Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Where are you and where are you going?
prognastat
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

Augustus wrote:
Thu Mar 07, 2019 10:24 pm
Well you could always change your name to Ezekiel, move to Amish country and become an in demand eligible bachelor there.

Scott 2
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by Scott 2 »

Haha that is a lot of curls!!!

prognastat
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

Well, start of this month I used the majority of my personal spending budget on an archery target so now that I live too far to get to archery class I can still practice by myself in the backyard. Did some practice both Saturday and Sunday, which was great after not having been able to do it much for the past 1-2 months. Through a combination of not having done it as much the past 1-2 months and getting off a lot more shots per hour when it's just me and I'm not alternating with students. I only managed to do about 75 minutes with about 120 shots with my 40 lbs bow across Saturday and Sunday and can feel it in my arm even now a day later. Hoping to eventually build up to an hour+ of non-stop shooting both days.

The downside of having to do it outside is I need daylight and generally I'm away from home until it's dark during the week. The target was quite affordable at about $70 and given that classes were $20 per hour it should end up saving me quite a bit in very little time. I'll probably need to eventually find a way to get transportation to a class just to go once a month to make sure I'm moving in the right direction with my skills rather than teaching myself bad habits, but having a coach actually give me feedback. However $20 once a month would still be significant savings over 1-2 times a week.

cmonkey
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by cmonkey »

prognastat wrote:
Wed Jan 02, 2019 1:00 pm
Complete 1 video game per month.
So how's this one going? :D

prognastat
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

cmonkey wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 10:49 am
Not making a lot of progress on my additional goals so far.

I started Disgaea 1 Complete, however despite putting in over 10 hours over the past 1-2 months or so only just getting started. JRPGs probably aren't conducive to completing 1 game a month unless I can manage 10+ hours a week which I haven't even come close to. Chances are to complete this game would require at least 50 hours and if I'm not rushing through 100+.

Then there is also trying to balance this with the other 2 additional goals which I have yet to hit either.

I'm making good progress on ERE the first non-fiction book I decided to read, but it's taken about the same 1-2 months to get about 2/3rds of the way through that. As for fiction the closest I've gotten is completing the Graphic Novel Graveyard Shift, which isn't really the same kind of investment as completing a full fiction book.

cmonkey
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by cmonkey »

Nice.

I'm not convinced on the total negativity/ban surrounding video gaming as an adult, when done in moderation I feel they have a good spot in the leisure line up. It's a good way to hang on to some semblance of childhood for myself. I'm more of a Nintendo fanboy myself and also enjoy Steam titles like Stardew Valley and have done well over the past 6-9 months of getting in a few hours a week.

Good work on losing so much weight as well, you've got me thinking that a gym membership should be in my expense sheet once we move. The last time DW and I were really on top of our weight/muscle was in college when we had access to the YMCA. A home routine just never works for me andd jogging wears the joints too much. Investing in large equipment is just a bad idea. I'd rather dedicate some capital to that and let someone else maintain it.

prognastat
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

I expect myself to probably still be playing games some even when I'm an old man. It definitely fluctuates, I have had times where I took a week off work, had a staycation and put in 100+ hours in 9 days. I was completing a series I loved, but had never completed(.hack//G.U.), but frequently I also only have an hour or two to spend on games in a week. I put 50+ hours into Stardew Valley year before last barely scratching the surface, definitely another game that can be a huge time-sink.

One of the other games I've played some this year too and haven't "completed" is Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. Another one that's hard to really complete.

Thanks, work/finances and health are currently my two big goals/focus for this first year after the divorce. As I reach both my financial and health goals they will probably shrink a little making more room for my other goals/hobbies. Right now I have the benefit of being able to use my work gym which charges only $5 per paycheque(2 weeks) and provides a gym, a sauna, showers(clean towels and soap included), shaving gear and even does some of my laundry for me(pretty much everything excerpt for my jeans). Hard to beat that kind of a deal.

