Well they’re talking about Trump on Off Topic and there’s a WWII movie on TV so no matter what room I’m in I’m hearing about Nazis.
Happy 2017 – Let’s Cut!
So it’s now 2017. Initially I was going to start with a clean bulk but I feel like, over the last few weeks, I gained just that hair of extra fat that I don’t really want on me when I start a bulk since there’s a risk it’d overtake my muscle gains. Can’t be having with that so at the moment I plan on going through the old Buff Dudes 12 Week Program while I do some cutting – gonna be a lot of chicken and vegetables and eggs in my future while I get myself a nice early-year shred.
After that I’ll write myself a bulking program or use the Buff Dudes bulking program depending on how my next twelve weeks go. Either way, it should be fun. Happy New Year!
Oh also, I wrote a journal entry here at least once a week (usually Sunday or Monday) every single week of 2016. I still plan on continuing that tradition so see you next week.
Murr Crimbus
Heya, Merry Christmas. I’mma go eat some dessert and watch Abridged Broly.
The First Week Off
So as of early this week I decided to take a break from most social media until New Years. Let’s face it, the world sucks. But I really want to get into the Christmas spirit to keep myself sane, so I prescribed myself a lack of Facebook and Twitter to allow that to happen for self-care.
My prompt was on For The Win though, so that’s pretty cool. No spoilers but it was well cool.
Enchiladas all night
So I was up until 2:30 eating homemade enchiladas and other gubbins. So I’m a bit out of it so yeah. It was a hell of a lot of fun.
[LATE] Sick And New Computer (And Phone)
The title pretty much says it all. I’m feeling sick, but on the plus side I replaced my phone and computer so I guess that’s pretty hype.
Run Ragged
On purpose. Basically, work it great. Working out is great. I’m also trying to be more active on my Instagram on a fitness level. But at the heart of the matter I am running myself so ragged because I’m still enraged and disgusted that Donald Trump got even a single vote, let alone won the election, and am trying to keep my brain from being 100% consumed with it at all times, as it would otherwise be. America voted for an idiot Nazi. Even if his accusations of illegal voters trigger a recount that forces him to lose, it’s like stabbing your dad. Even if he survives, you still stabbed your dad and have to deal with it.
Even if Trump is stopped from being President, America still elected a homophobic, racist Nazi to be President. America has proven to be a place filled with evil, ignorant people. People who think being accused of (and repeatedly acquitted for) poor e-mail management is worse than sexual assault and actual fascism. America has proven it is not a good or worthwhile place that has outlived its glory years and when it’s done with it’s long, slow suicide the rest of the world won’t mourn but breathe a sigh of relief that the dangerous alcoholic uncle is gone.
Think about that. Keep thinking about that. Because that’s the remaining duration of American history in a nutshell and we just get to watch it play out whether we like it or not. But like I started with, don’t make it 100% of your brain power. You still have to live even if the world is debatably irredeemably broken and not worth the effort of saving.
Big Stuff
So my NaNo book is done as of today. Verified and everything. Pretty neat.
Other than that I’m really just resting up. Thankfully by this time next week my writerbrain won’t be burned out and I can keep talking.
[LATE] – NaNo Progress
Well, I’m something like 35,000 words into a book I don’t like, but I’ve committed and it’s eating my time so I just feel like that short progress report is all I can give today.
#RippedLikeGoku and #VegetaStrong plus some political BS
It’s been a rough few weeks, mostly because of election anxiety. Those of you who follow me on Twitter or who are friends with me on Facebook probably know I’m pretty hot right now, very firmly in the anti-Trump camp. But either way, we’ve got about two days (not counting the rest of today) until this is past or until it’s perpetual. But at least I can appreciate the comedy in the man who wants access to the nuclear codes having his Twitter account taken away by aides because they don’t trust his self-control.
