30 seconds to...

[lpf]

Prologue

"...come break me down, bury me, bury me, I am finished with you...."
This song got stuck in his head, he didn't even know why, as he has never really listened to 30 Seconds To Mars.
Maybe there has been another band covering it, maybe something is going to change and his head already knows,
maybe he wants something to change... At the moment, he doesn't know why, but he sings along in his head and continues his journey...



*side note from me: I am trying to do this thread a bit differently than the old one... I don't know, if it works out all the time...

 

[lpf]

Chapter 1

There I stood, fully dressed up in workout clothes, not wondering how I came here, but knowing, what I wanted to do. (*narrator: really?)
So I went down to my basement follwoing the usual line of action, before I started my workout. I turned on the lights
(*narrator: also the one to the next room, which isn't really necessary, he just confuses it every time with the switch for the desk lamp next to his workout diary),
turned on my playlist, put all the weights and stuff together (*narrator: not really) and started my warm-up.
After my warm-up, it was time for the workout of that day.
As it was pull day, I went for the Biceps Only workout, using my EZ bar, my kettlebells and one dumbbell for the last exercise.
I really like the pump of my biceps.

The next day, abs was on the list, as I also want to run a bit more (*narrator: well, how about even starting to run?),
I decided to go for the Core for Runners workout.
(*narrator: this is no substitue for running....)
I went for the whole 9 yards, meaning, I did all 5 sets with no rest (*narrator: well.... a few seconds rest were seen here and there)

On another note, the second half of the season has started and my team had there first match yesterday evening,
it was hard work, but in the end, we won that game.
As I don't know, if some of you know handball, or are really interested in this, I will keep it short
(*narrator: which is really hard for him, he tends to talk hours and hours about handball, sometimes it is really annoying!)

 

[NancyTree]

Nice new thread!

 

[lpf]

Dieser Moment, wenn man das Gefühl hat, die Zeit steht still und man könnte seinen Gedanken nachgehen, aber....
(*narrator: oh one moment, why is he speaking German? I will talk to him... give me a minute)

oh, my bad, I'm sorry, so let's start again...
...this moment, when it feels like time stands still, you could hang on some thoughts, but your body is shaking, your abs are burning,
this means, you are trying to plank for some more minutes... but let's start at the beginning.
(*narrator: well, this is a good idea)

The first thing, before I start to workout, is always looking at a clock to see, which time it is. Most of the days, I have to train in the evenings, alone in the dark
(*narrator: nope... there's always light on...)
so, after filling my bottle with water and getting dressed and ready, I went down to my basement and looked at my plan. It was push day,
meaning, getting ready to bench press cars.
(*narrator: cough.... which is a long way to go, regarding what he could actually do at the moment...)
I like push days, well, I like all workout days... I really like to workout. Which is pretty obvious by the way, if not, I wouldn't be here...
(*narrator: that's what I wanted to say.... hey! this was my text....!)
so, Push B was the plan I did, nothing more and nothing less

the next day, which was yesterday, abs was on the plan... superhero abs, you know, just to feel like a superhero
(*narrator rolls eyes)
The first exercises were bicycle (*narrator: knee-to-elbow, to be more precise) crunches and leg raises and then there was this moment, when it feels like time stands still, you could hang on some thoughts, but your body is shaking, your abs are burning,
this means, you are trying to plank for some more minutes.
And if this wasn't enough, side planks and hollow hold for time were next up. Last exercise is like flying... superman stretches.
And that's it so far.

Tonight is legs
(*narrator: oh by the way, we are still in chapter 1, I don't know, when chapters change, but sometimes I even don't know, what he is doing next, even though I am the omniscient narrator)

 

[lpf]

Nice new thread!

thank you, I will give my very best to keep it like that, at the moment, it is a lot of fun writing like this

 

[lpf]

When it was leg day on Friday, I really didn't want to do it. Not because, I don't like leg days, just because I had to play goalkeeper for the younger Handball team
This is usually pretty leg intense.
(*narrator: especially, if you are an old man...*cough)
But I did it anyway. Power Lifter Workout. I wanted to go up with the weight in each set... but let's be honest, 3 leg exercises and each of it going full force...
That would have led to not being able to leave the basement for weeks, as the legs wouldn't have worked for a long time.
(*narrator: but that would have been funny!)
So I kept the weight the same, for all exercises, half my bodyweight, which is enough.
(*narrator: *whistles....)
so, after all this was done, I was done too. I tried to walk up the stairs again, which was already harder than expected... I already felt my hams in every step.

On Saturday, I wrapped my fists, put on my gloves and was ready for combat..
(*narrator sings: ready for combat, ready for rage...)
Well, after a warmp-up which was a little bit of jump rope stuff and Fighter's warm-up, then Fighting Fit was the workout I wanted to do and what I did.
I tried some different punches and combos, different kicks and kick combos and in the third round punch and kick combos.
The last round is freestyle without a punching back, so I went all crazy and it felt great, I really like doing this...
(*narrator: yeah, I know, he misses going to kickboxing, but he enjoys training the handball teams a lot more so....)
After this, Fighter's stretching and than it was time to relax.

