Beards, Barbells, and Beer

Sun Jan 13, 2019

Hockey

We were playing the first place team and it was a close team. We controlled the first period and built up a 4-2 lead but started to lag in the second period. Our opponents didn't have any ringers but were solid and kept up a good pace. We eventually tired and they came back, tying it 4-4 by the end of the second period.

The third period was close but they scored a powerplay goal to make it 5-4 and then added an empty net goal to win 6-4.

I had an okay game. I was finally back playing center and while I had a few decent chances I didn't score. I was also tiring out in the third which was frustrating but overall the game was still fun. It was competitive without getting dirty.

Tues Jan 15, 2019

Conditioning

Did a 5 minute warm-up and then jogged 5k in 33:15. Average HR was 133. I had to keep slowing down to keep my HR under 140. Definitely a bit slower than I was in the Fall. However this is still 4 minutes faster than I was at the start of 2018. Back then i dropped 5 minutes off of my 5k time between Jan and June so if I can drop 4-5 minutes again this year I'll be under 30 minutes easily by the Spartan Sprint

- facepulls: 3x15, with 15 lb

Thurs Jan 17, 2019

Walked/jogged for 5 minutes and then did 25 minutes of intervals. 40 seconds on (8.7 mph), 80 seconds off (3.0 mph). Tried a more intense run with a longer walk today. I accidentally left my Fitbit running for an hour after the gym so I'm sure of my exact HR. Average was around 135, peak about 155. I could definitely go a bit faster for the running part, it's just a matter of getting used to running faster on the treadmill.

Chins: Did a pyramid up and down from 1->4->1 etc totaling 35 reps.

I'm doing some reorganizing in my basement so I'm hoping to make a small space to do dumbbell workouts so I can fit in some upper body work and stick to treadmill, squats/deads, and chins at the actual gym.
 
Ended up working from home on Friday because my son was dying to go outside and my wife wasn't feeling well. This weekend was brutally cold (high of -11 on Saturday with lots of snow and -15 on Sunday) so I didn't want him to have to be inside for so many days. So we went outside and played in the snow for a bit and I did maybe 3-4 hours of work after. So yeah no gym on Friday.

Sun Jan 20, 2019

Hockey
Our goalie hurt his leg playing a floor hockey tournament on Saturday so we had do rent-a-goalie. It turns out our opponents did as well so the game a story of two goalies who were both a lot better than both of our teams. We started the game pretty flat (I was simply freezing to start the game) and our goalie kept us in the game, with the first period ending with us down only 2-1. As the game went on we got things going and started to get our chances and the opposing goalie held the other team in, keeping the score 2-1. With about 5 minutes left in the game my line was battling for the puck in the opponents end, getting a bunch of chances but not scoring until eventually I grabbed a loose puck behind the net and one of their d-men fell into the goalie so I was able to squeeze a wrap-around into the net before the goalie could recover to tie it 2-2 and thats how the game ended.
 
Mon Jan 21, 2019

treadmill, dynamic stretching

- Squats
45x8
75x5
95x5
115x5
135x5
145x5
145x5
145x5

- Strict OHP
25x8
35x8
45x8
50x8
50x8
50x8

- Chins: 1/2/3/4/4/4/4/4/3/3/3/3 (38 total)

The gym was so cold today I barely broke a sweat and my hands were cold from the bar during squats!
 
Sun Feb 3, 2019

Hockey

Back on the ice after missing a week. I also didn't make it to the gym all last week so my entire body felt slow. It took about half the game to not feel slow but eventually got going, though my cardio was lagging in the third period. It was a pretty rough game as our opponents were a very aggressive team. That said we controlled more of the play and won 7-4. I had a goal and an assist. Only a few games left and then it's the playoffs. The season feels like it's gone so quickly.

Mon Feb 4, 2019

Conditioning
5 minutes walking then 15 minutes jogging on the treadmill, 15 minutes on the elliptical. Average HR was 129. Just getting some work in since I've missed so much gym time lately.
 
