Feeling it!

My music was incredible in the gym today. I just signed up for Spotify premium (which I highly recommend to anyone who is thinking about it) and I was able to listen to TONS of new songs and some old favorites as well.

If you don't know me, what you need to understand is that music fuels my life. I can't say I enjoy all music, but the music I do enjoy gets me more amped than I think you could imagine. When I'm feeling it, I'm REALLY feeling it.

The second thing you need to know about me is that I care very little what people think of me - so long as I'm not hurting anyone in any way. A lot of times this means I end up dancing in public. And when I say dancing in public, I don't just mean a nice little head-bob, I mean that my entire body is gyrating and taking up large amounts of space as I glide from one space to another. I do this a lot in the gym. Especially when I'm feeling it.

Today, I was feeling it!

I was listening to "Your Name" by Phil Wickham and Paul Baloche. Yes, this is a Christian worship song, but I was going nuts. I was dancing around and lifting weights and jumping and literally skipping around the gym. A gentleman (who is much stronger than I am) saw me and started staring. At this same moment, he picked up the weights I was about to use. I looked over at him and his face immediately shifted to an expression of horror and at that moment I was inside his head.

This is what he was thinking:
'This kid has been dancing around the gym. He's obviously insane. If he comes at me for taking his weights, I'm gonna have to kill him. That will be the only way to stop someone who is clinically insane.'

I immediately grabbed another weight, and I could see him take a sigh of relief that he wasn't going to be responsible for my death. That got me thinking though...do people see me as crazy in other aspects of my life?

As a Christian, I'm called to be set apart from the rest of the world. With Jesus in my heart, I shouldn't look like everyone else looks. Not just physically, but in the way I act, talk, even think - I should be different. Am I? Does the world think I'm crazy? I hope so.

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." (James 1:27 NLT)

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2 NLT)

Workout:
Today was a legs and shoulders day, and those two muscle groups are a bit of a different animal. I did the 5x5 as much as possible, but in some cases had to up the reps in order to feel the muscle fatigue I'm aiming for. If there's just a weight listed with an exercise, it was part of the 5x5. Anything I did differently, I'll explain.

***Note: DB = dumbbell***

Wall ball: 25x10x3 - for this exercise, I used a 10 pound medicine ball and threw it up 25 reps for 3 sets.

Db 3 way calf raises: 60x10x2 - for this exercise, I did 3 sets of 20 reps. The first set I did was with my toes facing out, the second set parallel and the third set toes facing in. I would do 10 reps slowly and then 10 "pulses" to get my 20 overall reps. I did all three sets with no break I between.

Preacher bar shoulder raise: 110
Calf raise: 225
Alternating db shoulder press: 55
Dumbbell step up (18" step): 55

Front/side db raise: 25 - I did 5 sets of 10 reps for this exercise. I would alternate front raise, side raise for 10 reps.

Leg extension: 180
Leg curl: 150

Shoulder alphabet: 35 (A-M, N-Z) - I used a 35 pound weight and wrote the alphabet in the air in front of me. It took me two sets. In the first set, I did A-M. In the second, I did N-Z.

Back Squat: 325

Overhead uphill lunge: 45x16 - I took a 45 pound base plate and held it arms completely extended above my head and took 16 lunge steps up a slanted ramp.

Nutrition:
A friend of mine, Derek Sword, who is a 4th year medical student and also working with me as a consultant for this project, gave me some advice that I'd like to pass on to you.
If you take protein, research shows its better to take the protein throughout your workout rather than at the end.
Immediately after your workout, the best thing you can drink is 8oz. of chocolate milk. Then, 30 minutes later, another 8oz. is good.
The sugars in the chocolate milk help replenish the depleted glucose levels and the body can only absorb around 25g of protein within a few hours. Everything else is excreted and useless.

Today, I drank my protein (just one scoop this time) in the middle of my workout and followed my workout with one pint of chocolate whole milk.

Best Songs of the Workout:
1. Our God's Alive by Andy Cherry
2. I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness (recommended by Sam Cochran. Thanks so much Sam!!! This song got me through some heavy lifts!!!)
3. Great I Am - Bethel Live ft. Jeremy Riddle

Any questions or comments, feel free to let me know.

Till next time,
Peace and much love!