Woke at 183.5 lbs, looking much like yesterday so all good there. Had a hell of a time getting to sleep last night despite being knackered. Part of that was being hungry AF.
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@T3hPwnisher I think you’re the one to answer this for me:
A while ago I figured life has no purpose, so I may as well enjoy it. That isn’t nihilism is it? I’m not being flippant, by the way. I really do feel like life has absolutely no purpose whatsoever, and it was one of the most freeing realisations I’ve ever had.
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Living for the fun of it? You’re a hedonist, Bro!
It has elements of nihilism in it, but kinda heading toward hedonism. You ended up making your own meaning by saying that you may as well enjoy it, which takes away from the “it has no meaning” thing. Nietzsche talked about making your own meaning along with a few other authors, but it kinda gets in weird directions, and I’m honestly not well versed enough to be able to say definitively the best source on it. Kierkegaard touched on making meaning as well in a meaningless world, but not necessarily for the sake of joy.
And I don’t think it’s flippant at all; it’s liberating honestly. Existential angst is misery, and deciding their is no meaning takes away a significant burden. However, it begs the question of if one truly believes there is no meaning, or if they choose to believe their is no meaning because the alternative (there is a meaning but we don’t realize it) is far too terrifying. It’s akin to those that adopt religion because it takes away the fear of the unknown vs. being in total darkness and terrified of what it all means.
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Why would anyone be terrified about about not realising the meaning of life…? Definition of an irrational fear right there.
If nihilism is true, are any fears rational?
Thanks. That’s about what I figured. My philosophy education stopped after high school.
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I don’t know anything about nihilism, but I believe fears are only rational on a survival level. If I see a shark fin in the water before I jump in, the fear would definitely make me think twice. Having a fear of darkness in your own home is however irrational.
I believe fears are an evolutionary thing and they can be managed though.
Today’s training
Lazy lifter
Seated calf raises
Tried this with 88 lbs @danteism and I got to 10. It’s the stretch that killed me.
Then
100x44 lbs, never quite letting my heels drop enough to let the muscles fully extend
Leg press single leg calf raises
4x176 lbsx25/leg, no rests
Toes neutral, in, out, neutral
This was also moderately brutal
Standing calf raises
Dropset starting at 180 lbs, dropping 20 lbs down to 20 lbs, stretch at the bottom - got 20ish at 180 lbs, then gave up counting
All up this took maybe 25 minutes including the warmup and finding the description of the DC calf raises in my log
Incline treadmill walk 25 minutes at 15 degrees and 5 km/HR
PVC rolled my right out quad golfball
This was actually what I was getting at. Nihilism (very briefly summed up) would contend that nothing matters, to include survival. The notion that survival is a rational desire is predicated under the notion that survival is somehow a goal worth having, either because preservation of the self or preservation of the species must be pursued. There is not necessarily a rational argument for this specific notion, which in turn precludes fears based upon survival as being inherently rational.
But it was more a pithy joke from me.
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The day I decided to not fear death, my life became very much better. I tried to commit suicide when I was 16. I obviously did not succeed. I decided then that I had some higher purpose. Maybe not from God, a God, or any higher being, but for myself. I keep the picture I wrote “I’m sorry” on the back of in my living room to remind me that as long as I’m still breathing, I should jut live for me and not worry about dying. Very liberating.
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Sorry to back track, but I’m curious about picking my lifts as I’ve never competed. Is the idea to get your best gym lifts credited (best word I could think of) on the platform and go 9 for 9? Maybe my mindset is off because I was thinking second attempt at or very near my gym PR then an actual PR attempt for my third. Too risky?
@bctx1981 there are a couple of ways you can go. Yours is one of them.
I like setting a goal for my third attempt, and then working of that. In that case, my first attempt will be 88 per cent of my goal, or thereabouts. Second attempt will be 94 per cent. For my second and third I usually have A and B options, and whether I take A or B depends how the previous attempt felt: good, I take A, not so good I take B. The difference between A and B is usually five or 10 pounds.
Mostly I think it comes down to picking a realistic third attempt. I generally want to know I can hit it, not just think I can. I definitely want my first attempt to be something I could hit for a triple on a bad day so that no matter what happens on the day I don’t have to worry about getting my first attempt. My second I want to be something I can hit for sure, ideally something I know I could hit for a double.
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Yeah, the stretch is brutal. On the plus side, a brutal stretch will help with calf tightness
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Not that I get that usually though. It was marginally unpleasant on my left ankle which hasn’t quite been the same since I dropped the SSB on it. Although, I think the massive stretch may be the icing on the rehab cake for the ankle.
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As a Christian I find some of this philosophical talk about the meaning of life to be a bit sad. Obviously I believe there’s a meaning to life but I don’t push my views on people.
I don’t fear death with my perspective. I’m not in a hurry but death is inevitable. Having meaning to life doesn’t really change anything though. There’s no pressure. I actually think my beliefs are quite freeing because I know none of this life matters much. If you screw up then get over it and move on. Hopefully you learn from it.
I think most people fear failure. Failure to achieve something, live up to expectations, etc. Once you get past that then you realize there’s a lot to enjoy here.
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Woke at 187.2 lbs, but looking pretty much the same as yesterday. A little softer around the lower abs maybe, but not by much. Feeling a whole lot better than the past few mornings though, despite waking up a bunch during the night.
Today’s training
Lazy lifter plus shoulders
Refeed made my belt fit perfectly. Bonus.
Squat
TM is 462 lbs
Work up from bar in 44 lbs x3-5 to 60%, 10 facepulls between sets
3x324 lbs, under 6 RPE, 7 revolutions (3, X, 2)
2x368 lbs, under 6 RPE, 7 revolutions (3, X, 2)
1x418 lbs, under 6 RPE, 8 revolutions (3, X, 3)
1x462 lbs, 7-8 RPE, 9 revolutions (3, X, 4) - felt damn good, video looked stupid fast
1x489 lbs, 8-9 RPE, 9 revolutions (3, X, 4)
Apparently links to multiple IG uploads don’t work…
What I’m noticing since fixing my squat and wrapping is that it’s the descent that’s the hard part. Once I’m coming up, it feels good. Anyway, heaviest load I’ve had on my back and locked out in about a half year. I’m happy with this, no issues about my third attempt.
SSB squat, bare knees and open belt with short rests 3x5x324 lbs, 7 RPE
Walking lunges with 44 lbs chain and second and a bit pause at the bottom 25/leg - quads brutalised
BB toes elevated RDLs 2x20x198 lbs, 10x198 lbs - finally got my hammies firing the whole time and turns out the secret was straps
Abs/shoulders
Rope kettlebell upright rows 2x25x35 lbs
Double medium band side bends with hold at top 2x25
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Notes for next week while I think of them:
Squat Monday - it’s a day off and I’ll be fresh
Bench and CGBP Thursday as usual
DL Friday, without the DL - so light squats etc