To Creatine or not to Creatine...

DISCLAIMER: A heuristical analysis comparing 2 very similar Arms Day session with the latter after a dose of creatine an hour before commencing. Lacking in any kind of big data and good sampling size. Reps and total weight moved increased on 30 Sep 2023 over 02 Sep 2023. A positive correlation to usage of creatine. However fatigue level accumulation of last few days before each of these cannot be objectively factored. Recovery from strain injuries leading to possibly better performance on 30 Sep cannot be quantified. No specific conclusions can be drawn at this point.

02 Sep - No creatine.  30 Sep - ~3.5gram of creatine 1 hour before workout. Workout session ~similar on both days (11:30am - 1:45pm). Fonts in red yesterday indicate working to FAILURE either in reps and or weight used (similar indication not available for 02 Sep log)

 

Tried to replicate 02 Sep routine yesterday but walking on the way to the gym was some Elbow Dips and followed by a set of pullups before starting.

Missed one tricep exercise but overall have added weights, sets and or reps for most of the arms exercises.

Most significant was towards the end where dip/pullup superset was done right at the very end with increase in sets and reps.. and yes my bodyweight too.  Was 1.5kg heavier by yesterday ;)

 

Summary of the above log comparison over 02 and 30 Sep Arms Day session at the gym

 

A  very crude distillation in percentage:

Summary: The forms of the exercises (I felt) was generally better too and all the curling doesn't seem to have that same painful effect to the shoulder as compared to earlier in Sep. But there has been vast improvement in the strained areas that affected curling actions in the last 4 weeks which would have led to a stronger performance today.

So overall does creatine really work to give that extra energy boost? Certainly feels like it. Maybe I should do a couple more test with running and compare it to the data I have which is more comprehensive.

Conclusion: Only know I'm sore AF afterwards. Mounted the bar back at home and tried to catch-up with last month quota of the usual "Daily Staples" - but just had to give the L-sit ChinUp and Dips a pass. Biceps and Shoulders refuse to pull up or go down. This morning- the soreness is definitely above my usual level after an intensive volume/ rep day, particularly noticeable in all the major upper arm musculature.

2023 Sep Training Reflections

Report Card time again... 3 Quarters of 2023 just lapsed. Just a quick glance basing on the overall and average numbers now.

PULLUP Surprisingly, monthly pullup average has remained very consistent with a +/- of just around 7, despite my best efforts to reduce quantities this year due to various reasons. While numbers stay the same-- weighted pullups were also added since ~ May 2023.

2022 had more fluctuations in the months which ranged as wide as 483 at the start in Jul to 1091 in Dec when going ballistic after Covid to reach a total of 5000 before the year end.

2023 Jan-Sep has been more consistent in month to month figures and vary between 727 - 976... averaging ~830.

 

"What! 12.5K pullups but less than 15.5K pushups?..."

PUSHUPS Overall, pushups has never seemed to be in a greater quantity as justified by the difficulty level comparing to pullups. 

While there has always been a greater emphasis and my mind to gravitate towards pulling each day, another reason is because 85-90% of my pushups are diamond push ups.  Another 5 to 7% are rings, pike and more challenging variations. Normal pushups makes up very little in the overall quantity. I see pushup as really the filler workhorse even with the UpperBod Trinity

DIPS would be the most "inconsistent" of the trio... In part there were a couple of months I dis-assembled the dip bar and was kinda lack luster on those dip extension attached on the pullup stand as it wasn't optimally space or at a good height. Dipping count partly increased later when "daily" Straight Bar Dips done near the carpark on the way home before evening workouts was added.

----------------------------------

More days this month with overall lower energy level. 8-9 days of traveling and another 5-6 days nursing a cold. 

Ok, not much epiphany or new mind-body connection discovery to talk about this month. Just having a good feeling that the recent running improvement on my regular 6k route has translated into more during the Race Against Cancer event with my sub 1hr for 10km. 

Of Injuries and Recovery...

