Weight lifting and leather jackets

[Worf]

This comment reminds me of watching the worlds strongest man contests on TV as a kid....and watching Franco Columbu's leg snap like a chicken wing carrying that fridge.

ACK!! Why did you mention that!!!!! That and Theisman's injury are two sports related experiences I'm TRYING to forget!!!!!

Worf

 

[Superfluous]

 

[Gromulus]

I hope Arnold didn't give Franco the "wrong advices" before that contest!

Bob Young, who Franco was competing against, was the older brother of Doug Young - a top powerlifter back in the late 70s - early 80s (and also the one in my avatar).

 

[ButteMT61]

Like the Joe Theisman leg...LT - the toughest guy out there - can't even believe it.
Still hard to watch this years later...
http://tinyurl.com/hyo5gjt

 

[Guppy]

My friend caught a traffic bollard with a pedal. We couldn't have been going more than, I don't know, 10-12 mph and were talking at that moment and I'll never forget how it just... rocketed him into the air, he was spinning over and over like he was a rag doll or something. Literally everything from his pockets flew out and both of his sneakers got knocked off. I remember thinking at that moment how that was it for him. He 'only' broke his arm, collar bone and dislocated his shoulder.

The weirdest thing about my accident, I had a death grip on the handlebars until I actually hit the pavement. So, when the wheel locked up, I spun, with the bike, over the axis of the front wheel, and hit directly straight down into the pavement. I wasn't wearing a helmet, but tucked my head under and hit squarely on the left shoulder. I hit *so* squarely, that there wasn't even a bit of road rash. I transferred all of my kinetic energy straight down into the ground, and did not scrape my skin! I bounced instead. It was very surprising.

I got back up immediately, and knew that something was wrong with my left arm because I couldn't move it, so I grabbed the bike with my right hand and got out of traffic, and sat on the curb. Despite feeling very certain that I had broken something in the arm, it didn't really hurt until I got to the hospital and they wanted me to attempt to test mobility.

The X-ray they eventually took showed a fracture but not displacement, so they didn't need to set the bone, and just put me in an immobilizing sling for 8 weeks, and then started therapy.

When I started therapy, my arm was so weak that I couldn't move it on its own. To raise my arm, I had to pick it up with my good hand, and then place it on the crank that they wanted me to turn for PT.

That was almost 6 years ago. A couple months ago, I did an incline bench press of 270 lbs. I only weigh 180, and was really, really surprised that I could do that much. I don't normally lift weights, and just wanted to see how much I could do. All this strength has come from swimming laps, and doing push ups.

 

[TREEMAN]

Franko was in pretty good spirits for a man that just broke his leg..........

 

[Gromulus]

The weirdest thing about my accident, I had a death grip on the handlebars until I actually hit the pavement. So, when the wheel locked up, I spun, with the bike, over the axis of the front wheel, and hit directly straight down into the pavement. I wasn't wearing a helmet, but tucked my head under and hit squarely on the left shoulder. I hit *so* squarely, that there wasn't even a bit of road rash. I transferred all of my kinetic energy straight down into the ground, and did not scrape my skin! I bounced instead. It was very surprising.

That was almost 6 years ago. A couple months ago, I did an incline bench press of 270 lbs. I only weigh 180, and was really, really surprised that I could do that much. I don't normally lift weights, and just wanted to see how much I could do. All this strength has come from swimming laps, and doing push ups.

Cycling is a surprisingly dangerous sport. Broken collarbones are very common. A co-worker of mine lost her husband several years ago in a biking accident. He was biking in a park (in Solon, OH) when he crossed the line and a car hit him. These days I usually only bike on the local trails. Sometimes it seems like cars almost go out of their way to make life tough for cyclers.

I have never been enamored with the standard flat bench press for bodybuilding purposes and also substitute inclines instead. A 270# incline is da-n good at that bodyweight! You could probably handle somewhere in the neighborhood of 325 - 350# flat bench.

 

[JDelage]

Nobody wants to talk about the dangers of bike commuting because it's un-PC. Bike commuting in car traffic is very dangerous.

 

[Guppy]

I have never been enamored with the standard flat bench press for bodybuilding purposes and also substitute inclines instead. A 270# incline is da-n good at that bodyweight! You could probably handle somewhere in the neighborhood of 325 - 350# flat bench.

I can't even comprehend attempting that much weight. I was astounded to be able to put up 270#, and still am. I just don't feel like I could be that strong. It was on a machine, rather than free weights, which I understand makes it a bit easier, but even so, I went into the gym that day curious to see what I could do, and wondering if I could put up 200, thinking that even if I could do 180 that was more than I'd ever attempted before, and would make me happy to be able to do my weight.

So I did 200, and it felt to me like I remembered 150 or 120 feeling like, years ago when I was skinny. So I tried 220, put it up easily, thought to myself "WTF? How much can I DO?" and put up 270, twice.

I went back a couple days later and did it again, just to prove to myself that I hadn't dreamed it. I can't do more than 2 reps at that weight, but it's still crazy that I can do it at all.

 

[Gromulus]

I can't even comprehend attempting that much weight. I was astounded to be able to put up 270#, and still am. I just don't feel like I could be that strong. It was on a machine, rather than free weights, which I understand makes it a bit easier, but even so, I went into the gym that day curious to see what I could do, and wondering if I could put up 200, thinking that even if I could do 180 that was more than I'd ever attempted before, and would make me happy to be able to do my weight.

True, a machine lift is not quite the same strength feat as with free wights (no stabilizers muscles at worK, etc. still pretty darn good!

While the squat was always my best powerlift, I haven't flat benched in years, having reached a one rep max of 455# at a bodyweight of 220 way back in the day. Last fall I decided to try and get my flat bench up, just for old times sake. I am a bit smaller these days at 202# and I had a goal of 405# (Four 45 plates per side) at my bodyweight - so 2X. Managed to get there but have since backed down in weight. No need for me to risk any additional injury on top of the wear and tear I already have at almost 59 years old. Of course there are Masters level (i.e. "old man") competitions................hmmm.

 

[JDelage]

It can be a challenge to find clothes that fit when you're a lifter, even at a very intermediate level.