On Sundays, I usually ride my bike, but this wasn't possible, due to some scheduling issues, well, self made issues, so to say, my team had a handball game
on that day, so this is why riding the bike was skipped. The game went really well, we won and got our next two points so we can keep up with the team on the first place.
Oh, when I say my team, I mean the boys I coach. They are between 16-18.
(*narrator: which you have already told everybody.... Next up, he will tell you, that he also trains a team of younger boys between 13-15)
I also have a second team, I coach, these boys are younger, like 13-15, but I will stop training them in summer, as the head coach of the older ones leaves and
I will be the only coach at least for a certain amount of time, but it is already difficult to manage the schedule of both teams at the moment, so keeping just one team,
will give me a bit more free time, which I really need sometimes.
After I got home, I decided to change clothes and just workout a bit, do some abs stuff and some stretching. I really don't know, what's wrong with me
(*narrator: oh, I know...)
but again I wanted time to stand still and did the 4 minute plank workout. Which went really well. So next time, I should try 5 minutes....
After this some stuff for the shoulders and that's all for the last week.

 

[lpf]

"...we increased the goal difference to 6 again and didn't let it decrease..."
When I finished the report of our match at the weekend, I sent it to our social media team and decided it was time to do some workout.
(*narrator: oh, I see what you did here....)
Power Builder was the workout to go. I really looked forward to this, as I could go to failure in push-ups and see, if I get closer to 50...
but sometimes nothing works like planned. My chin-ups were okay, 10-5-2-3-2, my push-ups were not that good... 26-10-10-5-5.
This could have different reasons, the last time I did push--ups was 3 weeks ago (the first set reached something around 40, I think),
I had to do push-ups on my fists, which changes the range of motion and the execution of the exercise...
(*narrator: his wrist still hurts from the crash he had)
So, not my best push-ups today, but it could have been worse.
Those tricep dips were changed wih tricep extensions, to not stress the wrist meaning, keep the load on the wrist as low as possible.
5 minutes of punches were fun, as my playlist kicked in and it was more like a dancing around punching or punching around dancing...
whatever you want I might be... well, no, I am an all-out lunatic.
(*narrator: this is something he has been called already, so I am fine with this)
because the last exercise in this workout is a 3 minute plank hold.... somehow, planks are a big part of my life somehow.
Well... as the day wasn't that good, this also showed in the plank. After 1:30, I couldn't hold it any longer and just fell to the floor and lay there, just lay there....
(*narrator sings: would you lie with me.... oops... sorry)
That was it for this day, my abs might thank me tonight, as I will work on them again

 

[MadamMeow]

Sorry your wrists still hurt, but I do hope that won't last long.

 

[lpf]

Sorry your wrists still hurt, but I do hope that won't last long.

well.... I think it might take one or two more weeks, until it's okay again.

 

[lpf]

After I did abs on Monday during the upper body workout, it was time to do abs on Tuesday in a dedicated abs workout.
Well, this sounds as weird, as it was. So I went down to my favourite workout place, turned on my favourite music and looked at the plan and
there I saw something, that kept my brain working
(*narrator: your... what?)
So, let me explain it to you, what made me think, well rethink me actual workout plans.
I have two different weeks, that repeat themselves.
week one is push - abs - pull - abs&martial arts - legs - martial arts
week two is upper - abs&martial arts - legs&martial arts - abs&martial arts - upper - martial arts
mobility, stretching, cycling and running is also done on different days during the weeks on different days....
So, what's the problem or better, what was the thing that made me rethink the plan?
(*narrator: great question, tell me... what is it?)
I have one week with 4 martial arts related workouts and one week with just two.... so my idea was to rearrange this to 3 workouts of this kind in each week.
This means, I only did abs on Tuesday, as there were 3 other martial arts workouts in this week.
The abs workout itself was straight forward and short: Micro Shred

On Wednesday Legs and Turning Kicks practice. I started with 5 minutes of jump rope and put the legs work in between the different kicks, like an active rest.
(*narrator: more like "rest" regarding what he did...)
I did 20 kettlebell swings in between each kicking part, so I ended up in doing 100 swings plus a lot of kicks and some squats, as they are part of the Turning kicks workout.

Thursday was abs again. I did super abs and nothing more, as I was really short in time
(*narrator: so no martial arts either? mmmh... I really need to have a talk with him)
...
...
...
(*narrator: wait, that's all? no more things to say? okay.... so.... dear readers, fellow bees, strangers and friends, have a nice day)

 

[lpf]

Assassin's Creed is one of my favourite games
(*narrator: even though, his first one was Syndicate.... and he also likes Horizon: Zero Dawn)
*looks at narrator* Am I allowed to continue?
(*narrator: ...)
okay, so Assassin's Creed, so I decided to do the Altair Workout. The pull-ups were good, the close-grip push-ups were increased to 6 reps,
as this worked pretty good with my wrist. but the abs stuff was harder than expected. I mean, this was the 4h day with abs, so they might have been
a bit tired.... so Level 1 was all that I could do on Friday.

