Workout Journey, Feb-Mar ’17

by Joshua Heston

Sunday, February 5

After nearly 30 years of not knowing what to do, my journey begins with what I do best: writing and eating. This afternoon, after church, I interview Terry Sartin over the phone and he details working out and eating. We talk for over an hour and I record everything (I am a journalist after all).

With a clear idea of what’s in front of me, I know what I have to do: bake cookies.

And not just any cookies, but StarWars cookies made with corn flakes. A little chunk of my childhood in melty, buttery goodness on a cookie sheet. I stay up until 1AM.

Monday, February 6

So now, I do what I love most: I eat cookies and go to Zumba. Yes, I love Zumba. And afterwards, I am completely worn out and have heartburn. Maybe staying up until 1AM baking cookies wasn’t such a good idea. Did I mention I found a recipe for homemade ranch dressing? The next day I feel like crap pretty much all day — headache and general malaise.

Wednesday, February 8

Attended Kom Hot Yoga for a yin class, which is wonderful. Chelsea teaches. Then — in preparation for my life ahead — I go to Japanese Kitchen and eat my weight in Korean noodle soup. There is something freeing in saying, “I’m not afraid to eat.” I’ve been afraid to eat for a very long time.

Thursday, February 9

My eating hits its stride: I go to Kaffee Haus for cherry strudel. Then have homemade chocolate chip cookies at the SOTO Get-together. But first, I stop by Grandma’s Goodies & Gumbo to pick up my order: an entire King Cake. Indulgence is fun. Or is it gluttony? I don’t care.

Friday, February 10

I am offered a giant burrito during class at Veritas. Normally, I would decline. Instead I add more cheese. Tonight — this eating thing is getting out of hand… or is it? — I go to El Patio and order flan. I love flan. And come home to that giant King Cake.

“Who are you sharing it with?” someone asks. “Uh, myself?”

Sunday, February 12

After two more days of feeling like crap (can’t imagine why), I finish my Mardi Gras-style eating. I have eaten all but an entire King Cake (does the lucky baby still count when you’re the only one eating?).

By 10PM, the only thing I can stand the thought of is a cup of plain tea. Indulgence has worked. The last thing I want is another spoonful of anything floury-sugary-dumpliny-cream-cheesy.

I think it’s worth recording there is something deeply healthy about emerging from a fear of eating. The constant second-guessing. The idea that food choices make me a lesser person, a guilty person, a second-class bad person. But all the same, I really don’t want dessert. Like. Ever.

Why am I beginning this workout regimen? I’m tired of feeling like a failure. I’m tired of second-guessing everything I wear. And I’m mostly tired of the voices in my head that say, “You can never do this. Not really.”

February 13, Monday

Just in terms of being different, I like the fact that I’m getting very serious about this six weeks later than everybody else. Makes me feel less like I’m part of the herd of New Years’ resolutionists.

8:30AM. Apple. Cup of coffee.

10AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

11:45AM. Grilled chicken, salad, brown rice with balsamic vinegar.

3:15PM. Grilled chicken, salad, brown rice with balsamic vinegar.

5PM. Chest:

Flat Bench Press —

Set 1, 165 pounds, 6 reps

Set 2, 165 pounds, 6 reps

Set 3, 165 pounds, 6 reps

Set 4, 155 pounds, 6 reps

Incline Bench  —

Set 1, 105 pounds, 6 reps

Set 2, 105 pounds, 6 reps

Set 3, 95 pounds, 6 reps

Set 4, 95 pounds, 6 reps

Incline Chest Flys  —

Set 1, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 50 pounds, 10 reps

6:30PM. KOM.

Hot flow class with Jade. Did pretty good. My arms and chest were a bit quivery, and my side plank was lousy. But it felt great. And I feel… well, cleansed from the weekend.

7:30PM. Chicken breast, brown rice, sweet potato, salad with balsamic vinegar.

9:45PM. Chicken breast, salad.

Terry: Great job on chest. Lol yeah one or the other [sweet potato OR rice] was probably plenty. Keep up the great work

February 14, Tuesday, Valentine’s Day 

Meal 1. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 2. 11AM. 1 chicken thigh, 1 sweet potato, 1 cucumber

Meal 3. 12:30PM. Chicken medallions, zucchini and onions, brown rice, salad.

Meal 4. 5PM. Got distracted on VisionCon work. Almost forgot to eat. 1 boiled egg, 1 small apple.

6:15PM. Back:

Seated Behind-the-Neck Pulldowns* —

Set 1, 100 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 100 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 100 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 100 pounds, 10 reps

* these are amazing – the pulldown hurt so good and felt like there was beautiful light exploding (in a good way) in the center of my shoulders.

Narrow-Grip Downward Rows*  —

Set 1, 80 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 80 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 80 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 80 pounds, 10 reps

* I think I was doing them right. Regardless, my heart rate shot up and I could feel it in my lats all the way down. I swapped out the wide bar for the shorter bar that looks like the EZ-curl bar.

