After working so hard to release a new software product before Christmas, I took advantage of the holiday and the weekend to just stay away from my computer for four days. I will admit I took a few looks at e-mail on my iPhone, but I wanted a break from the laptop that seems to be permanently affixed to my hands.
We released the software on Tuesday. By Wednesday, things seemed pretty stable, and I left work for the four day weekend in a good mood. Wednesday night, I went to a holiday party with some friends. On Thursday, I did a little bit of final shopping for Christmas. And, I practiced guitar for 90 minutes. Then, we went out for a nice Christmas Eve dinner - just my wife and the kids. It was very enjoyable.
Christmas Day was somewhat low key. My daughter had gotten most of her presents early, primarily a fancy new cell phone, and my son either got clothes (T-shirts and hoodies advertising his favorite bands) or video game stuff. I got a big gift certificate to buy some new cookware and another gift certificate for a local gourmet shop. My wife got a book, a new winter coat, some amethyst earrings, and some other clothes. We visited family for the day, but I needed to get home and to bed at a reasonable time because I was teaching skiing all weekend.
Saturday, the mountain wasn't very crowded, but six of the girls in my group showed up and we had a good skiing day. But, the weather turned on us and it poured rain most of Saturday night. Sunday's skiing was pretty marginal - only groomed terrain was really any fun and it rained all morning. By lunchtime, everybody was soaked, so I took the girls to the mountain's health club, where they split time between the pool and the climbing wall.
Today, it's back to work to me, but the lack of e-mails and low volume of posts on Facebook makes me think that I'm the only person at work today. If the system is still looking stable over the next day or so, I'll probably take Wednesday-Friday off from my "real" job to teach skiing for a few extra days. It's snowing today and we are expecting a big storm later in the week. By Friday, skiing conditions may be very nice.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
5-4-3-2-1
Last night's workout was pretty simple. Three lifts - squats, bench presses, and then deadlifts. I did 5 sets of each lift with 3 minutes rest between sets. My rep counts for the five sets were 5-4-3-2-1. And, in every set, I increased the weight from the previous set.
My legs were a bit tired from skiing over the weekend, and I could feel it, especially on squats. I did a 285 pound squat last week, but last night I started at 225 and finished at 265.
For bench presses, I started at 135 and finished at 155. I don't know if I'll ever be any good at bench presses in comparison to the leg-dominant lifts.
For deadlifts, I started at 275 and finished at 315. After doing a 355 pound deadlift a couple weeks ago, only getting to 315 seemed kind of weak, but it was at the end of a tough workout. I was surprised that my grip seemed to be a limiting factor last night. I may have to resume doing farmer's walks to work on my grip strength for deads.
I'm hoping to get in some kind of workout over the next two days, but I have some last minute stuff to do for Christmas, so I'll have to see how it goes. Plus, my company released a new software product today, so I've got to monitor our systems pretty carefully for the next few days. I worked until midnight after lifting yesterday, making sure that the product was really ready for release today.
I'm certainly looking forward to taking some time off work later this week and again next week, after working hard on this new product for the past few months. I'm planning to ski on Thursday with my daughter, and then get in some more skiing days next week. Plus, I need to do some running.
My legs were a bit tired from skiing over the weekend, and I could feel it, especially on squats. I did a 285 pound squat last week, but last night I started at 225 and finished at 265.
For bench presses, I started at 135 and finished at 155. I don't know if I'll ever be any good at bench presses in comparison to the leg-dominant lifts.
For deadlifts, I started at 275 and finished at 315. After doing a 355 pound deadlift a couple weeks ago, only getting to 315 seemed kind of weak, but it was at the end of a tough workout. I was surprised that my grip seemed to be a limiting factor last night. I may have to resume doing farmer's walks to work on my grip strength for deads.
I'm hoping to get in some kind of workout over the next two days, but I have some last minute stuff to do for Christmas, so I'll have to see how it goes. Plus, my company released a new software product today, so I've got to monitor our systems pretty carefully for the next few days. I worked until midnight after lifting yesterday, making sure that the product was really ready for release today.
I'm certainly looking forward to taking some time off work later this week and again next week, after working hard on this new product for the past few months. I'm planning to ski on Thursday with my daughter, and then get in some more skiing days next week. Plus, I need to do some running.
Monday, December 21, 2009
It's a good tired
Two days of skiing have left me feeling a bit beat up again. I just don't have my ski legs back yet and we skied some tougher terrain this weekend. It's impossible to describe how much I love this job. There are parts of it that are frustrating - mostly little things, things related to the constant change in management at the resort, small rule changes (they doubled the price of an employee cup of coffee this year), etc. But, it's really pretty simple. Between 9:00 and 9:15, girls start showing up with their parents. I have the only single-sex group - 10 girls including my own daughter.
