Little by little becomes a lot

Summer 2019 fitness has come and gone for Pierini Fitness as he begins the first week of his Fall 2019 fitness training.  How time flies when we’re having fun.

You may recall that earlier this year, I shared my Summer 2019 fitness goals so now it’s time for an executive briefing giving an accountability report to my Pierini Fitness sports fans.  Today, I’m having a body fat measurement test because that was one of my goals.  Then, I’ll give that executive briefing, hopefully on Friday in a couple days.

I’m also finalizing my Fall 2019 fitness goals and will also share them at the same time.

None of these goals are spectacular in the worldwide fitness community but they are little, meaningful and challenging to me, and that’s the way it should be.  SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timetable) fitness goals that help guide me in my perpetual middle-aged man fitness, health and wellness journey.

Because, with consistent fitness training while trying to live a good and wholesome life, little by little becomes a lot.

  

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Pullups and bar dips test

Two staples in my fitness training rotation are pullups and bar dips.  I regularly perform them, both bodyweight-only and weight-added versions.  They’ve served me well, so I’ll continue to do them until further notice.

One way to measure progress is by how many repetitions of each exercise I can perform in a single set.  At this point in my middle-aged man fitness training journey, what I’m able to do is less than what I’ve done in the past.

Nonetheless, it’s still good to test myself occasionally, and recently I did so.

Here’s a recent effort with pullups:

And here’s a recent effort with bar dips:

My lifetime know best effort for a single set is 18 repetitions for pullups and 25 repetitions for bar dips.  This means where I’m currently at is a little less in relation to where I’ve been.  I’m OK with this and will keep marching forward in my fitness training.

And part of this fitness training will be to occasionally do a pullups and bar dips test.

  

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Good way to blast my shoulders

I don’t consider myself to be a super-strong middle-aged man but am decent when it comes to the overhead press lift.  I remember years ago spending time working my barbell overhead press and got as high as 175 lbs. for a single repetition before moving on to “bigger and better” training.  Now, that training is using kettlebells. 

I enjoy taking them with me wherever I go.  Last Friday, one week ago today, I took them with me to Santa Cruz and put them to work for an overhead press workout at nearby La Selva Beach.

My workout consisted of ten rounds pressing a pair of 24kg kettlebells, starting a new round every three minutes.  I concluded with a bonus round using a pair of 20kg kettlebells. 

I enjoyed this workout as I do most of my workouts.  The background ocean breeze and sunny day made for a great outdoor training experience taking 30:37 to complete.

Double overhead press work with a pair of challenge-appropriate kettlebells is always a good way to blast my shoulders.

  

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum