Jobless Claims

Something has been bothering me for a while about the jobless claims reports, so I went back and checked the data. For once, I’m not going to opine. I’m just going to present the numbers, and let you draw your own conclusion. I report, you decide.

UPDATE 5/18/12: I found the last week that claims were not revised upwards. 6/19/11

Week	Jobless Claims	Headline	Revision after 1 week
7/14/12	386,000	Weekly Claims Post Rebound; Jobs Market Still in Doldrums
7/7/12	350,000	Weekly jobless claims drop sharply to lowest level in four years	352,000
6/30/12	374,000	New unemployment claims drop; key report projects stronger job growth	376,000
6/23/12	386,000	Jobless Claims in U.S. Hovered Last Week Near 2012 High	388,000
6/16/12	387,000	US jobless claims fall, but 4-wk avg at 6-month high	392,000
6/9/12	386,000	Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Rose Last Week	389,000
6/2/12	377,000	U.S. jobless claims fall by 12,000	380,000
5/26/12	383,000	Weekly unemployment claims rise modestly	389,000
5/19/12	370,000	U.S. weekly jobless claims dip slightly to 370,000	373,000
5/12/12	370,000	Jobless claims steady; Mid-Atlantic factories sag	372,000
5/5/12	367,000	Jobless claims fall marginally last week	370,000
4/28/12	365,000	Weekly Jobless Claims Ease; Productivity Drops 0.5%	368,000
4/21/12	388,000	Jobless Claims Fall 1K to 388K	392,000
4/14/12	386,000	Jobless claims –2K to 386K	389,000
4/7/12	380,000	Jobless claims unexpectedly rise	388,000
3/31/12	357,000	Jobless claims fall to lowest since 2008	367,000
3/24/12	359,000	US jobless claims fall to 4 year low in latest week	363,000
3/17/12	348,000	US jobless claims at 4 year low, lift recovery hopes	364,000
3/10/12	351,000	Jobless claims back at 4 year lows	353,000
3/3/12	362,000	US Jobless claims rise, but labor market healing	365,000
2/25/12	351,000	Jobless Claims fall by 2,000 to 351,000	354,000
2/18/12	351,000	Jobless claims hold steady at 4-year low	353,000
2/11/12	348,000	Jobs, factory data strengthen growth outlook	351,000
2/4/12	358,000	Jobless claims drop brightens labor market picture	361,000
1/28/12	367,000	Jobless claims fall, jobs market slowly healing	373,000
1/21/12	377,000	Jobless claims rise in latest week	379,000
1/14/12	352,000	US jobless claims near 4 year low	356,000
1/7/12	399,000	US jobless claims rise	402,000
12/31/11	372,000	Private hiring soars	375,000
12/24/11	381,000	--	387,000
12/17/11	364,000		366,000
12/10/11	366,000		368,000
12/3/11	381,000		385,000
11/26/11	402,000		404,000
11/19/11	393,000		396,000
11/12/11	388,000		391,000
11/5/11	390,000		393,000
10/29/11	397,000		400,000
10/22/11	402,000		406,000
10/15/11	403,000		404,000
10/8/11	404,000		409,000
10/1/11	401,000		405,000
9/24/11	391,000		395,000
9/17/11	423,000		428,000
9/10/11	428,000		432,000
9/3/11	414,000		417,000
8/27/11	409,000		412,000
8/20/11	417,000		421,000
8/13/11	408,000		412,000
8/6/11	395,000		399,000
7/30/11	400,000		402,000
7/23/11	398,000		401,000
7/16/11	418,000		422,000
7/9/11	405,000		408,000
7/2/11	418,000		427,000
6/25/11	428,000		432,000
6/18/11	429,000		429,000

 

Getting too hard to find the articles this far back. But you get the point. Every single jobless claims report this year has been revised upwards the following week. And in just about every case, Reuters headline was either negated by the revision, or proven optimistic the very next week.

Here are the 4 week moving averages, as initially reported, and after revised.

