The Recomp Chronicles

Tag: training

  • Phase 1 Wrap-Up – Six Weeks of Showing Up

    Dogs are the best alarm clocks and the worst recovery tools. Most mornings, I’m up at 4 AM to hit the gym, but some nights I’m already awake because Ivy, my youngest, has decided to boop me square in the face at 2 AM like a drunk friend confessing their love. “Hey. Hey. Hey. Guess what?! I fuckin’ love you man.” Meanwhile, Bane, my older hound, itches from allergies, then needs to go outside. After all, he’s up, so why not? A full, uninterrupted night of sleep? Rare as Bigfoot flying a UFO.

    But six weeks later, I’ve learned something: consistency doesn’t mean perfection. It means showing up even when the night before was chaos. It means stringing together enough good days that the bad ones don’t completely screw up your progress.

    The verdict? Mission accomplished — in a George W. Bush sort of way.

    The Numbers (July 19 → Aug 31)

    • Weight: 208.4 lb → 208.2 lb (flat, but the real story is in the details)
    • Body Fat % (tape): 28.6% → 27.3% (–1.3%)
    • Waist: 39.5 in → 38.6 in (–0.9 in)
    • Lean Mass: +2.5 lb
    • Fat Mass: –2.7 lb

    Fitness Test Highlights:

    • Plank: 60s → 70s
    • Push-Ups: 15 → 20
    • Pull-Ups: 5 → 6
    • Dips: 8 → 9
    • Wall Sit: 45s → 60s

    Not breaking records, but breaking my old limits — and that’s the whole point.

    Wins

    • Consistency streak: I finally stacked six weeks of gym sessions, runs, mobility, and recovery. Not perfect attendance, but no disappearing acts either.
    • Logging became a habit: Every lift, every run, every measurement tracked. The data pile is now a foundation, not a chore.
    • Recovery tools came online: Steam room, EMS, massage gun — when used, they worked.
    • Walking became non-negotiable: Daily walks with Bane and Ivy. Some days that was the win, and it was enough.

    Challenges

    • Calf sabotage: My left calf staged a revolt near the end of the phase, forcing me to swap runs for rehab walks. It was a reminder that durability comes before distance.
    • Sleep disruptions: Between dogs and on-call shifts, “uninterrupted sleep” was more of a fantasy. Some mornings the real victory was just getting out of bed.
    • Balancing lifting and running: Learning how much was enough without tipping into too much took trial, error, and a couple strained muscles.
    • Biggest Challenge = Me: Mentally, I’m still my own biggest roadblock. I can overthink, second-guess, or want to scrap it all when things don’t go perfectly. But this time, I didn’t.

    Lessons Learned

    The single biggest lesson from Phase 1: missing workouts doesn’t mean failure.

    I missed Fridays. I missed Saturdays. Sometimes back-to-back weeks. In the past, that would’ve been the end. I would’ve scrapped the plan and “restarted later” (translation: months down the road when I looked in the mirror and wondered when I was due).

    This time, I just kept showing up. Mondays were my reset button. Dog walks were my insurance policy. A bad day, a bad night of sleep, or a missed workout didn’t derail the whole thing — it was just like tripping on a raised bit of sidewalk. I stumbled, caught myself, and kept going.

    I also learned that:

    • Recovery matters as much as training. Push through a strain and you lose weeks. Rest smart and you’re back in days.
    • Data = accountability. Logging everything, even the ugly sessions, kept me honest.
    • Consistency isn’t about streaks, it’s about persistence.

    Recomp Week (Deload)

    This week isn’t about progress, it’s about preservation. The plan:

    • Training: Light weights, mobility, calf rehab, walks, maybe some biking.
    • Nutrition: Simple, clean meals. More protein, less fluff. Sandwiches and salads are the name of the game.
    • Recovery: Steam room and sauna back in the mix, EMS/TENS daily for the calf, compression on rotation.

    It’s not retreat — it’s reset.

    Looking Ahead – Phase 2

    Phase 2 officially starts Sept 7, with the half marathon training plan launching Sept 14. The goals:

    • Push gym weights upward with a fresh baseline.
    • Rebuild my running base without re-aggravating the calf.
    • Keep recovery non-negotiable.

    The foundation is built. Now it’s time to layer strength and endurance onto it.

    Closing

    Phase 1 is done. I’m leaner, stronger, and still standing. Not because everything went perfectly — it didn’t — but because I kept showing up. Even when the calf blew up. Even when sleep didn’t happen. Even when Ivy booped me awake at 2 AM to remind me that she loved me.

    The base is built. Recomp week is here. Next stop: Phase 2.

    Still lifting. Still losing. Still showing up. Usually.

  • Week 6 Mid-Week Recap

    Sunday Reset – Week 6 Kickoff
    Sometimes the best training move is no training at all. After cramping through Saturday’s run, I skipped my planned Lone Mountain walk and gave my calf a real break. Instead, I caught up on sleep, food prep, and a whole lot of nothing. Funny thing is, that “nothing” might have been the smartest thing I did all week.

