Category: Health (Page 4 of 5)

Sticking with the workout.

Since Davy and I started working out, I wanted to encourage symmetry.  Some machines allow for a different weight for each arm.   It made sense to start with the highest weight that either arm could handle.  I don’t want to develop a lobster claw, where one arm is much stronger than the other.  That might be a fiddler crab I’m thinking of.

Working in muscle pairs seemed like a good idea.  The row goes with the bench press and the pull-down with military press.

One idea was to workout with the same weight on all stations.  It’s a dumb idea.  Starting out, my shoulders were weak, bench was reasonable and pulling was strong.  Also, with machines, you really don’t know what actual resistance force is required.  Nobody is calibrating those things.

My strength workout is six stations.  That doesn’t sound challenging, but after a half-hour of cardio, that is all the juice I’ve got.

Here’s what it looked like when we started:

  • Military press:  20 lbs per arm
  • Row: 100 lbs
  • Twist:  100 lbs
  • Leg Press:  Who knows?  It depends on the machine.
  • Bench:  110 lbs
  • Pull-down:  100 lbs

After six months,

  • Military press:  80 lbs per arm
  • Row:  140 lbs
  • Twist: 140 lbs
  • Leg Press:  430 lbs
  • Bench press:  145 lbs
  • Pull-down:  140 lbs

With the improvement in the military press, I’m tempted to workout with 140 lbs across the board. 

Some of the improvement is due to using a different station with a more comfortable motion.  For the bench, we are using the Smith machine, so that is a real number.  The leg press is all over the map because some machines move body weight along with supplemental weights and all are on an incline.  The 430 lbs is with actual weights, but is on an incline.  The twist machine is doable with almost any amount of weight, so that’s kind of phony.

We do a solid half-hour on cardio.  I use the bike, and average about 130 bpm.  I go harder or easier as the workout progresses.  I’m all sweaty at the end, so that seems good.

WSJ: Oregon Realizes that Decriminalizing Hard Drugs was a Mistake

 

 

WSJ: Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs

WSJ: Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs

EUGENE, Ore.—Soon after Oregon became the first state to decriminalize all drugs in 2020, Officer Jose Alvarez stopped arresting people for possession and began giving out tickets with the number for a rehab helpline. 

People sprawled on sidewalks and using fentanyl with no fear of consequence have become a common sight in cities such as Eugene and Portland. Business owners and local leaders are upset, but so are liberal voters who hoped decriminalization would lead to more people getting help. In reality, few drug users are taking advantage of new state-funded rehabilitation programs.

Anybody could have seen this coming, but somehow, they still think they are smarter than the rest of us.  In Econ 100, you learn that people respond to incentives.  Remove disincentives to take hard drugs, and more people take hard drugs.

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Judging people at Planet Fitness

I get that “judgement free zone” is supposed to mean that a pudgy dotard like me won’t feel intimidated by the fit young people, but I am judging people all over the place.   I respect the chunky rascal on the treadmill, trying to get hammered into shape.  I appreciate the crotchety bastard who just finished the rehab regiment after cardiac surgery.  He can’t lift much, but he’s lifting.  It’s the other people.

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