Afternoon Update for 2-6-6

(Delayed post.)

I find it funny how I changed the time for my alarm, yet managed to
wake up two minutes before it. Actually, I seemed to funnel towards
it. I woke up an hour before it. Then twenty minutes before it.
Then two minutes. Got up, peed in the shower, ate. Told myself,
“Brush your teeth ten minutes before you want to leave.” Dawdled ever
so slightly, but was on time for class.

Honestly, I was still a little sore from this weekend. Maybe going so
hard isn’t necessariy a good idea. ; ) I kind of like being sore.
I’m learning my varying degrees of soreness. Well, sort of. My traps
are still sore, as I’d never done shrugs before Saturday. (Shrugs are
exactly what they sound like. Shrug. Now imagine some large weight
in your hand while you’re doing it.)

Even though it’s written down, let’s share my numbers for today. (Not
done in this order.)

Barbell Bench Press: 17, 10 @ 65 lbs
Back Row: 12 @ 40 lbs, 10 @ 30 lbs (I managed LESS reps at 40,
despite using LESS weight.)
Seated Overhead Press: 16, 9 @ 45 lbs (ONE MORE REP = PROGRESS)
Arm Curl: 9 @ 50 lbs, 13 @ 45 lbs
Squat: 20, 10 @ 65 lbs
Crunches: 20, 10 @ bodyweight
Back Hyperextension: 20, 10 @ 10 lbs
calf raises: 20, 10 @ 130 lbs
pull-up: 5, 2, 2 @ bodyweight

Notes. As expected, my bench flagged out. Knowing my legs are
stronger than my arms (just, as it should be), I finished my squat set
without a problem. Really, 65 is THIRTY pounds less than I’ve
normally been squatting. But I started with the bar and have been
working up, five pounds at a time.
Rows are a bitch.
I finished 20 reps of the arm curl with 45 lbs last week. I KNEW 50
would be too much. Add five pounds, and I didn’t even finish half the
set. Amusingly, 50 lbs is what I’m reverse-curling now.
I can’t do crunches right. I was never taught how to do them, so I
just fling my body up to get them over with. I don’t care. They’d
awkward and I don’t like them.
I added twenty pounds to my calf raise. Piece of cake. I took to
looking at my calves. … They don’t look at jiggly. Oh, they’re
still jiggly, but I can actually see the muscle. Yes. There’s muscle
there? Who knew!
I probably pushed myself harder than I needed to for back extensions.
I just know I’ve done it before, so I didn’t mind. Just. Never on
the same day as squats. *shrugs*
He didn’t ask us to do pull-ups, but I WANT to hit my lats. My entire
body exhausted by that point, I figure the bicep fatigue would cause
me to favor my lats more. Which is a good thing. Struggling means
you’re pushing your muscles to work. *nodnod*

Partner noticed I was “locking my elbows” on my overhead press. Quite right. I’d get the weight up, then “rest” at the top for a split second before bringing the weight down.

Teach critqued his squat and his bench press. On both accounts, he wasn’t getting full range of motion. Timmy gets full range of motion. *winkwinkwink*

I’m going to need a ton of sleep tonight. My back may not forgive me
tomorrow. I’m glad I’ve decided against using more weight on the
hyperextension. You don’t really NEED back extensions if you’re doing
squats (and deadlifts) on a regular occasion. As a muscle, our backs
aren’t really used to flex or “hyperextend”. It’s far more useful to
have back endurance. What does the back do during a squat? It keeps
your body stable. Your muscles keep your back from not moving.
..There’s a term for that, which escapes me.

Was five minutes late to C++, as expected. Class ends at 9:45, class
begins at 9:45. Who the hell designed this schedule? Rutgers has
breaks between classes all day long. (Or so I remember.) This is the
fourth week. This is the second day of C++. ..Haven’t openned the
book yet. Given what we did in class, there’s no need to. Just fix
my syntax, and I already know what to do.

I have no imperative. In fact, imperatives scare me. No, that’s not
the word I want. Desperation. It’s been a reflex over the years to
avoid all sense of urgency. In other words, I’ve been inadvertantly
demotivating myself and deemphasising everything that I might want to
do. As Cliff said, I’ve created an environment that demotivates me.
This much I know.

It just seems to me that when I’m really a drama queen, that’s
the only time I manage to get off my ass. Yeah, shut up, I’m well
aware of my lack of doing stuff. I am also aware of the things I DO
do. (Well, most of the time. Still working on the whole loving
myself thing.)

I should find some food. If you don’t eat food, you’ll die and stuff.