I've had a roaming thought in my head for a week or so. I've been giving a fair bit of though to freshening up my study of German. My friend N has been picking up the language in the last couple months, and while it's spurred me a bit, I haven't yet taken the time to really do anything about it.
The thought, to get back on point, has been about whether it would be possible to learn a language without any outside translation help. That is, simply to immerse myself in it, and pick it up through listening, reading, and so forth.
Of course, quick reflection says that yes, I've already done that. English is my mother tongue, and that was learned with no concept of anything to start me off.
So, certainly it would be possible to learn how to speak and understand a new language without any intervention from translation aids. Learning to read and write too, since those are also things I learned without guides - beyond teachers, parents and other native speakers.
Of course, a good question I need to ask myself when I am taken by these strange ideas, is "why?" Why would I take on the challenge of a new language and not use all of the available help? Making the process more difficult isn't a great way to keep up my motivation, I know that much from past experience.
And also, why a new language, when I already have only partial command of French and German? I could try to grasp a partial command of Japanese too, but what good is knowing 3 languages a bit going to do me in the real world?
They're good questions.
I think that if I want to start putting effort into language, then I really should be looking to shore up the ones I only have some grasp upon, rather than starting with something new.
Either of German or French is a good starter. French is everywhere, and readily available from stores and so forth. German is slightly more difficult to acquire, but I already have a store of unread books to start me off, plus the internet is full of anything I could want to watch.
I guess the main thing which I need is the will to start. Once I get going, I just need to keep going. No large or grand plans, just keep doing things which help.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Still going
It's workout day today. I had to shift things around a bit because of company Christmas party stuff, but I should get to the gym today without much trouble.
I've been retooling my plans and such, and I think I have something which at least works for the upcoming year.
The key items have to do with resolving the discordant goals I have for myself. The resolution is to work on one goal at a time.
So I'm starting a new program which should run from Jan through to the end of May, and then switch plans over after that to work on the other goal.
I'm motivated again, but I do need to keep myself going by pushing myself along. I will get there, I just need to put in the work.
I've been retooling my plans and such, and I think I have something which at least works for the upcoming year.
The key items have to do with resolving the discordant goals I have for myself. The resolution is to work on one goal at a time.
So I'm starting a new program which should run from Jan through to the end of May, and then switch plans over after that to work on the other goal.
I'm motivated again, but I do need to keep myself going by pushing myself along. I will get there, I just need to put in the work.
Friday, December 14, 2012
The importance of sleep
So, I got a bit of bad sleep the last couple days. Home late from hanging out, and generally being woken a couple times a night.
So, this morning I hit the gym, and I am tired. I couldn't muster the power to get things started, much less to push through and get the workout going. Rest breaks took longer than normal, and generally I just felt like I was being squashed by weights when I should not have been.
Several times I had to convince myself to just push on, and try to get in all the sets, even if I knew I wasn't gonna hit the reps. Why? Because not doing the sets doesn't give me a break, it just stalls out my growth. I'm going to be tired sometimes, and I'm going to want to stop sometimes. But if I let myself get away with it once, I'll let myself get away with it more than once. And I don't need that kind of habit starting to form.
Consistency is what I need most of all.
So, even though the workout was a bad one, and I left feeling even more tired than when I arrived, I know that it will be worth it in the end. That by sticking to the program, I am sticking to improving myself, to making myself better.
And that's really the point.
So, this morning I hit the gym, and I am tired. I couldn't muster the power to get things started, much less to push through and get the workout going. Rest breaks took longer than normal, and generally I just felt like I was being squashed by weights when I should not have been.
Several times I had to convince myself to just push on, and try to get in all the sets, even if I knew I wasn't gonna hit the reps. Why? Because not doing the sets doesn't give me a break, it just stalls out my growth. I'm going to be tired sometimes, and I'm going to want to stop sometimes. But if I let myself get away with it once, I'll let myself get away with it more than once. And I don't need that kind of habit starting to form.
Consistency is what I need most of all.
So, even though the workout was a bad one, and I left feeling even more tired than when I arrived, I know that it will be worth it in the end. That by sticking to the program, I am sticking to improving myself, to making myself better.
And that's really the point.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Still at it
A friend of mine, Dan, invited me to do some workout thing he's been doing. It's a personal trainer thing that he's running under the auspices of a company that works primarily online.
I looked at it, but it mostly looks like a shill for their protein shakes and meal replacement things. Meal replacements never really struck me as great, since I would likely drink one, then go eat breakfast. Not really covering the points they are supposed to do.