On Saturday, I did the Boxer Workout, on Level 3, so 2 squats every 30 seconds, 15 push-ups (on the fists) and 15 sit-ups in every set for 5 sets
(*narrator: and again abs... he might be a bit stupid... 5 days with abs...)
For the shadow boxing part, I tried different combos of punches and kicks, even though the might not be really useful or to complicated,
but in the end, it's a good workout for the brain also and it was a lot of fun, trying different things.

On Sunday, I put on my new helmet, the old one was damaged during my accident, packed my stuff, meaning something to drink and some energy bars
(*narrator: to much food as always, but he also is always hungry, so maybe someday he will eat it all)
and went for a ride with my bike. The weather was great, the sun was shining and I really enjoyed the ride.
I will attach a little pic of my bike, when we had a rest on a little hill, a mine dump. I think it is called like this in english, it's a heap of old coal and stuff from a mine.
We have like 3 of these in our region, and it's always a good place to ride uphill.

 

[lpf]

When your plan shows you a workout and you think about changing it with another one but then do it either way and realise, it was a good idea to it.
This is what happend to me, when I did my push workout on Monday. The plan said dumbbell triceps, but I wanted to do something else.
In the end I did the workout and... well... keeping the weight from exercise 1 two exercise 2, as I can lift it, was something I should rethink sometimes
(*narrator: well, rethink and ignore everything you thougt and do it anyway... this is how it usually works for him)
The rest was okay and it was a good idea to do that workout and I will definitely revisit it.

On Tuesday was abs day.... shredder abs edition. My abs were on fire again, meaning, I could have done a lot more and I think, I will do it with 4 sets next time instead of 3.
After this... no, before the abs stuff, I did combat hiit express, 5 sets. I really enjoyed this one. I did all the 5 sets without any rest.
Next time, 7 sets
(*narrator: progressive overload, yeah! On the other hand, it seems, that everything is working fine for him at the moment, so why not try to add some stuff or do a bit more)

Tonight is pull day and I think I will use my rowing machine in the end, just for the fun of it
(*narrator sings: so it is written, so will it be done!)

 

[lpf]

We got push, we got abs and we got martial art moves already, so it was time to do some pull stuff and abs and legs in this order.
This means, I went down to my favorite cave...
(*narrator: ??? cave? you are NOT Batman!)
...and did my pull workout. Pull B was the one to go and I only added weight for the bent over rows. I wanted to add 5kg, but decided 2,5kg would be enough
so it was 57,5kg on bent over rows for 10 reps each, which means, 60kg what have been also doable.
(*narrator: see you next time 60kg... hehe)
I think I can increase the weight for the curls next time also, as doing 12 reps in each set was far easier than expected.

On Thursday it was time for abs and matrial arts. abs supreme made me feel everything possible but not supreme.
It was harder than I had it in mind and I had to lay a bit longer on the floor than I thought, before I entered the Pits.
I managed to survive the Pits for 5 minutes doing only elbow strikes and knee strikes... close combat for the win.
After this it was time for a shower and to relax watching the last episode of Echo.
*looks at narrator
(*narrrator: mmmh? oh no, nothing to add here, everything is fine, keep on going...)

Next up, legs. The thing about leg day is, that after you are finished, you will walk a bit funny... Okay, but let's start at the beginning.
I decided to go for the same weight for lunge step-ups, side lunges and single leg deadlifts. I used my 20kg waterbag for all 3 exercises.
So they were more like a warm-up for the deadlift at the end
(*narrator: just to make it a bit clearer, he rearanged the order of the exercises, did the first 3 in an EMOM style and the single leg deadlift with the 2 minutes rest.
After this he started with the deadlift)
I started the deadlift with 50kg, the idea was to go up with the weight in each set and do just 8 reps in each set, so that the last set would be also doable with more reps
(*narrator: plans.... hahahaha)
I ended up doing 10 reps in the first set, increased the weight to 60kg for the next set, did 10 reps, increased the weight to 70kg, did 10 reps,
increased the weight to 80kg did 10 reps and increased the weight to 90kg and did 8 reps.
I thought about adding another 5kg just to try it, but I had to stay on the floor a bit longer, because my legs felt like pudding.
(*narrator sings: I want it that way....)
After the pudding got a bit harder, it was time to stand up and walk upstairs....
(*narrator: crawl upstairs, but who wants to know this stuff?)

Today bag work and an additional bit for the abs might happen...
Have a nice weekend you all
(*narrator: yeah, have a nice weekend)

 

[lpf]

Saturday has been a long day, I have done the last parts of the diy home improvement for the guest toilet.
When I fastenend the last screw for the shelf, I took a step back and
(*narrator: come on, say it...)
I was impressed by myself because it looks really good.
After this, it was time to wrap my hands in boxing bandages and set the time for 5 minutes... well, I didn't set the time for 5 minutes,
I set it for 35, went down on the floor for the 2 minutes abs work after each 5 minutes of boxing.
All in all, 35 minutes of boxing, some kicking, some knees and some abs stuff
(*narrator: ... heavy breathing, gasping for air and a lot of sweat...)
Then it was already time for a shower, because I had to pick up my son from school, as he came back from his school trip.