At least things are positive here.... shoulder on the road to recovery. Almost there as evidenced by this month's tryout with all those weird pushup variations like this here and another here that really get to test shoulder strength and stability.

Time to put some thoughts with starting on the Human Flag now.

Although shoulder mobility has improved but getting into a simple asana during yoga last week made me realize that to have true mobility, a lot more work still has to be done. Then again thinking back to earlier this year, I'm certainly not complaining now. Thankfully I have decided to take the steps and correct the issues.

Daily "shoulder-dislocation" exercise is a default these days. A must to keep everything "oiled" and moving. Even more so than what I had already written months earlier.

Other areas of mobility weakness that starts to surface are hips and ankles. But one thing at a time...

 

The battling against things aging is not just a one dimensional war. Its a whole bloody campaign as I am finding out by the day. In gaining or re-gaining some ground, we lose some. Like battles, one need resources. Time is one very important resource for which most of us are often short of. We may have to give up one front to pour in more focus to save another as the battles ensue. 

This comes down to prioritizing and planning. As eluded earlier... these few months I'm gradually backing off from the crazy chase towards all the different pullup goals set earlier. There simply isn't enough time to continue like last year's intensity (even if potential of injuries are ignored) because doing all of that would exhaust too much energy and time now required to cover other areas of the body and components of overall fitness. 

I have decided to reduce the amount of training on pullups but have a baseline to know if its getting too far off by having a few quick test per month to see if I can maintain 15 or more. Yet more abbreviations and this one I called it MPUG - Monthly Pull Up Gauge explained along with a detail of all my IGPs - Intermediate Goals for PullUps written here a few days back.

 

 

 

Sep 2023 Training Log

01 Sep 2023

PullUp[+10kg]: 7,8,7,6,6,5,(1+2)

PullUP: 10, 8, 7

Run: 6.02km, 5'54/km,  ❤️138

 

 

02 Sep 2023

Gym: Arms

Superset

RopeDown + Ez Curl

15 x 27kg + 15 x 15kg

15 x 27kg + 15 x 20kg

15 x 27kg + 15 x 20kg

Tri-EZ☠️Crusher+

15 x 15kg 

15 x 20kg +5

15 x 25kg +5

Tri-DB.OverHeadPress

15 x 15kg  20 x 20kg

13 x 25kg  08 x 30kg

12 x 25kg

RevEZCurl (forearm, brachialis)

15 x 15kg

15 x 17.5kg

DB.HammerCurl

10/s x 12.5kgx x 3

RevTriPull

15 x 18kg x 3

Superset

[12 Dips 5 ChinUp] x 3

DB.BicepCurl

10/s x 08kg    10/s x 10kg

10/s x 12.5kg 10/s x 12.5kg

 

03 Sep 2023

Gym (Legs)

LegPress

15 x 40kg,   15 x 60kg

15 x 80kg,   15 x 100kg

BBSquat

10 x 40kg,  08 x 60kg

08 x 60kg,  07 x 70kg

PullUp: 10, 15,10

Goblet Squat+24"BoxJump

12kg x 25. + 05j

16kg x 25  + 05j

16kg.x 25  + 10j

Run: 4.02km, 5'48/km, ❤️128

🐲🚩: 10, 10, 8

PullUps: 9, 7, 7, 6

04 Sep 2023

Hotel Room

PullUp: 10, 5, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8

LsCu: 7,7

Hotel Gym

BBPress

40kg x 15   50kg x 15  60kg x 12

60kg x 15   70kg x 08

DBPress

16kg x 20   18kg x 20   20kg x 20

💎PU: 20, 20, 20

 

05 Sep 2023

PullUps: 12, 12, 9 (7:00am) 

Shoulder mobility: 10min

LsCU: 10, 10, 10 (1:20pm)

AirSquat: 50, 50, 50

PullUps: 10, 10

 

06 Sep 2023

Morning

PullUps: 12, 12, 9 

Night

Shoulder Mobility

PushUps: 20, 20, 20, 20

Airsquats: 35, 35, 35, 35

Deadhang: ~1min x 3

 

07 Sep 2023

PullUps: 15, 12, 11 (7:35am) 

LsCU: 10, 10, 8,

9pm...

