A few days deep into school, going well so far. The paper that I published during summer was selected for me to present at a grad conference at UGA next month, so I’m looking forward to that. In lifting news, I hit 275x3 on Egging pulls (deadlift in a 45° back extension, which somehow feels therapeutic for my low back compared to normal deadlifts) and looked pretty cool doing it. No idea if it’s realistic at all but I think hitting 405 on that sooner or later would be really cool.
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Bought a pair of elbow wraps out of curiosity, pressed 217.5 overhead my first time trying them. Trying to decide whether I should do all of my overhead pressing with these to try and drive the number up as high as possible, or stay raw for brownie points.
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Stealing this 
So is this a part of a main lift movement or would this fall under weakness development?
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I’ve pretty much been using it is a one-for-one substitute for deadlifts (mostly in the 4–6 rep range), since they tend to beat me up less and I don’t compete. They feel pretty similar to an SLDL (although you can get a tiny amount of knee bend depending on how the back extension machine is set up)
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410x1, to depth. First squat PR in forever. And no weights over 345 on my back in a couple cycles. AND I’m about 10-15 pounds lighter than when I hit that last one
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congrats
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180x6 Press PR to end the cycle. Squat and press are my only main lifts right now (everything else is bodybuilder-y) so that’s progress on both things I care about right now.
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nice work.
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End of Cycle Sets
Squat: 355x5 (Meh)
Press: 185x6 (Lifetime PR, Video of last rep)
Doing well in general. Picked up a third part-time job (tutoring athletes) so I am bringing in quite a bit of cash. GPA will be a 4.0 for the semester, I presented at my first graduate conference (at UGA) and have applications pending for like five more, I have two papers I think are publish-able and am working on that, and I have my thesis topic figured out (and because I’m the only person to take on the challenge of completing this program in one year, I win best thesis in the inaugural year by default
I even managed to line up an internship already for the coming summer (newest office of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission. Incredibly striking to see the difference in how easy applications were with no difference other than UVA Law on the resume.
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Another huge update: I just got invited to interview for a job as an instructor (of philosophy) at a law school in India. Interview is next week and if that goes well then I will be moving there for a couple years to be a 22 year-old law school instructor lol.
More than half of their current faculty had either an OxBridge or Ivy PhD/DPhil, so I have no idea what exactly stood out about my application, but I guess they saw something they liked
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Press: 190x3/2/2/2/2
Pulldown: Max x6, 115xF (Wide)
Machine Row: 225x5, 150xF, Partials (Drop Set)
Reverse Flies: 110x8
Machine Chest Press: 230x7, 130xF (Drop Set)
Machine Tricep Extensions: 115x7, 75xF (Drop Set)
Came home to visit my family for Thanksgiving break. This is what my training looks like currently. Press and Squat are my two main lifts and I’m alternating between the two with a progression scheme that looks a little bit like Morning Star, and accessories are all bodybuilder-y. Before today, the most I have ever pressed 190 for in a single session was four reps (1x4) so even though this wasn’t a rep PR (I wasn’t trying for one today—that comes at the end of the cycle) my press has gotten pretty strong. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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Good looking workout.
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Press: 190x5 (PR), 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
Pulldowns, Machine Rows, Machine Rear Delts, Machine Chest Press, Cable Triceps Overhead
Incline Walk: 25:00, 3.4mph, 8%
GPA locked in as a 4.0 for my first semester of grad school, I have my thesis committee + topic figured out, I got another paper accepted to another conference (oddly enough, a sciences conference) and ~25 more applications pending, and I’ve been spending winter break working through my reading list for said thesis (Naming & Necessity right now) and taking a winter interem class.
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Damn, nice work!
And congrats on the academic progress, too!
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Squat: 315x5/5/5/5/5 in 16 Minutes (PR)
Good Mornings (Light), Curls, Hammer Curls, Leg Extensions, Leg Curls, Incline Walk
Decided to speedrun the main work after the first set felt smooth, and it went pretty great. Press/Squat/Accessories has been treating me well.
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Squat: 415x1 (PR)
Back into “strongest I’ve ever been” territory on both my main lifts. And look at those legs lol.
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congrats. outstanding work.
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Killed it!!
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Press: 192.5x3/2/3/2 (Volume PR by like seven reps)
Pulldowns, Machine Rows, Lat Raises, Rear Delt Flies, Machine Inclined Press, Overhead Cable Extensions, incline walk
Press is feeling great.
Non-Lifting stuff:
- Thesis prospectus (think outline + working bibliography) got the go-ahead from my department.
- I’m TAing seven classes this semester. Honors Intro to Formal Logic just had their first exam, and I was told that my section’s performance broke a 20-year record (the class is notoriously difficult).
- Two more papers accepted to two more conferences since I last posted here. One about drone warfare to the Kentucky Philosophical Association, one about some questions Re: AI ethics at Kansas University. The latter is getting published, as well as a short piece that I wrote for a zine.
- UA interviewed me and wrote an article. It’s part of a new series where they highlight graduate students and their work, and I was the first person they selected to be featured. Graduate Student Spotlight: Joseph Aron – Barefield College of Arts & Sciences
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Press: 192.5x5 (PR, last rep in video), x2/1/1/1
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