I dont give a monkeys what you look like (in a nice way). What matters is your effort, consistency and results, and yours are all first class sir.
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The mirror tells the truth but our head can prevent us from seeing it.
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Thanks for the sentiment, but I wasnāt attempting false modesty. My theory is that being naturally athletic has meant that my body has adapted to not really needing showy and impressive muscles to be able to do the stuff I want (gonna tag @anna_5588 here, because I am convinced she is similar to me in this regard). I am always much stronger than I look. And if I am being perfectly honest, I would not choose to give up athleticism for a more impressive physique. No way in hell.
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Agreed. The ppl in my gym in Shanghai used to stare at me when I deadlifted
Although, Iām definitely not as athletic as you.
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My definition here is something like āis exceptional at getting her muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and brain working in concert to get stuff doneā, so I think we are more or less the same that way.
I have also applied it to a shitload of sports and things, which you probably have not.
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Iāve tried and failed 
I always wanted to be a gymnast, but it became clear real quick that I wasnāt coordinated enough to get anywhere
I tried tennis and was good at hitting the ball far, but couldnāt get my wrists and arms to work together to do top spin
PE sports were a nightmare
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I am sticking with my theory in any case. It just manifests in different ways for different people.
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Agreed
Have you tried climbing? Itās basically a sport for people who donāt have the coordination to play actual sports. Thereās even a type of problem called coordination moves that you get to be all huffy and condescending about if you suck at them because ātheyāre not real climbing acktualllyā
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oh yeah! I forgot! I was always really good at climbing. I was on a semi- competitive team for a year before moving back to China.
It was too much as a hassle to climb in China and climbing gyms are expensive so I havenāt been since
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This totally checks.
Muscle is built from straining. We strain, the body says āDONāT LIKE THIS: letās fix it!ā and adds muscle, in hopes that we stop straining.
Athletes DONāT strain. They are smooth and fluid and efficient. They maximize output with minimal movement. They āmake this look goodā.
People who are good at being athletic ARENāT going to strain unless theyāre intentional about it. So the body wonāt build much muscle.
People who ARENāT athletic are gonna need to build a LOT more muscle to achieve the same thing as an athlete.
I always use Geoff Capes and Bill Kazmaier as my examples here. Both could go tit for tat on the throw for height events. Geoff was an athlete, Bill was a brute.
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Pretty sure thatās what powerlifting and strongman are for.
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Yeah checks out. You are stronger than you look. I might have taken āimpressiveā not literal enough. I have seen photos of you and you are in really good shape. I think thatās where my sentiment came from.
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Well, youāre just a sweety.
Work from yesterday I forgot to logā¦was squats, and some pretty okay ones. 120 for 10 is always decent. Trying to increase reps on these again.
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Barbell Squat
- 60 kg x 5 reps
- 80 kg x 3 reps
- 100 kg x 3 reps
- 120 kg x 2 reps
- 140 kg x 2 reps
- 150 kg x 1 reps
- 160 kg x 1 reps
- 120 kg x 10 reps
- 100 kg x 10 reps
-
Pull-Up
- 8 reps
- 8 reps
- 8 reps
- 8 reps
- 8 reps
- 8 reps
- 8 reps
- 8 reps 60
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Leg Press
- 135 lb x 8 reps
- 225 lb x 8 reps
- 315 lb x 8 reps
- 405 lb x 8 reps
- 495 lb x 8 reps
- 585 lb x 8 reps
- 675 lb x 8 reps
- 495 lb x 15 reps
- 315 lb x 20 reps
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Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
- 120 lb x 15 reps
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And today was work on the bewbs. Somehow stronger than last week, maybe just because I went to a party yesterday and eat a surplus for once.