    The grogginess from a CBD gummy reminded me that recovery isn’t just about muscles—it’s also about the nervous system and sleep quality. With soreness easing and the week ahead mapped out, I’m stepping into Week 6 not burnt out, not behind—just ready to keep stacking consistent days.

    Monday
    Ivy decided 3 AM was the perfect time to puke, and Bane chimed in later with his itching routine, so sleep wasn’t exactly awesome. Still, I managed to shake it off and head in for leg day.

    The session itself went well — I’m still dialing in that upper limit on the leg press. The tricky part is finding a load that pushes strength without wrecking my legs for the next day’s run. That balance between strength and endurance is Phase 1 in a nutshell: building a base without overcooking anything.

    It’s the last week of this phase, and I want to finish it proud — consistent, steady, and ready to earn that de-load before Phase 2 cranks things up.

    Tuesday
    Planned: continuous 4K run. Reality: calf had other ideas. The left side cramped again, so the run became another run/walk. Frustrating, since hydration and electrolytes were on point yesterday and this morning. So, it’s likely not an issue with hydration.

    So I’ll take it easy today and keep icing and stretching, and hope that adding a compression sleeve Thursday will help. And next week is my scheduled de-load week, so I won’t be going quite as hard at the gym.

    Wednesday

    Last night’s sleep finally cooperated, and it showed up in the gym today. The chest and triceps session moved well, and it felt good to rack weights without second-guessing if I had anything left in the tank. It’s also the last stretch of my on-call rotation, which means soon I can get back to one of my favorite recovery tools: steam room sessions. I’ve missed them more than I expected.

    Midweek, the body feels solid and the mindset is steady. I know the measurements will be what they’ll be, but I feel like I’m actually putting in the kind of work that will start to show. Progress may not always be obvious day to day, but stringing together weeks like this is what gets me to the bigger goals. Right now, I’m hitting the gym hard and staying locked in—that’s a win.

    Still Lifting. Still Losing (My Mind). Still Showing Up (Usually).

  • The Recomp Chronicles – Week 5: Yay! But Boo! But Yay!

    Thursday – Longest Run in a While

    Today was a good step forward. I stretched my intervals to 90 seconds run / 30 seconds walk and logged 3 miles in just under 35 minutes. That’s the longest run I’ve managed in quite a while, and while I could feel the effort, it felt good to push the distance a bit.

    One issue still lingering: that hot spot on the ball of my right foot. Even trying some new socks, it crept in again. It does fade as I go, but I’d rather solve it than keep hoping it disappears. Next step will be experimenting with lacing — if that doesn’t work, I may have to get a little more creative.

    Friday – Finally a Friday Session
    Sleep tracking apps are liars. Mine swears I didn’t actually fall asleep until 10:45, but I was out cold by 8:30. Aside from a quick bathroom trip at 1 AM, it was actually a solid night. Not perfect, but definitely better than the graph of doom my phone showed me.

    The big win: I FINALLY made it to the gym on a Friday. First time this whole phase. I felt a little punky, like I’m still fighting something off, but I got in, knocked out the workout, and it felt good to tick that box at last. No steam today since I’m on-call — my phone and steam don’t play nice.

    Fingers crossed that tomorrow’s run goes smooth. It’s the first full week of gym I’ve strung together, and that is a huge win this week.

    Saturday – Two Miles, One Long Day
    The plan was a straight two-mile run, but the body had other ideas. I made it about three-quarters of a mile before my left calf started cramping, and with the sinus junk still hanging around, breathing wasn’t exactly smooth either. Lesson learned: some days are about grinding, not shining.

    Saturday as a whole was a marathon of a different kind — Daisy’s first Taekwondo tournament as a black belt. Proud dad moment, but it meant we were out the door by 7:45 and on our feet until nearly 4:30. Food was a mess: quick cereal before leaving, a protein bar somewhere in the middle, chili cheese fries when I realized I couldn’t wait another three hours, and Cane’s chicken strips for dinner. Basically, famine followed by feast, with very little water in between.

    Mood took a hit when the run went sideways, and energy yo-yo’d all day thanks to the food situation and whatever bug I’m fighting off. Still, it was a day worth showing up for — both in the gym earlier this week and cheering Daisy on all day. Progress doesn’t always look like clean splits or perfect macros, but it stacks all the same.

    End of Week 5 Wrap
    The week closed out with some oddball measurements — weight up, waist stuck — but that’s almost certainly from Saturday’s salt bomb and barely any water. Chili cheese fries + Cane’s chicken strips after a long day on my feet with no hydration is basically a recipe for bloat.

    The bigger takeaway? For the first time this phase I actually hit every gym session and every run. None of it looked perfect — some lifts felt rough, the calf cramped on Saturday’s run — but I showed up and got the work done. The tape measure and progress trend are still pointing in the right direction, and that’s the win that matters.

    Still Lifting. Still Losing. Still Showing Up. (Usually)