Entry #464

Conditioning continues. I'm working up to three laps to the school and back. I'm up to two and a half. I smashed my elbow onto a chair edge earlier today, and it affected shadowboxing slightly, but I was eventually able to work through it fully.

I'm brushing off some rust from having not driven to anywhere in a long time, not only because I lack a car at the moment, but also since almost everything that I need is within walking-distance, which I prefer to go by when I have the choice between my legs and a car. My driving instructor asked me if I weightlifted, and we spent the entire lesson with him asking questions about training and boxing. He was never into boxing before, but I insisted to him that he missed out. He was born in the '40s, so I asked him if he knew about relevant champions from around that era. We went down the line, and he wasn't very familiar with Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, or Sugar Ray Robinson, but when I asked "Muhammad Ali?", he instantly replied, "Oh yeah, of course" and we had some fights to talk about. I promised that I'd print out Beyond Bodybuilding for him on Tuesday.

Then I told him that I was going to be champion of the world someday and that he's contributing to it by helping me drive to the boxing gym.

Entry #463

Anastasia Gym's opening has been delayed until September 3. Their only hint at the pricing is that it will "definitely be under $100". I don't know who this Anastasia thinks she is, but I'm going to power-clean her through the roof.

I plan to do workout #2 from trainforstrength.com until the third, do eight weeks of powerlifting with my current program, and then switch to a bodybuilding routine for six weeks.

This past month has consisted of running and bagwork, daily. Now that I have my camera back, I can film my performance for self-critique. Today was a lesson in proper-form: have it. I keep relaxing with my hands the longer I hit, and eventually my wrists start bending. Bare-knuckle work would force off my reliance of hand-wraps; I automatically put stricter attention into doing that. They'd work for a warm-up.

Entry #462

I've returned.

Tomorrow, the new gym opens. I haven't lifted for a number of weeks now, but I've been training daily. I don't believe that I could have lost any strength, but if I did, it's of no concern. I'll simply gain it back.

One new picture:

Entry #461

I no longer have regular access to the internet. This log has come to an indefinite halt.

Entry #460

George and I went on a four-hour hike. Unfortunately, we didn't get attacked by mountain lions, but we did trek through a section of the mountain that was completely charred black from a fire with ravens passing overhead. We also came across a huge, battle-scarred wolf spider with two legs missing because limbs are for weaklings. Anyways, I'm probably going to die from inhaling dangerous carcinogens, which is a measure of true strength.

The agonizing training I've been inflicting upon myself paid off. Near the end, my legs were stricken with two painful cramps. It felt like knives were stabbed into my flesh, which would rule if I actually had the satisfaction of seeing that. Since I did not, the deal was cheapened, and as my eyes rose up after checking to see if I was impaled, I was faced with a monstrous uphill slope that seemed to expand for miles. That's because it did. I decided to continue until my muscles were physically incapable of supporting my body up, so I stomped forward through the cramps. The pain was great, and my legs spasmed at times, but I didn't slow down at all the entire way.




Fighting George:

Entry #459

George and I dropped by the "Athletic Club" (they changed the name) yesterday. I knew the deskman from high school: Nick. He refereed the beach fight that George and I had at Santa Cruz. As I walked in, his female assistant came up to the counter for formalities. Before she could speak, I held up my hand in interruption, and then solemnly grunted, "Weights." Nick stepped forward and nodded grimly, and then told me to follow. As we walked overhead, my eyes glazed over at the basketball court, the ab room, the machines...and then, in the last square, unused in the far corner, stood the power rack in all its glory. Human skulls littered its forefront, forming a metaphoric pedestal for permissive access. Rivers of molten lava crackled and simmered around it. Woe to the unbalanced. I whipped out my hand in front of my guide to signal the halt. He glanced down at my object of interest and shakily murmured, "Y-yes, the free weights...I don't know a whole lot about weightlifting, but they're pretty heavy, as you can see, and-" I held up my hand for silence again, and then voiced my approval. We walked back to the entrance. George spoke nothing, knowing better than to interrupt the grave procedure. The girl breathed a deep sigh of relief in seeing her compatriot return safely. Our work was finished.*

*Anecdote slightly dramatized.

Anyways, the membership pricing is rather steep. I'm going to hold out until the 20th, when the replacement gym for the old facility opens, so that I can compare options. The new one is called "Anastasia". I can only surmise that evil Soviet businessmen are in charge now. That would bode excellent for the atmosphere. In any case, I'm going to make due with TrainForStrength.com work-outs.

I did a double-run to the high school today in the 95 degrees heat, and it was vastly easier than before. Last month, I had trouble with just one, but today, I felt like I could have done a third go (but opted not to out of mercy for my ankles, which are improving in their own right, but through steady, careful progress). Afterwards, I was able to hit the heavy bag significantly for the first time in weeks. With hundreds of pounts of weight anchoring the bag stand down, in addition to the bag itself, the entire contraption still tips over with a solid hook. I'll have to get creative with stabilizers.

I'm placing a recent favorite here so I don't have to trudge through YouTube to watch it when I'm bored waiting for torrents to download.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvirljx6ob4]

Entry #458

I'm currently gymless. Tomorrow, I'll go check out the Swim and Racquet Club. I cringe from the title, but I'm certain that they have decent weights. I've been keeping myself occupied with running, waiting for my wrists to become strong enough for bag work.