The workouts around it are very similar (in the way they sound anyway), to those found in other mass-market exercise programs like P90X or similar. They're bodyweight focused, and use a lot of low-impact endurance/cardio to burn energy, and thus bring down weight.
There's weighted stuff with barbells and so forth, but a lot of that is upper body centered. Arms and chest, with a bit of work on the back.
I've got a couple friends who have or are doing such workouts, and they're happy with them. They work for what they're supposed to do, but it's not my thing. I'd rather throw the barbell around than do sets on sets of burpees and tuck jumps. There's a place for those things in most people's fitness goals, and really, they'd fit into mine somewhere, but they're just not for me right at this moment.
So, I've politely turned him down, but did say that he could provide encouragement to keep me heading into the gym. And thus far, he has. Which is really a good sign of the kind of motivator he could be. Even if the program isn't right for me, he's certainly a lot closer to the kind of trainer I'd want - were I looking for one.
The diet process hasn't been going the way I want, but my weight isn't really changing much. It bounces around between 185 and 188, but it's been holding relatively steady since the start of the month, so I'm unconcerned about it at the present time. Trying to retain some limits on what I eat, but I am still not strict with myself yet, so it's not really effective.
The workouts have been consistent, which is good. A regular schedule is always better for me than an ad-hoc kind of ramble. I just get more things done and better results overall.
Things are going as expected so far, which makes me happy. Just gotta keep on with the plan and I'll get there.
I looked at it, but it mostly looks like a shill for their protein shakes and meal replacement things. Meal replacements never really struck me as great, since I would likely drink one, then go eat breakfast. Not really covering the points they are supposed to do.
The workouts around it are very similar (in the way they sound anyway), to those found in other mass-market exercise programs like P90X or similar. They're bodyweight focused, and use a lot of low-impact endurance/cardio to burn energy, and thus bring down weight.
There's weighted stuff with barbells and so forth, but a lot of that is upper body centered. Arms and chest, with a bit of work on the back.
I've got a couple friends who have or are doing such workouts, and they're happy with them. They work for what they're supposed to do, but it's not my thing. I'd rather throw the barbell around than do sets on sets of burpees and tuck jumps. There's a place for those things in most people's fitness goals, and really, they'd fit into mine somewhere, but they're just not for me right at this moment.
So, I've politely turned him down, but did say that he could provide encouragement to keep me heading into the gym. And thus far, he has. Which is really a good sign of the kind of motivator he could be. Even if the program isn't right for me, he's certainly a lot closer to the kind of trainer I'd want - were I looking for one.
The diet process hasn't been going the way I want, but my weight isn't really changing much. It bounces around between 185 and 188, but it's been holding relatively steady since the start of the month, so I'm unconcerned about it at the present time. Trying to retain some limits on what I eat, but I am still not strict with myself yet, so it's not really effective.
The workouts have been consistent, which is good. A regular schedule is always better for me than an ad-hoc kind of ramble. I just get more things done and better results overall.
Things are going as expected so far, which makes me happy. Just gotta keep on with the plan and I'll get there.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Hitting a high
Today was a heavy squat day. I started with a rough plan, mostly with the goal of doing single lifts at heavy percentages of 1RM.
That turned into me working towards a new 1RM, and ultimately, a 1xbodyweight lift. This is a first for me for the squat, which is a good feeling.
Bench was the other one I worked today, which was pretty good.
One of the things I've got to work on is the mental part of lifting. Yes, 185# is heavy, but it's not unliftable. It is something I can (and did) do. But, the thought of the weight has to be pushed aside so that I can get to the business of doing the lifts.
Athalos says I need to jump it up to 200#. He's still ahead of me in all the lifts, but he's probably right. I do need to work on progression. That will come with time.
That turned into me working towards a new 1RM, and ultimately, a 1xbodyweight lift. This is a first for me for the squat, which is a good feeling.
Bench was the other one I worked today, which was pretty good.
One of the things I've got to work on is the mental part of lifting. Yes, 185# is heavy, but it's not unliftable. It is something I can (and did) do. But, the thought of the weight has to be pushed aside so that I can get to the business of doing the lifts.
Athalos says I need to jump it up to 200#. He's still ahead of me in all the lifts, but he's probably right. I do need to work on progression. That will come with time.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Keeping on Track
Workout on Monday had me determine maxes for the deadlift and OHP.
Deadlift max is 265# and OHP is 105#.
I believe I may have hefted these weights before, so I'm happy.
