A Much, Much Better Day

Wednesday 13th February. Having worked up to five fives during the previous session, today was about finding my new 1RM. Could I get the 130 that was beyond me the last time I tried it?

50 for 5 x 2 sets
70 for 5 x 2 sets
90 for 3
100 for 1
120 for 1
130 for 1
140 for 1!!!
100 for 5
60 for 10.

I can't tell you how delighted I was with today's session. Sometimes I feel like going back and editing previous posts, but that's totally against the spirit of the exercise, which is to record my journey truthfully and accurately. Not just what I lift, but the emotions that go with it, the highs and lows. I'm totally enthused by what I did today, and delighted to have broken through the 300 pound barrier.

I started off exactly one month ago with a 1RM of 100, a qualifying target of 185, and a huge gulf of 85 kilos separating me from my target.

The 140 was easy! There was more there. When I say 'easy', lifting over 300 pounds is never easy. Lifters use the term easy to describe any lift that doesn't take us to our absolute limit, and the 140 wasn't.

In the previous post, I was harping on about how I might not get 185 in time. Today, I offer a completely different perspective. I have managed to complete half the journey in exactly one month. I have another three months to complete the other half, and if I was advising someone else I would tell them that the target will easily be achieved.

The next workout is planned to be five threes with 120, and when that is built up to five fives it will be time to test the 1RM again and, hopefully, break through the 150 barrier. The Sugden Classic lifting day is on 1st March, and that might be a good place to make my attempt on the 150. But before I can even think of that, it's back to the grind that is five heavy sets.

I won't be training on Saturday this week, because I'll be taking part in the North West Raw Bench Press Championships. I hope to get a new British Masters 2 record. Will I be in the gym on Sunday? Or will I go out and celebrate a record on Saturday night and give myself a day off? That one will have to be played by ear!