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Machine MTS High Row
- 25 kg x 10 reps
- 25 kg x 10 reps
- 25 kg x 10 reps
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Barbell Incline Bench Press
- 45 kg x 5 reps
- 55 kg x 5 reps
- 70 kg x 5 reps
- 85 kg x 3 reps
- 95 kg x 3 reps
- 105 kg x 1 reps
- 115 kg x 3 reps
- 92 kg x 14 reps (rep PR)
- 70 kg x 15 reps
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Muscle-Up
- 1 reps
- 1 reps
- 1 reps
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Machine Ab Crunch
- 30 kg x 15 reps
- 35 kg x 15 reps
- 40 kg x 15 reps
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Dips - Chest Version
- 5 reps
- 10 reps
- 15 reps
- 20 reps
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Basic pulling day. Fewer reps, more focus on hitting the lats hard. Went super wide on a bunch of the pull-ups.
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Machine MTS High Row
- 25 kg x 10 reps
- 25 kg x 10 reps
- 25 kg x 10 reps
- 25 kg x 10 reps
-
Pull-Up
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 10 reps
- 1 reps
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Isolateral Plate Loaded Row
- 102 lb x 10 reps
- 192 lb x 10 reps
- 282 lb x 10 reps
- 192 lb x 15 reps
- 102 lb x 20 reps
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Upright Barbell Row
- 50 lb x 10 reps
- 50 lb x 10 reps
- 50 lb x 10 reps
- 50 lb x 10 reps
- 50 lb x 10 reps
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Preacher Curl
- 20 lb x 25 reps
- 20 lb x 25 reps
- 20 lb x 25 reps
- 20 lb x 25 reps
No running, did that yesterday.
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Trying to troubleshoot my elbow pain and track some cause and effect. Had an off day yesterday, but the prior 4 days before that were essentiallyā¦
Press Day
Squat Day
Bench Day
Pull Day
ā¦which is a pretty standard order, and the exercises pretty typical. Sometimes there might be a day off thrown in the mix, or even an extra pulling day.
In any case, what I observed is that going into Press Day I was feeling great due to three off days. The day following Press Day, my elbows were lit up with aches and pains (quite bad). Squat Day made it hurt more during Squat Day, but the morning after it was already feeling better. That was Bench Day, which was fine, very minor aches. Wake up to Pull Day still feeling fine. Day after Pull Day, still feeling fine.
Tentative conclusion is that Press Day is the prime suspect. Squatting will make an existing pain hurt even more, but is not really making it worse.
Honestly, this fucking sucks if it is true, kind of worst-case scenario. Thinking on it, the starting position for a standing OHP with a barbell puts my elbows in maximally flexed position with a lot of weight, so it would make sense.
Today is Press Day again. I am going to skip the standing OHP and only press from less extreme positions and see what happens. BtN will probably be okay, even DBs. Fun little experiment.
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Okay, so a bit of a test day in regards to all that crap above. None of the regular standing OHP. The stuff I did below is all with elbows wide and no extreme flex. Too early to conclude anything, but my elbows are fine for now. Will likely squat tomorrow and see what that does.
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Seated Barbell Press Behind Neck
- 20 kg x 8 reps
- 30 kg x 8 reps
- 40 kg x 8 reps
- 50 kg x 8 reps
- 60 kg x 5 reps
- 70 kg x 6 reps
- 60 kg x 10 reps
- 50 kg x 10 reps
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Muscle-Up
- 5 reps
- 2 reps
- 2 reps
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Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- 18 kg x 6 reps
- 22.5 kg x 6 reps
- 27 kg x 6 reps
- 32 kg x 6 reps
- 38.5 kg x 6 reps
- 30 kg x 10 reps
- 24 kg x 10 reps
Did a few delt flyes and then ran for 8 minutes at the end.
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Sounds like switching out OH press for a while might be a good idea. Time to focus on lateral raises and really grow those shoulders.
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Well youād all just love that, wouldnāt you.
Kidding aside, I think it is maybe a combination of monitoring which movements are causing the issues plus the fact that I generally am doing pushing movements twice every five days on average. More information needed.
There could also be some kind of arthritic condition behind all of this, which I may eventually have to get a professional to look at.
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