Day 84 - Fuck these fucking skips.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 


Fuck.

One more ab workout: Windshield Wipers

Really, again this is just another version of the Kung-Fu Sit-Ups, but I figured it was a good excuse to just look at this guy's freakin' physique!

Here's the only thing... Looking at that crossbar it looks a great deal like a bench press bar so I wonder if he isn't actually on a bench for the photo. Still, incredible build.

Oh, and the Windshield Wiper details here.

Days 81 and 82 - Adipose pig, adipose.

Weekend
Another weekend, another engagement party it seems... anywho, they were grilling so Kim and I brought our own tuperware full of PCP grillable diet food and have a nice little treat to share: if you like sweet potatoes (and who doesn't), boil or microwave them as you would normally but then instead of eating them, slice them into thin rounds and grill them. They are beautiful. The edges will crisp up a bit and the center tends to stay softer so its like a sweet potato flavored fresh baked cookie. Deeeeelish!


Workouts
Aside from the usual jumprope issues, I'm really quite enjoying the muscle exercises... the dread is no longer there. Its still a "thing to be done" as opposed to something that I can't wait to do, but nonetheless, its a kind of nice respite from work... a massive uptick of which seems to be unfortunately coinciding with this last week. I say unfortunate as its dictating a rather poor sleep schedule at the moment, not that its not welcome since I work for myself...


I totally jumped off the rails in terms of sleep so that may be affecting my morning jumps which, as usual, are horrific. New rope is set to be delivered tomorrow, so let's see if that makes any difference. Not holding out much (r)hope though.


My left wrist continues to pain. You don't realize just how much weight you put through that part of your body until its causing problems... Painful during chest dips, elevated triceps dips, weird clicking noise and pain during elevated push-ups, strain/pain towards the end of curls. Keeping an eye on it, but its pretty annoying.


Still, overall I'm extremely pleased with my strength progress, especially in historically weak areas like my abs. In a curious turn, I'm actually finding 8MA to be more difficult. I think it may be that thing that Patrick said earlier about figuring out the exercises for yourself. By gradually figuring out how to do the ab workouts I feel like I am actually getting more out of them, and not depending on ancillary muscle groups to cheat my way through the exercises. It helps that the improved strength there is also helping make the exercises doable in the first place... although planks are still a bitch! Long way to Frank Zane levels, if ever.


Speaking of which, I know the genetics discussions are to make sure we level our expectations with reality, but its certainly a little disheartening to know that a semblance of abs and something more than chicken chestedness is to be years in the making. Which is all the more frustrating because I actually feel like I have some decent chest strength... but it sure doesn't look like it. 


So, in reference to the next few years of battling genetics to show a hint of abs under that adipose or developing some semblance of a chest, here are what I imagine to be Patrick's parting words at the end of PCP:

Day 80 - Indulgence

Yeah, I know... "uninspired". But my burger, fries, and small ice cream were all delicious and absolutely hit the spot. And more bizarrely (and slightly worryingly) they didn't taste overly salty or sweet and the burger and fries didn't fill me up nearly as much as I would have expected. Still, it was what I was craving the most so it was the best indulgence yet...

Anything strike you as odd about this pair of stores?

The only indulgence I didn't partake in...

Workout
Definitely feeling a bit achy all over still, and my left wrist in particular feels strained. Thankfully my lower back is not as bad as it had been earlier in the week.

1. Jumprope: Waited until the evening to do the jumps and workout because I was so exhausted from the late night's work... And whattya know, burger and ice cream fueled jumps were actually pretty decent. Still had a few trip ups, but the energy level and general cleanliness of the skips was certainly better...
2. Pullups and Incline Pull ups: Six, with a colossally weak seventh. Have been able to do many more of the inclines though, but the last reps in the last two sets are pretty dismal.
3. Lawnmowers: can actually feel these aching...
4. Pull-downs: not too shabby
5. Elevated Triceps Dips: OK, these were freakin' hard today, and that pain in my wrist certainly didn't help. These are always difficult but for whatever reason they were moreso today.
6. Triceps Extensions: Always tough after tricep dips and I usually don't have to go down a band. In fact, I don't think I ever have... but I did today.
7. Kung-fu Sit-ups: These were nice and clean actually. Hard to really feel them in my abs though as the most difficult part is the hanging there.
8. Bicycle: Less insanely difficult than before, but still insanely difficult. Last two sets hit the wall with about 15 to 20 seconds to spare.

Day 79 - one of THOSE days...

