Last week was a deload week for me. It was strange because of how low the weights were. I felt as if it was almost pointless to go in and do anything. One day, rather than the low percentage deadlifts that were programmed, I opted to do a heavy set of 4 with the trap bar. I like the position the trap bar puts me in and since I don’t get to use it very often, it feels relatively new to me.
There are days when I love this Powerbuilder A.I. program and then days when I feel like I am spinning my wheels in mud. I keep telling myself that my goal now is nothing competitive. I am just trying to maintain some level of strength and build when and where I can. I have had zero interest in a 1RM. About two weeks ago, I had a 5RM on some of the lifts and I was somewhere around 80-85% of my 1RM for a set of five. That felt pretty good at the time. It would be nice to hit a PR on the big lifts, but in my head, I know what used to be on the bar. Despite dropping enough weight to be three competitive classes below what I was, wrapping my head around the weight drop on the bar has been super difficult.
Last week, I also turned 45 years old. That too is messing with my head. It isn’t old, but it also feels like it. That sounds stupid, but it is what it is. I cut loose and ate how I wanted to eat. While I haven’t talked much here about weight loss, there is a range that I am working toward staying in. I have a “goal weight” in mind and would like to stay within a few pounds over/under at any given point. When we went on vacation a few weeks ago, I saw a bump on the scale beyond the boundaries I set for myself. Despite what felt like eating cookies all weekend, I woke up Sunday morning just a single pound over the initial goal weight I had set for myself many months ago.
Years ago, I would have given up just about anything to lift what I wanted. Right now, I feel the opposite is true. I would rather look the way that I want to look.
Really the only thing I had asked for on my birthday was a set of adjustable dumbbells. My wife surprised me with a set the night of my birthday when we went shopping and she had them brought to the front desk. Within the Peloton classes, there are many strength classes and I have only been able to do them at the gym here and there. The gym has all of the dumbbells, not the house. With this set of dumbbells now, I am looking to incorporate some more workouts post-cycling.