Entry #496

This is by far the most crowded day of the week when I lift. If it weren't for the fact that everybody is there to do plyometrics and machines, it would have been unusable today. The only areas that were free were both power racks, the pull-up bar, and some bench press benches.

It's actually a good deal, when given some thought. It can be likened to symbiosis in nature, or mutual relationships between parasites and hosts. For example, mycorrhizae are a type of fungus that live
with the roots of many plants.
The fungus helps the plant by facilitating water and nutrient absorption from
the surrounding soil, helping the plant to tolerate extreme conditions such as
drought and high soil acidity, and protecting it from some harmful pathogens. In
return, the fungus gets an ample food supply and a safe refuge from harmful
soil conditions. With that, the rest of the gym inhabitants are the fungi, and they provide me with ample space and equipment to train where I need to. I return the favor by avoiding the preacher curl machine and the like (although I couldn't use the standing bag to warm-up because somebody was playing hopscotch through a rope ladder layed on the floor).

Speed bench:
8 X 3     185 lbs.
> The fastest I've ever been on this. Before, I hadn't been drawing in my elbows like I should have. The barbell was exploding up so that at one point, I actually reracked it on top of the two columns where the pins protrude out of by accident. On a sharp calorie deficit, this is a new precedent for me.

Barbell skullcrushers:
2 X 8    135 lbs.
1 X 6    135 lbs.
> The wuss squad was talking it up by the dumbbells, so I just used an Olympic bar on a bench press bench, facing the opposite direction. I had to power clean the weight up to get in position, which posed no problem. Getting out of it, I used to curl the load back up onto the pins, but now I just sit-up while keeping it in power clean position. Very easy.

Weighted chin-ups:
2 X 8     10 lbs.
1 X 8     15 lbs.
1 X 6     15 lbs.
1 X 5     15 lbs.

Barbell shrugs:
2 X 10   325 lbs.
2 X 10   335 lbs.
> Stupidly easy. My grip was ironclad.

Bag work