information overload.

So it is my intention to lift some today. 

And I have no freaking idea where to start. Whatever the lift programming equivalent of writer's block is, that would be what I'm experiencing. 

The hilarity of this is that for years, decades even, I carefully researched and wrote up my own lifting schedules with relative ease. It was almost autoprogrammed. An afterthought.

But now, after having turned the reigns over to crossfit for almost 2 years (to admittedly shameful consistency), I find myself unable to program. I've gotten so used to just showing up and being told what to do that I apparently now need spoonfed. How embarrassing. 

While I've pretty much, at this point, just resolved to spend a few weeks doing the "Couture barbell series" just to get back into the swing of things, I just felt compelled to remark upon the vast wealth of resources out there... 

how to lift. how to eat. how to do jiu jitsu. how to sort your socks.

anything and everything is there. 

AND NONE OF IT FREAKING AGREES.

I guess it's pretty wishful thinking to assume any given process has one, and only one right way, but sheesh. It makes it hard for someone who likes to absolutely immerse in a topic before making a decision do just that - make a decision. 

The little scientist in me wants research and facts and theories proven. And yet what I'm finding is that much like the magical spreadsheet land of most places I have worked, the science can be skewed to support or unravel any given process. 

Dammit. 

So, I guess I'm just going to throw a few hypotheses of my own out there, and see which ones survive. I'm basing my decision to add supplemental lifting based on the fact that I felt and looked better back when I was putting in that extra lifting time. We'll see if I can still manage to hit up bjj and crossfit with regularity. Those take precedence. 

While I would prefer having a nice, plotted out list of exercises, the barbell circuit is as good as anything else to re-acquaint myself. And by hogging a barbell for that long, it invariably pisses off the "I'm here to do bicep curls" crowd, which just makes me smile typing it. Asshats. 

Anyhow, let's go to it, and let's get some swimming in, too. 

Shoulder is responding well to chiro thus far... let's see if it can hack this. 

AND ASIDE: holy flaming shitballs. There's a NOGI version of Emily Kwok's instructional coming out soon. Damn straight I preordered that noise the second I read about it. SQUEEEE!!!!! 

***later update: this was all apparently a not-so-great idea. Shoulder hosed up mid-evening. Meh.