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Rob's Firefighter Challenge


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Thanks for the encouragement y'all.

 

@ John V - I considered seeing a chiro when it initially happened, but after I went to my doc's I just kinda let it slip my mind.

 

@ Mary & Lobster - Once I stopped eating carcasses, I found that I started eating a TON of cheese, and I had to cut back, because it was getting ridiculous. Also, Mary, I'm certain my form was bad when I was DL'ing when I got injured, but I don't know what I was doing wrong. Is it really possible to "forget" the correct form? I mean I used to do more with no problem. I've been trying the actual motion of the exercise but with no weight or anything, and it seems like when you look up while doing it your back stays straighter than if you are looking forward? I don't know. It's frustrating not knowing what you are doing differently than befoe to make something incorrect and dangerous.

 

03/04/2010

Workout:

I went about 10 lbs lighter on everything just to be safe, since it's been a few weeks.

Bench Press: 150 lbs, 5 sets of 5

Dumbell Flies: 2 x 30 lbs, 3 sets of 10

Assisted Dips: 80 lbs? Assistance, 5 sets of 5

Overhead Press: 85 lbs 4 sets of 5...The way this rack is situated is a pain in the ass. You're seated and the barbell sits above and behind you. But it's a little too far behind, so the lift off each time is really difficult. Apparently its a common complaint with people at this gym. I finished off the last set with 40 lb dumbells x5...It's great being able to do this with a barbell, but it seems like its more trouble than it's worth with the way it's set up.

Eliptical: Interval, 10 minutes (started getting a headache and was hungry...I'll get serious about cardio again soon, I hope )

 

Food:

bowl of Grape Nuts cereal with soymilk and a banana

1/2 a cran-orange bran muffin

2 more bananas

2 PB Cliffs bars

small navel orange

1 PB Cliffs Builder Bar

leftover jerk tempeh with roasted pineapple, brown rice, and green beans

a papaya (what color should the skin be when you eat these things? mine was green and the pulp didn't have much flavor)

soba noodles, steamed vegetables, tofu & black bean sauce

Edited by Rob PMFF
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03/08/2010

 

An hour of Wing Chun tonight. Would have stayed for the second hour, but came home to have dinner instead.

 

Was going to go to the gym this afternoon, but was pretty beat from my shift. Plus my wife came home around lunch time, and we decided to nap instead of doing the things we were supposed to do

 

 

Food:

Cran-Orange bran muffin

peach soy yogurt

2 PB Cliff bars

an Amy's vegan shepherd's pie

blood orange

tempeh empanadas

soy chorizo burritos

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03/09/2010

 

Workout:

Bench Press: 155 lbs, 5 sets of 5

Dumbell Flies: 35's, 3 sets of 10

Overhead Dumbell Press: 40's, 5 sets of 5

Assisted Dips: 70lbs? Assistance, 5 sets of 5

Eliptical: 15 minutes on Interval

 

Food:

4 PB Cliffs Bars

2 Navel Oranges

1 Blood Orange

3 Tempeh Empanadas

1 Nectarine

Gardein meat-free Sante Fe stuffed chicken breast

whole wheat spaghetti with marinara, boca crumbles and nutritional yeast

mixed baby greens with dried cranberries, walnuts and raspberry vinaigrette

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@ Mary & Lobster - Once I stopped eating carcasses, I found that I started eating a TON of cheese, and I had to cut back, because it was getting ridiculous. Also, Mary, I'm certain my form was bad when I was DL'ing when I got injured, but I don't know what I was doing wrong. Is it really possible to "forget" the correct form? I mean I used to do more with no problem. I've been trying the actual motion of the exercise but with no weight or anything, and it seems like when you look up while doing it your back stays straighter than if you are looking forward? I don't know. It's frustrating not knowing what you are doing differently than befoe to make something incorrect and dangerous.

 

 

The usualy mistake is losing the lumbar curve in the back and instead of lifting when your legs and glutes curving the back and using the back to lift the weight. And it is possible to forget form. I normally look at a point straight ahead, neutral. neither up nor down. I;ve got some videos of me deadlifting in my log is that helps you any. if you've got the ability to video somehow it helps you see what your actually doing. or have someone watch you that knows how to deadlift. How is the back feeling lately

?

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@Mary - back only really bothers me now after standing around for extended periods of time...

