Exerbabble (and then some) for 3-29-6

I went to bed early, a little after 9 PM. I actually had trouble sleeping at first, got up and played a little Battlefront (as I haven’t in a while). I eventually got myself to relax and fall asleep on my back. I woke up only once through the night. I do tend to wake up at least once and roll over. After a rather odd dream (my dad driving through a maze of tables, which was making me smack my forehead as he I hate how he finds parking spots, him thinking he’ll blast through a fence. Except there’s bulls on the other side. I think maybe they aren’t an issue, except one makes a run at me. So I jumped over it, which immediately made me think, “WAIT A MINUTE!” I hovered a moment and laughed in the dream. Unfortunately, I didn’t hold the lucidity for more than a second or two before waking up. I love long lucid dreams. I’m overdue for a good one.) I woke up and saw that the clock was 5:45. A little earlier than expected. Laid back for a minute or two. Noticed my lingering morning wood, so I got up and took a picture.

Hey, it’s the only time I have erections that strong.

I had random snippets of DragonForce stuck in my head. The guitar transition in the middle of Revolution Deathsquad. I’m not so sure it’s a solo-solo, because it the cords repeat. But goddamn. It’s so strange how a few cords can mean so much, especially with all the build-up to it. Like foreplay. Few music is so sexual like that. Classical music is. Techno, at least Song For Shelter is. (Fatboy Slim, last track on Halfway Between The Guitar And The Stairs.) Metal, at least bands that can play more than the refrain cords the entire song. And Led Zeppelin. Mmmm. This is what I mean by most music not having a “grand” feeling to it.

Today was the final exam for Weight Training. The class supposedly go through Monday, though I don’t know if we’re doing anything then. Maybe I’ll ask him on Friday. *shrugs* I’d say I spanked it rather well. I mean, seriously. It was an open-book exam. I read/skimmed the entire book last night, so I knew where most of the things were. As he said, it’s an activity class. Missing class is more of a detrament than anything, because your workout IS your grade. Not necessarily your progress or how much you lift, just DOING it. *shrugs* I’ve learned a lot from the internet, but going through the class has definitely been an experience in itself. It encouraged me to switch from dumbbells to barbells, and I’ve seen some measurable gains since mid-January.

The weight room was right there, but I prefer the Y. It’s right across the street, so I went. Today’s workout:

My form has been good. But I realized I’ve been scared of the weight. So I watched my range of motion, slowly lowering to just above parallel, and really getting more out of my concentric motion. Squats, of course. For gymrats, it may not be much, but it’s still over my bodyweight. That’s a hunk of weight on your back. There was a guy opposite me doing squats, some sort of pyramid weight scheme. You can bet your gonads he didn’t get as much depth as me. There’s a phrase, “ass-to-the-grass squats”. At this point, it’s not to my advantage to get that type of depth. But, I should maximize my range-of-motion, the same way I wouldn’t want to cheat my bicep curls.

I’ll either do 3×8 again, or do 165 again. It’s a matter of feeling confident with the weight. This might be a good time to rotate the weight I use each session, whether it be between sets, or simply not always doing the heaviest weight. I can do 165. But I won’t be able to lift as much if I’m not comfortable with the weight. I don’t always need to max myself out. That squatting weight is heavy enough where I feel strong simply doing that. I will increase, but there’s no rush. Ya know? It’s relaxing to go in, do something I’m confident I can do, and not always pushing myself too hard.

Ditto that on the deadlift. I have to feel good about my weight before I can increase the weight. I felt good today doing it, so I’ll probably move up to my bodyweight in two or three days. (Haven’t decided whether to do full-body days, or run a split over the weekend.)

I should have hit 4×6 on the shoulder press. But I was distracted by a girl walking behind me wearing an orange shirt. I saw her in the mirror. I’m not kidding, I felt my strength suddenly drain and I barely finished that rep. Oh well, I should knock it out easy next time. Should hit 4×6 next time. Then I’ll aim for 4×7. By then, I should do 3×8 easy. As is obvious, to do more sets of shoulder press to emphasis it.

I decided I should stop cheating my range of motion on pull-ups. I tried going almost all the way down, or at least lower than before on the eccentric phase. Something to be said for momentum. Having a longer path made it feel like I was going up faster. I’m still maintaining a shoulder-width grip, rather than a wide grip, but so be it. As I’ve said before, pull-ups require more concentration and total-body strength than just having strong biceps/lats.

I increased the Calf Raise weight again, finally to a weight where I couldn’t finish 3×10. There was the seated calf raise next to it, which would put my knee at 90 degree angle. Hits the soleus more than the gastrocnemius. *smirks* Didn’t learn that in class, learned that from internet gymrats. It’s something to toss in, if I feel like it.

I decided against trying more for the bench press. I noticed my hesitancy to go all the way down. See, range-of-motion is so important. I barely finished the last rep of the last set. I’ll have to repeat that set/rep until I finish it more cleanly.

Repeated the same Bent-Over Row set/rep to see how my form was. Maybe next week I’ll grab a 70 lb barbell.

