Some days, the small victories get you through

Two months and change past elbow surgery and the biggest drag in the gym is trying to go overhead with a weighted barbell. Today we were doing push presses from the rack in threes, and I *knew* what the problem was going to be -- the downward part of the lift, where you have already put it up there and are bringing it back down. For some reason, *that* is the aspect that is still giving me the most pain. So I adapted -- walked away from the rack, set up a barbell on the floor and decided to do some moderately heavy power cleans followed by a split jerk. This allowed me just to toss the bar down to the ground (the miracle of rubber bumper plates) from the top of the lift. Victory. Made my day and the day had barely begun.

It is a strange mixture of confidence, enthusiasm and faith in yourself that allows you to throw that bar up there, dive under it and catch it. I love it and despise it, almost simultaneously.

Here is the lift, done by someone else, at a heavier weight, but you get the idea.








This, on the other hand, is Devo (wow, does this sound old, and fairly ridiculous).