I had to have curved it the wrong way, whichever direction that may have been. I know my form sucked, because when I initially injured it, I was very distracted. Someone was in my personal space and I wasn't focusing on what I was doing. When I re-injured it, I don't know...Form probably sucked again, but it also could have been that it was just too soon to try again. Unfortunately I don't have any way to take video. I work out by myself, so no one to help me out there.

 

03/11/2010

Workout: Tried to take it easy since I haven't done these exercises since before I hurt my back. That may have been a mistake, since everything was almost laughably easy.

Squats: 95 lbs, 2 sets of 5; 100 lbs, 3 sets of 5

Hypers: 3 sets of 10

Assisted Chin-ups: Assistance 80 lbs?, 5 sets of 5

Hanging Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 10

Barbell Curls: 65 lbs, 5 sets of 5

Rotary Calf: 210 lbs, 5 sets of 10 (This machine still seems pointless)

 

1 hour of Wing Chun class - footwork drills.

 

Food:

1 PB Cliffs Bar

bowl of Grape Nuts cereal with soy milk and banana

1 navel orange

Sandwich: 2 slices Ezekiel bread, 6 slices of Hickory smoked Tofurky, mixed baby greens, Tofutti sour cream, jalapeno hummus

1 PB Cliffs Builder bar

Shake: banana, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, scoop of soy protein powder, the remains (maybe a scoop and a half) of some Ultimate Meal powder, 1 tbsp of vegetarian omega oils, grape juice

Koka Moka Pro Bar

big bunch of white grapes

vegan quiche that my wife made - red chard, sundried tomatoes, onion, garlic, tofu, soy milk, crust...very good

canteloupe

Smart Ground vegan breakfast sausage

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03/15/2010

 

Workout:

Felt kinda weak today. It showed in the numbers. Don't know what the problem was.

Bench Press: Warm up set 135 lb x 5, 160 lb x 5, 160 lb x 4, 155 lb x 4, 155 lb x 4, 135 lb x 7

Dumbell Flys: 40s 5 x 5

Overhead Dumbell Press: 45s x 5, 40s 4 x 5

Assisted Dips: Assistance 60 lb? 5 x 5

Eliptical: 20 min on interval

 

Food:

cup o soy peach yogurt

bowl of grape nuts with soymilk and banana

1 PB Cliffs Bar

navel orange

1 PB Cliffs Builder Bar

Shake: Orange juice, pineapple juice, frozen mango & pineapple chunks, about 1/3 cup Ultimate Meal powder, some baby spinach, 1 tbsp vegetarian omega oils, 2 bananas

2 slices of pizza - whole wheat crust, homemade marinara, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, artichokes, spinach, nutritional yeast

big bunch of white grapes

jerk tempeh with pineapple and brown rice

sauteed spinach and mushrooms

tofutti ice cream sandwhich

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@Mary - back only really bothers me now after standing around for extended periods of time...

I had to have curved it the wrong way, whichever direction that may have been. I know my form sucked, because when I initially injured it, I was very distracted. Someone was in my personal space and I wasn't focusing on what I was doing. When I re-injured it, I don't know...Form probably sucked again, but it also could have been that it was just too soon to try again. Unfortunately I don't have any way to take video. I work out by myself, so no one to help me out there.

 

 

good curve is the natural curve of the spine so chest open. bad curve in rolling the spine in the opposite direction so rolling the shoulders forward and curling the spine up. hope that helped?!?

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03/16/2010

Did vehicle extrication training at the junk yard. Stabilizing vehicles and cutting up cars is a hell of a workout in itself

 

03/18/2010

Assisted Pull-ups: 5x5 at 60 lbs assistance

Hanging leg lifts: 3 x 10

Tried out the cable row machine, and felt a familiar pain in my back, just not nearly as bad as before. So I called it a day so as not to push my luck. Oh well. Ibuprofein and Ice for me.

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I did a lot of ice this time, Mary, and I think it must have helped. It seemed to have recovered more quickly...not to 100% of course, but it also might have to do with the fact that it didn't hurt as bad this time when I "injured" it (a third time). I'll take icing more seriously from now on.

 

Also, explain Active Release therapy, if you don't mind.

