Working Out, Surfing and Meditating

[Bram]

Sunday, January 20th

Surfing 2 hours

Went to South Bird after driving around for 30 minutes checking various breaks. It didn't look that great - but as soon as we got in, me and my friend started catching fun waves. I got a bunch of rights, felt like I was hauling ass, doing good turns and connecting well with the Ocean. Added "never give up" to my mantra and I barely scratched into one wave with a tremendous effort. Seems like a good addition!

Got two lefts at the end, on the first one I did a big carve then set up for a hard turn - as I went into it, the board slipped out, flipped over and the fins hit me in the ass. The second one was a smaller set wave with a great shape to it.

Note: on Friday when I was doing jumps I felt like my landings (hips below knees) were not optimal. Plan to keep legs at 80 degree bend or less from now on when I land.

[Bram]

Monday, January 21st

Meditation 15 minutes [breathing slowly, deeply, gently] + Compassion Meditation

Have done variations of this before, generally I always think "breathe slow and deep," and it's never felt like enough things to keep my mind from wandering. But the addition of "gentle" today felt good and kept me centered.

Nature 15 minutes

[Bram]

Tuesday, January 22nd - Back

Stretch Upper Body

Wall Slides x 20 x 4 sets
and
Chin-Ups x 5, 5, 4, 3
and
BOSU Band Sit-Ups - Red Band x 20 x 4 sets

Seated Cable Row 42.5lbs x 15 x 4 sets
and
Machine Reverse Fly 40lbs x 15 x 4 sets

Dumbbell Alternating Curls 27.5's x 10 each, 10, 10, 8
and
Hanging Knee Raises x 5, 5, 4, 3

Stretch Upper Body and Core

Notes: kept low back neutral, abs flexed and drawn in on ab exercises. Low back neutral, drawing shoulder blades together and down on rows, reverse flys and wall slides. Shoulder blades down on chins. Shoulder blades neutral on hanging knee raises.

[Bram]

Wednesday, January 23rd - Chest

Stretch Upper Body and Core

Scapulae Push-Ups x 20, 20, 15, 12
and
TRX Alternating Leg Raises x 7, 5, 4, 3 each

DB Bench 55's x 12, 10, 8, 6
and
45 Degree Side Bends x 15 each x 4 sets

DB Lateral Raise 10's x 15, 12, 12, 10

Straight-Bar Pushdowns 42.5lbs x 14, 10; 35lbs x 10, 9

DB Side Lying External Rotation 5lbs x 20, 20, 15, 15

Repeat Stretches

Low back neutral on scapulae push-ups, abs active on lat raises, leg raises and scapulae push-ups. Shoulders squared on pushdowns. Abs and upper back nicely sore from yesterday's workout. Rotator cuff strength was strong today, but once again I plan on ditching the internal rotation, which may get me in trouble. Will monitor external rotation strength and posterior shoulder pain.

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Meditation [breath deep, slow and gentle] + Compassion Meditation

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Ran into an old BJJ teammate. This guy was a freak, he was a high-level champion wrestler, who fought MMA on a whim and beat the crap out of a guy, then joined our studio. At the time, I was decent, but he was beating me immediately. He went on to become a BJJ World Champ at I think every belt level. He showed us one day this single-leg ankle pick that was amazing...you drop like a sack of potatoes, grab the hands behind the ankle and drive your shoulder into their shin, then you just shuffle forwards while pulling towards you....and you can switch ankles if they move around. But for years I haven't been able to remember where you put your head. He told me today, head always on the inside. When I learned this, I was instantly taking down people, awesome to get it clarified today!

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A personal training client just got back from Extraordinary Golf camp. He mentioned a few drills that he enjoyed:

His wife, who attended the camp with him, was struggling with a drill where you toss a ball back and forth. She said she couldn't do it. So they stopped her and asked her about the story she was telling herself. They spoke of other stories we tell ourselves, I can't do this, this is too hard, etc. Since they weren't able to have her tell herself a new story she could believe, they had her focus on whether the ball was spinning towards her or away from her as they tossed it. Within a few tosses she was catching it every time.

Do a home run swing at waist height, knee height and about 6 inches above the ground. Then grab the club and hit the ball.

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Slow Flow Yoga 1.25 hours

Did a couple exercises I liked -

Sit cross-legged and do tall torso circles, about 10 to each side. Then do cat-cow from this position. Switch your feet and repeat. This was fine with one leg in front and very stiff on the other.

