12/30

OHP: 95x 5 4 4 3 3
Deadlift: 185x5x3
Chin-ups: 1x3 1x2 1x1 (68 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 1x32 sec 1x31 sec 1x28 sec

I was absolutely done after deadlifting. I think I can finally say I understand how to properly deadlift. My whole body is sore, but there's no injury-type pain, and it feels great. One less thing to worry about. The whole problem was with my scapulae not being over the bar enough. Now that I fixed that, it's smooth sailing, and the only thing limiting me from lifting more is my grip. OHP still needs a lot of work, but I'm trying to troubleshoot it like I did my deadlift, and I'm sure all it needs is time.

12/28

12/24

Bench: 135x 5 5 4 5 4
Inverted: 1x10 1x9 1x8 (mid height)
Dips: 1x7 1x5 1x4 (58 lb assist)
Reverse crunches: 1x12 1x10 1x9

12/28:

Bench: 135x 5 5 5 4 5
Inverted rows: 1x5 (from ground) 1x10 1x8 (mid)
Dips: 1x8 1x5 1x4 (58 lb assist)
Reverse crunches: 3x12 (10 lb medicine ball)

Man, Christmas did a number on me this year. Did not expect this workout to go as good as it did. For some reason, bench is really doing a number on my triceps as well as my pecs. Maybe it has something to do with my form, or how close my grip is in comparison to my ridiculously long arms. Dips still don't feel right, I really want to replace them with something. Maybe I'll do some research over the next few days on that. Aside from that (and my knee still hurting occasionally), everything went swell.

PS: The comments in this video are also fucking hilarious.

12/22

12/20:

Bench 135x 5 5 4 4 3
Inverted rows: 1x7 1x9 1x10

12/22:

OHP: 95x 5 3 4 2 2
Deadlift: n/a
Pull-ups: 1x7 1x4 1x2 (70 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 1x37 sec 1x35 sec 1x32 sec

My back is killing me from shoveling snow, so I decided to opt out of deadlifting this Christmas week. Also, I found that I've been using too much back in my press, which accounts for the weird numbers. I'm really trying to focus on only using my back and stomach to stabilize, and lift entirely with my arms. If this means I need to deload the weight a bit, so be it, but form comes first. Felt really good doing pull-ups the first set, but as you can see, that went downhill quick. I stalled for a really long time at 90 lbs too, so maybe this is just a continuation of that.

12/17

OHP: 90x5x5
Deadlift: 180x5x3
Pull-ups: 1x5 1x3 1x2 (1 neg each) (70 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 1x38 sec 2x31 sec

OHP felt really good today, but my lack of form is still bothersome. The first rep of deadlifts was really bad, forgot to arch my back all the way and almost had a repeat of earlier back injuries. After that it was fine though, little bit sore now, but can't really complain. The only reason I think my pull-ups have gone down is because I'm using greater range of motion in them now, that's the only way I can think to explain it. Hopefully they'll start to pick back up again soon.

12/15

Bench: 130x5x5
Inverted rows: 1x9 (low) 1x9 (higher) 1x7
Dips: 1x12 1x6 1x4 (70 then 64 on 2/3)
Reverse crunches: 2x12 1x10

Well, I managed to move up in bench weight. The last set and especially the last rep were really shaky. Felt like I was gonna pass out from the exertion or something. Not having a spotter helps you give it your all though, because you don't want to be the noob that has to drop the bar to the side. Getting better at inverted rows, consistently being able to go down farther. Dips are still annoying. When I do them with a machine it feels like I'm performing the motion incorrectly, as stupid as that sounds, but whatever. Maybe I'll try to find yet another tricep assistance exercise.

12/13

OHP: 90x 5 5 5 5 4
Deadlift: 175x5x3
Pull-ups: 1x4 1x3 1x2 (70 lb assist) (1 neg each)
Prone bridges: 1x41 sec 1x39 sec 1x32 sec

Urgh, so close on OHP, even though my form is still shit. I wish technique didn't matter as much as it does, because it is truly game-changing at this point. My wrists are killing me by the 5th set, and I'm pretty sure that isn't supposed to be happening. Deadlifted what I was doing when I hurt my back before. Slightly painful today, think I was lifting more with my chest than anything, which is probably a no-no. Finally, pull-ups definitely felt a little off. I think I'm compensating on my OHP with muscles that are used during pull-ups, no way to be certain at this point though.