 

03/23/2010

 

Workout:

Bench Press: Warm up set 135 lb x 5, 160 lb 2 x 5, 155 lb 2 x 5 & 1 x 4

Dumbell Flies: 40s 5 x 5

Dumbell Shrugs: 40s 3 x 10

Assisted Dips: 5 sets of 5 at 50 lbs Assistance

Eliptical: 15 minutes

 

Like I said, the back has still been bothering me, especially lifting patients, the stretcher, and carrying ladders at work, so I didn't want to do anything over my head (literally) today. So no overhead presses or anything like that.

Maybe I could have gotten that last rep on BP, but I felt like I started to arch my back some, and I didn't want to take any chances.

 

Food:

20 oz soy vanilla latte

Trader Joe's Super Crusade multivitamin

3 PB Cliffs Bars

Bowl of TJ's Raisin Bran with oat clusters with soy milk and a banana

navel orange

Shake: 1/3 cup Ultimate Meal powder, 2 tsp vegetarian omega oils, 2 bananas, frozen pineapple chunks, frozen mango chunks, a handful of pea shoots, rice milk

jambalaya w/ tofurky kielbasa, onions, peppers, rice, etc

2 boca chikin patties

green beans

4 choc chip cookies

Edited by Rob PMFF
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I like icing in 20 minutes on 40 minutes off increments. too much ice can be bad. this way you body has a chance to bring the temp back up and then you hit it with ice again. no tissue damage that way,

 

art - active release therapy - has been awesome to me for most of the injuries ive sustained over the years. It is soft tissue work where they go in deep and break up the adhesions that form. ill post a website on it below that will explain it much better than I can. It always makes me recovery from an injury quickly after a couple of visit which I love but I have to be honest. It can be painful/uncomfortable while they break things up. Of course they work to you pain tolerance.

 

http://www.activerelease.com/

 

I also like the trigger point, foam, stick rollers that you can use at home to break things down.

 

http://www.networkfitness.com/anaerobic/

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03/24/2010

In exactly one month I'll be 30

 

Workout:

Squat: 95 lb, 4 x 5

-Went light on this just in case. Good thing I guess...I didn't do the fifth set because at the end of the 4th there was a momentary sharp pain in my right knee. It's not exactly new, but it doesn't happen very often either. Usually when I'm climbing up into the fire engine. Not taking any chances anymore.

Hypers: 3 x 10

Hanging Leg Lifts: 3 x 10

Assisted Pull-ups: 60 lbs assistance 1 x 5, 70 lbs assistance 4 x 5

-Really wanted to do all 5 sets at 60 lbs assistance, to keep up with my progress on the Dips, but my right lat was bothering me a bit...I don't really know how to explain it, but it was like a "folding" sensation. I don't know. I'm falling apart

Dumbell curls: 35s 5 x 10

 

Food:

20 oz soy vanilla latte

Trader Joe's Super Crusade multivitamin

Bowl of pumpkin seed/flax/granola cereal with soy milk and banana

Macintosh apple

2 PB Cliffs Bars

Slushie: (Man this thing was thick, had to eat it with a spoon) 1/3 cup Ultimate Meal powder, 2 tsp vegetarian omega oils, 2 cups Pomegranate-Blueberry juice, 2 and 1/4 cups of frozen strawberries, blackberries, blueberries & raspberries

some bread

a piece of fruit leather

eggplant bhartha w/ rice

tofu pad thai w/ lots of vegetables

2 cookies

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03/25/2010

1 hour Wing Chun class

 

03/30/2010

BW: 199.6 lb

upper arm circumference (just for the hell of it) 14.5 inches (36.83 centimeters)

 

Workout:

Bench Press: Warm up 135 lb x 5, 160 lb 4 sets of 5, 155 lbs x 4

-Just couldn't get that last rep. Someone ran over to help me . So I didn't count it.

Dumbell Flies: 45s 5x5

Dumbell Shrugs: 45s 5x5

Dumbell Overhead Press: 30s 5 sets of 5

-Went light on this because of the back. Hadn't done anything over my head in a while.

Assisted Dips: 5 sets of 5 at 40 lbs Assistance

-Almost there!

Eliptical: 10 minutes - Interval 2 minute "sprints" on diff 10, with 2 minute "walking" on diff 4

-meh...

