Three of My Favorite Songs

Gave Up by Nine Inch Nails: This entire EP is incredible. Nine Inch Nails flirted with a lot of alternative genres, from New Wave to Industrial, but Broken, released in-between Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral, is the band's only true Hardcore Industrial Metal album. What the fuck does all that mean? It means this album rocks, with blitzkrieg beats, guitars saturated with distortion, and Reznor's trademark screaming vocals. Gave Up is my favorite. "It took you to make me realize," Reznor shouts as the guitars chug along at a breakneck pace. Pure aggression that's danceable enough that you almost want to be thrown into a mosh pit.

All You Pretty Things by David Bowie: Hunky Dory is one of the greatest albums of all time, with All You Pretty Things being one of Bowie's greatest songs. A melancholy piano tune seemingly about an otherworldly apocalypse, All You Pretty Things features all of Bowie's strengths, from his expressive voice and gift for melody to his penchant for penning odd, sci-fi influenced lyrics. The descending chorus is straight up glam rock, but this isn't really a rock song; the unusual chord progressions owe more to showtunes and Broadway than Chuck Berry. "Look out my window, what do I see/The sky cracking open and a hand reaching out for me." All You Pretty Things is always playing somewhere in my mind.

Love Like This by Foxy Shazam. Foxy Shazam is a native Cincinnati band that has never really gotten their due, despite being amazing. I only started listening to them after meeting their keyboard player Sky at a farmers market, but I'm trying to make up for lost time. Love Like This is just a great song. It's got a pop chord progression, with lead singer Eric Nally's vocals reminding me of Fred Mercury's, despite his voice not really resembling Mercury's in timbre. The horns add a lot to Foxy's sound, differentiating them from other glam bands, while their excellent sense of arrangement keeps their songs tight, even when they spiral past three minutes. I challenge you to listen to Love Like This and not get it stuck in your head.

 

Weightlifting: 300 lbs Paused Bench Press

 

A ten-pound PR. I've done 315 lbs touch and go before, but this is my biggest paused bench press. I've still using the PR strategy with the bench press and deadlift to great effect, but I've started incorporating a different method for my squat. Doing high rep squat fills me with apprehension, and makes me not want to lift. So last Sunday, I did a bunch of singles with at least 80 percent of my 1 rep max, with rest times between one and two minutes on the high end, and probably 30 to 45 seconds starting out. I did 5 singles with 315, 5 with 320, then kept adding five pounds for another five sets (325/330/335/345/350). I like this method, and I think I'll keep with it, switching to the PR strategy when my squats gets back toward my previous PRs.

	1RM	2RM	3RM	4RM	5RM	6RM	7RM	8RM	9RM	10RM	12RM	13RM	14RM	15RM
Low Bar Squat	415	380	365	350	360		340	320		315
High Bar Squat	390	365	350	345	340		315	320		300		275
High Bar Squat (Paused)	365		315
High Bar Squat (No Belt)	365	335	325	325	330			285		250
Front Squat	315	300	300	275	270	255	245	225	215	225
Bench Press	315	285	275	275	265	250	250	245	240	235	225	225
Bench Press (Paused)	300	275	265		245
Overhead Press	195	185	175	170	170	160	155	150	140	145
Deadlift	510	460	455	425	410	415	410	390	365	360				315
Deadlift (No Belt)	455		435						365	340
Sumo Deadlift	420	405	405	405	385					315
Clean	235	225	220	195
Push Press	230	205	205	195	185
Incline Press (low angle)	255	245		225	235	225	215	210		205
Close Grip	290	275	265	260	255	250	240	235		225
BTNPP	225		205		160
SGDL	405		365		315
Wchins			45	50	50	35	30
Snatch	155
Clean & Jerk	215
Power Clean	240		215
Clean and Press	180	175	185		160
Reverse Grip BP	230	225	185	215	210		205
LB SQ no belt	365	350	335		315
BTNP					150
Box SQ	425		400
Rack Pull	570
Pin SQ	475