Zero Program: I just wanna break a sweat and have fun doing it.
Yup. Title says it all. I don't have any goals. I don't have a program. I don't really care if I gain or lose weight. I'm currently 35 years old, 6 feet tall, and about 205 lbs. When I was 30, I did Starting Strength and went from 165 lbs to 215 lbs. My personal records were: lbbs 225x3x5, bench 165x3x5, ohp 125x3x5, dl 270x1x5, pc 145x5x3, chins 6, 4, 2, fail. I didn't lift for years after that, but I had a physically demanding job that gave me a workout most days. Then last year, my supervisor had a heart attack. He's ok now, but we both lost our jobs. So last summer I started throwing around the weights a bit. I tagged along to a planet fitness with a friend. I worked up the squats to 135x3x5 and messed around a bit on the bench. I worked out in the driveway a handful of times after that. I would warm up with bw squats and then mix in some powercleans and front squats. Then I'd take some weight off and do some powercleans and ohp. I made some very modest progress last summer. I don't have much weight to work with. I have a skinny bar and only 137 lbs worth of weights. Of course, I could buy a decent bar and more weight, but I just wanna break a sweat and have fun doing it.
Welcome to my log.
been exercising fairly regularly for a few months, but the winter included an escalating battle vs my thyroid. i thought that if i became more diligent and precise with taking the meds, that the muscle soreness issue would improve. what actually happened was that improving medicine absorption caused my thyroid to become hyperactive. this caused very painful hyperthyroid myopathy with pain centered around my right shoulder. now im on a lower dose of thyroid med and its absorbing near optimally. labs are in normal ranges and stable now.
i started getting in workouts in may but i havent felt like logging. few times with weights (hang cleans, squats, deadlifts) but nothing that could be considered progress.
the bulk of my workouts the past 3 months have been bodyweight stuff. lots of squats(30/30/30/20 short rests one day) and chin ups(6/5/4/3/2/1 with 3 minute rests a few workouts ago). some other stuff like push ups back bridges and lunges and kicks. i guess my progress was limited to chin ups.
been eating well. had fast food 1 time in 2024 cus road trip. getting better at grilling (improved swordfish, chicken, and pork chop techniques). only slight Buddha belly currently. still 6' 0" weight ~190. still smoking weed n cigs. a drink or two a couple times a week; haven't really been drunk in years.
mental stuff is good and stable. bad symptoms are at all time low levels.
hope yall are doing well.
seemingly mandatory workout details:
pull up 4x3, then 1x2 fail 3 halfway up, immediately followed by 4 short jump holds at top.
pushup 2x20, 1x5 fail 6.
10 straight leg situps.
pull up form tweak is coming along with keeping rhomboids engaged, not letting shoulders roll up towards ears at bottom of hang(was doing this badly for a period). cant get chest to bar, but im trying on the early reps as well as the jump holds. the form tweak does feel stronger already(eyes at the bar unless eyes are above the bar at the top, thinking about using the rowing muscles pulling the bar towards my chest gets my weak lats going), but this is uncharted pull up territory for me. im avoiding kipping per a few youtube form vids i watched. the vids agree that kipping is for high volume pull ups when youre topping 40 in 1 workout.
pushups have felt like solid form since 4th grade karate, the only parts that get tired are arms chest and shoulders. been mixing in push ups plus(40 to 60 reps 1 set usually) when my serratus anterior on left side gets crampy, but none today.
i dont usually include situps(for weird spiritual reasons) but today i felt my abs lacking during pull ups, creating dead weight in my butt and legs. the tension point was my xyphoid process at the bottom of my sternum(which i dislodged years ago and im still psychologically preoccupied with its sensitivity), thus situps today.
about 3 mins between all sets.
schedule says workout day, but as a general rule i only exert myself for fun on Sunday. so i shot hoops for a half hour instead. moderate intensity including a few full court fast break round trips. some corner 3 point rush drill. some lefty and righty layups. some 3/4 court shots with the wind. first time on the court in months. felt good.
just chin ups today around mid day.
