy. I tried to add another 10% or so. That wasn't happening but I did do some heavy partials. Then back down to the 1 rep weight for another rep. Went down a bit more to get some reps in, then down more still to do a narrow stance set.

Moved on to leg curls alternated with standing calf raises. I know those aren't synergistic exercises, I just like to vary things up like that sometimes. Did some bridges from the ground, then on to HIIT.

I kept the HIIT brief but intense today. It looked like this:

2 minutes on the treadmill - jog / run with intervals
2 minutes on the climber - with intervals
pullups, as many as I could muster

I did two rounds of that, then changed to
3 minutes treadmill - jog / run steady pace
3 minutes climber - steady pace
last set of pullups

It was good. The heart was thumping during the intervals on the treadmill... 85% or so of max heart rate, if the cheap a** monitor on the treadmill can be trusted. Plus, I don't think I overdid it and won't have a negative impact on my other weights this week.

[Cylon357]

Friday.... So, today's bench workout was good. I got my 1 rep weight, yay! I MIGHT have had an additional rep, but I felt like maybe I didn't either, so no reason risking it. Did drop down to my 5 rep week weight and got a good solid 8 reps out of it.

Did dips, 2x10 body weight, then added weight. I got 8 good reps with 25 pounds, and 5 ok ones with 50. My chest was somewhat pre-exhausted, so I took what I could get cleanly. After getting the bench weight, everything else was gravy.

Moved on to french presses super setted with dumbell curls, then called it a workout. 1 mile walk to warm up and 1 more mile to cool down, then shower and back to work. No HIIT, as I have deadllift workout on Sunday and overhead press on Monday. I took my own advice from last week and cut back on the HIIT this week, since it is the last of a 3 week cycle. After this, I have a deload week and then will decide what I want to do going forward. Probably need to work on cutting but we will see.

BTW, I recognize that what I am calling HIIT, may not always qualify in the strictest sense. It ain't LISS and it has HIIT aspects, while sometimes being outright HIIT, so... yeah, that's just how it is.

[wango]

Keep up the killer work!

[Cylon357]

Good Dead lifts yesterday (Sunday).

I didn't say 'dead lift workout' because I really only did deads and some pull downs. BUT I got my 1 rep weight + 10 lbs. Yay! I felt a little froggy and added 20 more pounds. It was a no go on this day, though I was able to persuade it to come off the ground an inch or two. No bigs, goal met plus some, all is good.

I did pulldowns and single arm pulldowns but for some odd reason, I was feeling it in my triceps, which almost never happens. It might have been the angle, but I didn't want to mess up my OP workout today, so I just stopped. Did a 1 mile walk to warm up, 1.5 to cool down and called it a day.

Enjoyed the Super Bowl with some ground turkey tacos!

[Cylon357]

Got a new PR in overhead press last night! Details to follow.

[Cylon357]

So, yeah, I got a new overhead press PR last night.

I should qualify that with I got a new 21st century PR last night. I'm not as strong as I was in my 20s, but never really tested overhead press as a youth. So, I was probably stronger then, but just can't say. I was also 165# with maybe 10% bodyfat at times, and now I'm 185 with 25'ish. It's ok, I am what I am. It's called getting old, people! We all do it (if we are lucky).

Starting to sound like a cranky old man there. Next I'll be yelling at kids to 'get off my lawn' in my underwear.

ANYHOW, I wasn't really feeling it yesterday, but made myself get in there and get it done. Week 3 of 5 3 1 wears me down. My first work set was my most recent PR. It went up easy for a single, and I thought about trying for a double, but I had my eyes set higher. Re-racked and went up 20 pounds. Psych psych psych, step in, un-rack, presssssss... DAMMIT! I ALMOST got it, missed it by 1-2 inches. But was super stoked because I knew 10# increase on the PR was likely, if I hadn't burned myself out on the 20 over. I did take another shot at the 20 over but it didn't even get to my chin before I decided to save it for the next, lighter, attempt.

