Tag Archives: wrestling

Work Outs: June 26 – July 9, 2022 (Red, White, and Blue Parade)

Posted on by

Not too many pictures this time around: I’m trying to get caught back up with posting my workouts. Still, I did have a fun time on July 4th, which in the United States is a holiday.

I spent the 4th in San Jose, California participating in the Red, White & Blue Parade and Festival, which the city puts on each year to celebrate U.S. Independence Day. The wrestling promotion where I train was contracted as part of the general entertainment. In the morning, I helped set up the ring and then walked a couple of miles in the parade. In the afternoon I refereed three of the six matches for the show and then helped tear down the ring.

I’m second from the left.

Sun, June 26th

Rest Day. I stretched for 30 minutes in the afternoon.

Calories: 2100, Protein: 95 g.

Mon, June 27th

We followed along with The Jack Lalane Show (DVD 3, Episode 1) shortly after waking up.

(Afternoon Workout)

  • Recumbent Bike: 30 Minutes, Manual Program, Level 7, RPMs 72+
  • Dead Bugs (no shoes, 2-ct): 35 reps
  • I spend about 20 minutes following along with this dance choreography video.
  • Stretched for 30 minutes.

In the evening, I did referee training for two hours. I worked on the referee slide for the first time, which pleased me. After four months of physical therapy and losing about 25 pounds, my mobility is getting better though it is still early days for that yet and I’m looking forward to improving further over the next few months.

Calories: 1935, Protein: 118 g.

Tues, June 28th

(Morning) Leg Day at the Physical Therapy Office: I warmed up with some light calisthenics.

  • We began with the therapist doing some pretty intense deep tissue work where needed. Then I did a couple of sets on the balance board along with some calf stretches.
  • (Super Set) Lateral Walks (purple band, each direction): 2 sets x 10 reps +
    • Monster Walks (purple band, forward and backward): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • (Super Set) Step up with Knee Raise and Raise 8 lb. Ball (each leg): 2 sets x 10 reps
    • Iliopsoas Stretch: 2 sets x 40 seconds
  • Bird Dips (12″ block when needed for balance, ea. leg): 10 reps
  • Played toss with an 8 lb. ball for about three minutes while standing on dyna pads.
  • Balance Board: 2 sets x one minute. (Doing the ball toss right before this made balancing difficult.)
  • Squats (standing on the flat part of a BOSU ball): 12, 15 reps
  • Step Up and Reach (8 lb. ball, each leg): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • Standing Calf Raises (each leg, raise on both feet, come down on just one foot): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • (Super Set) Standing Hip Abduction (blue band, ea. leg): 2 sets x 10 reps +
    • Standing Hip Extension (blue band, ea. leg): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • I finished with some stretching, heat, and electric muscle stimulation.

(Evening) I arrived at wrestling school early and stretched for about 20 minutes and then did some referee training for 3.25 hours.

Calories: 2005, Protein: 117 g.

Wed, June 29th

(Morning) Back Day at the Physical Therapy Office. The therapist worked on my neck and upper back a bit before I got too far into the workout.

  • (Tri Set) DB Curls: 20 lbs. x 2 sets x 8 reps
    • Standing Rows (purple band): 2 sets x 15 reps +
    • Shoulder Extensions (purple band): 2 sets x 15 reps
  • (Super Set) DB Curls: [25 lbs. x 6 reps + 20 lbs. x 2 reps] x 2 sets +
    • Serratus Clock (orange band): 2 sets x 15 reps
  • Cheerleaders (pink band): 2 sets x 15 reps +
  • Bilateral External Shoulder Rotation (purple band): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • (Super Set) Seated DB Alternating Overhead Front Raises: 10 lbs. x 2 sets x 10 reps +
    • Prone Open Book/Reach Stretch (each side): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • Seated Lat Pulldowns (cable): 2 sets x 40 lbs. x 10 reps
  • One-Handed Standing Rows (each arm, cables): 2 sets x 17 lbs. x 10 reps +
    • Supine Thoracic Windmill Stretch (each arm): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • (Super Set) Prone “M’s”: 1 lb. x 2 sets x 10 reps +
    • Prone “T’s”: 1 lb. x 2 sets x 10 reps
      • On the “M’s” I remembered to turn my hands inward so that my thumbs were facing almost up toward the ceiling.
  • One-Handed Bent Over DB Row (each side): 15 lbs. x 2 sets x 19 reps
  • Ended with some stretching, heat, and electric muscle stimulation.

