Yeah, so, about this regular updates thing....

Not being real conistent here yet, am I?

Getting back into it though. Let me just have a quick run-through on a few things: Disciplined? Hah - if I was, I'd have answered your comments like a good little Melkor when you made them and wrote down what I've been up to this easter as I did it ;)

Keeping a regular journal and hanging out with my friends in Journal-land is what keeps me on track, really. When I slack off on the journalling I tend to get a bit lax about everything else that goes along with it as well. admittedly not to the point of blowing off my workouts entirely or completely dropping this whole "diet" thing in favour of snorkeling in the corn chips (though they did look mighty tempting when I was shopping saturday, I came home with carrots and milk like it said on my grocery list.)

Still. There's something about commiting to and staying consistent about writing down that you're up to that's very helpful in terms of staying on track in relation to your goals. Frequently it's only been the thought of having to write down that "I skipped todays' workout" that's kept me from in fact skipping today's workout ;)

Currently I'm doing a sort of half-assed version of Starting Strength as the basis for my workout, though Rippetoe would probably snort a little at the thought of that. I could probably do HIIT, but it seems counterproductive to add even more high-intensity leg training to a program that has you squatting 3xweek; so I'm sticking to a sedate walk for my cardio.

How deep you squat during the performance of the exercise is a matter of how deep you can squat safely - I had to do a great deal of hamstring flexibility work before I could get low enough without my back rounding. So don't go overdoing depth either, only go as far as possible for you, work on flexibility in general and get down to proper depth when you're actually able to do so without injury risk.

Some notes on today's workout:

Warmup:general calisthenics, mobility drill.

A: Back squat: 5x132lbs, 5x176lbs, 3x5@220lbs

B: One-arm Dumbbell floor presses , 62.5lbs dumbbell, 3x10reps ea. side.

C1 Chinups: 9,8,6
C2: Dumbbell swings, 43lbs DB, 20,30,30

D: Mountain Climber 2x20.

No problem hitting the target for the back squat - had some moments feeling reluctant after the second set but when I got under the bar and lifted it was tough but doable. So much so that I think I can carry this progression rate further for at least one or two more workouts before I need to slow down how much I add to the bar each workout ;)

DB floor presses - added weight and reps so I should be happy, but I have inconsistent technique which makes it hard to judge progress. I switch between tucked-in and flared elbows and I should just pick one and stick to it in order to be able to have a meaningful measurement here; there's no point to use a mechanical advantage to add more weight without it resulting in an adde training effect on the muscles in that kinetic chain.

Apart from the chinups the rest is more or less a bit of fun, really - conditioning and core stability isn't a real big part of my plan right now since I'm on a deadline what with my upcoming spot of surgery, but I'll put in a bit at the end like here if there's time.