Fit for Freedom

How many people actually use steroids I wonder?  The healthy look is not ripped but bigger and solid I see.  Ripped is close to anorexia with drug use for/by some thrown in for good measure.  There indeed are those that are blessed with an over abundance of testosterone.  Plus the books and guides have alot of it wrong.  The more I read the less I know.  The more I experience the greater is my wisdom.  I have found if I rest a muscle group for 10 days I can easily return and out perform the last set I did with the same group.  So my muscle recovery is longer and the strength gains come regularly.  I have closed in on one plateau and the that did not last long because even different muscle groups require tuning.  I can leg press 700 lbs all day if my knees would allow it for example.  If I trained my guns every week to 10 days I would lose strength instead of training 2 times a week like I did to break the plateau. Now the gains still come but in smaller increments.  A 5 pound plate instead of a 10!  I get sore after every weight session.  I Have found too the last 2 reps might be the hardest but when you have that "Out of body experience" on those last 2 those are the ones that really stimulate growth.  My brain tells my body, "I have to lift it next time,"  and I do.  At minimum I have disciplined myself to beat each set by at least 2 reps.  My goal is to go up a minimum of 5 lbs per exercise every session.  I always make the small goal.  I have also learned that since the muscles are stronger than the attachments the 5×5 program works great without the repetitive teardown of more multiple reps.  But this is what I have experienced.

Well the cardio solution has been the bike.  Cycling around the community.  I noticed that it is pretty much interval training which seems to the exercise pundits as the best.  Up hill exert, downhill coast.  Sure works for me.  Its like a little vacation between cranking it up the hill.  I make sure as to push my butt back on the seat as to avoid in perineal compression that would cause potential neural damage to erectile innervation for the manhood part.  It would be like the Playboy definition of impotence-assault with a dead weapon.  With exercising increasing libido, how in the world could one suffer increased desire with decreased function.  THAT would lead to insanity!

Machines for lifting suck with their inconsistencies.  Being older limits me to some exercises I cannot do such as skull crushers.  I love them though.  But elbow pain forced me to use a machine.  So using the cable machine I had progressed to 160.  10 pounds more than it could handle.  So, I moved to the next machine which had a belt system.  WTF!  Did someone  cut my long locks off?  I could not budge it.  After feeling my ego deflate I put the machine on 90 lbs and proceeded.  Like they say in the 5×5 program, "The last rep of the 4th set should be hard while the 4th and 5th rep of the last set should be similar to an out of body experience."  Well, with the strain I did meet God on that last rep.  God showed me humility and had mercy as I completed the last rep.  Why are the machines si inconsistent?  Are there no industry standards as to what the "pull weight" of a machine is?  So then if I try a regular bench press instead of the Body Masters machine that means I will be reping around 100 lbs?  I am more of a pansy than I thought.  But, I am going after size and strength, so if I keep it up, regardless of the type of weights lifted I will progress.

I find that stress works 2 ways in BB.  The first is that it really motivates me to run to the gym.  The second is that knowing that I am running to the gym to alleviate the stress it gives me massive energy and pump to push hard on the plates. Now, my muscles are still pissed from Mondays stress workout motivated by a worse than average day at the job.  Today?  Fixing the house up for inspection.  We have a contract now on outr house and it needs to be in tip top shape.  Inspections always make me haywire.  I run around the house muttering "Doom, Doom,Doom" over and over like a sick Kali mantra.  Fortunately I have been able to morph it into "Push harder, push harder, push harder" at the gyms.  Now my shoulders will feel my angst and later I will feel theirs!  Ah the pleasure of the pain of growth!

Does life get the way of your lifting?  Work-overtime, kids life, graduations, weddings, vacations-well I just have to buckle down harder and get even more serious.  I think it all works out in the end for the non-competitor but if you live to lift then that won’t fly.  After a weeks vacation and no lifting I am ansty to get into the gym.  I will have to settle myself down so I remember to keep good form and focus.  Tommorow is arm day so it is easy to get back into it-my favorite day.  It was nice though showing my newly improved and improving bod down at Virginia Beach!  I actually hada girl come up to me and say’ "Can I touch it ?"(bicep   )  "Sure." , I said and she said, "Flex it!"  And then she said "Oh my God!" and left blushing and giggling.  Why do I lift?  You tell me!