Breaking 50

That was the goal today - break 50 reps for each drill. Why 50? Sit back and let me tell you a little tale.

When I pulled up at the gym today, I wondered why there were so many cars there. Strange. I went in, changed my clothes and proceeded to the Tae Kwon Do room to do some serious bodyweight training. In my mind, I was putting together all kinds of killer moves I could try out. As I approached the TKD room door, I noticed it was closed. A closed door never stopped me before, so I opened it.

What I saw was beyond words. There was a sea of pink and purple and music playing. That's all I can tell you because I'm trying to block it out of my mind. I think my retinas are damaged.

Okay, change of training plans. Quick!

I find an empty corner and test my ROM on various traditional lifts. Presses and Sumo DLs test well. Thank goodness! Oh wait. I need my plateau buster from the TKD room. Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

I slip in trying to go unnoticed. I unlock my PB from the bike chain and roll it out, loaded with 150 lbs. I was about as subtle as a rhino. At least I could keep my eyes on the floor to avoid the horrible scene in that room.

I made it out alive. To celebrate, I decide to see if I can DL more than I did during my last session. I loaded various weights and found 280 to my liking. Intensity PR

I grab a 25 lb. plate to do waiter plate presses with. I find my best position (scissors stance, twist, watching plate) and start pressing. 5 reps feels pretty good.

Time to DL. The first set is a set of 5. Feels good.

Alternating between the two drills really worked well for me today. They put my body in contrary positions, which relieves pain for me. So guess what? No pain; great gain. I figured I could go for 10 sets like this. That would result in my breaking 50.

My numbers increased as I went along, so I ended up only having to do 9 sets to break 50 reps on each drill. Here's the finally tally:

Waiter Press Left - 51 reps
Waiter Press Right - 56 reps
Sumo DL - 52 reps

Total Weight Moved - 17,235 lbs.

Had I let the scene in the TKD room deter me, I wouldn't have moved anything, nor would I have set a PR. As a bonus, I got in some great grip work with the heavy DL.

The moral to the story is "Don't let others get in your way of doing what you need to do." It's easy to find an excuse NOT to train. However, this will never result in results.