At 9:30, we head for a chair lift - no parents, no bosses, and I essentially revert to being a 10 year old for the day. Yes, I am a very responsible 10 year old, but I feel like a kid when I hang out with these girls all day. I sing silly songs on the chairlift, primarily to embarrass the girls. We joke with each other. They call me the "fat kid" in the group - really referring to me being adult-sized rather than truly fat. Yesterday, they decided they needed a female coach, so I needed a new name. They started with Dana and then realized that could be a guy's name. So, I became Delilah for the day. I told them that I loved being Delilah, because Delilah conquered the world's strongest man with nothing but a pair of scissors.
We ski a run to warm up. Then, I teach a skill. We practice that skill explicitly for one run. Then, we use a second run to blend the skill into our skiing. And then, one or two more runs and it's lunch-time.
After lunch, we head to harder terrain. I want to spend part of every day taking the kids outside of their comfort zone. That's where they learn the fastest. But, too much time out of their comfort zone, and the risk of fatigue and injuries increases. So, after one or two tough runs, I start dialing it back. I'm constantly reinforcing the morning lesson, but I do it by either telling the entire group when someone does it right, or whispering recommendations in an ear when someone doesn't quite have it. By the end of the day, we are all tired. Six hours together is a great length for our daily play date.
I take the children back to their parents. I suddenly have to revert to being an adult again. I tell the parents what we worked on and where we skied. If the parents are going to ski with the kids before I see them again, I give the parents a few pointers to reinforce my teaching. Frequently, the parents are impressed enough that they say they are going to take a lesson with me. Sometimes it actually happens, but most of my teaching time is devoted to my little group of best friends.
The days seem to go by so fast and two weekends are gone already. But, it's early in the season and I have 28 more days to ski with my littlest best friends.
It's really an amazing way to spend my winters.
At 9:30, we head for a chair lift - no parents, no bosses, and I essentially revert to being a 10 year old for the day. Yes, I am a very responsible 10 year old, but I feel like a kid when I hang out with these girls all day. I sing silly songs on the chairlift, primarily to embarrass the girls. We joke with each other. They call me the "fat kid" in the group - really referring to me being adult-sized rather than truly fat. Yesterday, they decided they needed a female coach, so I needed a new name. They started with Dana and then realized that could be a guy's name. So, I became Delilah for the day. I told them that I loved being Delilah, because Delilah conquered the world's strongest man with nothing but a pair of scissors.
We ski a run to warm up. Then, I teach a skill. We practice that skill explicitly for one run. Then, we use a second run to blend the skill into our skiing. And then, one or two more runs and it's lunch-time.
After lunch, we head to harder terrain. I want to spend part of every day taking the kids outside of their comfort zone. That's where they learn the fastest. But, too much time out of their comfort zone, and the risk of fatigue and injuries increases. So, after one or two tough runs, I start dialing it back. I'm constantly reinforcing the morning lesson, but I do it by either telling the entire group when someone does it right, or whispering recommendations in an ear when someone doesn't quite have it. By the end of the day, we are all tired. Six hours together is a great length for our daily play date.
I take the children back to their parents. I suddenly have to revert to being an adult again. I tell the parents what we worked on and where we skied. If the parents are going to ski with the kids before I see them again, I give the parents a few pointers to reinforce my teaching. Frequently, the parents are impressed enough that they say they are going to take a lesson with me. Sometimes it actually happens, but most of my teaching time is devoted to my little group of best friends.
The days seem to go by so fast and two weekends are gone already. But, it's early in the season and I have 28 more days to ski with my littlest best friends.
It's really an amazing way to spend my winters.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Good day for a rest day (yesterday)
I am ridiculously sore today from Wednesday's squat workout. Resting yesterday was a good idea. Resting again today might not be a bad idea, but I'll probably do a short run to try to loosen up the legs before skiing this weekend.
The highlight of yesterday was a tasting of some amazing beers at an amazing pub in Montpelier - Three Penny Taproom.
The planned highlight of the evening was a beer called Life and Limb - a collaboration between Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada. Three Penny got 5 gallons of this beer - enough for eighty 8 oz. pours. A friend and I arranged for my wife to pick us up, so we wouldn't drive after tasting some high alcohol beers. The taproom has 22 lines and there were so many amazing beers to try last night.
