200 Pounds: Training and Poetry Slam

Monday: Back Attack

Pendlay Rows: 242 x 8 sets of 3

Face Pulls: 4x25

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Mix Grip Chins: 4x5

Arms and neck work

Pretty average session.  Nothing crazy or special.  Solid 80%er.

Tuesday: Wheels

Squat: up to 425x1, 335 x 2 sets of 5

Trap Bar Jumps: 4 sets of 3

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Barbell Reverse Lunges: 4 sets of 6 on each leg

Barbell Glute Bridges: 50 total reps

Neck: Flexion/Extension x 50 reps each way

DB Shrugs: 1 set of 50

Wednesday: Pressin’ Power

Overhead Press: up to 175x3, 138x5, 108x11

Bench Press: 10, 10, 10, 7, 5 x escalating weights

DB Curls: 3x20

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Band Tricep: 3x20

Squats felt weird on Tuesday.  I never really felt comfortable with them.  I think the next piece of equipment to be added to the Crushatorium is going to be a solid all-around bar that can be used for squats, dead lifts, presses and just about everything in between.  Right now I have two Olympic bars but one is bent and the other doesn't have knurling (the rough part of the bar) in the middle which is important when low bar squatting. 

I'm also adjusting to my girlfriend's mattress.  It's a bit firmer than the one I've been sleeping on the last seven years or so, so there will be a break in period.  And I still don't have my belt.  That all adds up to me being weak as a kitten both in the squat rack and in my head.  And it’s time for that shit to change.

Pressing in all variations is still pressing.  They are definitely the slowest moving lifts for me.  The key for me is consistency.  I just need to keep doing them and they will come up.  I can’t get discouraged because they don’t move like my squat or dead lift.  They are what they are right now and will get better in the future. 

Poetry Slam

Many people would probably be surprised that I started college as an English major.  I've always liked to read and write but decided early on in my schooling that I didn't want it to be a career.  I loved the idea of pursuing a job where I got to lift and get sweated on all day instead (sarcasm). 

Even though I may appear to be a typical meat-head to those that don't know me I still enjoy reading and obviously writing.  And ever since I could remember I've always liked poetry.  I don't get into the technical aspects of it and try to dissect it like it's a puzzle solved.  Each poem means what it means to me even if it is different from what the author intended, if the author intended anything at all.  In other words I'd rather appreciate each poem for the feelings it invokes in me, not because it was well built.

So, with all that said I'm going to share some of my favorite poems with all of you.  I'll share what they mean to me but that should in no way dictate what it means to any of you.  First up is Guillome Apolliniare's Come To The Edge

"Come to the edge."

"We can't we are scared."

"Come to the edge."

"We can’t we will fall."

"Come to the edge."

And they came.

And he pushed them.

And they flew.

I get goose bumps every time I read that poem.  Even typing it I was getting a few shivers.  One of the things that I love about this poem is how it says so much and is so powerful yet is so simple and brief. It speaks volumes while saying very little.

Along with the goose bumps I get a rush of feelings of the people that have pushed me to be better and fly throughout the years.  From my family, to teachers, to bosses and coworkers, all the people that have shaped who I am come back to me.  I wouldn't be where I am without them.  No one person is a vacuum.  Everyone needs a push in the right direction now and then.  They need that friend to tell them what's what.  They need that parent to challenge them to be independent and work for themselves.  They need that boss to not let them fall into a habit of complacency.  In other words, we all need a swift kick in the ass from time to time.

There will also be times when you are the one who needs to do the pushing.  When you want to say, “There, there, it will all be OK.  Let me solve this problem for you,” you will instead have to say, “I’d like to help you but this is a road that you need to travel yourself.” 

It may, and probably will, be painful and you will probably question yourself as to whether or not you are a good friend, parent, teacher, etc.  But in the end things have a tendency of working out.  We have to know that pushing that loved one off the cliff is not abandonment.  We are forcing them to open their wings and fly.  We are forcing them to live their own life, be who they are meant to be and to be free.