Well, maybe I’m not weak compared to most guys my age, but for me; yup.
For my peers, very weak.
I came to this realization yesterday.
And it made me do some thinking. Surprisingly, I didn’t get mad, or wonder how it happened.
I know how it happened.
I just don’t know how to fix it.
You see, I’ve never been what I call strong. I was fast. I was never a grinder. Heavy lifts were made with speed. I’m also not too fast anymore.
And I know why.
I just don’t know how to fix it.
But I’m going it figure it out.
So, if you are still reading you may be wondering how this happened.
I train like an 80’s gym douche now. Pretty much all upper body. Not by choice.
- Not being able to squat, deadlift or do most lower body movements has made me weak.
- Not being able to perform Dynamic Lower Body work has also contributed.
- Not being able to do heavy Farmer’s Walks and Stone Lifting has been a major reason too.
A core component of Old Man Conjugate is to find what you can do, and do it. And I have been.
I’ve been hitting upper body pretty hard and my bench is starting to come back.
315 is right around the corner on my bench. Again, not impressive, but not long ago I couldn’t do an empty bar. I’ll take 315 as a huge success especially at my much lower body weight.
I’m also doing as much lower body work as the hip can tolerate.
As a matter of fact, I did step ups last week to an 11” box with 20 pound dumbells in each hand.
This may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but it was huge.
I’ve also started doing an exercise I said I would never do.
The dreaded leg extension. I rig up the Reverse Hyper with a band and some weight and sit on it and do extensions. And I do the staples, Back Attack, GHR’s, 45 Degree Back Raises and have been able to add in some sled dragging.
This is all part of WHAT I CAN DO.
It’s just not enough.
Gaining strength or even maintaining it without training lower body seems impossible. For the life of me, I’ll never understand how Vincent benched as much as he did without being able to squat and pull.
But he did, I better talk to him.
Anyway, being weak is something I never thought I would be. I don’t like it.
I’m going to figure it out and fix it.
My point here is that we all need to find ways to maintain our strength. And try to improve it.
For the healthy, you have to squat and deadlift. You just have to. They make you strong(er).
For the injured, or older lifter, you have to find a way to work around what is broken.
Weakness is a crime.
I don’t want to be a criminal anymore.
Let this serve as a positive message for anyone reading in a similar situation. Don’t dwell on the past, or what you used to be able to do. Find things you can do.
Then do them.
And then find more.
Here’s to a better 2021.
Have a safe and happy New Year.
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Vincere vel mori
C.J. Murphy
December 31, 2020