Before the Life and Limb got tapped, I had Allagash Four from cask, Allagash Odyssey, and Southern Tier Cherry Saison - all very good. Then, at 6:20, the Life and Limb started flowing and every person in the room was smiling as they sipped that amazing beer. I figured the keg would be gone in about 15 minutes, but it actually made it for an hour, allowing some of us to get more than one taste of the beer. I would rate it as one of the ten best beers I've ever had. It's too bad that the production is so small. Many lovers of good beer may never get a chance to taste this beer.
Tonight is Christmas tree decoration night. And, I have to do a little gift shopping after work. Hopefully, I'll have time to squeeze in a run.
Then, the weekend will be all about skiing. I'll have fewer children skiing with me this weekend than I had last weekend. Many of the families that live outside of Vermont spend the weekend before Christmas getting ready for the holidays. So, it's typically a slow weekend. Sugarbush has more trails open than any other east coast resort and the skiing should be fun this weekend, despite some very cold temperatures.
The highlight of yesterday was a tasting of some amazing beers at an amazing pub in Montpelier - Three Penny Taproom.
The planned highlight of the evening was a beer called Life and Limb - a collaboration between Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada. Three Penny got 5 gallons of this beer - enough for eighty 8 oz. pours. A friend and I arranged for my wife to pick us up, so we wouldn't drive after tasting some high alcohol beers. The taproom has 22 lines and there were so many amazing beers to try last night.
Before the Life and Limb got tapped, I had Allagash Four from cask, Allagash Odyssey, and Southern Tier Cherry Saison - all very good. Then, at 6:20, the Life and Limb started flowing and every person in the room was smiling as they sipped that amazing beer. I figured the keg would be gone in about 15 minutes, but it actually made it for an hour, allowing some of us to get more than one taste of the beer. I would rate it as one of the ten best beers I've ever had. It's too bad that the production is so small. Many lovers of good beer may never get a chance to taste this beer.
Tonight is Christmas tree decoration night. And, I have to do a little gift shopping after work. Hopefully, I'll have time to squeeze in a run.
Then, the weekend will be all about skiing. I'll have fewer children skiing with me this weekend than I had last weekend. Many of the families that live outside of Vermont spend the weekend before Christmas getting ready for the holidays. So, it's typically a slow weekend. Sugarbush has more trails open than any other east coast resort and the skiing should be fun this weekend, despite some very cold temperatures.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Squat PR
After not completing my bench press at 175 pounds on Tuesday, I returned to the gym with squats and vengeance on my mind last night. I set a new PR last time I did squats by doing 275 pounds. This time, I intended to go beyond that number if possible.
After my warm-ups, here were my sets:
6 x 225
1 x 265
6 x 225 (wanted to not do too much before the next set)
1 x 275 (felt easier than last time)
At this point, I was supposed to do two lower weight, higher rep sets, but I wanted to go beyond 275. So, I added 10 pounds and gave it a whirl. My depth might not have been ideal, but I completed the rep.
So, I finished with the following:
1 x 285
10 x 205
18 x 155
Then, some Bulgarian Split Squats, some step-ups, and some core work.
My hamstring was not happy with the heavy squats. Sometime in the past few days, I irritated the hamstring muscle in my injured leg. Last night's lifting bothered both the muscle and the tendon attachment point. So, today will be a rest day.
Hopefully, my leg will feel better for some hard running tomorrow before I spend the weekend on snow.
After my warm-ups, here were my sets:
6 x 225
1 x 265
6 x 225 (wanted to not do too much before the next set)
1 x 275 (felt easier than last time)
At this point, I was supposed to do two lower weight, higher rep sets, but I wanted to go beyond 275. So, I added 10 pounds and gave it a whirl. My depth might not have been ideal, but I completed the rep.
So, I finished with the following:
1 x 285
10 x 205
18 x 155
Then, some Bulgarian Split Squats, some step-ups, and some core work.
My hamstring was not happy with the heavy squats. Sometime in the past few days, I irritated the hamstring muscle in my injured leg. Last night's lifting bothered both the muscle and the tendon attachment point. So, today will be a rest day.
Hopefully, my leg will feel better for some hard running tomorrow before I spend the weekend on snow.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
After four days of leg work...
Last night was an upper body workout in the gym.
The main event was an attempt at a new bench press PR. Last winter, my best was 165 (yes, that's pathetic, but I'm mostly a runner and skier with no upper body strength), and this winter I've done 170. I did a single rep at 165 last night that felt almost easy, so I decided to try for 175. I pulled the bar down and headed back up. And then, it just stopped moving. If I'd made it one more inch, I would have finished the rep. But, after what seemed like a minute (maybe 5 or 6 seconds), I asked my spotter for help. I'll get it next week.
