matt

in addition, went to costco and grabbed two eleven-packs of those Nuri protein shakes for 11.99 each

the fairlife ones? 18 for 34.99

don't get me wrong, i love me some fairlife protein shakes, but the nuris are JUST as good and have less cal + more protein

2/14 | pull day

progress is never linear, but it sure is nice when you have a few pull, push, or leg days in a row where u see the numbers go up. got PR on pretty much everything today, and it was a 2-3 rep improvement in most cases.

standouts were cable rows and both biceps exercises

good news: i did not throw out/torque my shoulders on that first rep, and should be fine to go back to the gym tomorrow (i was concerned for an hour)

bad news: my calves are STILL trashed, so i'm going to move my pull day to tomorrow and possibly give it another rest day after before i do legs

aw dang my bad lil homie

2/13 | push day

met my PR from 2/9, and actually improved on the last set by on rep, so it's a win.

i -really- struggled to get that last rep on the first set, and i'm considering maybe capping my reps to 12-14 until i can get that down easy (but still push to failure if i feel good enough)

YouTube video by Lewie G Stardew Valley OST - Mines (Star Lumpy)

youtu.be/k13ulhZDJrw?...

i'm back on my stardew valley grind recently (it's my ur game), and i realize that everytime i get back into it i usually find an hour loop on repeat of this particular song. it somehow covers "ambient" and "working music" in the same breath.

this OST is great in general

YouTube video by orangefunk Chick Corea trio - Tumba (1992)

youtu.be/4eAuY8ctd2k?...

and now for something (kind of) different. this is twelve minutes of musical chemistry being forged live. the songo/samba they go into at around the seven minute mark feels like such a natural progression out of the 12/8|4/4 they're playing, ugh, it BANGS my liege

YouTube video by Hiroyuki SAWANO - Topic Jestar / snakeHIP

youtu.be/gGGTlOBW0VI?...

i'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to both the fate series and hiroyuki sawano. i was unfamiliar with your game, and i will correct that.

this track hits on an atmospheric level, and has some incredibly neat musical tricks hidden below the surface

YouTube video by Yoshimasa Terui - Topic Brothers Are Just Like that

it's time for some bops and beats that have been in rotation.

let's start with...

youtu.be/IzyUcRSAYWk?...

the JJK S3 ost continues to be a highlight. i really love ambient tracks like this; i could listen to solo piano being played in a concert hall day

2/12 | rest day

calves are sore as heck, my right calf especially. doing those bodyweight calves really did a number on them, but also i'm seeing some growth there so i'll be swapping those out for those seated calf raises.

glad i took the day to rest and take it easy. had a lot going on at work!

a high-level hint for this cliffhanger/plot beat to end part 1 on:

the number 3 is involved

i may be in the minority here, but i think they have an incredible opportunity to do a wild cliffhanger for part 1 and keep everyone in suspense for part 2 when that drops either later this year or early next.

the moment they could use for that cliffhanger is BEGGING for it, it's perfect

s3 as a whole has been super high quality, very consistent with animation and pacing, and does a good job of adding characterization (whether large or small) to the narrative.

there's also A LOT of experimentation going on, which is so rare for a high-profile shonen IP

today's JJK episode has one of the funnier sequences/character moments of the whole series, and i'm happy to report they absolutely nailed it in animation

we're manifesting, today's the day, TODAY'S THE DAY

my calves are SO FUCKING SORE FROM STANDING CALF RAISES YESTERDAY oh my god they CRAMPING UP woooooooo.

i'm doing great, gang. hi hello tell me about your day?

pull day | 2/11

progressed on cable rows today. actually started out the set with a new weight, new number, and then hit PRs on lower weights which felt really good.

it was a short workout today as i had to do it between meetings at work, so i got the essentials in about 45 minutes or so

rap snitches
telling all they business
sitting in court and be their own star witness
do you see the perpetrator

well, i think that workout went -very- well.

felt energized, ready to go. i've been eating better and more clean lately, and it showed in the results today. PRed on all sets for horizontal leg press/squat and single leg press so we'll move up in weight for the next leg day and set new numbers!

to continue:

the bigger the muscle, the more you're taxing your central nervous system more than when you work out smaller muscles (think biceps, triceps, etc).

it's an interesting balancing act, and it's why i may put my rest day tomorrow if i'm feeling too wiped (and then do pull the day after)

leg day | 2/10

posting this one BEFORE the workout because holy shit it's gonna be a hellish one. i may put triceps earlier on in the program if only because i'm going to be wiped after the first two sets.

for folks who don't know, legs often are the HARDEST because they're the biggest muscles

YouTube video by Madvillain - Topic Raid (feat. MED)

genuinely thought madlib just sped up the original recording, but nah it's the same key, same tempo.

here's "raid" for comparison:

youtu.be/Y8eopWPE0Vg?...

if you haven't listened to madvillainy, please do. it's an ESSENTIAL hip hop record imo

YouTube video by Bill Evans - Topic Nardis (Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival, 1968)

youtu.be/mrpsUKzDdIw?...

had always wondered what recording of nardis they pulled the sample from for madvillain's "raid". thanks youtube for the random recommendation outta nowhere.

also this version slaps. ugh. eddie gomez's bass solo is just SO GOOD

i would add them to my pull day, but frankly that would put me at the following muscle groups to hit...

- back
- biceps
- shoulders
- triceps

i think trying to hit four in one session is just a lot, and i'll be wiped at the end, so i'll put them in for tomorrow's program

i did not get to tricep extensions or skullcrushers today due to those machines and the dumbbells being busy as shit today, so i got a few chest exercises in and called it.

i'll add triceps to my leg day tomorrow. that's going to be hellish, but i'll swap out adductors/abductors for them

push day | 2/9

let's do some math on incline bench press, shall we?

40s - 3 rep improvement over 2/5 (12 > 15)
35s - 2 rep improvement over 2/5 (8 > 10)
30s - 2 rep improvement over 2/5 (12 > 14)

seeing this kind of notable improvement four days later has me excited

bad bunny show was perfect. fantastic. incredible. top 3 super bowl halftime show of all time; it's him, prince in '06, and kendrick last year.

it is so awesome to see latin music on such a large stage

canceled nitro. voting on this age verification thing with my wallet, and hey, i think you should too.

got a pair of 15-20 minute walks in today (one after breakfast with sev, and the other before i went to pick her up from work), and it felt great. there's this really really nice beachside park a few minutes away by car.

i love getting outside for cardio, whether that's just a walk or a hike

rest day | 2/8

been a high anxiety day (nothing BAD happened, just been thinking about recent events at work), so i'm taking a breather and not watching the sb live.

i'm a pats fan (family is from new england) and my expectations for the team were low to begin with, so it's great to see them back