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)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
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.
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.
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.
Friday, September 24, 2010
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/)
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)
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.
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