A cat "lifting" an invisible barbell. So cute.
It makes me think of what is in store for me in a short while. I'm actually a little nervous about it. It seems strange to be nervous because weight lifting is my thing. It's what I do. It drives me. It motivates me. It empowers me. It makes me happy. It challenges me. Maybe it's the challenge that scares me.
It's not the soreness. I am so used to being sore that it almost doesn't seem right to me if I'm walking around without some sort of soreness going on. With the exception of last Friday's workout, that was ridiculous.
But the challenge is a little scary. When I lift weights, I don't just grab some random dumbbells and crank out a few sets and done. I carefully research and plan every workout routine. So that when I go to my weight room, I know exactly what exercises I will do, how many sets I will do, the rep range to shoot for, the poundage I will use, the amount of resting between sets I need, etc. I write everything down before and after. I keep a meticulous journal (I've got dozens of them - or at least I did have until I tossed most of the full ones). And I need to push myself to lift more weight or go for more reps every single week.
And even more than the physical challenge involved, the mental challenge is hard. Because I will get to a point (as I'm sure everyone does) when it feels like I just can't improve. I remember last year, feeling like I would never hit the 40lb mark with my bicep curls. I was stuck at 35 or 37 pounds forEVER! And I really struggled with that. I thought, how are my arms going to get any bigger if I can't progress to a higher weight? So I'd start obsessing about it and getting more and more frustrated. I know you plateau and I know you can't just keep going up and up and up forever or pretty soon you'd be lifting 1000 pounds, and obviously that's not possible.
And I would get nervous before doing pullups. I would be scared that I wouldn't be able to do one more than last time and I knew how important it was for improvement to get at least one more rep each time. It was scary because pullups are incredibly taxing. I would literally stand there and think to weeks ahead and get scared at the weight I was going to have to lift or the reps I was going to have to push.
This year, I'm going to roll with the punches. I'm going to try not obsessing so much. (haha....me? stop obsessing? who am I kidding.) Live for the day. The here and now. I'm going to go slow and steady. I'm going to use perfect form and get a good pump every time. And if I eat my protein and carbs and do what I know I need to do, I will make the progress that I am after.
Easier said than done.
3 comments:
hey charlotte, quick question - when you say bicep curls at 40lb and you only got to 37lb is that a 37lb dumbell in each hand? and is that a normal standing up bicep curl with full motion - thigh to shoulder? just trying to gauge my workouts! looking forward to your answer asap!!! thanks xx
Hi Amanda. When I say 35lbs I mean 35lbs total - on the barbell. When I could get to 8 or 10 reps with that, but I couldn't do even 6 reps with 40lbs, I would come up with ways to to add slightly more weight to the bar without having to add a whole 5lbs (like hanging ankle weights on each end). Sounds silly - I know. And I think it's a very low amount of weight, especially when I watch videos of girls curling 60lbs like it's nothing. I have tiny arms, I want to change that! What weight are you at for bicep curls??
oh thank god!!! i thought you were doing 37lb each hand (17kg to me). my wrists just could not cope with that let alone my biceps. I use dumbells coz with my whole back/pelvis thing going on, one side of my body is 1 to 2 inches lower than the other (not generally noticable) so a barbell would be uneven and i would end up working one side harder than the other. i try to use dumbells on most exercises to independantly work the muscles. anyway, atm i am doing bicep curls at 10kg per hand, skullbusters at 8kg per hand and side lat raises at 5kg per hand - all slow with good form!!!! i love doing arms coz it doesnt hurt my back but with not eating right all the time ive still got a fine layer of fat on my arms so you cant see the muscles properly until after ive done a workout!! which by the way ive only been to the gym once in 3 weeks (thats another story). tell me - how are you going to eat and train like a bodybuilder - im interested. i so have to get back on it. its school hols now and we have had a few impromptu drinks and cheese plates with friends lately - how do you say no to that???!!! we are going away today for the long weekend holiday with friends - need i say more?? !!!!! talk soon xx
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