The Summer months are traditionally a time for outdoor activities. “Fun in the sun,” as the saying goes. Regardless of where you may live, July and August are meant to be spent outdoors. Even though New York Summers are usually hot and humid, most of us will gravitate to the outdoors.
Naturally, “Fun in the sun” may have different meanings for different people. Those of us who like to “hoist the steel” may find ourselves lifting outside, despite the heat, humidity, and the accompanying discomfort.
I don’t think any serious lifter enjoys lifting in the stifling humidity of a July or August afternoon. I remember when I trained at Bruno’s, Larry would have this large fan set up in the back of the gym, facing the lifting area. While it provided a small measure of relief in the form of air movement, the extremely loud noise ( I sometimes think that Larry built it from an old airplane propeller) meant that your ears would be ringing for hours after the workout. And for those of you who train in commercial gyms, where central air conditioning is seemingly a prerequisite for membership, at Bruno’s air conditioning was simply out of the question.
Since I have been doing all of my training at home for the last five years or so, lifting outside is simply accepted as a fact of life. I’ve done Deadlifts outside during all sorts of weather: The chill of Winter, the relentless heat of Summer, it doesn’t matter. Getting in a quality workout sometimes means that you must simply employ the tactic of mind over matter.
Each year on my birthday, I like to perform a special “challenge” workout. Over the years, I’ve utilized various lifts or exercises in which to challenge myself, but by far my favorite movement is taking my 180 Lb. granite sphere and lift it to my shoulder for a number or reps equal to my age. I have only recently begun to realize that, at some point, I will reach the point of diminishing returns, but for now, at least, I am happy to challenge myself by adding a rep each year.
Before I go into the details of my birthday challenge, I would like to point out another challenge in which I had the pleasure of participating. For the last several years, Kathy Leistner has hosted a fund-raising event at her home. It usually involves one or more heavy movements for reps. In the past, Farmer’s Walks, Trap Bar Deadlifts, Overhead Presses, and other events have been tested.
The whole idea of the day is to raise money for the Dr. Ken Leistner Memorial Scholarship at Logan University, located in Chesterfield, MO. Dr. Ken received his Doctor of Chiropractic from Logan University, and for the last several years the school has endowed a scholarship in Dr. Ken’s name. By hosting an event at her home each year, Kathy is able to provide a challenging – yet enjoyable- way of bringing lifters together for a great cause. Personally, I am very honored that she has invited me, along with many others who have been positively influenced by Dr. Ken. For those readers who, like many of us, have a great deal of admiration and respect for Dr. Ken and his contributions to Strength in all its forms, I encourage you to consider donating to this great cause.
Anyway, on July 12 of this year, I participated in Kathy’s event. It was a typical hot, humid day, and coming straight from a 24 hour shift at work did not raise my spirits, but I was determined to be there and take part in the day’s activities, as well as catch up with a bunch of Iron Island members from days past. And while I was only able to complete 26 reps with 300 Lbs on the Trap Bar Deadlift, I felt pretty good about the fact that I had a week to rest before my real challenge: Lifting my 180 Lb. Stone to my shoulder 61 times.
Sunday, July 20 was an extremely humid day. The middle of July is not known for being cool and comfortable, but sometimes during the performance of these birthday challenges, I do kind of wish that I had been born during the Fall. But not for long, since July is a great time of the year.
Anyway, for my 61st birthday, my goal was simple: Lift my 180 Lb. sphere from the ground to my shoulder a total of 61 times. I started the day, as I start all my days: My daily Magnificent Seven Ab Exercises, followed by 107 Push-Ups, and 231 reps with my Neckflex apparatus. Then, later on in the day, I would tackle the stone. As I mentioned before, the humidity was stifling, but at least it wasn’t raining. I planned on doing six reps at a time, and because of the aforementioned humidity, it worked out perfectly. It wasn’t long before the sweat was cascading from my head onto the stone, as well as the drop pad ( a recent purchase). But numerous breaks to towel off my hands and forearms ( I refuse to use tacky) and to stay hydrated allowed me to continue at a fairly steady pace. As the reps kept adding up, I felt a slight bit of momentum and was getting into a nice rhythm. As I passed fifty reps, I knew that there would be no way that I would not be successful. In fact, I was so in tune with what I was doing that I inadvertently finished with 63 reps, two more than my age.
After I finished off my granite sphere, I decided to pay homage to the history of York Barbell and did 61 reps with my vintage York Krusher. By this time fatigue was beginning to set in, and I decided that I would “live to fight another day,” so to speak, and I called it a birthday.
As I write these words almost a week later, I am grateful to still be able to lift and work out. As we get older, we learn to appreciate the little things in life. And being able to work hard and push ourselves is a gift that we should never take for granted.
