Weekend Update - "Eat Ice Cream and Swim in the Sky" Edition

There hasn't been too much time to post since school started. I've started running again and it feels good. I've also continued to progress with my deadlifts - I'm up to 260 Ib now. In addition, I've also been using the Smith Machine for bench presses. About three months ago, I could barely do 140 Ib on the Smith Machine. Now, I'm able to do about 160 Ib.

I will try to post more often. Perhaps I'll include something more than just what I do in the gym.

"Everything's Ok Alarm"

This morning's workout was like last week's workout of presses and rows but I added slightly more weight:

• First superset was incline bench press and wide grip bentover rows for a total of 5 sets. Warmed up with 110# and 120#, worked with 150#.
  
• Second superset was regular bentover rows and bench press for 2 sets of 10 reps at 125#
  
• Third superset was decline press with dumbbells and dumbbell bentover rows for 1 set of 20 reps at 40#
  

I also finished things off like last week. I did a 5 sets of 6 reps of the following sequence: weighted chinups (35#), dumbbell bench press (55#), front squat (120#), and weighted dips (35#). Afterwards, to try something different, I alternated 4 sets of bench press (140#) using the Smith Machine and max pull-ups. As it turns out, doing bench presses with the Smith Machine slightly harder the bench machine. Because I like to hurt, I went out for a 5 mile loop (Ballston to Custis Trail East to Rosslyn to walk home).

Today was fairly busy. I had lunch with the ol' boss and visited some Berger people. Things are still the same over there. I'm still glad I left.

This evening was rather lazy. I attempted a Javorek dumbbell complex doing 6 reps of the the following movements:

• Biceps curl
• Military press
• High-pull
• Thruster
• Bentover row
• Upright row
• Thruster

The original idea was try to do as many sets in 2 minutes for 4 rounds. I managed only to do 1 set in 2 minutes for four rounds. Next time, I'll try to use a lighter weight to get through the complex. Just because I felt like a meathead, I did some needless curls.

Weekend Update - "The Rest of the 'Verse is goin' to know it" Edition

Friday night was a re-enactment of bygone high school days. I met up with Cornett for dinner and we later caught up with KM. KM played the chauffeur and we drove around looking for something to do. It turned out all we could find to do was get ice cream and hang out in the main promenade of the Kingstowne development. I didn't get home in time to do the day's exercises.

Saturday was like another Saturday for me - waking up early, going back to sleep, and waking up much later than planned. I went down to the gym for some heavy leg exercises - squats and deadlifts. There was another guy who wanted to use the Smith Machine. He admitted that he was never too keen on doing leg exercises.

Sunday saw me continue my circuit to friends's assigned churches. I saw Porter, hubby, and daughter. Porter had an excellent sermon - at one point, calling out her congregation to stop and listen to one another. The nicest part of the whole service was being served communion by Porter's daughter. I'm glad the family is reunited.

Crowdin' My Sky

Tonight was just calisthenics and jumping rope. After the main course, I did some 4 rounds of the following for time:

• 12 burpees
• 24 push-ups
• 36 Squats
• 100 elbows/jabs

I did the 4 rounds in about 9 min, 47 sec. For the first 2 sets, I did jabs which would have been better if I was hitting something. Elbows seem easier for these intervals. By elbows, I was in a square stance and pivoted as if I was going to deliver an elbow/hook.

Where's the Emotional Content?

I attended the United Health Foundation's reception celebrating its many scholars. It was good to meet a lot of the APIASF-UHF scholars. There was pretty good grub, a chance to see the new Capitol Visitor's Center, and inspiring the students. Though he's done and will be doing great things, I felt the APIA scholar who spoke lacked emotional content in his speech.

This evening's exercises was some biceps exercises and mid-section work. Then, there was some jump-roping.

"It's Tuesday, I'm feeling fat and happy!"

Since I've joined Twitter and Facebook, it seems silly to even post blogs. Well, here we are!

This morning's workout consisted of alternating sets of bench presses and bentover rows. Here's the breakdown:

• First superset was incline bench press and wide grip bentover rows for a total of 5 sets. Warmed up with 110# and 120#, worked with 140#.
  
• Second superset was regular bentover rows and bench press for 2 sets of 10 reps at 120#
  
• Third superset was decline press with dumbbells and dumbbell bentover rows for 1 set of 20 reps at 40#
  
• Note that the bench presses weren't true bench presses as the apartment management removed the free-weight benches. I was working on a free-weight/machine hybrid. The loads I used are the total weight I added to the machine.
  

To finish things off, I did a 5 sets of 6 reps of the following sequence: weighted chinups (30#), dumbbell bench press (55#), front squat (120#), and weighted dips (30#). Afterwards, to try something different, I alternated 4 sets of bench press (140#) using the Smith Machine and max pull-ups. Since there was still time, I did about 30 minutes on the elliptical machine.

This morning, I finished reading "Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness", which David had loaned me. Now, I'll have to check out more Hauerwas.

Patriot's Parrots Pooling Piping Plovers Plowing Power

Yesterday, I ran for 45 minutes (approximately 5 miles) along the Custis Trail going east.

After getting up late this morning, I managed to deadlift 190 lbs for 4 reps. As a way to visualize this feat, this is the equivalent of me picking up my father if he were laying on the floor and sprouted suitcase handles for easier gripping.

Today's workout was 6 sets of deadlift and alternating with a set of inverted rows. The first three sets were warmups (110, 120, 140). The last three sets were heavier (180, 190, 150) with the last set being a backoff set. I finished the morning alternating between the military press and curls with a EZ-curl bar.

I'm Back

Tonight, I ran 6 miles in about 49 minutes. This morning was an assortment of light squats, weighted pullups, and weighted dips.


In August, I'm running in the Mother of All Relays. It's going to be epic. I hope that I don't crap my pants. I hear that losing control of one's bodily functions can really kill the group atmosphere. It's convenient that the training for the HTC fits in nicely with my Marine Corps Marathon Training.

Weekend Update - The "Switch On, Switch Off, Switch On, Switch Off, the Switcher!" Edition

The 10-miler training isn't turning out the way I had planned. In fact, the whole general training hasn't been going as well. I have always maintained a minimum level of conditioning. Unfortunately, that level has been slowly lowering recently.

The Gripped by Grace Sunday school class was a success. Although a lot of the people who came were already familiar with Wesleyan theology, there was plenty of good discussion and a chance to get to know some of the Foundry Folk.

To prepare for the class, I was doing a lot of reading on the subject. Reading about Methodism and John Wesley has made me think about my own commitment and what I can be doing now. With Foundry going through a transition right now, I have started to take steps to get more involved and to grow in the faith. It's encouraging that there a lot of Foundry Folk who've embraced me and getting me more involved.

Running Anew

Yesterday, I started running for the first time since the marathon. In December or so, C signed us up to run in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. For this race, I decided that I will actually train for it. I ran 4 miles in 37 minutes last night. After the run, I realized it really has been a while.

Hello