A weighty subject

Image borrowed from www.AmericanFitness.net.

I was called in to sub at 6:55 this morning. School starts at 7:45, so I had to hurry.

The football/track coach had been ill for several days, but kept on coming to work and practice. Finally, after morning track practice, he could go no more.

Hence my late summons to work. Coach mostly teaches weightlifting.

I haven’t lifted weights for a long time. The last time I did free weights was probably in 1993. I was told the kids would know what they were doing, but I would have preferred to know more about proper weightlifting form. I did not want to be present when someone was injured because they did something wrong. But I had little choice in the situation.

I facebooked my brother. He played college football and lifted a lot of heavy iron. I jokingly asked him if he’d come to help me. (Of course, that would be impossible.)

He said he wouldn’t because “…[T]hey’d hurt me or I’d hurt myself.”

Oh, well. I noted what I was doing on my own Facebook page.

Friend Sheri said simply, “Yikes!”

Friend Dennis, who was a champion body builder, had a rather different response:
“Sounds fun, Roxie. Go hard or go home.”

I watched the kids lift all day. Some of them had quite a bit of weight on their bars. I was impressed.

Once the students were gone, I could not resist the opportunity to test myself. I know better than to pump iron or use a machine while alone. But I just had to see what I could lift. I started going upwards from 20 lbs. I could lift up to 30 lbs. easily with my right arm. (I’m not to be lifting left-handed right now and I remembered that just in time!) Forty lbs. was hard. I could lift it above my elbow, but no farther. The 45-lb. weight came about six inches off the rack and would go no higher. The 50-lb. weight didn’t move at all.

I felt like a wuss.

I told Hubby about it when I came home. He said, “They are younger and have been doing this for awhile. You haven’t.“

True and yet another birthday is soon to arrive. Oh well. I can generally lift what I need to lift. Isn’t that what matters?