A nice little "accessories" workout to finish 2016. I'm gonna get me some pretty shoulders. :) As I was putting the workout in Liftium (app) I got a nice little smile from myself on Decembers consistency. When asked (usually the question is "Do you go to the gym every day?"), I tell people I hit the gym 6 days a week. And looking at December... seems about right or at least close. But wait! I did 21 of 31 days. That's 67% (I'll spare you the decimals but rest assured I checked). If you pace that against a 7 day week...it's NOT EVEN 5 a week. I'm not complaining. It's just a little reminder to at least sometimes consider quantifying from fact vs feeling. If you are going to believe a number.....get it from somewhere.
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I know this is a fitness diary/blog... but in my defense, I refer to the picture. I wrote that in a little notebook given to me by Killian. Another place for thoughts; and this was the very first thought I wrote. "Fit for what?" I went on to write a number of things I wanted to be "fit for". And looking at them... they aren't about lifting, or the gym; they are about LIFE. The word enthusiasm came up alot. And I really feel great, and the Mavens are a part of that LIFE, of that enthusiasm. So cheers to the Mavens; Debbie, Jessica and Natalie. Thank you for your contributions to my life, my health, my happiness. 6:30 AM seems to come SO early. I am sure I don't have full energy on the Monday and Wednesday training sessions at this time. And then I feel extreme pressure to get to work and get cracking (as it's tight to even make to the office by 8:30 those days... so rather late...). And yet, I end up with such a GREAT DAY after. I think it's a mix of physical (endorphines, etc) and mental (something I love, something for ME)... and totally amazing to have a day full of momentum. I sound like a fanatic. Was at a conference this week. It was a beautiful venue and really also put me into the Christmas spirit. There was a bit of over indulgence, ... I will spare you the details, but I have had my fill of sushi for a while. A long while. Like... forever. And also, not enough sleep. So too much of one thing, and not enough of another. Just for the record, it does NOT balance out (plus/minus). But I still felt pretty good in the gym today. We didn't do anything overly difficult, but it was not super light either (a single 150# squat followed by some doubles @ 140# , as well as some paused benching at 95# and 100#). I have a vacation day tomorrow, so can take a little extra rest in the AM (sleep in til 7 AM!), and don't train until 11 AM. It's Deadlifts, so will be a bit tiring, and I am out with the Mavens tomorrow night, but at least I won't start at a deficit. And there's always the weekend for a little nap. :) In July I had my first Powerlifting meet: and had a 90Kg Deadlift, which was by far a personal best. 198#, plus a bit. And since then, I've been sticking with the programming, and have not been up to even 185# (my previous gym PR) until just a few weeks ago. It felt good to hit that 185#, but it was not exactly *new*. Today I pulled 200#. And I am thrilled about it. Its only marginally more than my previous best, and that took 5 months to gain. And I am not known for my patience. There is just something magic about this sport. I have my whole life to create progress. Bees make only 45 grams (based on my calculations and some wiki-work) in their life. A lifes work, and it's over in a slice of bread. But they make alot of other things too, while they make that honey. Honey is just the most apparent evidence: The in-your-face proof. 1.6# is my 45bee-grams. And I'll take every sweet drop. Remember this post: my-flip-flop-broke-in-the-shower-the-gym-today.html? Well, I cobbled the broker one together with string for a bit, because it was hard to find time to get to shopping for a new pair. It looked very sad. I finally got to shopping this past weekend, and.... it's kind of hard to find flip-flops in Canada in October. Oops. Anyway, rather than go to a tonne of places, after my one mall pass-through, I reluctantly picked up a pair of these; in a really weird green. I was kinda disappointed beacuse they were more expensive than what I thought I'd get (just a regular flip flop for the shower at the gym = <$10). And these were more like $30. Well.... guess what?! I used them this AM and they are the most comfy thing ever. More comfy than bare feet! Love , love, love them! Seems I have had a number of updates in the last 2 weeks. Nothing specific is going on; just really enjoying myself, happy, fulfilled. Some moments of 'blech' occasionally interrupt, but I feel as though this is one of the ways I count my blessings. I talk about them here, and acknowledge it that way. It also reinforces my contentment.
It was a good day at the gym today. We gradually are working back to meet-level weights with the new form (high-bar squat and conventional deadlift). I miss low-bar and sumo. But I am gradually improving with these movements, and I know it will make these lifts stronger no matter what style I choose. And the high-bar does seem like less stress on the lower back (which is weird, because I don't think it's supposed to be. But it could just be because it's so much lighter, still). 140# squat and 155# DL today. 15# and 45# to add, respectively, to hit my July OPA-meet PR. There was still gas in the tank, so I might be closer than I think! It would be good to be there by the end of the year. Then in January I can start to prep for a spring meet. I won't do a meet until I can add 40# to my meet total. Road to a 500# total....... Long and winding. But sunny and clear! Who says struggle is to be sympathized with? Certainly not Seth Godin. This one really resonated with me.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/08/the-lottery-winners-a-secret-of-unhappiness.html I really do feel fortunate about the struggle in the gym. It's not crazy or anything (I have seen some others suffering @ the gym..., but I am not nearly so hard-core). Nevertheless, unlike some other things in my life, it does not come easy. It is a struggle. I have mentioned it to a number of people as a peculiarity that somehow this was was part of it's joy. But I didn't have better words for it, until now. Thanks, Seth. Today a lady and I exchanged the usual casual hellos at the gym as we passed in the changeroom. "Morning" she said. "Have a good day". I responded in kind, to which she replied: "For sure. The worst part of my day is now over (pointing to the gym floor), so it's all good."
The rest is a brain ramble, pretty much just like it actually happened:
THERE IS NO WORST PART OF MY DAY!?!?! How amazing is that? |
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