thirty down

I am running out of things to post, so I will update on my fitness journey.

I haven’t made significant strength progress, slowly getting better but it’s only been about 2 weeks so I didn’t expect much yet.

I did try a real bench press for the first time in years, and it was worse than I expected. I thought the machine chest press would translate pretty well, or at least the dumbbell bench press. But I managed to get like 165 for like 4 reps or something, which has a 1RM calculation of 180. So I am not super close to 200 just yet.

One exercise that continues to increase at a fast pace is my leg extension. I went from 115 lbs for set of 12 at the start, to 235 lbs for a set of 12. Literally doubled the weight in the last 2.5 months. Which is kind of bonkers. I managed to max out the machine including the little 5 lb increment thing you can flip on. It’s not entirely suprising since I have been a big cycling fan over the last 2 or 3 summers. But it’s a little embarassing to have a leg extension 1 RM higher than my squat.

For my grip, I have not gotten stronger on the dynamometer, but I have seen a lot of improvements in endurance. I had started to bring straps to the gym because my grip was giving out before the end of the workout, but now I don’t need them. Which is neat, but I’d prefer a longer lifespan thanks.

I’ve lost another 5 lbs since the last update, so officially 30 down from the starting weight, 40 more to go. Almost halfway there!

I will say I have become sick of the chicken + potato + broccoli meal, my god. At least the chicken. So I need to experiment with something new soon.