Dumbbell Rows*  —

Set 1, 35 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 35 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 35 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 35 pounds, 10 reps

* Terry is right. Dumbbell rows suck. But the modification is really good (forearm all the way down, butt in the air). I feel centered and strong with my elbow on the bench. My back feels good in this position too. The 35-pound weight seemed like it *should* be too light, but I was pushing hard by the end of each set of 10 reps.

6:45PM. Zumba. One hour, done with almost no breaks.

8PM. Grilled chicken medallions, sauteèd green beans, brown rice, salad.

10:45PM. Grilled chicken medallions, salad.

All in all, a good Valentine’s day.

February 16, Wednesday

Meal 1. 8:15AM. 1 boiled egg, 1 apple, cup of coffee.

Meal 1. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 3. Noon. 1 boiled egg, sweet potato, cucumber.

Meal 4. 2:45PM. 1 boiled egg, 1 cucumber, 1 apple, coffee, water.

Meal 5. 5:30PM. Chicken, rice, salad (in small amounts but it sure is helping the tired sinking feeling I’m having)

6PM. Shoulders:

Shoulder Flys —

Set 1, 25 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 2, 25 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 3, 20 pound weights, 10 reps*

Set 4, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

*Felt like I was losing control at 25. Pulled back.

Arnold Press  —

Set 1, 15 pound weights, 8 reps

Set 2, 15 pound weights, 8 reps

Set 3, 15 pound weights, 8 reps

Set 4, 15 pound weights, 7 reps*

*Felt really pathetic about using 15 pound weights. Tried it out at 35 and nothing would move. Could only finish with 7 at the end. First time I’ve ever done Arnold press.

Shrugs —

Set 1, 80 pounds total, 10 reps

Set 2, 80 pounds total, 10 reps

Set 3, 80 pounds total, 10 reps

Set 4, 80 pounds total, 10 reps

EZ-Curl Bar Pullups —

Set 1, 50 pounds on bar, 10 reps

Set 1, 50 pounds on bar, 6 reps

Set 1, 50 pounds on bar, 6 reps

Set 1, 50 pounds on bar, 6 reps*

*I love these. First time I’ve ever done them. Mind played games with only hitting six on the last four sets.

Lots of negative voices in my head tonight. Racking most of that up to the fatigue and just beginning to wear myself down. They were loudest when the kid who looked to be about 14 was shrugging with 90 pound weights.

Rows —

3,017 meters in 16 minutes

Hot Yoga — Intense 1-hour flow, extremely hot and humid tonight. It was a community flow class and so there was no eucalyptus wash cloths and I felt myself get angry. Had to check in and realize I was really worn out.

Meal 6. 8:30PM. Apple (because I felt really weak after yoga and still needed to drive home), then 1 and a half large chicken breasts and a bowl of salad (skipped rice tonight since I ate the apple on the way home). One quart of water. Am tired. But feel pretty accomplished. My arms are getting bigger.

Terry (regarding Wednesday):

Sounds like a fantastic day, nutritionally and physically.

The fatigue will fade away as the body adjust to its new (Supply and demand) schedule.

The negative voice is a school yard bully! The only way to defeat him is to do what he thinks you can’t, when you have a negative thought do two extra reps, with attitude, train your mind to submit to the fact that you and you alone are in control, as this is accomplished you will be able to also be in total control with your patience with people as well.

You are going through an adjustment period, push through mentality.

You can do this and you will overcome all of the negative junk that comes along with changing our lifestyle….

Keep up the great work…

February 16, Thursday

Meal 1. 8AM. 1 apple, cup of coffee.

Meal 2. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 3. 11AM. 1 boiled egg, brown rice, celery.

Noon. Biceps:

Straight Bar Curls —

45 pound bar + 20 pounds weight

Set 1, 10 reps

Set 2, 10 reps

Set 3, 10 reps

Set 4, 8 reps + 3

Incline Bench Curls —

Set 1, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 2, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 3, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 4, 20 pound weights, 6 reps, then 4 reps, then another 6 reps

EZ-Curl Bar —

Set 1, 20 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 20 pounds, 8 reps

Set 3, 20 pounds, 6 reps

Set 4, 20 pounds, 4 reps, then 5 reps, then 5 reps

* I felt clumsy on all the bicep work. And my biceps, rather than feel into the strain and fatigue, often feel like “oh, we’re fine” and then suddenly they just stop curling. It’s strange, very different than my other muscle groups. Makes me worry I’m not working hard enough. Though I could definitely feel them be very shaky afterwards. Typing is a little strange an hour later at 1:15PM.

Meal 3. 12:45PM. Baked chicken, lentils with onions, brown rice, salad, 1 boiled egg, egg white from 3 additional boiled eggs.

1:30PM. Black coffee.