2x3 bw
1x3 +5 lb
1x3 +15 lb
1x3 +5 lb
1x3 bw
1x1 bw
just two trips to the court since last post. about half hour each. plain shot is good but not game tested in a while. 15 ft pull up jumper, reverse lay up, lefty lay up, and post hook shot all kinda suck right now, but im putting in reps. catch and shoot fast is falling a lot as long as i focus on footwork, balance, vertical extension and follow through. needs more swish on foul shots.
stamina is lacking but i pushed it a little with fast break round trips(3) and rush corner shot drill 3x (6 shots, 4 shots, 4 shots).
You don't need a 15 foot jump shot if you have that 3/4 court shot you were practicing a few days ago. As long as it's with the wind I guess.
i like to find out how far i can shoot from without compromising form, really focusing on leg contribution and aligned extension. from further out(usually beyond half court) i have to either use a left foot forward stance, or do a running shot. the 3/4 court shots were left foot forward.
the range finding process is great shot warm up and instant feedback on mistakes(usually poor footwork, lazy extension, flat flight, but sometimes left hand interference). then after your legs know how much to push within that range, shooting becomes a very fluid motion and seemingly long shots come off nice and smooth. repeating the range finding process takes away more and more of the idea that i cant hit the shot. hitting 1/15 from half court is infinitely better for confidence than never trying.
those back rim hits bounce high as ****. a little long is a great shot sometimes.
lame update:
my squat rack was displaced, and i haven't taken necessary steps to find a new functional setup. i haven't touched the weights nor bar since it all moved a few days after last post.
the day after the project that displaced the rack, i woke and my left groin was very pissed off at the pelvic process, and the inflammation irritated my lower abdomen. since the pelvic floor is a common spot for hyperthyroid myopathy, i got some labs done and had a dr appointment. labs looked good but dr dropped my dose a little because of my description of what my heart does when i go to sleep. after 5 or 10 minutes in bed, it feels like it stops for a moment, comes back with a heavy hard pump, and then sort of drops into a lower gear for slower beat.
ive been taking it easy since then. feels better now and im hoping to get to the court soon as first workout.
weighed in at dr 188 lb wearing nylon shorts, tshirt, sneakers, wallet phone and keys. down a few lb since 196 lb spring weigh in at dr. Buddha belly shrunk while exercise maintained mass. thighs are slightly thinner.
this video was very humbling. guy probably has 50 lb on me and hes getting his belly button to the bar on pull ups. looks like the pull ups are all lats and rear delts, with very little arm straightening and bending; almost gi joe kung fu grip esque.
been meditating a few minutes a couple times a week for a month. longest sustained complete breaths was about 25 second inhale 25 second exhale. mostly i just try to keep it slow and steady 15 to 20 seconds without counting, music helps eliminate numbers from thought; something our minds can count geometrically and predictably.
i started listening to an audio book yesterday. the complete Bhagavad Gita translated to English with musical and editorial interjections. perhaps if i had gone deeper into the Buddhism rabbit hole i would have discovered the Gita earlier. as it happened, i only first learned of the Gita about two years ago from the wiki page for the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance, which the wiki reports is loosely based on the Bhagavad Gita, a very old hindu text. both stories have a wounded warrior receiving spiritual advice from a sage. meditating reminded me that i wanted to dive into it a bit someday. its someday. the main character's name is Arjun, coincidence?
only halfway through chapter 1(1.5 hrs) and there are a bunch of chapters. i think its going to be really good.
chin up 3x5, 1x3.
pushup 20/10.
not much. better than previous month. been lazy since the groin pull, which healed weeks ago. ive felt great and had moments of gratitude pointed at zero pain sources.
today i decided i was done letting a shitty rack placement be an excuse. i plan to have it in a good permanent position from November on.
this video was very humbling. guy probably has 50 lb on me and hes getting his belly button to the bar on pull ups. looks like the pull ups are all lats and rear delts, with very little arm straightening and bending; almost gi joe kung fu grip esque.
been meditating a few minutes a couple times a week for a month. longest sustained complete breaths was about 25 second inhale 25 second exhale. mostly i just try to keep it slow and steady 15 to 20 s
I remember getting recommended that book at age 17/18 by a very weird and intense guy I was speaking with while stoned at someone's house. I have PTSD from the experience - we had a great conversation but then his intensity started to weird me out a little. He asked for my phone number and I gave him it with one number wrong and a buddy of mine who was next to me said 'hey, you gave him the wrong number' and it got very awkward as it became apparent that I'd done it on purpose!
