Covid, Come Back & Overcoming Isometrics

I'm back, bäbis!...sort of..

Nåja. Det är kanske lite av en överdrift. Jag funderar på att börja skriva lite igen. Får se var det barkar hän. Vad innehållet kommer kretsa kring och dylikt. Jag kan prata lite om vad som hände när jag kraschade på Ergoff. Hur vägen tillbaka till Dramaten varit. Mina träningserfarenheter. Kostupplevelser och livsvisdomar. Det kommer bli bra detta här. Jag känner det nu, jag kommer behöva skriva av mig lite från gång till annan. Frågan är om det är någon som bryr sig? Frågan är om jag bryr mig om nån bryr sig?

Just idag är det midsommarafton och vädret är underbart. 

En kort summering om vad som skramlar runt i mitt huvud.

- Jag var väldigt tacksam att jag kunde återvända till Dramaten när jag fått nog av Ergoff. Nu har entusiasmen lagt sig och jag har så smått börjat inse varför jag ville lämna Dramaten från början.

- Jag har fortsatt med Carnivore, dock inte speciellt strikt. Det slinker ner lite saker av olika slag, från gång till annan. Dosen gör giftet, liksom. "Flexible Carnivore", har  någon benämnt det. 

- Kollar fortfarande en hel del UFC. Själv sugen på att ta upp BJJ träningen igen

- Under Corona har jag varit en del ledig, som så många andra, och då kunnat vara ute i skog och mark och bouldrat. Det har varit episkt trevligt. Blir mer av den varan och förhoppningsvis en tripp till Font i höst med boysen.

- Mycket hemmaträning har det blivit. Börjat löpträna lite smått. Skadade axeln när jag spelade fotboll med ungarna så det har blivit mycket rehab. Det går riktigt långsamt med återhämtningen men det går. Dessutom har jag på sista tiden inkorporerat "overcoming isometrics" i min träning. Får se om det ger utslag. Annars har formatet varit "micro workout" liknande. Ungefär en liten cirkel för hela kroppen varje timma. Kanske har det varit för mycket. Jag fortsätter laborera. 

- Läst en hel del böcker om vanor.(Vanans Makt & Atomic Habits)(sponsrade länkar) Jag har generellt inte några problem med att bryta dåliga vanor och skapa nya, goda vanor, men det är ett intressant område som genomsyrar så mycket av samhället och är anledningen till beteenden som har stor betydelse på så många nivåer. Jag försöker få in lite skönlitteratur också men det är inte alltid så lätt då facklitteratur är så intressant. Jag genomlider väl en period av kunskapstörst, för tillfället. 😊

Ja, det kanske får vara allt för detta första inlägg efter ett lååååångt uppehåll med tumultartade skeenden, både privat och globalt. 

"All progress takes place outside the comfort zone"

May the Fors be with you!

I'm Back Baby! ...sort of...

Well, hello again!

After over a week of being sick, some sort of summer cold, I tried my hand at working out again. I did so at our local Friskis & Svettis gym. I've had my suspicions about going so heavy in my existing routine. Working up to 3x3 reps has been kind of brutal. I have not idea if that is the culprit in the case of me being sick more often this spring but it's worth looking in to. With that to consider I decided to try something new. It spells..don't go so damned hard! And by that I mean don't go so heavy and don't go to failure ALL the time. We will see how this plays out, boy's and galls!

The Work Out:

Warm Up - 1000m row on the Concept 2, 4:38

Low Bar Back Squats: 3 x 5 - 80 kg, 2 x 8 - 60 kg

Barbell Hip Thrusters - 3 x 10 - 60 kg

Military Press - 3 x 5 - 40 kg, 2 x 8 - 30 kg

Dumbell Biceps Curl - 3 x 5 - 18 kg, 2 x 8 - 12 kg

Farmers Carry - 3 x 50 Steps w/ 40 kg Kettlebell in Each Hand

Face Pulls - 2 x 12

That is all she wrote! I can't say I was feeling it. I was not all there. But the motto was "easy does it", and for the most part I stuck to that. The Hip Thrusters was a new one for me, thank you Jeff Cavaliere at Atlean-X, and I had a hard time finding a good spot on my pelvis to rest te bar on. It was somewhat uncomfortable whatever I did. But a seriously worthwhile exercise. I just have to get it dialed in, I guess.

But what did you eat today, you might ask? Apart from a Whey Protein shake with Collagen and Creatine,  here comes the answer to that question:

Breakfast: Two boiled eggs and some ham.

Lunch: Beef liver and chorizos with mustard

Dinner: Remains to be seen...probably something carnivorous

"Courage is grace under pressure."
- Ernest Hemingway

May the Fors Be with you!