5:30PM. Meal 4. Chicken breasts, lentils with rice, salad, water, coffee.

8:30PM. Meal 5. 5 egg whites, celery.

February 17, Friday

Meal 1. 7AM. 1 apple, 1 boiled egg, cup of coffee.

Meal 2. 8AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

10AM. Triceps:

French Curls —

40 pounds, free weights

Set 1, 10 reps

Set 2, 10 reps

Set 3, 10 reps

Set 4, 10 reps

Dips, on weight bench, legs bent —

Set 1, 10 reps

Set 2, 8 reps

Set 3, 6 reps + 2 reps

Set 4, 6 reps

Cable Pushdowns, straight bar, standing close —

Set 1, 100 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 100 pounds, 8 reps

Set 3, 90 pounds, 8 reps

Set 4, 90 pounds, 6 reps + 6 reps

Rope Pushdowns —

Set 1, 60 pounds, 6 reps

Set 2, 50 pounds, 6 reps

Set 3, 40 pounds, 7 reps

Set 4, 30 pounds, 10 reps

Set 5, 20 pounds, 20 reps

Meal 3. 11AM. Chicken, brown rice, salad, green beans, 1 boiled egg.

Meal 4. 2:30PM. Chicken, brown rice, salad.

Irish dance class.

4:15PM. Kom Hot Yoga, 1 hour flow class. Very tired. Did my best. Lots of negative thoughts directed inward; most of it sounded like, “Josh, you’re a complete failure.” Arms extremely sore. Right shoulder a little gummed up.

Meal 5. 5:30PM. Chicken, brown rice, salad, 1 small apple.

6:30PM. Espresso macchiato with a small amount of milk.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffè_macchiato

Meal 6. 7:30PM. Chicken, brown rice, salad.

Extremely tired. Only about 6 hours of sleep last night. Struggled with my emotions all afternoon.

February 18, Saturday

Meal 1. 8:15AM. 1 apple, 1 boiled egg, cup of coffee.

Meal 2. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Very easily distracted this morning.

Meal 3. Noon. 1 boiled egg, 1 apple.

Meal 4. 12:30PM. Chicken, rice and lentils, salad, coffee, water.

Meal 5. 3:30PM. Apple.

Meal 6. 7PM. Chicken breast, 1 small grilled steak, salad greens.

Meal 7. 9:30PM. Cucumber and chamomile tea.

February 19, Sunday

Meal 1. 8:30AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 2. 10:30AM. Half an apple.

Meal 3. 12:30PM. Half an apple.

Meal 4. 1:30PM. Grilled chicken on Romaine with fresh parmesan cheese with Caesar salad dressing on the side (dipped a little bit of salad and chicken in dressing).

Meal 5. 3:15PM. Lentils and brown rice, chamomile tea, some raw sunflower seeds.

Meal 5. 4:30PM. 1 boiled egg, 3 additional egg whites.

Meal 6. 6:30PM. Brown rice, handful of raw sunflower seeds.

Meal 7. 8:30PM. Brown rice and chicken soup.

February 20, Monday

Meal 1. 8:30AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 2. 10:15AM. 1 apple.

Meal 3. 12:30pm. 1 apple.

Meal 4. 1:15PM. Grilled chicken, baked potato with salt, pepper and a small amount of coconut oil, salad.

Meal 5. 4PM. Grilled chicken, salad, brown rice.

5PM. YMCA. Chest.

Flat Bench Press —

2 Trial Reps, 185 pounds

Set 1, 165 pounds, 6 reps

Set 2, 165 pounds, 6 reps

Set 3, 165 pounds, 6 reps +  1 rep

Set 4, 165 pounds, 4 reps + 3 reps + 3 reps

Incline Bench —

Set 1, 115 pounds, 6 reps

Set 2, 115 pounds, 3 reps + 3 reps

Set 3, 115 pounds, 4 reps + 2 reps

Set 4, 115 pounds, 3 reps + 1 rep + 1 rep + 1 rep + 1 rep + 1 rep + 1 rep + 1 rep  (10)

Incline Chest Flys —

Set 1, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Meal 6. 6PM. Grilled chicken, salad, brown rice.

6:45PM. Zumba. It was a tough one. I loved it.

Meal 7. 8PM. Mexican chicken soup with fresh vegetables and garbanzo beans; salad, and a small amount of brown rice.

February 21, Tuesday

Meal 1. 8AM. 1 boiled egg, 1 egg white, 1 apple, coffee.

Meal 2. 11AM. 1 apple.

Noon. Kom. Vinyasa Flow with Cady O’Quinn. Did first wheel pose in a long time.

Meal 3. 1:45PM. Chicken with rosemary, brown rice, salad.

4:45PM. YMCA. Back.

Seated Behind-the-Neck Pulldowns* —

Set 1, 120 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 120 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 120 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 120 pounds, 10 reps

*The inner side of my right shoulder blade is still unhappy, but I don’t think that’s directly related to my lifting and I still have full range of motion.