Week	Initially reported 4 week average	After revision
7/14/12	375,500	--
7/7/12	376,500	377,000
6/30/12	385,750	386,250
6/23/12	386,750	387,250
6/16/12	386,250	387,500
6/9/12	382,000	382,750
6/2/12	377,750	378,500
5/26/12	374,500	376,000
5/19/12	370,000	370,750
5/12/12	375,000	375,500
5/5/12	379,000	379,750
4/28/12	383,500	384,250
4/21/12	383,000	384,000
4/14/12	376,000	376,750
4/7/12	368,500	370,500
3/31/12	359,250	361,750
3/24/12	360,250	361,250
3/17/12	355,000	359,000
3/10/12	355,750	356,250
3/3/12	355,000	355,750
2/25/12	354,000	354,750
2/18/12	359,000	359,750
2/11/12	365,250	366,000
2/4/12	367,750	368,500
1/28/12	376,000	377,500
1/21/12	377,500	378,000
1/14/12	379,000	380,000
1/7/12	381,750	382,500
12/31/11	373,250	374,000
12/24/11	375,000	376,000
12/17/11	380,250	380,750
12/10/11	387,750	388,250
12/3/11	393,000	394,000
11/26/11	395,500	396,000
11/19/11	394,250	395,000
11/12/11	396,750	397,500
11/5/11	400,000	400,750
10/29/11	404,000	404,750
10/22/11	405,000	406,000
10/15/11	403,000	403,250
10/8/11	408,000	409,250
10/1/11	414,000	415,000
9/24/11	417,000	418,000
9/17/11	421,000	422,250
9/10/11	419,500	420,500
9/3/11	414,750	415,500
8/27/11	410,250	411,000
8/20/11	407,500	408,500
8/13/11	402,500	403,500
8/6/11	405,000	406,000
7/30/11	407,750	408,250
7/23/11	413,750	414,500
7/16/11	421,250	422,250
7/9/11	423,250	424,000

 

The short? Jobless claims are lower than they were at the beginning of the year, but the rolling average has been trending the wrong way for the last several weeks. Bet you wouldn’t have guessed that from the Reuters reports, would you?

UPDATE: Added new data from week of 4/14 on 4/19

UPDATE: Added new data from week of 4/21 on 4/26. Also, you may notice that my 4 week rolling averages are slightly different than the released averages. Why? Because I actually take a 4 week average of the released numbers. Imagine that. BLS seasonally adjusts the averages. Of course, the numbers themselves are seasonally adjusted, so doing a second seasonal adjustment after averaging seems like fudging the data to me, but YMMV.

UPDATE 5/3: Added new data from week of 4/28. Big drop this week. But rolling average still going up. And last week’s revised upwards. Again.

I’ve been meaning to include this for the last couple of weeks. This is from ZeroHedge, who noticed not only the upward revisions, but their size:

Times Three: That's How Much The BLS Upwardly Fudges Data During An Election Year

Indeed, the most recent revision was the fourth largest on record.  If one only read the headlines this year (at such blogs that specialize in architectural billings, deliveries by canoe, and what not), one would have the impression that Initial Claims have fallen nearly 25,000 this year.  The revised reality? Barely over 10,000.  And that’s a 10,000 improvement against a number that has been revised upward by 50,000.  So, yeah.

Stay tuned for next week’s update.

UPDATE 5/10: SSDD. At least the 4 week rolling average went down this week. That’s the only silver lining in this week’s report. Well, I suppose there’s one more. This is two weeks in a row we’ve been in the 365k-370k range, a decent improvement from 380k-390k, which is where we were the previous month.

UPDATE 5/17: Repeat of last week. Again, the 4 week average dropped a bit. But it’s still a good 15-20K higher than it was two months ago. And that’s still not good.

UPDATE 5/18: I added a lot more rows to the tables. Last week claims were not revised upwards was 6/19/11. Initial report for that week was 429,000. After revision, 429,000. You’ll notice that it still wasn’t revised downwards. Average revision in the 46 weeks since then: ~+4,000 (3,978.26).

UPDATE 5/24: Ditto on my update of 5/17.

UPDATE 5/31: 48 weeks in a row. Also, a rather large jump over the last month. The last report in April is 365,000. Last report in May is 383,000. And the 4 week rolling average ended it’s three week run of dips.

UPDATE 6/7: 49 weeks in a row. Pretty big upward revision too. Starting next week, the Department of Labor is making some disturbing changes to the way this information is disseminated. But, I’m sure it’s entirely innocent.

Update 6/14: 50 weeks in a row.

Update 6/21: 51 weeks in a row. Oh, and the DoL has decided not to change their rules on publishing their information. For the time being.

June 12, 1987

Tear down this wall!

President Ronald Reagan (R-USA) spoke these famous words while standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Wall.