Wanting an awesome torso, I really held my sit-ups in the positions that flex it the most. That is, not going all the way up. Feeling energetic, I did some side-bends. Feeling still energetic, I tested out some Arnold Presses. These just look so cool, I wanted to try it.

Hrm, that’s not such a good gif. I liked the one where the weights were the large circles. *shrugs* If I was rested, I bet I could have knocked out 3×8 at that weight and upgraded to 30 lb dumbbells. But it was the end of the workout and I felt like trying something else. If I start running out of steam with my overhead press, I’ll definitely switch to Arnold Presses at a serious weight. I like these because they never feel uncomfortable on the shoulders. A traditional DB shoulder press, your arms end up outside your shoulders at the eccentric phase.

And I think part of my problem with the DB shoulder press was simply controlling the weight. While the Arnold Press is more movement, I feel like it follows what our body wants to do anyway.

Glancing at the clock, I noticed I’d taken a long time. And I still wasn’t tired. Hell, I’m not tired right now! Still, I made a mental note that while it’s awesome that my stamina has made such a leap, it is not a good idea to have such long workouts on a regular basis. Hence my desire to do push/pull splits.

Showered naked, headed to the café for a tuna salad, turkey, provolone, mayo, on rye. Don’t give me shit, I don’t like lettuce/tomato from them. Panera might be a different story. : D Besides, it’s tuna. Tuna = calories. I take my chances with the mercury. *nods* The café was rather full, so I thought I’d sit in the general area of the student center. Then I realized, “Dude. It is so nice outside. Go outside.” I felt that swinge of fear, which immediate told me I should go outside.

There’s four concrete tables opposite the library, overlooking a hill. As I approached, I noticed they were taken. There’s a wall surrounding it. I think, “Hrm. I’ll sit on the wall.” Then I noticed two girls sitting at a table. There’s an obvious open spot on opposite side of them. I bounce off the wall, and ask if I can sit there. Naturally, they say yes.

I didn’t even look to see who they were. I’ve seen these girls before. The other day, I remember listening to their conversations while I was in the café. This wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, I’d been thinking I should introduce myself. I can smell freaks.

I come off as very quiet at first. The two of them warned me about a third that was coming. I smiled and said I’d be fine. I said that after you’ve met Trent Dunkle, nothing can phase you. If you’ve met him, trust me, you’d understand. We later exchanged names; the two sitting there were Colleen and Ashley. The third who showed up was Angie.

I ate my sandwich slowly, feeling uncomfortable about getting up and hitting the water fountain. It’s just how I am. It wasn’t necessarily nervousness, I just don’t have anything to say to people at first. Takes a moment to feel people out. As I said to them, I’m horrible at describing people. So I won’t bother.

Specifics aside, I think they’ve taken me in? I can tell the difference between people I’ll ignore in the future, and people I won’t. I told you I get along better with girls. Talking to most guys is like talking to a wall. Ashley said to that, “Yeah. But once you get over that, they’re okay.”

Ha ha.

There was loud inappropriate conversation. Just my style. Ha ha. I typically hesitate before throwing out my rude slash sexual cards, as I’d rather not get pegged as an Evil Male. As fears of judgement faded, I openned up.

Angie left to, well, wherever she went. She texted Colleen, saying I was cute. Except, I’m not supposed to know that. : D

I don’t really like rehashing entire conversations. I don’t believe that was ever my writing style. However, there was one thing I made myself remember to share. At one point, Colleen said,

“I pitch my own tent.”

Oh sure, she went on about camping, but Ashley and I were already laughing hysterically. Come on. You would, too.

I also was able to interject the inside joke I have with Cliff about Yellow Discharge. Apparently there’s a story about creamed corn. *smirks* You do the math.

Colleen eventually left for class, so I was left with Ashley. We actually had a decent on/off conversation. I mean, me not feeling any pressure to make important conversation. I tore through some spanish homework, too. Wooo. The comfort in not saying anything. I only get that with Cliff, these days.

The sun was rather warm. I mentioned I lift weights. And they didn’t laugh at me. *smirks* I know, I still have to take my critic out back and spank him.

Eventually her ride came to fetch her. So I vacated. (Yes, I did get up at one point to hit the water fountain. Except I said I had to pee. ..Which I did. Shhh.)

Overall, I’d say it was a very positive experience, and a good way to spend the afternoon. There’s a huge difference between waiting until you can get away from people, and not wanting to be the first one to leave. They didn’t flinch once at anything I said. How shaving is just societal conformity, how I like it in the butt, how the problem with most guys is that they don’t pay attention to the reaction their partner is giving them, scrotal plucking, how the bacteria in yogurt is similar to the bacteria in the Vagina, Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise, and even foreskin restoration. Most people look at me funny when I bring it up. A simple nod of understanding at my mention of “unconsented circumcision” is all I need to know I’m accepted. Ashley wondered if a girl had bit down too hard too hard, and that’s why I’m restoring. OWWIE.

And stuff.

Home, I downed some water, peed and tuggified, and had some yogurt. Wrote the previous entry, and just wrote this. I think I’ll go pee now and fetch some dinner. Tomorrow is DITL day. WOOOO.

But yes. Gotta #1 now.