Sun Feb 10, 2019

Hockey
Had a good game, was all over the ice and my line had a bunch of chances but only ended up with 1 goal and 1 assist. We won 5-3. It was a rough, slower paced game which worked to my strengths because I'm usually one of the bigger guys on the ice but I'm not slow. That said, I'm definitely slower than I used to be. The lack of strength training is having a bit of an impact.

Since then.... no activity. Life has been crazy busy because my wife is pregnant... with TWINS! So lots of appointments for that. Plus there has been a lot of bad weather lately so I've been working from home and thus can't go to the work gym.
 
Wed Feb 20, 2019

20 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill, up to 7 degree incline @ 4.1 mph. My left knee has been a bit sore ever since I shovelled a tonne of snow last week so I decided walking was better than jogging. Plus the Spartan Sprint is at a ski slope so it will involve a lot of incline walking (I would say jogging but who is kidding... I'll be walking after the first incline).

- Chins: 1/2/9 sets of 3. (30 total)
- Push-ups: 10 sets of 5 (50 total)

So apparently when you don't do chins for a month you get a bit weaker. How about that...
 
Sun Feb 24, 2019

Hockey

Last game of the regular season and half of our team didn't show up so we played with 7 skaters. And we were playing the first place team of course! They don't have any ringers but are solid across all their lines. We kept up in the first period and were only down 2-0 but as we tired out in the second period they built up a 5-0 lead. In the third period they added a few more to win 7-0.

Despite getting blown out it wasn't as bad as it could have been. We had some chances but couldn't get anything passed their goalie and they were never totally skating circles around us. We will play them in the round robin of the playoffs so hopefully we'll have a full team and make a real game of it.
 
Thurs Feb 28, 2019

Ughh another week where I barely got to the gym. My weight is actually up a bit this year, sitting around 197-198 right now. It's pretty tough to lose weight when your wife is pregnant and gets all sorts of cravings! Anyway, today's gym stuff:

- 20 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill. Slowly increase the incline to about 7 and then cranked it up to 15 (the highest it goes) for a few 2 minute intervals. Good burn in the hamstrings.

- Chin medley: 6 minutes of chins, static holds, switching grips, kipping etc.

Had to get back for a meeting otherwise I would have done 30 minutes on the treadmill and more chins. On the plus side my basement is slowly getting organized so I have a tiny bit of room to use my powerblocks. My hope is that I can do some work with them at home and devote my gym time to the treadmill and chins.

Spartan Race is in about 3.5 months so I still have time to get in better shape. It's also a matter of getting runs in for the mental aspect.
 
Fri March 1, 2019

Conditioning

Did a 5 minute warm-up and then ran 5k in 33:34. Average HR 136, peak 158. My legs were getting tired, presumably from the incline walking yesterday. Not a bad time though. I'm hoping I can get it down close to 30 by June.
 
I had another cold and a bad sore throat last week so I took a couple sick days and then worked from home on Friday since we were heading up north and wanted to get way early. So the cold explained why the run on March 1 felt like shit but sadly it meant another week with no training.

Sun March 3, 2019

Hockey

Felt like shit but drank some coffee, took some Advil, and went to hockey. It was a rough, close game. In the first period I blocked a shot with my arm (where there is no padding of course) and managed to knock the puck up the ice to my winger who got a breakaway and scored to make it 1-0. We had a bunch more changes but couldn't get a second goal despite controlling most of the play in the first period.

In the second we slowed and our opponent started to get back into the game. It didn't help that the refs went a bit crazy with the penalties so we had a bunch of time on the PK. Eventually our opponents took advantage of that and scored to make it 1-1.

In the third period the game got pretty chippy. Eventually penalties were our downfall as our opponents scored another powerplay goal with a few minutes left. We pulled our goalie but our opponents scored into the empty net and won 3-1.

