My alarm went off at 2:15.  I almost broke my phone to turn snooze button the shit out of it.  After a couple of minutes, I opened one eye and glared contemptuously at the bright luminescence that is my proverbial connection to the world abroad.  “Get up.”  I’m almost positive I was the one who said that…but it could have been the phone.

I took a rest day yesterday.  Today was supposed to be a rest day.  I had convinced myself yesterday through some sort of irrational rationalization that it would be better to stay home and rest.  I ended up tossing and turning for four hours before finally rising and headed to work.  What was the point?  I did not really rest.  I checked in on FB, previewed some work emails, checked my bank balance, etc.  I didn’t rest.  I just laid in bed and pretended to be productive.

Today I ran 2 miles at 19:28 on the treadmill.  I never trust the time on a treadmill.  I believe they are great training devices to learn how to set a cruise speed and just go for long periods of time.  I do not believe they relate a real representation of speed and time compared to what would be performed on a track.  In other words, I can run a 2 miler much faster than 19:28.

Since I didn’t do “arm day” yesterday, it was now “arm day” today.  I prefer to blast arms with simple exercises, varying the lever length occasionally dependant on how my shoulder feels.  (Left shoulder wasn’t feeling too bad today; a bit of twinging but no sharp pain.)  What did I do: shoulder flexion – 10 reps at a light weight, progressing from 7.5 to 10 pounds; curls in ladder fashion, starting with 10 pounds and progressing to 30 using all available weights in between at 10 reps; skull crushers starting at 40 and progressing to 50.  All exercises performed in circuit fashion until I had that feeling of…”yeah, I’m done.”  What is that feeling?  It’s a burn, dull and achy, a bit weak, there’s sometimes this loose feeling in the joints.  It was just time to be done.

I moved on to the cable machines for some specific tricep work.  Mostly press downs, but with varying grip handles.  I prefer the rope handle and the V looking one.  10 to 15 reps, varying the weight to maximize effort but also ensuring that full contraction was achieved.  I mixed a few cable curls in there, but super minimal with those.  Big arms mean big triceps.

I’m glad I kicked my ass out of bed this morning.  Tomorrow is a for real rest day.

Weighed in at: 160.