Dropped 10#, then went for it again. I got it this time, but it looked a little catty wampus, just a little crooked - my form otherwise is good. This is an overhead press, not a squat thrust thing. Anyhow, went back at the same weight and got it again in a completely clean rep.

Did some other stuff but really was just happy to move the PR up. I didn't dance (because Cylon can only do the robot) but was pleased all the same.

And now begins the deload week. What is next? Pheh, who knows?

[wango]

Nice work on the shoulder press! Regrettably an ancient memory for me.

Catty-wampus? Yeah, no wonder I like exchanging posts with you. Just no monkey-shines while you are working out, could lead to injuries.

[Cylon357]

Hmm, what's this, now?

Cylon357 has blue balls??? Lord, I hope not. Besides that's just one big 12lb ball.

I bought this slam ball because I need something to use as an uppercut bag. Since I didn't like the options I was finding, I bought this off of Amazon hoping that it will do double duty as a slam / medicine ball and something I can strap up with the heavy bag to use to work on uppercuts. It might not be the right density but I will be trying it out for real next Wednesday.

If my next post after that is talk to text, you will know that I broke both my hands. Sometimes life's lessons are hard. That said, I suspect the 12oz gloves I wear will do a good job of protecting my hands.

[wango]

It might be a little dense, but seems like a good idea/solution. I used to use bag gloves & hardly wrapped at all unless the instructor insisted. 12 oz. should be plenty I would think though.

[Cylon357]

It might be a little dense, but seems like a good idea/solution. I used to use bag gloves & hardly wrapped at all unless the instructor insisted. 12 oz. should be plenty I would think though.

Yeah, that is my concern. The lower part of the heavy bag is denser, of course, and that is probably about the same density as this slam ball. It isn't awful to hit, but I would probably move up to the 16oz gloves if the entire bag was that dense.

[Cylon357]

Good squat workout yesterday. I'm moving away from 5 3 1 but still keeping most of the exercises, just upping the reps. I will vary it up some, like I probably won't deadlift each week, but still going to include the HIIT'ish finishers.

I also did fasted LISS cardio this morning after dosing my HGH. 2 mile walk, always a little slower when I am doing language lessons, but two birds, one stone and all.

What I'm looking forward to is tomorrows bench / chest day. I am working the heavy bag as HIIT tomorrow, and that includes rigging up the slam ball mentioned above. I did try giving it some shots with the 12oz gloves on... It can be felt but it isn't too bad, probably about like I thought: similar to the denser parts of the heavy bag. Anyhow, we'll see how that goes.

[KittyO1]

You’re tough! I’ve never done any boxing but from what I’ve used those balls for, seems super dense! Haha What do I know though! What are you moving your rep goals towards now?

[Cylon357]

You’re tough! I’ve never done any boxing but from what I’ve used those balls for, seems super dense! Haha What do I know though! What are you moving your rep goals towards now?

8 to 12 or so, depending on how I feel. If I can get 8 reps out of my 5 weight from the previous month, I'll be happy. I really need to focus on HIIT and LISS to start getting some weight off. But danggit, I DO like lifting.

BTW, the 12oz gloves take a lot of the sting out. I can't always REALLY hit as hard as I can, like if the bag is swinging towards me or on one of the denser spots, but that just means more energy to focus on technique and speed.

[Cylon357]

I slept like garbage last night. Not sure what is up with that. BUT it did leave me feeling bleah for my bench / boxing workout today and that is no good.

I still got 6 out of my targeted 8 reps on bench and with how I was feeling, I call it a victory. I didn't have it in me to do dips, but I did start feeling some better after I got started working out. I kept it simple and just did skull crushers super setted with curls and then hung the bag.

That is not a colorful euphemism, BTW. It's not like "yeah dude, I got SO wasted and hooked up with this hot chick. We hung the bag! All night long!!"

That's not it at all. But maybe it could be, if we want it hard enough!

Enough sarcasm, I get it. I think I am having those post workout feel goods, sometimes they bring out the snark.