On Sunday, I did the 7 minute abs workout, which I wanted to do on Saturday but had to move it to Sunday, due to the tight schedule. Before I did the abs stuff, I
used the rowing maching for 15 minutes. Which is something I should do more often
(*narrator: I think I have heard this before... mmmh)

New day, new week. Monday was upper body day and PT Pyramid was on the list. The first reps felt really good and
I went up really fast to 6 reps for the pull-ups. The next set, I could only reach 5 reps for the pull-ups and so I went down again.
In the end, it was a hard and short workout.
(*narrator: which is something I like the most....)

It was time to walk around a bit, so I decided to walk 15 minutes uphill on Tuesday
(*narrator: on a treadmill...)
The right thing to end a walk like this, is to do some abs work, so abs finisher was the next thing to do and then it was time to look on the next day...

Wednesday was leg day and kicks day.
After 5 rounds of the jump rope HiiT workout, I did the side kicks pratice.
I prefer turning kicks, so the side kicks were mentally a bit harder, as the are not that much fun for me.
But I did them anyway and that's what counts in the end.
(*narrator: so these are a lot of days, but at least he kept it short and he didn't mention the handball game on Sunday, which was not that good by the way...
should I ask him about it? nah.... no...)

 

[MadamMeow]

(I kind of want to ask him about the handball game on Sunday, but since it wasn't good, I don't want to rub salt in the wound. So to speak).

Glad you had an all in all good week!

 

[lpf]

(I kind of want to ask him about the handball game on Sunday, but since it wasn't good, I don't want to rub salt in the wound. So to speak).

Glad you had an all in all good week!

(*narrator: if he would answer, he would say, it was a total desaster.... the defense didn't work, so it was too easy for the opponent to score, when it was time to attack, they had problems finding solutions to score.... but even though, they weren't playing good, they managed to score 32 goals, but the opponent scored some more.... all played like they were tired.... and that's exactly what the problem was, all of them were tired, because they were helping the adult teams during their games at the weekends for the whole season and that's a bit too much in the end.)

oh thanks, the week was really nice and good

 

[Sevalys]

just

 

[lpf]

just

 

[lpf]

Chapter 1.5 Interlude or when the narrator takes over

hey there, it's me... the narrator....
(I think the people know who you are...)
before we enter the next chapter, let's put some things together... the 8 weeks of his plan are done, which was fun most of the time for him, I think.
There have been a few days, when he didn't exercise, mostly because of a bad schedule.
In the end,
he had done something around 3 to 5.000 reps in total for all the exercises he did...
he had been riding his bike for 12 hours, which is roundabout 234km
he had moved tons of weight, including his own bodyweight and kettlebells and barbells and his waterbag

his new plan is mostly like the old one, he has adjusted the schedule and changed some of the fridays to full body workouts with his waterbag...
I will keep watching him and tell him to write about the things that happened.... so... see you soon

 

[NancyTree]

read you soon!

 

[MadamMeow]

Glad things seem well!

 

[lpf]

Chapter 2
check the playlist, turn up the volume and press play.... while Emily Armstrong sung something about a weatherman, I layed myself on the floor,
one kettlebell to the left, the other one to the right and started pressing them upwards to the ceiling.
(*narrator: If you ever wondered yourself, if you can do chest press with 2 24kg kettlebells and then use the same weight for flys, I can tell you, don't do this, don't even try it....)
I changed the weights for the flys, as my pecs are definitley not strong enough to lift 24 kg on each side.
Those pull overs were done with my waterbag, as this is really fun, I mean, due to the water, the weight moves around and around and you have to stabelize it the whole time.
(*narrrator: and you can go on and bore them with a detailed description of every exercise....)
okay, those abs exercises were done as described, with a medball

On Wednesday was pull day and... yeah, I could write a lot about this day, but I just want to keep it short. Everything has improved, and I think about adding more weight again.

Tuesday and Friday were abs and a little bit of martial arts....
(*narrator: wait, Fridays? not Thursdays?)
Yes, I moved the workouts around, due to scheduling issues.... do you remeber this, or do you just drop in every now and then?
(*narrator: oh, yes, I remember it....)
Can I go on?
(*narrrator: feel free.... go on....)
okay, where have I been?
(*narrator: abs....)
abs... right... brute abs and hollow hold... did I ever mention, that I enjoy doing hollow hold? Is this even something you can write in a book in chapter 2?
Keeps this the story going on? Will it thicken the plot? Or does it answer some unsolved questions?
(*narrator: dear readers, feel free to ignore those questions and go on with reading....)

