Day 73 - More musings on muscles and a grumble about snacks

I just use my muscles as a conversation piece, like someone walking a cheetah down 42nd Street


Arnold Scharzenegger


Who wants to be that self obsessed?


Patrick's point about body builders being unhealthy because of overtraining, dieting, steroids etc. came at a good time for me. It's important to remember that muscles are part of the body, not something extrinsic. 


When you work out, you get definition and bulk. You will look different to people who do not make time to work out (and eat right and sleep). However, let's remember that as human beings, we all have muscles. We've just developed what we already have. That is why we see variations in peoples' musculature. Some people develop big smooth muscles, others get gnarly, others go rocky, jacked, you name it. The sport or activity you do will affect the type of muscle you get. And sometimes, as Jose reminded us, muscles come alive even without training, as in the case of the 50 k. woman with no training, who lifted a car to save her trapped child. 


Going back to Arnie...


Have you ever looked at someone with really overdeveloped muscles and thought 'What are you trying to prove, dude? That's just silly'. One of the things I wanted to get from the PCP was a body that has good tone and musculature but without eliciting a 'huh?' response. Finding good role models too was hard. Two things helped.


First, capoeira. You cannot do capoeira without strength in your core, legs, and arms. The women I've met in person who do capoeira regularly tend to be solid and flexible. There is also quite a bit of sexual energy which is beyond male and female. It's extremely expressive but also disciplined.  So we see muscles and sass and attitude coming together.


Second, you guys! PCP-ers, just regular people from all kinds of backgrounds and with all kinds of motivation, making themselves strong and revelling in their physicality.


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Today I had a strong day on the 'keeping to the plan' with the exception of guessing and probably overdoing my protein at lunch (Again at Subway). Tomorrow's lunch is going to be weighed properly. 


Something almost trivial that bugged me today was not having enough tupperware to carry two eggs from home to the studio to a university where I was doing a speech, so I bought one. Of all the cooking parts of the PCP, the weighing, packing, and carrying of afternoon and morning snacks is the hardest for me. It's odd that the small thing is the bugbear! I love cooking and prepping meals and bentos in general. 


Hope you've had a great day!