Much of Reagan’s senior staff was against the inclusion of this phrase in the speech:

Several senior staffers and aides advised against the phrase, saying anything that might cause further East-West tensions or potential embarrassment to Gorbachev, with whom President Reagan had built a good relationship, should be omitted. American officials in West Germany and presidential speechwriters, including Peter Robinson, thought otherwise. Robinson traveled to West Germany to inspect potential speech venues, and gained an overall sense that the majority of West Berliners opposed the wall. Despite getting little support for suggesting Reagan demand the wall's removal, Robinson kept the phrase in the speech text. On May 18, 1987, President Reagan met with his speechwriters and responded to the speech by saying, "I thought it was a good, solid draft." Chief of Staff Howard Baker objected, saying it sounded "extreme" and "unpresidential," and Deputy National Security Advisor Colin Powell agreed. Nevertheless, Reagan liked the passage, saying, "I think we'll leave it in."

Reagan understood the power of words. While many criticized him for being overly antagonistic towards the Soviet Union, he knew that to change the direction of history, he needed to make the entire world understand the clear differences between the United States and the Soviet Union. This speech was one of many attempts to do just that.

Those are the most famous words from the speech, but they weren’t given in isolation. The final paragraph builds up to it. The whole paragraph is a masterpiece of wordsmithing.

We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Twenty-nine months later, on my birthday, the gate was opened, and a few months later, the final dismantling of the Berlin Wall began.

Listen to the speech.

P90X Days 42-45: Halfway Home!

Ok, my self-imposed hiatus on Friday turned into a whole weekend spent mostly away from the computer. But, I did do the workouts and have a bit to say.

Day 42: X Stretch

As I said, I got up very early in the morning to do my stretches before starting out on my trip to Chicago. You may recall I mentioned back in week 4 how awful it was when I did Yoga X first thing in the morning. Same here. Stretching that early just doesn’t work for me. I can’t hardly stretch at all. Or maybe that’s a sign that I really need to do it then, and every day. I don’t know. I should probably do some research.

Day 43: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps

I’ve told you the last two weeks that this is a brutal workout. I also mentioned that last week I hurt my shoulders doing it. I did it again, only just the left one, and not nearly as badly. I think it’s the 10th exercise in the series, “Two Twitch Speed Push-up” that’s causing my problems. You’re supposed to do four very fast push-ups followed by three very slow ones. Then repeat that as long as you can. I think I’m pushing myself too hard on this one. Male pride. Need to watch it next time. However, that next time won’t occur for several weeks. And, of course, I forgot about Ab Ripper X. Again. You have no idea how deflating it is when you think you’re all finished, and then the music starts again.

Day 44: Plyometrics

This workout continues to be brutal. But, I continue to do better at it. In fact, if you look at things merely in terms of achieving correct form and doing the required number of reps, this may be the easiest workout. I look pretty much like the people in the video during each exercise. And I manage to do all the exercises for the full 30 or 60 seconds. Now, I’m out of breath between exercises, and bent over with my hands on my knees. So, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I just waltz through this one like I’m Joe Plyometrics. It wipes me out, and does so almost from the very first exercise. All I’m saying is that I’m able to keep up with the people in the video. This may be the only workout where that’s true from beginning to end. Even Kenpo X I struggle with. My legs are so tight that the side kicks are pretty ugly.

Day 45: Back & Biceps

I didn’t show much improvement on this one over last week. For several of the exercises, I was only able to do the exact same number of reps. I think my form was a little better throughout, though, so I’m not upset about it. I also finally found the correct weight for me for the Lawnmower exercises, which I’ve been doing since week 1. The very first week I used resistance bands. In week 2, I used 20 pound weights. This week I used 50 pound weights. To be completely honest, 45 might be the right number. I think I got a little sloppy at the end using the 50s.

Tomorrow is Day 46. This means I’ve made it half way through P90X. I’ll officially be on the downside starting tomorrow. What an amazing feeling. I’m also in the last “real” week of Phase II. Next week is another “Recovery and Ab Focus” week. After that, it’s on to the final phase, Phase III. When I start it, I’m going to up my caloric intake slightly, again. I’ve started losing weight again (not much—I’m talking ounces here, not pounds). I’m not quite at my fat percentage goal, so that doesn’t bother me too much. But, I’d prefer to be gaining weight at this point, not losing it.

Tomorrow is Yoga X. I actually enjoy this workout except for about the last 5-8 minutes of the movement phase. That sequence starting with the Warrior 3 pose and ending with the Twisting Half Moon just kills me. I have to be honest. I don’t know if I’ll ever be good at that part.

