Sounds good, thanks for explaining!
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This rings true for me. I also like being given two options. It makes things so much easier.
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I heard something clever where a guy would ask his wife “guess where we’re going tonight?” And whatever she guessed, that’s where they’d go.
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It’s all fun and games until she guesses y’all are going to the local Glee show.
You thought she wanted food? Nah, she wanted to watch you die inside.
Like the old TV show?
Sephora! 
Who needs to eat?
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No! That’s not how you play!
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Too late. 
Also, Chris makes better food than what we get at most restaurants, so I’d rather get a makeover and then have whatever he’s cooking!
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Oh my goodness. I posed a question above and then responded back to your answer… in my head! LOL I’m not the brightest cookie in the drawer.
So yeah I completely agree on that. Some days the gym music is unobtrusive enough to not bring my own, but then other days it’s just awful. I also use my phone to time rest periods and record the amount of weight used (on occasion).
But if gyms stopped allowing phones in the weight room, there’d definitely be a few perks.
On a side-note, my 75-year old friend plays her music without headphones. Like, she just lets it blast and compete with what’s on the sound system. It’s hilarious because she give zero f–ks, and yet she’s just the sweetest thing ever.
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Agree on everything you said here.
There are a few women who’ve gone viral for calling out men at the gym, but don’t have a physique like the one you mentioned. Those videos are even more angering. Why? Because if you work hard enough for long enough you’re probably going to be more respectful to others who are doing the same.
But if you’re just haughty because you’ve lost some weight, and now you feel like God’s gift to mankind, you’re going to be a giant turd with a terrible personality.
Obviously nobody should be a turd – whether they have a great physique or not – but incidentally, the women (and men) with superhero bodies are almost always kind. They have nothing to prove and they just want to enjoy their lifting session, which usually means being cool to the others.
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I feel attacked.
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Oh stahp! You have a great personality and a ton of muscle. So that’s the opposite of you. But I am offended when you start responding to something I wrote in another thread and then don’t post it!
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I mean, I wanted to respond, but I didn’t think my input was any value added this time. The whole “attractive but appropriate” dress thing for women is incredibly difficult to navigate, mostly because of culture but also because of other women.
Certain areas in the middle east will have you labelled a harlot for showing an ankle. I can promise you, an ankle has never seemed like too much skin to me (an American).
What was acceptable to wear to the gym 20 years ago is now considered prude.
What is acceptable to wear to the gym where you are vs where I am, is very different. LA girls aren’t exactly known for being secretive about what they’re wearing underneath their clothing, and that’s assuming these parts are even covered. It’s like a low rent strip club at times.
Anyways, I don’t have a solution to dressing attractively yet modestly for women, but I will say that the tennis outfits those ladies were wearing are a perfect match. A little cleavage is a good balance of risque and reserved. tight pants have been acceptable for long enough that it’s not a concern, and now it’s wedgie pants (scrunch) that are seeminly acceptable (I’m not complaining, but you gotta know that dudes are GOING to look).
Also, I think acceptable attire can be dependent upon marriage. There are some dresses I’ve bought for my wife because I want to see her in them. I’d love to see her wearing them out on a date, but if she was wearing them without me, it is a very different thing.
This is getting printed and framed 
Oh, saved round.
I think the women who are posting these videos are mostly posting them for clout, but with a caveat… When an attractive dude is staring at a lady from across the room, she’s probably flattered. When an unattractive dude is staring at a lady from across the room, it’s creepy.
What’s cute and flirty from an attractive person is creepy and disgusting from an unattractive person.
You could turn 50 Shades of Grey into a horror movie by only changing the main character from a handsome billionaire into a broke Danny DeVito looking dude.
If these dudes were attractive, she’s probably looking for numbers, not followers… Just saying.
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Your input always seems valuable to me but I’m biased since we usually agree on things.
Exactly. It’s also difficult because if you’re tall and in shape, then clothing that fits correctly around the waist is usually way too short or super tight elsewhere. Chris is all for it though.
So I have a choice: either wear baggy, ill-fitting clothes, or dress like a hooker. This is an exaggeration but that’s how it feels a lot of times.
The outfits didn’t offend me at all. They were super cute.
But I’m not sure I’d ever feel comfortable showing that much skin outside of a swimming environment… or doing chores around the house. My weird, general rule of thumb, is that if I show skin or wear something tight on one half of my body, the other half needs to be in something looser with more coverage. Like tight pants with a loose shirt, or a more revealing shirt with a long skirt.
Absolutely. This is true for me and Chris as well.
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Because the work to get the results are more impressive than the results themselves. Those of us going on decades of work in the gym (I am closing in on 20 years) know the dedication it can take to build/maintain a decent physique. I am trying to put less weight on that for myself as I get older, but for me it’s tied up in gaining confidence in myself when I had none as a chubby 14 year old.
The other issue is that a lot of people think they can be an “influencer” based on a mildly good physique.
