Saturday, February 7, 2009

Cashew-Eaters Annonymous

This past week I was officially back on my offseason diet, and unfortunately for me, I went a little crazy with the cashews. I can't help it. Most people crave sweet foods (which I often do) or pizza or some other really bad-for-you food. Nope, not me. I can't get enough of the cashews. Plain, raw, unsalted cashews. I was once asked if I had to choose between a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup and cashews, which would I choose. Hands down, the cashews. Yup, I'd take cashews over a pb cup any day. I could eat them until I'm sick, which I often do. I love cashews so much that I got 11 POUNDS of them for Christmas this year, and they were gone shortly after New Years (of course, I had some help with that).



My weight went back up to 145, which I was surprised about. Considering all the cashews I ate and that damn monthly addition, I figured I'd be at least 148 or 149. Hopefully, as I approach 150 again, it will look a little different than last time.



Training was rough this week. This may be an overshare but who's really reading this anyway? It never fails. The week before my monthly addition, I drag ass in the gym. I notice a significant decrease in the weights I can handle, and I just feel tired and run down, regardless of how much sleep I get. I touched on Monday's workout in the last post. Tuesday night was arms, and it started out not good. I had a stomach ache, but once I got moving, it started to subside, and I wound up having one of the better arm workouts that I've had in a while. Wedensday night hams was when things went downhill. Again, that damn left hamstring put a huge damper on the workout. Plus, I was just a headcase even before I walked into the gym (stupid PMS). I decided to try something a little different with the squats at the end. Usually we'll do 6x10 or 5x5, but I decided to do some higher reps. And by higher reps, I mean 100 total reps. I managed to do it in 4 sets of 25, but I didn't use enough weight. I only did 95 lbs, but it probably would have been more effective had I done 115 or even 135. Thursday's are completely off for me, and Friday's shoulder workout wasn't too bad. I didn't get a max on standing presses; though, I came awfully close. I wound up getting 105 for 4. When I left off a few months ago, I could barely get 100 for more than 2 or 3. So, I was happy with that. The rest of the workout was epic, but not too bad. I skipped shrugs because I think I re-injured that pinched nerve last Friday doing shrugs. I think I went too heavy and pinched it again....the numbness in my first two fingers is back.

This morning was quads, which was the best workout all week. And I trained by myself. I got 210 for 5 on squats, and they were solid and clean. I was really happy with that. The rest of the workout pretty much flowed from there. I finished off with a leg press exercise that the Homeslice showed me which I think he got from pro bb Erik Fankhauser (sp?). The guys use plates, but I have to use 25's, and this is why.....you do 10 reps with no weight, then add a 25 (or plate) to each side and do another ten reps. Only break to add another quarter to each side and then bang out 10 reps. You keep going on this until you can't get 10 anymore. The goal is to get to 10 plates (or 10 quarters in my case). The last time I did this, it was near the beginning of my leg workout and I only got 6 on each side. Today, it was my last exercise, and I had 8 on each side. The catch is, I only got 7 for the final set. My legs were toast at the end of the workout, and the soreness is setting in as I type....I love it!

One more thing. In addition to logging my workouts, I've also decided to jot notes down at the end of each session about my thoughts on the workout. I figure it'll be interesting to go back and read them and see what workouts I thought were good and which ones were crap. Knowing that I'm the textbook pessimist, I am making a concerted effort to be honest when I write my workout notes. If I didn't, the end of every workout would probably read, "SHITTY WORKOUT." It's my meager attempt at sprinkling some postivity on things.

No comments:

Post a Comment