Narrow-Grip Downward Rows* —

Set 1, 80 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 80 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 80 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 80 pounds, 10 reps

*Initially feels kind of hollow and my heart rate really jumps up but I got stronger as I went. Used the short straight bar this time.

Dumbbell Rows* —

Set 1, 35 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 35 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 35 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 35 pounds, 10 reps

* Really kept this the same. With the time constraints I was under (needing to get back to begin showcases at Black Horse Pub and my house), I didn’t have time to push the envelope. Still felt like I really pushed it.

Meal 4. 6PM. Black Horse Pub. Caesar salad with grilled chicken and dressing on the side. I cheated a little and ate a few croutons as well.

Meal 5. 9:30PM. A few apple slices.

Meal 6. 11PM. Chicken and salad.

Josh: So, how do I feel about these photos? I find it depressing. I still look very much like myself. That’s why these once-in-awhile photo shoots are very difficult for me. It’s easier to imagine I’m looking amazing than get photos to show the opposite.

Terry: That’s quite a drastic change from the last set of photos. I think your right on target. Your hard work definitely shows. Keep it up, it’s working. I actually hesitated a minute before I responded because I was kind of shocked how much improvement you’ve made in such a short time…

February 22, Wednesday

Working on only about 6 hours of sleep.

Meal 1. 8AM. 1 boiled egg, 1 apple, coffee.

Meal 2. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 3. 11AM. 1 apple.

NOON. YIN. DEEP STRETCH CLASS. 1 HOUR.

Meal 4. 1:30PM. Chicken Soup with Brown rice.

Went to Kimberling City for a meeting.  Then Target. Then did set-up on the Square store and worked on art.

Meal 5. 6PM. Chicken, rice and salad.

7:30PM. Super tired going in. Easy to assume automatic failure.

Shoulders:

EZ-Curl Bar Pullups

Set 1, 50 pounds on bar, 12 reps

Set 1, 50 pounds on bar, 12 reps

Set 1, 50 pounds on bar, 12 reps

Set 1, 50 pounds on bar, 12 reps*

*Kept weight the same. Went up in reps. Double. It helped to start with these this time.

Shoulder Flys —

Set 1, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 2, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 3, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 4, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Kept weight at 20, kept reps at 10. Still difficult. But felt better.

Arnold Press —

Set 1, 10 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 2, 10 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 3, 10 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 4, 10 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 5, 15 pound weights, 6 reps + 6 reps*

*Felt silly working through the movement with little 10 pound weights in my hands, but those middle inside muscles between my shoulder blades are just not used to the transition with the Arnold Presses. I was happy to finish stronger than I started.

Shrugs —

Set 1, 150 pounds total, 10 reps

Set 2, 150 pounds total, 10 reps

Set 3, 150 pounds total, 10 reps

Set 4, 150 pounds total, 7 reps + 10 reps*

*Felt much stronger even as I was getting more tired. Last week, the negative voices were really loud. I still heard them tonight, but was better prepared for them and knocked them down.

Meal 6. 9PM. Chicken. Salad.

Meal 7. 11PM. Chicken breast.

February 23, Thursday

Meal 1. 8AM. 2 boiled eggs, 1 apple, coffee

Meal 2. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Kept up pretty good on eating properly. However, had to run all over in preparation for Visioncon and had to teach at at Rockaway Beach and I didn’t get to workout. I was so doggone tired when I got back.

February 24, Friday VISIONCON

Meal 1. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 2 -3-4. Grilled chicken breast and salad, spread over three feedings, approximately 12PM, 2:30PM, and 4PM.

Meal 5. So tired. Finished up at Visioncon and went to El Patio. Had chicken breast with double helping of beans (no rice), and salad. There was some guacamole and some cheese on the chicken, along with seared green peppers. Ate one chip. And some salsa.

February 25, Saturday VISIONCON

Meal 1. 7:30AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

So, I cheated exactly twice today. One, I got a salad from the concession stand (and I ate the craisins that were scattered on it but threw away the fake dressing). And went to Branson Center Stage and got a Cobb salad and ate the homemade lemon viniagrette that came on top.

Other than that, I successfully walked right past all the cheeseburgers, fries, nachos, and even passed up the four+ pounds of fudge that Barb brought! Feet mighty tired after standing on concrete all day.

February 26, Sunday VISIONCON

Meal 1, 7:30AM. 1 slice Ezekiel bread toast with peanut butter. Coffee. It was so good. It is a cheat, sorta, but again, so good. And when my idea of cheating is a slice of Ezekiel toast with natural peanut butter (instead of, say, three pieces of fudge), then I feel like I’m on the right track.

Meal 2. 8:30AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 3. Noon-ish. Some chicken.

Meal 3. 4PM. Chicken and rice.

