Hello computer people. Just wanted to say hello and share my big achievement for the recently.
Last weekend I back squatted 300 pounds. That’s a lot! To me, at least. When I started lifting in the spring it was largely for two reasons. First, I wanted to not wither away to a husk as I lose weight. This is vanity but also functional. Second, I wanted to perform better climbing hills on my bike. So far both goals are going well.
What I hoped, after reading Casey Johnston’s blog, but didn’t expect was that lifting would become an end in itself for me, and it really has. I look forward to heading down to my little home gym in the basement every other day and putting in my reps. The ritual of lift, breathe, think about how to impro…
Hello computer people. Just wanted to say hello and share my big achievement for the recently.
Last weekend I back squatted 300 pounds. That’s a lot! To me, at least. When I started lifting in the spring it was largely for two reasons. First, I wanted to not wither away to a husk as I lose weight. This is vanity but also functional. Second, I wanted to perform better climbing hills on my bike. So far both goals are going well.
What I hoped, after reading Casey Johnston’s blog, but didn’t expect was that lifting would become an end in itself for me, and it really has. I look forward to heading down to my little home gym in the basement every other day and putting in my reps. The ritual of lift, breathe, think about how to improve and adjust form has really been clicking over the past couple months. I hurt my shoulder, did PT for it, and the lessons I learned about how to feel the position of my shoulder translated to working out a little better brace for my squat. Bracing better meant I could hold myself a little less bent over. Holding straighter made my back less tired. All of this, a virtuous circle of learning a little bit more about my body and using that to do something a little harder.
When I did my first max weight test on the weekend I ended up being able to lift far more than I thought I could going in. Speaking of which, the fact that you can measure your progress so straightforwardly feels like a miracle compared to biking. I HATE FTP tests, or really max effort cardio of any kind. I just want to go for long long easy rides, but I also want to progress and that progress is there, but hard to see. Setting a new PR is instantly rewarding.
Now, I’m coming up on my one year milestone and getting ready to scale back lifting a bit so I can ride more. It’s a little hard to talk myself into! But it will be good I think. I want to ride far and fast next year, so I need to train. I can keep gaining strength, a bit more slowly.
Also, the Liftcord (the discord companion to Casey’s paid newsletter) has been a source of ongoing delight. The people there are funny, thoughtful, and compassionate. We just had plateslam - an event where participants post a PR of any sort. I posted my squat, of course, but there were all sorts of triumphs from people returning to lifting after injuries or long breaks, to a number of people deadlifting their husbands. Good times all around! It reinforces my belief that the internet can still be good, but communities need to stay small and be fairly strict against behaviors that don’t match their values.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. Consider lifting heavy weights: it’s just nice.