1440 . . . (The Epiphany)

“Joe,” I said. “You don’t have a money problem.” 

“I don’t?” 

“No, what you lack is creativity.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“What man gets up at 4am to spy on his neighbor, yet claims he has no time?” 

“That’s not—.” 

“Never mind, you would never admit it. What if your lack of fitness and money issues could be resolved by a story.” 

“Uh.” 

I stopped mowing the lawn. I wanted to ensure Joe heard every word. I began the narrative by telling him about one of the exercises from a recent chest workout. The goal was to create mechanical tension by using a heavy load, and performing the movement through a full range of motion, for a period of time.

It was essential I continued that not only was the load heavy, but I had to lift the weights in a controlled manner. The more time I spent lifting the load, the greater the mechanical tension. I needed to create enough muscle damage during resistance training from the eccentric and concentric contractions. 

I told Joe, I could judge how effective the workout was based on D.O.M’s (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) I felt the day after because of the micro tears in the muscles. Joe kept silent, but raised an eyebrow at the mention of muscle damage. 

The workout consisted of 4 exercises. Decline Dumbbell Chest Press, Incline Chest Press, Chest Dips, and Machine Fly’s . . . 

Setting the bench on a slight decline, I started with 50 pounds dumbbells for a set of 12 reps. Then 60 pounds for 10 reps, and finally 70 pounds for 8 reps. Joe looked at me suspiciously, when I told him, I didn’t count any of those sets.

I explained that those were feeders sets (warm ups), to get the muscle primed for the real work ahead. On that day, I told Joe, I felt particular strong, and the goal was to do 6 reps using 80 pounds for 3 sets. I was tracking my progress with the BodySpace app to ensure I was lifting heavier each week.

It happened after the workout, while I was adding the pounds I lifted for the Decline Dumbbell Chest Press. I had an epiphany right there and then when I saw the number 1440 and realized what it signified . . .

B.M.Booth