5:30PM. KOM. Angel’s flow class. Very crowded. Angel had nice things to say about my practice.

Meal 4. 8PM. Some raw sunflower seeds.

Meal 5. 9PM. Hot chicken and vegetable consommé with rice.

February 27, Monday VISIONCON recovery

Meal 1, 7:30AM. 1 slice Ezekiel bread toast with peanut butter. Coffee. It was so good. It is a cheat, sorta, but again, so good. And when my idea of cheating is a slice of Ezekiel toast with natural peanut butter (instead of, say, three pieces of fudge), then I feel like I’m on the right track.

Meal 2. 8:30AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 3. 10:45AM. Hot chicken and vegetable consommé with rice.

NOON.KOM. YIN. Chelsea. Kinda bunged up my middle upper back. Have a headache. I think I’m just worn out! Got my sun exposure tho, and my sweat on!

1:30PM. Meal 4. Grilled chicken strips, salad, sautéed zucchini and onion. Water.

3PM. Vintage Paris. Pour-over, black.

Really, really tired. Upper thoracic hurts. Felt better after adjustment but head still hurts. Everything looks hard.

6:30PM. Meal 5. chicken, salad, rice, water, coffee

9PM. Meal 6. Hungry again. Still very tired. Right shoulder hurts a lot. Feels funny to not celebrate being hungry. Grilled chicken strips, salad.

February 28, Tuesday (last day of February, wish I had accomplished more)

Shoulder hurt a lot during the night. Originally had thought it was a chiropractic issue. Now realize I overstretched something. I have full range of up-and-down movement, though turning my head right to left hurts. I think it is a pull of iliocostalis luborum, longissimus thoracis, or splenius cervicis. I’m leaning toward the iliocostalis. Ice, then heat, then 600mg of ibuprofen helped.

Meal 2. 9:30AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 3. Noon. Chicken soup with rice.

Meal 4. 2:30PM. Chicken, rice and salad.

Meal 5. 4:30PM. Chicken breast. Sweet potato.

7PM. YMCA. Chest.

Flat Bench Press —

Warm-up Set, 135 pounds, 10 reps

Set 1, 185 pounds, 5 reps

Set 2, 155 pounds, 7 reps

Set 3, 155 pounds, 4 reps + 1 rep + 1 rep + 1 rep (7 total)

Set 4, 155 reps, 3 reps + 3 reps (6 total)

Incline Bench — 2 rungs up

Set 1, 115 pounds, 7 reps

Set 2, 115 pounds, 7 reps

Set 3, 115 pounds, 4 reps + 3 reps

Set 4, 115 pounds, 3 reps + 2 reps + 3 reps + 2 reps (10 total)

Light rowing, 5 minutes, 1019 meters

Incline Chest Flys —

Set 1, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 50 pounds, 10 reps

Squats — 70 pounds on bar

Set 1, 10 reps

Set 2, 10 reps

Set 3, 10 reps

Set 4, 10 reps

Meal 6. 8:15PM. Broiled tilapia, brown rice, salad, lentils with onion.

Meal 7. 11PM. Broiled tilapia filets.

March 1, Wednesday

Meal 1. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 2. 10AM. Oatmeal with apples. Coffee.

Meal 3. Noon. Chicken, lentils, rice, salad with egg white.

Meal 4. 3PM. Chicken, lentils, rice, salad. Coffee.

Meeting 4:30-6:30PM

7PM. YMCA. Back.

Seated Behind-the-Neck Pulldowns —

Warm-up Set, 100 pounds, 12 reps

Set 1, 140 pounds, 6 reps

Set 2, 140 pounds, 6 reps

Set 3, 140 pounds, 7 reps

Set 4, 140 pounds, 7 reps

Narrow-Grip Downward Rows —

Set 1, 80 pounds, 12 reps

Set 2, 80 pounds, 12 reps

Set 3, 80 pounds, 12 reps

Set 4, 80 pounds, 12 reps

Dumbbell Rows* —

Set 1, 40 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 40 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 40 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 40 pounds, 10 reps

* Really got my head down on this one. Could feel the difference.

Rowing, 3,074 meters in 15:06 minutes.

Meal 5. 8PM. Salad made of diced chicken, cucumbers, tomato, brown rice, parsley, a little olive oil, and a little red wine vinegar.

Meal 6. 10PM. Salad made of diced chicken, cucumbers, tomato, brown rice, parsley, a little olive oil, and a little red wine vinegar.

Meal 7. 11:30PM. Salad made of diced chicken, cucumbers, tomato, brown rice, parsley, a little olive oil, and a little red wine vinegar.

March 3, Friday

Meal 1. 8AM. Ezekiel bread toast, natural peanut butter, coffee. This is my early “cheat” meal.

Meal 2. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 3. 10AM. Oatmeal and apples.

10:30AM. Chicory coffee at Grandma’s Goodies & Gumbo.

Meal 4. 11:45AM. Chicken, white potato, salad.