(Afternoon) I stretched for 40 minutes and then did a little work with the foam roller and my Kaltenborn Wedge.

Calories: 200x, Protein: 117 g.

Thur, June 30th

Spent the day celebrating my husband’s birthday, which was this week. I bought him some presents that he liked, and we had a nice party.

Calories: 3500 – 4000

Fri, July 1st

I spent the day at a wrestling show up in San Jose, California. I helped with both setup and teardown, which was a fair amount of lifting heavy things and such, and I was also the referee for a singles match.

Calories: 1800, Protein: 143 g.

Sat, July 2nd

Rest Day.

Calories: 2284, Protein: 130 g.

I was the same weight this week as last week. My total loss is 24.5 lbs. over twenty weeks for an average of 1.23 lbs/week.

Sun, July 3rd

Rest Day. I stretched for 30 minutes in the afternoon.

Calories: 1900, Protein: 84 g.

Mon, July 4th

Like I said, we had six matches. The way our schedule worked for the festival, we had a match and then a 20-minute break. People would wander around the festival and maybe stop and watch or not as they wished. As it often goes with such shows, the early matches didn’t have very many people but it got pretty crowded by the end once word got around and people realized what was going on.

One of the early matches: Otis Moondog (standing) versus El Viento (“The Wind”)

Calories: 1996, Protein: 128 g.

Tues, July 5th

(Evening) I spent 2.5 hours at the wrestling school for referee training. I left early and got there much earlier than I intended because the holiday traffic going up to San Jose never materialized. So I spent about 30 minutes stretching before class. I also did the following exercises while at school:

  • Brookfield Shuffle: 10 circles outside the ring, which is a bit smaller of a circle than doing the exercise inside the ring, which is what I usually do.
  • Squats: 100 reps (I added in various additional things with the arms or coming up on my toes in the up position and so on.)
  • Side-to-Sides (each way): 20 reps
  • Supine Leg Windmills (each way): 50 revolutions
  • Dead Bugs (with shoes, 2-ct): 20 reps
  • Zig-Zags (2-ct): 20 reps
  • Hip-Ups: 20 reps

Calories: 2045, Protein: 116 g.

Wed, July 6th

(Morning) We went for a short walk (about 35 minutes) in the woods.

(Evening) I spend about two hours at the wrestling school working on referee training.

Calories: 2295, Protein: 131 g.

Thur, July 7th – Sat, Jul 9th

Spent this time hanging out with family. Didn’t get any formal exercise, though I did do some stretching here and there as well as my usual evening stretch. My body likes these breaks from time to time.

I lost 2 lbs. this week. My total loss is 26.5 lbs. over twenty-one weeks for an average of 1.26 lbs/week.

Work Outs: May 22 – June 4, 2022 (Pandemic Board Game, Wrestling Show Gargoyle)

Posted on by

I ran across a picture on my old phone picture roll from when I played my first game of Pandemic with some friends, and I thought I’d share it since the game was fun. Pandemic is a cooperative game where the players try to eradicate four diseases pictured at the bottom of the map. The game is lost when the player deck that everyone draws from runs out or if any one color for the little disease cubes (see the unused ones in the jar lids to the right) runs out. So there is both a strong time and resource management aspect to the game.

This is a picture after the four of us won the game.

During the game, each player can take up to four actions and do things like spend a card from their hand to move to the city on the card, remove disease cubes from a city, which represents curing or partially curing an outbreak in a city, and so on. Each player character also has a special role–I played the “Operations Expert.” This specialist can build research centers easier than other players, which are the little white building tokens on the map. These centers are useful because everyone can use them to move around the map more easily by moving from center to center. A big part of winning the game is having the right person at the right place at the right time so anything that can make moving around the world more efficient is a good thing.

I found the game to be fun in that the rules weren’t hard to pick up but there is a lot of strategy and tactics, which makes the game both hard to master and affords a lot of replayability, even without the expansions. One thing about Pandemic, which a lot of cooperative games share, is you have to play it with the right type of players who don’t try and take over other players’ gameplay because they get too wrapped up in beating the game.

So, if you are looking for a fun, cooperative game that isn’t easy to win consider giving Pandemic a try. The game took us about two-and-a-half hours to play with two players (I was one of them) who had never played, one who kind of knew the game, and one veteran.

