Query: does anyone else ever think about whether they’re making the person next to them look bad by putting more weight on the bar than they’re lifting?  And why does that thought usually only come to mind when it’s a guy next to me, rather than a woman?  Bleah.  I don’t want that moving around in my brain while I’m trying to hit a new max or otherwise just trying to move that weight.  For a woman, I’m impressed if they can do more than me.  For a guy, I’m happy to be in the same realm, excited when I’m pushing more.  (The guy next to me was able to squat lower / more perpendicular to the floor – I worry too much about the strain on my knees, given their history, to squat that low with much weight.)

Letting my competitive nature consume too much of my brain…  need to compete just with me for this stuff, rather than risk doing something dumb.