Well this just in....it's fall!  The combination of the my schedule becoming pretty jam packed, a few leaves already started to turn their autumn colors, and the colder weather (ok, mostly the colder weather) has reminded me that this month is my favorite time of year.

What's not a favorite of mine, however, is when people get stuck or bored of the gym, and feel like they're not making any progress.  That's why today's post is focusing on three of the biggest barriers I've seen to progressing at the gym.  Now, if you're among those, I may suggest you take a helping of humble pie before you read on..

Fact: "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch is one of my top 3 songs of all time.  Call me a nerd (seriously, you can), but there's something about that song that just jacks me up!

Maybe it's the fact that I secretly wish I had enough body control to dance like Marky Mark back in the day, or the fact that he's jacked out of his face in the video and performing curls and presses with cinder blocks. Like a boss.   

Suffice to say, I think getting stronger and bigger arms has been one of my goals since I can remember.  Now, despite having that goal, you'll rarely see me do any traditional bicep curls.  Instead, you'll see me do plenty of pull ups/chin ups.  Why?  Because the pull up is a squat for your upper body. 

(Plus, there's something to be said about being able to pull yourself up over a bar, like all that is man...and woman!) 

I hope everyone had a fantastic labor day weekend!  I know I did, as I was lucky enough to have my parents up here and we visited the Sam Adams Brewey in Boston.  It's chock full of free beer (yes, free beer), and despite my outwardly appearances, free beer still pulls on my manly heart strings. 

In fact, our day was a bit like this after the brewery:

It's early Monday morning, and I hope everyone's weekend was as awesome as mine.  Not only was my face melted by Eric Church at Country Fest on Friday, I decided yesterday that I should go for one of my 2012 goals: the 400 pound deadlift. 

Now, I should preface the following by saying that it's not a good idea to consistently test your 1 rep max as it's extremely taxing on your body and central nervous system.  Plus, the risk of injury is always going to be higher when you're pushing yourself with heavier weights.  I'm a big fan of getting a "sort of" max every few weeks or months to see where you stand, while still keeping a rep or so in the bank.

Hooookay so, you'll have to forgive me if today's (or rather, this week's) post is a bit short, as I'm heading to Country Fest at Gillette Stadium tomorrow afternoon. Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, and Eli Young Band are all going to be there, and I'm about as excited as a 5th grade girl waiting to see her first Justin Bieber concert. (The slight difference being that Country Fest will be filled with about 300 times more rednecks than a Bieb concert.)

That said, I stumbled on this blog post the other day:  Sitting is the Smoking of Our Generation.  Go ahead and read it, I'll wait for you.

No, seriously.  I'm waiting..