 

Food:

bowl of Grape Nuts cereal with soymilk and banana

navel orange

Koka Moka Pro Bar

PB Cliffs Bar

PB Cliffs Builder Bar

Shake: banana, 1/3 cup Ultimate Meal powder, 2 tsp vegetarian omegas, handful of pea shoots, half a bag of mixed frozen strawberries, blueberries, blackberries & raspberries, soy milk (1/4 liter?)

tempeh stroganoff: tempeh, lo mein noodles, mushrooms and...stroganoff

No Meatloaf - 2 servings

Macaroni and Notcheese - 2 servings

green beans - 2 servings

Edited by Rob PMFF
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04/01/2010

Had a house fire the night before and honestly was too tired to go lift.

1 hour Wing Chun

 

04/02/2010

30 no weight squats

Meant to get to the gym this day, but had plans with friends in the afternoon and did not manage my time well.

 

04/05/2010

BW: 199.6 lbs

Bench Press: Warm up set 135 lb x 5, 160 lb x 5, 160 lb 2 sets of 4, 160 lb x 2, 155 lb x 2, 135 lb x 8

-Just terrible today. Definitely fell off from last week. I actually thought I was gonna get all 5 sets at 160 today. Was so close last week. I don't know what happened today though. Very disappointing.

Pec Fly Machine: 60 x 5, 75 x 5, 90 x 5 x 2, 105 x 5, 120 x 5

- Shoulda used dumbells like I usually do. This machine is stupid, and so was the person using it apparently

Dumbell Shrugs: 50s x 5 x 5

Dumbell OH Press: 30s x 5 x 5

Assisted Dips: 5 sets of 5 at 40 lbs Assistance

Eliptical: Interval for 10 min

1 hour Wing Chun

 

bowl of grape nuts cereal with unsweetened soy milk and a banana

Superfood Slam Pro Bar

PB Cliffs bar

Smoothie: 2 bananas, 1/2 block of frozen spinach (1 cup maybe?), 2 tsp veg omega oil, 1/3 cup Ultimate Meal protein powder, 1 cup unsweetened soy milk, 1 cup water, half a bag of frozen strawberries, blueberries, raspberries & blackberries

7 baby kiwis

small bowl of diced tomatoes

2 halves of twice baked potatoes w/ spinach & vegan cheese

3 chocolate covered pretzels from Vegan Essentials

peanut butter & strawberry jam on ezekiel bread

whole wheat penne with homemade marinara, homemade wheat gluten sausage, grilled squash, onions & button mushrooms

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Viva - Thanks for the encouragement. I hope you're right. I feel like I'm struggling now, and it seems too early to be plateauing.

 

Mary - Yeah, my wife is such an awesome cook, and she's always experimenting. I'm very lucky

 

04/07/2010

Didn't really have time to go to the gym this day, so I just did some dumbell curls at home (30 pounders, 3 sets of 20). The reason being that I was heading up to the University my wife works at to see some of the "Peace Week" activities. There were some Tibetan Monks there making a Mandala sand painting all week. It was beautiful. Really.

And then in the evening, a reformed Neo-Nazi skinhead from California named TJ Leyden (You may have seen him on The History Channel's "Gangland" program) came and spoke about the things he had done, and hate/racism/organized crime in general, and how he travels the country now doing these speaking engagements. It was EXTREMELY interesting.

 

04/09/2010

Went and saw the monks (mentioned above) wipe away their sand painting (that they had worked on all week) and put it in little plastic bags and vials to hand out to spectators. Kinda sad to see something so beautiful get destroyed, but part of the significance is that nothing is permanent. They chanted and played horns and drums and things too. Really cool to watch. I've never seen anything like that in person before.

 

BW: 202 lbs

 

Workout:

Bench Press: Warm up set 135 lb x 5, 160 lb 4 sets of 4, 160 lb x 3, 155 lb x 2, 135 lb x 5

-Still struggling with this damn 160

Squat: Warm up set (just bar) x 5, 55 lb x 5, 65 lb x 5, 75 lb x 5, 85 lb x 5, 95 lb x 5

-Nothing serious here. I was experimenting with my form. Trying to figure out what was best and most comfortable, and how far down my back to rest the bar.

Overhead Press (standing w/ barbell): 65 lb x 5, 70 lb x 5, 75 lb 3 sets of 5

Hypers: no weight x 10, 5 lb 2 sets of 10

Assisted Pull-ups: 2 sets of 5 at 60 lbs assistance

-Started feeling some lower back discomfort here. Weird huh? So I stopped. Maybe I was too rigid. I don't know.

