Today wasn’t just setting a PR, it was achieving a milestone.

“Week 3”

• 5/3/1 – Bench Press (working max: 235#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x95
  • 1x5x120
  • 1x3x145
  • 1x5x180 (work)
  • 1x3x200
  • 1x3x225 (PR)
• Asst. #1 – Bench Press
  • 5 x 10/10/10/10/6 x 135
• Asst. #2 – 1-Arm Dumbbell Rows
  • 5 x 10 x 60
• Then I grabbed a set of light dumbbells and did a set of flies to failure. Then a set of triceps rope-handle pushdowns to failure, drop weight, continue to failure again. Then grabbed a barbell and did curls to failure, drop weight, continue to failure. Pump, baby.

Today wasn’t just a PR, it was a milestone.

I’ve NEVER bench pressed 225 in my life. 225 is a milestone because that means you’ve got 2 45# plates on each side of the barbell: 135, 225, 315, 405, 495, 585, etc.. are the “round numbers” of weightlifting. I’ve been long looking forward to hitting this milestone and finally did it after much setback.

Gym owner was spotting me… said I probably could have gotten 5, but I was happy with 1. I was totally distracted. He was standing over me, very close, totally in my field of view, and it distracted me far more than I thought it would. So I was thinking more about him than the bar path, the weight, etc.. He was doing the right things spotting, it just threw me more than I expected so I figured 3 was good enough lest I risk hurting myself. There’s more reps to do later. 🙂

And doing the final little pump set? Well… I’ll have to write about my recent rethinkings. That’s coming once I have time to write.

In terms of next big milestones, I’m looking forward to 315# squat, 405# deadlift, 185# press… and the 1000# club. It’ll be some time before I get to those, but every day is progress in some way. Of course, the next little milestone is just another 5#, another rep, doing better than I did before.