In the midst of my at-home, no-costs workout.6 sets of 12 Push-ups, the proper classic, that has your hands more than shoulder-width apart and have you lower your chest down to the floor, then calls for you to muster your arms and the edges of your pectorals to push against and off the ground. Now that's a push-up; not the closed arm, woodpecker sorta action that is correctly called-pumping. That kinda push-up skimps and skips away from real effort and instead, tires your arms, because all you're doing is compressing your biceps.



Hmph. And those National Cadet Corps scum(No offense, Hakim, I love you.) think that that is the orthodox method to make them stronger. They can carry on with that, and can hit 200, 180 of which is plainly arching your back upwards and barely working your elbows to push-up.
Ah, I'm feisty.

I'm convinced that the push-up is the premium workout exercise that all we need. Just do that and a few variations: voila! Impressive whole body.

An excerpt:

Pushups Build More Muscle
Logic says the pushup won't build strength unless you're kind of weak to begin with. Its benefits lie elsewhere. "If you do pushups correctly, you develop your scapular muscles and your rotator-cuff muscles to stabilize your shoulders. If you do bench presses instead of pushups, you don't have to use those muscles as much," says Michael Clark, C.S.C.S., a physical therapist and president of the National Academy of Sports Medicine. In other words, pushups not only build up the facade in front of your physique, but also develop the support system behind those muscles, too.

Here's why that's important: In every physical action, some muscles act as the engine and some act as the brakes. If the brakes aren't strong and durable enough to counterbalance the engine, you've got an injury waiting to happen. When a guy comes up with a chronically sore shoulder from bench pressing, for example, the problem is usually that the chest and shoulder muscles are too strong relative to the muscles behind them.

So it makes sense that pushups help improve muscular balance, which is important for developing serious strength. And with strength comes muscle size.


How Pushups Save Your Back
Perfect form in the pushup is the same as perfect upright posture, says Jolie Bookspan, M.D., an orthopedist in Philadelphia who has helped the U.S. military develop back-friendly exercise programs. And bad pushup form--too much arch in your lower back--resembles bad everyday posture. If you learn how to do pushups correctly--and hold that posture in and out of the gym--you reduce your chances of experiencing back pain.

The key to posture rests in your pelvis--more specifically, in learning to "tuck" your hips. At the start of a crunch, when your abs contract, your back flattens. Hold it right there. Notice that your lower back is flat and your midsection is pulled in. This is the best and safest position for your back.

There! And there're a few extremely view-worthy articles for like-minded physical honing enthusiasts.




Ciao, world.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Face Down lyrics

Hey girl you know you drive me crazy
one look puts the rhythm in my head.
Still I'll never understand why you hang around
I see what's going down.

Cover up with make up in the mirror
tell yourself it's never gonna happen again
you cry alone and then he swears he loves you.

Do you feel like a man
when you push her around?
Do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.

A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect
every action in this world bear a consequence
If you wait around forever you will surely drown
I see what's going down.

I see the way you go and say you're right again,
say you're right again,
heed my lecture.

Do you feel like a man

when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.

Face down in the dirt she said
This doesn't hurt she said I finally had enough.
Face down in the dirt she said
This doesn't hurt she said I finally had enough.

(Screaming)
One day she will tell you that she had enough
Its coming round again

Do you feel like a man
when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend one day this worlds going to end
as your lies crumble down a new life she has found

Do you feel like a man
When you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend one day this worlds going to end
as your lies crumble down a new life she has found

Face down in the dirt she said
This doesn't hurt she said I finally had enough



More song lyrics at LyricsMode

Just came back from looking at the blog of a girl I used to be crazy about for the middle bit of my last year in secondary four. Have long moved on, but was noting the peculiar splintering in the directions that we've gone. She's gone on to Temasek Polytechnic,living a flamboyant, colourful livfestyle: movies, restaurants, parties and gatherings and alcohol. Unburdened, carefree, senseless fun, the kinda thing that I'd actually enjoy and like. I think it's what all of us would like. Cast away all concern for the impending future and just leap into fun. Swell.
But the crux is, how will we be like in 10 years' time? Will I still be as envious of her and her crowd, for living the temporal high life that the lax school allows? Or will she stumble onto my blog make a post like this in time to come?
That's something worth thinking about.
But as of now, I remain involuntarily envious of the life that I missed.

The 1 month holiday is drawing to a close and the only thing I can sap satisfaction from is my physical training regime, and small doses of joy from studying and grasping certain bits of biology that I've plunged into. My status now, in view of the Mid-Years: Biology-probably will be my best this round; Chemistry-uncertain, and it really counts on the following few days that I have; Mathematics-I'm most certainly dead. Gone. Splat, no-pulse whole body, ready-for-cremation dead. Literature-the text and the poems that I've ably analyzed, what? 2 months and some time ago seems foreign. Barely registering. The receptors obviously aren't complementary shaped to the strings of Shakespearean ligands.
Falling far away from the goal of H3 Chemistry, that I've boldly set down in, what? March. Ah. I'm still the same, making audacious goals and falling horribly short even when all systems are go.