Asssited Dips: 5 sets of 5 at 40 lbs assistance

 

Food:

bowl of grape nuts cereal with banana and soy milk

2 more bananas

PB Cliffs bar

smoothie: 2 bananas, frozen blueberries, 1/3 cup Ultimate Meal powder, some soy milk, too much water, half a block of frozen spinach, 2 tsp veg omegas.

PBJ

3 TJ's Organic Tofu burgers with bbq sauce, homemade cole slaw, on whole wheat buns

sauteed zuchinni w/ lemon juice & thyme

Edited by Rob PMFF
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04/10/2010

 

At work today. Wasn't planning on doing anything, and then I played a Slayer song on youtube.

 

Pull-ups: 10 (not in a row, might do more throughout the day)

Big f'n tractor tire flips: 10 (no one knows how much this thing weighs)

Hitting the tire with the sledgehammer: 3 sets of 10 on each side

 

Food:

grape nuts cereal with soymilk and banana

20 oz soy vanilla latte from starbux

2 navel oranges

PB Larabar

sandwhich: 2 slices ezekiel bread, TJ's 3 layer hummus, handful of spinach, handful of alfalfa sprouts

PB Cliffs bar

baby carrots

banana

PB Cliffs Builder bar

smoothie:frozen mixed berries, spinach & a banana

2 TJ's organic tofu burgers w/ homemade coleslaw & barbeque sauce on whole wheat buns

leftover zucchini w/ lemon juice & thyme

peach soy yogurt cup

Edited by Rob PMFF
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04/14/2010

 

Today is the only day this week I could feasibly make it to the gym. A friend of mine died Sunday night in a motorcycle accident. He was a fellow Firefighter, but in a different locality. We were in the same Fire Academy in 2005. I worked Monday, and spent most of the day talking to other people that were in our academy about it. Yesterday I drove around all day collecting donations for a flower arrangement for the funeral on Thursday, and then I met some guys that were in our academy for a few pints.

 

Workout:

Hit a few milestones today I guess.

Bench Press: 160 lbs, 5 sets of 5 (Warm up set 135 lb x 5)

-While my personal record is 225 lb x 1 (about 2 years ago), 160 is the highest I've gotten while doing this 5x5 deal, and I've struggling with it for weeks.

Squat: 85 lb, 5 sets of 5 (Warm up set 45 lb x 5)

Overhead Barbell Press: 75 lb, 5 sets of 5

Hypers: 5 lb, 3 sets of 10

Assisted Pull-ups: 5 sets of 5 at 60 lbs Assistance

Dips: 1 set of 5 with 40 lbs assistance; 3 sets of 5 with no assistance, 1 set of 4 with no assistance

-This is the first time in a very long time that I've done Dips without weight assistance. Someone nearby said "If you're that close, why don't you just do it without the bar." I said "I'll try." And this was the result. Good stuff.

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Thanks Carrie.

 

04/19/2010

45 min Wing chun class

 

04/20/2010

Bench Press: 165 lbs 5 sets of 5 after 135 x 5 warm up

Squat: 90 lbs 5 sets of 5 after 45 x 5 warm up

Overhead Press: 80 lbs 5 sets of 5 after 45 x 5 warm up

Hypers: 3 sets of 10, w/ 10 lb plate

Assisted Pull-Ups: 2 sets of 5 with 50 lbs assistance, 3 sets of 5 with 60 lbs assistance

Dips: 5 sets of 5

Hanging Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 10

 

Summary:

Bench: Improved on bench again today. In the past two workouts my bench has been better than it was for several weeks prior. I wonder if its because I've had so many rest days in between, or if its because of the coffee beans/coffee I had in the morning prior to each (even though they were several hours apart).

Squat: I'm still not happy with the squats. I don't feel like I'm getting low enough, and I also don't feel like my back is in the right position. I feel like I should be doing much higher weight on this. I look at other people's logs and see their squat is like twice what their bench is. Mine is the complete opposite. My bench weight is significantly higher than my squat weight. That seems odd to me. I don't know if its because of my back injury in February, or if I just have weak legs But this is frustrating as hell. Any advice anyone?

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