So, today I just got a wild hair up my ass and decided that I would add 20 lbs to almost all of my lifts. It looks like the other changes I've made to my diet and behaviour patterns have finally begun to impact my already disturbing (To some) drive.
As such, I decided to improvise my rules for myself for this experience. Instead of striving to do sets of 30 without break, I would go until the limbs began to fail, avoid pulling any mental triggers or visualizing other things intended to provoke a strong enough emotional reaction to override physical fatigue. At which point, I would allow a rest for enough deep breaths to equate to half of the reps I managed. I would allow myself two such breaks before 'giving up' on the set for the night. It is inevitable that whatever I manage, I will increase in leaps and bounds by the next time anyway.
What I did not expect, is that I would make such an excellent showing, all considered.
Bike(Cardio): 15 minutes. Level 12. Average RPM: 83. Jumped up to level 13 at 9 minutes in.
Bench Press (135 lbs): 30 reps. I wound up needing one of the deep breath breaks. The first put me at 20 reps, the second saw me finish feeling ready for more. =]
Pec Fly(140 lbs): 29 reps.
Abdominal Fuse (140 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks.
Leg Extension(140 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. This one was hilarious. I still waltzed right through it.
Seated Leg Curl(140 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. I almost thought I'd have to pause around rep 20, but I ultimately managed.
Leg Press (140 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. How 'bout dat strength?! I've got 6 notches to go before I max this machine out. HAWOO!!
Chest Press(140 lbs): 24 reps. I only used one of the allowed deep breath breaks, ultimately deciding that I was close enough considering this is one of the Problem Child exercises anyway.
Shoulder Press(140 lbs): 30 reps. My first deep breath break put me at 24 reps. The final 6 were smooth and easy, and I only allowed myself 6 of the same.
Lateral Pull-Down (140 lbs): 30 reps. I wound up needing one of the deep breath breaks. I stopped me at 18 reps and then finished.
Lower Back Fuse(140 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. This one ate through so much of the precious little time I'd estimated I'd need. I struggled with it, but still ultimately managed. I didn't want to overstrain, and yet the level of effort I was willing to put out with this trouble area simply wasn't moving the weight past the 50-60% range of motion mark.
Seated Row(120 lbs): 30 reps. I wound up needing both deep breath breaks, as I'd estimated. The first stopped me at 15. The second stopped me at 23. I then managed the rest of the way to 30.
Bicep Curl(35 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks.
Tricep Extension(40 lbs): 15 reps with the left arm emphasized, 15 with the right, no breaks.
Weighted sit-ups: Two 35 lb plates on my upper chest, 30 reps, no breaks.
Weighted back raises (Draping myself from the waist down across a bench, raising from the waist up until back is straight with two 35 lb plates clasped on my chest) 30 reps, no breaks. Definite improvement. I can now manage 25 reps before I start getting dangerously dizzy/light-headed. Soon...
Incline Elliptical(Cardio): 15 minutes, level 13 difficulty. Managed a constant of 115 RPM average.
Power Press/Reverse-grip Bicep Curl: 70 lbs. 23 reps, no breaks. I decided to put both of these exercises together for the time being. I figured it would be a little more challenging that way, save some time, and make me all the stronger. Starting with a reverse-grip, then exploding into a power press from base stance. Still not a high enough weight for me to allow myself the ridiculous shifty footwork I was taught in high school.
Rear Deltoid Fuse(Side-grip): 90 lbs, 26 reps.
Tonight's musics come from the Metal Gear Rising soundtrack, more commonly known as the Boss theme against Metal Gear: Excelsius(The giant robot ant), also plays during the boss fight at the end of the Sam DLC for the same game.
This is another of those songs where after I found the lyrics, I found that it spoke to me. I mean, I could feel that connection the first time I heard it, but without some kind of intelligent fathoming, I felt silly for it.
Now when I say that, it's going to sound like I'm some kind of Fascist/Anarchist. But, my angle of connection to this song that basically gives the middle finger to individualism and societal norms as they exist today is more rooted in my Christian beliefs than any political Ideology.
It's repeatedly referenced throughout the Old Testament, and still nodded to at times through the New, what life after Armageddon will be like. A time where God writes his Law on the very hearts of everybody that goes on into Eternity with Him, ending the very nature of Sin, its associated impulses. Sounds like a dream come true. Who enjoys fucking up, no matter what we tell ourselves to mitigate our own screw-ups here and there?
But there's the other side of that coin that everybody will come to sooner or later: Isn't that tampering with Free Will?
I don't have an answer to that one yet; My gut tells me Yeah. But that's this Intermediary exercise we call Life, and what it's all about. Our Free Will is our ongoing Interview/Case Study period, to see who even wants to go on into Eternity in the first place. Once we pass, is there really a need for that?
Our time on this Earth and all the things we can see in it today, the degenerative trends, should be indication enough of whether we should really want that free will anyway. Just look at the Hell we make with it.
Anyway, that's the greater part of why I find myself continually clicking this song up when I need a charge. As for the musics in question...