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Bankai
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by Bankai »

prognastat wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 10:12 am
archery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEG-ly9tQGk

Couldn't resist posting this - it's like Wheaton level 8 of archery (at least from an amateur's perspective).

prognastat
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

There is actually some controversy surrounding Lars and I guess what would be called the archery community. Probably in large portion because he tends to shit on traditional interpretations of archery a lot and at time is either misinformed or a little dishonest about what it is he's doing and in his representation of archery history.

Not to say that what he does isn't impressive in it's own right, but he tends to shoot at far shorter distances and draw weight than would be expected in both historical and modern use. In actual battle where distances tend to start longer and people would have been far more armoured shooting a lightweight bow a lot would just mean a higher level of wasted arrows.

Also some safety concerns where he does things every archer/coach would be horrified by the mere thought of it.

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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

For example as far as I'm aware he shoots a 35 pound bow and doesn't bring it to full draw meaning he is probably getting about 25 pounds out of it at best. In most states it's illegal to hunt with anything under 40 pounds because it is considered cruel since it might not actually pass through and give a clean kill and instead merely injure the animal. That's against an unarmoured target. Now imagine using what he has against targets wearing actual armour. Chances are it would already struggle with gambeson at anything but the shortest of distances and would be useless if mail or plate were added at almost any distance.

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Bankai
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by Bankai »

All good points. What looks impressive from an amateur's point of view, might not look so for someone who actually knows the thing. However, it still looks impressive.

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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

Well it's not that what he does isn't impressive.

It's more that he is misrepresenting his trick shooting as historical or somehow better than modern archery when it's simply different in that most historical and modern archery focuses over penetration and/or accuracy over longer distances and he has focussed in honing his speed at short range.

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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

Health February 2019

Health Metrics March 2019

Code: Select all

| Category | This Month | Last Month |
|----------|------------|------------|
| Weight   |    182     |     186    |
I made some good progress the first few weeks of the month getting down to 181 in the first two weeks, however I hurt my back in the third week which lead to me taking a week off from the gym to let it recover and also lead to some bad decisions food wise ordering in some food that wasn’t healthy and lead to gaining some back. The final week I got back to the gym and eating healthier I managed to get it back down some afterwards, but definitely wasn’t the progress I was hoping for this month.

At the same time after the back injury I also ended up adding two protein shake servings mixed with whole milk and some creatine to my lunches to add 50 grams a protein to my daily intake as I was averaging maybe 100 grams on average a day and now that I’m getting closer to my goal weight it’s getting important to shift to putting on more muscle rather than primarily focusing on losing weight. This will slow down weight loss, but will hopefully lead to more visible improvements.

Workout Progress March 2019

Saturdays(Cardio):

Code: Select all

| Exercise                | Reps | Lbs | Cals | Time |
|-------------------------|------|-----|------|------|
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A | 1764 |  150m |
Sundays(Cardio):

Code: Select all

| Exercise                | Reps | Lbs |  Cals | Time |
|-------------------------|------|-----|-------|-------|
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A | 1900 |  150m |
Mondays(Back Day):

Code: Select all

| Exercise                | Reps | Lbs | Cals | Time |
|-------------------------|------|-----|------|------|
| Pull Ups                |   20 | -30 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Pull Ups                |   15 | -30 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Pull Ups                |   12 | -30 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Pull Ups                |   10 | -30 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Pull Ups                |   10 | -30 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Push Ups                |   20 | N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Push Ups                |   20 | N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Push Ups                |   20 | N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Push Ups                |   20 | N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Push Ups                |   20 | N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A |  190 |  15m |
| Plank                   | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Plank                   | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Plank                   | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns |   12 | 140 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns |   12 | 140 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns |   12 | 140 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns |   12 | 140 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Strength Row     |   12 | 130 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Strength Row     |   12 | 130 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Strength Row     |   12 | 130 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Strength Row     |   12 | 130 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A |  197 |  15m |
| Leg Raises              |  12 |  N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Raises              |  12 |  N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Raises              |  12 |  N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| One Arm Row             |  12 |   70 | N/A  | N/A  |
| One Arm Row             |  12 |   70 | N/A  | N/A  |
| One Arm Row             |  12 |   70 | N/A  | N/A  |
| One Arm Row             |  12 |   70 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Back Hyperextensions    |  25 |   50 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Back Hyperextensions    |  20 |   50 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Back Hyperextensions    |  15 |   50 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Back Hyperextensions    |  15 |   50 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A |  197 |  15m |
| Side Plank              | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Side Plank              | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Side Plank              | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
Tuesdays(Chest Day):

