The Quest To Be Decent Part 5

Today I nailed my first GOOD score on my Quest To Be Decent. As Ronnie Coleman would say – YEAH BUDDY!

1. Pull-Ups – The 3rd time is a charm. My first GOOD score ever is on the pull-up. At the start of 2008 I could only do 5 consecutive reps. Today I did 20. I almost blacked out. Have I mentioned how much I dislike high-reps? Another way to look at that is I weigh 200 pounds. 200 * 20 = 4000 pounds. 2 tons! Will I now go for 30 reps and a GREAT score? Not yet. I’m going back to weighted pull-ups.
2. EZ Bicep Curl – Threw 5 more pounds on this exercise. Now curling 105 for reps. Want to improve your bicep curl? Do lots of pull-ups.
3. Leg Press – Decided this exercise is too silly to risk injury on at this time. If I succeed on the monster moves (dead lift, squat, bent-row) then I will revisit the leg press.
4. Dead Lift – In 2007, I injured myself on the dead lift. It was the worst pain I’ve ever had in my life. And at the time I swore off the dead lift. In retrospect, I now believe my injury was caused by tight hamstrings and wearing running shoes. Since August, I’ve been stretching daily and I NEVER would step into a gym wearing running shoes. With that said, I’ve come out of dead lift retirement. Today I effortlessly did 205 for reps.

This will most likely be the last installment of the Quest for a few months. The next round of targets are pretty far off. The bench press will likely be next. That could happen in two months or never. The monster moves will likely take a full year since my primary goal is not to be injured. And if I can’t be Decent on the monster moves without risking injury, I will abort the Quest. Baby steps.

My 2008 Training Scorecard is 7/12 Decent and 1/12 Good.