Personal Records

Hi,

Had a good day at the gym on Thursday.  Set a new personal record on the leg press machine.  1125 pounds. 

That is a lot of weight.  Especially for someone who only weighs +/- 180.  In all fairness I kept the safety bars locked so I was only pressing the last part of the leg press.  But, still I had never done that much weight before, so I was happy.

Two points I would like to make here. 

First is that you can make progress and gain strength even by doing partial reps.  And they are a lot safer. 

While it is important to do full range of motion exercises, it is not the only way to go.  When the weight starts getting too heavy to do full reps, then do some partial reps.

This does two things.  It extends the time of the set, which is important.  (More on this part in a future post).

And it lets you handle heavier weight in a safe postion.  Handling heavier weights lets you build strength.  It gets your body used to the heavy weight.

As you go heavier you get stronger.  And the lighter weight you were using for full range movements will seem pretty easy.  You will be able to increase the weight you were using and still do the full range movements. 

So you will be stronger. 

The second point is that going for personal records or personal bests is a great way to stay motivated. 

Now you don't have to go for personal bests every time you workout.  Your body won't be able to sustain that for long. 

I have not been able to do squats (with weights) since my back surgery about 10 years ago.  So I am very careful when I do any exercises. 

I had sort of given up on personal records since the surgery.  Of course I still exercised and have kept in fantastic shape as I have aged.  But, it has been a long time since I was able to press anywhere near that weight. 

So it felt great - made me feel 20 years younger.  And you should use this as motivation for your own personal records. 

Now, I am 61 years old (all the pictures on my website are at my current age - http://www.valshealthsite.com/about.html )and still setting personal records.  So don't give me any excuses for being too old to set your own records and push yourself a little in the gym. 

Good luck,

Mike Val
http://www.valshealthsite.com/