Code: Select all

| Exercise                    | Reps | Lbs | Cals | Time |
|-----------------------------|------|-----|------|------|
| Bench Press                 |   12 | 120 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Bench Press                 |   10 | 130 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Bench Press                 |    8 | 140 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Bench Press                 |    6 | 150 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Bench Press                 |    4 | 170 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Bench Press                 |    4 | 170 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Bench Press                 |    4 | 170 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Bench Press                 |    4 | 170 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                      | N/A  | N/A | 211  |  15m |
| Incline Bench Press         |   12 | 110 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Incline Bench Press         |   12 | 110 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Incline Bench Press         |   12 | 110 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Incline Bench Press         |   12 | 110 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Strength Bench Press |   15 | 115 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Strength Bench Press |   15 | 115 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Strength Bench Press |   15 | 115 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Strength Bench Press |   15 | 115 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                      | N/A  | N/A | 210  |  15m |
| Weighted Dips               |   10 | -20 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Weighted Dips               |   10 | -15 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Weighted Dips               |   10 | -15 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Weighted Dips               |   10 | -15 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Chest Fly                   |   12 | 115 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Chest Fly                   |   12 | 120 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Chest Fly                   |   12 | 120 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Chest Fly                   |   12 | 120 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                      | N/A  | N/A | 230  |  15m |
Wednesday(Leg Day):

Code: Select all

| Exercise                | Reps | Lbs | Cals | Time |
|-------------------------|------|-----|------|------|
| Deadlifts               |   12 | 160 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Deadlifts               |   10 | 160 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Deadlifts               |   8 | 160 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Deadlifts               |    6 | 160 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Plank                   | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Plank                   | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Plank                   | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Leg Press               |   46 | 540 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Press               |   46 | 450 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Press               |   50 | 360 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Press               |   50 | 270 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Press               |   50 | 180 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Press               |   50 |  90 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Raises              |  12 |  N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Raises              |  12 |  N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Raises              |  12 |  N/A | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Extension           |   20 | 150 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Extension           |   20 | 150 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Extension           |   20 | 150 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Curls               |   20 |  105 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Curls               |   20 |  105 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Curls               |   20 |  105 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Calf Raise              |   20 | 175 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Calf Raise              |   20 | 175 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Calf Raise              |   20 | 175 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Side Plank              | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Side Plank              | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
| Side Plank              | N/A |  N/A | N/A  |  60s |
Thursday(Shoulder Day):

Code: Select all

| Exercise                | Reps | Lbs | Cals | Time |
|-------------------------|------|-----|------|------|
| Military Press          |   10 |  90 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Military Press          |    8 |  90 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Military Press          |    6 | 100 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Military Press          |    5 | 100 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Military Press          |    4 |100 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Military Press          |    3 |100 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Military Press          |    3 |100 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A | 204  |  15m |
| Arnold Press            |   12 |  80 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Arnold Press            |   12 |  80 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Arnold Press            |   12 |  80 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Arnold Press            |   12 |  80 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Barbell Shrugs          |   12 |120 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Barbell Shrugs          |   12 |120 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Barbell Shrugs          |   12 |120 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Barbell Shrugs          |   12 |120 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A | 205  |  15m |
| Lateral Raises          |   12 |  40 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Lateral Raises          |   12 |  40 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Lateral Raises          |   12 |  40 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Front Raises            |   12 |  40 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Front Raises            |   12 |  40 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Front Raises            |   12 |  40 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Rear Delt Flys          |   12 |  85 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Rear Delt Flys          |   12 |  85 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Rear Delt Flys          |   12 |  85 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A | 203  |  15m |
Friday(Arm Day):