Sun, May 22nd

We followed along to The Jack Lalane Show (DVD 1, Episode 3) shortly after waking up. Afterward, I did some stretching and foam rolling work. I also used the balance board for 1:15 minutes.

My IT bands have been tight lately from all of the work they’ve been getting with physical therapy. The foam rolling helps keep them loose and I know a couple of stretches, but I wanted to learn some more so I poked around and found this page, which was helpful. What I found particularly useful was I learned how to stretch the area from a number of different positions instead of just going to the same default one or two that I already know.

I stretched and did some more restorative work in the evening as well.

Calories: 1998, Protein: 102 g.

Some of the gaming bourbons one of my friends brought home from his desert southwest trip.

Mon, May 23rd

  • (Wake-up) We followed along to The Jack Lalane Show (DVD 1, Episode 4).
  • (Afternoon) Leg Day at the Physical Therapy Office: I warmed up doing dynamic stretching and light calisthenics.
  • (Super Set) Rocker Board Balancing: 2 sets x 1 minute +
    • Calf Stretches (both legs): 2 sets x 30 seconds
  • Monster Walks (blue band): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • Squats with Resisted Hip Abduction (blue band): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • (Super Set) Seated Leg Press: 335 lbs x 2 sets x 15 reps., 350 lbs. x 15 reps +
    • Step up with Knee Raise and Raise 8 lb. Ball (each leg): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • Bird Dips (each leg, down to 12″ box): 2 sets x 10 reps +
  • (Super Set) Standing Hip Abduction (green band, ea. leg): 2 sets x 10 reps +
    • Standing Hip Extension (green band, ea. leg): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • Played toss with a 4 lb. ball for one minute while standing on dyna pads.
  • I finished with some massage, stretching, foam rolling, and electric muscle stimulation.
  • (Evening) I went to wrestling referee training for two hours. I was feeling pretty froggy and ended up doing a little bit of very light wrestling stuff too. I stretched in the evening, as usual, before sleep.

Calories: 2159, Protein: 186 g.

Tues, May 24th

  • (Wake-up) I did the balance board for 1:30 minutes, then the Recumbent Bike: 30 Minutes, RPMs 75+, Manual Program, Level 7. I bumped up the RPMs to 80+ for the last 6:30 minutes. Afterward, I did some stretching.
  • (Afternoon Workout) I warmed up with some light sets with the weights, dynamic stretching, and indian club work.
  • (Super Set) Arnold Press: 20 lbs. x 5 sets x 15 reps +
    • Set #1: TKD Low Block (each arm) x 20 reps
    • Set #2: 1 lb. Indian Clubs x One Minute
    • Set #3: Dead Bugs (2-ct) x 30 reps
    • Set #4: Chest Press from Horse Stance (10 lb. mace) x 20 reps
    • Set #5: Joust (10 lb. mace) x 20 reps
  • (Super Set) DB Bench Press (no feet): 25 lbs. x 3 sets x 15 reps, 30 lbs. x 13, 10 reps +
    • Set #1: TKD High Block (each arm) x 20 reps
    • Set #2: 2 lb. Indian Clubs x One Minute
    • Set #3: DB Lateral Raises x 12 lbs. x 15 reps
    • Set #4: Crunches x 20 reps
    • Set #5: Incline Push-up to Elbow Plank (4-ct) x 15 reps
  • Heavy Spring Bar (pronated grip) x 8 reps
  • I did some stretching after the workout.
  • (Evening) I went to referee training for 2.5 hours. Wasn’t feeling quite as froggy today but I learned a lot.

Calories: 2000, Protein: 147 g.

Wed, May 25th

  • (Afternoon) Back Day at the Physical Therapy Office. I warmed up using their arm cycle machine. Also, I’m feeling pretty sore today all over so I eased back a point or two on the weights and band strength today, especially since I have a wrestling show I have to go to tomorrow.
  • (Super Set) One-Handed Standing Rows (each arm, cables): 2 sets x 17 lbs. x 15 reps +
    • One-Handed Pulldowns (each arm, cable): 2 sets x 17 lbs. x 15 reps
  • Bilateral External Shoulder Rotation (green band): 2 sets x 15 reps
  • Cheerleaders (green band): 2 sets x 15 reps
  • (Super Set) Prone “M’s”: 2 sets x 15 reps +
    • Prone “T’s”: 2 sets x 15 reps
  • One-Handed Bent Over Row (each side): 10 lbs. x 2 sets x 15 reps
  • (Super Set) Standing Rows (purple band): 2 sets x 15 reps +
    • Shoulder Extensions (purple band): 2 sets x 15 reps
  • We ended with some stretching, ultrasound, and heat with electric muscle stimulation. I also stretched again later in the evening.