When the plans says Leg day... which was the case on Thursday, you know that the fun will begin.
The order of the exercises and the way they have to be done really invites you to do them EMOM.
So, 5 exercises, 4 sets, EMOM with a little rest of 1 minute after each exercise means, 25 minutes lifting weights with your legs
I felt fresh, but exhausted after the workout and when I was ready to leave my basement, I remembered, while I am stupid sometimes.
I workout in a basement, I have to climb upstairs after working out... with legs like jelly...
so, the workout took me 25 minutes and getting into my apartement took me almost 15 minutes, instead of usual 5....
(*narrator: muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha)

Time for the weekend, time for some gardening, with DOMS in the legs, I moved like I am old...
(*narrator breathes in) -- don't say a word!
After gardening, it was time for martial arts... I did the Boxer workout, 25 minutes of shadow boxing and 75 push-ups and sit-ups

Sunday it was time to get on my bike and ride a bit around....
which means.... 75km in like 4 hours.... When I started the tour, I went against the wind because I thought this would be a good idea, driving home with tailwind
but I made my decision without the wind. He decided to turn around and became headwind again, which made the way home not that much fun.
On the other hand.... there is always something worse.... living on a hill means, you have to ride uphill to get home.
so after 73km, there was the hill laughing at me...
I looked at him and said:"es ist mir ganz egal, wie das aussehen wird und wie schlecht ich hochfahren werde, aber ich werde nicht absteigen und schieben!"
(*narrator: in eglish he said: it doesn't matter what it will look like and how bad he will be riding uphill, but he will not get off the bike and push it up the hill.)

and that all for the last week... as we had holidyas here, there was no training or games for the handball guys,
but this might happen in the next weeks again and if there will be something to write about, I will do it, no matter if you want to read it or not

 

[lpf]

"just let me... let me lie here for a few seconds... I will get up...." This is what I said to myself on Friday, after my....
(*narrator: wait, wait, wait.... this is somewhere in the middle, this is not the beginning of the last week... so... let's rewind to the start... Monday...)

My legs still felt a bit tired from the long bicycle ride on Sunday, so it was good, that Monday was upper body day...
Tom Boy was the workout on the list. I really like these kind of workouts, short and simple, but hard. And that is really all that happended, nothing fancy or weird.

On Tuesday I had the first training session with my team with the new coaches. So, they introduced themselves to the guys and then it was time for some fun with me...
The team has established a certain phrase for this in German, which rhymes with my name... which is kind of funny, but when they here it#s time for "Fun with lpf"
they know, what is going to happen. I did a little strength circuit with them and after this they played handball for the rest ot the training session.
After this, it was time for my own workout, so I went down to the basement and did some abs stuff.

Wednesday Legs... Jump Rope HiiT and after this, Still Here, Still Kicking. I always ask myself, why I get higher in the hook kicks, than in any other kick.
I think, the movement of the leg leads to a better position of the upper body and the standing leg. But that's just me and my weird working body,
so who knows if this is right or makes sense to anyone else...
(*narrator: well... no.)

On Thursday again abs and Hot Sauce. Throwing some punches and knees is fun.

On Friday it was time for the first waterbag workout. Special Ops was the one to go. So it looked like this: 20kg waterbag on my back...
5 sets of 20 lunges with 30 seconds rest and then 5 sets of 20 squats and then 5 sets of some sort of cleans,
followed by 5 sets of push-ups to failure with pullin the bag followed by 5 sets of twists and to finish it all, put the bag away and do 5 sets of pull-ups.
Which was followed by me lying on the floor in a puddle of sweat... saying the following words: "just let me... let me lie here for a few seconds... I will get up...."

It took some time, not only a few seconds, but in the end I got up again and climbed up the stairs to get into the shower....

(*narrator: yeah, I think that's it, some kind of cliffhanger, as Saturday and Sunday are missing, but who cares...)

 

[neilarey]

Happy Birthday!!!

 

[HellYeah]

Happy Birthday

 

[Fremen]

Happy Birthday

 

[graoumia]

 

[Montserrat]

@lpf!

 

[MadamMeow]

Happy Birthday! Hope you get to enjoy it!

 

[lpf]

Hello everybody,

first of all, I like to thank you for the birthday wishes...

second, it's been a while since I have been here, which wasn't really on propose, more like me thinking, I can write something the other day...

third, before my birthday (and this is going to be a longer story) I was on a qualifiers tournament with my handball team, the older ones...
the tournament was about getting qualified for the next higher leagues (the exact rules are a bit confusing, so I won't explain them here)
my team was the underdog in this tournament, every other team had already played in higher leagues, some of the teams also in the premier league for young people
all teams coming from big cities, having adult/senior teams in like 3rd or 2nd league, and were are a team from a small village nobody knew
(except for one team, that's from a bigger city nearby)
So, why were we even there? Well, not really to qualify for the higher leagues, more to learn, to play and to have fun and maybe, if there is a small chance, get one or two points.
To spoil you, we ended up with 0 points, as we lost all of our games but.... and this is what really makes me proud of this team, the audience fell in love with us, with how we played,
that we never gave up and fought to the end of every single match. The opponents all had to work hard to win the games (except for the last team, as my team was all done, tired and exhausted after 5 matches)
(*narrator: before you ask, why this didn't happen to the other teams, being tired and exhausted, the came there with like 20 players per team and only 14 are allowed to play in one game, so you can have some of them take a rest, when you don't have to play every of your 5 matches)
Thank you... so, one of the other coaches came to me after our match and said:"I've warned my players, they have to give more than 100%. Your boys are crazy (in a positive way). they never stop playing, they fight until the game is over. So if we are not giving it all in every second of the match, we will loose the game against you."
So in the end, we didn't get anything countable from this, but the team grew together even more, we got a boost in confidence, we had fun and when you ask one of them about this tournament, they will smile and tell all the little things that happened with joy and enthusiasm.
oh, and we got new friends, one of the teams really loved us and is now a follower of our little instagram account and the boys are following each other, especially the ones that played directly against each other.

