Getting epic in Eve

... epic in a way:)
I played quite a bit in the last weeks, I learned a lot but I still have much to learn.
The last stuff in which I am involved is the Sisters of Eve epic line, quite interesting, half-way done. For this purpose I fitted a Caracal, this time with his own fittings (HAMs and shields). No issues so far, will see in the last missions how it goes.

Other than that I tried my hand with a bit of mining on an alt... good for semi-AFK mode.








Some Jita trading (got something like 60 mil ISK worth salvage from missions)

Before starting the SoE arc I was doing lots of L4 missions, got between 1 and 4 mil ISK/mission.

The game is complex and hard/easy in the same time, I tried some PI too, some distribution missions, I kept reading blogs about it, it's a different experience. No PvP for me tho... but I'll keep digging.

Shifting the weight

I haven't written about the last days, it was a bit hectic.
However, I was able to have 2 more training days, one for legs+abs and one for chest+biceps+traps.
Nothing special, except that with the new (old) system I can push thing a bit, my muscles have enough time to rest.
So, I went to 100 kg on the decline bench press, with a little help. Lesson learned, 95 is good enough for solo play.
On the other side of reality, I had the almost-fail colonoscopy...  after 40 hours of fasting... Fail in the sens the pain was too much to resist for the procedure to go all the way (I won't go into details...). Other than that the blood analyses were almost perfect, a bit high on Sodium and Creatinine (still in the range tho) . What will follow will be a bit of pro-biotics and some specific treatment for ICS.
I'm waiting now to get back in shape, to restore my energy level and hopefully tomorrow or Friday at least will get back to gym.

And ... Spring is here!

 Image from DesktopNexus site. 

Back to the roots

So, after a week with many incidents which lead to a missing-the-gym syndrome, I started (again) with a classical approach to my training.
I was rested (at least physically) so I could push the iron around with more power and motivation.
So, back to the roots.

Back routine:
- wide pullups: 14 to start then some 10 with 10 kg and 6 with 15 kg - not bad, I was afraid I was not able to do them anymore after the long pause at this exercise
- machine pulls, horizontal: max lvl-12
- deadlifts (bent legs), for lower back: went with max 60 kg, could go with more but I won't risk it (as before with 100 kg...)
- some rovings, nothing to write home about

Triceps routine:
- the mighty dips: 20 (no weight), 12 with 15 kg, 10 with 10 kg - good enough
- machine triceps press downs: 8xL14, lvl 10 drop set

Some shoulder exercises:
- front and lateral raises
- machine/s press

Nutrition goes well, 4 meals a day, low carb, not so much fat, under 2k calories.
... Preparing for next week's colonoscopy...

A nice Eve video to watch.

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MGS - Phase 1 - Day 10

Lazy week, that was... 2 days to gym and 2 to TKD. Some IRL issues prevented me to do the normal 3/2 routine. Also I will have to adapt again. Finishing phase 1 I will switch to a more conventional approach and split:

- day 1: chest + biceps
- day 2: legs + abs +- shoulders
- day 3: back + triceps +-shoulders

For the cardio part I will have the 8 km bike/day. Yeah, spring is here and I brought out my MTB, so the "moving around" part is assured.

1) Squat		2	8	120
2) DB Split Squat		2	12 - 15	120
3) Back Extension		2	20 -25	120
4) EZ Bar Curl		3	8 - 10	90
5) Farmers Walk		4	30 sec	60

Nutrition: some IF and 4 meals/day. High carb on weekend, low in the rest, or even no carb on some days, as the body permits this.

MGS - Phase 1 - Day 9

After a bit (4 days) of "rest" I was at the gym last evening. Below, the routing.

1) Low Incline Bench Press		2	8	120
2a) DB Mil Press		4	6 - 8	60
2b) Inverted Row		4	6 - 8	60
3a) Rope/Band Face Pull		2	10 - 12	60
3b) Diamond Pushup		1	AMAP	60

I had to "break" a bit the 4 day/week routing, since I re-started the TaeKwonDo training, 2 days a week. So, in the end I will have to adjust the whole setup, since 6 days of actual training/week is not going to work... I tried it before and it kicks me off the cliff due to fatigue. Yeah, I'm getting old and the fact that I have a full time job and a family to take care of it's not making it easy for me. But, this is the order I have chosen in my life so I do what I can.