Calories: 2190, Protein: 126 g.

Thur, May 26th

I helped with set up and teardown for a wrestling show in San Jose, California. I also helped with security, etc. during the show. The picture below is taken before the show began while people were still coming in. This is an outdoor event in the parking area at a beer brewery where they bring in a bunch of food trucks and (of course) beer.

People can come to the show for free. I’ve done a couple of these now and both times, like in the picture above which I took right before the first match, there are maybe a hundred people. But once things get going the crowd tends to grow very large to where the whole parking lot is full with a lot more people. Things get fun too as the beer flows though people are well-behaved. People bring their kids too and set up beanbag games and the like. After the matches, we let people in the ring so they can have their pictures taken with a few of the wrestlers. So it’s a good time and traditionally is a popular outdoor event.

Calories: 2471, Protein: 150 g.

Fri, May 27th

Took a rest day other than a little stretching.

Calories: 2003, Protein: 123 g.

Sat, May 28th

Another rest day.

Calories: 1997, Protein: 110 g.

I lost 0.375 lbs. this week. My total loss is 20 lbs. over fifteen weeks for an average of 1.33 lbs/week. My calorie intake for the week was 14,818.

Sun, May 29th

We followed along to The Jack Lalane Show (DVD 1, Episode 5) shortly after waking up. I stretched some in the evening as well.

Calories: 2012, Protein: 108 g.

The picture below comes from the wrestling show on the 26th. We had finished tearing down and ring and such and were getting ready to leave. I overheard one of the luchadores ask, “What do you call that in English?” and he was pointing up. I looked up and to my surprise there was a gargoyle!

Took this picture when it was dark out.

I was pretty surprised because I had helped out before at this venue and never noticed them before. It also made me smile because last year I had been on quite a gargoyle kick when I was editing The Lost Librarian’s Grave and was pretty much interested in all things gargoyle-related. Maybe more like obsessed as these four worthy gargoyles (see picture below) in my then-growing collection could attest.*

Not the greatest picture but I think it illustrates the depth of my then mania concerning gargoyles.

Mon, May 30th

I followed along to The Jack Lalane Show (DVD 2, Episode 1) shortly after waking up. Then I balanced on the rocker board with my feet together to make things slightly harder for one minute in both directions. Then I did two sets of one-leg balancing for 15 seconds (side-to-side) with each foot. I finished with some stretching and foam rolling.

I did two hours of very basic wrestling training for two hours in the evening.

Calories: 1988, Protein: 135 g.

Tues, May 31st

(Wake-up) I balanced on the rocker board for two minutes, then I did the Recumbent Bike: 30 Minutes, RPMs 70+, Manual Program, Level 5. Afterward, I did a little stretching.

(Afternoon) Leg Day at the Physical Therapy Office: I warmed up with dynamic stretching and light movement.

  • (Super Set) Rocker Board Balancing (feet together to make it harder): 2 sets x 1 minute +
    • Calf Stretches (both legs): 2 sets x 30 seconds
  • Monster Walks (blue band, forward and backward): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • Played toss with a 6 lb. ball for one minute while standing on dyna pads.
  • Step up with Knee Raise and Raise 6 lb. Ball (each leg): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • Squats with Resisted Hip Abduction (blue band): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • Seated Leg Press: 335 lbs x 3 sets x 15 reps
  • (Super Set) Standing Hip Abduction (blue band, ea. leg): 2 sets x 10 reps +
    • Standing Hip Extension (blue band, ea. leg): 2 sets x 10 reps
  • I finished with some stretching, foam rolling, heat, and electric muscle stimulation. The therapist also did some ultrasound therapy on my knee.

(Evening) I went to wrestling school for two hours, though it was a light day for me because I was nursing a mild neck and back injury from Monday where I accidentally and single-handedly spiked my head into the mat. Not exactly my finest moment, lol.

Calories: 2007, Protein: 126 g.

Wed, June 1st

(Afternoon) I followed “Restorative Hip Stretch” by Naya Rappaport, and then streched some on my own. The session lasted for about 30 minutes.

