I Wasn't Gonna Do It, But Then I Did
Jun. 27th, 2013 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Today I did something that I'd sort of told myself I wasn't going to do. I reached under the basement stairs, where my son has "stored" all of our unused free-weight equipment, and pulled out a curling bar that I had from back in the day when I was "serious" about strength training. By "serious" I mean marginally delusional about possible beefcake outcomes with respect to my hereditarily strong but, let's be honest, scrawny physique.
In the interest of maintaining a routine that covered the essentials as far as stability, strength, and flexibility, in my post-surgical, post-middle age life, I had forsworn all but a dozen basic exercises, most of which had been scripted for me by a licensed physical therapist. But then there was the recent emergence of a "two-pack," below what my son derisively calls my man-boobs, and a slight but discernible bit of definition in the forearms. Laughable, I know, that the male ego should suddenly find itself, uh, coming erect at my age but I guess you've gotta work with what you've got.
Which, I suppose, actually speaks to the problem inherent in any ego-driven enterprise: the possibility that ego may overrule logic, common sense, the necessary caution which should inform our decisions, especially in later life. The trick, then, would be to allow ego a proportional role in our motivation while balancing it with logic and common sense. That's the theory, anyway.
So with that in mind, I pulled out the old, corroded chrome curling bar, went to the neighborhood Walgreens for some flexible white athletic tape, and wrapped the bar from inside collar to inside collar. Then I added two-arm curls and reverse curls, 12 reps each, to my daily routine. And tomorrow, for better effect (because the bar alone provided almost none), I'm gonna add a little weight, maybe 5-10 lbs., if necessary dropping the reps to 6 each to start.
So, yeah, I wasn't gonna do it but then I did...
LPK
LiveJournal
6.27.2013
In the interest of maintaining a routine that covered the essentials as far as stability, strength, and flexibility, in my post-surgical, post-middle age life, I had forsworn all but a dozen basic exercises, most of which had been scripted for me by a licensed physical therapist. But then there was the recent emergence of a "two-pack," below what my son derisively calls my man-boobs, and a slight but discernible bit of definition in the forearms. Laughable, I know, that the male ego should suddenly find itself, uh, coming erect at my age but I guess you've gotta work with what you've got.
Which, I suppose, actually speaks to the problem inherent in any ego-driven enterprise: the possibility that ego may overrule logic, common sense, the necessary caution which should inform our decisions, especially in later life. The trick, then, would be to allow ego a proportional role in our motivation while balancing it with logic and common sense. That's the theory, anyway.
So with that in mind, I pulled out the old, corroded chrome curling bar, went to the neighborhood Walgreens for some flexible white athletic tape, and wrapped the bar from inside collar to inside collar. Then I added two-arm curls and reverse curls, 12 reps each, to my daily routine. And tomorrow, for better effect (because the bar alone provided almost none), I'm gonna add a little weight, maybe 5-10 lbs., if necessary dropping the reps to 6 each to start.
So, yeah, I wasn't gonna do it but then I did...
LPK
LiveJournal
6.27.2013