P90X Day 41: Kenpo X

Yesterday, I said that I expected to be disappointed with the results of Kenpo X today. I was wrong. It was another great workout. My side kicks still need work, but that will come in time as I increase my flexibility. Heart rate was good throughout though. That makes it six days in a row now that I've been pleased with my workout. That must be some kind of record for P90X.

Really don't have much else to say. It's still an hour of punching and kicking at air. Nothing's changed since last week. :)

Tomorrow, I'm making a quick trip to Chicago and back. I'll be leaving here around 5:30 in the morning, and likely won't be back until after 10:30 at night. Tomorrow is "Rest or X Stretch" though. I suppose I could take advantage of my scheduled day of rest. That would be the easy way out, and perhaps the smart way as well.

But there's that calendar staring me in the face. The last day that I did no workout whatsoever was December 25, 2011. That's 166 days ago. I don't want my streak to end. So, I'll be getting up an hour earlier in the morning so I can do the X Stretch before I go.

I told you I was crazy.

I likely won't post tomorrow due to my other commitments, and I am participating in the National Blogger Day of Silence in support of Aaron Walker and other bloggers who are being silenced by Brett Kimberlin and his cohorts.

See you Saturday.

P90X Day 40: Legs & Back

It’s strange how your body changes from day to day.

Last week I remember thinking to myself that I could definitely tell that I’d reached Phase II of the program. Despite only two workouts changing, it felt quite a bit harder. Both the new workouts were pretty hard, and I was pushing myself harder on the other five.

Then came last Saturday, which was a disaster for me, as I mentioned at the time.

However, every day since Saturday has been almost pleasurable, if you can actually call a P90X workout pleasurable. I don’t want to call them easy. If a P90X workout is ever “easy”, then you’re probably doing it wrong. But, it seems like I’ve settled into a sort of routine. I know I’m pushing myself harder. I can see it in the increased weights, increased reps, increased heart rate, and increased flexibility. But there are very few exercises that just make me groan in dread when I realize they’re coming up. Maybe it’s because I know I can do them, now. I don’t know.

And, I’m not watching the clock, wondering when it’s going to end. I’m pushing myself to failure on every single exercise, but at the end of the workout, I feel like I could still do more exercises, if there were more to do. That was definitely not the case the first few weeks.

Today, the only exercise that really bothered me was when we got to Single Leg Raises. The pull ups are getting easier every week. I’m still not where I want to be with them, but I’m starting to get pretty close.

And the same is true with Ab Ripper X. I’ve started doing the harder versions of some of the exercises, and my form is getting better on the exercises that are just naturally harder. I almost feel like I’m doing the workout correctly now. Before I was just doing it as correctly as possible considering the shape I was in.

It’s strange, like I said. I feel like I’m going through some sort of metamorphosis. But, if I am, it’s all on the inside so far, because I still look pretty much the same on the outside.

Anyway, that’s enough self-congratulatory babble for me today. Tomorrow is Kenpo X. I’ve only been truly happy once after a Kenpo X workout, so the odds are my bubble will burst a little bit tomorrow. As Doris Day said, “Qué sera sera.”

June 6, 1944

Walker Survives Recall: What Does It Mean?

I have a slightly different take on the WI Governor race than most of my conservative brethren. Last night, Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) survived his recall election against Mayor Tom Barrett (D-Milwaukee). The margin of victory was about 7 points (53%-46%). This exceeds his victory margin from 2010 (also against Barrett) slightly.

Exit polls showed the race a dead heat, at 50/50. These same polls also gave President Barack Obama (D-USA) a 7-9 point edge over former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) in the race for the White House. Conservatives are saying that the exit polls were about 7 points off, so WI is now a battleground state, and is essentially tied.

Maybe. My guess is likely not, but I won’t say that’s certain. I will say that’s the wrong lesson to be taking from last night’s election.

My guess is that Obama still wins WI in November, by about 3-4 points. Now, that’s certainly close enough that it’s worthwhile for Romney to invest some money there and see if he can gain any traction. But, I think it’s unlikely to be a deciding state. If Romney wins WI, look for him to cruise to victory nationally in November, with probably something approaching 350 electoral votes.

That may happen, but few people are betting that way just yet.