The Deadlift goal was 225, which I broke, and which set a new goal of 245, which I also broke, and then a new, new goal of 265, which I then broke. So, the current goal is 290. A 25 pound jump, which requires me to work pretty damn hard to reach.
The OHP goal was 90. I broke that, which set the new goal at 95. I jumped straight to 100, so I broke the goal for 95 and 100. The goal jumped to 110. I tried 105 next, being too conservative to try straight for 110. The goal sits at 110.
All around, the current goals are:
Dead: 290
Squat: 180
Bench: 155
OHP: 110
Only the squat did not have a broken goal, which I expected, since squats are my worst exercise. There's something wrong with my form, and I'm not sure what.
Workouts today see the start of the current workout plan. I was pretty happy with them, even though I know it will take some time to build to where I want to be.
Deadlift max is 265# and OHP is 105#.
I believe I may have hefted these weights before, so I'm happy.
The Deadlift goal was 225, which I broke, and which set a new goal of 245, which I also broke, and then a new, new goal of 265, which I then broke. So, the current goal is 290. A 25 pound jump, which requires me to work pretty damn hard to reach.
The OHP goal was 90. I broke that, which set the new goal at 95. I jumped straight to 100, so I broke the goal for 95 and 100. The goal jumped to 110. I tried 105 next, being too conservative to try straight for 110. The goal sits at 110.
All around, the current goals are:
Dead: 290
Squat: 180
Bench: 155
OHP: 110
Only the squat did not have a broken goal, which I expected, since squats are my worst exercise. There's something wrong with my form, and I'm not sure what.
Workouts today see the start of the current workout plan. I was pretty happy with them, even though I know it will take some time to build to where I want to be.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Training
I'm back at the training. I took November off "to work on NaNo" and then futzed around and did nothing much with the extra time, so I feel pretty stupid for stopping just when things were starting up.
So, I"m back at it.
Hit the gym yesterday and tested maxes on Squats and Bench. Squats were better than I thought, and Bench is better than expected too.
I'm starting with this set of goals:
Deadlift: 225
Squat: 180
Bench: 135
Overhead Press: 90
All in pounds, 'cause I'm just a weak guy still. I am planning to increase each goal by 10% or so each time I meet it. The Bench goal is already up to 155 from just testing maxes.
I hit 135, which notched up the goal by 13.5 (which I rounded down to 145), and then hit that one too, so I notched it up to 155 (rounding down again). That's the general intent. I'll round down to the nearest multiple of 5, as that's the lowest amount I have available at the gym to put on the bar.
Tomorrow I'll hit the gym and test Deadlift and OHP maxes. I'm hoping to break both of the initial goals there, which would be a really good boost to confidence.
On the other side of the fitness coin is my weight. I'm taking this opportunity to try, more or less, to ignore it. I'm going to try to put effort and focus into losing fat, which does imply weight loss, but I'm hoping to work hard enough on gaining and retaining muscle that the scale won't show much change.
Right now, the body fat estimate is just under 30%, which to me feels really poor, so I'm set on working to change that number. I want to cut it in half. I don't have a good estimate of how long it may take to reach there, so I'm allocating all of 2013 to it.
So, I"m back at it.
Hit the gym yesterday and tested maxes on Squats and Bench. Squats were better than I thought, and Bench is better than expected too.
I'm starting with this set of goals:
Deadlift: 225
Squat: 180
Bench: 135
Overhead Press: 90
All in pounds, 'cause I'm just a weak guy still. I am planning to increase each goal by 10% or so each time I meet it. The Bench goal is already up to 155 from just testing maxes.
I hit 135, which notched up the goal by 13.5 (which I rounded down to 145), and then hit that one too, so I notched it up to 155 (rounding down again). That's the general intent. I'll round down to the nearest multiple of 5, as that's the lowest amount I have available at the gym to put on the bar.
Tomorrow I'll hit the gym and test Deadlift and OHP maxes. I'm hoping to break both of the initial goals there, which would be a really good boost to confidence.
On the other side of the fitness coin is my weight. I'm taking this opportunity to try, more or less, to ignore it. I'm going to try to put effort and focus into losing fat, which does imply weight loss, but I'm hoping to work hard enough on gaining and retaining muscle that the scale won't show much change.
Right now, the body fat estimate is just under 30%, which to me feels really poor, so I'm set on working to change that number. I want to cut it in half. I don't have a good estimate of how long it may take to reach there, so I'm allocating all of 2013 to it.
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