Rant and Tip for October 21, 2011Quote: We are what we repeatedly do. Aristotle
Actually the entire quote goes like this “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” If you want your diet and exercise routines to become perfect then you must practice at making them perfect. You will not start any new exercise and do it perfectly in the beginning. You need to practice and make it a habit in your life. Once you make it a habit you will be successful. During the interview with Katia she made the statement that cardio is just part of her lifestyle like taking a shower. It is a habit for her. It is something she does without thinking about it having to get done. I am the same way when it comes to working out during my lunch. I do not think twice about it. I just do it. Are there days I do not want to go to the gym or days I feel like I just don’t have it in me. Of course I do. However, I get myself down there and push myself until the endorphins kick in and then I usually do not want to stop.
Wednesday night I got to put on my new bench shirt. It was very tight. So tight that I could not get the bar to come down and touch my chest even with 315 pounds on the bar. The shirt needs to stretch out some more so I can pull the bar down to my chest. When benching in a bench shirt you need to keep your elbows tucked in, or so I am told. I have to state right here that I do not see being able to get the bar to chest any other way. When I first put on the shirt I felt like a T-Rex because I could not grab the bar as wide as I normally like to. As the evening progressed I was able to move my grip out on the bar as the shirt stretched out some. Also as it stretched I was able to slide my arm further into the shirt. We wanted to take it slow with the shirt so we just stayed with did single repetitions with 315 each time getting the bar lower and closer to touching my chest. I was pleased with my first day with benching in the shirt. I look forward to hitting over 400 pounds in the shirt.
I am maintaining a weight a 5 pounds more than my competition weight. I do not want to be any higher than that because I do not want to lose strength as I go back down to 165. There is a 100% Raw Powerlifting meet in early November in Johnson City, which is near Binghamton NY. I am hoping to set a new personal record and maybe bump up my own State record while I am at it. I continue to work out with out the bench shirt as well at getting my training in with the shirt. I need to be careful not to over train. I was talking to another power-lifter who has lifted for a long time and he mentioned to me, that it is not that the muscles cannot heal fast enough but it is the nervous system that needs the time to heal. When are stressing the body with heavy weights it also puts a strain on your nervous system. I will need to watch that carefully.
Have a great workout!
Tip: Get the rest your body needs and take the time to listen to your body. If you are feeling joint pain or tendon pain give your body sometime to heal.
Phil Knight and Nike have a simple philosophy, too. "Just do it." We can't get on the road to healthy living without taking the first step and journeying on, even during turbulent times.
ReplyDeleteIf we make this commitment, it eventually becomes ingrained into our routine---as Katia suggested. We build towards "excellence" and, while following this lifestyle, work towards "the good life."