I think looking at WI and wondering whether Romney can win it is taking the small view. I’m looking at the big picture. The last 3 elections have all been “wave” elections, with Republicans winning big in 2010, but Democrats winning big in 2008 and 2006. Even 2004 was a small wave for the GOP, in that President George W. Bush (R-USA) expanded his win over 2000 and got expanded majorities in both chambers of Congress, which is exceptionally rare for a 2nd term.

More importantly, the D/R/I breakdowns of the electorate shifted dramatically between 2004 and 2006, and again between 2008 and 2010. We have a very frustrated and volatile electorate right now, which makes prognostication exceedingly difficult. If you’re a pollster and you’re using a model that projects 37% of the electorate will be D, but it turns out to be only 33%, your whole forecast is going to be wrong.

So, the challenge for all the pollsters, and for anyone else who wants to take a stab at projecting 2012 results, is predicting where that D/R/I breakdown is going to land. So far, no one is predicting that 2012 will be a wave election. But, the question in everyone’s mind is whether it will more closely resemble 2008, or 2010.

Walker exceeded his victory margin from 2010 over the same opponent.

That means, in WI at least, 2012 looks like it may be much closer to 2010 than 2008. Perhaps even better than 2010. Will that translate nationally? That’s the billion dollar question. If the answer is yes, Romney can start thinking about who’s going to be in his Cabinet. Obama can not win in a 2010 environment.

Yes, there are some caveats here. Recall elections are oddballs. Also, it’s very possible that WI may be getting sick of elections, so they may not be quite as enthusiastic in November. And, it’s hard to say whether Romney can generate the same kind of enthusiasm in November anywhere that Walker did in WI yesterday.

In other words, it’s just one data point. Don’t read too much into it. But, if you think they’re not smiling in Romney HQ today and panicked in Obama HQ, then you’re not paying attention.

My personal opinion? Lately this feels like a re-run of the summer of 2010. That makes me very happy.

P90X Day 39: Yoga X

Yoga X. Easy peasy.

Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration. Same caveats for Twisting Triangle, Half Moon, and Twisting Half Moon still apply. Also realized I wasn’t doing Royal Dancer quite right. The right way is a little bit harder.

But, overall a nice, pleasant 90 minutes. Pretty sad when Yoga becomes one of the workouts you look forward to as part of P90X.

Tomorrow, Legs & Back. And Ab Ripper X. Let me go ahead and get this out of the way now.

 

Ow.

 

Ok, I feel better now. See you tomorrow.

Chris of Rights Will Always Support Free Speech

My wife is upset with me for my post on Brett Kimberlin last week. I understand why. Aaron Walker was arrested for blogging about Kimberlin. Stacy McCain and his family are in hiding for blogging about Kimberlin. Patterico had police with weapons drawn in his house looking for bodies, and all because he dared blog about Kimberlin. And now, blogger and tweeter who tweets under the handle @ali says his family has been threatened for the crime of supporting the people mentioned above.

So, you can understand why my wife might be upset with me for getting involved in this. I’m only semi-anonymous on this blog. It’s not that hard to find out my real name if you want to do a bit of research. I’ve given enough personal information on this blog that you could certainly find me and my family if you knew my name. She doesn’t want our family to go through what others are going through. And that’s a very reasonable viewpoint. And I don’t want my wife upset with me. The quote “happy wife, happy life” is a true one, after all. Nor do I want my wife and children to be in danger. Particularly over something that I use as more of an expressive outlet than anything else. I know I have very few daily readers, and that doesn’t bother me. That’s never been the point. The point is that I get all of this bottled up inside me, and this is my way of expunging it.

Despite that, I have no intention of lessening my support for Aaron Walker, Patterico, Stacy McCain, @ali, or any one else facing the wrath of Kimberlin and his lackeys.

Why? Am I just crazy?

No. Remember the name of this blog. It wasn’t chosen just to be cute. It’s not just happenstance. As I’ve mentioned numerous times, the Bill of Rights, particularly the First Amendment, are extremely important to me. This isn’t a left/right issue. It’s a right/wrong one. If the roles were reversed, and it was Kimberlin who was attempting to blog, and Patterico, for example, had sent police to his house on a fake 911 call, I would still be writing this, only in support of Kimberlin.

I believe in Free Speech. No matter whose speech it is. The left should be coming out in support of these bloggers as well. They need to be shamed into it, if necessary. Freedom of speech is, in my opinion, the most important of our God-given rights. If you let them take that away from you, then they can take anything away from you, including your life.

