Dating, Injury, Sleep, and Efficiency

So I've been dating a lovely woman for a couple of months, and it has certainly taken time away from the gym.  Its a great relationship and we truly enjoy each other's company and each other's kids.  But it is taking me some mental adjusting to become OK with not training 5-6 days a week any time I feel like it.  Being single makes one incredibly selfish, because you only have to answer to yourself.

This has caused me to reevaluate my training and find new ways to reach balance in my life.  One areas that was taking a hit was sleep quality and duration.  I'm dialing it back in and find that as I get closer to 8 hrs a night, my body fat levels and injuries go down.

On the flip side of that, since I've been sleep deprived, I've lost muscle, gained fat, hurt my back twice, experience knee pain in the knee that had surgery, and sweat a lot more during less intense work.

So to get things back on track I've started working on efficiency and time management.

  1. Sleep: getting more of it
  2. Diet: doing more prep and a lot more crock pot meals
  3. Training: 
    1. Taking basic gear (kettlebells, tire sled, barbell) to weekend kid events.  I train while they practice.  I DON'T train during their competitions.  Then I'm all about cheering and taking pictures.
    2. My training is much faster paced, and I'm able to induce as much of a 'pump' in a few supersets as I used to get from 8 straight sets.  Lower weights with shorter rest periods equals improvement in body comp & vascularity, with less injury
And since I'm dating, I'll point out that this type of training also has other benefits.  :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intro to Calisthenics

 I'm kind of big and kind of heavy. I weigh 235 and wear XXXL shirts ťailored to fit my size L waist.  Even so, after moths of consistent effort, I'm strong enough to incorporate calisthenics as my primary form of training volume. My current plan is paying off in the form of major leaps in endurance, tighter physique, and fat loss.  The schedule is: Mon - whole body Tue - arms Wed - whole body Thu - off Fri - whole body Sat - arms Sun - off My torso has always grown faster than my arms and I need to build proportion, so they get 2 dedicated sessions a week.  A typical whole body session runs like this: 1. Single leg calf raise: 3-100 method* 2. 10 min EMOM: Big power movement like deadline, or snatch grip high pull, or clean&press.  Start at 10x3 and stick with the same weight till you can perform 10x6.  Rotate between 5-6 movements every session. 3. Conditioning circuit 1: 5 rounds of   A. Pushup progression   B. Pick a single leg squat pattern movement I stick with the sa
Read more

The Warrior's Path

This year has been a real test of character, and I have to say, I  passed with probably a B+, or maybe A-.   What makes a warrior different from the ordinary man is not whether he faces obstacles or not. We all face obstacles.  No; what makes a warrior different is how he faces the obstacles. An ordinary man and a warrior will both map out a course to  their objective. The ordinary man will get distracted along the way.  He might see the trail up the mountain and convince himself he never really wanted to reach his objective. When his arms go numb from shouldering the load, he discards item from his pack he suddenly sees as unnecessary.  He might sprain an ankle, call 911 and decide the course is too dangerous for any sane person to attempt.  So much the better, because now he has plenty of time for other more important things.  Isn't it football season anyway? The ordinary man makes excuses to stay ordinary. The warrior notices and appreciates all the beauty along th
Read more

13JAN2015: More boxing

Great evening.  I got to coach two people and really focus on skills, while participating. Warm-up:  5 rounds of jump rope 3mins on / 30 seconds off.  TIRING!!! 3 rounds of shadow boxing, emphasis on footwork, body position, balance 5 rounds of mitt work 5 rounds of heavy bag. I snuck in a copuple rounds of kicking, just to dust off the Kajukenbo rust.
Read more