fourth, my birthday.... I didn't manage to make the push-ups on my birthday, that I wanted to do, in fact, I took a full week of rest instead, which is sometimes necessary and I don't feel bad about it. But... in the end, my goals will be the same for this year so I will put them in every single thread I will post the next days, and how far I have come closer to the goals, just like achieving experience points in a role play game. (yeah, I played a lot of FF16 in the last days *cough*)

fifth... that's all for now... see you soon, have a great day

 

[MadamMeow]

Very glad to hear that you have been well and I like how driven your team is!

 

[lpf]

Chapter 3

At the beginning, there is always the idea of getting better in something or being able to perform certain things, like a handstand push-up
(*narrator: or bench press a car) or just being able to keep up with your own kids or with the ones you train.... keeping up sounds stupid...
(*narrator raises eyebrow) I mean, as a father and a coach the goal is not to be better than them but to make them better than you are.
So if I say keeping up, I mean, being a sort of role model, as I try to stay fit at my age and show them, how to get better than me,
like faster, stronger, achieve more endurance and always give your best.
This is something I always keep in mind for myself... and it is not really a measurable goal...
so knowing what I can do or could do sometime ago, I made some measurable goals for myself, which are
(*narrator: long story short....)
more than 50 push-ups in a row (I could do like 84 once...)
20 pull-ups in a row (13 is my actual max... and I never came closer to 20 so far, but why not try it...)
running 5k in less than 25 minutes... (more to 20 than to 25)... I was really close to this one once but sabotaged myself in a very stupid way...
(*narrator: oh... I know what he is doing, he is waiting that someone will ask how he sabotaged himself...)
there are also some other goals, which are a bit more long term and I don't think, I will be reaching them this year or coming close to reach them this year so...
these 3 will do it for the rest of this year....

Now this was all about myself nad nothing about working out.
I did a lot the last weeks and I also increased reps and weights in some of the exercises.
I will try to make some sort of analysis and come around with a lot of data the next time
and also reports about the workouts I did

so... have a great time... see you soon

 

[lpf]

Chapter 4

After a long time of not writing, it is hard to find the right words to begin the story, Do I need to tell everything that has happened since the last time in detail?
Do I have to keep things short? Who will read it anyway? Should I tell also all the sad stuff that happened and that hit me harder than expected?
Those questions run around my head and perhaps I should follow my instincts, follow my heart and tell the things I want to tell.
First of, I will start with the end, like what is going on in the moment, workout wise first:
As I started playing Rise of the Ronin, the idea of doing some katana workouts rose in me again,
so I rearranged my workout schedule a bit and switched some of the Saturdays to katana workouts. The rest is like it was before, in detail, more or less, it is this:
alternating from week to week:
push-abs/running-legs-abs/running-pull-katana-cycling;
upper-abs/running-lower-abs/running-full (HiiT or something likewise)-martial arts-cycling

So most of you might perhaps want to know, why I didn't wrote that much, well, there is no easy answer to this, mostly it was like I didn't feel like writing and telling things...
because
TRIGGER WARNING
(and now we go back in time and this will be really sad and some of you might be triggered with the upcoming topic, as it is about death and grieve, so you are warned if you continue reading)

...

Spoiler

o, the last time I wrote something, everything was okay, my team trained hard, we also had some tests going on, and we planned on how we will go on
and can be successful this season and reach our goals... and then there was this phone call... one father called me before training
(which was some sort of strange, as the boys are old enough to call me and speak for themselves)...
so (taking a deep breath) the father called me and told me that his son won't come to training today, as he had an accident and was brought to hospital.
He had an accident with his bike, he got hit by a car, that tired to overtake a truck. He was heavily injured and all we could do was hope for the best.
It was like 4 or 5 weeks after that accident, the boy died in hospital. His injuries were to heavy... So we stood there all shocked.
I was really overwhelmed, I mean, I traind these boys now for like 5 years or so, they are all in the age of my oldest son, as it is his team, it feels like they are my sons somehow.
So I was sad and grieving, but I also had to be there for them, for their feelings, if they needed someone to talk and so on. I wrote some words for us,
so that we had something to say during the funeral service. I mean, I never did something like that, speaking some words during a funeral, but I felt like I should do it.
It was by far the hardest thing to do, I was really happy, that we were two saying those words, so that we can help each other out,
when the voice cracks, you need to swallow or whatever....
There have always been some thoughts in my mind during the whole time:
the first one was, if there would be a chance to keep them from experiencing this, I would be happy...
I mean, don't get me wrong, people die and death is part of life, but being so young you always feel like you are invincible,
you will live forever and you will have all the time in the world, so experiencing the death of a friend is something you really don't want to happen
or even think about that this could happen.
the second one was: if I had known, that the day I talked with him about exercising and sore muscles would be the last day and this would be the last thing we talked about,
I really would have chosen something more deep to talk about....
and the third one, (this is the one that made me feel some sort of a bad person): I am happy everyone in my family is healthy and alive....

