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Saturday, May 16, 2015

Sweet Baby Jesus, and I Need Some New Friends

Dead lifts yesterday, 100 at I don't know how much weight but Tom the Trainer put some plates on the 40 pound bar.  By the fourth round I was repeating the name of this blog post in my mind like a mantra.



We alternated those with step ups on a step that was not three inches, as I believed last blog, but SIX inches high.  

Next up were push ups on a lower bar, then pull ups thusly (you've seen this photo before)



except I had to tap my rear on the ground before hauling myself back up, and I can't remember what the third thing in this superset was.  Must be brain fog -  point me to the volcano.




A lot of crunches, tricep dips and then bicep curls with twelve pounders while stepping up on the step.




Did you know that when someone forces you to completely lower your arms at the bottom of a bicep curl, that it is that much harder then to curl the weights back up?  I know this now.

So - the show I will be entering next year is coming up.


I'm going not only to cheer on my gym-mate (who, incidentally, has become incredibly cranky lately - all that cardio and lack of carbs, no doubt), but to have a look at any competitors in my age range.  It looks as though they have a masters category (45 and up) which is a relief, unless everyone next year is 45 and one day.

This Oregon lady is 66 and still competing:





Which brings me to something that's been bothering me.  I was at a gathering recently, and someone asked me how my training was going.  I responded that it was going very well.  I was then asked what it entailed, and I responded that I did 45 minutes, three days a week with the trainer and one hour of cardio every day.  Well, a lot of these people looked at me as if I had grown a second head.  There then ensued a somewhat animated discussion with a male wherein, after some assertions by him,  I informed him that we don't have to lose muscle tone as we age - yes, our skin gets crepey and our hair thins out but there is no age-related reason to lose muscle tone if we keep working it.  The wave of negativity I experienced after I made this statement was almost like a blow; he might as well have just called me a liar out loud (except I think he knows I can take him).

It has stuck with me, despite my efforts to shrug it off, and it is dove-tailing with my general unhappiness about living in the only red part of a blue state.  It's as if I've lost my tribe and am wandering around alone and isolated, and now even more so because I choose to get and stay fit and strong where all around me most people are weak and unwell.  Even the ladies who walk regularly in my neighborhood wouldn't dream of adding more miles to their morning trek, despite walking the same route and distance every day for longer than the five years I've lived here.

So I've made up my mind to start seeking out other physically fit people, and making some new friends, maybe some with similar interests.  Maybe I'll meet some like-minded people at the bodybuilding show, or online, or at the gym.  There's one lady in my neighborhood who expressed an interest in running with me, so at least I have one other person around who's willing to push herself.

I don't understand it, but I guess I don't need to.  I just need to push forward alone and be satisfied with that.  So I will.
























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