At least I didn't get a concussion when I fell off the wagon... - Page 13 - JP Fitness Forums

ljk · 11-13-2007, 08:09 PM

Not ill. Thanks for inquiring, Espi!
Just busy! So many stupid, time-consuming things that are frustrating...and also --
It was my birthday on November 11 so I was busy getting a few small presents and having dinner with my family

I had Nov. 12 off because it's a statutory holiday (Remembrance Day) for government. As a gift to myself, I got a massage.

In other exciting news, I recently booked a trip for 2 weeks in February to Grenada.

I am stoked for sure....
I have free accommodations on a sailboat. Why the hell not go! Bye bye to my Raynaud's for 2 weeks in the worst part of our winter!!

And here is an ab update, taken on my birthday. The best abs I've ever had at the oldest age yet. My camera skills sucks and I have no proper editing software (just MS Paint). This is as good in quality as my pics can get right now. I wish I had a tripod, lighting and Photoshop, but whatever!
http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL177.../288310720.jpg

Espi · 11-14-2007, 06:11 AM

Wow.. those are really very good abs.

But now the big Q: are you going to bulk or what?

ljk · 11-14-2007, 07:15 AM

Thanks.
Bulk is such a loaded word. Perhaps try to gain a few lbs.

Espi · 11-14-2007, 08:03 AM

Mini-bulk then. Make that a certainty, not perhaps.

Have you looked into that latest 'fad' diet where you do 14 day cycles and eat more for 10 days and then diet off the excess flab in the last 4 days. I've forgotten how the diet is called. It's been about 6 months since reading up on it for the first time in BR.com.

I've just bought a new diet book 2 weeks ago from Anthony Colpo. Boy is he ever a convert about using more carbs and also fighting against the notion of a 'metabolic advantage' of lowcarbing! Yet, he is very positive about paleo diet since that's just plain healthy. You could say his book is very much like Paleo Diet for Athletes (own that one too) except that he does NOT fear the saturated fats like Cordain/Friel does.. right on the money.

ljk · 11-14-2007, 08:31 AM

I'm not afraid of eating fat...I like my fats.

ljk · 11-20-2007, 09:06 PM

Still here - just busy as usual

Did a new workout today.
Super fried.

I am trying band-assisted pullups. Someday I might lose the band

but for now I at least am trying to haul up that ass!

Espi · 11-21-2007, 02:35 PM

What was the workout like that it was so exhausting?
Short rest periods , huge amount of reps or very heavy weights....

ljk · 11-22-2007, 10:45 AM

A bit heavier than I am used to, plus all new stuff I'm not used to. It wasn't that bad - I just went really hard.

Food intake is not cooperating with me. I wish I were dead today.

Espi · 11-23-2007, 06:47 AM

O dear.. what have you absentmindedly (or innocently) eaten that you're feeling so bad?

ljk · 11-23-2007, 08:33 AM

I don't know.

SpacecityPaula · 12-31-2007, 04:41 PM

I thought of you this afternoon while making pumpkin pancakes. I'm making some for Breakfast tomorrow so that Bob can try them.

ljk · 01-02-2008, 01:30 PM

Thanks, Paula!

I was trying to find this log to make a token "okay, it's 2008 now" post. I haven't been keeping this log overly warm as I have been struggling to find balance in my life; to think less about the gym, food, macronutrients, grams of protein, how lean I am today, how much improvement or lack thereof my abs are demonstrating at any moment in time, etc.

It's not really working. Nearly every waking moment is spent thinking about my next workout, what it will entail, how I'll fit it in, etc.

I have been pretty good about not tracking food as obsessively, but still use a scale to weigh portions, which is silly if you ask me: at this point I should have a pretty good handle on how much a specific amount of chicken weighs. I'm also trying to figure out what my guts can digest and can't, which is counter to my attempt to NOT think about food.

At any rate, I try to tell myself to be proud of what I've been able to achieve (both in and out of the gym), even if I haven't reached the point I want to be at yet. But I need to figure out how to set realistic goals that won't make me upset if I don't get there. It is hard to find a middle ground between aiming high (I never settle for mediocrity or 'average') and setting oneself up for devastation by thinking that pipe dreams are achievable.

So it seems this is getting longer than I intended it to be. Oh well!

Part of my plan to distract myself from the gym involves playing my piano more. I've been learning a Beethoven sonata. It's starting to sound pretty good at times.

Espi · 01-02-2008, 03:29 PM

Hey, that's interesting. Not many have a piano. Are you finding relaxation in this or does it tax you as you are focused too much on flaws in playing?

As for the workouts, I'm mostly planning my workouts for a full month ahead and then make small adjustments along the way. I'm quite excited about my current experiment in 'mad' wave loading, but it doesn't make me feel bad when I think about it. Perhaps a differnce is that I'm not looking at workouts as tools to make 'myself look perfect' but as a kind of Kindergarten : having fun with weights and get stronger in the process.

Be happy with yourself! That's what I wish for you in 2008.

ljk · 01-02-2008, 06:47 PM

Thanks, Espi!
The piano is nice. I don't mind if I make mistakes

I am actually quite impressed with how well I am doing -- at one point in my life I was pretty skilled and really good (because I practised a lot, go figure). Then I quit lessons and playing for over a decade, more like 15+ years. I got another piano a couple of years ago and am picking it up again...and somehow it doesn't bother me that I was better as a teenager. It's coming back quite rapidly, actually.

SpacecityPaula · 01-02-2008, 06:51 PM

Your Turn Miss Scrabulousness

ljk · 01-02-2008, 08:05 PM

The game has disappeared from my list. ?? Does that mean you won?