UnitreePump: Triceps 15 mins

LsCU: 8, 8

 

08 Sep 2023

morning

💎PU: 20

💎PU/ Airsquat: 20/25 

 PU/ Airsquat: 20/25 

Evening

PullUps: 12, 10, 9

09 Sep 2023

After breakfast...

PullUps: 8,8,8,8,8

AirSquats: 35,35,35,35

Afternoon

Run: 5.02km, 36:35min, ❤️123

🐲🚩: 8, 8, 8, 8

💎PU: 20, 20, 20

 

10 Sep 2023

PullUps: 10, 10, 9, 11

Stretch

04-10th Sep, Istanbul summary

PullUps: 290, LsCU: 88, PushUp: 260

Squats: 480, 🐲🚩: 32, Run: 5.02km

1 Chest day at hotel gym and 

1 x 20min triceps with Unitree in room

11 Sep 2023

Run: 4.17km, 6.07km/min, ❤️HR124

Scratchy throat by evening...fk

12 Sep 2023

Shoulder Mobility 15mins

StandingShoulderDBPress

15 x 9, 18, 27, 35lb

08 x 44lb 

DB.SideRaise

15x9lb x 2

[08x18lb + 10x9lb]

Airsquats: 50, 50, 50

Superset: [5 PullUps+10 Dips] x 6

💎PU: 20, 20, 20

Definitely not feeling 100%...

13 Sep 2023

Sick- on med leave today

Stretch: 15 min

PushUps: 10 

 

14 Sep 2023

Pullups: 10, 10 (morning)

Office

Superset: [8 LsCU + 10 Dips] × 4

🐲🚩: 8, 8, 8, 8

Yin Yoga: 1hr

PullUps: 10, 10

 

15 Sep 2023

PullUps: 10 (morning)

Run: 8.00km, 6.02/min, ❤️HR

Felt crappy on the move with the residual congestion from the flu/cold

16 Sep 2023

Rest 

17 Sep 2023

Pullups: 5, 5, 5, 5 (6am)

RaceAgainstCancer2023

Zepp: 
10.15km,  5:46/km, 58:41min, 
❤️HR158, ❤️MaxHR177
STRAVA: 
10.14km, 5:45/km, 58:20min
❤️HR157, ❤️MaxHR177

18 Sep 2023

PullUps: 18, 10, 13, 10, 9,10

unlocked- 18/set, "40s in 3"

🐲🚩: 7, 5, 7

💎PU: 30, 30, (22+8), 45sec rest/set

Superset: 

[25AirSquat+10"BoxJump"]  x3

45sec rest/set

19 Sep 2023

Rest

  

20 Sep 2023

BREAK DAY

Shoulder Mobility: 15min

LsCU: 7, 7, 7, 7, 7

🐲🚩: 10, 10, 10

BalanceBoard Practice: 20min

BalanceBoardPushUps: 20

 

21 Sep 2023

PullUps:8, 8, 8, 8

💎PU: 20, 20, 20 

Yin Yoga: 1hr

22 Sep 2023

Run: 6.01km,  5'47"/km, ❤️134

  

23 Sep 2023 

Walking to gym...

Elbow Dips: 12,    PushUps: 40

@Gym

HiPullUp: 12 (warmup)

BenchPress

40kg x 20   60kg x 08

70kg x 08   80kg x 07  60kg x 08

MachinePress

80-120 lb x 4 sets (while waiting...)

