"Never eat more than you can lift"

This morning I did something I haven't done in a while: stepped on the scale. Not my bathroom scale - which must be broken because it's been showing me the same number for years - but the doctor's-office-type scale in the Y locker room.

It turns out I've gained 3 pounds, which brings my weight up to a whopping 128 lbs. I'm not particularly concerned yet, since I'm 5'7" and can afford a few pounds. I'm guessing that the weight gain came from two possible sources: 1) the gargantuan amount of bad food I consumed over the holidays, or 2) my increased emphasis on strength training.

I'm choosing to go with door #2 for a couple of reasons. My vanity is certainly one of them, because I'm as capable of self-delusion as anyone else. But the main reason is that my clothes still fit. As a matter a fact, some of them are looser in the butt and thighs than they were before. So I weight more, but my body is the same size (maybe smaller in some places). And KAD pointed out to me that I have muscles showing in my back and arms. Maybe it's time to post the obligatory pic of me flexing for the camera. :p

I've always had some muscular definition - even in my spud phases I had abs - but I really have it now. My arms, shoulders and back are definitely more defined, even more so than when I was swimming in college. Of course, back then I weighed 145# and had very wide shoulders. But even now, as then, I'm greeting the weight gain with some trepidation. I knew that weight gain would be a consequence of concentrating on strength gains. But watching the scale inch up will be difficult. For whatever reason, I've gotten it into my head that 125# is my ideal weight.



Buy-in: 3 rounds (8#/12#/15#)
10 medicine ball squats
10 medicine ball presses
10 medicine ball lunges

WOD: Deadlifts and Push Presses, 3x5

Deadlifts

• Warmup sets @ 65#, 95# and 115#
• 3 x 5 @ 130#

Push presses

• Warmup set @ 45#
• 3 x 5 @ 55#

Thoughts: Really concentrated on form for both these lifts, with lighter weight than I used previously. On the DL, I worked on keeping my back flat and driving my heels into the floor. Felt pretty solid. On the PP's, I really worked on leg drive, trying to give my arms as little of the load as I could. The weight went up easily, which gives me a little more confidence about working my elbow.

Cash out: Pistol progressions