The Recomp Chronicles

Tag: writing

  • The Week Where Nothing Stood Out

    The time change is throwing me off. Ivy woke me up at what would be my usual time of 4ish in the morning, but this morning, that’s 3 in the morning. Physically no different, but mentally…why the fuck am I up now?! Oh yeah, because the dogs don’t know we’re supposed to sleep later, they just know “I gotta go, so you gotta get up and take me” So now I’m sitting here after finishing my first cup of coffee and getting food prep done for the week ahead, and I sat down to reflect on the last week, and I’m coming up blank. Nothing really stands out. I guess not every week is a highlight reel. Some are just…fine. Steady. Unremarkable. And honestly? I guess I can live with that.

    This week I missed leg day because of an appointment, but then I got my runs in Tuesday and Thursday, and the calves are feeling a bit of alright, so that’ll be my win for the week.

    A few months ago, a “meh” week would’ve derailed me. I wanted the weekly PRs, whether lifting or running, but now, it’s just part of the plan. No drama, no meltdown, just stacking days. Lifting, running, sleeping (mostly), recovering, repeating.

    The work is starting to feel normal. Not always easy, especially when it’s cooling off a lot in the morning, so the desire to just curl up in an already warm bed sounds WAY better than going outside, but normal. And with the major “stuff your face” holidays coming up, I think normal is what I’ll need to keep from blowing myself up like an overstuffed turkey. (Is there such a thing as too much stuffing?!)

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

  • The Rise of Recomp

    A long time ago (2015) in a gym far, far away… I started a blog for accountability. And stopped writing the blog. And started again. And stopped again. You probably get where this is going. Each time was supposed to be the One, the version of me that would finally stick. Spoiler: they didn’t.

    Fast-forward a decade and here we are again, same guy, different decade, different town, different blog, same goal; to be the best and fittest version of me that I can be. This time it’s The Recomp Chronicles. A little older, possibly a little wiser, but finally honest enough to admit that maybe the journey doesn’t need to be cinematic (I was really dramatic before, oh woah is me). It just needs to keep going. Some weeks rock and I hit PRs and feel unstoppable, other weeks I hit walls and eat Krispy Kreme and want to just get fat and invent a suspension chair.

    This past week was a de-load; lighter weights, slower pace, more thinking than doing. And that’s fitting, because it’s hard not to look back at all the other “Day Ones.” The Michigan posts, the false starts, the posts that never made it past the first week. Turns out I’ve been the main character in the longest prequel series ever written.

    But things feel different now. Time will tell if it really is, but so far, I’m feeling good. As I found when I quit smoking back in the day, after dozens and dozens of starts and stops (stops and starts?), I only have to succeed once. So I keep moving forward on this journey, through the good (Yay 320 leg press) and the bad (I swear I didn’t eat the entire box of cereal…), the recovery and the sleepless nights.

    And by “succeed once, I don’t mean that I will never screw up and over indulge in ice cream, or pasta, and don’t get me started on holiday cookies and Thanksgiving food coma. What I mean is this time I fully understand that I will make mistakes as I go, but this time I will not quit on myself because of it. I’ll be like one of those old sticky wall toys, the kind that’s lost its shine, covered in dust, a little crusty, hanging there by one arm but refusing to let go. I’m faded, stretched, but still holding on.

    That’s the voice I want to bring to stage. I’m not the reboot, just the continuation.

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

  • Pivot! Pivot!

    This last week definitely didn’t turn out how I’d hoped.

    Monday’s gym session just felt off, like I could move the weights, but nothing felt right. I chalked it up to “Monday being Monday” and just moved on. With my calf still feeling off I didn’t try to run Tuesday, but by Tuesday late afternoon I could feel it: Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, cotton-headed. The sudden weather change to much cooler and rain had hit me good, so I made the one call I used to hate making: I hit pause. I took some OTC meds, ate my soup, drank my water and tea, and tried to get as much sleep as I could through the week. I didn’t try to force anything by going to the gym or trying to run or even walk, just let my body do what it needed.

    So the 6th week of Phase 2 turned into “Sick Week”, and instead of just picking up where I left off and pushing through what was scheduled to be the 7th week this coming week, I’m going to pivot and do my de-load next week. Lighter weights, fewer sets, and more mobility and stretching at home. Then, Phase 3 starts the first week of November, hopefully with a much healthier and more prepared me at the helm.

    So yeah, normally I would have tried to push through, but I’m learning that sometimes you have to use a little bit of strategery when life tries to knock you down. Pivot when you need and let your body guide you, it generally knows what it needs.

    Lessons from this week

    • Sometimes showing up means backing off.
    • Recovery is still work, just not as flashy.
    • A pivot isn’t failure; it’s adjustment. Long-term success builds on being able to adjust to the needs of the moment.
    • There will be times to push through; long runs, soreness, mental fatigue, but when you’re sick, or on the brink, pushing through just makes it worse and can lay you up longer. Take the break, eat the soup, drink the tea, get the sleep. Be good to yourself.

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

  • The Recomp Chronicles – Week 4: Life Happens

    Thursday – Life Happens, Keep Moving

    Got my run in and it felt solid — legs, lungs, and pace all right where I wanted them, even with an early wake-up call from Bane. At 2:30 AM, he decided it was bathroom break time. I got both dogs outside, then grabbed a little more sleep before my 4:15 wake-up. Dogs got their walk in right after my run, so at least they’re happy.

    GMB didn’t make the cut today. Daisy forgot her flute, which meant a detour home, missing the bus, and me stuck in construction traffic on the way to the school. By the time I got back and finished laundry, my workout window was gone. Not an ideal day, but life happens. The important thing is I hit my run and didn’t let the chaos derail the whole day. Wins come in different shapes, and today’s was keeping the main thing the main thing.

    Friday – Back Says “Nope”

    Keeping the tradition alive — another Friday without a gym session. Woke up with my back feeling tight and sore, and since today was back day, pushing it didn’t seem smart. Instead, I went with the heating pad and some stretching, which helped loosen things up. Skipped GMB too, partly because of the back, partly because of an early meeting that ate up my window. At least the dogs got their walk in, so it wasn’t a total zero.

    On the plus side, sleep was solid. Just had to make it through the day and into Daisy’s black belt ceremony — followed by a very late dinner.

    Saturday – Too Much of a Good Thing

    The black belt ceremony dinner went a lot longer than expected, and I paid for it. Between eating hibachi way later than usual and getting to bed way later than usual, my stomach wasn’t happy and my sleep was trash. I didn’t have the energy to fight late-night hibachi and poor sleep just to eek out a 2-mile run, so I called it. Sometimes the smart play is to accept the loss, recover, and move on.

    Week 4 Wrap-Up – The Numbers Behind the Week

    This week’s check-in compared to last Sunday (Aug 10 → Aug 17):

    • Weight: 208.0 → 209.2 lbs (+1.2 lbs)
    • Body Fat %: 27.74% → 27.63% (-0.11%)
    • Neck: 14.14″ → 14.14″ (no change)
    • Waist: 38.83″ → 38.76″ (-0.07″)

    On paper, it looks like I gained a pound. But the more important story is that my waist shrank slightly and my body fat % ticked lower. That means composition is improving even if the scale pretends otherwise.

    The culprit? Friday night hibachi at Daisy’s black belt ceremony — salty, carb-loaded food hours later than I usually eat. Combine that with poor sleep, and it’s no surprise the scale popped up.

    The real takeaway: trends in waist and body fat matter more than the week-to-week number on the scale. The training, nutrition, and recovery habits are working — the proof is in the shrinking waistline, not the daily weigh-in.