Some catching up

Until today, I have neglected my blog for about 3 years. I would like to rectify that by writing to it more often. I sometimes lie in bed composing stuff in my head without actually getting on the computer to write it. Not long after my last 2006 post, I got a girlfriend, and I broke up with her this year. I am still friends with her, which is good, because I grew close to her kids during the time we were together. For the sake of their privacy, I prefer not to go into much detail here.

Previously in my blog, I was writing about how I was getting into exercise. I still exercise regularly. I now work out in a home gym equipped with exercise balls, some smaller balls, a mat, some yoga bricks, free weights, resistance bands, a mini trampoline, a treadmill, an exercise bicycle, and a stack weight exercise machine with a hydraulic stepper. I have downloaded lots of psy trance and other psychedelic music, which are the main kinds of music I work out to. I alternate my aerobic exercise between the quadriceps (biking or hydraulic stepping) and the hamstrings (walking on the treadmill or running on the trampoline). I alternate my strength training between using the free weights and resistance bands and using the exercise machine. I normally do two days of aerobic exercise for each day of strength training. With the free weights, I have begun using the SuperSlow method of weight lifting, which has helped me overcome some plateaus in building my muscles. With the addition of the weight stack machine, I now have more places to anchor resistance bands, which allows me to more effectively use them to strengthen my lats. I have also realized that I need to work my rear deltoids more, since the shoulder exercises I have been doing focused mainly on my front and outer deltoids.

I exercise for a variety of reasons. One is that it is good for a Five, which is a mentally oriented type, to engage in physical activity. By balancing my mental orientation with physical activity, I make myself more balanced. Another is that once I realized that I can grow muscle, due in part from inspiration by a previous girlfriend, I wanted to keep at it. I have learned that exercise enhances health and longevity, which both matter to me. I also enjoy exercise and feel better, despite the occasional muscle soreness, from having done it. I am also trimmer and in better shape than I have otherwise been in recent years. So for all of these reasons I keep at it.