Day 12 - Up and Atom!

Today
Reaping the benefits of all that cooking... had some salsa on eggs and toast this morning. The roasted garlic cloves seem to have permeated the mix overnight and the heat relaxed a bit to result in a seriously tasty, easily portioned and ready veggie compliment. Kim and I remarked that because of the taste of the salsa we didn't even notice the lack of salt. 


Granted, the batch I made is far too large given that I underestimated how hot the jalapenos would be and diced up two and had to add a lot more tomatoes than usual in order to quell the heat. Normally it wouldn't be an issue for guacamole and the like, but for whatever reason the Scoville meter was through the roof! And I really like hot food. Anyway, it seemed to mellow overnight and that rich garlic roast flavor should make for a great mix for the quinoa, side or topper for meals moving forward during the coming week.


Our fridge is as full as its been in ages:

Oh, and I was remiss yesterday in thanking everyone for the support, feedback and encouragement during the last few days of jumprope and shin splinty woes. So thanks Pucksters and other PCPers (ex and otherwise)!


Workout
I am simply not a morning person so getting up and at em' (or up and Atom if you are Radioactive Man) is a real struggle. I am the sort, if it wasn't for Kim being so annoyed at me, that would hit the snooze button a dozen times before getting up. But the impetus to get the day started and not have a ridiculously skewed meals schedule (as Noelinator mentioned) outweighed the usual lethargy for once. In order (for once):

1. Jumprope: got a chance to test out the new jumprope... only it didn't stretch out yet and is retained its crumpled packing and kept on rekinking mid-swing which was annoying. So I used Kim's new jumprope. Bliss! Well, that is an exaggeration... the first ~200 were terrible actually. Not a lot of energy. But when I finally hit my stride things looked pretty good (relatively speaking since I'm sure all the fat jiggling only would look good chiaroscuro... emphasis on the scuro). As is par, the last ~200 or so were pretty broken up and the ache comes on. But its a shadow of what it was previously. I can feel it most when its over, but on Alexander's advice I had purchased an proper wrap around ice pack and numbed the pain away (after some stretching and massaging). I'm definitely behind on the jumprope at this point and probably not getting the full cardio benefit that I should be, but am glad that I seem to have isolated the issue(s). Here's hoping that means I can better keep up as the jump count will no doubt continue to rise...
2. Squat: definitely difficult as usual but I like this better than the lunges. Probably because it feels more balanced and I can get deeper. Not quite as burny as the lunges though, so it probably just means that I need the lunges.
3. Incline pull ups: man o man, these are hard. Was able to do them much better than last time, but they are seriously difficult. Didn't feel it quite so much in the shoulders this time though which is hopefully a good sign.
4. Pushups: ever since the switch to the "girly" knee method I am actually feeling these more through the end of the exercise and can keep my form far better. Its weird because the burn comes on very late (latter half of set 3 and most of set 4) and quite suddenly. The first two and a half sets I can pound out without much difficulty.
5. Curls: still liking these... going super slow so there is more significant burn towards the end.
6. DaVinci: much better this time and more full range of motion. Still sticking with the lighter resistance band and plenty o' muscle Scovilles in the last set but definitely a marked improvement over the last time.
7. Situps: again, slow on the uptake here, as I only recently noticed on the sheets that these are more like crunches than full situps. So I modified my form to fix that. Last set and a half were a real struggle and just as I was going to try and push out a couple final ones in the last set my lower back tweaked and reminded me why I had dialed back the reps here. Huge burn so its was entirely a mental thing to try and do the extras but I'll need to listen a little better next time...

Now for a little lunch and a bike ride with my special lady! 

Day 11 - Skippity Do Da

Today
Quite busy... Kim and I decided to do a boatload of cooking and try to get a lot prepped for the coming week or so. Roasted some garlic cloves, grilled 6 chicken breasts, made a massive salsa repository, steamed rice, grilled some tuna, made a gigantic batch of quinoa, grilled more zucchini, tried roasting a poblano pepper and on and on... The kitchen was a disaster, but the fridge looks ready for the apocalypse.


Kim managed to shatter, that's right, shatter a jump rope today. She's that hardcore. So we had to run out and get a new one. I also picked up an ice pack with a velcro satchel so I can ice my leg if it bothers me again.


Workout
Hellz yeah. So I videotaped myself jumping and had my brother (the ex-PCPer) review it and he also solicited advice from someone that graduated in his group (incredible before/after by the way, check it out: http://thepeakconditionproject-jasonb.blogspot.com/). The long and short is that I was jumping far too high and that I should definitely be wearing shoes the whole time. Also, I looked up some links to information about dealing with shin splints and there are a number of exercises and massages I can do to help stave it off and also alleviate the pain once they set in. This is not to say it was all roses, but the improvement was colossal considering the last few days collapse. Was able to get to 500 fairly clean before the leg started aching. Then I broke it up in 50 increments to be safe...