Anyhow, I literally hung the heavy bag from the rack and sort of looped the aforementioned slam ball over the hanger. It didn't work great. As @Kitty01 speculated, it was just a bit too dense. Maybe I can wrap it in a towel or something.... Also, I'm pretty sure I know what at least some of you are thinking:


MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST BUY A DAMN UPPER CUT BAG!!!

Yeah, there is that, too. Fine, OK, whatever, I will buy one.

But which one?

:P

[wango]

Yeah, maybe. Don’t need a needless fracture!

[KittyO1]

8 to 12 or so, depending on how I feel. If I can get 8 reps out of my 5 weight from the previous month, I'll be happy. I really need to focus on HIIT and LISS to start getting some weight off. But danggit, I DO like lifting.

BTW, the 12oz gloves take a lot of the sting out. I can't always REALLY hit as hard as I can, like if the bag is swinging towards me or on one of the denser spots, but that just means more energy to focus on technique and speed.

Really enjoy HIIT but it can be hard to convince yourself to do it sometimes!

I slept like garbage last night. Not sure what is up with that. BUT it did leave me feeling bleah for my bench / boxing workout today and that is no good.

I still got 6 out of my targeted 8 reps on bench and with how I was feeling, I call it a victory. I didn't have it in me to do dips, but I did start feeling some better after I got started working out. I kept it simple and just did skull crushers super setted with curls and then hung the bag.

That is not a colorful euphemism, BTW. It's not like "yeah dude, I got SO wasted and hooked up with this hot chick. We hung the bag! All night long!!"

That's not it at all. But maybe it could be, if we want it hard enough!

Enough sarcasm, I get it. I think I am having those post workout feel goods, sometimes they bring out the snark.

Anyhow, I literally hung the heavy bag from the rack and sort of looped the aforementioned slam ball over the hanger. It didn't work great. As @Kitty01 speculated, it was just a bit too dense. Maybe I can wrap it in a towel or something.... Also, I'm pretty sure I know what at least some of you are thinking:


MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST BUY A DAMN UPPER CUT BAG!!!

Yeah, there is that, too. Fine, OK, whatever, I will buy one.

But which one?

:P

Could you possibly buy a used one?

My snarkiness gets me in trouble sometimes too but man, don’t you wish those after workout feels would last all day!

[Cylon357]

So, I had a wonky sort of few days, but got back at it today with Squat day. New week, new dragons to slay!

Good workout. Got my squats in ,1x8 and 1x6 with my previous 5 rep weight, so I call that a win. Dropped weight for both a wide set and a narrow set, then moved on to calf work, followed by leg curls. Seems like there was some other little something in there but maybe not.

I'm dialing the HIIT back just a bit. The heavy bag workout last week left me gassed for the rest of the week. Actually, that may be the key: leave the bag alone. I can't seem to just 'take it easy' when I'm working the bag.

Anyhow, I did some treadmill running, followed by 6-8 pullups and 15 kettle bell swings, then 45 seconds rest. First round on treadmill was 3 minutes with no intervals, second round was 2 minutes WITH intervals. Only two rounds today, but I will up it to 3 next week. Those damn intervals man, they get me every time. I'm trying not to burn out too early in the week, so I probably will not do the bag this week. I'll figure something else out after bench day.

Life is good, man, that's all that matters!

[Cylon357]

Oh man, I've got that 'you are going to walk like Fred Sanford tomorrow' feeling tonight (from Tuesday's squat workout). Yeah buddy!

[Cylon357]

Sooooo, yeah I've been remiss in updating here. Bad Cylon!

Anyhow, I have had an inner ear infection or something that has me feeling grrr at times but saw the doc on Friday, got some pred and an antibiotic. Feeling better, but that damn ringing is still there. NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY I CAN'T ANSWER IT!!!!

But with all that said, I have had some good workouts this week. I altered the plan a little, 3 days of weights and 2 LISS days, plus one or two HIIT sessions. Highlights include a HIIT day of 3 minutes jog / run on the treadmill, 3 minutes working the heavy bag, and 3 minutes on the rowing machine, all with intervals. 3 rounds of that and I was gassed. Listen, I was so tanked that I couldn't keep my hands up during the 3rd round with the bag. Fortunately, I am working the bag and not sparring with someone, so hands at my side didn't get my lights turned out.