Standing Forward Fold to 2 yoga blocks.

And I liked some funny sayings: "super chill pose", "clear any crusties from your throat chakra with an exhale" and "as my old teacher told me, 'don't be afraid to smile'" - smiling actually did make a pose easier.

[Bram]

Friday, January 25th

Surfing 45 minutes

Have recently added to my surfing/life mantra, the latest iteration:

"Feel, Connect, Be Present, Flow, Style, Rhythm, Have Fun, Know When to Back off, Care, Do It Because You Love It, Never Give Up, Follow Your Bliss, Be Desire-Less, Be Gone"

It is MASSIVE. But I've been having very good interactions with people and, oddly enough, I've been playing competitive video games at a super high level.

Blew my first turn, then took a while to get back in position. The next few felt good, but were short and I wasn't sure if things were gonna work out. A bodyboarder, James, who I just met today, called me into a wide breaking wave and I got some very harmonious feeling turns. After that ride, I figured the session was already good.

The next wave I got into, I waited a bit to make my first turn, then got a really fun second turn. My buddy Calvin, who me and James were showering with compliments after he made a late drop on a gorgeous wave, said some nice compliments back after this ride. Successful mantra confirmed!

The rest of the session I would get some fun waves, and sometimes I would be too deep and have to jump off the board, but it was really freaking fun. Later in the day, definitely had the surf high - a feeling of lightness and joy and clear breathing.

One thing to work on....I recently read an article concerning angling your back foot slightly forward as you turn. On one of the turns I blew today, I had my foot out to the side and could feel that it added stress to my groin and hip AND felt less efficient as I attempted to whip into the wave.

[Bram]

Saturday, January 26th

Surfing 1.5 hours

Caught lots of waves, made some drops I was surprised by. Late take-offs, way on the tail, board felt like I'd slide out or bury the nose. Had some good turns, but felt a little under 100%.

The back foot position, which I noted in the past few entries, seems like it needs to pivot forwards a bit. When I went for certain turns it seemed like it created a lateral stress on the inside hip of my trailing leg. I have high mobility in that area, but I think I'm compensating for good technique with high mobility. Combine the two and I should have better results.

Mobility Workshop 1.5 hours

Did some interesting drills: lie on your side and reverse clam shell your legs (lift your foot up in the air with knees pinned together)...Cat/Cow but articulating each spinal segment starting at the tailbone up to the cervical spine....an ankle mobilization where you sit down, prop your straightened legs calf on top of the side of the other foot, forwards and back, then point down and and swivel back and forth....and sit cross-legged and look up and down, trying to isolate just the cervical spine.

My mobility and that of my clients who follow my programming were all pretty good!

[Bram]

Sunday, January 27th - Lower Body

Lower Body Stretches

Band TKE - Purple x 20 each x 2 sets
and
Slow Front Kicks x 20 each x 2 sets

BB Squats - Athletic Stance 95lbs x 12, 8, 8, 6
and
DB Calf Raises 25lbs x 20, 20, 15, 15

Walking Lunges x 15 each x 4 sets
and
DB Shin Raises 30lbs x 20 x 4 sets

Mini-Band Storks - Red x 20 each x 2 sets
and
Side Lying Adduction x 20 each x 2 sets

Glute-Ham Raise x 20, 15, 15, 12

45 Degree Lower Back Extension x 15, 12, 10, 8

Repeat Stretches

Worked on keeping a neutral spine today. I've squatted (and done a lot of exercises) with an arched low back for a long time and I think it's been throwing me off - making me strong only when my back is in that position.

Surfing 1.5 hours

Mellow waves today. Felt great just to sit around and wait, catch a fun one, then repeat. Having it be a beautiful day didn't hurt either!

[Bram]

Monday, January 28th

Noting Meditation 15 minutes

Worked on noting not just thoughts or physical sensations, but if there was a corollary effect. Like if I felt impatient, where that manifested itself in my body. Felt terrific! Also, did this in a little park. Meditating outside is so nice: birds chirping, breeze blowing the branches of the trees.

----

I did not note it, because it was so negative, but the past two surf sessions I've felt again my surge of anger towards others...and greed with taking waves. As well, I have a friend dealing with some hardships and I've been trying to be supportive, but I got frustrated and almost sent a caustic e-mail.

So I thought back to what has helped me be in a better mindset.