Teaching. Meetings.

Meal 5. 5PM. Chicken, salad.

Meal 6. 6PM. Chicken and kale, salad, rice.

Espresso macchiato, pour-over.

Meal 7. 9PM. Chicken and salad.

March 4, Saturday

Meal 1. 8:15AM. Ezekiel bread toast, natural peanut butter, coffee. This is my early “cheat” meal.

Meal 2. 9:15AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

11AM. Black coffee.

Meal 3. Noon. Branson Center Stage. Cobb Salad. “Cheated” with some of the bacon crumbles and the lemon viniagrette. No carbs at all actually.

Extremely tired. Chose to go forward and do both Biceps and Triceps rather than miss like last week. Combined both, and because of guys in the gym, I re-arranged the workouts, combined into one:

BICEPS / TRICEPS. YMCA. 2-3PM (see below).

 

Meal 4. 3:30PM. Chicken and half of a sweet potato.

Meal 5. 5PM. Half of sweet potato.

Meal 6. 6:30PM. Grapefruit.

Meal 7. 7:15PM. Chicken, zucchini and carrots, green beans.

Meal 8. 8:30PM. Chicken.

March 5, Sunday

Meal 1. 8:30AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Meal 2. 11AM. Banana.

Here’s where I usually eat one or two Wal-Mart donuts. I think my singing was much stronger as a result of not doing that.

Meal 3. 1PM. Chicken and garbanzo bean soup and a little salad with Italian dressing, no croutons.

And here’s where it gets strange. We had a dessert auction. And entire table of cakes, cobblers, cheesecakes, trifles, cookies and more. And after all the bidding was done, then people asking me, “Wouldn’t you like this or that.” And I ate my chicken and garbanzo bean soup and salad and didn’t indulge in any of it.

Meal 4. 3PM. Apple.

My back is still jacked up and it really hurt standing on the hard floor (at the nursing home for the singing) and having no place to sit. At least I was just in the back.

4PM. Coffee at McDonalds.

Then I proved myself a little more. Walked into McDonalds, looked at everything, and ordered a small black coffee.

Meal 5. 6PM. Chicken, kale, brown rice, cucumber salad.

Meal 6. 8PM. Chicken and garbanzo bean soup.

March 6, Monday

Meal 1. 8:30AM. Ezekiel bread toast, natural peanut butter, coffee. This is my early “cheat” meal.

Meal 2. 9:45AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with diced raw apple and cinnamon, plus coffee and water.

Noon. Coconut water.

NOON. YIN. Chelsea. Screwed up something in my collarbone area. Low back still unhappy. I don’t know if this is my body re-structuring itself violently, or I’m just screwed up. Lots of intense emotions happening, mainly moments of my childhood with reminders that all that has gone straight to crap and can never be repeated or gone back to, but rather is lost forever. Violently.

1:30PM. Meal 3. Chicken, sweet potato, salad.

Back to Dr. Bo. Better this time.

5PM. YMCA. 

Roman Chair Lifts —

4 sets, 12 reps each

Deadlifts, 65 pounds total

4 sets, 12 reps each

The whole goal of this round was to make my sacrum happier. It’s been pretty fucked up since Saturday. And, it did help. Note to self: make Roman Chair sets and deadlifts a part of every trip to the Y.

Got home just as Christine got here to pick up her paintings, etc. We talked from 6:30-7:40. I let myself get way too hungry!

Meal 4. 8PM. Lean round steak, salad, brown rice. So good!

I think I know why we’re limiting beef, though, because two hours later, I still wasn’t hungry. And I stayed up to see if the weather was going to turn into a tornado and blow us all away. Fortunately, it did not. Slept well, but not until after 1:30AM.

1. BICEPS. Incline Bench Curls —

Warm-up Set, 20 pounds, 12 reps

Set 1, 25 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 2, 25 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 3, 25 pound weights, 5 reps, 4 reps, 2 reps (11 total)

Set 4, 25 pound weights, 6 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps (11 total)

2. TRICEPS. French Curls —

40 pounds, free weights

Set 1, 10 reps

Set 2, 10 reps

Set 3, 10 reps

Set 4, 10 reps*

*Shirt kept riding up. Took a little bit to get into the belly of the muscle.

3. TRICEPS. Dips, on weight bench, legs bent —

Set 1, 10 reps

Set 2, 10 reps

Set 3, 10 reps

Set 4, 10 reps*

*Much stronger and much more consistent since two weeks ago.

4. BICEPS. Straight Bar Curls — 45 pound bar + 20 pounds weight

Set 1, 65 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 65 pounds, 5 reps + 2 reps*

Set 3, 45 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 45 pounds, 10 reps

*Muscles in left hip messed up on me. Also, children screaming in the birthday party. Went with bar-only.

