If any of you have been in the weight room for any amount of time you have heard the tale of "the pump" a influx of blood and other fluid into a muscle group after working out that makes it look a lot bigger than it really is. Well last night I had one of the best routines I have ever had in my life. I was able to achieve this "pump" in what felt like all over my body and I was going to be a little sad to see it go when I woke up this morning. Except I noticed something this morning when I was getting ready for work that made my mind spin. 2 months of work and what I thought was just the pump making my body look bigger was actually a change in my body composition. I have gained visible size in almost every muscle group in my body. Most noticeable is in my arms which makes me look a little bit like an very skinny gorilla but hey, it seems to work.
It is moments like this that keep me motivated to actually continue the workout routine I have been doing in hopes that I will continue to progress in my physique. It is always fun to see a good increase in anything. Also like I said yesterday this workout regime has made me feel so much better and have more energy than I have had in a long time.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Thursday, March 10, 2016
YouTube and Weight Room update
So it has been about a month and a half since I have started hitting the gym on a regular basis. I have been too scared to jump on the scale and see how my body composition has changed, mostly because I have not been really on target with my diet, but I am noticing some great gains on my physique. One of the biggest joys of going to the gym as much as I have been is that I have been able to go on a schedule and have not missed a day in 7 weeks. That's Right!!!! 7 weeks without missing a workout and the soreness doesn't hit me as hard as it did for the first couple of weeks.
Things I've noticed:
1. I can run for more than two minutes without feeling like passing out.
2. I have been able to raise the weight resistance on almost all of my compound movements.
3. My bicep actually exists and the fat around my upper arm is slowly starting to get displaced so you can see the definition when I flex.
4. When I flex my leg I see a little valley in my quadriceps that have grown a bit
5. Whenever I am stressed out instead of looking to veg infront of the computer or TV I am looking for a chance to kick my own butt at the gym.
What others have noticed:
Unfortunately nothing. I did have a coworker mention that I was starting to look a lot better than I did (I must have looked like crap) but other then that I have not heard anything.
Youtube:
I have been following my schedule and was able to gain one subscriber to my Youtube channel which makes me a little happy that some of my work is paying off. I have been recording videos when I have the chance to play without interuption so the videos aren't super up to date as most of them are recorded in few settings then published on a regular basis.
I have also noticed that World of Warcraft just has so much information that a 20 minute episode every week will take me forever to hit max level, but I am having fun doing it and it is a great bit of story compilation that I can go back to and watch if I ever want to do a fanfic or something like that.
Gaming:
I have rediscovered the joys and pains of Starcraft 2. From going on an 8 game win streak to going on a 6 game losing streak I have had fun experiencing the ups and downs of competitive play once again. I will probably push myself to play a little harder and maybe jump up to the gold division as my silver mines have gotten a little silly for me to be in.
Things I've noticed:
1. I can run for more than two minutes without feeling like passing out.
2. I have been able to raise the weight resistance on almost all of my compound movements.
3. My bicep actually exists and the fat around my upper arm is slowly starting to get displaced so you can see the definition when I flex.
4. When I flex my leg I see a little valley in my quadriceps that have grown a bit
5. Whenever I am stressed out instead of looking to veg infront of the computer or TV I am looking for a chance to kick my own butt at the gym.
What others have noticed:
Unfortunately nothing. I did have a coworker mention that I was starting to look a lot better than I did (I must have looked like crap) but other then that I have not heard anything.
Youtube:
I have been following my schedule and was able to gain one subscriber to my Youtube channel which makes me a little happy that some of my work is paying off. I have been recording videos when I have the chance to play without interuption so the videos aren't super up to date as most of them are recorded in few settings then published on a regular basis.
I have also noticed that World of Warcraft just has so much information that a 20 minute episode every week will take me forever to hit max level, but I am having fun doing it and it is a great bit of story compilation that I can go back to and watch if I ever want to do a fanfic or something like that.