Good weight workouts, too, including the one from tonight. Back day and I did some new to me stuff. Started with pulldowns to warm up, then did pullups, 2 sets weighted, probably 8 sets total. Moved on to landmine rows, because I finally got my new, cheap, landmine attachment. It was cool, but I seemed to be working my traps more than lats, so I did like 6 sets, then moved on to barbell rows, 3 sets. Did some 'blow my calves up, walk like a cat with tape on its feet' calf raises that I will. feel. tomorrow. Finished with reverse hypers and hypers, then some kettlebell swings.

So, I've been feeling sort of bleah, but keep getting the work in, baby!

[Cylon357]

I have been lazy about the log, but pretty active otherwise.

Sunday I was getting over the ear infection and had a good shoulder workout. Did some overhead presses, then dips. I did the dips without weights to see where I would land, that number turned out to be 15 reps. I was thinking I might go to 20 on my last one, but on the fourth set, the upper chest said 'no, 15 is all we have in the tank. Should have tried for 20 on the set before this' and that was all I had.

I think I moved on to one hand landmine presses for four sets or so, then shrugs, first with the 45's and then with the mini farmer's walk handles with 90lbs on each. I got 2 sets of 15 - 20 with that weight and was pretty much convinced my traps were going to lock out on me. Moved on to skull crushers and bicep curls superset to finish the weights, then a two mile walk to get in some LISS and cool down.

Monday was an off day, but I got my new guitar amp in.... oh my, this is going to be fun. I haven't played with it much yet and probably won't get to tonight - this is The Holy Day aka Squat Day, so I will be otherwise occupied.

[Cylon357]

I'm still getting at it, y'all, I've just been up to my rump in busy lately. Will update more shortly.

[Cylon357]

Once again, I return to update the most boring log on the planet. Well, it may not be the MOST boring log - I have seen logs before they become lumber. They really are more boring than this, unless you happen to have the Native American name 'Talks with Trees' or something.

At any rate, this was a deload week and I needed it. I had basically done 4 weeks on and 1 week deload (this being the one deload) and that was a bit too much. I have a nagging shoulder injury, and some stiffness in the triceps on the same side. They are improving but I'm thinking about running some more TB-500 and BPC-157 to help things along.

I took about a month off of the HGH. I had developed both some tinnitus and a sinus infection (not Covid) and wanted to rule the HGH out as a factor. Short course of prednisone and antibiotics knocked out the infection but some tinnitus remains. I will follow up with the Doc to schedule an MRI, just to rule out any pituitary / inner ear issues. I sometimes just get ringing in the ears, so this may just be a flare up. Been going on for two months, so better safe than sorry and thus the follow up with the doc.

I will probably also take this time to discuss switching to the needle with the doc. I REALLY do like not being shutdown, though. I don't mind doing injections (at least not sub-q, we will see about IM), it is just so damn conveinient to take a pill 3 to 5 times a week. That said, I think the zuclomiphene portion of Clomid brings most of the negatives, so maybe I will fall back to Enclomiphene first. We will see on that.

Speaking of doctor appointments, I meet with the GI specialist on Tuesday to discuss 'Lefty and Paco' aka the Hemorrhoids from Hell. He is probably going to say 'lets cut them b*tches out! I have a kid in college!'.... I SO do not want another surgery butt (hee hee) this one will be pretty minor, or so Dr Google would lead me to believe. Not putting the cart before the horse or anything, but since I'm thinking about BPC / TB for the shoulder, might order up some extra for post surgery, maybe even include some Ipamorelin and ModGrf, possibly GHKCu, but I sort of want to wait until after the MRI. If there is some issue with the pituitary, I don't want to go mucking with it.

Feeling great otherwise! I will shall return to update with more 'interesting stuff', though 'interesting' is highly subjective...