Code: Select all

| Exercise                | Reps | Lbs   | Cals | Time |
|-------------------------|------|-------|------|------|
| Barbell Curls           |   10 |  80   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Barbell Curls           |   10 |  80   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Barbell Curls           |   10 |  80   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Skull Crushers          |   10 |  60   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Skull Crushers          |   10 |  60   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Skull Crushers          |   10 |  60   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A   |  197  |  15m |
| Plank                   | N/A  |  N/A  | N/A  |  60s |
| Plank                   | N/A  |  N/A  | N/A  |  60s |
| Plank                   | N/A  |  N/A  | N/A  |  60s |
| Preacher Curls          |   10 |  65   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Preacher Curls          |   10 |  65   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Preacher Curls          |   10 |  65   | N/A  | N/A  |
| French Curls            |   10 |  60   | N/A  | N/A  |
| French Curls            |   10 |  60   | N/A  | N/A  |
| French Curls            |   10 |  60   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A   |  199  |  15m |
| Leg Raises              |   12 |  N/A  | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Raises              |   12 |  N/A  | N/A  | N/A  |
| Leg Raises              |   12 |  N/A  | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Curls            |   10 |  60   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Curls            |   10 |  60   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Hammer Curls            |   10 |  60   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Tricep Rope Pull Downs  |   10 |    54 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Tricep Rope Pull Downs  |   10 |    54 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Tricep Rope Pull Downs  |   10 |    54 | N/A  | N/A  |
| Cardio                  | N/A  | N/A   |  194  |  15m |
| Side Plank              | N/A  |  N/A  | N/A  |  60s |
| Side Plank              | N/A  |  N/A  | N/A  |  60s |
| Side Plank              | N/A  |  N/A  | N/A  |  60s |
| Wrist Curls             |   20 |  50   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Wrist Curls             |   20 |  50   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Wrist Curls             |   20 |  50   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Reverse Wrist Curls     |   20 |  40   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Reverse Wrist Curls     |   20 |  40   | N/A  | N/A  |
| Reverse Wrist Curls     |   20 |  40   | N/A  | N/A  |

prognastat
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

Finances March 2019

Income March 2019

Code: Select all

| Category     |   $   |   %   |
|--------------|-------|-------|
| Total        | 5,610 | 100.0 |
| Paychecks    | 2,913 |  51.9 |
| 401k         | 2,486 |  22.3 |
| HSA          |   211 |   3.7 |
This month was a little out of whack in that after filing taxes I ended up owing $600. I ended up subtracting it from this months income as a generally subtract taxes from my income in this journal as my taxes are a result of the income. This put a dent in my income for this month.

Spending March 2019

Code: Select all

| Category     |   $  |   %   |
|--------------|------|-------|
| Total        |1,532 | 100.0 |
| Food         |  686 |  44.7 |
| Rent         |  600 |  39.1 |
| Entertainment|  135 |   8.8 |
| Health       |   77 |   5.0 |
| Gifts        |   34 |   2.2 |
The main thing out of the ordinary this month is my food budget. This is through a combination of two things. First one is the back injury and eating out I mentioned in my health post. Ordering food delivery for the larger part of a week definitely added up. The other thing was buying 1 years worth of protein powder and creatine on sale. I don’t mind the latter one as this was necessary and buying it in bulk on sale will save me in the long run, but I feel bad about the former as I could have made better choices even if I was in pain and out of commission for much of that time. Groceries only made up about 115 of the food budget, eating out/delivery was about 120 and the rest was for the protein powder/creatine. This should be much lower next month.

Personal spending/entertainment was also a little higher than intended between buying an archery target, some video games, a book, and the gift.

