Ramblings of a madman...

[djr_81]

By the way, how old are you? I wondered when you were talking about joining a fight-club.

28

[miles]

whaat... I thought you were about that age.. I don't know what it was but recently I got you mixed with someone, or you said something that made me think you were 40 =)

[wodgina]

I think Miles is right, when you eat really healthy like raw zero carb you body knows when to rest. Carbs were so rare in paleo times IMO and I almost instantly get cramps in my feet or hands.

[PaleoPhil]

Interesting, I get cramps in the toes and arch of my left foot if I eat plant carbs. I was told that carbs can bind with minerals and I did find information substantiating that. There is likely something more than that going on too that would explain why some people don't get cramps from eating plentiful plant carbs and actually thrive on them.

[djr_81]

I've been feeling better these past couple weeks since cutting out salt again. I didn't notice the gradual decrease in overall health over since I had added salt back in, mostly since it was the winter and hence I was more sedentary, but it's obvious with foresight.

I've not really pushed myself with jogging/running since I rolled my ankle ~5-6 weeks ago. I tried to push hard a couple of separate runs in the first two weeks but each time I really pushed hard the ankle hurt a bit and I didn't want to push things. I set August 1st as the date to begin running in earnest again which I'm anxiously looking forward to. Last week my wife and I began taking morning walks before work which will eventually turn into morning jogs. Since she leaves an hour before me I'm going to push myself after the jog when she goes home to shower. I've got a great hill to condition myself on (30-45* incline for ~3/4 of a mile; built for killer windsprints) and look forward to this with relish.

I also have to cop to something.
I've mentioned before that I do bodyweight exercises before but in all honesty I've never held to any form of a schedule or even did regular enough work to build up significant muscle.
Granted, I did start and stop free weights a number of times during my youth and adolescence which built up some physique which I've retained but it was never much functional power (benching maybe 170 pounds?).
Push-ups were always my bane though. I was a skinny kid without much strength in elementary school and then a fat kid without much strength in middle and high school. I doubt if I could have done 10 push-ups at any point during school.
This is changing now. I've buckled down on regular bodyweight training and I'm having good functional results.
I've made push-ups the core of my new bodyweight regime as they work so much (bis, tris, chest, shoulders) effectively. When I began semi-regularly a few weeks ago I think I could do 8 push-ups before failure. 17 was my best on Thursday. Today I did 1 set of 20 reps before failure. I also did a cumulative 100 push-ups. I know it's not much on paper but it feels good. 
As for the rest of the program I'm including pull ups & chin ups as regulars. I'll do dips and other exercises of it's ilk when I have stuff to improvise with around me. I'll work in squats somewhere as well. Lastly I'll be working to build my core up just as much as the rest of me. I'd like to work towards some of the more crazy ab routines (a la the dragon flag) eventually.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjCMq2zkbOo

Life is good.

[djr_81]

I gave myself 2 rest days and had another exercise day today. I only hit a high of 21 push-ups for my best effort but had multiple sets of 15+ which was better than the last time. I did 100 push-ups this morning and another 100 tonight but by the end I was doing 6 at a time and I'm wasted but I got the milestone I wanted to hit. Doubling the quantity was no small feat.

Now, onto the "control" photos which are prior to much muscle growth on my new routine. I have noticed I've bulked up a bit in the past week but I expect things to be much more noticeable over the next couple months. All photos are thumbnails and linked to the fullsize at photobucket.

Front:


Right:


Left:


Bicep Flex:


Back Flex:


And now for something completely different; the promised photo showing me performing a squat:

[KD]

cool. I can say from exprience that you can get pretty good results on these kind of routines. What I found most important in doing bodyweight - more than reps per set or total reps - is properly extending and stretching the muscle groups to complete stress like one gets with weighted exercise. Often you can do this by altering the movement through space - like doing some of the more complex push-up type positions. A differnt approach but of equal value would be through altering the speed (usually slower) and really foucusing on tensing the muscle groups. Some kind of isometric stretching or bands is also useful in really stressing out the muscle further after a set of push ups or similar exercise.

