If I did anything with intent this year, I focused on
gaining some maximal strength. Regaining. In some areas, carving some new
neural pathways with unfamiliar movements. Made some gains. Let’s compare some
numbers.
12.12 … (pulling these from December’s C week 531+ day)
Squat – 1x 315#, 3 bad ones @ 315# in Jan
Press – 2x 150#, 1x 190# in Jan (5x 135 in Nov)
Clean – Squat Clean 8x 125# during work sets in Nov, 5x
135 in Oct
Dead – 2x 270#, 7x 255# in Jan
Bench – 4x 280#, missed at 315# in Jan
12.13 – from the MaXmas attempts
Squat – 1x315# High Bar
Press – 1x 195#
Power Clean – 1x 185#
Dead – 1x 325#
Bench – 2x 325#
Front Squat – 2x 255#
2k Row – 8:05
Pull Ups – 13
So, I showed progress almost completely across the
board. Deadlift really wanted improvement, and got it, although I know it is
still an abject weakness. I subbed high bar squatting for low bar, and the numbers
there are nearly up to what I was low-bar back squatting – without beating me
up.Training got hampered a bit by what I thought/hoped was a strained abdominal but which is a hernia. Which, I'm not doing much about, and sure didn't get sliced open to fix.
I spent the biking months with a single favorite
ride/run brick – out and back to Brighthouse hill at the Riverwalk park, where
I’d do hill repeats. Always an awesome hour and a half.
Starting off the year with this 531 set up, note that
I’ve added a vert pull day and a cleaning day for better balance. To offset the
extra work, the BBB sets are only 4 instead of 5, and one of those 4 is
included on the warm-way-up to the 531 sets:
And here’s the year calendar. Note there are five 531
cycles, with the addition of 6 focal benchmark metcons and one oxidative
training day/week:
This year, the movements I’ll be focusing on:
Some notable moments from the year:
Right after New Year’s, I used 3 weeks of a month-long
membership at Crossfit Bako. I was exceedingly excited to join, and almost
immediately exceedingly disillusioned. I had an epiphany early on in that short
tenure, when I bested my Helen time by two minutes –based solely on the
strength work I’d been doing on my own prior to joining the box. I realized
that I didn’t need some swim coach dictating my workout planning for me, or to
pay to play with a community composed mostly of Gen-Y kids who wouldn’t look me
in the eye leave alone say hello.
Continued a lot of traditions this year. On L’s
bookgroup nights, the kids and I would hit China Palace and the dollar movie –
big whoop, but I always looked forward to it, and I hope the kids remember it
as something we did together, even if cheesy. Took part in the Valentine’s day
Father-Daughter dance, but only as participants this year. Paraded in
Westchester on July 4th. I caught up to the fam for a few days of
their week in Catalina with the Rabideaus. L and I went back in the fall for
the Jazz Trax weekend with them and had a great couples-only time. Didn’t ride
the Lighthouse century (was at Josh’s wedding, which is just as well, since,
except for Dew, the people we would travel with never did the ride with me
anyway), or run the Volkslauf (kept the day open for Haley’s Birthday, but she
was able to spend it with the grandmas at the Getty). Caught the Brian Setzer
Christmas Extravaganza at the Fox on Dec 23rd.
Did brew a few really
great beers this year: Oatmeal Super Bowl Blackout Stout, White House Pale Ale,
the 115th Dream Hopbursted Double Imperial Brown Ale – which got
nicknamed the Deuce Juice – a Honey Oatmeal Brown Ale. Got away from drinking anything
made from malteds in the second half of the year as I was feeling both depressed
and rotund. Maybe I’ll get a mead cookin’ to get away from the gluten, just as
soon as I trim down a bit. Right now, want to force my body into a bit of a
better power-to-weight profile.
In March, did the Heavy Athletics portion of the
Scottish Games, and received a nice t-shirt, a mangled knee and hand, and a
rude awakening regarding my ability to apply strength in motion. H and I toured Venice Beach on our way to see the Hives at the House of Blues - that was awesome.
In August took a day run up Vernal falls with the two
girls – this was a true highlight of the year for me. The time we carved out for
a backpacking trip got kaboshed by a fire in the Sequoias. Had a birthday
dinner with the DSS crew at Eureka! where I discovered both the bourbon sampler
and rye whiskey. This new relationship really did massage the breakup with
beer.
September, went to Chicago for the safety show with
Gardner and Kris in the Palmer House. Good, tiring time. November, took a
special trip to Disneyland to catch the opening of the Catching Fire Hunger
Games movie for CC.
The last two months of the year I began an experiment
with Intermittent Fasting, eating only after the noon workout through early
dinner – body weight remained semi-stable (lost 5 lbs) while the electro BF
readings stayed the same, but the body measurements improved, and nearly all
maxes improved (see above). Part of the beer equation was to eat my lean BW in
carb grams/day (205+), while seeking to keep carb grams under 100, and make up
the rest of approximately 2500/cal/day in fats. Didn’t really hit these marks
religiously, but saw recomposition progress as well as strength gains. I’ll be
continuing IF into 2014, and hopefully losing about 8” around the waist
(appearance) and getting down to 11% BF (athleticism).
Darkened a lot of church doorways this year, and
visited Todd’s house church once, just shopping around and wondering if a
lightning bolt of desire would hit me when I visited that special one. Nope.
Stayed away from 1st Pres all year except for dropping H off at some
of the girl’s studies and attending once when Mark Toone was in town and for a
funeral. Ironic twist: looks like we’ll be giving the place another try in
2014, as CC wants to go to her group and H feels like her group is home. In
2013 I didn’t miss phony baloney Christianity at all.
After that meeting with Mark, had an email correspondence
as he’s let me view under the hood while he and his staffers
construct/review/polish the weekly sermons. Love that guy and wish I could sit among
his congregants on Sundays.
Experienced a lot of loneliness in 2013. Guess from
the outside, people would blame me, saying I isolated myself. From within, I
remember trying to focus more on the people within my household, those who
I know will return the investment of my time, and repudiate those who are takers. That put me on the outside a bit as I tried to farm some new ground with new people.
Right at year's end, I read Jon Acuff's Quitter and began to wonder what dream I should be chasing. Without them, the people perish, you know.