The actual training for this day was good, went to 8x105 reps on the Scott machine, inclined bench press. The pushups were not funny, max 30... gotta do more than that.

On the nutrition side, I had to give up the 3 meals/day tryout... it was getting me so dizzy. I switched to a more familiar 4 meals/day one, low carb (mostly).

MGS - Phase 1 - Day 8

And another week is over.

1) Deadlift		5	8	120
2) Romanian Deadlift		2	6 - 8	120
3a) Incline Hammer Curl		3	8 - 10	60
3b) Neck Extension		3	15 - 20	60
4) Incline sprint		3	20 sec	90

It's Sunday, but was a good day for gym. Got coffee before starting, also I was sipping the shake (25 pro + 50 carbo + 5 g leucine + 5 g glutamin + 5 g creatine) during the workout.

Things were a bit change compared to the list above, I had no time for cardio and for the neck extension (?!). Instead I did the calves and abs training. For dead lifts I did not go above 60 kg (hernia...). For curls I kept things controlled at 17.5 kg. I want to go to 20 next week.

Energy level was good but not great... I'm trying a micro-fasting method, 1 meal at 6 hours, minimal carbo, except on weekends when I load with carbo.

On the nutrition front I will go with a big change, low cal, low carbo, 3 meals. Not ideal, but I want to experiment with this. It will go something like this:

- meal 1 - around 9 AM - eggs (house chickens), yogurt (made in house by me), veggies + omega 3 + lecithin and amino
- meal 2 - around 3 PM - shake: whey, psyllium, coconut flakes, omega 3,  cinnamon, chia
- meal 3 - around 9 PM - meat + veggies + healthy fats: avocado, coconut oil, peanut butter, etc
Estimated protein intake: ~100-140 g (around 1.5-2 g/kg )

During the day: loooots of water.
I'll see how it goes. I know I will loose some mass, hopefully more fat than anything else, but as I planned, from March on I'm going to a cutting phase.

Display upgrade - 2713 HM - The wonders of IPS

So, yesterday I made the change I wanted to do long ago.
I switched/upgraded to a Dell 2713 HM, an IPS panel with 2560x1440 resolution.
A great review of this monitor can be found at TFTCentral

I studied the "market" alot, on what/how/why and finally decided to go fir this one. I got it from evoMAG.ro with a little help from lab501.ro (the nice 3% voucher).

First a pic with the whole setup:

- first on left is the BenQ 24" monitor
- second on center is the Dell 2713 HM
- on the right side is a Dell 22" one hooked to my second rig.













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The good news is that I received a good sample, no dead or blocked pixels and minimal glow/light bleeding. And yes, it's huge, even if in the current setup it looks quite small, I had to fix it at low level so there is no such a big difference compared to the 24" one.

Another shot in the dark.

Minimal glow and almost no bleeding, a bit in the bottom right side.













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As for the overall performance I'm very pleased with it. Great color reproduction, huge space to use (Photoshop loves it), adjust-ability, no visible ghosting (at least in Eve, constant 60 FPS).

I can just say that I love it and I recommend it to anyone who would like to get in the "big" league of monitors.

MGS - Phase 1 - Day 7

A bit hard day. 't was a full day at job, so I felt pretty tired when I went to gym at 10 PM.
Started slow but managed to do it OK.
And again I'm definitely a bit weaker than in the summer. Tempo and caloric deficit, low carbo...

1) Military Press		5	8	120
2a) Neutral Grip Chin Up		3	6 - 8	60
2b) Suspended Pushup		3	6 - 8	60
3a) Pronated Band Pull Apart		2	10 - 12	60
3b) Triceps Dip		1	AMAP	60

Pushups done on the TRX are the real deal. And triceps dips with chains...

I finished with 15 min of cardio, 190 calories.