I finally hit 135 pound benchpress in December. Every few weeks after that we would try.  Sometimes I’d hit it, and sometimes I’d miss.  Eventually it was more hit then miss.  And just recently I started trying (and getting)  it every time I bench.   
 
What’s empirically and emotionally obvious in powerlifting is that you're only going to get something to be easy... by doing it over and over again while it’s still difficult.  Only by trying despite (many) failures do you improve. 
 
Looking back on my 20s, everything seemed so hard.   Now at 47, there are certainly difficulties in my life but by and large much of what troubled, or at least tired me out then causes me no trouble today.  Perhaps your 20s are years of constantly having to do difficult things.  You know, you just turned into an adult after all, a lot of this is new.  
 
So when I run into the inevitable rough patch, I just look forward and imagine how great the 50s are going to be when I have conquered these challenges too. 
 
Someone said today, about powerlifting, that your ability to improve was practically infinite.   I’ll get back to you on that when I’m 70.   But I do wish that I understood back in my 20s the way I do today how nearly infinite is our ability to grow and adapt and improve.  It makes ageing a wonderful adventure instead what I expected would be decline. 
 
Here’s to finding hard things to do, and doing them over and over until they are easy.  

Yes, another Powerlifting/Work Life analogy.  
 I am very close to benching 135#. Lifters know that this is less arbitrary than it sounds, as it means that I will be using a full plate on the bar. It’s a milestone! And in a sport based on tiny incremental progress, these milestones are major. And it’s very likely within 3 months or less from being achieved.  
 Some things that have struck me during this last bit of effort towards my big lift:
1)     It’s on my mind. And it’s going to be the same incremental progress when I hit it. I go up in 2.5# increments every time. This will be the same. And yet… it’s different. Just like other progress, we often celebrate what seems like progress, but not recognize all the other exactly equal steps we took to get there before. 
2)     I’ll miss a few times before I get it. Because it’s really at the edge of what is possible for me, I won’t know if I can do it until I try. So I will, inevitably, fail.  I have already. And I will again.  In fact, even after I get it the first time, there are no guarantees that I can the second, because for that moment, I am playing at the edge of possible. And if I chose to wait until I knew for sure I could do it without fail… until I was strong enough to make it certain? Well, then for sure it would happen way later than it will by trying whenever it just might be possible.
3)     The best version of me will be needed. Again, because it’s on the edge of impossible, when I try, I have the best chance when I had a good night sleep, and have been eating clean and feeling focused.  
 It’s this last one that really sticks with me. It’s very clear to me that to deliver this lift, I need to be at my best, and that comes not just from my intent at that moment, but what I have been doing in the hours (even days) prior to it.   
And that makes me think about my other endeavours in life, especially at work. For sure most of my job is not playing on the edge of impossible. It’s certainly not a walk in the park, either. So when it’s not easy…. The very best me ensures the best outcomes.  And the best me does not just come from that moment, but the moments leading up to it, including what I eat, how I sleep and how I recover and play.
So the next time I am at the gym, or resting, reading, or eating optimally, I will remember that what’s good for me is good for the best me at work too…and taking that time and effort is an investment in work as much as it is in life.    And not doing it? Well that’s just not an option, now that I know, is it?

....and I shouldn't of left you (left you).... .But I actually HAVE had a dope beat to step to.  

Forgive the Aaliyah reference....but it popped right outta my head. 

Anyway,  I have not stopped writing or thinking.... it's just taken a different form in the last bit.   Some training I was on with work had us doing some prompted journaling, and I have a book that's got me thinking, and a girl that ALWAYS is good for a soul-and-brain-conversation.  That's kept my heart and creative spaces pretty occupied.   We also have a move on the horizon, so there has been some extra work, which has created extra naps.  So time has also been a bit tighter.

But this blog remains my main place to think about my practice, my body and what I have gained and learned on that journey.  And there is news there, so... HERE I AM!.

Well, to be honest, there is no news yet. It's just brewing.  It's been brewing for 17 months or so since I hit that 100# bench press for the first time.  I remember the feeling.  135# is on the horizon. It's been a slow climb.  After 100 there was some quick gains, but the last year has been truly one of those turtle vs hare things.   Progress has been real.  Just super incremental with lots of time between. 

And now I am pretty sure that I'll put that plate on in October and have a good solid TNG.  So STAY TUNED!

This is my fitness diary, so this post might be   a little bit of a diversion.   We went to Garths family reunion in Saskatoon on the weekend.  Many of these people were virtual strangers to me, but it was very apparent that they loved him.  And he mingled and chatted in a way that I have never seen.  It was beautiful, and also sad that it took 20 years for me to see it.  And it merited a little note here.  There is something special about the love of family. Cherish it.  And get as much of it as you can.

The chart mostly speaks for itself.   But I also told Jerimiah that I'd really like to be a bit brave on a last attempt in 2018.   Not that the last on any of these above were guaranteed, but they had been done before a few times.  

And we aren't currently setting a date target other than "next year".  We'll just work on progress and keep checking in and when it seems within reach, sign up for  a meet and to a 3 month (probably) prep cycle.  

I said the same last year, but by November was desperate to get signed to a meet to have it firm.  I'll try to exercise patience and remember that more meets are added regularly and I won't miss out.  Then I can try to be a bit more organic with the planning, which may be helpful given my travel schedule can be hard to have any long term insight into or control over.

​HERE WE GO!!!!  

Here are my results (in kilograms).  I am super proud, super tired and super sore.  

#Squat-  opened with last year's best for a result of 70, 75, 77.5
⚪️⚪️🔴
#Bench- last year's meet best was 47.5. Today -  50, 55, 57.5
⚪️⚪️🔴
#Deadlift - last year's meet best was 90. Today 95, 100, 105
🔴⚪️⚪️

I will have more to say later, but for now, it's enough. It's plenty. 

It's almost here!  I knew after last years meet that I'd do it again.  And I narrowed it down to a few events in November, and have been prepping for the Apex Summer Showdown since January. And now it's less than 2 weeks out, and I am getting the prep emails and reminders.....  it's HERE! 
I will have a buddy going to her first meet (Daphne) , which makes it a little more exciting.  I'm hardly an old-hand, but having a bit of experience makes me feel like I have something to offer her as she goes on this adventure. It's such a great community, and I have received so much encouragement from it: it's nice to be able to support someone else who's taking it for a spin.
I have (mostly) gotten over the stress of not competing in the same weight class as last year.  Maybe a tiny bit sheepish, but nothing that will hold me back from giving it my all, and putting some good numbers forward. .... on which to build my next year worth of progress.