Week 3 of HIT and keeping the distractions under wraps
I am quite pleased with the HIT workouts. The strenght increases have been dramatic in some regards, even though the "workout tracker" graphs do not seem capable of digesting some of my increases when I am doing more than 12 reps in a particular exercise.
Having my workout partner unplug a couple of weeks ago is not the deterrent that I thought it would be either. His older brother had been noticing how he had been gaining muscle and ripping up the last few months working out with me and asked him to start training with him. Obviously working out with both of us was not an option and threesomes don’t work. I thought about it and realized that if I had one of my brother’s local and they asked me to workout with them, I would have a hard time telling them no too. So its good. He is an employee at the gym and is there when I am working out in the early AM and he still gives me a spot when I need it.
Keeping a close record and competing with my self by looking at the weight I did the week previous and setting a goal for the next week workout by workout is turning out to be quite functional. In fact I am contemplating getting an iPod to load with heavy metal to shut off some of the distractions in the gym. I previously thought folks that use those were mighty anti-social, but now that things are growing in intensity, I can see the benefits big time. The occasional lame ballad coming across the speakers from the 70s in the gym can distract or the 50 and 60 somethings gossiping about some happening in town or the crazy chick in my gym that seems to grunt and scream a bit too much can all throw me off. Having my own music piped into my ears might be a good thing.
I want to have the focus in the gym of the sprinter - when he steps up to the blocks the lanes are ahead of him and there is nothing going on in his mind but that one thing: getting past that finish line faster than he ever has. I want to have that kind of focus when I am in front of the squat rack looking at weight that I have never lifted before, or bettering myself on the number of reps from last workout… last time I got 6, this time 10.
The fat is coming off … yeah! I have dropped 7 lbs since the bulking phase, so the carb cycling thing is doing some magic and I am going to stick with it. I am certain the next set of progress pics will be very cool.
Nice!
March 16, 2008 at 8:11 am
Hey Brian, I completely understand every aspect of your blog entry. A good workout partner is hard to find. An IPOD will never be late nor will it ever let you down in the weightroom. I got an Animal t-shirt at the Arnold that says, "I’m not here to talk!" and I love wearing it to my local gym. That seems to be the primary purpose people are there.
When I get to my heavy sets on deads I need that driving music pumping into my ears to motivate me. If you haven’t made the investment yet, I would highly suggest it before your next workout.
Keep up the good work on the diet! You will never regret finally getting that piece of the puzzle dialed in to meet your bodies needs. I like to see it as a vehicle: I won’t put water or oil in the fuel tank. And if I really want it running to it’s maximum potential, I will use the highest octane available.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and the kind words of encouragement you left bro!
March 16, 2008 at 8:45 am
Haha…there’s nothing like being in the middle of a squat and Elton John’s "Can you feel the love tonight" comes on the gym’s sound system.