Considering how shitty I felt, I had a pretty good game and my line had a bunch of chances. By the third period I was pretty tired and once we went down 2-1 I didn't have much energy left to make a final push.

Mon March 11, 2019

Conditioning
5 minute warm-up then ran 5k in 33:02. Average HR was 137 BPM. Definitely still feeling the effects of being sick but I'm on the up-swing.

Chins: 1/2/9 sets of 3 (30 total). These felt good.

I've also been a lot of DB shoulder press in my basement and either curls or light rows. I've just been using 15 lb but I figure it's better than nothing. Once my basement is more organized I'm hoping to make it more regular.
 
My son has been sick for a few days so I've been home with him. Made it back to work and to the gym today. Luckily it is March break so the office is pretty quiet.

Fri March 15, 2019

Treadmill

35 minutes of incline walking. Ramped up to 5 degrees over 5 minutes and then alternated between 5 and 10 degrees. Did 12,13, 15 degrees toward the end. Walking at 3.9mph. My fitbit didn't want to take a proper heart rate but the hand monitors on the treadmill put me around 135-140 most of the time.

Chins: 10 minute chin-up medley. Did lots of static holds and grip changes. Finished with a 30 second dead hang.

DB Press
10x10
15x10
20x10
25x10
25x10
25x10
 
Sun March 17, 2019

Hockey

Second round robin game. Both teams lost their first game so whoever won got through to the semi-finals. Every game against this team has been close and chippy (except for one game where he only had 7 skaters) and this game was no different. Both teams came out strong but we scored early to make it 1-0. Later in the first period our defense had a bad shift, giving the puck away twice which lead to goals both times.

In the second things got chippy and the refs started only calling penalties on our team. Eventually one of their guys tripped one of our defensemen and took off with the puck, putting a low shot passed our goalie to make it 3-1. We kept pressing and late in the period I intercepted a pass in the offensive zone, went around their defenseman, cut hard to the net and tucked the puck passed the goalie to make it 3-2.

The third period was even more chippy as our opponents started to play the body even more. They got one single penalty for blatantly running one of our guys over but got away with a ridiculous amount of hooking, holding, slashing, and body contact. We continued to take ridiculous penalties but killed them all off. We couldn't get the tying goal (hard to score when guys are bear-hugging you and your stick) so we lost 3-2.

That's the end of the season. Overall I had a pretty good season. I definitely slowed down a bit after Xmas as the run of being sick and missing the gym caught up with me but I still had about a point per game. This was my last game with the team for a while. I only took 4 months off when my son was born but adding twins to the mix will be a handful. I'm hoping I can play again in Fall 2020 (which sounds futuristic but is actually only next year!).

Next up is the Spartan Sprint in June. As of last Friday it was exactly 3 months away. I'm definitely not in as good shape as last year but last year I got in the bulk of my training in Jan-March and then basically maintained until June. I'm hoping that won't be the case this year so I can improve over the next couple months.
 
Mon March 18, 2019

5 minute warm-up on the treadmill, dynamic stretching

- Chins: 1/1/2/4/4/4/4/4/3/3/2/3 (35 total)

- Dips: 1/2/ 9 sets of 3 (30 total)

Haven't done dips in a while but they felt good. Finished with 10 minutes of treadmill walking just to get some steps in.
 
Wed March 20, 2019

Conditioning

5 minutes warm-up on the treadmill then ran 5k in 32:54. Average HR 134.

Chin medley: 8 minutes

Weight is around 199-202 these days so I realllllllly need to smarten up and stop eating crap. It's hard with a pregnany wife who gets all sorts of cravings but it will be much better running the Spartan closer to 190 than 200.
 
Fri March 22, 2019

Treadmill: 35 minutes of incline walking. Average HR 125.

