Becoming an evil super villain is quite the enjoyable experience for me. Today in the gym, I felt completely alive and new. With a clear vision and goal in mind, I was absolutely driven to lift as much weight as possible to become who I want to be. Below, you will find my workout for the day as well as "Best Songs of the Workout" (The top 3 songs that got me pumped up.) Before I get to that though, I feel it's necessary to give thanks and credit where it is due.
Todays was a chest and back lift day and as stated before, I wanted to lift as much weight as was physically possible for me. My workout was going great. I was lifting more weight than ever before and I could feel my muscles cringing and struggling to push through. It was the ultimate feeling of achievement for me. The feeling of soreness helped me to feel my muscles being pushed to their limit. I had completed a few exercises and it was time to do incline on the bench. I was feeling good, had good music pumping through my head, and was ready to lift the world. I laid down and completed one set using 135 pounds. That's not great, but it's not horrible either. I finished the set and decided that it was time to go for it.
I put twenty more pounds on the bar, raising the total weight to 155 pounds. I lifted the bar off and started my reps. One...it went great. I felt like I could throw the bar through the ceiling as I pushed it upward. Two...still feeling good. I started to feel my muscles strain, but in a good way. Three...starting to feel some fatigue, but that's to be expected. Four...my right arm quivered as I pushed the weight up. At the top of the rep, I held for a second, took a deep breath, breathed it out with a loud "PUFF" and then dropped the weight back down for my fifth rep. I started to push up, but then the unthinkable happened...
My arms faltered and I couldn't get the weight up.
With no spotter, I panicked. I started breathing in deep breaths, trying to get the strength to push the bar up higher, but my right arm just couldn't do it. I looked at both sides and hooked the bar onto the bench unevenly with the left side on the top rung of the bench and the right side on the second to last one from the top. Just as I got it situated, I saw another hand grip the bar. It was of a fit African American woman who had a very serious face, but chuckled as soon as I got the bar safely on the rungs. I pulled a headphone out of my ear and heard her say, "Don't worry. I was watching you. I wasn't gonna let anything happen."
At that moment I was both embarrassed and encouraged. Just moments before, while lifting the bar, I had been thinking about God's love and how it protects us in all situations. It was like God wanted me to know He really was right there with me. He is always watching, and he won't let anything ultimately happen to us. We might falter and get a scare, but His hand will be right there to grab the bar for us when we need it. He will share our burden and will make sure it's never too much.
Even evil super villains need a save. Sometimes it's a physical save like the one I needed today in the gym. Other times, it's a reminder that there really are caring people in this world and that the Lord of the universe is right there with us.
Today, think about how you're responding to the "save" that has been offered to you freely. Have you finally realized the weight is too much for you to handle on your own? If so, take the save.
(Just so you know...I did finish all five sets of the incline bench press and eventually moved back up to 155 pounds and completed all five reps. I just had to take a little breather first.)
See below for the actual workout I completed today along with a sample of my meals and the "Best Songs of the Workout".
Workout:
I'm following a 5x5x5 plan. For every muscle group, I do five different exercises. For each exercise, I do five sets of five reps with maximum weight I can lift. Below are the weights I used in my fifth set. I move up in weight for each set as much as is possible, so the fifth set should also be the heaviest set of each exercise. Let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns about this workout.
Alternating dumbbell bench press: 75 pound dumbbells
Bent over rows: 135 pounds
Chest flies: 70 pound dumbbells
Back flies: 45 pound dumbbells
Incline barbell bench press: 155 pounds
Row: 145 pounds
Decline barbell bench press: 170 pounds
Straight leg dead-lift: 235 pounds
Pull ups: 20 pound dumbbell chained to my waist (only 3 sets of 5 reps)
Chest dips: 90 pound dumbbell chained to my waist (only 3 sets of 5 reps)
Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Change My Life by Ashes Remain
2. Furious by Bethel Live ft. Jeremy Riddle
3. What I Know by Parachute
Meals:
Breakfast
- Two eggs + 4 egg whites
- Chicken breast
- Slice of swiss cheese
- Strawberry, banana, blueberry, orange juice smoothie
Lunch
- One pound bag of shrimp
- Salad
- Banana with two tablespoons of peanut butter
- Orange
Dinner
- Chinese buffet utilizing mostly high protein, low fat meat. (Yes, it was delicious.)
There ya go. Let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Tomorrow I will be completing a weigh-in and fat content check.
Till then,
Peace and much love!
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