Back Day at the Physical Therapy Office. I warmed up by doing some dynamic stretching and light calisthenics. Today I concentrated more on keeping my shoulders down and my shoulderblades pulled together for many of the exercises, which I’ve been getting lax at lately. I had some ultrasound work done on my neck and back before I did the exercises.

  • One-Handed Standing Rows (each arm, cables): 2 sets x 17 lbs. x 15 reps +
  • One-Handed Pulldowns (each arm, cable): 2 sets x 17 lbs. x 15 reps
  • Bilateral External Shoulder Rotation (blue band): 2 sets x 15 reps
  • Cheerleaders (pink band): 2 sets x 15 reps
  • (Super Set) Prone “M’s”: 2 sets x 15 reps +
    • Prone “T’s”: 2 sets x 15 reps
  • Seated Alternating DB Overhead Front Raises: 2 lbs. x 2 sets x 15 reps
  • One-Handed Bent Over Row (each side): 10 lbs. x 2 sets x 15 reps
  • (Super Set) Standing Rows (purple band): 2 sets x 15 reps +
    • Shoulder Extensions (purple band): 2 sets x 15 reps
  • We ended with some stretching, and heat with electric muscle stimulation.

Calories: 3013, Protein: 149 g.

Thur, June 2nd

Today was a rest day other than some stretching.

Calories: 1995, Protein: 129 g.

Fri, June 3rd

(Wake-up) We followed along to The Jack Lalane Show (DVD 4, Episode 5). I also stood on the balance board for one minute both before and after Jack Lalane.

  • (Afternoon Workout) I warmed up with some lighter sets with the weights, dynamic stretching, and indian club work.
  • (Super Set) Arnold Press: 20 lbs. x 5 sets x 15 reps +
    • Set #1: TKD Low Block (each arm): 20 reps
    • Set #2: Dead Bugs (2-ct): 31 reps
    • Set #3: Face Pulls: 15 lbs. x 15 reps
    • Set #4: Chest Press from Horse Stance (10 lb. mace) x 30 reps
    • Set #5: Joust (10 lb. mace) x 30 reps
  • (Super Set) Incline Push-ups*: (Bench) x 7 reps, (Bench & Step Platform + 4th Cellar Step) x 2 sets x 4+4 reps, Bench & Step Platform Negatives: 2 sets x 4 reps +
    • Set #1: TKD High Block (each arm): 20 reps
    • Set #2: Internal Rotation with Shoulder Abduction (orange band, ea. arm): 15 reps
    • Set #3: DB Lateral Raises: 2 lbs. x 15 reps
    • Set #4: Crunches: 30 reps
    • Set #5: Reverse One-Handed Tricep Pushdowns (each arm, cable): 10 lbs. x 15 reps

Calories: 1997, Protein: 105 g.

Sat, June 4th

Another rest day.

Calories: 2000, Protein: 122 g.

I lost 1.5 lbs. this week. My total loss is 21.5 lbs. over sixteen weeks for an average of 1.34 lbs/week. My calorie intake for the week was 15,013.

* These days it is camels as my next post will show.

Work Outs: March 13 – 19, 2022 (San Francisco Mission District Work Trip)

Posted on by

On Saturday this week, I made the trip to the Mission District in San Francisco, California and helped with doing some promotional work for a wrestling show coming to the area in early April. I didn’t have time to take too many pictures since I was there working but I was able to snatch a moment here and there to take a few. Below is a picture of 24th Street, where the three-person team I was part of did most of our work.*

Sun, March 13th

Rest day. I stretched for about a half-hour. Calories: ~1990, Protein ~122 g.

Mon, March 14th

(Morning Workout) Recumbent Bike: 30 Minutes, Hill Program, Level 9, RPMs: 80+. Stretched a little afterward.

Calories: 1919, Protein: 143 g.

