Training Day 15

Today was an outstanding day. The amount of training I accomplished today is mind-boggling. Maybe I just needed this past weekend to revitalize. Maybe things just clicked today and I hauled butt. Whatever it was, I am going to see to it that it lasts. Tomorrow should be an even better day.

Language: Class was actually fun today. I scored 90/102 on my vocab preview quiz, which is higher than I thought I would score. Then we spent the day going over the new vocabulary, except for one period where we looked at ships. Even though my classmates somehow manage to score higher than me on the self-graded (*cough*) quiz, I still handle the exercises in the book better than most and my current quiz scores are much higher than the easier quizzes in my old class. Homework today consisted of four exercises from the book. I also did my vocabulary self-study. Tomorrow I have speaking practice all day, even before class, which is my weakest point in the language.

Marathon: It was cross-training today but the Momrine and I had to fly solo as I had a mandatory formation after school. I hit the bikes again but I was bored so I did a couple of PT tests. The first was the bike manufacturer's test and it put my estimated VO2 max at 51.6 or "excellent." Then I did the Air Force Bike PT test. Weighing in at 145, being 5'8", 20 years old, and male plus doing aerobic exercise at least three times a week (why that was a question on the test settings I don't know), I scored a 56. The thing is, the Air Force PT standards cap out at 50 for the aerobic bike portion. Hrm.... After all that I rode the hill program for 40 minutes. It was easy so I need to up the difficulty.

Fitness: I really need my trainer DVD to arrive. I think my form is slipping and that is bad all around for performance, results, health, and safety. Still, today was a good day seeing an increase in many of my weight categories. However, I am seriously starting to hit my caps.

Upper Abs: 4s pause at the crunch with 12/12/10 reps. I think my form sucks here.
Upper Chest: 30/30/35lbs with 12/12/12 reps. I would increase the weight more but my hands actually hurt from supporting the weights and I am approaching my limit.
Tibia Curls: 50/55/60lbs with 15/15/15 reps. I think I know why my shin splints went away.
Shoulder Pull Down: 110/120/130lbs with 12/12/10 reps. Better form this time, actually.

Lower Abs: 1/2/3s pause with 12/12/12 reps. I dropped the seconds to try and improve my form after the sucky upper abs crunches.
Lower Chest: 30/30/30lbs with 12/12/12 reps. These are hard for me but my last set seemed to be my strongest, which is unusually.
Calf Raises: 55/60/65lbs with 15/15/15 reps. I love my calves. I expect this weight to keep climbing.
Back Rows: 110/120/130lbs with 12/12/9 reps. I lost my form on the last set.

Combat: Today I've started my combat training again as I have this feeling that I may need it in the future. I need to be ready. Tonight I read some of my PACT materials on the history of the training, why it was created, and (the important part) various mental aspects necessary for a fearless, offensive approach to life, whatever the situation may be. It talked about how many fighters cripple themselves with the fear that has been trained into them with defensive techniques (like blocking) and even their defensive terminology. Defensive fighting is all about protecting yourself. If you are worried about protecting yourself, you are more afraid of what your opponent is going to do you than you are thinking about what you are going to do to your opponent. Therefore, you are always forced to react to your opponent with half-hearted (if any) strikes as your fear clashes with your actions. If you instead focus on how to take charge of a situation, instead of fear what might happen to you, you can take the appropriate actions to take control of your opponent and the situation around you. Then you survive.

Metaphysics: Today I filled out some entries in my dream journal. Long, vivid dreams, while impressive, take a long time and a couple pages to write out. Tonight I tried the relaxation ritual again and it worked! What more, I was slouching in a chair so I am getting practice to perform the ritual during breaks throughout my day before I snap at my classmates. Now I just need to learn how to perform the ritual with proper military posture. What more, this is the first step in learning to meditate properly then developing astral real estate for more advanced work. Tomorrow I think I'll start the next lesson.

Personal: I have enough money for food until payday. That is it. Right now, I am concocting a plan on how to spend the incoming money to reduce debt and deal with my vehicle. The big debate is do I purchase the tools to do my own work on the vehicle, pay to have that left wheel looked at, or pay some of what I owe on the work on the right wheel. I've already had to cut a few projects and I still haven't tailored the new clothes I have so that I can start wearing clothes that actually suit my personality and tastes. It's frustrating.

In other news, life is moving along... Sometimes it can be really confusing as I have a hard time figuring people out. Fortunately, I have a really simple faith to handle it: Things work out as they should as long as I try my hardest. This is why I train like I do. I stopped going to church because I was sick of being judged by people who had no business judging me. I still pray before I sleep, before I eat, and whenever it feels appropriate (mostly because I'm thankful). Then, since I have my faith, I don't worry. I just keep plugging along and even things that look rough turn out to have been for the better in weird but exciting ways.

What more, I think that the good things are worth being patient for. Not waiting for because waiting suggest inactivity. The good things just come at the exact moment they need to and not when you want them to. In the meantime, the good things are worth working for. The good things are worth fighting for. Often enough, the good 'things' are good people.

I have people worth fighting for now and I fight hard.