I remembered a surf I had at a localized break (meaning people yell at you) and my whole goal was "good vibes." I went out that day and called people into waves I might have taken myself, stayed out of the way of others as best as possible and came in feeling happy.

So I decided to add that to my mantra....it made me feel better and nicer to people, but also it inspired me to meditate today.

Meditation for me dials down the volume of negative talk in my mind: "this person's trying to fuck me over" or "I'm gonna try and fuck this person over." Without meditating regularly, I live with a volume of negativity that is unpleasant. Hoping that concentrating on good vibes continues to inspire a healthy level of regular meditation so that I can be happier, in a better place mentally, and kinder.

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Compassion Meditation + Nature Time 15 minutes

[Bram]

Tuesday, January 29th - Full-Body Athletic

Glute Bridge with Alternating Leg Extension x 15 each x 2 sets
and
Slow Back Kicks x 20 each x 2 sets
and
Cable Internal Rotation - Elbow by Side 50lbs x 20 each x 2 sets

Box Jumps 36" x 10 x 4 sets

Endless Rope for 45 seconds x 619 feet, 612, 616, 604

Mountain Climbers for 45 seconds x 96, 80, 48, 38

Medicine Ball Chest Pass from BOSU 8lbs x 10 x 4 sets
and
45 Degree Lower Back Isometric x 1 minute x 4 sets

Cable Internal Rotation - Elbow on Knee 30lbs x 15 each, 25lbs x 20 each

Stretching 15 minutes

Notes: neutral spine on glute bridge, back kicks, BOSU tosses and low back machine; made sure to land box jumps with hips above knee height, contracted TVA on mountain climbers (abs seized up on set 3)...tossed internal rotation back in, and both elbow by side and elbow elevated....the PT at my gym frowns on elbow elevated for the 40+ crowd, but my best surfing endurance has always happened when I've included elbow elevated internal and external rotation.

Note 2: the last time I did box jumps I was landing with hips below knees, I made mention that it seemed unsafe on my knees. A few hours after completing tonight's workout I jogged up some stairs and my knees felt super good.

[Bram]

Wednesday, January 30th

Surfing 30 minutes

The waves were small, but I got a nice one in, just cruising along. Felt really good!

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Compassion Meditation + Noting Meditation 15 minutes + Connecting to Nature 10 minutes

It was a beautiful day out! There was a guy tossing Indian Clubs around, skimboarders playing in the waves and lots of birds flying around.

Subbed in "may good things happen to you" for the final line of the compassion meditation.

----

Slow Flow Yoga 1.25 hours

[Bram]

Thursday, January 31st - Upper Body Push

Upper Body and Core Stretches

Scap Push-Ups x 20, 20, 20, 15
and
Decline Alternating Bicycle Crunch x 7 each, 5, 5, 4

DB Bench 60's x 12, 10, 8, 6
and
DB Windmills - Low Hand 25lbs x 5 x 3 sets, 20lbs x 5

DB Lateral Raise 12.5's x 12, 12, 12, 10
and
Triceps Push-Down 42.5lbs x 15, 15, 12, 12

DB Side Lying External Rotation 7.5lbs x 15, 5lbs x 15

DB External Rotation - Knee on Elbow 5lbs x 15 x 2 sets

Repeat Stretches

Notes: neutral spine on push-ups and abs, tva contracted on abs and windmills, glutes contracted on triceps

[Bram]

Saturday, February 2nd - Upper Body Pull

Thursday night I stayed up late. Friday morning, when I was trying to recover my sleep before work, the surf was phenomenal. If I had gone to bed on time, I would have easily had 1.5-2 hours of pre-work surf time. On the other hand it rained hard Thursday and I heard that, at the break I would have gone to, there was a puddle of purple and yellow liquid accumulating Friday from the run-off.

Fucking gross!

Stretch Upper Body Pulling and Core Muscles

Cable Reverse Fly 20lbs x 15 x 4 sets
and
Chin-Ups x 7, 5, 4, 3

Kneeling Cable Reverse Fly - High to Low 25lbs x 20, 20, 17, 12
and
Seated Cable Rows 42.5lbs x 15, 12, 9; 35lbs x 9

DB Alt. Hammer Curls 22.5's x 20 each, 25's x 10, 8, 7

Roman Chair Knee Raise x 12, 10, 8, 7
and
BOSU Sit-Up with Band - Red x 9, Green x 15, 15, 12

Stretch Upper Body (all of it) and Core

Notes: Neutral Back on reverse flys, abs and rows. Abs Drawn In on abs. Shoulders Down on chin-ups. Glutes Flexed on curls.