Another easy no-quipment (and probably necessary) exercise to throw in with push-ups are dips that you can do with sturdy chair and another sturdy handhold (two chairs works but you have to be careful you don't push outwards).

[djr_81]

cool. I can say from exprience that you can get pretty good results on these kind of routines. What I found most important in doing bodyweight - more than reps per set or total reps - is properly extending and stretching the muscle groups to complete stress like one gets with weighted exercise. Often you can do this by altering the movement through space - like doing some of the more complex push-up type positions. A differnt approach but of equal value would be through altering the speed (usually slower) and really foucusing on tensing the muscle groups. Some kind of isometric stretching or bands is also useful in really stressing out the muscle further after a set of push ups or similar exercise.

I definitely agree with you KD and will continue focusing on form and controlled movement as opposed to just upping totals. I'm not looking to do more than 500 a day at the most and probably much less than this most days. Once I can get say 25 with a 2-count on rise, 2-count at full extension, 2-count on lowering, and a 2-count on full contraction I plan on adding weight to continue building strength steadily. A day for endurance a couple times a month would be good but I'm definitely working towards functional strength.
By the same token I'm doing the same with my chin-ups & pull-ups. Slow controlled repetitions which will eventually work into weighted exercises. I need to add some negatives into my routine tomorrow to build strength as I'm still doing less than a half dozen before failure.

Ultimate goals I guess are one-arm chin-ups (maybe weighted) and handstand push-ups.

Another easy no-quipment (and probably necessary) exercise to throw in with push-ups are dips that you can do with sturdy chair and another sturdy handhold (two chairs works but you have to be careful you don't push outwards).

I definitely agree. I've got a kitchen counter which comes into a corner perfect for dips so I plan on incorporating them into a routine as well.

[djr_81]

Had another round of push-ups yesterday. I did a total of 150.
~60 done over three sets without pauses between reps to gauge my maximum. I did 25 reps in my first set.
After that I did the remaining push-ups, split between the morning and afternoon/evening, doing reps with 2 counts on all motions (8 count totals). The highest I was able to attain this way was 13.

Yesterday was also August 1st so I started jogging/running again. The good news is my ankle/foot feels fine even when I push it hard. The bad news is the 6-8 weeks of relative aerobic inactivity resulted in quite a decrease in stamina. Oh well, it'll come back.

My wife an I also celebrated our 5 year dating anniversary on Saturday by buying her a bike. She was a bit worried as she hasn't ridden since she was a little kid and she was a klutz then but she took to it just fine. We rode 3 miles together on Saturday and 4 miles on Sunday. I can't tell you how happy I am about this as I love riding my bike all over but had always wanted to share it with her. Now we can ride together.

On the food front I got a pound of sweetbreads on Saturday. I had a sliver so far but didn't seem to get any thyroid (I'm looking for organ material, right?) in it just a white suet-ish material. It was starchier than fat though. Not bad but nothing special.

[djr_81]

Today was another exercise day.
I did 100 push-ups this morning making sure to perform full counts on all motions. I only got 20 as my max with full counts but that's still tons better than where I was a couple weeks ago.
I had intended to do more push-ups along with chin-ups/pull-ups this evening but ended up spending most of the night putting supplemental brakes on my wife's bike (all it had was coaster/foot brakes which resulted in her taking a spill the other day-she's ok). By the time I got done it was 8PM so I've been doing some chin-ups/pull-ups, negatives of these (as I'm not strong enough with them to do more than a half dozen), and eventually static hangs. My forearms are sore as hell but I'll definitely see some improvements there.

I'm going to give 2 meals a day a shot again and see if it's better on my body than 3. I'm going to pass over breakfast and have lunch at 2ish (if I can hold out) then have dinner around 7. I think I've been having some problems from lower water intake (a little spacey minded and some tiredness which shouldn't be there) and I see this as the best way to get water into my system while still gettign adequate food in to.

