"You're huge, dad."

Tuesday, April 2, 2013
I’d started my Survival Workout with 90 inclined push-ups…no record, but a decent number and followed that with 13 chins from my pull-up branch.  I was feeling pretty good about myself and thinking about adding some extra upper body stuff since my lower abdominal was still hurting from the running I’d done over the weekend.  I did a set of rows with two rocks piled on top of each other and added in a set of biceps curls at my next station.  I’d dropped these from the rotation since I’d developed tendonitis in my right elbow and had a cortisone shot last summer.  It’s never healed.  It didn’t feel too badly while I was doing the sets, but I could definitely feel it as I performed the last lift.

I managed 17 sets for the upper body, which is an excellent number for me.  I was tired, but feeling quite huge.  I drove home and was making some dinner when Jack walked up behind me and grabbed my shoulders.

“Dad…you’re looking huge.  You’ve really got large shoulders and back muscles.  Can you flex them – like this?” he asked.

I turned to watch him roll his shoulders forward and cross his arms in front of himself to flex his back muscles.  I mimicked his move, which impressed him. 

“You get all that without lifting weights?  That’s pretty cool,” he said.

What was pretty cool was the fact that my 18-year old son was impressed with his old man.  He’s really into ‘the look’ and spends countless hours in the gym with many others who feel the same way, so from him, it’s quite a compliment.  I think I may actually get him out on a bike because I’ve convinced him he can’t get calves like mine unless he rides…and he wants them.  Personally, I don’t want to look ‘huge’, much preferring the sleeker build of the cardiovascular athlete.  I’ve done to little of that kind of training over the winter months, but spring looks to be here…if you can believe the forecast for later in the week.  If it’s true, I’ll be doing some serious biking before the weekend’s over.

Survival Workout:  60 minutes

Training Heart Rate:  100-150 bpm.
Calories burned:  600.