My bench press sets were as follows:
Warm-up
6 x 145
1 x 155
6 x 145
1 x 165
1 x 175 (failed)
10 x 125
18 x 105
I mixed in bent-over barbell rows between the bench press sets. After that, lat pulldowns, dumbbell shoulder presses, windshield wipers, incline reverse crunches, and dips. After skiing three straight days, doing my first run in a couple weeks, and then hitting my upper body last night, I'm pretty much tired everywhere today.
Tonight is squat night at the gym. If my legs are feeling strong, I'll try shoot for a lift of 280 or higher, which would be a new PR.
I made minor progress towards Christmas last night. I bought our tree. We'll decorate it Friday night. I wanted to buy it yesterday before our weather put us into a deep freeze, which would have all the trees stored outside frozen solid.
Luckily, there's still plenty of time until Christmas, right? Nine days? Plenty of time.
The main event was an attempt at a new bench press PR. Last winter, my best was 165 (yes, that's pathetic, but I'm mostly a runner and skier with no upper body strength), and this winter I've done 170. I did a single rep at 165 last night that felt almost easy, so I decided to try for 175. I pulled the bar down and headed back up. And then, it just stopped moving. If I'd made it one more inch, I would have finished the rep. But, after what seemed like a minute (maybe 5 or 6 seconds), I asked my spotter for help. I'll get it next week.
My bench press sets were as follows:
Warm-up
6 x 145
1 x 155
6 x 145
1 x 165
1 x 175 (failed)
10 x 125
18 x 105
I mixed in bent-over barbell rows between the bench press sets. After that, lat pulldowns, dumbbell shoulder presses, windshield wipers, incline reverse crunches, and dips. After skiing three straight days, doing my first run in a couple weeks, and then hitting my upper body last night, I'm pretty much tired everywhere today.
Tonight is squat night at the gym. If my legs are feeling strong, I'll try shoot for a lift of 280 or higher, which would be a new PR.
I made minor progress towards Christmas last night. I bought our tree. We'll decorate it Friday night. I wanted to buy it yesterday before our weather put us into a deep freeze, which would have all the trees stored outside frozen solid.
Luckily, there's still plenty of time until Christmas, right? Nine days? Plenty of time.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Running? Oh yeah, I remember now.
My lungs are finally clear from the cold that has been dogging me for 2+ weeks. OK, maybe not 100% clear, but almost there. Last night, I did my first run since Thanksgiving Day. Regretfully, it was on a treadmill, but it was nice to be running again. I listened to tunes and just cruised my way through an easy 5 miler.
After skiing the 3 previous days, I wasn't sure how my legs were going to feel, but I felt pretty good overall. And, it was nice to just do some running again.
Between now and Christmas, like most people, I'm going to be really busy. Not only are the holidays coming up, but my company is also doing a major software release next week. My weekends are busy with teaching skiing. I still don't have a Christmas tree. And, I still have some Christmas shopping to do.
But, last night reminded me that, even on a treadmill, I still enjoy running. So, I need to make sure I find some time over the next few weeks to get back to running more regularly.
And, I somehow need to find the time to keep up with my guitar practice as well. I'm working on learning the Allman Brothers' "Melissa" and Pink Floyd's "Breathe". Both are much easier than the Dead tune "Around and Around", which has been frustrating me quite a bit recently.
Tonight, after 4 straight days of leg work, I'm going to do some upper body lifting. I'm also going to buy a Christmas tree tonight.
After skiing the 3 previous days, I wasn't sure how my legs were going to feel, but I felt pretty good overall. And, it was nice to just do some running again.
Between now and Christmas, like most people, I'm going to be really busy. Not only are the holidays coming up, but my company is also doing a major software release next week. My weekends are busy with teaching skiing. I still don't have a Christmas tree. And, I still have some Christmas shopping to do.
But, last night reminded me that, even on a treadmill, I still enjoy running. So, I need to make sure I find some time over the next few weeks to get back to running more regularly.
And, I somehow need to find the time to keep up with my guitar practice as well. I'm working on learning the Allman Brothers' "Melissa" and Pink Floyd's "Breathe". Both are much easier than the Dead tune "Around and Around", which has been frustrating me quite a bit recently.
Tonight, after 4 straight days of leg work, I'm going to do some upper body lifting. I'm also going to buy a Christmas tree tonight.
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