Thursday, October 25, 2012

Lifting Weights


 I was watching Arnold Schwarzenegger  on CNN in an interview. He was saying he still lifts weights  in his mid 60s of 175 to 200 pounds or more regularly. I do the same with only 50 to 60 pounds to keep my rotator cusps in shape so I don't tear them skiing or doing something else. Because I would still like to be able to move my arms above my head. And many men over 50 or 60 years of age can't because they have seriously torn their rotator cusps which allow them to do that. So, I was thinking that I could slowly move from what I lift now with weights which are between 50 and 60 pounds regularly over my head up slowly on a monthly basis to 100 and then to 200 since I am 6 foot 5 inches tall and when I was 20 I could lift 200 to 300 pounds over my head then as well. So, likely since I have a good diet I might be able to still do that if I move slowly up the weights at my present age which is 64. I can still lift 300 pounds or more in an emergency and have done that but I prefer not to because I worry about collapsing a disc at this age. I used to be able to push 1000 pounds with my legs and feet also when I was 20 as long as I didn't have to carry it with my spine. So, back then I could lift the front end of a VW bug off the ground easily and hold it there for awhile. This was useful when I drove my bug in snow and got stuck. So, sometimes I would just slowly walk the bug around in a circle and sometimes I could get unstuck from snow or mud this way. By the way, a VW bug since the engine was in the rear is almost like a 4 wheel drive in many situations.

Whenever the engine of your car is over the drive wheels it is an advantage. But watch out on front wheel drives coming downhill in snow or ice as your rear wheels tend to come around to the front so be careful of that on ice.

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