Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up On the Finish Line

[JM3]

yeah- if it's IP tendonitis it's a gradual increase of pain- I reckon youll know tomorrow cause it would hurt more rather than same or less. Good luck man- thats a bitch of a place to have to ice!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Well, the pain seems to be about the same, no worse so far so that's good. Ice, blue balls, think about it. Haven't had that problem since high school.

[Mark E. Hurling]

It turned into Mark's excellent adventure just getting to the dojo this morning. The rain was intense halfway there and I had trouble getting off the 405 Freeway through animals lined up by two's. I got matched with the big blue belt again. We all worked on techniques involving twisting the head and neck to weaken the body's structural integrity and cause the opponent to collapse. One of the black belts who had whupped on hard during a technique demonstration called me over and delivered a stunning double fist strike to my upper chest. We get this unexpectedly as brown belts from time to time to toughen us up and help us acclimate to what real hits feel like. I like this guy, he's just funny as hell and it's impossible for me at least to get even resentful when this occurs. Now that's despite two very large bruises on my upper pecs that Dearly Beloved was curious about when I was changing out of my gi when I got home. She's used to me being hurt since when we started dating I was still competing in judo and came home limping or with a cast a few times. I gave my draft manuscript on self defense for women to one of our black belts who spent over 30 years working for LAPD and was in their Special Investigations Squad. His insight will be valuable even if he rips it and me to shreds.

Later today I did some low intensity cardio and worked in a thick bar hold with 200 lbs for 35 seconds, PR! A good way to close out the fitness day.

[Mark E. Hurling]

The USC Trojans couldn't get it up for the Oregon State Beavers, and so left Corvallis dragging their limpness behind them. Ha, that was fun to type.

Sleep was touch and go last night. More intense rain squalls kept waking me up, then my left wrist started hurting, and to top it off our friendly neighborhood critter, Mr. Skunk decided to launch a weapons of mass destruction attack on the house. Try sleeping when you can barely stand to inhale through your nose.

So on to the gym, dodging fallen palm fronds in the street from last night's storm.

5 minute warm up on the bike while I taped my wrist and hand old school style to make certain it wouldn't affect my attempts for PR's. I figure at my age old school is the only way to go. No doubt that thick bar PR aggravated it again. More recovery needed there, live and learn.

Bench Press: 180x5, 205x3, 230x1, 265 struck out on this again. No joy in to be had in Mudville.

Chins: -25x5, bodyweight (214)x3, 30x1. No PR there either because I had decided to coast at this for a while, and because of the failed attempt in the Bench Press. I should have gone for more, because it wasn't that hard, but I knew from past experience, it was just hard enough to keep me from getting one more shot at a heavier attempt.

I could kid myself and blame my wrist but I should have kept in mind when Wendler said in his book, no deload week on this particular twice a week template unless absolutely necessary, he was talking to way younger people than me. Now I'm sure I pushed my PR attempts too aggressively without enough recovery in terms of a week's layoff or deload, along with jumps that were too big, and too frequent PR attempts. Especially in my preses. I've been better at most pulling movements, and wanting it to be otherwise won't make it so. Patience is in order here 'ya old fart, so slow down and achieve what you can at the pace you can and be happy in what you have managed to maintain and achieve so far. Always good advice to keep in mind, now let's see if I can do a better job moving on from here.

Now onto breakfast. Dearly Beloved has suggested a local eatery where lots of USC grads go. Of course we're both wearing OSU garb. Gloating can be such fun.

[Mark E. Hurling]

I did a running GXP this morning when halfway through it occurred to me that this might be something of a bad judgment since I'm trying to a PR in hip belt squats tomorrow. The sprints cook my quads and dang-it I'll need them suckers fresh tomorrow morning. Stayed the course and finished them out then on to the foam roller and stretches. As I type this near noon local time, the legs feel OK, so maybe I haven't screwed myself after all. I'll find out tomorrow.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Jujitsu last night was scary for one of the ritalin brothers who can't seem to quit goose-assing around. Master Bellman paired him up with me and he was actually shaking when we faced off, figuring I was going to pound him. Not so, but I did keep him pointed to compass North with a firm grip on his gi and lifting him clear of the floor a few times in a slow curl and bringing him nose to nose with me. Verbal threats were superfluous, and he calmed right down. He has some great potential if he would quit screwing around. I worked with the blue belts in the adult class. I had two Asians, a man and a woman both of whom are of Chinese ancestry who were having a little trouble following some of my dojo Japanese in explaining some of the finer points of technique like kuzushi, or off balancing. Pretty amusing in a quiet way. Good session working with them though.