Pinch Block

The climbing ... must get started with the climbing again.

I was inspired to pick up the climbing again when I accidentally sat in front of "Ultimate Beast Master" on Netflix. It is a variant of American Ninja Warrior and other obstacle course programs where contestants are to pass through a course with a number of obstacles of various kinds. It's designed to test you in a variety of arias. A lot of Crossfit athletes, even more Parkour athletes and then a number of other athletes of varying disciplines. But the one who won Season 1 was a professional climber. Many of the obstacles relied on the practitioner's grip strength. Many of the climbers had great success and in fact there were two climbers in the final. The other one was an ice climber but still.

The program as such was, at least in the first season, not much to write home about. We don't even have to go into it because this post is not about that. This post is about the inspiration I got to get on with the climbing again. Summer is not climbing season, as you all probably know, but I'm not going to worry about it. I'm going to start training for the fall season. I got so inspired that I, immediately had to go to Byggmax and buy myself a piece of wood and build myself a "Pinch Block". For you who don't know, that is a wooden block that you attach a weight to and try to hold in your hand in a so-called "Pinch" grip. To increase grip strength, simply. Very nice.

In addition to some grip training at home, of course I have to try to get out into the woods, weather permitting, but also take a few sessions indoors now and then. Now nothing can stop me from getting in excellent climbing form !!

After this writing and maybe a season 2 episode of UBM, there will be some Jane Fonda and stretch. It was a long time ago.

For lunch, I offer a simple omelette on Viennese sausage, bell peppers, kale, eggs and cheese. Simple and good.


"Life is short
But the hours are long"
Fénélon

May the Fors be with you!!

Recipe for meatloaf

Hello again!

Due to the high demand here comes the recipe for my bacon wrapped meatloaf with a core of Feta Cheese.

Meatloaf:

7-800g of minced meat
Two eggs
One half grated yellow onion
Half a dl cream

Salt pepper (herb seasoning if fancy that sort of thing)

Greased ovenproof form. In with the curdled meat pulp, dig a ditch, in with the Feta Cheese, cover it up. Overlay a package of bacon distributed as in the picture, in with the thermometer and into the oven at 200 ° until the inside temperature has reached 70 °. 
     Serve with salad, sweet potatoes or just ice cold beer. 😄

In addition to this, some heart rate-boosting activities were done:

5 rounds with 6 repetitions:

Cross Over (rubber band)
Biceps Curl (rubber band)
Close Squats
Diamond Push Ups
L-Pull Ups
Face Pulls

Scull Crusher (rubber band)

No significant rest between the rounds but the pace was quite moderate so the need never arose. A nice way to get some of your juices flowing and a much needed increase of the heart rate.

"Nothing is Permanent in this
Wicked World,
not even 
our Troubles."
-Charlie Chaplin

May the Fors be with you!

Mind-Muscle Connection

Good afternoon all you happy people!

Yesterday I visited Martina Johansson's blog for the first time, "Next Level Biohacking". It was very inspiring. I will in the future make it a habit to visit this reputable and useful blog. Good job, Martina!


Today I had a steak for breakfast. I find that I feel most excellent when eating a piece of meat as the morning meal. Besides, it keeps me full for a long time. I enjoyed this meal about 08:30 and then went on a brisk walk, per usual.

A couple of hours later, I managed to surprise myself by taking a trip to the gym. Friskis & Svettis. I see the greatest success when I find that I have some resistance to something, by simply disconnecting the brain and just starting to do preparatory things and then the brain, simply, has to keep up to the best of its ability. It usually goes pretty well, no cause for concern. I switch on this overrated lump of fat when I start exercising.

During the workout, I apply a slow tempo, slow controlled concentric phase, and a third of that speed in the eccentric phase, more or less. This applies, not quite surprisingly, to a slightly lesser extent when I do HIIT training.

Mind-Muscle Connection is a key component for optimal results, in my opinion. It helps with the form and activation of the specific muscle you are training. Injury prevention and better active stretch of the individual muscles as well as neuromuscular awareness is another big advantage, especially for those of us who have reached a slightly more advanced age.
      When I trained Crossfit and did, almost exclusively, "kipping" Pull Ups, for example, I , after a while, encountered difficulties in performing strict ones. The whole TUT (Time Under Tension) concept was disconnected, mostly. When my Crossfit adventure was finally over (I stopped training Crossfit a few months after my first and only competition, Fit As Fuck, in Denmark), I turned in the opposite direction, in some respects any way, and started doing Convict Conditioning and then "Body By Science" by Dough McGuff. In these disciplines, body control and TUT are significantly more prevalent, in very different ways in the respective cases.

