Some Goals Getting Real

Old men don’t do dips. Not enough musculature in the shoulder.
You’ll rip your shoulders out of joint.
Just like “Ralphie” and the BB gun; you’ll shoot your eye out!
But say it isn’t so.
Not total dips mind you, but three quarter dips, two sets of 10 followed by a third set of six.
On to the chin up.
Finally last night one chin up from a straight arm position with no extra kick or help.
Just one smooth chip up from full arm extension.
Not two or ten, just one, a small start, 204 pounds from ground to chin over bar.
On the way out, I asked the attendant her favorite protein drink, a "Carliss".
So I treated myself to a “Carliss”, 40 grams of protein, peanut butter, honey all blended into an ice cold “chocolate shake”.
I felt I had actually earned it.
What will I be able to do at 164 pounds and two more years of exercise?
Two more years, how do I know I will last that long, you might ask?
I don’t but right now I am planning on two more years of really hard exercise and committed weight loss.
If I go to the gym every night for 730 days the two years will pass before you know it.

A “Bucket” List

I loved the movie.
I guess each of us develops a Bucket List in our minds but very few have the luxury of fulfilling the “dreams”.
Seems life, reality and excuses intervene.
So now I am sixty plus and I have begun to review my Bucket List.
I have been working on it for a number of years.
I thought, put it out there and see how it plays to the public.
A lot of my list had been put on hold due to work, age and intervening detours but most might be accomplished and I am now actively pursuing parts of it.

1. I want to weigh 164 pounds for at least 3 consecutive years. I don’t want to weigh 164 pounds for a day or two as I pass through that weight on the way out. Why 164 pounds? This would be close to my ideal weight and I have not been there for at least 44 years. I believe I can do this. I just haven’t found the “won’t” power I need to leave all the snacks behind.
2. I want to be able to bench press 325 pounds. My rationale: It has often been stated that one should be able to bench press two times your weight. I am sure that this is really aimed at the under 30 crowd but I have this goal and it will be interesting to see if it is possible or if I “crash” first at about 180 pounds with the ultimate “Skull Crusher”.
3. I want to do an Iron Cross: Definition: “One of the most widely recognized skills performed on the rings is the Iron Cross, which is executed by extending both arms straight out from the sides of the body while suspended mid air for at least two seconds.” I could do this in my youth and it seemed so simple then but a lot of “fat” has gone under the bridge. I am urged on when I watch the Circ Du Soleil and the performance of the gymnasts. Surely I can do this without ripping my arms out of their sockets. Some have suggested that I will rip my arms out of their sockets. This will be quite a bet and a surprise, possibly.

I have a trainer, not just a trainer, but “THE TRAINER”
I will get there.


To be continued.