12/10

Bench: 130x 5 5 5 4 4
Inverted rows: 1x5 (from ground) 1x4 (more incline) 1x8 1x7
Dips: 1x9 1x7 1x5 (64 lb assist)
Reverse crunches: 3x12 (12 lb medicine ball)

So now I know why the lunk alarm was invented. Some guy had just met a girl when I was benching, and he was explaining his whole bullshit philosophy about bodybuilding and whatnot. Then he proceeded to do skullcrushers... for 20 reps. The entire time, he was yelling like he was an injured animal. I mean, if the guy were deadlifting 400 lbs or something I wouldn't give a shit, but he was just a total bro.

12/08

OHP: 90 x 5 5 4 4 3
Deadlift: 170x5x3
Pull-ups: 1x5 1x3 1x2 (2 neg) (62 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 1x45 sec 1x35 sec 1x33 sec

Deadlifting feels great when you do it correctly, however my shins still bleed like a bitch. Maybe I should invest in larger socks to cover more up my legs. It doesn't really hurt me, it's just more of an inconvenience. Also, I really need to gain some flexibility and execute the OHP correctly, because I'm gonna hurt myself at this rate.

Video is a friend biking to school. Nothing extremely special happens, but I still enjoyed it.

12/06

Bench: 125x5x5
Inverted rows: 1x11 1x8 1x6 (steeper angle)
Dips: 1x9 1x7 1x5 (64 lb assist)
Reverse crunches: 2x12 1x10 (12 lb medicine ball)

Felt like I was going to faint on bench, but I pushed through and made the last rep of the last set. Was great. Also, saw people in the gym doing the most ridiculous stuff today. Curling on a wobbly ball thingy was probably the highlight, as well as bros with huge arms and pencil-thin legs. Seriously, I did not know how this person was able to walk without breaking his legs.

Sweet video about doodling my friend linked me today.

12/03

Prone bridges: 1x57 sec 1x41 sec 1x35 sec
OHP: 85x5x1 90x3x1 85x5x3 85x3x1
Deadlift: 165x5x3
Pull-ups: 1x6 2x3 (1 neg each) (70 lb assist)

New deadlift form = amazing. New press form = my hands and wrists feel like they are about to explode. I think it will just take more grip strength and forearm flexibility but damn, it is sure going to suck to get there. My back on the left side has a little twinge from deadlifting, but compared to pinching a nerve and being in tons of pain, this is much better. Hopefully as my form improves the pain will gradually fade away entirely (until I fuck up again and get put out of commission for weeks). Going to visit a friend for the weekend, will be fun, then back to the grind on Monday.

12/01

Bench: 120x5x5
Inverted rows: 1x14 1x10 1x12
Dips: 1x8 1x7 1x6 (64 lb assist)
Reverse crunches: 2x12 1x10 (12 lb medicine ball)

Went to the gym early today to meet up with a friend from high school who had gotten into weight-lifting over the last few years. Feels great to finally have someone to talk bullshit with that actually knows what they're doing in the gym. Best part is, when my knee finally heals, I will have someone to go to who can help me with c&j and snatch form. I am sore today though, let me tell you. So happy I'm not going to be there tomorrow as well.

11/30

OHP: 90x 5 4 4 4 3
Deadlift: 155x5x3
Chin-ups: 1x6 2x4 (70 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 2x40 sec 1x35 sec

Back in the saddle again. Went and signed up to my local gym and got started. I really, sincerely wish my knee would feel 100% again, I want to squat so damn bad. At the same time, I'm so exhausted from going all out every session that I hesitate to think what adding 5x5 squats into the mix would do to me. On the plus side, since I'm home, I have the use of my mother as a resource. She's so happy to see me after being at school for 3 months that she basically caters to my every culinary request. Moms - gotta love 'em.