As with everything here in life, I am a concoction of the techniques, disciplines and theories that have worked for me, over the years. Crossfit, Starting Strength, Convict, Calisthenics, and so on.

Then, then its time to present today's workout, in all its simplicity:

Military Press (4x55kg, 4x55kg, 6x50kg)

Low Bar Back Squat (3x100kg, 3x110kg, 5x100kg)

Barbell Biceps Curl (4x50kg, 3x50kg, 5x45kg)

Skull Crushers (3x40kg, 3x45kg, 6x40kg & 6x40kg)

In all the exercises I worked my way up to these Work Sets. 3-4 minutes rest between Work Sets, so the WO took some time. The goal is to train heavily this week, ie 3-5 reps, rather 3 than 5. I do  two heavy weeks in a row with the hope of Progressive Overload. Week three is easily, easily. And I mean EASY. So no fewer than 15 reps / exercise, 3-5 sets. Yep, the lactic acid reeks havoc on your strength aspirations but I have felt a good feedback loop for recovery between sets in the heavier weeks after throwing in some high volume work. In addition, I get faster recovery between the WO's. We'll see where it all ends. One thing I can say anyway; it's no much fun! Damn that burn is mentally taxing. I have strong aversions to that since Crossfit time. Maybe I've also become a little comfortable, as the years have gone by.
         Week four I usually do a deload week.

That was all for this Wednesday:

Make it a lifestyle,
Not a duty

May the Fors be with you!

From Omega 3 to Deodorant

Good evening, folks!

Got a visit at 4:00 tonight. Hard to sleep when any little critter wants to spoon in this heat. Therefore, after lunch, I took a nap that I just woke up from. I love naps. Earlier I was at Clas Ohlson and bought   some sommaraktivitet(add). The old ones was all but trash.

Thought about dedicating this post to some stuff and where You can get it, as it is blasphemous to work out on a Sunday. Of course I take a few brisk walks and tonight I'll probably sneak in some stretching. I usually try to get in a good stretch a couple of times a week, usually in conjunction with the "mini WO" and Jane Fonda. I use pretty basic stretching methodology. From the bottom up. PNF Hold-Relax Stretch, is what I have come up with works best for me. I get bored of stretching easily but I've found that it becomes easier if I almost see it as meditation. Thinking about breathing and relaxing in body and soul. Besides, I try to meditate every day, 15-20 min.

Some things I usually have available for external and internal well-being are:

INTERNAL:

Möllers Tran(Omega 3)(add)

OptiZinc tabletter

Magnesiumtabletter 500 mg

Kalium 750 

Yogi Bedtime Tea(add)

Kung Markattas Ofiltrerade Äppelcidervinäger

Optimum Nutrition Creatine Powder

Star Nutrition Pea Protein Isolate

Gotu Kola

EXTERNAL:

Eco Cosmetics Deo(add)

Decubal Clinic Cream 475 g

Decubal Lips & Dry Spots

Decubal Dry Scalp Treatment 150 g

Decubal Face Vital Cream 50 ml

Decubal Shower & Bath Oil 200 ml

(Yes, I suffer from dry skin and Decubal I have been using for years. Used by other family members as well. Great stuff!)

Weleda Salt Toothpaste(add)(I have used it for over ten years and have not felt any need of fluoride) Sometimes I use Dentosal Original 100 ml(add), but only a few times a week.


Of course, this is not all I use, but a rough sketch that can give a little indication of the path I chose to go. Things come and go, moreover. I am willing to try most anything but am responsive to signs of any noticeable effect as I am a minimalist by nature and would rather subtract than add. Gotu Kolan, for example, is on trial. We'll see if it has any noticeable effect.

I think that may be enough for today. In the evening, it will probably grill the steak or entrecote from City Grossen(add).

P.S. I went with the steak and it was delicious. I obviously avoid using lighter fluid when grilling, instead I put newspaper rolled into "sausages" on the charcoal. Then I chop up enough thin wooden sticks to cover most of the grillen(add), lights it and enjoys an equally fragrant, tasty and environmentally friendly barbecue.

May the Fors be with you! ;-)

Then It All Begins!

Hello all you happy people!

Here I will write a little about what it can be like being 45 years of age and formerly a lot of things and have a family and on top of it all, after 12 years, I went from a comfortable, safe and mediocre paid job at the Royal Dramatic Theater, with 8 ! weeks of vacation towards an uncertain future in an uncertain industry with an uncertain feeling in the stomach.


In addition, there will be a lot of exercise, diet and mental well-being. How these things effect you positively and negatively as the years pile on. What has worked for me when it comes to routines and products and then I test new routines and products and hopefully we all can benefit.

In a later post, I go into a little more detail on how "Me Too" was just the last nail in the coffin that made me decide to leave the national scene.

Well met