- I don’t quite remember exactly, but I think I may have said on here once before that I think my 1 rep max on the bench press would be about 225-230 lb. This wasn’t my “actual” 1 rep max. It was more theoretical, as I had never actually been able to push up that much weight before. What was this theoretical max based on exactly? Well, on my 1st day back using the real bench in about 3 or 4 years (I had been coasting on easy street using a Smith machine), I attempted 225 lb. and failed…but I took it as a good sign considering I barely failed (got the bar 6-8 inches off my chest before the weight started dropping) and that it had been so long since I had last lifted on a real bench that I told myself that I had basically no muscle memory for that particular exercise anyway. Also, I had been able to muster 1 set of 3 reps of 205 lb. pretty easily a few weeks later, so I figured 225 lb. was within reach. So, there’s where I derived my theoretical 1 rep max from. In reality though, even though it was a set of 3, 205 lb. was technically the most I had ever lifted on the bench, and therefore it was technically my max also I guess…until yesterday, when I was able to push out 1 rep of 215 lb. It came somewhat easily even after doing 4 sets on the incline bench and 2 sets on the flat bench before that. So, in my head I believe I could still probably get 225 lb. up once, but in the real world where you can look at real events that actually happened (or didn’t happen) I can at least say that 215 lb. is my new 1 rep max.
- I have had my fair share of sports-related injuries, but as I’m basically in the prime of the “weekend warrior” phase of my athlete life I will pretty much resort to using whatever amount of braces or athletic tape is necessary to patch me up so I can at least be out on the field/court. In that same light, ice packs, Advil, heating pads, and Bengay have all become essential items in between sporting events. Bearing all that in mind, nothing is more frustrating than incurring an injury while you are doing seemingly nothing at all. Almost 2 years ago I sprained my left MCL hopping over a dog gate at my in-law’s house…it took about 6 months before I was really pain-free, and even now it will flare-up every once in a while. This spring I had nothing short of the most intense back spasm I had ever felt (I seriously thought I might pass out from the pain) while I was just sitting in my chair at work. A few weeks ago, I committed 1 of the ultimate old man injuries when I strained my groin (of all things) trying to slide a box across the floor with my foot. I didn’t think much of it until a few days later when I felt a twinge in that same groin as I was just trying to open a door. I don’t believe I actually pulled it, and walking wasn’t a problem, but any type of movement that involved twisting or bending wasn’t fun. Aside from that, I am actually (knock on wood) relatively healthy right now. I have taken a few weeks off from running, which seems to have benefitted my Achilles (which were starting to get pretty sore in both legs). My back, shoulder, knees, and ankles all feel pretty good. The only thing is that I have had a sore wrist the last week or 2, which I think I hurt while lifting, but if that is the worst thing I will take it. This writing space has been filled with mostly stuff other than injury reports over the past few months, and I would like to keep it that way.
- Even though many will debate their legitimacy, I have always been fascinated with dreams. Are they actually windows into our subconscious, or are they just bits and pieces of leftover garbage floating through our synapses as we’re sleeping? Or can they be (as I think) a little bit of both? Out of my own dreams, the ones that are the most interesting are those that are not only vivid and clear, but realistic as well. No matter how “vivid,” if the dream involves me riding unicorns while shooting leprechauns with machine guns, chances are that I will know it’s a dream while the dream is still going on. No, to me the really freaky ones involve situations that could actually happen, and you start to get this kind of “Inception” feeling that blurs the dream from what is real. Once I dreamt that Krissy and I were in Pennsylvania somewhere (either at my Uncle Scott’s or my grandfather’s old mountain farm house), and we were being attacked by a snake. (Killer snakes have plagued my dreams since I was a little kid for some reason. And I think snakes are more cool than scary too, but I digress…) At one point the snake lunged at us, and I instinctively tried to kicked it…only I actually kicked our bedroom wall in my sleep, nearly breaking my big toe. Well last night, I had a dream that I was playing in a pick-up basketball game in my old elementary school gym with a bunch of guys that I had gone to school there with. We were all grown up, but I could make out everyone’s faces clearly: Jimmy Osborne, Mike Fitzpatrick, Scott Shores, and others. Mike Fitzpatrick was an odd choice because while I was friends with him, I wasn’t “best” friends or anything, and I haven’t seen the guy in probably almost 10 years. Some of the others like Scott and Jimmy might have been triggered because I just saw them a week or 2 ago, but Mike Fitzpatrick?!? Really? Anyway, in the dream I played horribly: missing wide open fast break layups, turning the ball over, etc. Making matters worse, I seem to remember incessantly arguing about calls, the score, and generally acting like an asshole (which is something I would probably really do if I was playing that badly in real life). Even with all that, it was the furthest thing possible from a freaky-scary dream, but it was freaky none of the less. What would cause me to have that dream? Is it predicting some kind of prophetic basketball game flop of a performance? Am I suffering from some other kind of anxiety or fear of failure or something? Who knows, but it beats waking up to a throbbing toe I guess though.
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