#298: Loving the Weight Room

Got some great feedback on yesterday's blog. One in particular gave me pause and a little bit of relief. Turns out that Fish Oil has anti-coagulant properties. Chances are good that my doc is going to recommend that I not take it since I'm already on Cumadin. That's a relief since I don't want to bleed to death by accident, and besides, the things taste terrible. My mouth tastes like cod liver oil for hours after choking a couple of the big things down. Thanks for the tip, Suzanne.

Right now, my legs feel like rubber bands, (that's "gumbanz" for the homies in the 'Burgh.) Had a super workout in the weight room today. I used heavier weights and did simple sets.

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight
Woodchopper	3	10	30
Dumbbell Deadlift	3	10	30's
Dumbbell Squat	3	10	30's
Dumbbell Chest Press	4	10, 5, 7, 6	30's, 30's, 25's, 25's
Bent Over Row	3	10	25's
Single Leg Presses	3 each side	10	100

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This is light weight compared to what I have done, but today, it kicked my butt. It felt great.

There was a guy doing squats on the Smith Machine behind me. He was really knocking them out. At one point, when I was gasping for air after my first set of woodchoppers at the cable machine, I heard the rhythm of his breath stop. He was "in the hole." It's what happens when you go down into a squat, and can't press back up out of it. If you're just unlucky enough, you can snap yourself in half from this position. Another lifter and I jumped in to help spot him and we got the bar back up and on the hooks. He smiled his thanks, and we all nodded. We've all been there.

Here's the thing. The guy did three more sets. He would not be deterred. He wasn't embarrassed or ashamed. He laughed it off an went back to work. He even cheered me on when I was struggling with the last few reps on my own workout.

I was never one of the jocks. I've never even been very good at being "one of the guys." But there is a fellowship in the weight room that I'm not sure I've ever experienced anywhere else. We're all at different levels of strength and fitness, but we all share some things, too. We know what it is to fail at a lift. We know how it feels to have too much weight up in the air and not be really certain how you're going to put it down without killing anyone. And we all know how great it feels to pull out that last rep when your muscles, your lungs, and your common sense are screaming at you to stop. I don't think I'll ever stop being surprised at how much I enjoy hanging out at the gym with a bunch of lifters.

Peace,
Pennsy