1. Lunges: don't love these, but I can really really feel them
2. Rowing: might need to up the resistance. Hard, but nowhere near as difficult as some of the other exercies
3. Standing Ovation: really laid into these, flexing at the end and it seemed to work. 
4. Triceps Dip: I haven't found these super difficult just yet
5. Forward shoulder raise: Quite hard. Have to use the lightest resistance band on these and its still very difficult.
6. Leg-Ups: good burn towards the end
7. Jump rope: as mentioned, much improved, thankfully. Still achy towards the end and I had to break them up into increments of 50 for the last 150 but much much better. Will have to see how tomorrow goes. Fingers crossed!

Day 10 - Holy Shin-t

Today
I was afraid that perhaps I had bought too much food at my beginning of week 2 grocery run, but that certainly doesn't seem to be the case. In fact I am likely to need to run out again this evening as I'm out of eggs. Still, aside from the colossal size of the meals and lingering questions about some of the ingredients, they haven't been bad at all. I have this weird muscle memory when cooking though... to always reach for the oil and salt. While I haven't been craving either (perhaps I am ingesting enough of my own sweat to satisfy my salt needs), the impulse is there... wanting to move my arm up to grab them.

Still loving the breakfasts!

Workout

Anyone keeping track knows that I am struggling with the jump rope... This morning I ended up having to do 300, then the muscle exercises, and then the last 350, breaking up that last 350 into increments of 100, 100, 100 and then 50. Details at the end.

1. Squats: feeling good... nice burn towards the end and I actually feel like I'm getting the form pretty decent
2. Incline Pullups: same as yesterday, these are a little awkward, partially given the clearance at the end of the table. Quite difficult though, both to maintain plank all the way through, and to do 5-6 reps. As with yesterday, I am feeling this primarily in my shoulders though... not my back.
3. Pushups: saw Bruce's email in the thread about doing these on your knees and the photo suddenly made sense on the sheet. Little wonder I had been struggling with the last set since I was on my toes all the way through. From the knees, "girly" style and I can get deeper and go through the full recommended reps and still get significant burn at the end. Thanks Bruce!
4. Thumbs Up Curl: did these nice and slow up and down... very slight degradation in form on the last 3 reps on the last set. Good burn again.
5. DaVinci: I think these should be called Vetruvians... if the reference is correct it also sounds more like a creature from Star Trek. Went with a much lighter resistance band this time and got a more full range of motion while still getting a good workout. 
6. Sit ups: I always hated sit ups. But these have been feeling good lately. Second to last set is when I start to really feel it and the last set is quite difficult but I can "feel" it all the way through.
7. Jump ropes: the antagonist of this play... As mentioned above I had to stop after 300, stretch and proceed to the muscle exercises before picking up the remaining 350. I had my shoes on this time around to see if that might help, jumping again on the carpet, but the pain in my right leg was no different than before. I rolled out from my calves to my ankles on the sides and on the back, as well as stretched on the stairs again. Then walked around a little to keep it loose before trying the next set. I ended up having to repeat this again in the last set after each 100 jumps as the pain would build back up again. Perhaps not shockingly this means that the jump rope exercises took over an hour to complete all told. Possibly worst of all, I don't think I am getting the cardiac benefit of doing them all at once since I had to break the routine up so much. I'm not sure its shin splints any more but it does run the length of the shin. I took a photo of my leg to highlight where the pain is coming from... The calves themselves are not where the pain is, more toward the bottom and back of the leg, below the calf but above the ankle. Very weird:

Day 9 - Getting Keen on Zucchini

Just made dinner and grilled up some zucchini with roasted garlic. So simple, so very delicious. Will definitely be doing that again.

Bon soir PCPers, hope everyone is fairing well!

Day 9 - Pain Don't Hurt

Suuuuuure Patrick... sure... I'll keep that in mind when jumping rope.

Today
Digging my breakfast routine so far but I'm going to need to get more creative there to keep it interesting. Fingers crossed for a dissertation on avocados, the mystery fruit, from Patrick tomorrow (or in a few hours for most PCPers). If we get the "green" light on that, so to speak, I'm thinking that guacamole, salsa, grilled chicken strips and whole wheat tortillas might be in my future. Yum! Planning to look up mustard recipes over the weekend as well to see if I can make my own and have a light spread for the bread carbs. Also, forgot to pick up eggplant when I was at the store but it feels like a nice "meaty" vegetable with a lot of flavor that is awesome grilled or made into a nice baba ganoush. Which is perfect because I think "Ganoush!" is the sound I make when I exhale on a particularly difficult set...