Net Worth March 2019

Code: Select all

| Category     |    $    |   %   |
|--------------|---------|-------|
| Total        | 272,301 | 100.0 |
| Cash         |   3,331 |   1.2 |
| Investments  | 268,970 |   9.8 |
The market rebounding definitely added a bunch to the total. I also put the annual limit in my Traditional IRA converting some of the cash from last month to investments this month.

Spending/Savings Rate March 2019

Code: Select all

| Category     |    $    |   %   |
|--------------|---------|-------|
| Income       |   5,610 | 100.0 |
| Spending     |   1,532 |  27.3 |
| Savings      |   4,078 |  72.6 |
Slightly disappointed to dip below 75% this month through the combination of the tax bill lowering my income and the increases in spending. Really hope to back around 90% next month.

cmonkey
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by cmonkey »

72% is great. I have fluctuations as well and each month is different. The annual number is most important.

Good month!

Scott 2
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by Scott 2 »

I'll be interested to see if you experience a difference in lifting from the protein. You do a lot of work in the gym. I typically see a gram per pound of body weight recommended, or alternatively, 4 40 gram doses per day.

Do you do any pre/during/post workout nutrition? I like a small snack before, some coconut water or a beer during, and a small snack after.

prognastat
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

@cmonkey
Considering last month was almost 94% getting down to 72% wasn't great, but at least no new tax bills until next year. Just subtracting that and the protein powder/creatine I bought in bulk would be 600 more income and 450 less spending.

@Sccott 2
So far I seem to have a little more strength and endurance at the gym though I'm not sure how much of that is thanks to the creatine and how much is from the protein. I'm shooting for around 150-170 grams of protein a day and was having a hard time achieving that by diet alone while keeping with the keto.

I do intermittent fasting so I only drink a coffee and water before my workout and don't eat until after I've hit the gym at which point I do the protein shake with some creatine, cheese and sausage after. I don't do anything else around my workout.

prognastat
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

As for my other goals. I still haven't finished any video games. I've played Disgaea 1 Complete for a few more hours in March and I've also played XCOM 2 for a bit which was a lot of fun. I think I might actually be closer to completing XCOM 2 than Disgaea at this point.

The closest I can say I came to completing a fiction book is completing the graphic novel Graveyard Shift. Absolutely loved the art and the story was interesting.

I did actually finally complete a non-fiction book in Early Retirement Extreme. It was very interesting. I'll need to go through parts of it again to kind of use it as a guide while I do things like build a web of goals.

Scott 2
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by Scott 2 »

I have no experience on keto or intermittent fasting. I follow a vegetarian diet and don't have the determination to make it fit those other models.

I find creatine gives me an extra rep or two per set, maybe an extra set. From what I understand, vegetarians tend to respond more strongly.

I'll fall below 100 grams of protein a day if I don't supplement. My lifting suffers, but it's hard to say if I that's because the periods I supplement correlate with when I am more determined, or if the protein really helps. I'll also tend to get more sleep during those times, which further confuses the impact.

I do wonder if the benefit I see from peri-workout nutrition is a sign that I'm getting old and things don't work as well as they used to. Having a lightly sweetened drink during makes the biggest impact for me. The post snack seems least important. I imagine intermittent fasting and keto change all of that, since you are not depending on carbs in the same way.

I've also played around with caffeine leading into my sessions. I found an uptick in performance, but it lets me dig too deep, when I haven't put it in the appropriate recovery. My body didn't like that.

prognastat
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Re: Tilting at Windmills(Prognastat's Journal)

Post by prognastat »

Since I ended up starting the creatine and the protein at the same time it's hard to tease apart how much is each just yet, but I suspect the first week most of the improvement was the creatine though in the long run the extra protein will be helping by allowing me to build muscle faster with the creatine just giving a little boost in being able to push just a little more in the gym which in turn will allow the protein to do more.

Generally when I eat before working out I feel way worse than when I work out fasted, but I don't know if this is just because that's what I'm used to or if I'm more predisposed to it. Also the few times I've actually had to throw up from working out are when I had either a protein shake before rather than after or drank too much water before/during my workout.

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