11/23

OHP: 85x5x5
Deadlift: 150x5x3
Chin-ups: 1x8 1x4 1x4 (78.5 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 1x49 sec 1x35 sec 1x37 sec

Finally moved up in OHP, feels good after the back trouble. Deadlift is getting back up to pre-injury stats as well. Chins are getting easier and easier by the workout, hopefully soon I can try for 1 unassisted, because it will be the greatest feeling in the world. The only thing I'm worried about now is the fact that sometimes my wrists break at the last few sets of OHP and bench, so that they're not in line with my forearms. I mean, I still get the weight up, but with more and more weight added on it could become problematic, so I just need to stay strict in my form.

Driving back home at the end of the week and picking up a gym membership for winter break, hopefully I can find a place with squat racks and barbells aplenty.

11/21

Bench: 125x 5 5 4 5 3
Inverted rows: 1x17 1x15 1x10
Dips: 1x10 1x8 1x5 (61 lb assist)
Reverse crunches: 1x12 1x10 1x9 (8 lb medicine ball)

Right elbow sort of hurting after dips yesterday, don't really know why. Hope it gets better. Bench was hard, most likely because I've been eating shitty and not getting enough protein the past few days as I've been preparing to take finals and whatnot. Oh well, it'll all be over after today.

11/18

OHP: 85x5x4 85x4x1
Deadlift: 145x5x3
Chin-up: 1x8 1x6 1x5
Prone: 1x44 sec 1x37 sec 1x33 sec

11/16

Bench: 120x5x5
Inverted rows: 1x19 1x12 1x10 (steeper angle)
Dips: 1x7 2x5 (61 lb assist, different form)
Reverse crunches: 1x12 2x9 (8 lb medicine ball)

Bench has gotten a lot harder after I learned to stop bumping it off my chest at the bottom. This workout actually felt like the best bench form I've had to date. Feels good to still accomplish it with near perfect form though, and finally get past 115, which I've been stuck at for a few weeks now. Can't wait until this weekend and next Monday is over, because I'll be out of school for a month and a half and be free to focus on lifting and hanging out with friends over the break.

11/14

OHP: 80x5x5
Deadlift: 140x5x3
Chin-up: 2x6 1x4 (86 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 1x43 sec 1x35 sec 1x33 sec

No time, must go measure bones.

11/12

Inverted row: 1x25 1x19 1x18
Dips: 2x9 1x5 (61 lb assist)
Reverse crunches: 1x12 1x11 1x9 (8 lb medicine ball)
Bench: 95x5x1 120x4x1 115x5x4

Veteran's day fucked me with my schedule, so I had to go in today instead. Of course random guys were camping the bench, so I decided to do my accessory work first. Apparently that was the wrong approach. Learned my lesson, benching was so hard after doing everything else today.

In honor of me watching Scott Pilgrim right now, here is this song.

11/09

OHP: 80x5x4 80x4x1 :(
Deadlift: 135x5x3 (YAAAA)
Chin-ups: 1x8 2x5 (95 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 1x39 sec 1x33 sec 1x27 sec

Well, my OHP has suffered for the week and a half break, but I somewhat expected that. I'm sure I can make it up no problem next workout. Deadlifting felt absolutely fine. Can't believe it. Form was solid and no back pain at all. The most surprising stat today was my chin-ups, they were so easy in comparison to going before today. Really happy about it.

11/07

Bench: 115x5x5
Inverted rows: 1x20 1x19 1x14
Dips: 3x5 (60 lb assist)
Reverse crunches: 1x12 1x10 1x9 (10 lb medicine ball)

Surprisingly, I actually felt better in only a week. Pretty astounding considering I could barley sit down last thursday without my back making me feel like I was dying. Decided to replace push-ups with dips because I know that dips will target my tris, and I just can't keep doing push-ups with a wide stance. Eventually it will lead to overtraining because it hits basically the same muscles I hit on my bench.