Very, very hard to keep low back neutral on rows. Don't know why I skipped stretching chest and triceps at beginning...

[Bram]

Sunday, February 3rd - Lower Body

Band TKE - Purple x 20 each x 2 sets
and
Slow Front Kicks x 20 each x 2 sets (much lower on left leg)

Wall-Sits x 1 minute x 4 sets
and
DB Calf Raise 25lbs x 20, 35lbs x 15 x 3 sets

DB Walking Lunges 15's x 15 each x 4 sets
and
DB Decline Bench Shin Raise 30lbs x 20, 35lbs x 15 x 3 sets

Mini-Band Storks - Red x 20 each x 2 sets
and
Side Lying 1-Leg Adduction x 20 each x 2 sets (tougher on left leg)

Glute-Ham Raise x 12 x 4 sets

45 Degree Lower Back Extension x 20, 15 x 3 sets

Stretch Lower Body 10 minutes

Worked on keeping a neutral spine today, but forgot until after TKE's and Front Kicks. On the lower back extensions, I noticed that I have a tendency to retract my hips so that I can't pivot from them. I focused on reaching my hips up towards my head which freed them to move.

There's definitely something up with my left lumbar spinal muscles. It seems only that part that wants to arch on everything, I felt that I was able to neutralize my spine throughout today's workout, but that area was very resistant.

[Bram]

Monday, February 4th

Today marks 5 years of teaching meditation. Decided to do a little myself before class:

Noting Meditation 15 minutes + Connecting to Nature 10 minutes

About half-way through the meditation, a strong wind and light rain turned on. Wasn't that distracting though. At the end of the nature time, a long flock of seagulls flew overhead. Every 30 seconds another 5 would go overhead, this continued until I left. Pretty cool!

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Today's class had someone hammering the shit out of the ceiling. I will say that after windy drizzle in your face, a jackhammer type-noise feels a bit like more of the same.

Noting Meditation 15 minutes + Savasana + Compassion Meditation

Feeling over teaching this class, but 5 years is a nice milestone to have achieved.

It's been weird, I've tried to teach the way I like to meditate and that hasn't seemed to resonate with people. And I've tried to teach the way they've asked me to teach, and that hasn't worked either.

[Bram]

Wednesday, February 6th - Full-Body Athletic

Glute Bridge with Alternating Leg Extension x 15 each x 2 sets
and
Slow Back Kicks x 20 each x 2 sets
and
Cable Internal Rotation - Elbow by Side 50lbs x 20 each x 2 sets

Box Jumps 36" x 10 x 4 sets
and
Medicine Ball Chest Pass from BOSU 8lbs x 10 x 4 sets

Roundhouse Kicks to the Bag x 10 each side x 4 sets

Endless Rope for 45 seconds x 628 feet, 649 PR, 599, 598
and
45 Degree Lower Back Isometric +10lbs x 1 minute x 2 sets, Bodyweight x 1 minute x 2 sets

Cable Internal Rotation - Elbow on Knee 30lbs x 20 each x 2 sets

Stretching 15 minutes

Notes: I feel that doing the straight-legged glute work prior to jumping is counter-productive, I plan to put it at the end of this workout next time. Also, on the leg day, I plan to ditch the shin raises and include a bent-leg calf raise. Kicked the bag hard today, back felt good.

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External Awareness Meditation + Compassion Meditation

Today added the mental focuses of "responsible, humble." Interestingly, I felt I gave a much better class than normal, and got nice feedback from the participants, including from a gentleman in his 80's or 90's who talked about how much he enjoyed it :)

At the end, another member of the class, Jane, who is in her 90's and has been playing piano since she was 5, played a few songs by Mozart from "The Silent Flute." It was beautiful and gave me a big smile inside and out.

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Hatha Yoga 1.25 hours

I feel that I am ready for some more intense yoga, although my left shoulder felt a bit sore (in a bad way) after this class. It was a bunch of passive stretches, and I think holding poses is what my body is calling for. Also, my mid-traps, which I did a ton of sets on in my last back workout, felt really solid.

Obliques are crazy sore from kicking the bag.

[Bram]

Thursday, February 7th

After a week of rain or no waves, we had a few days of good weather to clear out the Ocean and today I got to hop in.