5. BICEPS. EZ-Curl Bar —

Set 1, 20 pounds, 7 reps

Set 2, 20 pounds, 6 reps

Set 3, 20 pounds, 8 reps

Set 4, 20 pounds, 6 reps, 10 reps

6. TRICEPS. Arm Extension Machine.*

Set 1, 10 pounds, 30 reps

Set 2, 10 pounds, 20 reps

Set 3, 10 pounds, 20 reps

Set 4, 10 pounds, 30 reps

*The cable machine was being taken and I was running out of time. I was also exhausted. Pretty much said, “Screw it! I’m going light and going to exhaustion.” Plus, my hip / sacrum area continued to hurt. And has continued to hurt for the rest of the day.

7. TRICEPS. Cable Pushdowns, straight bar, standing close —

Set 1, 80 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 90 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 90 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 90 pounds, 10 reps*

*Was very happy to feel stronger and more consistent on this.

8. TRICEPS. Rope Pushdowns —

Set 1, 60 pounds, 6 reps

Set 2, 50 pounds, 5 reps

Set 3, 40 pounds, 4 reps

Set 4, 30 pounds, 3 reps

Set 5, 20 pounds, 12 reps*

*Was down to the last 6 minutes before the Y closed.

March 7, Tuesday

Meal 1. 9AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with blueberries, plus coffee and water.

After rest, I feel very different. And better. 

Meal 2. 11:45AM. Chicken. Salad. Rice.

Meal 3. 12:30PM. House salad with grilled chicken, balsamic viniagrette on the side, Black Horse Pub. Meeting with Curtis.

3PM. Had to lay down and rest a little bit.

4PM. YMCA. Chest.

Flat Bench Press —

Warm-up Set, 135 pounds, 12 reps

Set 1, 135 pounds, 12 reps

Set 2, 155 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 155 pounds, 7 reps + 3 rep (10 total)

Set 4, 155 pounds, 7 reps + 4 reps (11 total)

Set 5, 135 pounds, 8 reps

Incline Bench — 2 rungs up

Set 1, 135 pounds, 6 reps

Set 2, 135 pounds, 4 reps + 2 reps (6 reps total)

Set 3, 135 pounds, 3 reps + 3 reps (6 reps total)

Set 4, 135 pounds, 3 reps (3 reps total)

Set 5, 105 pounds, 7 reps + 6 reps (13 reps total)

Incline Chest Flys —

Set 1, 60 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 60 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 60 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 60 pounds, 10 reps

Roman Chair – 2 sets, 12 reps each, for my lower back and hamstrings

5PM. Meal 4. Chicken and rice soup.

Budget Committee Meeting.

8:15PM. Meal 5. An apple. Yeah, I know, sugary apple after 5PM. But it was the only thing I had in my pocket and I was crazy hungry. And so much happier with this than things like candy bars or cookies.

9:30PM. Meal 6. Chicken and rice soup.

March 8, Wednesday

Meal 1. 8:45AM. Ezekiel bread toast, natural peanut butter, coffee. This is my early “cheat” meal.

Meal 2. 9:30AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with apples, plus coffee and water.

10AM. Got run off the road by a crazy Arkansas woman driving a beat-up Jeep. Across from Daltons.

Got an Americano. Then Amber brought me an espresso macchiato she just made for me.

NOON. YIN. Chelsea. Got a coconut water for electrolytes. Yin was really good. Hamstrings happier, so back happier.

Meal 3. 1:30PM. Chicken, sweet potato, salad.

Caught up on some work. Then drove to Nixa for a meeting. Then to Smyrna.

Chose to rest from the Y one day to give my legs time to heal.

Meal 4. 5:30PM. Oatmeal with apples. Really hungry.

Meal 5. 6:15PM. Chicken, sweet potato, and salad. Felt a little strange to be eating my food while everybody else was eating the food at church.

Meal 6. 9PM. Grapefruit with salt.

Meal 7. 12:30AM. Chicken.

Found out tonight Terry Sartin has liver cancer.

March 9, Thursday

Meal 1. 8AM. Ezekiel bread toast, natural peanut butter, coffee. This is my early “cheat” meal.

Meal 2. 9:30AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with apples, plus coffee and water.

Meal 4. Noon. Chicken, sweet potato, rice, salad.

Met with Tenille. Really tired.

2:3PM. YMCA. Lifting. Back. Shoulders.

Was the only one upstairs. Took off my shirt. Saw real improvement for the first time ever. I liked what I saw. Broad chest. Real muscle definition. Am I beginning to look like a wrestler? I wouldn’t complain.