There’s a lot of tension between my family and I because several of them are Trump supporters and I’ve hit the point in my anti-Trump fervor that I refuse to have any empathy for his voters. Basically I consider Trump voters, at this stage after everything he’s said and done, to be bad people who implicitly approve of sexual assault, racism and fascism. Yes, including my own family. So that’s a bit tense since I do still live here with my parents post-Austin (one of which, predictably my Dad, is a Trump supporter) as I apartment-hunt and save my money up to actually do it, but hopefully that will start to get moving better soon once I’m out of here.
I’m doing NaNoWriMo 2016, as well. It’s still Buffer Week for me, where I write four pages, roughly 3,000 words, per day to give myself a buffer for later in the month. The only problem is between the move, my new job and election anxiety I did none of my usual planning and I’m now 18,000 words committed to a book that isn’t working. It’s fine, I can basically convert it to practice for nightmarish imagery and dialog, but it’s still a bit of a slog. Maybe it’ll get easier when the election is over. If Trump loses, at least. If it doesn’t I’ve never failed a NaNoWriMo since I started doing them and I don’t mean to start now!
My saving grace and guiding light, though, through all of this is fitness. Both regarding work and regarding my general life. It makes me happy to work out, and as I do my NASM study and get more knowledge I see my future career becoming more solid. And it’s primarily the fitness stuff I want to talk to y’all about today.
So I have a new routine! I scaled back a bit during my moving period and I’ve now amped it back up. This week I did a full workout six days and a run today. So I figure for shits and giggles I’d let you guys know what I work on each day. In general, I’m trying to get into as good or better shape than I was at RTX 2016, which was when I would consider myself in the best shape I’ve ever been in (175 pounds, about 15% bodyfat by a hair, my current stats being about 185 pounds and 17%-18% bodyfat).
So first off, I do a set of 15-minute HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) cardio before and after every workout, which means I do 12 of those per week. Normally I’m on a treadmill or a stepmill/stairmaster when I do that. So I’d plonk those in before and after each routine that follows on the list below. Some of this is a little bit malleable and I’ll explain why after.
Day 1: Lower Body. Deadlifts (formerly part of my back days because of their work on the erector spinae but since I do sumo-style thanks to my flexibility issues I’ve shifted them), squats, kettlebell swings and calves, with some other hamstring work as needed.
2. Koko FitClub Smartraining. I work at a Koko FitClub (the robot gym Ryan Haywood used to use in Austin before those franchises closed!) and do the workout prescribed to me on their Smartrainer machine. It’s a full-body workout with varying emphasis depending on the point you’ve reached in your chosen program.
3. Chest, back and arms. Rows, pullups, bench, and having a lot of fun arm stuff.
4. Koko Smartraining
5. Shoulders and more kettlebell swings
6. The Leftovers – namely, anything that wasn’t hit between my own routines and Smartraining. This week is was my calves (since I forgot them on Tuesday), my traps and my abs between the cardio sessions.
So this can be malleable for a number of reasons. First off, since Smartraining is a full-body routine with a varied focus when I check my workouts it might make more sense for me to do them on a day before one of my freeweight routines, which happened this week. Additionally, I might shift it for scheduling since when I do Smartraining I do it before leaving work, and the other stuff I stop in and change at home first. So this upcoming week I’ll do Smartraining on Monday and go vote to stop Trump on Tuesday before heading into the gym then continue as normal.
Either way, it feels great to be back up to six workouts a week. Now I just need to fix the fact that when it comes to fatty, greasy, delicious comfort food, things like pizza, cheeseburgers, burritos and steak bomb sandwiches, I have a will as weak as wet paper. If I can do that (which I have done before when I lived alone) I should meet or exceed my RTX shape in no time!
And if (which is a VERY BIG if) I can figure out how to do cosplay by RTX and manage to get myself as buff as I hope to be, you might see a “Savage” variation of a certain wild man of the woods in an iconic bearskin walking around. HMMMMM.
So wish me luck as I try to get #RippedLikeGoku and #VegetaStrong
Yes, I am hype for DB Super to come stateside.
Oh also, leave a comment letting me know what you think a fair price would be for me to do online coaching of some description. I have a few plans but just spitball at me, okay?
Joseph Mazzola, Writer 