To Actually See It

Wanna-be mariner I considered the two heavenly bodies I’d mentioned earlier, as visible when I left my home. This morning they were further apart!  Took my app out and there too, Venus and Jupiter have moved further apart.  Stars don’t move in relation to one another. Planets do.  It occurred to me that this must have freaked the ancients out.  (the answer is never far away.  I searched and indeed five of the planets had been known to the ancients for thousands of years.  They move differently.  Clearly.  There you go.) 

This morning was upper body day at the gym.  I always put the lateral pull-down machine beyond what I can handle.  If I set it at 250 lbs., I can’t just pull it down with gravity alone for the first pull (Fortunately.  I am weighing in at less than 250 lbs., these days.)  For the past month or so I could only do barely one of the pull-downs at that weight.  My left arm just caves in after that somewhere, just above my elbow.   I then drop the weight to 230 lbs.  With that I can manage about five pulls and then the fold in my arm gives out, once again. 

Down around 210 lbs., or so (alas, I can simply suspend myself and let gravity do its thing down around this range) I can do sets of ten, without any issues.   Today made my way over after the other lateral pull down after five other stations.  I set the pull at 250 lbs., and surprised myself by doing about five straining pulls.  Cool.  Reducing it to 230 lbs., it was easy enough to do the next ten.  I know implicitly that doing weights regularly builds muscle, builds capacity.  But it was cool to actually see it, feel it.  Regular engagement with nearly anything productive like this becomes addictive.

I then unclip the long bar and clip in a small, two hand grip that allows for a pull with hands close together.  I saw a kid doing this pull down with their hands together a few weeks back.  This is proves to be easier to pull down the same about of weight.  No issues with elbows and extended arms folding.  This set shifts the weight to my abdomen, which feels remarkable.  I can feel it pulling hard on my stomach muscles and fortunately, they can take.  I did three full sets of ten at 230 lbs.  It was uncanny how “good” this all felt.  Next time I’m going in for as many 250s as I can. There are only two sets higher.  It will take months though, before I could manage 290 lbs.

Tuesday 01/29/19