Surfing 3 hours

Paddled out at Windansea on a brand new (to me) surfboard. The first few waves the board felt off, but the third wave I felt I connected to it and got a very solid turn. Proceeded to have a fun session for an hour, then it felt like the vibe in the water changed (Windansea is notorious for being territorial) and I moved down the beach to another break.

The conditions were tricky as the tide was dropping but the board felt good. I did notice that my back leg wasn't moving towards the tail enough, which in the past has been a sign that I'm not doing enough adductor/abductor work.

I have cut that down from 4 work sets to 2 in the past few months, and I plan to bring that back up on my next leg workout. Likewise I cut posterior glute work from 8 sets to 4 and seemed to notice a decrease in power on both pumping and backside turns, so I plan to up that as well.

[Bram]

Friday, February 8th - Lower Body Push

Decided to split my leg workout up. I've noticed a decrease in my hip strength while surfing, which I believe has come from reducing the volume of ab/adduction, and the only way I can reasonably and repeatedly get my ass to the gym, is if the workouts aren't too long.

So I broke my one leg workout into two days, increasing the volume on six of the exercises and adding an additional calf variation.

Band TKE - Purple x 20 each x 4 sets
and
Seated Leg Extension 50lbs x 20, 15, 12, 10

BB Squats - Stance Just Wider Than Shoulders 95lbs x 10, 10, 6, 5
and
DB Calf Raise 25lbs x 15 x 4 sets

DB Walking Lunges 20's x 15 each x 4 sets
and
Seated Calf Raises 45lbs x 15, 12, 10, 10

Seated Adduction 50lbs x 15, 15, 12, 8

Stretch Lower Body

A couple notes...shoulder blades still feel super good from doing two reverse fly variations for four sets each...I want to try doing just elbow by side internal and external rotation for a week.

[Bram]

Saturday, February 9th

Surfing 2.5 hours

Took my new board to Blacks Beach on a frigid morning by Southern California standards. This is the most nature-rich beach walk I know of in San Diego and always makes me feel positive as I descend into a plant-filled canyon with birds chirping all around.

The winds were gently off-shore as we arrived and we saw, even at the early hour of 7:00am, a large group of people populating the various peaks.

It was an interesting session. For nearly the entire time I could not find my way to the nicely groomed waves that would show up for 30 seconds, then move to another part of the beach. I caught some little ones, but felt completely out of sorts until finally I managed a small left that went for quite a ways.

But this was followed by 30 minutes or so of paddling around to no avail. I noticed that at this point my thinking had become negative towards the other surfers in the water.

I remembered that I always have a shit time when I'm in that head space and decided to think the opposite. If I thought negative of someone else, I would smile and think good energy their way. I also remembered that in shifty beach breaks where I can't figure out where to sit, it can be helpful to just paddle the length of the beach and hope for the best.

Within 3 minutes of changing my mental approach, I stroked into a very nice left, belting a snap in the pocket, into a cutback into a mini-inside cutback. This was followed quickly by a nice right with a backside snap.

On the physical side: I did all that quad work yesterday and my front-side surfing felt strong....but my backside surfing felt weaker than I would like. Train your backside...for your backside.

On the mental side: I'm not sure how to make it part of my life, but this is now the third time I can think of where my mindset has been toxic, I noticed it, then was able to use my thoughts to steer it the other way, where I was instantly rewarded with a great wave.

This is important!

----

Tried to do hamstrings (legs are sore), and back (lats sore), so settled on upper back.

Cable Reverse Fly 20lbs x 20 x 4 sets

Kneeling Cable Reverse Fly - High to Low 30lbs x 15 x 4 sets

Cable Internal Rotation - Elbow by Side 50lbs x 20 each x 4 sets

DB External Rotation - Elbow by Side 7.5lbs x 20 each, 5lbs x 15 each x 3 sets

Notes:

1) big improvement on my reverse fly strength from last week, this is important as my reverse fly strength has been deadlocked for quite awhile

2) in the past I've been unable to train internal and external rotation on the same day when doing more than 2 sets of each, though now it seems that it was the extra versions with the elbows elevated that was the culprit....our top-notch physical therapist said that elbow elevated for either version was a bad idea for anyone over 40 or a non-overhead athlete...it seems he may be right on the money

3) my old left shoulder injury felt like it was being directly targeted in hopefully a good way by the external rotation work.....