[KittyO1]

Your log is definitely not boring! I feel ya on the updates. Sometimes life just busy and taking the time to update online doesn’t seem worth the effort! I’ve been slack updating myself but still trucking along per usual...good luck everything health wise!!

[wango]

What ^^^ Kitty ^^^ said. Seriously, good luck with the health issues!

[Cylon357]

Good news from the butt doctor! I do NOT require surgery. Huzzah! We are going to try a drug regimen first, and if that doesn't work, we can "rubber band" this sucker off. That particular procedure is done with an office visit, which means no bowel prep, minimal pain, etc.

But that whole minimal pain thing.... Well, let me speak on that in a round about way. The way this rubber band procedure works is that they pull the hemi up and pop a rubber band around the base as low as it can go. The band eventually kills off the hemi from lack of blood flow, and then the hemi falls off. This is similar to how some farm animals are castrated.

That doesn't sound particularly like something I would call 'minimal pain' but it likely does beat surgery.

No update on the MRI of my head yet, I see the doc tomorrow to set that appointment up.

Life is good in general though!

[Cylon357]

Doctor does not think my current condition warrants an MRI at this time, instead opting to treat with another round of antibiotics and a referral to an ENT. I don't know if I will insist on an MRI, but do need the antibiotics for another bout of prostatitis. I'm wondering if the use of non-pharma peptides is triggering some sort of an immune response. Not sure about that, but will dig into it more.

This has been a week of nagging injuries, so I took it as a deload week as well. In fact, like, don't tell anybody, but I didn't touch the weights this week. Also, and this is a BIG secret. I'm trusting you because you seem cool... Anyhow: I jogged this week. TWICE! Once was a half mile, the other a full mile. I know, what the heck? Listen, that's just how I roll sometimes. Oh and calling it a jog might be a bit of a stretch. Around 11:15 pace for the mile, so yeah, maybe a SLOG is more appropriate.

That said, the injuries are no longer nagging, so lets see what sort of chicanery I can get into next week!

I hope everyone else is doing well!

[Cylon357]

Finally got back at the weights with a couple of interesting variations.

First, I did landmine squats. That was.... interesting. I kept the weight light, partly because this was the first time I would really be doing them, and partly because I had a two week break from the weights. I'm not sure if holding the end of the bar is a help or a hindrance, but they do at least add a bit of variety and will be a good choice when I feel like I need a break from squats. Almost zero involvement of the lower back, but that may be because I kept it relatively light (2 45s and 2 25s on the bar for the "heavy" set).

Then it was on to stiff legged deadlifts with the kettlebells, standing on a step for a decent stretch. For me, there is only a relatively small range of motion where I feel it in my hamstrings without involving the low back, so I try to stay in that range. Did calf raises with the same kettlebells, then one finisher set of single leg calf raises. Jesus tapdancing Christ, that hurt so good!

Did some LISS'ish HIIT (or maybe HIIT'ish LISS) consisting of 3 minutes on the treadmill (10 minute mile pace), 6 pullups, then 15 kettlebell swings. I did three rounds, but I won't lie, at the end of the second I was thinking 'that is enough, I am just getting back at it' blah blah blah BULLSH!T!! So, I took an extra 30 seconds or so between round 2 and 3 and knocked out that third round. Well, let me be honest: it almost knocked me out, but I made it, so all's well that ends well.

[Cylon357]

I'm feeling a little residual soreness in my quads from the landmines the other day. Cool!

I did my bench workout last night, but really wasn't feeling it. I had my first Covid-19 vaccination shot yesterday morning and felt a little tired. It probably was NOT because of the shot itself, but because I had to get up early yesterday morning for the appointment. The only side effects I have had thus far are soreness at the site, maybe a little lethargy yesterday... that's it so far.

Anyhow, I kept last night's bench session short. Bench, skull crushers, and bicep curls, plus a two mile walk. Something is better than nothing, I guess. I did try dips, but the combination of the vaccine and a lingering bit of shoulder pain made me think one set was enough.