Gaming:
I have rediscovered the joys and pains of Starcraft 2. From going on an 8 game win streak to going on a 6 game losing streak I have had fun experiencing the ups and downs of competitive play once again. I will probably push myself to play a little harder and maybe jump up to the gold division as my silver mines have gotten a little silly for me to be in.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Gym Blues
I have been gong strong for a little over a month now and it has been a lot of fun to just be active. Every day I wake up and am excited to go to the gym and get things in order in my life. Last night I hit the wall, the figment of imagination that blocks progress, the bane of all people of the gym.
I pushed through it but it is time for me to change something up so that I might be able to break through this. The thing is I am still making gains and love what I'm seeing in the mirror. My chest has gotten a little firmer, my biceps are starting to push through the fat and look like they exist. My legs have some definition and my body is starting to learn how to adapt to new stimuli.
Just need to push myself harder to gain the body I want and will be a part of it.
I pushed through it but it is time for me to change something up so that I might be able to break through this. The thing is I am still making gains and love what I'm seeing in the mirror. My chest has gotten a little firmer, my biceps are starting to push through the fat and look like they exist. My legs have some definition and my body is starting to learn how to adapt to new stimuli.
Just need to push myself harder to gain the body I want and will be a part of it.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
A Modern Cold War?
I know that this post is not about the normal video gaming or weight training that this blog is supposed to be about, but come with me as I take a tangent to the normal content.
First off a little about what I do for a living. I work in a school with special needs kids during the day which means I get to sit in and help out with classes of all different topics. I mostly sit in on Math and Science classes because that is my college background but this year I have had the opportunity to sit in on an American History class, which has been a lot of fun. Currently the kids are learning about the Cold War and the build up to the US involvement in Vietnam.
As I was sitting in class this week and hearing about the policy of contain the spread of Communism instead of fight it straight on, I started to think about the middle east and the spread of a radicalized version of Islam. I could not help but think of the similarities of these two seemingly different conflicts. In the 40s through the 60s many things occurred that mirror what has been happening. So lets look at these in order.
At the end of World War 2 Eisenhower sought to stop the spread of communism in its tracks and invaded Korea to keep democracy and capitalism functional in that country. He sent many men and women to a relatively unknown peninsula in the middle of Asia to potentially lose their lives to protect "the American way."
Shortly after the attacks of September 11th Bush committed troops to Iraq and Afghanistan to destroy the radicalized Islamic sect stationed in these countries. A conflict emerged and what seemed like peace prevailed.
In the 1940s and through the 1960s there was a power play of a building up of a nuclear arsenal in the USSR that left many worried about a possible attack on our way of life.
After the US withdrew from Iraq there was a void left in parts of the country allowing for the build up of a militaristic islamic society to come to power. This society has already carried out attacks all across Europe and possible attacks here in the United States. Like the stockpiling of nuclear weapons many Americans are worried of the possibility of attacks as they are developing a strong nation with radical beliefs.
During the Cold War the United States and NATO were working to stop the spread of communism through all means possible except the use of military force.
That brings us to now, what are we doing? We do not want another war so we are trying to talk to the neighboring countries. We are trying to develop an alliance of other countries worried about the spread of this virus in the Middle East to try and stop its spread and contain it. As I see it we are in the middle of a second Cold War, where the stakes though not nuclear are just as scary to all that are living during this time.
This could also be why those that are old enough to have experienced the fear and anxiety that our posturing with the USSR had produced in the way of fear and uncertainty are just as scared as they were back in the days of the Cold War, and why the younger generation chooses to ignore the issues with things other than paying attention.
I want to know your thoughts. Am I just being doom and gloom? Is there a true similarity or am I just spouting more fear than the media? Join the conversation in the comments below.
First off a little about what I do for a living. I work in a school with special needs kids during the day which means I get to sit in and help out with classes of all different topics. I mostly sit in on Math and Science classes because that is my college background but this year I have had the opportunity to sit in on an American History class, which has been a lot of fun. Currently the kids are learning about the Cold War and the build up to the US involvement in Vietnam.
