You may remember me posting about Two personal bests in a week: Freedom, in which I jumped 8.4 pounds (3.8 kilograms) in my Turkish get-up to 70 pounds, plus lifted more in my presses. I think I commented that part of why I tried it when I did was because it was the end of a month with 31 days.

I do a six-day exercise cycle starting on the first of the month, so several times a year I have days to experiment.

Well, last month had 31 days, so I tried my next 70-pound Turkish get-up. I had a few wobbly get-ups in August so even though I had done it before, I treated this attempt with respect. I concentrated on form. I was pleasantly surprised that it came to me with no problem this morning.

I also hit another personal best or two during my regular lifting days, which gave me confidence, but still to focus on form.

Doing it a second time reminded me of the three times I rowed more than 5,000 meters in 20 minutes. The first time, maybe I got lucky, though there’s not much luck in rowing on a machine. The second time still could have been a fluke. The third, though, meant I did it consistently. No one could say I didn’t achieve it.

I did that feat over ten years ago. I was already in my 40s, well past my physical prime. I wonder if I’d be able to accomplish that feat again. I suppose my body would be capable of it if I focused on it, but my goal in fitness includes fitting it into my life, which means supporting my mission in leadership in sustainability.

Still, today’s accomplishment felt good. I figured since I counted three times rowing at that pace, I’d count three times doing 70-pound Turkish get-ups as legitimizing the achievement.

Perspective

I don’t know what age I feel inside, but I don’t yet feel like I’m 54. Still, I can hardly imagine rowing 5,000 meters in 20 minutes. When I row for 20 minutes now, I row significantly slower. Beyond my body having a harder time going faster, my mind doesn’t want to. I never expected that feeling.

With the weights increasing, part of me wishes I’d lifted more when I was younger, could recover faster, and for the effort I’m investing, would probably improve faster to higher potentials. Then again, before lifting, I ran marathons so wasn’t inactive.

The serious exercise was when I played ultimate in my twenties and early thirties. At tournaments I’d play three games Saturday then three more games Sunday. I can’t imagine that level of output from me now, not remotely. Had I rowed then, I could have rowed a lot farther than 5,000 meters in 20 minutes and could have kept rowing longer.

Still, I nearly hit 5,000 meters in 20 minutes again five years ago. I wonder if I’ll ever try again. Whether I do or not, in the meantime, I feel good about the second 70-pound Turkish get-up and other personal bests this week. Something about reaching that kettle bell liberates me that whenever I start tapering to lower weights, it will be on my terms, not giving up.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I find myself making 70 pounds standard for my get-ups for a while. At one time, the 28 kilogram kettle bell seemed impossible but it’s standard now.

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