Mitch’s goof off space

I like to workout efficiently, so I don’t spend a lot of time idle in the gym.  So, I don’t really tune into the muzak being pumped out (I don’t bring an mp3 player because they too easily get in the way on certain exercises).

But there’s one song that always cuts through my intensity, and it is that awful Avril Lavigne song ‘Hey You (I want to be your girlfriend)’ or whatever the title is.  Seriously, this thing was popular at some point?  It’s almost embarassing to hear.  The only time it is ever close to being good is when it was mashed up with ‘Walk it Out’ and the far superior, earlier version of the same song ‘Mickey You’re So Fine’ (find it on the Best of Bootie 2007 cd, an excellent mashup project: http://www.soop.ca/bootie/bestofbootie2007/17%20-%20Lobsterdust%20-%20Walkin%27%20Out%2
0Yo%20Girlfriend.mp3)

The bench area of the gym - of probably most any gym - is an interesting place.  There’s really no hiding what resistance you’re betting on lifting; with the machines there’s a certain amount of discretion as to how much you’re pushing; not so with the benches.  I think this tends to keep away a certain portion of the membership which is a pity, since free movement compound exercises are so effiecient.

Anyway, at my gym we have 2.5, 5, 10, 25, and 45 pound plates.  I have usually had to use some combination of the smaller plates for my bench press, but now I can do 3 real sets of the larger plates.  A minor thing, but I feel like I’ve ‘moved up’ a notch.

I am totally cameraless right now, or otherwise I would be tempted to take some progress pictures.  My ’stack’ I think has been doing well for me and I’m pretty pleased with my upper back and shoulders, and my chest isn’t too bad either.

I realized I make noise during the last rep or two of certain workouts.  Specifically squats and sometimes bench press.  Not loud, but… loud enough to be heard within a ~15 foot radius.  Strangely, I think part of why I do it is so that I feel like I really am exerting myself - so it’s mental?  I don’t think I bother anyone with it but still, I want to keep it reigned in consciously, no one else really wants to hear that.

Poor performance today, a nice headache brewed in my left hemisphere and made high intensity reps pretty much impossible about half way through.  Frustrating!  Still, I got most of my workout done, and for the latter part concentrated on more reps at a lower weight to stop spikes in blood pressure making my head pound.

I have a pretty good idea what caused it too: my worst sin regarding bodybuilding is not eating enough/at the right times.  Lunch at 12:30pm, and then I should have had dinner right after work, but I screwed around and went to the gym on a very empty stomach.  I have got to eat more, and more often.  How do you do it?

What a great workout.  I just moved to a new place, that’s about a mile from the gym, so I’ve taken to jogging there sometimes instead of taking the bike.  Got in a good back and bicep workout, just started taking some supplements so I have that whole "they must be working, so I’ll workout harder" thing going on.  When I finish up I walk outside to one of Florida’s famous intense rainstorms starting to build up.  The heavens open and I find myself jogging home in a heavy rain - not torrential, but enough to soak me through and through.  It was great!  In my head I’m totally singing ‘Eye of the Tiger’ as I go.  In the distance the clouds have broken, so there’s a beautiful sunset filtering down.  I get to my house and just stick outside a bit, it’s still so warm that it just feels like a shower now.  I admit it, I totally shouted some self affirmations out loud - whatever the world can give me, I can survive.

Hope you all had a good workout if that’s what you did today, and have a fun weekend!

We guys love the bench press.  It’s a simple exercise that’s easy to work till failure on, with an extra dash of danger/embarrassment if you can’t push out that last rep.  One thing I’ve noticed is how wildly different everyone’s capacity for work with chest movements is.  I think the muscles of the chest are easy to conceal and don’t scale in size regarding strength in a linear way.  I’ve seen guys push out some impressive weight who had unremarkable chests - always makes me a little unsure of myself, like I’m not *really* training hard.  But I am happy with what I have so far, since I came from so very little.  I was never a big kid, and at my thinnest the muscles of my chest were probably just millimeters thick.  Now at least you can tell I have pectorals. 

Good timing, as a got a ‘where are you?’ automated notice from BodyBuilding.com.  I am back, moved into a new place where I can set down a good routine - I plan to gym it 4 to 6 times a week and get serious about supplements and diet.  I’ve floundered at putting on weight and I hope that a real, sustained increase in calories will see some results.

Oddly, I’ve found it easier and easier to push myself harder during workouts.  In fact I’ve been going in with the intention to keep it light, since I’ve only been able to get in the gym once or twice a week, but end up training until failure.  I feel great afterwords, except for the DOMS that happens when I don’t work out often enough.  Today was legs and I’m sure I’ll be feeling it two days from now (it takes two days for DOMS to show up in me, for some reason.  I think it has something to do with the seated position, which I’m in at work and often at home.)

Anyway, I’m back and looking forward to some great, hard workouts - and I hope everyone else is too!

Friends and I decided to go to the pool today (a balmy 94 if Florida right now.)  Invented a little game where we throw a POOF ball back and forth between the three of us, but in the deep end - no touching the bottom.  Treading water while throwing a gradually heavier water logged ball back and forth makes for an interesting kind of cardio.  No impact, no getting hot or sweaty, no range of motion injuries.  Good stuff, I  recommend it!

I was a flat 155lbs before I got my last cold, now I can’t seem to climb out of the 152 range.  Very frustrating.

Yesterday was a leg day and something pretty funny/strange happened.  I know it’s been about 2 weeks since my last legs workout, so I was taking things lightly.  After doing free standing squats with some small weight, I went to do some hamstring stuff, and noticed over the next few minutes that my quads were siezing up if I bent them - as long as I stood up it was okay, but if I squatted down or sat with my legs draped over something they’d just contract and cramp really bad.  I thought it was funny given that I didn’t think I did anything that severe.  After 15 minutes or so it went away and I could bend my legs again without fear that I was going to fall down.

I am still fighting off this cold.  It’s dying, it’s almost dead but it’s still hanging out in my cough and nose.  Worse than that, I went swimming in a pool Friday and ever since my right ear has been plugged up.  I don’t think it’s infected but I think I may have impacted some soft wax against my ear drum with a Q-tip.  It is very annoying and I’m going to see an ENT doc tomorrow.

I am moving out into a new place soon, and would like to seriously try putting on some good weight this time.  I was thinking of trying out a post-workout recovery supplement like Cellmass or similar.