As I was sitting in class this week and hearing about the policy of contain the spread of Communism instead of fight it straight on, I started to think about the middle east and the spread of a radicalized version of Islam. I could not help but think of the similarities of these two seemingly different conflicts. In the 40s through the 60s many things occurred that mirror what has been happening. So lets look at these in order.
At the end of World War 2 Eisenhower sought to stop the spread of communism in its tracks and invaded Korea to keep democracy and capitalism functional in that country. He sent many men and women to a relatively unknown peninsula in the middle of Asia to potentially lose their lives to protect "the American way."
Shortly after the attacks of September 11th Bush committed troops to Iraq and Afghanistan to destroy the radicalized Islamic sect stationed in these countries. A conflict emerged and what seemed like peace prevailed.
In the 1940s and through the 1960s there was a power play of a building up of a nuclear arsenal in the USSR that left many worried about a possible attack on our way of life.
After the US withdrew from Iraq there was a void left in parts of the country allowing for the build up of a militaristic islamic society to come to power. This society has already carried out attacks all across Europe and possible attacks here in the United States. Like the stockpiling of nuclear weapons many Americans are worried of the possibility of attacks as they are developing a strong nation with radical beliefs.
During the Cold War the United States and NATO were working to stop the spread of communism through all means possible except the use of military force.
That brings us to now, what are we doing? We do not want another war so we are trying to talk to the neighboring countries. We are trying to develop an alliance of other countries worried about the spread of this virus in the Middle East to try and stop its spread and contain it. As I see it we are in the middle of a second Cold War, where the stakes though not nuclear are just as scary to all that are living during this time.
This could also be why those that are old enough to have experienced the fear and anxiety that our posturing with the USSR had produced in the way of fear and uncertainty are just as scared as they were back in the days of the Cold War, and why the younger generation chooses to ignore the issues with things other than paying attention.
I want to know your thoughts. Am I just being doom and gloom? Is there a true similarity or am I just spouting more fear than the media? Join the conversation in the comments below.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Weekly Update First of March
So I have taken some time to get my diet back to where it should be, and have pushed myself in the gym to try and get some better gains. Monday I was able to up a lot of my lifts and it was fun that my girlfriend was able to come join me on my journey. I really appreciate the support that she has given me on my journey to a better, healthy life.
School is still one of the things that makes me crazy but it is still something that I need to do. Ecology is going well but it is a lecture only class and when I go I find myself trying to think of ways to improve my YouTube channel performance and gain more followers on Twitter. Or I think of what game I could be playing instead of sitting in a lecture that I could read out of the book when I get home. So needless to say Ecology lectures have become a place where I can organize my thoughts and push myself to better person over all.
As far as gaming I have to admit that I am very happy that I have been able to prerecord five episodes into the future as my time has been shot. I have no longer been able to record on a weekly basis, but I am starting to run out of content so I need to record another one this week. I have some more videos that I will make live here as they have gone live on YouTube and have not shown up here yet.
I am happy to be a part of this blog and look forward to making strides to create more content for you the readers and watchers in the future.
School is still one of the things that makes me crazy but it is still something that I need to do. Ecology is going well but it is a lecture only class and when I go I find myself trying to think of ways to improve my YouTube channel performance and gain more followers on Twitter. Or I think of what game I could be playing instead of sitting in a lecture that I could read out of the book when I get home. So needless to say Ecology lectures have become a place where I can organize my thoughts and push myself to better person over all.
As far as gaming I have to admit that I am very happy that I have been able to prerecord five episodes into the future as my time has been shot. I have no longer been able to record on a weekly basis, but I am starting to run out of content so I need to record another one this week. I have some more videos that I will make live here as they have gone live on YouTube and have not shown up here yet.
I am happy to be a part of this blog and look forward to making strides to create more content for you the readers and watchers in the future.
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