4) lastly, if I can actually train internal and external rotation on the same workout for high volume each, I may ditch the serratus work on upper body push days to create space

5) extra note....woke up from the couch a few hours after completing the workout, did a push-up to lift myself up and felt extraordinarily good and stable through the shoulders

[Bram]

Sunday, February 10th

Surfing 2.5 hours

Woke up at the crack of 10am to a bunch of photographs of the local surf break going off. Got my shit together and got to the beach to find the wind had turned, but the waves still looked fun.

Proceeded to have one of the funnest and most harmonious surfs of my life. My new board is stellar, getting me into all sorts of waves and handling quite well. The crazy thing was the weather kept getting worse: gloomier, windier with rain falling at one point. But it didn't matter. The waves stayed fun and it kept the crowd to around 5 people max.

I started a book called Extraordinary Golf (I'm visualizing surfing examples each time they reference golf) and the intro said the following.

Everyone has three things on their mind.

1) Wanting to look good
2) Being judgemental
3) Being two waves (or two swings) away from being upset.

So each time I found myself getting judgemental of the other surfers or myself, or taking a couple bad rides, I would pivot my mind - being extra friendly generally.

At the end I borrowed my friends new Slater Omni, stroking into two awesome waves.

[Bram]

Monday, February 11th - Lower Body Pull

Surfing 1.75 hours

Woke up and the surf looked epic, but I had not enough sleep to motivate before work at 8am. Off at noon for a tasty sandwich (roast beef with horseradish, cheddar and marinated bell peppers), then jumped in for a bit of lower-tide and windy local surf time.

Caught a bunch of waves, felt like I surfed pretty good, but not as crispy as yesterday - waves were fun, though not as clean. Had my buddy Frank, a good local named Simon and that was pretty much it. Lots of cheering for one another and good vibes.

----

Taught meditation...

Repeat "peace" on the inhale and exhale while breathing slowly, deeply and gently. Followed by compassion meditation, adding in one additional special person of your choice. Ended with "may good things happen to you"

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Stretch Lower Body

BB Deadlift 135lbs x 10, 10, 10, 8
and
DB Decline Bench Shin Raise 30lbs x 20, 35lbs x 20, 35lbs x 15, 35lbs x 15

Lying Hamstring Curl 90lbs x 8, 6; 70lbs x 6, 6
and
Slow Side Kicks x 20 each x 4 sets

Glute Bridge with Alternating Leg Extension x 15 each x 4 sets
and
Slow Back Kicks x 20 each x 4 sets

Stretch Lower Body

Seemed that the glute bridges were overkill today, I plan to move them to the beginning of my plyo day. Since that cuts the volume of this workout to 20 sets, and the other leg workout is 28 sets, I may split the calves into two workouts to keep the volume even.

[Bram]

February 12th, Upper Body Pull

Stretch Upper Body and Core

Cable Reverse Fly 20lbs x 20, 20, 20, 15
and
Chin-Ups x 7, 5, 4, 3

Kneeling Cable Reverse Fly - High to Low 30lbs x 15, 12, 10; 25lbs x 12
and
Seated Cable Rows 42.5lbs x 15, 12, 8; 35lbs x 10

BB Curl 50lbs x 10, 8; 40lbs x 10, 10

45 Degree Side Bend x 1 minute each x 4 sets
and
Hanging Knee Raise x 8, 7, 5, 4

Repeat Stretches

Neutral back on reverse flys, abs and rows. Abs drawn in on abs and obliques. Shoulders down on chin-ups. Glutes flexed on curls.

Might bump the second reverse fly exercise to my full-body day.

----

Random notes:

This lady at my gym said something in a super rude manner out of left field today to me and I gave her dagger eyes and didn't reply. This happened again later when I had been waiting for a machine for my client and this guy jumped in after we waited our turn. In both cases, I later said a friendly remark to them without any rage, but still this pattern of freaking out over injustice, even when it's something small....

A new person in my meditation class came up and talked about his experience in class yesterday and how he had started breaking down emotionally. He said he really appreciated being able to de-stress and had scheduled it for each week. I've noted how much I've wanted to quit it, then I have people say they like it. Hmm.

Lastly, I've taught class two main ways.

The first, I set a timer for 10, 15 or 20 minutes and we meditate until the timer signals the end. I keep this timer quiet enough that people shouldn't be able to hear it.

The second, I stay present and end the meditation when I think it's time. This might be 5 minutes or 20. I guess I'm trying to read the energy in the room and when I can tell people have had enough, I cut it.