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That’s a good way to put it.
You were chubby at 14 too?! High five!
HAHAHA YES. 
Lower Body
Chris and I pulled up to the gym this morning only to see a humongous moving company hauling machines out, and bringing slightly less-old equipment in. Apparently the 24-Hour across town shut down, so we assume they’re giving us some of the machines that were over there, and removing the ones from our gym that were busted.
It was loud, busy, and messy, so I put on my headphones and deadlifted.
Deadlift: 5 x 8,5,5,5,5
Felt good, but the platform I was on was too squishy. Why on earth would they make a barbell platform area squishy?!
The middle part that you stand on is solid wood at least, but the sides are thin rubber with some kind of squish-material underneath. I assume this is meant for O-lifts so that people can drop heavy bars without super loud slamming, but I don’t know.
It sucks for deadlifting, which seems a heck of a lot more common than Olympic lifting.
Superset:
Abductor Machine: 4 x 15 full ROM, and 15 partials at peak
Weighted Walking Lunge: 4 x out and back with pauses at the bottom
Finisher:
Leg Press: 100 reps
Had to do this as a finisher instead of starting with it because of the hauling company occupying that area of the gym. But my legs must’ve been toast because I got to 70 reps and had to take a longer pause. Then had to pause every five reps till the end.
After that, I called it. My body was giving clear signs of being done. Not my best workout, but my muscles are definitely feeling it now.
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I’ve had a few workouts since the one I logged last. But life-stuff took precedence over recording exercises on the internet.
Outside of regular work, I’ve started on a written project that may or may not go anywhere. And I just finished what felt like a deep-dive into Numbers. I’ll start Deuteronomy tomorrow morning. Parts of the old testament are not easy for me to grasp, so it feels more like studying instead of leisure-reading.
Workouts did occur… but without posting about them, did they even count? 
Here’s a ridiculously obvious fact: Telling people about your workouts is not as important as doing them.
That’s one thing millennials, like me, and younger generations seem to forget… living life is more important than documenting it for social media.
Speaking of that, I’ve taken long breaks from Instagram before, and every time I came back, there’d be a DM from someone asking, “Why did you leave Instagram?”
And I didn’t want to be a turd, but I was tempted to say, “Why didn’t you?”
People seem to think that progress toward any goal, or their life’s work, or their fitness and health, or their relationships, or any meaningful, beautiful moments that occur don’t count if they’re not posting pictures of it for all to see.
And they assume you’re depressed or dead if you’re not exposing your daily life on social media. The craziness goes even further. There are grown men and women who talk about followers and friend requests as if that’s what makes them important. These are people I can’t relate to and never want to. They live second-hand lives because everything they do is filtered through the lens of what their followers will see and think about them.
Being an “influencer” leads to a life that’s more performative than it is meaningful. I’ve gotten sucked into a similar mindset as well, but if I’m truly living at the top of my potential, I’m finding purpose and meaning despite whether or not it’s captured for an audience.
Is this too negative to say? I’m sorry if it comes off that way; I don’t mean to lower your mood or make you think less of those who live for their follower count. I’m just sharing the thoughts that pop up for me when I feel guilty about not being social on the internet. (And it’s bonkers that anyone should feel guilt over such a silly thing.)
I suppose this place, where you’re reading now, counts as a form of social, but the clout-chasing doesn’t seem present here… not from what I’ve seen. People have discussions, share their wins, struggles, losses, goals, and questions – and in the process – experience a community. It just feels more genuine. Even if there’s a bit of trolling or disagreement, this little corner of the internet is still pretty real to me.
Anyway, that’s my rant and I could be full of it. So take whatever I say with a grain of salt.
Monday: Upper Body
I did some stuff. Climbed up in weight on the bench press, hit back, shoulders, arms, and left the gym feeling taxed but not destroyed.
Today: Lower body
Hit 100 unbroken leg presses before moving onto working sets with more weight. I inched the weight up and rested longer than usual. Did some abductor work, hit hammies, and then started losing vision (where everything goes black) every time I stood up. It wasn’t as thorough a workout as I would’ve hoped, but it definitely challenged me.
Off-topic but does anyone else find this incredibly relatable?
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You really ought to get your priorities straight.
No. Hard “NO”.
I’m off instagram and every other social media platform except BB forums. My wife is about to delete her instagram account for me too. I’m proud of you for taking hiatus’ from it, and my only critique is that it should be deleted as a whole.
That shit is toxic for people as individuals, and particularly for women in long term relationships. Not calling you out here at all by saying this (it clearly doesn’t apply to you), but most women lose their minds by getting free male attention, which is most of what instagram is. It’s like leaving a ‘for sale’ sign on the car you just bought (insert ‘women are objects’ joke here).
I’m 100% on board with shaming folks for being on instagram, even if that makes me ‘uncool’. Chances are that my life will look more like their instagram reel than theirs ever will… that is (in part) due to me not being on instagram.
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