10-26-11 Update

          I had set a goal of doing 45lb weighted pull-ups, chin-ups, and dips before Halloween, and I did it. I wasn't satisfied much with my performance. I'm going for 50lb at 8 reps each tomorrow morning. I've just rested 5 days from my last workout. The Deadlifts and parallel bar - reverse leg lifts did my lower back in. I still felt growth off the rest, so I don't even consider it injury. I'm going to try to barbell squat my body-weight for 8 reps, going below parallel each rep (170lb). It'll have been ten days since I did this routine. My recent traveling left me little time at the gym. I had the choice of wasting my energy and muscles on inferior lighter weights, or to just use the time to rest and focus on wrist strengthening, grip strength, and Muscle Control.

          With Muscle Control, I feel like I'm doing the same routine laboriously for a long duration (weeks), yet before Iknow it, my routine has changed and evolved. I hit upon different angles and have crafted new shapes in which to focus on. I've noticed that muscles are only consistent for a certain duration of time.  Your strength this week is not your strength next week. Things slowly change over time, and then they change very fast, and certain things become impossible that were once daily and nearly effortless. I believe there's an intelligence that goes along with recovering from those times. The ability to roll into other types of exercises or training methods. Your body knows things far before your mind knows them.

          Two muscle regions I had difficulty learning were the thoracic and abdominal. The same maneuver to contract these muscles applies to both. If you stand with your heels together and toes pointed out, and you place your arms horizontal and in front of you with your hands turned inward as if you were going to try and pry your own rib cage open. Lean forward slightly, and for the chest, pretend you're ripping your sternum apart horizontally, and pull apart slowly keeping tension until your arms are fully out in crucifix position, and in that pose, I close my hands and arms and end in the starting position. I find if you don't do this, your energy can abruptly leave and your tension can get cut too short. For the abs, do the same, but lower your hand to hovering over the abdominal region, and spread into a lower arm crucifix.