Today's Venture in Strength Training

Well, the anticipation got to me.  I couldn't deal well with the thought of letting myself, or anyone, down after publicly announcing that I'd be lifting 1500 lbs with my legs in only 3 weeks; not to mention, in some odd way comparing myself to Babe Ruth.  What was I thinking?!  Anyway, what an embarrassment that would turn out to be if 3 weeks wasn't enough time to achieve that.  What if I fell short?  So, I just felt I had to go in and make it happen ASAP. 

I had a cold last week that lasted for 5 days.  It was, by far, the worst cold I've ever had.  I thought, "GREAT, I hope this isn't going to set me back now."  I also, apparently, had twisted my knee somehow last night and it was giving me some flak as well.  But, I knew that Tuesday was leg day and I wasn't about to wait another week just to find out if I was going fail or not.  So, I took some aspirin and massaged it a while; made sure I went to bed early and slept well.  So, it felt o.k. when I woke but wasn't perfect.

This morning I got up, ate my oats, then this afternoon I took my usual supplements, an energy shot and drank a glass of green tea.  I stretched out a lot.  Been sort of psyching up for the lift all week.

I wanted to make mention of something, just in case anyone who has read my posts were to get the idea to max out as well.  You should keep something in mind.  With a training element as powerful and heavy as leg work, I would not recommend putting yourself under a weight load of anything that you can only lift two or three times, or especially only once.  These lifts are estimated one repetition maximums.  In other words, I'm using a weight that I myself am fully aware that I can press up to at least 6 times without failure.  This is quite safe... and wise.  I don't mind using this system at ALL.  Reason being, from my past, I have always been able to actually press more at performing the actual 1 rep maximum lift than I have when I utilize the estimation system.  Therefore, my raw power is pretty much always greater than my muscular endurance and/or any estimations.

That aside, I still didn't have a death wish!  I knew I was progressing much faster than would be advisable.  Inside, I doubted whether or not I could actually press all 20 45 lb plates and both 100 lb plates to begin with.  I almost set the last 2 45's back down, I stood there thinking about it for quite a time while I carefully weighed out whether the act was wisdom at all... or just passion.  But, I couldn't stand it.  In a seriously determined and internally intense sort of way, I sucked it up, grabbed 'em up, and threw 'em on.  Still, I walked over to a couple of the strongest looking guys that I could find and had them stand on either side of the press as a spotter, just in case.  Better to be on the safe side.  I thought it a little funny that I walked over to pick up a couple of 3 lb fractionals to add to my mountain of weights.  But, if I hadn't, it would not have calculated quite to 1500.

I really did not know how I would perform, at all.  I gave my two jovial volunteers a quick coaching on spotting, then I told them not to even touch the machine unless the weight was simply not going up on the last repetition.  I got into position and placed my feet well, stabilized my body, etc.  So, when I took in enough deep breaths and felt adequately mean, I pressed the weight up and off the safety, lowered the safety and "went to town".  The first rep for me tends to be a sort of "half-rep," so I cranked out all 11 plus one just to be sure.  I only needed 11 to hit my mark.  Toward the last few repetitions, I could see the guy on my left start to get a bit antsy wanting to jump in to help but he stopped himself, thankfully.

I'm sure that one or two people in the gym thought I was showing off by having a couple guys stand there watching me.  It's funny, though.  It actually took more humility for me to ask them to help by spotting me in order to be safe than anything else.

Anyway, so there you have it!  1501 pound leg press, up from an all out, extremely intense 1400 pounds, in less than 3 weeks.  Well, I did it in 7 days.

I was just thankful that a gnat didn't land on top of the weights during my lift and collapse it all...

God loves Randy Couture

Some people, presumably Christian, have criticized Mr. Couture for having done things that do not reflect the life of a Christian.  So, now we know that Randy Couture is not perfect.  But, the only person to have achieved perfection was the Christ Himself.  And, even He in the book of Luke said, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." (NASB)  Oh, sure, we can preach the laws of God all day long, particularly to the church; or, we can preach the grace of Jesus Christ.  Your choice.  However, the church as a whole needs to come to the realization that much of what has been preached "behind the pulpit" is very well intended for the children of the Heavenly Father.  It's much like a father comes to his children and says, "This is how I expect you to behave... this is what I expect of you, MY son or MY daughter.  This is how I expect you to behave as a light to the world, as a representative of my family."  It is intended to provoke the best in the body of Christ.  It is like iron that sharpens iron.  It is not intended as legalism to be preached to the entire world as a way for them to feel condemned.  But, this does not mean that we, ourselves, will carry all these good deeds through.  It certainly doesn't mean that we will live a perfect life.  Christ is our example.

Many Christians start a life for God... no, every Christian starts a life for God on the "wrong foot".  They start immature and as a "baby" in Christ.  Even Joyce Meyer, herself, will tell you that she used to hold prayer groups and cell group meetings in "Daisy Dukes" and smokin' a cig.  If she were a guy, that might translate to spitting, cursing and chewing tobacco.  hahaha  In other words, following the Spirit and making the right choices is a maturation process with which we all need time... and only we, with God, can determine how much time is taken.  Whatever the case, it's just not our place to judge another person's position with God.  As only God knows the heart of that human being.

Couture managed to win both the light heavy weight (205) and heavy weight (265) championship titles in his reign.  Then, Mr. Couture publicly thanked God, before he did anyone else, for his achievements.  I wonder how many Christians can even say that they have done that at any point?  Not to mention, that he did so in front of the entire world.  He thanked God and professed God in front of everyone for his accomplishments, and that's all I personally need to know about Randy Couture...

Will your motivation last?

Fortunately for me, I discovered martial arts over two decades ago.  I never started lifting weights because I wanted to be several hundred pounds of hulked-out muscle mass.  That never even appealed to me.  What I did want was to be the best martial artist I could be.  Also, back then I wanted to be a little more muscular.  But, I remember seeing a clip featuring Bruce Lee saying, "If you're talking about combat -- as it is -- well then, baby, you'd better train every part of your body!" He was absolutely right.  Fighting, and most sports, requires that we are strong all over and utilize all joint motions.  Some martial artists like to idealize the arts saying that you don't need any muscle to fight.  But, that's silly.  Your muscles move your joints.  We all use our muscle every day for every action, whether weak or strong.  Without them, you'd be a helpless skeletal figure.  With stronger, faster muscles you're that much less helpless in a defensive situation.

Understanding this, I began lifting to increase strength.  I began lifting and would also run or jog on occasion.  That exercise, coupled with regular martial arts training was quite enough to keep me very fit through the years.  Martial arts, for me, has been a lifelong process of personal growth and physical fitness.  One that has kept me keen in senses and has challenged me to greater heights.  It's kept me well.

The point is, I can't imagine what my life, my health, would be like now at age 37 had I not chosen this path of discipline, along with my Christian faith; and, I'm not about to walk away from either one of them anytime soon.