My numbers have not increased since my last update, I just wanted to clarify the total time spent on my Collo project. I calculated that I have spent approximately 6 hours a week lifting weights for the past 16 weeks, which equals approximately 96 hours that I have spent on my Collo project this semester, but I am far from done with this project, as I consider it to be an ongoing lifestyle shift that I will continue to make tweaks and adjustments to. Thank you for your interest in my strength gains and here is a very unnecessary picture of me flexing, so that you know I didn't make all of these lifting numbers up.
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For this semester, I spent half of my time volunteering at Garrett's Hero Run with Appalachian Service Project. We set up a both where children could "fish" for candy and goldfish packets. They would throw the line over a wall made of wood, where me and one of my friends were hiding with packages of treats, and we would attach them to the line and have them pull their treats out of the "water", simulating catching a fish. It was a ton of fun, and a great way to serve the community at such an awesome event. I also helped volunteer at Coalition 4 Kids in JC, which is essentially a Boy's and Girls Club that is Christian-based. There, I helped kids with their homework and helped to entertain them by telling jokes. It is a wonderful organization, and I will definitely be volunteering their a lot more next year! Overall, I sequestered 7 hours of volunteer service.
The Honors Charity Ball was a great time for everyone. The food was fantastic, the venue was stunning and tranquil for such an event, and the music choices were perfect for a dancing occasion. It was great to see so many people come out in support of such a wonderful cause, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to dress up. I also enjoyed getting to talk with my friends and classmates over a nice dinner of cookies and brownies. After my desert-dinner of cookies and brownies, we danced like crazy for over an hour. My one qualm with event was that their were no water fountains, leaving me to dip my glass into the ice bucket at the end of the night to satiate my hydration needs.
Not too much has changed since my last post about a month ago. I've raised my 1 rep max's by five and ten pounds, as is expected every 4 weeks. I've noticed that I have begun to experience slight pain in my knees when squatting, which may be an indication of the increased strain that is being put on my body as I begin to lift heavier and heavier weights. Today at the gym I squatted 225 pounds for 6 reps, which although difficult, did not prove to be impossible, and I feel as though I could've managed 7 reps with a spotter. As I approach the ability to back squat 300 lbs, the necessity for investing in knee sleeves is probably growing, since experiencing knee pain at 225 does not bode well for future increases in strength. I have also recently discovered the beauty in lifting belts for deadlift. Before when I was deadlifting, I found that even dead lifting in the low 300's (which is a relatively low % for me considering that my deadlift max is in the 400's) hurt my lower back. My family has a history of lower back problems as most of us are taller, and after using a lifting belt and forcing air into my core, I was able to lift 335 pounds for 5 reps with relative ease, and with no pain in my lower back. I have concluded that if I wish to consistently increase my strength without damage to my body, belts and sleeves are a must to maintain structural bone strength, but I am excited with the prospect that my regimen is continuing to make me stronger. I am also going to attempt to increase the amount of core that I do during the week, as that will allow me to have a much more stable platform to deadlift and squat from.
Just thought I would give a quick update on my collo project. My weight training regimen appears to be paying off, as the other day, I tested my supposed deadlift max of 395 pounds, and after successfully lifting it, I decided to try and lift 405 to get me into the "400 club", and was able to lift it after just one failed attempt. This is a huge relief to me, as it shows that this program is actually paying off and making me stronger, and is giving me huge motivation to keep pushing hard and not give up. My other numbers are currently 170 lbs on bench press, 135 lbs on strict press, 280 lbs on back squat, and 225 lbs on front squat. Stay tuned for more legendary updates. I've also been trying to tweak my diet in order to cut down on my body fat percentage for summer, so that I can look the part.
My plan for my collo project is to track my weightlifting PR's by following a weight lifting program that I found online. My current maxes are 375lbs for deadlift, 260lbs for squat, 160lbs for bench press, and 130lbs for strict press. I hope that by following the weightlifting program that is outlined by the website "T-Nation" that I will be able to increase all of my maxes by a considerable amount by the end of the semester and will have a better understanding of how to rapidly gain strength. In order to help achieve my goals, I will also be complementing my workout routine by keeping my consumption of junk food to a minimum, while increasing the amount of vegetables and healthy protein that I consume.
Being successful lies purely in the first person perspective. If I set out to achieve a goal, whether it be eating 317 gummy worms in an hour or watch grass grow for 2 days straight, and I accomplish this, then I am successful. Others can certainly find these goals to be worthless, but my success only requires my judgement to determine whether or not I have succeeded. Whether or not your success is useful to society is something entirely different. My ultimate goal is to be wildly successful in my own mind, but be wildly successful at something that is useful and beneficial for others, that way when I am old and dying, I can rest easy knowing that I have had a successful and fulfilling life. As a Christian, I am confident that one day my hard work here on earth will earn me an eternity of happiness in heaven, and so I live each day with a purpose for life and a purpose to leave everything better than I found it. Our time here on earth is so short, and so it is my mission to leave a positive impact on the world and make it better for future generations to come, and so that is how I plan to live through my work, and that is where my life is going.
To fulfill the requirements of my UHS scholarship, I was required to volunteer for a cumulative 5 hours. I chose to go to the animal shelter over the course of a weekend (1 hour on Friday, 2 on Saturday, and 2 on Sunday) to fulfill my mandated hours, because my love for animals is almost as great as my love for pizza. They let me walk dogs the entire time, which I was totally okay with, as the soft woofs of the puppies and loud borfs of the larger dogs gave me all the confirmation I needed that I was doing a good job, and the occasional belly rub brought me never-ending satisfaction. The only downside to volunteering here, was that it made me sad that I couldn't take all of the wonderful animal friends that I made home with me.
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AuthorI'm 18 years old, with aspiring dreams of being a trophy husband. I also enjoy the entire star wars series, and I love exercise, Bob Ross, and memes. I also hate Sea World, and think that it's an abomination to mankind. If I could have any animal as a pet, it would have to be a capybara. I love serving the community, and getting to meet and develop friendships with new people! Archives
April 2018
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