And regarding this topic, it wasn't something I wanted to talk about or even start a thread in here, even though I see you as friends of mine,
it didn't feel the right thing to do for a long time.

If there is anything positive about this, the boys got closer to each other, their bond is more intense and this is something you feel in training and see in the games.


so, back to today... V Taper is on the list for tonight....
and every push-pull-legs workout is really going fine so far, so this is what I will keep doing for the rest of this year or longer.

 

[NancyTree]

 

[lpf]

30 minutes to....
Nickels&Dimes on Level 3.... I really have no power to write more....
the last 5 sets weren't the best, but I kept up with the time, meaning, there was still at least a minute of rest in those 2 minutes....
having said that, that are 75 pull-ups and 150 push-ups...
I like these kind of straight forward and simple (in the rules and exercises) workouts

 

[lpf]

So, just a little update, event though the last entry happened already like 14 days ago....
I plan to do something for sicence and fun (aka weird lpf stuff) in January... for like 5 or 6 weeks,
I will just do 2 different workouts, alternating, every day, except on Sundays...
one of them will be Murph (you know, that crossfit thing... but without a vest)
and the other will be some sort of one punch man, with a little bit of adjustment by me, just because....

I really don't know, if this will be a good idea, but to be honest, I would not be happy with me not trying it.

 

[K e l l y]

 

[MissSmilla]

Hello there! Haven't been on here in a while, but I just started a new program and wanted to drop in and say hello to you my old darebee friend.
Good to hear you're still going strong with fun and science, and, I have no doubt, renegade rows.

 

[lpf]

Hello there! Haven't been on here in a while, but I just started a new program and wanted to drop in and say hello to you my old darebee friend.
Good to hear you're still going strong with fun and science, and, I have no doubt, renegade rows.

*hugs and cuddles*

 

[lpf]

*note to myself* doing pull day on Mondays, when you had done Cindy on Friday isn't the smartest idea to have....
(who ever said, you get wiser, when you get older was a big liar!)
nevertheless, my bicep and back is sore like hell, but I went through every exercise and made it with the same weight like ever and even increased the reps...
so pulling works really well at the moment...
today abs and hopefully some running...

 

[lpf]

just a little update, everything is working fine so far, more or less... I will move my plans for January to a later time of next year, just because I had some issues with my right arm on the inside of the elbow after Cindy and pull day... seems I first have to get used to do more pull-ups, chin-ups whatever-ups, before I try do to workouts every other day that include 100 of these....
but I won't be your favourite lpf, if I haven't thought about something different...
I think I will go for 30 days of farmers walks in January.... using my kettlebells, trying to aim for something around 1 mile (well, it's 1.5km around the field in front of my home)
splitting it in sets and rest I need to... trying to do less sets and rests every now and then... but keeping the weight the same throughout the challenge...
I really don't know, how this will work out

 

[MadamMeow]

Glat to hear things are mostly ok! Hoping your arm starts behaving again.

 

[lpf]

30 steps upstairs from the basement...
(*narrator: no, these are more like 15 steps... not 30..)
yeah, but they felt like 30...
(*narrator: what did I tell you about lying?)
it's not a lie, it's more like bending the truth to show my point of view in this moment
(*narrator: a lie)
can I just talk about what happened yesterday?
(*narrator: okay, go on.... tell them)
On Wednesday was Leg Day and I decided to do the Power Lifter Workout
(*narrator: as always)
not always, just every now and then, but it is a go to workout for leg days, so... may I continue
(*narrator waves hands: go on)
okay, Leg Day, Power Lifter Workout... I went for 60kg...
(*narrator: 132lbs roundabout)
...for all the excercises and that lead to 15 steps feeling like 30.... I mean... you know, you leg day was good, if your legs are wobbleing with every step
and you feel every muscle in your legs in the next day... especially my calves are sore like *use four letter word of your choice*

so, tonight a bit of abs, hopefully and that should be enough

 

[lpf]

