Lurker > imthestuntman

I'm technically overweight by BMI at this point. Basically I was at the top of my normal BMI before I spent like 3 years obsessively weight lifting. Figure I'm 20 lbs "overweight" now, but give the amount of green veggies and cardio I do I'm mostly fine with it.

I feel that phone in bed comment. I'll go to bed at 11, then not fall asleep until 12:30 dicking around on my phone. Of course if I go to bed at 12 I don't sleep till 1, so same thing. My spouse has taken to asking why I'm on my phone, which I can never justify and put it down lol.

I don't smoke weed, but alcohol does the same thing for me since I'm on an anti-depressant that when mixed with alcohol might as well be a sleeping pill. Which is probably the least healthy way to sleep I can imagine lol.

Worse day today on bench with 280x8. Feel like this happens normally if I hit near a calculated max then do 1 day rest. Luckily the worse day normally can do the 1 rest day, so Tuesday when I bench again I will be much fresher.

Worst part is those first 2-3 reps. My muscles will be still sore, so those reps just won't be 100% clean. That extra stabilizing effort kills me on the back end.

Theoretically a proper warm up should reduce this, but I don't know that you're ever fully warmed up to rep 135% of body weight lol.

Ah makes sense, I can totally get that, I've been a bit listless goal wise of late but when having such a clearly defined goal sticking to it is a good idea.

I feel the need to preface that this next comment is totally sincere, because it might sound sarcastic.

Touching your toes sounds like a crazy cool fitness goal to pursue, and now I totally want to do that. How long have you had to work at it to make that progress? What kind of bowing of your knees and back are you permitting there?

Also out of curiosity, is there a reason you're cutting into a bulk? I personally am fine just having little in the way of visible abs outside of light shadows when flexing, so it's not something I really do. I guess it seems counterintuitive to me to worry about those few pounds when they'll give you a bit more strength in your bulk to exert your muscles and will come off when you cut down the road anyways.

Did 275x10 today on bench, feels good. I think I've overturned my body for reps to the point that the first 7 or 8 are literally nothing. 9 was the first real working rep there, and 10 was easy enough I might've been able to go for more. Just wasn't expecting it at all though, so didn't have the mental state to push for 11.

Ive found that the mental rhythm to benching is super important for me, and the last 2 reps especially I need to really be ready to focus through, so it's not an audible I want to make on the fly because my brain just farts through the extra rep.

Also I am currently over-examing my hand placement to the point of stressing over a half inch or so narrower than I had been doing. I'm finding that perfect range between overworking shoulders and elbows is getting real tight as I really push my limits.

Benched today, 255 lbs for 14 mother fucking reps. Max bench calc says thats approximately 368 lbs. That's a new personal best! Relative to weight that would be 1.795x weight. First time cleanly passing 1.75x!

Music listening to while hitting that - Unconditionally by Katy Perry. Because lol.

It drives my spouse crazy going when we go for walk because that's what I want to do while they want to talk. It's just uniquely relaxing, can completely turn off and enjoy.

Do you have a dog? That's the only way I've ever found myself able to consistently go for those long walks daily. The minute they get in the habit they start demanding it.

If I had a nickel for every time I had a 20 lb Bichon wake me up by sitting on my chest and smacking me in the face for his morning walk....

That's the real secret to fitness, consistency. Whatever will help you get there is the most important. I know so many people that have started going to the gym and bragged about spending hours there starting out. 2 months later I ask and they haven't gone in weeks. Can't find the time, they made it too big a commitment in their head.

Meanwhile I'm just chugging away at home 30 minutes of cardio a day, 30-45 minutes more time on the days I lift. I rarely change it up, just rotating in and out a few exercises like skull crushers that stress joints periodically. I've gotten consistently stronger doing this and never really feel I'm hitting plateaus because I keep pushing myself.

Lol I actually play my switch while on the spinning bike all the time. Just sit back and make sure the tempo stays up.

Some games I've found to just be no goes, but it's great for things like Danganronpa or ace attorney that are a ton of reading.

Last week I was playing overwatch on my switch on the bike. Quality of play varied wildly on the bike depending on the character. Any character that required aiming was a complete no-go, but actually did really well with ones that didn't.

Back when among us was big I had a blast playing it on my phone while riding.

I've also read quite a few books while riding it. Though that is a bit less recommended. I've gotten very dizzy doing that before and almost fell off. The switch it is much easier to brace your hands against the grips on the bike while sitting back and playing than a book.

Overall if it helps you get your exercise in it's a huge positive in my opinion. Sure your quality of time while on the bike might not be quite as good, but especially with cardio just finding the time for it is like 2/3rds of the battle.

Where is the soreness? Is it in your muscles or joints? Does it feel more like a cramp or arthritis? The latter is going to be a more hollow feeling.

If the former pair it's probably fine, your body just isn't used to the exercise. If you can safely push more without sacrificing form, go for it.

If it's the latter, which it sounds like it is, it's almost certainly a result of poor form unless you have a history of knee issues. I would focus on trying to improve form first, because if you push it too much you're going to hurt yourself.

Trust me I do this shit with bench press constantly. Have to refocus my form periodically because I start getting greedy and start straining my joints. If you keep pushing forward you're not only going to risk injury, but you'll be reinforcing and exaggerating those poor habits as you struggle with the weight.

225x16 and 255x11 today. Just didn't have it for a bunch of reasons. At least they were quality reps, and I matched my personal best on Friday.

My shoulders and elbows were both crying pretty much immediately. Should have been a sign to just take the day off, especially because my pre-work out was already burned through at that point.

I started trying to do deadlifts again at the start of the year. Set one I did an easy dozen at 225 without a belt, so figured fuck it why not add another 50 pounds. I threw out my back somewhere around 5 or 6 reps. So that was a fun day of lifting legs.

I've actually encouraged myself to be more forgiving on cardio. Last year I was an absolute slave to 30 minutes on the spinning bike or a substitute daily. I've started letting myself take a couple days off a week depending on life, just making sure that the time I do spend is quality.

Bench wise I'm doing really well. Got 225x19 a few times, can do 18 with extreme consistency. Finally decided a few weeks ago to stop just benching 225 for reps, which since I don't have a spotter normally was a bit scary. Been mostly just doing 255 so far, with 13 being my best so far. 275 I've done a few sets on, but I just don't have the confidence there yet to really push it to beyond 8 to the 9-10 reps I feel like I've got in me.

Arms wise I'm still not where I want to be size wise. I'm at like 15.25 cold flexed, at 6 foot 205. Really wanting to get that to 16, but it takes time and I doubt I'll actually be happy with it when I'm there.

Still, actually starting to feel confident in not just being some skinny guy anymore, which is nice. I've been trying to be kinder to myself, which honestly is a lot harder work than the weight lifting part.