I wouldn't worry too much about matching up with that guy's pull ups - dude has an exercise channel on youtube! just match up with us normal schlubs
lol quality story.
chin up 2x6, 1x4, 2x2.
deadlift 126 lb x 1x6.
made it to the court for a half hour yesterday. shot was on, from everywhere. basic shots that guarantee good footwork fell a very high %, didn't keep track. even the technical run catch and shoot from 3 pt reps were falling. the net got swish locked 4 times in the half hour. 2 half court shots fell out of about 10. post fallaway 4/6. post hook was meh 4/10.
a few lefty drive layups started going in; this used to be my best move for creating space vs tougher defenders, but its not worth much if the layup wont go in.
"hows that left hand comin?" - Denzel in He Got Game.
its a work in progress, Denzel.
in other news, something i learned at the endocrinologist recently. she said thyroid pill dosage depends a lot on bodyweight, and changes in weight are expected to cause a med adjustment. less weight, lower dosage.
applying this logic to the nightmare that became winter 2022:
started job early dec 2021 at about 205 lb. by jan 1 i was down to 198 to 200 or so i believe.
by feb 1, 2022, i was down to 188(had non covid flu, and 2 angry wisdom teeth pulled in January). by mid February i had bad pain in both shoulders, back, hips, and knees.
the weight thing helped me make sense of it. glad i found both stable weight and dose.
the shoulder issues last spring also align with about a 10 lb loss over a year.
drs did begin telling me that i have a hypoactive thyroid in 1999. i never felt any negative effects for 23 years, but when it happened it was significant.
my right wrist was sore later Monday and into Tuesday. my left wrist was sore later Tuesday to last night. feeling much looser and stronger today so i got some exercise.
did some arm and leg dynamic warm up stuff, which i haven't been doing at all lately.
pull ups 4/4/2. early reps got chin over bar. later reps more like mouth ups.
bw squat 10
bw overhead hands squat 2x10.
deadlift 126x1x7.
chin up 1x3, left wrist said thats enough.
chugged some water.
then went to the court for 30 mins. fairly intense. 9 round trip fast breaks. 1 round corner rush x8 shots. jump tap backboard 5x successfully, 2x fail(1 of fails was only left hand attempt). probably a dozen hard dribble drives from 3pt, only using right hand for reverse layup where applicable. few catch n shoot reps(bounce it behind my back then rush to catch and shoot, starting from baseline trying to time the catch at 3 pt line).
i watched Arjun's deadlift recently. i was unaware that touch n go deadlifts are good. i always dead stop and breathe at the bottom. quick search showed me the pros n cons, and i think dead stop is better for me because of the shoulder issues. deadlift protocol comments welcome of course.
right wrist was sore all yesterday including some visible swelling. the cause was definitely too many half court shots.
workout today:
pull up 5/5/3
deadlift 126x1x5, 156 lb 1x5.
push ups plus 1x50.
chin up
8 fail 9,
6,
2 fail 3.
whatchamacallit* 1x10
deadlift 126x1x5, 176x1x5.
*saw this move on a "how to clean more than you power clean" youtube video a few weeks ago. wrists felt well enough to try. its a high pull with the bar, and at the top you rack the bar and drop into a squat. felt decent enough. call it a rack drop i guess from now on.
no exercise since last post; some verbalization that i think will help reprogram my crap clean form. been watching tutorials on the full clean.
first error of note is my start position. i was back on my heels, eyes pointed down 4 ft in front of me like a deadlift. noted consistency of model lifters looking forward at the start, and one coach mentioned weight evenly distributed on feet, not heels.
after bar passes knees, the knees move forward under the bar(i think its called the scoop, a word i picked up but only tried incorporating into my power clean once years ago with poor results. been mostly doing hang cleans since). might need a specific cue for this change, to be determined.