10/28

OHP: 85x5x3 85x3x2
Deadlift: 170x5x2

After deadlifting, while I was re-racking the weight, I wasn't paying attention and herniated a disc that I had previously injured. As a result, I'm not going to be lifting (or moving) for ~a month. Sucks, but I guess it's a lesson that had to be learned. I should be thankful it wasn't with more weight, but I can't help but keep kicking myself as I just did 10 reps absolutely pain-free. So it was totally my fuck up. Ugh. It hasn't deterred me from lifting, probably the opposite actually. I just need to be 100% focused when I'm in the gym from now on.

I've learned over the years that when you're injured that you can't feel pain when watching Whose Line re-runs.

10/26

Push-ups: 1x20 1x14 1x9
Reverse crunches: 2x12 1x11 (8 lb medicine ball)
Bench: 120x5x4 120x3x1
Inverted rows: n/a

Don't want to talk about it.

10/24

OHP: 80x5x5
Deadlift: 165x5x2
Pull-ups: 1x5 1x3 (2 neg) 1x2 (2 neg) (95 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 1x49 sec 1x42 sec 1x35 sec

Heroic effort needed to get the last rep of my OHP today, but after I struggled through it I felt goddamn amazing the whole rest of my workout. Also, as a note to myself, I should probably invest in some long socks on deadlift days. My shins are scraped to shit. I don't even notice when I'm actually lifting, but it gets annoying on the drive home. Huge improvement today on prone bridges, but that may be because I had to switch up the order of my exercises today as someone was hogging the place I do deadlifts. He was doing 1/4 squats, super worthwhile.

I <3 British accents.

10/21

Bench: 115x5x5
Inverted rows: 1x26 1x24 1x18
Push-ups: 1x15 1x10 1x9
Reverse crunches: 1x10 2x9

Bench is starting to actually feel like I'm lifting something, so back to the plan of 5 lbs a workout. It'll probably be better for me in the long run anyways. Inverted rows are feeling stupid, I can do a ridiculous amount from my bar position, and if I move a little lower, my feet start slipping, and I have the potential to fall. At the same time, I still can't do a full one from the lowest position yet, so it's an awkward position to be in.

10/19

OHP: 75x5x5
Deadlift: 155x5x2
Chin-up: 1x5 (1 neg) 1x3 (2 neg) 1x3 (2 neg) (95 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 1x42 sec 2x35 sec

Woo, locked out on OHP and got past 75. Was much easier this time around. Also decided to add another set of deadlifts and see how that feels. The only reason 1 set was recommended was because of the heavy emphasis on squats for the program. And, seeing how I'm not squatting again yet, I figure I could stand to add up to 3 sets for that. I just need to take it slowly. Made a little more progress on chin-ups as well. Feels good to finally be able to do a few, even if I do need the assist.

I certainly do love a young Grace Slick.

10/17

Bench: 105x5x5
Inverted rows: 1x23 2x20
Push-ups: 1x15 1x14 1x11
Reverse crunches: 2x11 1x8 (8 lb assist)

Fuck doing close grip push-ups, that shit sucks. If I need to, I'll find some isolation exercise that hits my tris, but I'm going back to my standard form push-ups from now on. Also, I have achieved a .5xbw bench today, so I'm super pumped. Best part is that benching is still quite easy at this point. Not too shabby for someone who could barely do a single push-up a year and a half ago, and benching over 65 was a deal breaker.

Off to hit the books again. Hope I'm done by 10 so I can catch the new episode of Mad Men.

10/14

OHP: 75x5x4 75x4x1
Deadlift: 145x5x1
Pull-ups: 1x3 (2 neg) 1x2 (3 neg) 1x1 (4 neg) (95 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 3x35 sec

Finally legitimately failed at a lift. Felt bad, but it only makes me want to go to the gym more to overcome this one. I knew OHP was going to be the first one to stall, but I was still extremely pissed off when it actually happened. As a further note, I need to start breathing more often during reps. I think I almost overhead pressed myself into unconsciousness today and had a massive headache after going.