Chapter 5

(*narrator: I don't think we are in chapter 5.... but I lost count somehow)
as the snow starts falling, everyone starts getting a bit crazy and wants to start a snowfight
So I ended up in a big snowfight event, dodged a large amount of snowballs due to some incredible moves
(*narrator: jumping jacks.... yeah, really cool move, the matrix dodge looks like nothing compared to those... *rolls eyes*)
yeah, okay, the snowfight event is ongoing and it is a lot of fun, to be honest, even thoguh my calves are still sore from Wednesday
and I really do not look forward to Saturday, when I have to play handball... I mean, I hope my legs in total will feel better and not sore
(*narrator: okay, I will ask... Why do you have to play handball?)
Oh, nice that you asked... we have a group of kids, teens, that are part of the management so to say and
they have planned a little tournament on Saturday and Sunday for the youth teams.
And as a highlight on Saturday, all the coaches, that volunteered, will play against the oldest team (the one, that I coach...).
So this will be a lot of fun hopefully for everyone.
perhaps someone will take pictures, so I will have to show you something funny...

okay, that was that... on Thursday was also abs day and I did, completely fitting to the actual season, abs on the beach workout.
but just a quick one on level one, as I had to dodge a lot of snowballs...

 

[lpf]

Some sort of bribery... So they will be nice while playing against me

 

[lpf]

On a Friday afternoon, it was time for me, to go to my basment home gym and to do some pulling exercises, as it was pull day.
I decided it was time for the V-Taper workout
(*narrator: decided like months ago, while creating the plans....)
Everything was fine and worked really good
(*narrator: the pull-ups could have been a bit better though...)
This was enough for Friday, regarding the fact, that there was the handball game on Saturday

Saturday...
we were like 12 coaches, that wanted to play and my U19, or A youth as it is called in Germany, were 15, with one of them not playing,
as his fingers are injured,
so it was his part to play the coach.
okay, I don't know, if you can understand this, but during the warm-up, both teams run on their sides and meet always in the middle.
And, it was quiet impressive to see them running up to us and meet us in the middle and I thought,
that the fact, I never played handball before in my youth or nowadays
led to feel this way, until one of the other coaches (that had played handball before) mentioned the same.
Instead of 2 halfs of 30 minutes, we played 3 thirds of 20 minutes, to get a bit more rest for us oldies.
The game was not about to win for any of us, it was about having fun but you still try to give your best and try to score...
My goalkeepers (the ones I coach) made some trash talk and said:"you will not score one goal playing against us"
I made exactly two goals, one goal with each goalie playing. I also played like 45 to 50 minutes, which is quiet a long time
but I didn't feel it during the game, I felt fresh and wanted to play...
After 40 minutes, the coaches were one goal in front, after 60 minutes, the coaches lost the game, with 41 (or 42) to 37.
so, during the game, everything was fine, the first 10 to 15 minutes after the game also, but then, I was really tired and worn out.
I needed like another 20 to 30 minutes, before I felt fit enough to go showering.
So Saturday evening was only about to relax after the game...

Sunday on the other hand, I didn't feel any pain, I wasn't sore, I felt fit and today is the same.
This is pretty awesome, I think...

(*narrator: nothing to add this time)

 

[Mamatigerj]

That sounds like a really fun game! You guys did pretty well against those youngsters!

 

[lpf]

merry christmas everybody!

 

[Mamatigerj]

I hope you had a very merry Christmas!

 

[lpf]

Chapter 6

sometimes there are things, that need to be written down, to make them more visible, to keep them in mind and to see a bit clearer...
(*narrator: wow, that's an impressive sentence to begin a chapter... I am really curious what's coming next)
I needed to change my plan a bit. Actually I do one Push-Pull-Legs week followed by a more circuit based week of upper and lower body workouts
As the Push-Pull-Legs strength things are really going well, I decided to plan the next 16 weeks (oh yeah... long time for a plan) the following way:
3 weeks of push-pull-legs followed by one week of full body workouts that are more likely to be circuit based or EMOM or AMRAP style (so a bit of crossfit influenced)
I started with this schedule on Monday with legs... I had to rearrange the workouts, to fit my schedule of handball training, so it is legs-push-pull
(*narrator: except that push and pull alternate each week and on Fridays the strength workouts are not part of the push-pull-legs workouts but pure push or pull workouts)
That's about my personal training stuff.

For my handball kids...
(*narrator: don't let them hear this, as they are at least 16)
for my handball kids, I had an idea going on in my head for some weeks. Do you know what a Hyrox is?
Well... I don't plan to do exactly a Hyrox, but I like the idea... meaning do running and strength alternating in one workout.
So I have in mind to break it down to the needs of my handball teams. Yeah, you've read right... when the new season starts, I will be training 2 teams...
the one of my younger son, which is around 15-16 years old and I was asked, if I would like to help with the second adult team,
as this will be the one, where all the 18-19 years old boys of my actual team, the one of my older son, will be playing. So those guys all know me already...
Okay, I've lost track...
(*narrator: hyrox, break it down for the needs of the handball teams)
oh, right... yeah, so the idea is, that there will be basic strength exercises, some exra plyo movements and moobility movements,
always followed by handball specific running exercises, like short sprints, sprints with changing the directions, running backwards and so on...
this is something you could also adjust to the specific positions in play and so on....
I will keep you updated about this

that's all for today....
I hope my next entry will be sooner...