...DBPress (incline)

20kg x 12  20kg x 12   25kg x 08

27.5kg x 08  27.5kg x 08

Cable Flies: 4 sets

Dips: 15, 15, 15, 15, 15

PullUps: 10, 10, 8

PushUps: 35

24 Sep 2023   

Rest 

                   

25 Sep 2023

Dinner (Gaia)

PullUp: 8, 8, 8, 8

Dips: 15, 15, 15

 

26 Sep 2023 

HALO☠️Crusher: 10, 10, 10

Str.Bar.Dip: 15, 15, 20

LsCU: 7, 7, 7, 7

🐲🚩: 11, 11, 11

CossackSq: 10L/R  x5 

PullUps: 8, 8, 8

 

27 Sep 2023

LsPullUp: 5

Str.Bar.Dip: 15, 15, 15

JumpMU: 3 tries.. 1 succeed

PullUp: 12, 10, 8

Run: 6.01km, 5'49"/km, ❤️137

💎PU: 25, 25, 25

 

28 Sep 2023

LsCU: 7, 7, 7, 7, 7 

Dips: 15, 15, 15, 15

Stretching and Shoulder Mob

Yin Yoga

 

29 Sep 2023

PullUp: 10, 10 (morning)

Company Dinner (Clubs)

10:45pm- just maintenance

PullUps: 10, 10

Superset: [15Dips+15💎PU] x3

30 Sep 2023  

... Elbow Dips: 3 + 7

@Gym: Arms Day

PullUp: 16 (warmup)

Superset: RopeDown + Ez Curl

20 x 27kg + 15 x 15kg

18 x 32kg + 15 x 20kg

15 x 36kg + 15 x 20kg

RopeDown: 08, 07 x 41kg 

Tri-EZ☠️Crusher+

15 x 15kg 

15 x 20kg +5 wide

15 x 25kg +5 wide

Tri-DB.OverHeadPress

RevEZCurl (forearm, brachialis)

Narrow & Wide

15 & 15 x 15kg

15 & 15 x 17.5kg

DB.HammerCurl

10/s x 12.5kgx x 3

05/s x 15kg...to failure

RevTriPull

Bar:    15 x 18kg 

Rope: 20 x 18kg, x2

Rope: 15 x 27kg

DB.BicepCurl (seated)

15/s x 08kg 15/s x 10kg

09/s x 12.5kg + EZ@12.5kg x 7

10/s x 12.5kg + EZ@12.5kg x 7

Superset

[15 Dips 05 PullUp] x 4

[15 Dips 04 PullUp] x 1

Total failure after last rep of pullup in last set.

 

IGP - Intermediate Goals (for) Pullups

Been working on the blog the since morning. Have all the time in the world on this Sunday but reckon the body's call for a rest is warranted. Feeling really sore after yesterday's chest session at the gym.

Came up with a lot of acronyms for some things as its hard to find a suitable description to the things I have been doing.

It would be hard to recall what I did last week, nevermind last year eh..

...so IGP or what I call Intermediate Goals (for) Pullups is just the 'method' for monitoring progress since the beginning when my focus was... of course, about improving pullups. 

The whole wake up call of how it all started have been repeated to death on this blog, so just summarily

• 09 Apr 2022  - 0 proper pullup
• 25 June 2022 - 4
• 21 Jul 2022 - first double digit - 10 reps in a set
  
• Aug 2022 - first >1000 pullup in a month 
• and more...

But as I filtered and take a look today of this past 17 month, I notice more.

First, improvement came fast and furious initially like many who experienced it would have known.

Knowing or unknowingly-- from the beginning I embarked on fixing a number and work towards completing it and subsequently push harder by cutting down the number of sets and or the time needed to finish it each day.

This began with a modest 10 reps in Jul 2022 after I stupidly and forcibly crank out 40 on 02 Jul. All the reps were anytime but good and proper. It was just about sticking the chin over the bar. Hardly any pre-pulling setup of shoulder/ scapula and because of the low doorway bar-- I was doing it with legs perpetually crossed at the back.

However adding volume to a session was relatively easy in the beginning... 10 became 20, then it was 25 and within a couple of days became 30 and then 40

Starting from 20 total reps/ session, I was also trying to cull sets involved by now 20 in 5 then 4 and 25 in 5,4,3 sets etc. Followed by 30 in 4 then 30 in 3 and so on...