That's it for a few days thankfully, sadly I'll have to spend the next free days studying for my osteology test. :(

10/12

Bench: 95x5x5
Inverted rows: 1x17 1x16 1x13
Push-ups: 1x7 1x6 1x12 (I did the last set with a wide arm stance)
Reverse crunches: 2x12 1x8 (12 lb assist)

10/10

Prone bridges: 1x35 sec 1x32 sec 1x28 sec
OHP: 70x5x5
Deadlift: 135x1x5
Chin-ups: 1x4 (1 neg) 1x3 (2 neg) 1x3 (2 neg) (w/ 95 lb counterweight)

OHP was intense today, got a lot harder from the previous session. Almost failed on my last set but I managed to keep pushing and get it over my head. I actually felt like I had pretty good form today on all of my lifts. What I'm most proud of is actually progressing a little on chin-ups, because even with the counterweight they're still an extremely hard movement to complete.

Video is a sweet bike race that I saw on Ebaums the other day (though it's probably a lot older).

10/07

Bench: 85x5x5
Inverted row: 20x1 13x1 10x1
Push-ups: 10x1 6x1 5x1
Reverse crunches: 12x1 11x1 9x1 (w/ 10 lb medicine ball)

Still letting my legs recover, feeling a lot better, but I want to be 100% when I start again. Benching feels great, and it also the only lift that I can perform successfully 100% of the time, so that's good. Reverse crunches with a smaller counterweight really sucked, my abs feel like they got struck repeatedly.

Song is from a favorite movie of mine called Igby Goes Down.

10/05

OHP: 65x5x5
Pull-ups: 3x1 (2 neg) 1x1 (4 neg) 1x1 (4 neg)
Prone bridges: 3x30 sec

Well, I figured that my knee hurting so badly after the last workout was a bad sign, so I decided to pull squats for a week or two and see how I feel. Depresses me because squatting is the basic element to any weight lifting routine, but I know that when I feel fully better I can start again. There is a fine line between soreness and injury and I think I've hit it. On the plus side, my OHP is still going up every workout, and that was the exercise where I thought I would barely be able to do the bar on, so that's good at least.

Frank Yang is by far the coolest (and craziest) powerlifter I've ever seen.

10/03

Squat: 90x5x5
Bench: 75x5x5
Inverted rows: 1x16 1x10 1x8
Push-ups: 1x12 1x7 1x5
Reverse crunches: 3x12 (15 lb medicine ball)

So I think going up by 10 lbs every workout on my squat is a little too much, going to slow it down again. Knee hurt this time, same with my lower back, so I'm obviously performing something incorrectly. Bench felt great, don't think I'm going to peak for a good long time, so I'm still going to keep increasing by 10 lbs a workout. Inverted rows were easier today, I might lower the bar next time and see how that affects it. If I can still do 5+ per set then I'll keep it there. Sucks to have a two day rest and feel great then go in and feel like shit after squatting, it's a bummer.

Housey song from The Social Network (highly recommend seeing, btw).

9/30

Squat: 80x5x5
OHP: 60x5x5
Deadlift: 135x5x1
Chin-ups: 1x4 (2 neg) 1x2 (3 neg) 1x1 (4 neg)
Prone bridge: 1x31 sec 1x28 sec 1x24 sec

In reverse fashion from normal, my OHP felt great today and my squatting felt like shit. My knee is in some pain right now, but I'm pretty sure I actually had better form than the other times I've squatted, so I figure it's just a product of injuring it beforehand. Also, finally moved up to real 45 lb plates for my deadlift, so it was sort of a personal victory there (of course my form is awful, so I shouldn't be celebrating too hard). I think the reason I maintained similar chin-up results is due to starting all the way down this time, instead of doing half-way chin-ups. Either way, negatives burn, but I know it's all doing me a world of good.

Here's Arnold talking about the pump. (lol)

9/28

Squat: 70x5x5 (accidentally did the same amount as sunday)
Bench: 65x5x5
Inverted rows: 15x1 11x1 7x1
Push-ups: 14x1 8x1 4x1
Reverse crunch: 12x3 (with medicine ball)

Pissed I did the same amount on squats and it still took a lot of effort. On the plus side I went up by 10 lbs on my bench (because last attempt was way too easy) and did it with ease. Push-ups were a lot easier as well now that I'm used to this new form. Reverse crunches felt better. Knee still doing strong lately, no complaints. That's about it.

