Update:
Trained Tuesday and today, will log later.
Started school on Monday. Went pretty well. I have 7 classes, three 3 credits, three 2 credits, and one 1 credit, totaling 16 credits.
My American Gov. teacher is hilarious and awesome, so I’m happy, because the course subject is not very interesting to me, but I think it is important for people to learn about, so having a good teacher should make it easier to be engaged.
My HPER (human performance, education, and recreation) and health classes are taught by the same woman, who recently got her doctorate in something, but started off by telling us that she did not have a syllabus for us (at least the future homework part), rather she wanted us to write short papers describing our childhood through high school experiences with sports/phys. activity, and health (writing one for each class), so she knows what we know before making a schedule. I understand what that reasoning would be, but a part of me feels it’s just her not really having a plan for the class…we’ll see. That’s how many of my high school teachers were, which I hated (I didn’t go to a very “real” high school), so I’m hoping she’s not like that.
She also couldn’t spell hospice or career, among other words,and she blamed it on not having spell-check on the white board, which is another issues many humans seem to have, so I have ammo for my slight dislike of technology, haha.
On that note, my Gov. professor teaches my freshman seminar class, titled “How to Think” and yesterday he was talking about how a big part of the human brain is designed for being aware of our location and remembering where we came from and how to get places. He gave the example of a rabbit running around a yard - even though it runs in a zig-zag pattern and will change its course at the slightest disturbance, it always know where its holes are and where to go for safety. He said scientists have found that as our dependence on GPS grows, the aforementioned part of the human brain is shrinking and growing more and more inactive.
It’s sad. To me, at least. And I mean, I use technology. I have Netflix. I get on T-Nation too often. I like Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc. I use a GPS rather than a map when driving to a place I’ve never been to, or when driving around a big city I’m unfamiliar with (so, pretty much every big city). I also like AC, heat, lighting, cars, TV’s, ovens, fridges…I like everything convenient about my life. It makes it so much easier. But it’s got its bad side. I think Wendler (and maybe others) said the human man has been declawed and defanged. Others have said we’re no longer in the food chain. It’s true. If civilization collapsed tomorrow, I wouldn’t know how to survive. I can maybe start a fire, and I can shoot something (I’m physically capable of it, not necessarily mentally capable of it).
I can’t guarantee the fire, I can’t skin an animal, I can’t cure meat so it doesn’t go bad without my fridge, I can’t catch a fish without a pole, I can’t make my own clothes, or even really repair the ones I have. I can find the North Star but other than that and the sun’s position have no clue how to navigate myself. I’ve lost my former ability to run for miles on end, and have never been able to swim very well. Beyond a few fist fights with people untrained in combat that I’ve been in, I doubt I’d last very long in a serious fight. Basically, I don’t think I’d make it.
So really, right now, the best thing I can do is get myself as physically prepared as I can. I don’t have any access to any type of combat or martial arts training, nor is my family a hunting/fishing/camping type, so I doubt I’ll learn that much there. The least I can do is be as strong, fast, and healthy as I can possibly be. So although that was already my goal, it’s been reinforced. This whole thought process was just fueled by listening to my prof. talk about rabbits and brains, so I’m taking things too seriously, but I want to find things that confirm my beliefs and keep me on track.
On a different topic, I had an anxiety attack on Tuesday. Or panic attack. I don’t know the exact term for it. I haven’t had one in a while. It sucked, but it’s over. I’m not sure exactly what caused it. I think I’m going to need some time to adjust to my new lifestyle and schedule. I was smart in high school, and rarely needed to study or work hard to do well. I then spent 2 years having to work, but also being able to do pretty much whatever I wanted to do. It’s different now. I have to deliver newspapers at 3 or 4 every morning. I then have class all day. I need to maintain a certain GPA to keep my scholarships. I need to do my homework and study. I need to train. I need to make time for social things and free time. I need to spend time with my family. I need to work my other job at the YMCA when scheduled, and go to a local bar a few days a week to be the janitor (side note: awesome job. Really glad I heard about it. It’s really gross - cleaning up peoples’ vomit and crap, but I can go whenever I want, do it as quick or slow as I want, it pays well, I can blast whatever music I want as loud as I want, and if the manager is there, he’ll make me wings or a burger or something. It’s convenient.).
Really, it’s not a ton. I just am not used to it. So I need to get my crap together and not be overwhelmed. I’ve done this before. I’ve been in school and had jobs before. I’m not the first person to do this, nor the last. It’s just a part of life.
I haven’t been on my medication for a few weeks. It’s an antidepressant. I thought it was helping for a while - less irritable, less mood swings, easier to fall asleep at night, but then I started feeling like all I wanted to do was sleep. I could get 8-9 hours of solid sleep, and wake up barely able to get out of bed. I would go to work and come home thinking I should train, but I just ended up taking a nap. I wasn’t even tired, I just didn’t want to do anything but sleep. It turns out one of my aunt’s is on the same meds and had been feeling the same way. I’m sure my poor diet plays a big part of my mood, but hearing she was feeling the same made me reconsider it. I need to meet with my doc and discuss it. See if there’s different options.
I do have free counseling through my school. Just learned that, and I think that’s really cool. I’ve never been a huge fan of it, but maybe I need it again. I deal with a lot of outside stress and probably don’t handle it well. I tend to shove it down. That never ends well.
Long post, but I’m just putting my thoughts out there. Got an easy week ahead - 2 classes tomorrow, 3 day weekend, 1 class Tuesday, so no big days until next Wednesday.
Will post about training tomorrow or this weekend. I had started 5/3/1 Beginner’s Prep…I don’t like it. I think it’s a good program for my goals though - getting my ass back in shape and getting ready for more volume-orientated programs, so I should probably just stick with it, but I’m not enjoying it. Maybe that’s just me being picky though.
@T3hPwnisher - if I remember correctly, in Beyond 5/3/1, Jim says FSL can be 3-5 x 5-8. Then it seems like in most templates throughout Forever, FSL is 5x5. Do you think that could still be adjusted to the 3-5 x 5-8 or did he move past that and settle with 5x5 only?