Workout
Jump rope travails continue to plague. Roadhouse quotes aside, my right shin is so painful it feels like its going to snap and I've ended up limping around for half the day. Probably doesn't help that I worked out last night and switched to a morning routine today so I didn't have quite as long of a recovery period. So that continues to be a struggle, but most of the other workouts, while difficult, haven't been too too bad:

1. Lunges: These are hard, especially with the extra set. I have a tendency to get wobbly towards the end and I have to consciously be thinking about the form each time (which is hard to do as my mind naturally is nomadic)
2. Rowing: again, my form wasn't great. I may have placed the anchor too high before reading Patrick's recommendation that you should have a slight uphill motion on the draw inward. Mine was pretty parallel to the floor.
3. Standing Ovation: again, pretty sure I must be doing something wrong as these seemed pretty easy. Some shoulder and tricep burn towards the end but not nearly as difficult as the other exercises. Not sure if its a form issue or if I need a greater resistance band...
4. Tricep dips: interestingly not too bad. Definite burn towards the end, but felt clean and right, if that makes sense, whereas for some of the exercises I'm pretty sure my body is telling me that something is amiss...
5. Forward shoulder raise: not great. I don't know if this is related to having done the previous standing ovation wrong (too much shoulder), but it felt burnt out almost all the way through. In fact I ended up switching to a lower resistance band just to make it through. Let me know if that is a no no.
6. Leg ups: ab workouts are always hard for me. This was definitely one of the cleaner sets though. Still, when my mind wanders I know my form slips and that's dangerous given the back history.
7. Jump ropes: these were pretty disastrous. Not a clean set in there. Probably tripped up 3-12 times per set. Actually much worse than yesterday both in form and pain. Many a loud expletive and I almost threw the rope across the room. Hopefully the deeply religious neighbors were out as I had the house open since its a little cooler today. I am definitely exhausted very quickly by these, sweating and heavy breathing by 200-300 count. I've been doing them inside on carpet (tried briefly skipping on the mat on the carpet but it kept scooting too much). I had been doing it without shoes as I'm indoors but going to do tomorrow's sets with shoes to see if that helps. So many questions/potential problems with how I am doing these... If I try to do the sets jumping with both feet together I can only do half as many before I am totally winded. So I've been alternating between skipping with the left foot leading for 100, then the right foot leading for the next 100 and so forth. Its possible that I am leaning too heavily for the launches on my right leg and don't realize it and as a result its doing all the work and getting worn out. I'm trying to stay positive about these and maybe it was partially due to the smaller refraction period between working out late yesterday and early today that has aggravated things, but the jump rope continuous to be a major struggle. I feel like I am behind the curve that I see coming, both in terms of what how many I can do comfortably before becoming exhausted and the basic form without tripping numerous times. I'm doing them all, I just suck at them...

Alexander, to your question on the previous post, here is the resistance band set I am using: http://www.aylio.com/Aylio-Basic-Resistance-Bands-Exercise-Set/M/B0018QY22C.htm

I've been using the black one (25 lbs) for almost all of the sets. For most of them it appears to be more than ample (possibly too much for the forward shoulder raise as noted above). It does say in the product description, 

"Unlike regular exercise bands, the unique metal clipping system allows users to adjust resistance levels from 7 to 60 lbs and match the workout intensity to their own level of fitness." 

but I haven't figured out how to do that just yet (only just discovered it).

Day 8 - Phew

Today
Well, this is going to sound like gloating but it really isn't... I am really glad I am working from home. I don't know how the rest of you do it. I felt like I was up and eating for most of the day... grazing really. I also had a really early call with India this morning that went on and on and on for hours so I ended up working out this afternoon instead of in the morning. Presumably as we get used to what and when to eat it will be more instinctive and not be so mechanical with the pre-weigh, cook, weigh. Breakfast and lunch were great. Fingers crossed that seasoning is OK as long as it doesn't include salt. Speaking of which, at dinner I was really craving salt... That said, these Fuji apples must be in season because they are like candy!


Workout
Not too shabby but it would have been nicer to have done it in the morning. Timing the workout between grazings was awkward.

1. Squats: feeling good! Burn but not too bad.
2. Incline pull-up: felt more than a little weird to be laying down under the table and doing this exercise. Also, it sort of felt like it was straining my shoulders rather than working my back but I presume that I was compensating for lack of strength in my back...
3. Pushups: really tough. I had to do the last set at half reps and pause for a few counts between some of the reps.
4. Curls: dig em... really felt it in a good way. Can keep good solid form all the way through for once.
5. Davinci: started out with great form but by the last set was really at the limit of my strength and wasn't able to keep them as high
6. Situps: didn't do the max reps, but did them nice and slow... good burn.
7. Jumprope: slowly improving... managed to do three of the sets without tripping up. Still has me panting and sweating though. But, and this is a big but... I am getting truly sharp pain up and down my right shin. Extremely painful. Reminds me of shin splints or what I would imagine it would feel like if you had fractured (not broken) your leg. After the workout the pain turns into an ache and then throbbing and very slowly tapers off. I can still feel a ghost of it 6 hours later. Hopefully this is just a temporary thing because its really quite aggravating.

Seasoned and grilled more chicken, hard boiled some eggs... I'm really going to need to have a fair bit of food prepared in order to not be cooking all day. Still, aside from that shin pain, good day...

Day 8 - Midday Food Shock

Holy smokes... assuming my food scale isn't broken I'm not likely to go hungry on this plan. My lunch was e-freakin-normous!