[djr_81]

I ended up doing a couple chin-ups and pull-ups followed by tons of negative and then static holds on the bar when I couldn't do negatives anymore. I followed these up with modified dips from the corner of my kitchen counter untils my triceps were screaming (din't take as much as you'd expect).
My arms, chest, and back were sore on Thursday but were incredibly painful today. I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow but I'm going to wait until Sunday to push it again.

Oh, and the two meal a day thing seems to be working well. I was definitely dehydrated and I get to comfortably drink 1.5-3 liters of water in the mornings without digestion interruption.

[djr_81]

Got my first deer head on Saturday.
Pre butchering:

After butchering (with a bit of black humor):


You can't sell game in New York but I worked out a barter with a farmer to get the head and two large back straps of venison for some whiskey. Both of us were quite pleased.

I got the brain, eyeballs, tongue, and some miscellaneous meat (mostly cheek area) from the head.
The brains were good. They are a lot like stick scrambled eggs but much heavier feeling in the stomach due to nutrient density. I ate the whole brain but in hindsight it's too much in one meal for me if I've eaten that day.
The eyeballs were kind of weird. Very tough on the back but very soft on the front. Took a bit to bite them open. The texture was disturbing as it was so alien to other textures you eat when eating carnivorously. There was a gelatinous fluid inside, a thinner fluid which had a bit of saltiness which I'd like to tears, and then 2 or 3 smaller bits which were similar in texture to hard boiled egg yolk or a cooked lentil. I'll be honest I didn't like the eyeballs and won't make this a regular addition to my diet but will have them occasionally.
I was too full on brain to eat the tongue so that's a treat for tonight.

My wife and I brought our niece and nephew berry picking on Saturday afternoon. The blueberries were at the tail end of their season in this patch and through the course of our picking I had maybe a dozen berries. They tasted nice but I did notice I had a bit of stiffness in some finger joints on the drive home which I attribute to the berries. Saturday night's bike ride was also a lot tougher than all of the others that week had been which I attribute to my issues with carbs. Thankfully pushing myself through all of the exercise then and yesterday seems to have minimized problems.

I did 100 push-ups yesterday morning and then took the rest of the day off (we went to the NY Renaissance Faire ). My back and chest are still recovering some from last week so I'm not going to push and hurt myself. I'll have another big day on Wednesday.

[Cinna]

I appreciate both the photos and the size of the photos.   You're so brave!

[djr_81]

You're so brave!

I don't know if it's bravery or just willing to do what it takes to keep myself as healthy as I can be.

For the record I'd like to add that after last night's meal I had lots of trouble falling asleep as my brain wouldn't stop. I also had a number of vivid dreams but can't remember them lucidly. I did develop a feeling of anxiety at one point last night and experienced this as well on the ride into work today which I never have eating other RAF. Lastly I've felt "off" all day, almost slightly detached from myself, which is disconcerting. Brains are potent and I obviously need to be careful with quantities.

[wodgina]

I find brains 'heavy' also.

I'm back on RZC wagon and feel fantastic.

You know how you were saying when your pure RZC and you find youself holding eye contact with superiors too long? this happens to me too.

ps I did laugh at you photo.

[TylerDurden]

You can't sell game in New York but I worked out a barter with a farmer to get the head and two large back straps of venison for some whiskey. Both of us were quite pleased.

I got the brain, eyeballs, tongue, and some miscellaneous meat (mostly cheek area) from the head.
The brains were good. They are a lot like stick scrambled eggs but much heavier feeling in the stomach due to nutrient density. I ate the whole brain but in hindsight it's too much in one meal for me if I've eaten that day.
The eyeballs were kind of weird. Very tough on the back but very soft on the front. Took a bit to bite them open. The texture was disturbing as it was so alien to other textures you eat when eating carnivorously. There was a gelatinous fluid inside, a thinner fluid which had a bit of saltiness which I'd like to tears, and then 2 or 3 smaller bits which were similar in texture to hard boiled egg yolk or a cooked lentil. I'll be honest I didn't like the eyeballs and won't make this a regular addition to my diet but will have them occasionally.
I was too full on brain to eat the tongue so that's a treat for tonight.

