This Saturday past, I hit a Personal Record weightlifting.
Personal Records (PR) is a measurement tool used in probably every sport. It is simply a measure of something achieved: a weight, a distance, a height, something to mark progress. They are intensely personal in that we are all different and start at different points; my personal record may be someone else's starting point.
But they are markers, markers of progress made.
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My weightlifting journey, begun at least 10 years ago, has had a tough go over the last three years.
Part of that was due to the combination of layoffs in 2023; gym membership was one of the first things to go as cut. I did have access to the gym at the community center for my HOA, but it just was not quite as good. Then the move of course, and the use of my apartment gym, which had the basics and allowed me to maintain at some level, but not really progress.
I finally rejoined a gym last year (one of the big corporate ones, subsidized to some extent by my work). It is less than a mile from work and thus convenient in the sense that if I go after work, I will get a workout. Of course, going after work also means going at the most crowded time of the day, which pushes the workout longer.
My overall progress has been less than desirable. I am, if nothing else, inherently lazy, and always looking for a reason to put off the workout until another day.
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My PR on Saturday was for a deadlift, lifting a barbell with plates from the ground to one's hips. One of the main Olympic lifts, it is a great overall lift as it engages almost every leg muscle, the back muscles, and the grip. It is also one that has the greatest risk of injury if not done correctly (important safety tip: Flat back).
The PR was for 5 lbs/2 kg for four reps, 4 x 265 lbs/120 kg. 5 lbs may not sound like much of an increase - but this is at the end of an increasingly heavy series of lifts (for me, 45 lbs., 135 lbs., 185 lbs., 205 lbs., 225 lbs., 245 lbs., and then 265 lbs.). I suppose one could go directly to the end weight, but warming up and repetitions matter as much as the final weight one lifts.
After confirming the PR, I checked my notes. I had been chasing this particular weight for 5 years.
(By comparison, the current record for raw deadlift (no suit or straps) is held by Benedikt Magnusson at 460.4 kg/1,105 lbs.)
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I - all of us - are in a race against time where in the end, we lose. And having more than fully entered my late 50's (almost to the point I can no longer claim them), I am starting to come to grips with the fact that certain physical things are either gone or disappearing. The fact that I can actually increase my ability to lift a weight was unexpected.
It is also hopeful.
It is a good reminder to me that time is not just a one way thing, that time - plus effort - can yield results that I would not have anticipated. It is just a matter of showing up every time and doing the work, no matter how boring it is or the length of time between available equipment.
How utterly encouraging to find there are still records to be set.
That is awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteJob well done.
Thanks ERJ!
DeleteHonestly, I have been pressing up against this for at least two months, but have kept finding reasons not to try. I finally just went for it.
Yeah! Great job on the deadlifts! Between you and ERJ I’m learning some good methods of working through them.
ReplyDeleteThanks AnonJ!
DeleteI came very late to weightlifting (in my late 40's), but have really benefitted from it. My advice, if I had any to give, would be to find a good coach. I have benefitted immensely from having one.
Good for you getting back into the swing of things TB, establishing that habit can be hard to do but once done......hey! Now is the time to do this, better than in a few years when the biggest weight you might have to handle will be a walker.......:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nylon12!
DeleteIn all fairness, the encroachment of time is on my mind. There is a fine line between continuing to seek new PRs and acknowledging that as time goes on, those PRs will be less. In some ways, they are age dependent.
That said, age should never be my excuse for not trying.
I was impressed when I saw it pop up in my feed while I was on a mini vacation. I really didn't know what it was referring to until I read your description in this blog post. I know that I on occasion life a 50 pound bag of rice and schlep it from store to car and car to pantry. I can guarantee you I'm not doing five at a time!
ReplyDeleteI have some adjustable dumbbells that I use mostly during the winter months. I find it hard during the summer because I am usually more active doing other things and have a hard time carving out the time. But I really need to do it all year round because muscle mass is so important to the aging process.
Ed, if it makes you feel in a better, there is no schlepping involved, just standing in place.
DeleteI have the same issues carving out the time - honestly, the best time for me to go is after work, even though the gym is busier and I get home later. But if I do not go then, I often will not go.
Congratulations on your PR. I think that kind of self challenge is healthy in that it keeps us both physically and mentally engaged. Those things are always good as we get older.
ReplyDeleteThank you Leigh!
DeleteIt is heartening to me in that I never really feel like I "look " stronger - but I would not be able to move the weight if I did not.
As I move into the "older phase", I am finding the wisdom in self challenges as you point out.