Tues, March 15th

  • Stretched for 30 minutes, shortly after waking up. Meanwhile, my husband blasted about our basement gym slinging around heavy weights and rocking out to the Dead Kennedys, lol.
  • (Afternoon Workout) I warmed up with 1 lb. indian clubs and some dynamic stretching.
  • (Super Set) Military Press (strict): 47 lbs. x 5 sets x 12 reps +
    • Ironmind Hub Lift (left/right): 17.5 lbs. x (10/10 sec), (5/10 sec), (6/10 sec x 2 sets), (7/9 sec)
  • DB Incline Press: 25 lbs. x 12 reps, 30 lbs. x 3 sets x 12 reps, 35 lbs. x 8 reps
  • (Tri Set) Tricep Pushdown (straight bar): 45 lbs. x 9, 10, 10, 10 reps +
    • Light Spring Bar (Supinated/Pronated Grips): (6/6) x 4 sets
    • (Set #1) Lateral Walking with Band Around Knees: 16 steps each direction, (Set #2) Face Pulls: 15 lbs. x 15 reps, (Set #3) Glute Raises x 20 reps, (Set #4) Coc Gripper (Sport, 80 lbs., left/right) x 13/20 reps
  • (Tri Set) (Sets #1-2) Dead Bugs (2-ct): 25 reps, (Set #3) Supine Leg Revolutions (each direction): 50 reps, (Set #4) Standing Side Crunches (each side): 15 reps +
    • Heavy Spring Bar (alternating sets of pronated and supinated grip): 4 sets x 8 reps
    • Lateral Raises: 12 lbs. x 12, 12, 10, 10 reps
  • I did the first seven minutes of “Back/Shoulder Flexibility for Beginners” by Dylan Werner where one works standing. I also worked a little on Chair Pose, using a demo from the same instructor, then did some of the stretches from a binder of material I’ve collected over the last couple of years from our chiropractor.
  • I went to wrestling class in the evening.

Calories: 1899, Protein: 137 g.

There is a fair amount of urban art on 24th Street and I could have spent a lot of time taking pictures if I had more time. I did have time to take a picture of this mural while we had to wait around for a few minutes.

I was able to zoom in a bit and take another picture before we moved on. Pretty impressive stuff. I was glad to see that no one has tagged or defaced it in any way as I’ve seen so often with street art of this type in other places, including other parts of San Francisco in the past.

Wed, March 16th

  • We woke up and followed along with Jack Lalane, DVD 2, Episode 1.
  • Afterward, I did a little stretching and Lateral Walking with Band Around Knees: 20 steps in each direction.
  • Finished with the following two exercises from the Athlean-X “Glute Activation” video:
    • Lying Toe Stab Hip Raises (each side): 10 reps
    • Lying Toe Up Hip Raises (each side): 10 reps
  • We went for an afternoon walk in the woods. It took about 30 minutes.

Calories: 2000, Protein: 150 g.

One thing I noticed walking down 24th Street was that there were lots of lovely places to eat either sitting down or on the go. If I wasn’t in The Zone because I’m on a quest to get into great shape again, I would have probably stuffed myself!

Thur, March 117th

  • We followed along with Jack Lalane, DVD 1, Episode 3 shortly after waking up. I stretched for 30 minutes later in the day.

(Afternoon Test) CoC Gripper (Trainer, 100 lbs.) Test: (Left Hand) 4mm x 4 sets x 5 reps, 4mm x 6 reps | (Right Hand) 2mm x 4 sets x 5 reps, [Close x 2 reps + 2mm x 8 reps] Then I did one set of 5 partial reps with each hand, using the Ironmind 0.5 Gripper, which is 120 lbs.

I decided to test myself to see if I could still close the Trainer gripper to 4mm for 4 sets of 5 reps with my (weaker) left hand, which was a goal I originally achieved back in late April 2021.** (The Coc Gripper Key is very useful for measuring this.) I was pleased to see that I still can and updated my goal page accordingly. I’m going to do some intentional gripper work to see if I can get to 2mm with my left hand in a couple of months, which was a goal I set back in April 2021 when I first achieved the 4mm closure.

