The TFP Health Club

Squats are more stable and below parallel now. Time I took off from heavy to work on form was worth it. I'm also doing full body warm ups, including lifting light weights and stretching for about 30 minutes before the big events. Warm ups are good.

Last night after warmups:
Squat 135 185 225 275 315 365 420 for 5 reps followed by 315 for 10.

Was wiped out at this point, and sat down breathing hard and trying to drink enough fluids...

 

Stayed up too late reading, and my 5:30 alarm had very little effect on me. When the 6:00 alarm went off, I changed it to 7:30. Sooo, looks like I'm hitting the gym tonight. Weight day, w00t!

 

One is not more important than the other. Balance is crucial. I work with some mega strong dudes... not all of them can run. Being able to do 5 miles in <45 minutes is a reasonable standard.

 

Baraka_Guru's resume doesn't include "ability to kill those that need killing". That's why I said activities of daily living. Strength affects posture. Reduces lower back pain incidence. Regulates insulin and other hormones. Positively influences cholesterol ratios. For the average person who doesn't have part of their resume dispayed on their skeleton, strength training is more important. If you were going to devote three hours a week to training, your time would be better spent under a bar. Is that optimal? No. But better than nothing. Better to have someone succeed under a reasonable goal than fail.

 

So, resistance ISN'T futile????

 

Dear Gym Bros:

Please wipe down the machines when you're done using them. 'Cause it's gross if you don't. Also, please refrain from getting all chit-chatty between sets, to keep others from waiting twice as long to finish their workouts.

Love, Cinn



(Eden suggested the next time they get too talky, I go up and say something like, "hey, are you guys actually gonna lift, or can I jump in here and finish up?" While I find that hilariously snarky, I don't believe I'm actually brave enough to do it. Anyway, besides those two annoyances, I had a great workout. I'm starting, starting, to develop some nice guns. w00t.)

 

The accepted cue is either "how many more sets do you have?" Or "can I work in with you?" Both of those are very reasonable gym etiquette prods.
Two workouts today. My new job has some extended hours so I cannot work out quite like I want. My girlfriend wanted to try the "boot camp" class in the evening. I needed to work chest shoulders and triceps. So I hit the weights in the morning and the class in the evening. I am beat.

 

^^^ I also put on my angry face and sit near the equipment and fume. That works most of the time.

Now that I work out at home, I only intimidate myself...

 

The reason why the free weights are always occupied is because they provide the most bang for the buck. Don't be intimated by the guy throwing up 405 on the flat bench, he's probably in his own world since he really needs to focus.

...

Social Justice Warrior Baraka is crying inside.

...

Regardless of sex, being a snarky dickhead to other people in the gym is a great way to alienate yourself from potential allies. Mostly because you have to repeat your line twice (everybody has headphones on) but also because it's totally unnecessary since most people don't purposefully camp on equipment.

I wait 60 seconds between sets. I typically do 6 sets. As such, I spend a fair bit of time on any one piece of equipment. If somebody just randomly looks over at me, odd are that I'm resting. Doesn't give you an excuse to be rude. Especially if you're a fat body with yet another New Year's resolution and I spend 270+ hours in the gym every year.

 

Just to clarify, I didn't say anything to them. I understand resting between sets, but I walked five laps and these two did one set. These are the same two that chat and flirt and don't really seem to do anything beyond socializing and showing off. They're buff-ish, so obviously they do some serious training at a different time than when I see them. But when I do see them, I can pretty much guarantee that they'll be leaning against machines they aren't using, standing in front of machines talking for five or six (or ten) minutes at a time, or trailing after one of the ladies working out.

 

Just reigning in the twerpy males here.

 

My weight loss challenge ended today. I didn't make my goal weight...three pounds away, damn it. I did meet both of my non-weight goals, though, so that's good: 5k PR and I'm wearing smaller jeans.

Except for the Christmas Cookie Massacre of 2015, the challenge helped me stay on track, so I'm probably going to join the next one. It runs from next Friday until mid-March. I should meet my goal weight in April (and then I'll start actively bulking), so this will help with accountability.

 

I'm less of a twerp than a buffoon, but I don't need much reigning in. Wouldn't do much good anyway.