February 18th. Shoulders. Erica.
Oooh what a great workout tonight!!!! I have been debating whether or not to start writing down all the weights that I use, so that I can track my progress and strength increases. I used to do this always just so that I could see if I hit a plateau at some point, then I would know that it was time to switch up my workout and shock my body. I also did a doggcrapp style workout for a while, which emphasizes keeping records and constantly increasing weight. But nowadays, I switch up my workouts every week, and always change exercises, sets, reps, etc., so I don’t know that keeping records would have much impact. I lift off of feel these days, and some days I just have more strength and stamina than others anyway. I always warm up with a very light set to get the blood flowing and my joints warm, and then work my way up, so that my last set is as heavy as I can go and still get 6-8 good reps with good form. I think this is the best for me right now, so I suppose I am just reaffirming to myself right now that I don’t need to write it all down as long as I am making sure to push myself to the max every night. Besides, although getting stronger is nice, if that was my ultimate goal I would be doing a powerlifters workout. My goal is just to improve my overall health and physique and look sexy and studly lol, so if that means using lighter weights that’s fine, I don’t need to be Mr. Macho anyway.
Soooooo, I blasted my shoulders tonight!! I did 8 exercises, 4 sets of each, and superset 2 at a time. I also did my abs, so I really worked hard. This is the 1st time in years that I have worked hard enough to puke, and the 1st time that I have ever puked doing any bodypart other than legs. The workout in order was (all supersets): hammer machine shoulder press with pec deck rear delt fly, seated dumbell arnold press with cable upright rows, ez bar 2 arm front raises with seated lateral raises, and machine overhead press with shrugs. By the end I was so exhausted, my shoulders were on fire, and I couldn’t use very much weight at all on the machine press. I really felt like I did all I could do, and couldn’t have done another set. So I’m proud of myself.
So there is a really cute girl who I have seen at the gym a few times at night, I’ve mentioned her before, and she always manages to get on the treadmill next to mine, or work out on the bench next to the one I’m using. She always strikes up a conversation, and I’m always polite and chatty, but I also am not flirty, and sometimes I think that I come off as rude since she always tries to talk to me, and I don’t even introduce myself. She’s hot, don’t get me wrong, and other guys in the gym try to talk to her, but I have been dealing with all of this Heather stuff, and just haven’t been looking for female attention. So tonight, she finally brought up the fact that I never introduce myself, and she wanted to know my name. Her name is Erica, and so I shook her hand and introduced myself. We joked about who was getting buffer, me or her, and we decided that I’m buffer, but she looks better in shorts haha. So in the spirit of me trying to be happy for Heather, and not be pouty anymore, I let my guard down and let her flirt with me some. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not going out on any dates or anything lol, but it was probably good for me to talk to a female and not feel sad about Heather. Haha, I should ask her to join me for a carne asada burrito after we work out next time. I always go get a burrito after my workout since I’m always hungry, and the only place that’s open at 2:30 in the morning is a 24 hour mexican place up the street. It’s really good food though, and the burrito is all meat with some avocado, tomato, and onion, and that’s it. So it’s fairly healthy, and extremely delicious.
I had dinner with Dave tonight at BJ’s, which was nice. I’m not sure why he asked me to have dinner with him, but it’s always nice to talk to Dave. We have been friends for 18 years, and he has changed so much over time, but he has a really good head on his shoulders and a really good perspective on things. We talked about Heather, and Jasmine, his ex who he recently went through a divorce with. Dave has become a devout Christian, and sometimes I wish that I was a better Christian like him. I should go to church with him sometime. He made some interesting statements about people who claim to be Christians. A lot of people (Heather fits in this category) claim themselves as Christians because they believe in God, and Jesus Christ, and they have a certain belief in the bible, etc. However, these people all seem to think that just because they believe, that all roads lead to Heaven, and that just believing is enough to get them in. When in reality, how do we know that that is true? Is it really enough just to believe? As Dave pointed out, even the Devil believes in God, Jesus, and Heaven, and the Bible says that Satan actually fears God and His power, but just because Satan believes, certainly doesn’t mean that God is going to let him into Heaven. Why should I be any different? I pray all the time, and I certainly believe, but that doesn’t mean that God has to let me into Heaven when I’m gone!! I need to live a better life. I’m not sure that I know what that means just yet, and I’m not certain that it means that I should suddenly become some holy roller and go to church every night, because I believe that it is important to be true to myself, and I have found that church just isn’t for me all the time. But maybe I just need to be more self aware, and make better choices in general. It’s the little things that can make a big difference. Helping those in need, giving back to God and the community, or just being cleaner in my relationships. If Heather and I ever work things out, or if I ever date again, I want our relationship to be healthier and cleaner, and more loving. I’m done arguing over petty things, or being jealous, or whatever. I want a healthy life, a healthy relationship, a healthy body, and a healthy mind and soul. We all make choices, and we live with the results of those choices, good or bad. I’d like to start making good, healthy choices, so that the results are always good. But only I can make those choices for myself.
