Exerbabble for 2-10-6

I feel good.

We did a step-up test in Lifetime Wellness today. Without pulling any punches, I’ll state that my heartrate was 152.

That’s bad.

I mean, really bad. I sort of scoff at aerobic exercise as kind of pointless (for my purposes). But it’s quite clear I need to make sure my most important muscle of all is strong. I can only push myself so hard, I’ll eventually reach a point in weight training where my heart won’t be able move blood fast enough.

Thing is, I didn’t think I’d be that bad. I felt fine.

I’ve ditched running as I figured it was counterproductive to my overall muscle growth. Teach was saying that we should hit around 70 – 80% of our max heart rate and hold it for about a half hour if we want to see a difference. Erm. But when I think about it, it makes sense. The heart is a muscle, like everything else. When I train my deltoid, I use a high enough intensity to cause it to work harder. Next time when I work out, my deltoid is marginally stronger. Over time, I have stronger deltoids. Same thing goes for the heart. You have to exercise your heart, stress it for a duration of time that’s comfortable.

This is why I believe going to failure is pointless. (Failure is when you’re doing a set, and going until your muscles literally give out.) If you GOTO failure with your heart, you’ll have a heart attack. That’s not advisable!

I don’t believe I’ll incorporate any running or cardio into my schedule right now. I’m too focused on going hard, and resting hard. I’ll wait until Weight Training ends to consider adding any kind of cardio. It’s absolutely imperative that I do not fatigue myself. I have a crazy idea of getting up at the asscrack of dawn and running around the pond opposite of here. *points* Start with a lap or two or three, add a lap every week or two. Break a sweat, take a shower naked, eat breakfast, and feel wide-awake. I’ll probably have to read up on whether to tandem that with my weight-training or to do it on the days I don’t lift. I could fullbody-run-fullbody-run-pushsplit-pullsplit-rest. Seven day cycle.

Maybe.

Anyway the workout that was today’s:

BB Overhead Press: 3×8 @ 55 lbs
BB Bench Press 10 @ 60 lbs, 2×8 @ 65 lbs
Hip Adductor 2 x 10 @ 100 lbs
Squat 3×10 @ 95 lbs
Standing Calf Raise 2 x 15 @ 95 lbs
Decline Sit-up 2 x 15 @ 10 lbs

I was cautious with the overhead and bench as I don’t have a spotter. I reminded myself that I squat without a spotter, so I’d just work my way up like I have before. I knew using a barbell would stabilize me, as I normally use two 25 lb dumbbells for my overhead. For the bench press, I kind of forgot that I’ve already graduated to benching 65 lbs. I remembered where to put my hands, at a nice wide grip so my elbows formed an L when my upper arm is horizontal.

Last week, I knocked out 4 x 8 @ 95 lbs for my squat. But also remember that my back became sore towards the middle of the week. 95 lbs is a nice round number to rack (just two 25 lb plates), so I decided to plateau and go easy on myself. After completing the set, I realized, “You did ten reps of 95 lbs on your third set. You can totally do more in class.” Next Monday I’ll be attempting 20 reps of 75 lbs. Odds are, I’ll GOTO 95 lbs for the second set of 10 reps. Because I know I can, no problem.

I was really watching my form, too. I did it in the squat rack, and didn’t bother with the shoulder foam thingie. I’ve gotten used to placing the bar on my “meat rack”. I made sure I didn’t lock my knees on the way up, just go almost up to the top, then gently come back down. It’s funny how when you’re first doing something, it seems so .. strange at first. Now my body is used to doing squats, so I can expend a little mental energy perfecting my form.

I may ease back the weight when I do deadlifts tomorrow. May.

Previously I was using a 4 kg ball to do sit-ups with. I decided to upgrade to a 10 lb plate. In addition, I decided to go below parallel. I held the plate high on my chest, and tried to keep my concentric and eccentric motions fluid. No resting at the bottom, nor at the bottom, no jerking. Goddamn, I really felt that in my lower abs. It felt nice. *giggles*

LOOK AT MY ABS! *points to previous entry* I love my navel, especially when a girl’s kissing/nuzzling/licking it. Have I mentioned how ticklish/sensitive my skin is?

*purrs*

There’s some domestic things I wanted to do today. I believe I’ll do them prior to writing another entry I have in mind. Part studying, part education for the rest of you. Accomplish what I’ve set forth for myself, and I’ll feel that much better when I play with myself tonight. A climax should thunder alongside the positive scenery, not merely be a meek peak.