Monday 1/19/15
BW 293
Cycle 4, 5/3/1 week
Bench Press - TM 285
135x5
185x5
215x5 set 1
240x3 set 2
270x3 set 3
225x10 FSL set
No back cramps this week.
Prior to benching, I spent 20 minutes working with a new person at the gym who asked if I would help him learn to squat. He was right next to me hitting his biceps on the preacher curl when I managed 405x6 last week. I guess my show of strength got him thinking. Thinking back to my early days of lifting, I can certainly empathize. I recall my stares of amazement when I saw a guy bust out 405x5 on deadlifts back when 315x5 was my absolute limit. After his set of 315 I watched him slap another pair of plates on and thought to myself, “NO FUCKING WAY MAN!!! WHO DOES THAT?”
This new squatter took to it quite naturally, and did a few sets of 10+ with 115. I’m not making a project out of this guy, but I don’t think he will need me to make him a project. He will do quite well if he sticks with it and works hard to improve. It really feels good when a younger, leaner man asks my fat ass for help with something fitness-related.
On the subject of ego stroking, my gym now has a board up with active members’ recent best squats, deads and bench lifts. I’m not the best bencher, but nobody is close on squat or dead. Of course, nobody has my belly of power, so I am thankful that waist size does not occupy a spot on the board next to our best lifts.
With the first 20 minutes of my workout being consumed with satisfying my Barbell Boy Scout impulses, I had to skip assistance so I could get home and confront a major life decision. I have accepted a lucrative position at a company in Rochester, NH. This is an excellent career opportunity for me, and I’m very excited about it. This also put me at a crossroads in my relationship with my girlfriend, and we are going to be going our separate ways. There was much more to it than the prospect of relocation, the details of which I will leave my log readers guessing about because it is none of your damn business.
Lots of mixed feelings, but life goes on. Some rocky weeks are ahead and I will do everything I can to make sure we part ways amicably.
If NHL Fighter and Mighty Matron happen to read this, I am proud to announce that I, too, shall soon be a New Hampshire Lifter.
What a day.