kate's log: christmas.

When I last blogged I had just been spotted by the giant—and very strong—squatter at my gym. I believe that was almost a month ago, and I was pressing 135 for three reps. Feeling pretty good about myself, I might add.

Since then, I’ve not been able to seek help from Mr. Squats. Instead, I’ve enlisted the manager of the gym because he’s always there when I’m benching, and it only took me two weeks to train him. I hate, hate, hate watching spotters who “spot” by helping the lifter with the last several reps. I had to explain to the gym manager that I should be able to complete all reps, on my own, without any kind of assistance. I only wanted him there to make sure that I didn’t kill myself (this was about the time that he told me that I needed to use clips on the bar, but I told him they would prevent me from dumping the weight, and, so, no thanks).

John’s plan has me warming up and then building to a five-rep max. Which, of course, meant that as soon as I hit 150 for five reps, I wanted to see how much more I could lift, and promptly threw the plan out the window. What? I was curious. The following week, I skimped on my warm up, not wanting to tucker myself out before the main event. I warmed up, found my friendly and non-intrusive spotter, warned him of my long-time habit of crying while bench pressing, and quickly (and cleanly!) put up two reps at 165. It feels really good to be strong.

I’m back on the sauce now, though, and have been following the plan strictly. Things have been going well and I’m making improvements on my chin-ups as well (I’m up to a set s of 7, 6, and 6). My PT work is still consistent, too.

I’ve added the prowler to my weekly cardio sessions, which now consist of long intervals on the bike, short intervals on the bike, and a session with the prowler (one lap of the boathouse takes about 1’, and I try to repeat for a total of 15 laps).

In all, I’m pretty happy with my progress. I missed a lift last night, but was at the gym with a visiting friend and decidedly unfocused. The bike in the garage continues to be a gift – and definitely a catalyst in my recovery. It allows me to workout at my convenience and brings me back to the comfort of my cardio roots.