If you haven't seen this video yet, you are definitely missing out. Someone linked it on /r9k/ around 9 months ago, and I still watch it on occasion to this day.

9/26

Squat: 70x5x5
OHP: 55x5x5
Deadlift: 125x5x1
Pull-ups: 4 (1 neg) x1 1 (4 neg) x1 1 (4 neg) x1 (w/ 95 lb assist)
Prone bridges: 30 sec x2 26 sec x1

My body hurts, but I just made some chicken with onions and some rice, so at least I'm full now. For sure the lift that is going to stall the fastest for me is the overhead press. Every time I lift it up, even at this weight, the rest of my body just starts shaking. Other than that, my knee felt surprisingly good while I was squatting today.  However, my hips ache pretty badly because I didn't stretch them over my two rest days for fear of hurting my knee. Feels like an endless cycle, but hopefully it all evens out soon.

The only really disappointing stat today was my pull-ups. They're a lot harder to accomplish than chin-ups, and doing negatives gets old really quick (that shit hurts). I guess it wasn't all bad, as I moved from a 103.5 lb assist to a 95 lb, but the stretch to get from 95 lbs. to unassisted seems pretty large. Maybe that'll make it all the more sweet when I can finally do 1 without any help.

I'll leave you with something that always pumps me up before going to the gym.

For the gamers out there

Was randomly surfing youtube when I remembered I had an arena video I helped make early on in the summer. Shows a really random comp beating brutal glad Pyrilus a few times in 2s. I play the enhance shaman and a rl buddy plays the priest. Transferred/name changed a long time ago and am currently inactive waiting for the season to end and me to get my shiny purple dragon.

Hope you enjoy.

Rest day

After a long night of reading new and interesting blog posts I then had to wake up and do... nothing. Hooray for weekends! It's also my 2nd day of rest from lifting (I go to the gym Su/Tu/Th), so I get more time to relax my bum knee. It actually feels a lot better since last week, though definitely not fully recovered yet. I guess that can only be a good sign.

In the meantime, today I'll probably just be sitting around and reading a book I recently picked up. It's a definite sci-fi classic, but I haven't read it yet. Actually got the idea from a book thread a few months ago. Not that far in, but I'm already pretty engrossed by the story.

Along with that, I'm sure I'll watch a few episodes of my new TV obsession. Just downloaded the 3rd season. If it's as good as the first two, I'm sure I won't be disappointed. The thing I'm most impressed about is the total adherence to 60s period props and behavior. Really great.

I told my roommate I made a blog last night and he requested I put up a video for him at the end of my post today. I don't particularly care for the band,  but they're one of his favorites. He's going to see them in concert today, so he was extremely excited all morning (and kept bugging me). I get done lifting at ~5:30 PST on the days I go to the gym, so expect another update on my progress around that time tomorrow.

On working out...

Ironically, though I stated this blog would not be about exercise in the last post, I have also just started following a lifting routine, and I figure if I post my day's experience it will only serve to make me more motivated to continue.

As a preface to my lifting log, I should probably give an impression of my general body composition. When I was 18 (in 2006) I weighed around 320 lbs and stood at about 6'1" tall. I was pretty unhappy, and I decided to do something about it. Unfortunately, I did very little research and went about it in a very unhealthy manner. The lowest weight I achieved was ~170 lbs. last winter. I stood a full inch taller (6'2"), a whole lot lighter, but I still was unhappy. I think this was due to the fact that I was the essential skinnyfat person. I had lost mass, but a huge proportion of my body was still encased in fat, so very little had effectively changed. Over the course of last winter and this summer, I managed to gain weight back due to an extremely hectic work/school schedule and I have arrived back at 210 lbs. Understandably distressed, I have decided to do something about it once again, only this time by lifting in hopes of reducing body fat if not overall weight. The program I intend on following is easily recognizable even if you are only a cursory browser of /fit/ - Stronglifts 5x5.