Dips: 1/2/3/9 sets of 4 (42 total)

- One arm machine rows
75x5
90x5
90x5
90x5

- Two arm machine rows
90x10
90x10
90x10
 
Back on March 22 after dinner my son got really sick, barfing multiple times, mostly on me :) It turns out another kid at daycare had been sick and passed it along. Fun times. On Sunday I started getting sick and then overnight my wife was sick multiple times. By Monday night we were all basically back to normal but it was a brutal 72 hours. That said, it helped to kickstart my keto-ish diet as I had no appetite until Friday. My weight quickly dropped back down to 195 and I the junk food cravings have subsided. Previously I found I needed about a week of clean eating to stop the cravings and this basically forced me to do that. Heck on a couple days I barely ate.

I was at a conference for two days and a training for two days so didn't get to the gym at all, not that I had much energy. On the plus side this week I almost feel at 100% for the first time in months. My son is also better, no cough for runny nose for the first time since November. My entire family started taking probiotics so I'm not sure if that is helping. It's been about 10 days so its too early. The real test will be how lunch before we get sick again.

Okay gym stuff.

Tues April 2, 2019

Conditioning
Treadmiill: 5 minute warm-up then ran 5k in 33:35. Average HR was 136. Definitely need to get in at least two cardio sessions/week for the next couple months. Not just for the physical improvements but also to get the mental aspect and pacing back.

Chins: 8 minute chin medley.

Wed April 3, 2019

Warmed up on the C2 plus dynamic stretching

- Deadlifts
45x10
135x5
135x5
165x3
195x3
225x3 (x 6 sets)

Alternated mixed and DOH grips. Reps felt moderately difficult. No chance of failing but damn have I lost a lot of strenth since my peak 4-5 years ago. There was a day where 315x3 would have been my "getting back into it". Anyways, I want to at least do a little bit of lower body strength work since the Spartan Race does have some strength components like sand bag and rock barrel carries. I think the heaviest object is a 125 lb Atlas stone which I doubt will be an issue. If anything I just want to use my muscles before then lol

had to make it a short one today. Tomorrow I'll do upper body and then Friday another 5k
 
A bunch of stuff came up at work yesterday so I didn't make it to the gym. It was probably for the best since my body was sore and a day off did me good.

Friday April 5, 2019

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Chins: (1/1/2) /4/4/4/4/3/3/3/3/3 (35 total)

- Dips: (/1/2/2) /5/5/5/5/4/4/4/3/3 (43 total)

- Treadmill: 20 minutes of incline walking. Did intervals between 7 degrees and 12-15 degrees. Climbed about 400 feet (according to the treadmill) and then checked Google to discover that the ski resort that Spartan race is at is between 230-300 METERS elevation which is 750-900 feet so I didn't even climb it once. Stil this is good training to get used to the slow, hard, climbs up the hills.
 
Mon April 8, 2019

Conditioning

5 minute warm-up on the treadmill then ran 5k in 33:05.

Chin medley for 10 minutes. Did a bunch of grip changes with kipping and I'm starting to feel that rhythm again of getting the hip drive. I can't practice the rope climb so for last year's Spartan Sprint I just muscled my way with a bit of kipping at the top of the rope.
 
Thurs April 11, 2019

C2 rower, dynamic stretching

- Chins: (1/2/2) / 6 sets of 4 / 3 sets of 3 (37 total)

- Dips: (1/2/2) / 5 sets of 5 / 2 sets of 4 / 2 sets of 3 (44 total)

- Farmer's walk (did the length of the gym and back, about 60 strides)
20 lb
50
60
60
60

Then did 3 trips with a DB on my shoulder: 60 (right), 75 (right), 75 (left). Felt good. Nice to move around some weight.
 
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Mon April 15, 2019

30 minutes of interal incline walking on the treadmill. I must have misread the treadmill elevation measurement last time and it was actually in meters not feet. So I climbed the ski hill a little over once, lol. Today I did about 300m so that's one trip up. I don't think this is really equivalent to the actual ski hill because a trip up the hill took roughly 5 minutes more or less. Regardless it's giving my legs and cardio a good workout.
 
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