The set culling plateau came at 40s in 4

First significant max rep/set came slower too.. First 15 in 1 materialize after mid Oct 2022 (the previous was 12 in 1 on 31 Jul... after that, been struggling with 12 to 14 but never quite made it until 19 Oct for the 15 reps). From there it took another 3 months before I reach 17/set. 

Not indicated in the filtered table above but there was one entry of 39 in 3 - Yes I was stuck as early as Jan 2023. Unable to unlock that 40in3 set IGP.... which took another 8 months.. and only achieved last week in Sep 2023 which incidentally is when the max rep/set was broken again... 18 this time.

The trend is therefore clear... as I move up the numbers or downing the sets involved each time-- that journey towards that next waypoint will certainly take longer.

The one thing is that the form for all my reps as time went on is now getting cleaner. Though most time not as strict as when on normal training days when going for PR but have made sure that they are at least decent ones.

A shoulder-over-bar set of 12 as a warmup before chest day at the gym

MPUG? ...WTFIT!

Ok, enough about numbers on pullup and coined up abbrebviation... just one final one. 

15 or more in 1 for an MPUG aka Monthly Pull Up Gauge. This is the latest as I am tapering on pullups now so as to find more time and energy to focus elsewhere. Basically its just mounting the bar and doing 15 or more a few times a month... so long as i don't fall below that, I'm good. If things deteriorate-- then its time to come back to more pull training.

Race.Against.Cancer.2023

 And the official timing is out... 

 

a little different but not much compared to my watch which is linked to Strava that uses its algo to "re-calculate...

Comes down to a difference of ~0.14km and about 25-26s in timing between offical and watch/GPS logging. Not a big deal.

Key thing was finishing this 10km in sub 1hr... something I have not actually bothered to train or run as hard for in over 10 years.

Most weekly runs are the usual 6K Teletubbie loop around my house and the occasional 8k.

Time to "train" more on 10k run now?

 

Workout when abroad...

Last year Sep was the first week long overseas trip after 2 years of pandemic. It was the fifth month since starting "daily" workout. With the right elbow medial epicondylitis  being pretty bad, I was taking the opportunity to recuperate. But at the same time wasn't all that prepared with the much less than usual workouts that week.

The hotel gym's heaviest dumbbells were a pair of 20kg. Same time last year, that was about what I can handle at home for dumbbell chest press, with the adjustable Nuobell setting at 44lb. Was only just about to move up to the next setting at 53lb...

Fast forward...  a year later. The place was a little more run down this time. Signs of poor economy hitting everywhere. No change to the equipment, the same rack of forlorn looking dumbbells were staring at me.

By now, the 20kg pair is almost just enough for my warmup sets. Being all there is, I crank out 3x the reps in a set to make up for the lack of the usual loads 

Repeated day one upon arrival with a chest workout at the gym just like the previous year. Recalled last year here was the first time I actually did bench-press in almost 28 years! This time around, I loaded up the sketchy looking bench up to 70kg for a quick session.

 

Previous trip wasn't well planned in terms of how to go about my workouts. All I had with me was a set of cheap resistance bands which were used in the hotel room with some pushups (~200) and airsquats (~200).  

This year, including other trips to Paris and London, all of which I had miss my pull days/ sessions the most. 

Wondered if packing a pullup bar in the luggage was actually a good idea.

Only way to find out...

... and it was the best thing I did for overseas workout sessions!

 

Overall its comparatively lesser than a usual week back in Singapore but trips for tradefairs are always long hours saddled with lengthy dinner afterwards. Then there is of coursestill the usual pile of emails to sift througg daily, so squeezing all of these in isn't too shabby I reckon.

Had this paranoia when the pullup bar was stuffed into the luggage. Together with my rope to be a portable aid over the usual bamboo stick for my daily "Shoulder Dislocation" exercise for mobility and shoulder recovery, I was wondering what what airport security think when they scan my case.

But now, after this time... I'm definitely not travelling without the bar.