Shoulders:

1. Shoulders. EZ-Curl Bar Pullups

Warm-up set, 50 pound on bar, 12 reps

Set 1, 70 pounds on bar, 10 reps

Set 1, 70 pounds on bar, 7 reps

Set 1, 70 pounds on bar, 6 reps

Set 1, 70 pounds on bar, 6 reps

2. Shoulders. Arnold Press —

Set 1, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 2, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 3, 20 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 4, 20 pound weights, 6 reps + 3 reps + 1 rep (10 total)

3. Shoulders. Shoulder Flys —

Set 1, 15 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 2, 15 pound weights, 10 reps – lighter weight still feels heavy

Set 3, 15 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 4, 15 pound weights, 10 reps – barely at the edge of control on this – strange

——–

4. Back. Dumbbell Rows* —

Set 1, 40 pounds, 10 reps

Set 2, 40 pounds, 10 reps

Set 3, 40 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 40 pounds, 10 reps

* Put my forehead down on the bench. Made an even bigger difference. I should be able to go higher on this one next week.

5. Back. Seated Behind-the-Neck Pulldowns —

Set 1, 140 pounds, 6 reps

Set 2, 120 pounds, 6 reps

Set 3, 120 pounds, 6 reps

Set 4, 120 pounds, 7 reps*

* Numbers say I was weaker on this than last week. I think doing shoulders plus back back-to-back weakened me a bit.

6. Back. Narrow-Grip Downward Rows —

Set 1, 80 pounds, 12 reps

Set 2, 80 pounds, 12 reps

Set 3, 80 pounds, 12 reps – getting rough about now, spiking cardio

Set 4, 80 pounds, 12 reps – this makes me feel hollow inside

7. Roman Chair —

1 set, 12 reps

Shrugs — Used free weights, went light

Set 1, 80 pounds total, 20 reps

Set 2, 80 pounds total, 20 reps

I like using the free weights better than the bar.

Meal 5. 3:30PM. Vintage Paris. Tried a plain latte with almond milk. I don’t think I’ll do that again. Curious to see how I feel.

Meal 6. 5PM. Chicken and rice with carrots.

6PM. Coffee at White River.

Dismissed class because of tornadoes. Drove home scared. Hunkered down in bathroom.

Meal 7. 7:15PM. Chicken and rice with carrots.

Meal 8. 10PM. 4 egg whites and salad.

March 11, Saturday

Meal 1. 9:15AM. Ezekiel bread toast, natural peanut butter, coffee. This is my early “cheat” meal.

Meal 2. 10AM. 3 egg white to 1 egg yolk scrambled eggs in extra virgin olive oil, steel cut oats with cinnamon and no sugar, with apples, plus coffee and water.

Here’s what the plan is:

BICEPS / TRICEPS. YMCA. 12:30PM.

1. BICEPS. Straight Bar Curls — sat on bench to take hips out of play.

Warm-up Set, 45 pound bar-only, 12 reps

Set 1, 55-pound total, 10 reps

Set 2, 55-pound total, 10 reps

Set 3, 55-pound total, 10 reps

Set 4, 55-pound total, 6 reps + 4 reps

2. BICEPS. Incline Bench Curls —

Set 1, 25 pound weights, 10 reps

Set 2, 25 pound weights, 6 reps + 4 reps

Set 3, 25 pound weights, 6 reps + 4 reps

Set 4, 25 pound weights, 6 reps + 4 reps

3. BICEPS. EZ-Curl Bar — both parts at lowest settings

Set 1, 20 pounds, 12 reps

Set 2, 20 pounds, 12 reps

Set 3, 20 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 20 pounds, 10 reps

Stronger.

4. TRICEPS. Dips, on weight bench, legs bent —

Set 1, 12 reps

Set 2, 12 reps

Set 3, 12 reps

Set 4, 12 reps*

*Much stronger and much more consistent since two weeks ago.

5. TRICEPS. French Curls —

40 pounds, free weights – I’m beginning to like these.

Set 1, 10 reps

Set 2, 10 reps

Set 3, 10 reps

Set 4, 10 reps*

*Shirt kept riding up. Better shirt this time. Or smaller belly. Or maybe both!

6. TRICEPS. Cable Pushdowns, straight bar, standing close —

Set 1, 80 pounds, 12 reps

Set 2, 100 pounds, 10 reps – I feel fierce this time. It’s easier when you know what to do.

Set 3, 100 pounds, 10 reps

Set 4, 100 pounds, 10 reps*

*Was very happy to feel stronger and more consistent on this.

7. TRICEPS. Rope Pushdowns —

Set 1, 60 pounds, 6 reps (barely)

Set 2, 50 pounds, 5 reps

Set 3, 40 pounds, 4 reps

Set 4, 30 pounds, 3 reps

Set 5, 20 pounds, 12 reps*

8. Roman chair. 12 reps to finish.

It’s snowing!

Meal 3. 2PM. Chicken, asparagus, rice, cucumber salad.

3:30PM. Espresso macchiato. Very light on the milk.

Meal 4. 5PM. Apple and brown rice. So good!

Luke Acker at Black Horse Pub.

Meal 5. 6:45PM. Lettuce and chicken wrap.

Meal 6. 9:30PM. Chicken. Cucumbers. Mustard.