thinking about the whatchamacallit rack drop i practiced, it occurred to me that of all the squats ive done in my life for various reasons (baseball catcher many innings logged, hvac attic rat for a period, exercise, chores, yada yada...) ive hardly ever dropped into a controlled squat quickly. feels almost foreign, exotic, and risky; only risky because of previous knee troubles. feels ok so far doing the rack drops.
need to reincorporate hook grip too. ive been just grabbing it like a double overhand deadlift.
after the clean vids i tracked this down. to me its the simplified version of "the iron" by Henry Rollins, with the personal stuff cut out. it gets right to the heart of it. i like the simplicity. 200 lbs:
workout today
bw squat 2x20
bw overhead hands squat 1x20
back bridge x 3 about 20 seconds each.
pushups 10/15/12.
got a scale to keep an eye on weight changes which affect medicine distribution. 192.2 lb this morning wearing clothes and sneakers. i think 190 to 195 no clothes is good range to aim for.
right shoulder has been complaining since last workout. bad enough that i haven't exercised since last post. also my right hand has been mostly useless for the past 2 days. did something to it in bed. feels a little looser today.
being a righty, i feel quite useless with a bum right arm and hand. i guess im lucky nothing else hurts.
diet has been good. i had fast food 2x in the past month and regret both times. 3x in the past year. my grilling skills are decent and still improving. steak, fish, chicken, and pork all on the menu. im not shy with spices.
other health stuff i can ramble about, seeing that this isnt a fitness post:
bad cholesterol slightly high per usual. this runs in my family.
blood pressure has been steady my whole life, usually 110 to 120 systolic, 70 to 80 diastolic.
figuring out that the tension the left side of my chest was just the serratus anterior muscle needing attention is a weight off my chest, quite literally. a set of pushups plus gets blood to the muscle and helps it relax quite well.
Buddha belly? check.
ok im done. enjoy your weekend. peace.
2 trips to the court since last post and one easy workout yesterday. got the squat rack in a good spot now.
yesterday:
all 36 lb bar alternating stuff short rests between sets.
front squat 1x5.
rack drop 1x5
overhead press 1x10
rack drop 1x10
overhead press 1x10
rack drop 1x10
overhead press 1x10
rack drop felt very awkward first set. better 2nd set. 3rd set felt like good rhythm and i was really focusing on manhandling it all the way to rack. adding weight next time.
havent trained overhead press in about a decade. right shoulder needs to start small; it feels weak, crunchy and poppy. hoping for much improvement.
chin up 5/3/3.
deadlift
126x1x5
156x1x5
weight 191.2 with sneakers shorts tshirt yesterday.
mental stuffs good, stable, happy.
diet is really good, maybe a little light. i grill a lot and usually have a veggie with whatever im grilling. zero fast food in 2 months.
basketball stamina was decent considering lack of cardio. shot is good, maybe slightly flat on misses; little higher is higher probability of swish. left hand is getting its layup touch back and fast break dribbling feels confident with both hands while keeping eyes up. i resisted half court shots to protect my right shoulder; dont want to mess up what has become a good streak with very little shoulder pain.
got in a rare Sunday workout yesterday:
vertical leg swings 10x each leg.
lateral leg swings 10x each leg.
front high kicks 10x each leg.
squat hold x 20 seconds, plus 10 bw squat.
rack drop 36 lb bar 3x10.
full squat hang clean
56 lb x3x5.
overhead press 36 lb x3x10.
56 lb x3x5.
deadlift 126x1x5.
176x1x5.
full squat clean was my first ever set of those. ive always done powerclean.
the drop felt aligned decently with some forward lean on a few reps. some bar bounce getting it racked a few reps. right hip popped loudly at the bottom halfway through the first set, but it wasn't painful. in all these felt good for a first try.
overhead press was surprisingly hard on the last reps. been a long time.
workout today:
leg swings, kicks, high knees, squat hold 20 seconds plus 10 bw squat.
high pull 36 lb bar x 10.
10 bw squat
rack drop 36 lb bar x 10.
full squat hang clean up to 86 lb x 2x5.
pull up 3/3/1.5
chin up 1x3.
deadlift up to 176x1x5.
cleans are very out of sync. two times i forgot to drop and just yanked it up to rack. needs focus and practice.
pull ups were only mouth to bar.
deadlift repeat weight. no reason.
