Yesterday I outlined my Quest To Be Decent. Today I tackled four more exercises.
- EZ Bicep Curl - Since I take a functional approach to weight lifting I rarely do direct arm work, but I knew I’d easily get a Decent score on this exercise. Sure enough I nailed 90 for reps. No problem. A Good score is 135 pounds. Don’t know if that is going to happen with my tiny wrists.
- Pull-Ups - I’m Mr. Low Rep, so maxing out on my favorite exercise is new territory. I’d rather strap on a weight belt and plate than go beyond 5 reps. I already have a Decent score, so I think this will be my first Good score. Today I did another 15. I should have 20 reps by the end of the year.
- Bent Rows - Back in my home gym days, I used to do this exercise all the time. These days I’ve been doing 1-arm dumbbell rows with 110 pounds (that is where my Glitter Gym tops out at). Since I haven’t done a barbell row in a long time, I just did 3 sets of 5 with 135.
- Leg Press - This is an asinine exercise that I would never do unless it was listed in the article. I suppose if one was ever buried the rubble of an earthquake they might get an opportunity to push silly amounts of weight with their leg muscles. I followed my new exercise rule and did two low rep sets using 135 and 185.
My 2008 Training Scorecard so far is 6/12 Decent or 50%. I expect Dips will be my next Decent milestone.
Comments
Melissa
November 12 at 2008 at 12:47 AM
gulp The leg press is my favorite exercise. Ever. Why is it asinine??
MAS
November 12 at 2008 at 1:55 AM
You know me. I’m a big fan of compound functional movements. It is easy to lift an insane amount of weight isolating just the leg muscles. The surrounding muscles don’t get a bit stronger and the strength gains don’t carry over. I believe strength imbalances often turn into injury.
Do a single body weight squat and hold it with perfect posture for a full minute. It is tougher and more humbling than leg pressing hundreds of pounds.