But then again, my physical is getting better. I'm gratified. I'm happy with my regime and my gains. Feeling sore all over in the right places. Yeeha.
Anyway. For those people working for a solid six-pack abs, DO NOT SLOUCH. Slouching will wipe away 50 mins of hard abs work. And we know most people don't work their abs up to even a fifth of that time. So, sit upright and have your lower back, erector spinae hold up your upper body.

Yesterday, was at Tampines Gym with Jerome.

Did a 3 circuit, 5 exercise Abdominal exercise, before a 10 minute Cardio on the treadmill. Hit a very high speed, though not as insane as Boon Kai's, but high all the same, and was like, able to run forever. Until the stopper came off.

Hopped off to do the Lateral Pulldowns. Started from 60 pounds and did 20 reps. Added 10 pounds, and 15 reps. Did that until 100 pounds,8 reps. Yeah! Forced the same for the underhand grip pulldown. Really happy at the weight I was pulling. The only downside(lol, lat pulldowns) was that my forearms were burning like there was hot poison spreading all over.

Moved on to the Cable Seated Row. Felt a lot action at my back around the spinal area. Did 60 pounds up from 15, 12, then 10 reps and a 30 rep endurance set.

Moved to the underhand grip Bent-Over Row. Picked a heavy barbell of the rack. I think each side was about 7 kilos. And heaved up a 15 rep effort for the first set. Added 2 more plates, and a 12 rep set next. Finished with a 10 rep final work after 2 heavier plates and returned it.

Did the Single Arm Row, but didn't finish well, as there weren't many benches available, or the 14 kilos dumb bell that I wanted... Curses.

Used the smith machine to finish off with a 3 set back hyperextension, using the barbell, from 2 10 kilos plates , to 2 12.5 kilos plates and then to 2 15 kilos plates.

Finished with a 12 minute cardio, with Jerome, and made it past 2.4 quite early, and was almost done, when the stupid stopper came off. I think I'm gonna leave the clip where it is when I go onto the treadmill next time. I don't know how it figures. Always comes off. I think my arm swing was a bit haphazard, 'cause it can't be that i was not running right. I was.

Nice conclusion. In a big fruit, there's always parts that are sweet and parts that're bitter. We can't expect uniform goodness. That's wisdom right there. From me. Wow.

Talk about precarious.

There've been many instances where I come into the 'new post' page and begin writing my first paragraph, and then stop abruptly at my second paragraph and simply log off. I've looked at my calendar and found something not very tasteful. 9 days left to the Mid Years and less than 200 hours to really sap purposeful study from. And often, the fraction of the time circumstances award me that I really do use is really miniscule.
The only thing that pleases me now is the gains from the 3 times-a-week Gym sessions at Tampines that I've dove into ever since, well ever. There. I've lost mood to carry on talking any more. Antagonise me, and probably I'll try again. The pink glare of my awry monitor isn't exactly comfortable or inspiration-invoking. I'm neither inspired or motivated.
Ciao, Singapore.

The Medallion Calls

It's raining now. And gloomy music is playing in my ears. That gloomy music will be the kind you should be hearing in my site now. It begins slowly, quite unexpectedly. The soundtrack to the Pirates of the Caribbean movie for all parts. Really glorious and magnificent, royal waves, deep and resound. Do enjoy that, especially if you like the POC. It was a delicious movie, and I watched it with most of Meridian at Shaw Towers in Bugis on Monday. I loved everything about the movie. The plot, Jack Sparrow and his sissy meandering walk/run; tentacaly Davy Jones, pompous Beckett, the ships, and the outstanding filmography. the I like the way the screen brings us near to the Black Pearl steadily in a down descent and then a swoop upward, and the music rises like that-


I gave a little pause so you could get to the nice it. Which is of course the portion that we're most familiar with.

Just had a disagreement with my mother. Which has been toned down.
By alot. It makes me wonder the kinda reasoning that adults have and grown used to; that they are infallible and definitely right in whatever circumstances. "Hey, I'm big, I'm right."
And then, "I'm wrong. But I'm still right." Probably the disputes we teens have now with our parents are because we've come into inheritance of this mandate of correctness-in-whatever-we-do. And that explains a good deal of the inhuman frequencies issuing from my flat, and how come all our neighbours keep a their doors closed, and a distance away from us.

That aside.
Have been more active in Friendster lately, probably ever since the excursion to get groceries and whey protein from GNC at Whitesands had me encounter 2 girls from Coral Sec on 359. Didn't really notice the presence of the maidens cause I was distractedly trying to bounce ideas off my mother for my physical expeditions for the rest of the week.
Only when I shifted past them, then did I realise, with them looking furiously(actually, not that furiously, but a few times) back behind, that one of them was a Friendster contact. Janice, I think. Well. But that little encounter has made me more attentive towards people from that school now. Always thought their uniform looked adorable on girls.
the idea of a girl from that school looking up at me with her big eyes really makes me dizzy with content; or bumping into an 'other half ' while at Whitesands and seeing her hundred watt smile... that's really something to keep close to my heart.