Grippers from the 60 lb. “Guide” on the left to the 120 lb. “0.5” on the Right
  • Afternoon Circuit Workout: I warmed up for this by dancing around to music in-between sets during my gripper test.*** One of the benefits of having a home gym is that you can do crazy dance moves without an audience other than the spiders and other fauna. I also used my 1 lb. indian clubs for warming up too. I moved from exercise to exercise and set to set with minimal rest.
  • (Tri Set) Standing Rows (hog bar): 60 lbs. x 12 reps, 70 lbs. x 12, 12, 14 reps +
    • Alternating Sets of Front Kick Stretch and Side Kick Stretch (each leg): 4 sets x 12 reps
    • Basic Step x 4 sets x 45 seconds.
  • (Tri Set) Pulldowns (hog bar): 60 lbs. x 12 reps, 70 lbs. x 12 reps, [70 lbs. x 8 reps + 60 lbs. x 4 reps], [70 lbs. x 12 reps resting as needed**** +
    • Seated DB Cleans: 10 lbs. x 4 sets x 12 reps
    • Corner to Corner Step x 4 sets x 45 seconds.
  • (Tri Set) DB Bicep Curls: 20 lbs. x 12 reps, ([20 lbs. x 8 reps + 15 lbs. x 4 reps] x 3 sets) +
    • Face Pulls: 15 lbs. x 4 sets x 12 reps
    • Straddle Step x 4 sets x 45 seconds.
  • (Tri Set) BB Standing Wrist Curls: 75 x 4 sets x 12 reps +
    • Alternating Sets of Reverse Hyperextensions x 12 reps and Supine Leg Windmills x 50 revolutions each direction
    • Hamstring Curl Step x 4 sets x 45 seconds.
  • (Tri Set) Alternating Sets of DB Reverse Wrist Curls: ([15 lbs. x 6 reps + 12 lbs. x 6 reps] x 2 sets) and DB Hammer Curls: 20 lbs. x 2sets x 12 reps +
    • (Set #1)
    • Kick Step x 4 sets x 45 seconds. For the last two sets the kick was a hard TKD snap kick leading with my insole.
  • I did some stretching and yoga poses, and also did the “Restorative Hip Stretch” class with Naya Rappaport on Alomove.com, which was about 15 minutes long. I did a little more stretching in the evening as well.

Calories: 1912, Protein: 150 g.

There was one place (too bad it was closed when we walked by) that had some interesting displays in several of its windows. The team leader for the group I was in told me that the display in the center picture contains masks from some famous luchadores (wrestlers). He told me the names of a few. A couple I remember, who he mentioned, are El Santo or “The Saint” who wore the silver mask in the top right corner, and the black and gold mask on the bottom in the middle belongs to Tinieblas or “Darkness.”

Fri, March 18th

  • (Afternoon Workout) I danced non-stop for 32 minutes following along as best as I could to “80s Dance Workout” by Zumba Sulu. I found the whole thing kind of amusing and a lot of my “dancing” was in fact somewhat unique and free form, but I had fun and it was a good workout and a nice change from pedaling the bike, which is fine but can get boring if I do it too often.*****
  • I did “Morning Yoga for Beginners” by Patrick Beach on Alomoves.com. Between the class and the stretching I did afterward, that phase of things lasted about 35 minutes.

Calories: 2024, Protein: 135 g.

We went into a laundromat and I saw this rather odd piece of art on the wall. There were actually several different examples along the same lines but like I said in the beginning, we were there to work so I only had time to snap this one picture. I can see myself someday using this for inspiration for something. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind hanging something like this on my office wall. Sure doesn’t seem like the usual thing one sees in a laundromat, but to my thinking that is part of the charm I found during my little adventure on 24th Street.

“The Eyes Have It” seems like a good title. Shades of Philip K. Dick perhaps?

Sat, March 19th

I stretched for about 45 minutes in the morning. I spent several hours walking around in the Mission District in San Francisco, CA in the afternoon without taking a break. Glad I didn’t do weights for my legs yesterday and kept it to dancing because my legs are definitely feeling it as I type this about an hour after getting back home from the city.

Calories: 2115, Protein: 111 g.

I lost 2.25 lbs. this week. My total loss is 9.25 lbs. over five weeks. My calorie intake for the week was 13,748.

* Other teams covered other streets in the area. The idea was to cover the area surrounding the high school where the show will take place in April.

** I like to do these tests from time to time because I think it is important not to just achieve various workout goals but to maintain them as well. I’ve been doing gripper work but haven’t intentionally been working on the above goals for a few months.

*** All of the fun I had dancing around got me to thinking I might want to start doing some online dance classes or maybe some Zumba at some point.

**** I found it better to simply rest a second or two between reps when it got too hard to continue rather than dropping the weight because the latter took too long and 60 lbs. has become too easy for what I’m trying to do. I think I need to buy a couple of five-pound plates I can slide into my weight stack so I can have 5 instead of 10 lb. intervals for my cables.

***** Actually it got bizarre and weird at points as if I were trying to summon up Great Cthulhu but that is the advantage of the privacy gained in working out in one’s basement with the poison-resistant spiders and armored scorpions. I often find the latter in the glue traps we set out in our basement and they look an awful lot like mini-Tyranids!