Weightlifting

I’ve mentioned several times over the years in this blog that I lift weights every other day. I credit that practice as one of the factors in my excellent health for a man my age. A reader asked what my weightlifting consists of. Here’s the answer:

I do thirteen different exercises in a routine that takes over two hours. My goal is to regularly do three sets of twelve repetitions (reps) of each exercise. Most often, I keep doing reps until I reach twenty, then increase the weight in each hand by five pounds. Once I feel that I have reached the ideal weight for a particular exercise, I stick with twelve reps until it begins to feel too easy, then again increase the weight in each hand by five pounds.

The thirteen exercises are pushup, sit-up, military press, bench press, leg lift, shrug, fly, bench curl, lateral raise, upright row, 3-way curl, 2-arm tricep extension, and hammer curl. I pace for thirty breaths between the sets and take a short break after the three sets of a single exercise before I move on to the next exercise.

Early last June, I underwent eye surgery to correct a disorder that caused my lower eyelids to droop. That meant I had to cease weightlifting until my eyes returned to normal to avoid the pressure that heavy exercise puts on the eyes. As a result, between the last day of May and October 16, 2022, I couldn’t exercise at all. Then I had to get back into it gradually. It was like starting all over again. Only now am I approaching the level I had achieved before the surgery.

More next time.