The second seems to be vastly superior for keeping people enjoying it.

[Bram]

Wednesday, February 13th - Lower Body Push

Lower Body Stretches

Band TKE - Purple x 20 each x 4 sets
and
Seated Leg Extension 50lbs x 20, 20, 15, 15

BB Squats - Stance Just Wider Than Shoulders 95lbs x 10 x 4 sets
and
DB Calf Raise 35lbs x 15 x 4 sets

DB Walking Lunges 20's x 15 each x 4 sets
and
Seated Calf Raises 45lbs x 15, 15, 15, 12

Seated Adduction 50lbs x 20, 20, 15, 12

Repeat Stretches

Thoughts....wanted to split calves into the two leg workouts, but as I didn't do that on Monday, figured I'd grind 8 sets of calves out today....was a bit over it, but I have to say I haven't felt like this during a workout in a long time: sweating, muscles getting a bit pumped, good flow.....plan to drop the leg extensions from the warm-up and push them to the end with the adductors

[Bram]

Thursday, Valentine's Day

Tuesday the surf looked fun, but my body felt off and I skipped. Later in the day, my friend Calvin let me know he got an "epic epic barrel" at the spot I usually surf with him.

Then today, my L posterior shoulder has hurt more and more. By the time I was supposed to start my chest day, I realized it wasn't going to happen.

So once again, I am revamping my approach to my rotator cuff. Some sort of the following seems reasonable, at least based on past history.

Hoping to train Upper Body Push tomorrow, Full-Body Saturday

Plan is:

Week 1, Upper Body Pull - rear delts (4 sets total)
Week 1, Upper Body Push - internal rotation elbow in and elbow elevated (4 sets total)
Week 1, Full-Body - rear delts (4 sets total)

Week 2, Upper Body Pull - rear delts (4 sets total)
Week 2, Upper Body Push - external rotation elbow in and elbow elevated (4 sets total)
Week 2, Full-Body - internal rotation elbow in and external rotation elbow in (4 sets total)

[Bram]

Saturday, Februrary 16th - Upper Body Push

Felt nauseous the past couple days.

Stretch Upper Body and Hip Flexors

DB Bench 60's x 12, 12, 10, 8
and
Hanging Knee Raise x 10, 8, 6, 6

DB Lateral Raise 12.5's x 12 x 4 sets
and
45 Degree Side Bend x 15 each x 4 sets

Triceps Push-Down 42.5lbs x 15, 50lbs x 10, 8; 42.5lbs x 10

DB Side Lying External Rotation 5lbs x 20 x 2 sets

DB External Rotation - Knee on Elbow 5lbs x 20 x 2 sets

Nausea worsening :(

Notes: neutral spine and tva contracted on abs and side bends, glutes contracted and shoulder blades set on triceps

[Bram]

On Saturday, after a day of shitting more than normal, and feeling generally off, I rallied to a local wrestling production called "Super Awesome Showdown!"

It was really fun, with weird backstories to each character who were all connected in some sort of galactic struggle. You had the Space Romanians led by Vlad Tempest, Vic Valentine the Hollywood star, Rainfro - who usually has a rainbow afro, but tonight had a midnight blue one, and so on.

Some of the matches were quite long and featured some athletic maneuvers including flips off the top rope and all sorts of fun throws straight out of Street Fighter. Cool night!

Sunday, my friend drug me off the couch for a 30-45 minute bike ride around in between rain storms, oddly beautiful and it felt good to breathe some fresh air and huff and puff a bit - I grew up biking and this is the longest stretch I haven't done it regularly.

Now, Monday, I for the 50th time am run-down from yet another ambitious workout program. The hope though is that each failed attempt involving too much volume for my dainty constitution pushes me closer to some sort of ultimate truth and/or amazing surf ability.

Here's my reformed plan, Week 1:

Chest (same as old standard)
Back (same as above)
Legs (same as above)

+ Internal Rotation with Elbow by Sides and with Elbow Elevated to Around Shoulder Height on it's own separate day

Week 2:

Full-Body (same as above)
Lower Body Stabilizers (VMO, leg extensions, abduction, adduction, bent-leg glute extensions)
Upper Body Stabilizers (internal and external rotation - elbow by side, rear delts, abs, obliques, and shins cuz I had to squeeze them in somewhere)

+ Glute-Bridges with Straight-Legs on it's own separate day