A Year of Weightlifting in Review: 2020

 

George Hackenschmidt, circa 1905. Guy was Brock Lesnar before Brock Lesnar.

2020 was a fairly successful year in my lifting hobby. I benched 315 lbs for the first time, a fifteen pound record, squatted 275 for thirteen reps, rack pulled 570 about two inches below the knees, and performed a quarter squat with 500 lbs, all while staying around 195 lbs in bodyweight. I had a bad pec tendon injury that kept me from benching since pressing 315, but in the meantime, I've focused on overhead pressing, without a whole lot to show for it. The press is a difficult beast; adding five pounds to a lift seems to take an eternity. Early in the year, I did the Juggernaut Method for a couple of cycles, while my bench pressing gains came from doing an Antony Ditillo program I dug up years ago. Recently, I've been pressing, pulling, and squatting three times a week, sticking to low reps. At thirty five years of age, I'm not an old man by any means, but I don't find the time to do the marathon training sessions of years past. Also, I find I need to pay attention to minor aches and pains or they develop rather quickly into chronic injuries, like my pec tendon problem. As far as the future is concerned, I'd love to do a strongman competition sometime this year if Covid ever goes away. I bought an atlas stone mold, and my recent focus on the overhead press is geared toward making me competitive in that area. Mostly though, I find myself just being content with being strong and capable as the years go by. Some of the goals of the past have been abandoned; I never really see myself doing a powerlifting meet, and I also don't want to gain much in the way of bodyweight at this point. The fact that I still find lifting weights interesting is enough. I also started experimenting with meditation, and I find that it conveys full body benefits by way of improved breathing and mental focus. So that's that. I'd like to strict press 225 lbs this years, as well as pull 600 lbs from the floor. If it happens, it happens. If not, well, I'll still be fitter and stronger than I ever thought I'd be.