Yesterday was my 6th workout. The routine itself is pretty easy thus far, but squatting is more challenging because the form is not intuitive (for me) to grasp and I'm struggling with an acl injury I got over the summer. Here are my stats so far:

(Weight in lbs.)
Squat: 65x5x5
Bench: 55x5x5
OHP: 50x5x5
Deadlift: 100x5x1

(Reps x sets)
Chin-up/pull-up: 6x1 3x2 and 2 negatives (with 95 lb. assist)
Inverted rows: 12x1 9x1 6x1
Push-ups: 8x1 4x2
Reverse crunch: 12x3 (with 35 lb. dumbell as counter-weight)
Prone bridges: 1x28 sec 1x22 sec 1x18 sec

I've been eating healthy (and in great quantity) so hopefully only good things can come of this. My biggest concern is injuring my left knee further, and if it becomes really bad I may need to cut squats from my routine for a while (the screams of rage from /fit/ have reached in my home from that last statement). But I'm trying to remain as optimistic as possible and hopefully the problem will resolve itself over the course of the next few months.

Also, cannot get this song out of my head. Little bit clubby, but I still like it.



(For more info on my routine/lifting: http://stronglifts.com/)

Purpose

Many of you have come here and (erroneously, though through no fault of your own) thought that you were going to be viewing a blog about exercise. Would that I knew enough about such a topic to make this an interesting read, however, I had a different sort of idea when coming up with this blog. As a college student majoring in biological anthropology, I've been around the block a couple of times when it comes to relating abstract scientific theories with the realities of human expression. For this, I couldn't help but draw parallels between the biological principle of inclusive fitness and the mass exodus of robots to create blogging accounts. To understand this connection, maybe an introduction to what inclusive fitness actually means is necessary.

Inclusive fitness, very simply stated, is the idea that one's genetic heritage may still be passed on even if the individual in question did not sire offspring.This is the principle that, most notably, helps to describe altruism (doing good for seemingly no return) in the animal kingdom. Thinking pragmatically, there is no benefit to engage in highly risky, yet altruistic behavior as it reduces the chance you will personally live on and reproduce. Despite this, altruism is a very well-documented facet of many animals' behavior. How can this be? The best example of altruism can be seen in the behavior of prairie dogs (hence the avatar). Prairie dogs have unique members of their social units known as "sentries" who watch for predators by standing on their hind limbs above the high grass while their relatives move safely along the ground. While doing this, they are highly alert for predators and give out a call if any are spotted. Conversely, if a predator is spotted by a sentry, that sentry would be the first target of attack. This leaves him with a very low chance of survival. Thankfully, even if such an individual is snatched up by some predator, the genes he shares with his relatives who have successfully avoided death due to his altruism still survive. Isn't biology fun?

But what does this have to do with the creation of blogging accounts? It may take a leap of faith, but I see this as a direct translation of culturally induced inclusive fitness. Obviously this cannot have a genetic basis, but rather it exists through a memetic system of reinforcement and observation.  Though many of us started blogs for greedy and seemingly selfish reasons, the nature of this system forces us to act altruistically and add, follow, and comment to others all the while hoping they will do the same for us. Everyone is (at least partially) looking out for the welfare of one another. Also, in terms of the greater survival of the group at the expense of the individual, I thought to the userbase of /r9k/ as a whole. Even if some people don't follow through individually on their promises (God forbid) to keep up with one another, the collective of /r9k/ continually experiences profit (both intellectually and monetarily). Individual accounts may cease to post on and view other blogs, but the collective entity that was created between their interactions still lives on. And that is the predominant reason I chose to join in. As much shit as robots get, I thoroughly enjoy what most people have to say (caveat: when they're not trolling), so helping out and getting to know other contributors seems like a fine thing for me to do.

On one hand, this seems awesome (to me, at least). On the other hand, I may have just been extremely high when I came up with this in the morning (unlikely) and it may be absolute hogwash. Either way, I had fun writing it. The rest of this blog will be filled up with things I enjoy doing, projects I'm working on, or stuff that I find interesting that I discussed in class. Thanks to anyone that sticks around and actually reads the bullshit I'm writing, I appreciate it.

(In b4 wall of text, for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusive_fitness)

Testing...

Just set this thing up, figuring out how it works. Hopefully will be adding more content later while I'm bored at work.