Spit wrote:

Shicky wrote:Seriously impressive journal mate. I really don't know how you have the energy to fit it all in as im getting thoroughly bummed for time these days and getting nothing done in the end. How many hrs sleep do you get a night?

Actually, I think combining his gymming and bumming into one session must be a real timesaver for Ollie.

Tend to get 6.5-7 hours sleep a night. Not really enough but I feel fine on it. Since giving up dairy and gluten my energy levels are noticeably better as well

One thing I have found is that my appetite's increased again. G-flux and all that

ollie wrote:Since giving up dairy and gluten my energy levels are noticeably better as well

Can't argue that at all.

How's the Rugby training been treating you?

Alex wrote:

ollie wrote:Since giving up dairy and gluten my energy levels are noticeably better as well

Can't argue that at all.

How's the Rugby training been treating you?

Within a week of chopping them both in I felt far better and looked significantly leaner. Amazing difference.

Rugby's just been fitness work and a few drills so far. Fitness is good but my handling isn't what it once was

I think handling is the first thing you lose along with peripheral vision and awareness.

Whats your daily intake then around the 3k figure?

Really need to get myself in a rhythm of food prep, absolutely balls at it. I imagine bumming is high on energy expenditure....so thats your secret, do you at least have the common courtesy to give a reach around?

Shicky wrote:Whats your daily intake then around the 3k figure?

Really need to get myself in a rhythm of food prep, absolutely balls at it. I imagine bumming is high on energy expenditure....so thats your secret, do you at least have the common courtesy to give a reach around?

Yeah about 3k, closer to 3.5k on bumming days.

I only give the reach around in conjunction with a rusty trombone.

Alex wrote:I think handling is the first thing you lose along with peripheral vision and awareness.

Agreed - haven't yet had a chance to assess awareness but will no doubt end up giving some loose passes. We'll see how we go.

We should meet up with Will one day at the weekend and have a chuck about.

We definitely should. Away this one and next but free thereafter

1st August - Shoulders & Arms

A1: DB shoulder press: 34kg x 8 / 34kg x 7 / 34kg x 6 / 34kg x 6
A2: Seated lateral raise: 14kg x 12 / 14kg x 12 / 14kg x 12 / 14kg x 12
A3: Prone rear raise: 6kg x 25 / 6kg x 25 / 6kg x 25 / 6kg x 25
Rest 2m and repeat

B1: Close grip bench press: 100kg x 6 / 100kg x 6 / 90kg x 6 / 90kg x 5
B2: EZ pushdown: 32.5kg x 12 / 32.5kg x 12 / 35kg x 12 / 35kg x 10
B3: Close hands press-up: BW x 25 / BW x 20 / BW x 20 / BW x 16
Rest 2m and repeat

C1: Incline DB curl: 24kg x 6 / 24kg x 6 / 22kg x 6 / 22kg x 6
C2: Standing EZ curl: +25kg x 12 / +25kg x 12/ +20kg x 12 / +20kg x 12
C3: Alternating DB hammer curl: 8kg x 25 / 8kg x 25 / 8kg x 25 / 8kg x 25
Rest 2m and repeat

Notes:

Good strong session on Saturday.

Dropped the weight on EZ curls to make sure I was hitting 12 reps, rather than rest pausing as I have been until now.

Looking forward to chest and back tonight

Are you finding 48hrs is enough time for your arms to recover for Chest & Back Mondays?

I am now, first time around my tris were hurting for nearly a week after shoulders & arms though.

Didn't make it to the gym tonight in the end so will go in the morning instead

I thought you never missed sessions?

Pipe down

4th August - Chest & Back

A1: 30 incline DB press: 44kg x 9 / 44kg x 6 / 42kg x 6 / 40kg x 6
A2: 15 incline smith press: +65kg x 12 / +60kg x 12 / +60kg x 10 + 2 / +55kg x 12
A3: Flat DB press: 14kg x 25 / 14kg x 25 / 14kg x 20 / 14kg x 20
Rest 2m and repeat

B1: Wide grip chin: +15kg x 7 / +10kg x 6 / +10kg x 5 / BW x 6
B2: Bent over row: 80kg x 12 / 80kg x 11 / 80kg x 10 / 80kg x 7
B3: Chest-supported T-bar: +15kg x 25 / +15kg x 25 / +15kg x 25 /+15kg x 15 + 10
Rest 2m and repeat

Notes:

Really good session this morning. Decided to see what I could do on the first sets and was ery pleased to hit 9 reps with the 44s - good tempo as well. +15kg x 7 on the chins isn't bad for me, either

Going to need some more treatment on the old elbow as it's just starting to click again so the tendon is tightening up. Best to catch it early.

Slightly regretting the weekend. I was at a party in Somerset - got very drunk on countless ciders and nailed a LOT of cupcakes and who knows what else. Instant fatty

That's it for booze for a good couple of months at least now anyway.

Some good work with the 44's there - decent gain for you?

I've been dry pretty much since I came back from holiday with the odd drink here and there but nothing to get drunk on and plan to say that way for a while. Could be a contributing factor towards your elbow as I found drinking and eating alot of processed foods made my joint ache so you heavy weekend and subsequent elbow pain could be related.

Very decent gain - chest and shoulders are where I've seen pretty much all my strength gains recently. Just as well as they had a bit of catching up to do!

You might have a point there - although this is an ongoing tendon problem and I've noticed over the past fortnight or so, just so minimally that it wouldn't have been worth getting it looked at straight away. It's not causing any pain or discomfort at the moment but I'd rather get it fixed in 1 session than 5

But you had a big one the weekend before as well, right? Not saying it's the cause but I think it may amplify the symptoms.

You may well be right - thinking about it it was at its worst when I came back from snowboarding, which was basically a week long drinking trip. Another good reason to stop!

I thought I'd look back into the effects of alcohol on gout as gout is caused by deposits of uric acid in the joints.

Now here's the interesting part...

There are two main ways in which uric acid levels can build up in the body:

Less removal of uric acid from the body through the kidneys.

More production of uric acid in the body.

Alcohol may affect both uric acid removal and production:

It is thought that when alcohol is converted to lactic acid, it reduces the amount of uric acid that is removed from the body through the kidneys. This is because the lactic acid competes with the uric acid for removal from the kidneys into the urine.

It is also thought that increased levels of ethanol (alcohol) in the body increases the body's production of uric acid by increasing the amount of ATP that is converted to AMP - a precursor of uric acid.

To my mind any connective tissue soreness or damage from training, sports, etc would react in a similar way to gout if deposits of uric acid were present on them.

Drinking affects my joints, if I drink a lot they ache next day - so I do it very rarely.

I get aching too, but more in my liver and dignity.

Eric Cressey mentioned in an article on T-Nation not too long ago that a PT friend of his could tell when a client had been drinking the night before just by assessing their muscle tone; I can't search for said article as I'm at work but it was quite an interesting read.

It is meant to cause muscle atrophy.

Alex wrote:It is meant to cause muscle atrophy.

It definitely does.

ollie wrote:

Alex wrote:It is meant to cause muscle atrophy.

It definitely does.

"I swear this has never happened before..."