You need to understand. What’s going on here is beyond terrifying. I try to avoid comparisons to Nazi Germany. I think they’re overdone. And I think that hyperbole tends to weaken, rather than strengthen your argument. But here the comparisons to the Third Reich are warranted.

This is exactly how it started in the 1930s with the Jews. Jews were targeted, isolated, and attacked. And not just Jews, but the people who came out in support of them. Most of the general citizenry of Germany didn’t agree with this. But it was made clear to them early on what happened to people that spoke up in defense of Jews who were unfairly attacked. So, instead of standing up, they lived in fear that the eyes of oppression would turn next to them. And they did their best to hide from those eyes.

I can’t do that. I’m not trying to be macho here, or pretend that I’m displaying real courage. For me, it’s a decision that I can’t live in shame and in fear. I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror every morning and know that I’m a good person and a good father. I couldn’t do that if I didn’t stand up here.

Kimberlin and his associates are trying to destroy freedom of speech in America. The left, in their silence here, is complicit in this. We cannot allow this to continue.

I have one more link, and I want you to follow it, and read every word. It’s from Ace of Spades HQ. I support his decision, and will be participating in the National Day of Blogger Silence on Friday.

One quote, but do read the whole thing:

On Friday, this site will be absolutely dead-silent, which is what Brett Kimberlin and his stalker crew seeks, and what the media and our supposed Representatives in Congress would permit.

The only post on Friday will be a bold-faced Open Letter to Congress, urging them to act and not attempt to pass the buck to others.

They are our representatives; we would like some representation.

They vowed to defend and protect the Constitution; they can honor that vow now.

I will post links of Congressmen's and Senator's email addresses and offices and phone numbers, and urge every concerned American citizen to let them know, in no uncertain terms, that a crime in progress against the First Amendment (and people's safety) is occurring, and we humbly request they take this seriously.

They are literally going to get someone killed. That is their endgame here.

Will the media and Congress pretend "we didn't know" when this happens?

ABCNews knows.

The Weekly Standard knows.

The Daily Caller knows.

And many, but not yet all, Congressmen and Senators know.

I encourage all bloggers and twitterers to essentially strike that day, or write nothing except your desire that you expect your Congressmen to take threats to your First Amendment rights seriously.

P90X Day 38: Back & Biceps

Hooray! Today was a red-letter day. I didn't hate doing Ab Ripper X. Pretty sure that's the first time. Not that it was fun, but it wasn't excruciating. My form is definitely getting better for that 16 minutes too. I've definitely made some significant progress. But there's a lot more to make.

As for the main workout, this was the second time around for Back & Biceps. I still like this workout. I mentioned last time that I thought that I had done much better at picking good starting weights for this one than I did for others. I was correct, and it definitely helped this week having a good solid baseline from last week. For every exercise, I either increased my weight from last week, or increased the number of reps. And, for a couple, I actually did both. Still, I landed in the 8-10 reps range for almost all of the exercises. I need to review my sheet from today and see if it'll be necessary for me to pick up some more barbells this week. I don't think so, but I could be wrong. After next week, I don't return to Back & Biceps for a few weeks. I'll almost certainly want some more weight by then, but I'll have plenty of time to make those adjustments.

One thing I am noticing now that I'm working with heavier weights is a marked difference between my left and right side. I can usually get out one more rep, and sometimes two, with my left arm, than I can with the right. I'm not sure if I should start working on using different weights or not. If I don't, it seems like they'll eventually get closer together, because the right will be getting more of a workout than the left. However, that also means that I won't get all the benefits on the left side. I need to think about this.

A friend of mine who's also doing P90X has been doing some of the workouts outside. I haven't done this yet. If I could figure out a way to do pull-ups outside, I might for this one though. I think this one would be a fun one to do outside. You need several different weights, and even though I'm doing it in a decently sized room, I have to be careful that the weights I need are both easily accessible, and not in my way.

Of course, the Superman exercise might lead to grass stains, but that's ok. It's amazing how hard that particular exercise is. Try it. Lay on the floor on your stomach with your arms stretched out in front of you like you're Superman flying. Then lift up your arms and legs and hold them up for 10 seconds. Put them back down for another five. Repeat this whole thing 5 times, and make sure you really stretch when you're lifting. You'll definitely feel it.

(And I haven't even mentioned "Superman-Banana"--don't ask)

Tomorrow, Yoga X. I'm actually looking forward to it. Really, I should have my mental health checked. ;)