It took a lot longer than I expected. I joined the gym nearly 2 years ago...and still have a way to go to "fit". I have come a long way, though, and looking at the transformation, it still seems like a big accomplishment. There has never been anything fast or easy about it... Just steady, incremental progress.
When I think about how many choices I had to make the last two years that added up to this.... The good and the bad.... It's a wonder I made it. I couldn't of done it without encouragement of an amazing PT who helped me the movements, manage the progress, and probably most importantly… Have fun (or something close to it ) while doing it. The mavens encouraged me too. I'm lucky to have such good girlfriends. And Garth has been amazing. He's been a cheerleader, but has also helped managing food, encouraging me to prioritize the gym... And listened to me go on and on about powerlifting. But the truth is and I say this without an ounce of either shame or pride.... Mostly this was ME. Of course of course I couldn't have done it without the support mentioned above ...for sure. But I did the work. I made those choices. Ok; so I take it back. I AM PROUD. Blessed and proud.
0 Comments
I was in my first powerlifting meet yesterday. I hesitate to call it a competition; I pulled less weight than anyone. Well, except the guy that bombed out on his three benchpress attempts and didn't get to finish.
And I finally get the concept of only competing against yourself. I never understood it when golfers talked about it. And to be fair, I'm pretty sure a number of them (golfers and powerlifters) care a lot more about competing with the other participants than it being only about beating your best. But, I'm really not worried about the low weight, or my missed third attempt on bench. In fact, I'm really proud I tried for the 115# BP. I've never been able to do it in the gym before with the pause, & I was feeling really good. And maybe I could have gotten it if I was just a bit slower. But I actually tried something that had a goodly chance of failure ..... In front of a bunch of people. Because nobody wanted me to miss. It wasn't a competition at that moment; not against each other anyway. Just me and the bar. And everyone got it. And now I have numbers. A very clear place from which to improve. To measure progress. I was impressed by a lot of people yesterday. But I don't remember their numbers. Just their resolve. Me. The bar. It's so simple that it's hard to understand how I didn't get it before. But I do now. And that's progress too.... So, that's a bit of an issue. 3kgs over the weight I want to be for the meet in a week. Garth and Jerimiah don't want me to do any cutting ...and to be fair; I should have been a bit more controlled before, but it is what it is and I don't want to abuse myself over it. There's enough going on with a first meet that some compassion is in order as well. There's that theme again. Anyway, in looking at cutting (not gonna but was ...) there was some stuff that I divited I CAN do that will move me closer without undue pressure. And just cause I won't make it is no reason to give up, either. I am just not ramping up to crazy. So here's the plan;
Oh, and I went for a run tonight. :) At the outset of the year, I decided that I wanted to improve, but resolutions were not exactly for me. But I did want to think about what was IMPORTANT for me, and keep those at the forefront whenever possible. My list:
And they were about balance. Controlling food but not being compassionate to myself, for example, would not be a 'win'. Anyway, I was being a bit scared about the upcoming meet, and one of the Mavens referred to something that reminded me to check my list. My fear is allowed a voice: she is trying to protect me. So I should have compassion for myself, and not be embarrassed that I am afraid. But it won't decide. I'm on another business trip this week. I got into the gym yesterday, but now I won't be back until Friday. That means three days out of my home gym.
And I have an event on Saturday with a girlfriend, that means no training with Jerimiah on Saturday either. Of course there is a gym at the hotel; and Jerimiah mentioned the same. But..... I hit the snooze button almost a dozen times this morning. I'm tired. Two of my last three workouts were really frustrating. And business travel is tiring. So.... While I'm going to see how I feel, I decided I won't go to the gym here unless I really feel like it. Compassion (along with restraint, control and some others) is one of my themes for this year. Including compassion for myself. I'm hoping this decision is a compassionate one and not a lazy one. I am visiting Montreal this week... and went into our local office after a client visit, and Immediately ran into someone I trained on Project Management - in a 3 day session in Oct 2014.
She was like “Woah! Look at you, blah, blah….”. And reminded me that when I trained them, I had talked about adult learning, and how I had just joined a gym and was having to hold someones hand in order to squat, or I’d fall over. I guess I used it as an analogy to some other topic in the sessions. Anyway, I was 35# heavier then. And probably walking with a bit more swagger now. :) ......And she said … “I guess you figured it out . " Yeah, I guess I did! We tested squats and deads today. Did squat testing Saturday too, but we shall not discuss it.
Anyway: Jerimiah let me try his knee sleeves. And it felt really good. 155# squat, but here's the good part: TO DEPTH!!! Needless to say: I just bought a pair. And deadlift: 185#. Add that up to Bench from a week ago, and we are at 450#. 52# off his BAM (bare-ass-minimum) for the July 9th meet. You'll notice I switched from we/our to HIS on that one. I think he has a bit of over optimism there. Anyway.... it's closer than I thought I'd be by now, so... maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle, as usual. Testing again Wednesday, and then I travel and am gymless for 2 weeks! |
Author
Rebecca Garland Archives
April 2021
Categories
All
|