My wife and I brought our niece and nephew berry picking on Saturday afternoon. The blueberries were at the tail end of their season in this patch and through the course of our picking I had maybe a dozen berries. They tasted nice but I did notice I had a bit of stiffness in some finger joints on the drive home which I attribute to the berries. Saturday night's bike ride was also a lot tougher than all of the others that week had been which I attribute to my issues with carbs. Thankfully pushing myself through all of the exercise then and yesterday seems to have minimized problems.

I did 100 push-ups yesterday morning and then took the rest of the day off (we went to the NY Renaissance Faire ). My back and chest are still recovering some from last week so I'm not going to push and hurt myself. I'll have another big day on Wednesday.

  I find the raw brain to have no real effect.

[djr_81]

You know how you were saying when your pure RZC and you find youself holding eye contact with superiors too long? this happens to me too.

It seems it's just an (un)fortunate side effect of eating this way. So far all it's done is helped me at this point (you do it enough, even unconciously, and those superiors back down) but I guess it might be a problem some day.

ps I did laugh at you photo.

Thank you, I aim to please.

[Ioanna]

Thanks to you I tried swordfish for dinner last night. I haven't had this since high school maybe! It was so delicious.  It digested perfectly!  I can eat    What next? 

[djr_81]

Thanks to you I tried swordfish for dinner last night. I haven't had this since high school maybe! It was so delicious.  It digested perfectly!  I can eat    What next? 

Awesome Ioanna. I so glad you found another food that sits well.

If I had to give a "must try" it would be tongue but I don't think you're quite there yet.
Maybe finally give a tiny bit of liver a shot? I get mine in frozen slabs and cut a piece off while frozen then chop this into many smaller slowly thawing pieces (~1/2"x1/2"x1/4"). Eating them like this is a really different, but nice, change in texture from thawed meat and it compliments the liver flavor well IMO.
Oh, you could look for Mako Shark. It's not quite as tasty, IMO, as swordfish but is a similar texture and almost as good.

Congrats again Ioanna.

[djr_81]

I thought I'd update my journal.

I've been pretty busy between work and family so haven't been as diligent about my exercising as I had been. On the bright side I've been getting more sleep and that's actually helped build a bit more mass. Doing more push-ups this morning and looking to go for a long bike ride tomorrow night or over the weekend.

I'm also making a new jar of high meat from fresh, never-frozen, deer meat. I'm speeding it up by leaving it on the counter as well. It's noticeably more fizzy/frothy than jars I've done in the past which makes me wonder if the "fresh" meat I used to get had been frozen at some point. I'm looking forward to seeing how this high meat effects me after a couple weeks of aging.

[Ioanna]

post a photo!

[wodgina]

It seems it's just an (un)fortunate side effect of eating this way. So far all it's done is helped me at this point (you do it enough, even unconciously, and those superiors back down) but I guess it might be a problem some day.
Thank you, I aim to please.

I did it unconciously in my interview and only noticed I had done it when the interviewer (owner) glanced away. I though shit, not good.

Got the job.

[djr_81]

post a photo!

Of me or the high meat?
Surprisingly there doesn't seem to be a noticeable increase to my mass but I'm up to 177.x as of this morning so it's building somewhere.

------------
Oh, I also went for a run this morning. My wife's been getting up early for a walk each morning so I've been doing that with her instead of my runs. I've been missing it but I'd rather help her keep on the path to health than run ahead.

[Ioanna]

Happy Birthday, Dan! 

Of me or the high meat?

I am not one to speak when it comes to photos, lol.. but since you ask... how about both?

[djr_81]

Happy Birthday, Dan! 

Thank you Ioanna.

I am not one to speak when it comes to photos, lol.. but since you ask... how about both?

I'll try to get something up tomorrow. Yesterday was one month since the last photos were taken but I didn't have chance to take updated photos. I'll probably take the photos in a few minutes.

The high meat's getting very stinky. Definitely progressing in a classic sense though.