Lifting this morning was a little later than usual since I took the day off from work. I got a new blood pressure med for my overnight BP yesterday which has stubbornly stayed high despite my weight loss (214 this AM, still dropping!). It seems to be working from the start, so this may be one more worry off my mind.

5 minute warmup on the bike.

Hip Belt Squats: 170x5, 195x3, 215x1, 265x1 PR!, 275x1 PR! couldn't get up with 285. I got greedy, obviously. Last time I did these a few years back I didn't get above 225, and I'm really in terra incognita as I go now. Failing was really unsettling because I dropped into a below parallel squat and didn't make it up even halfway. The quads just wouldn't straighten up. McCallum has said that when you fail to make it up you just end up on the floor sitting on the bar without injury. He's right about that, thank God, because everything felt fine. But there I was stuck on the floor, sitting on an EZ curl bar jammed into my junk because I had the daisy chain loops carabinered to the belt and the bar. Pretty uncomfortable and it took me nearly 5 minutes to figure out how to get enough slack in everything to get loose. Still, it was worth it for the PRs.

Power Clean: 135x5, 150x3, 170x1, 180x1. Nothing spectacular here, but a good hard bout.

Pinch Grip: 150 for 22 seconds. Again nothing to brag about here.

Used the foam roller and stretched. Quads are sooorre!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Cold, clear, and bright here this morning for SoCal at 44 F as I went to the gym. Nothing much compared to what the rest of you contend with, and I actually like this stuff having grown up in IL, but it is considered cold here, especially when it is right along the Pacific Ocean. I did a GXP on the elliptical. Good session.

Rolled and stretched and I am still just sore all over especially my quads. They haven't hurt this much since I celebrated my 40th birthday with a 20 rep set of squats with 315. The quad stretches were especially unpleasant. I also have discovered a sore spot on my right upper back between my scapula and spine. I can't figure out just what brought that on or what it is that hurts; the trap, rhomboid, or a displaced rib. I do know that a deep breath makes it twinge and that really sucks. I have revised my Excel sheets for the next 3 months to accommodate a rest and deload week for better recovery, and 2 lb. increments for PR attempts for overhead and bench presses. I may have to adjust my goal for a body weight overhead press for either a longer time span, or be happy with getting to 200. As for 315 in the bench, I think I may run out of calendar and testosterone for that goal. We'll see though, I'm making midcourse adjustments now and not necessarily out of the running yet.

On the way home I got a look at the dolphins off the 30 foot bluff along Esplanade St. They were sounding deep and waggling their tail flukes vertically like the photos you see of the whales doing the same thing. Very nice start for the day.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Everything creaked and complained this morning when I got up, but I said I was going to be at jujitsu today when I was asked earlier in the week so off I went. Most of the usual suspects were there despite the holiday weekend. I worked with a purple belt on blocks and strikes. He needed some adjustment on his blocks which he was treating as strikes in and of themselves, and then wondering why he was responding so slowly. I explained that his problem was based around his very strong blocks which over committed him to the movement and made it hard for him to rebound from the first block and then on to the next block and then finally on to the concluding counterstrike. He just needed to dial back on the force and knock the strike off target, not stop it dead in it's tracks. Once he did that his speed picked up a lot. We also worked on a bunch of variations involving a step deflection of a strike or grab with a hand block or press to the lower back and a quick grip and elliptical pull of the head. Takes you right down like a falling tree with an accompanying big thud.

Finally creaked off the mat and home to rest. I figured out what the upper back complaint was probably from; the power cleans. Now for a few days of no lifting to let my aching body get some recovery.

[Oldster]

Hip Belt Squats: 170x5, 195x3, 215x1, 265x1 PR!, 275x1 PR! couldn't get up with 285. I got greedy, obviously. Last time I did these a few years back I didn't get above 225,

Awesome PR! Absoluely awesome.

Glad to hear you are so sore. Your reward for a job well done!

Also, it sounds like you have a rib that is out of place. Use a couple tennis balls in the end of a sock and tied off tight. Lay on the floor and put the balls in the center of your back and roll upward, then downward. Take lots of time to work from your low back to your upper back, about 5 minutes. It will be painful but things will probably go back into place. If nothing else, your spinal erectors will thank you for the massage!

Oldster

[Mark E. Hurling]

Thanks for the congrats and the advice. I'll give the latter a try.