Phew... what a tough day. And really it had less to do with the workouts than work which was neverending. Still jumped in the morning but I didn't end up working out until past 9. The whole day was in slo-mo and I didn't end up going to bed until 2am as I wrapped up a couple of huge projects.


Workout

1. Jumprope: Shitty.
2. Chest Dips: I never feel like I am going deep enough in these. Still, could feel them ever so slightly in the top corners of my chest near the connection to the shoulder.
3. Elevated Pushups: So I was evidently out of town for that hike when there was a Pro-Tip to do these from an elevation around knee height. But Kim let me know... phew, really hard, but I really liked them! Odd to say, but I felt more like I was accomplishing something.
4. Standing Ovations: Weirdly I felt these in my shoulder way more than usual, even concentrating on squeezing my boobs at the end of the movement... no danger of explosive decompression like some folks though.
5. Thumbs Up Curls: Difficult as always, but doable with nice clean form. And I could see veins bulging out for the first time in a long time!
6. Show-Offs: Of all the exercises that show my right arm bias, this one has got to be up there. Far easier on my right than left, and also less accurate on the left side. Still, brutal following all the curls.
7. Leg-ups: Amazingly doable... super subtly feeling these in the latter sets in my lower abs. So hard to target those.
8. Plank: Ditto, as massively difficult as these get by the last one, and considering how horrific they were at the beginning

Day 78 - I've been pushing too many pencils

Sounds like a lot of folks were reaching the end of their energy ropes before the last diet update, myself included. So it will be interesting to see if the upped amounts help sustain the pace for the remaining days.


So, on reflection, I believe I may have strained my lower left back attempting to do all the v-sits when I shouldn't have. I'm fairly certain that is when it started. I've also been noticing that standing or prepping food in the kitchen for any length of time results in pain between my shoulders within about 10-15 minutes. And for the first time, when doing my skips in the morning, that same lower left area started aching towards the end which was new. So, some not-so great developments on the back front in terms of pain (physically the developments have been great). Been going for three days now, so I'm stretching a bit extra and trying to make sure I am limber before I do jumps or work out. Hope I don't have to ride this to the end.


Coops talking about his now ill-fitting tailored shirts reminded me... before we headed out for our friend's engagement party last week I tried on some jeans I hadn't worn in 5 years and low and behold a perfect fit! That means that I have gone from a 38 to a 33/32 for this particular brand. Not too shabby. And Kim has given me hope that the tailor can likely take in the ridiculous amount of slack there is on a number of other pants and shorts, so fingers crossed there.


Workout

1. Jumprope: On Noel's advice of a few weeks ago I finally crumbled and ordered a new leather rope as I am desperate to see if anything might possibly make a difference. Was good to get the coincidental email from Patrick today as well, so I'll have to try out those suggestions as well. My jumps are so unbelievably inconsistent I just can't nail down what the issue(s) may be... I try to only change one thing at a time so I can see if there is a difference, but to no avail. Different hand positions (x,y, and z). Different length rope. Different speeds. Sometimes its bliss... I can manage hundreds in a row with nary an issue. And then, as has more recently been the case, I am tripping over and over and over. As much as 5-10 times in a given minute on a bad set. Extremely frustrating at this late stage. Perhaps its just psychological... as punishment for a particularly bad set I usually tack on an extra 100 to 200, the game being that if I can't finish two lots of 50 without a trip I have to add another. Weirdly, done this way I rarely have to do more than 200. So, unlike Nike, perhaps its not enough to Just Do It... I need to Just Do It, but with a psychological spike on top for good measure. C'mon dammit, just do it!:
   
   
2. Pistol Squats: always awkward, but getting better... less reliant on the stablizing surface. Amazing discrepancy in leg strength is apparent though between my left and right legs.
3. Floorjumps: Hmmmmmm... tough, but for the first time I wasn't all over the floor after the last few sets. Unexpected.
4. Chicken Wing: Difficult but not as hard as some of the other shoulder exercises.
5. Shoulder Press: Continue to be brutal. Last two sets are to failure each time.
6. Shoulder Fly: I can really feel these in the backs of my shoulders. 
7. V-Sits: I'm fairly certain I stressed out my lower back trying to knock these all out last time, so I took it easier this time. Might have to find a replacement exercise since I can only get through two and a half sets properly and its really jerky in the last three.
8. Side crunches: Tough but doable
9. 8MA... sans Kim. Although I did manage to solve the previous "issue" and now have a high powered fan between the two of us, full blast on her to keep the "issues" at bay however frequently they are issued.

Day 77 - Skips sucked and lower back hurts

Not much more to be said.