Shall I Twist Your Arm?

There is an old adage “knowledge is power” but there is another component of that phrase, which most individuals do not take into consideration. If the statement is to be considered a truth, then not only must knowledge be perceived, but it also needs to be applied. 

Anyone who has read my previous articles, must by now know I endeavor to take the most complex scientific explanations regarding muscle building and break them down into more simplistic terms, and relate it to real life experiences, one will invariably encounter on his or her fitness journey. 

However, there are times when that course of action is not easily achievable. I was working out with my daughter. On this particular day, she was doing a push/pull workout of her upper body. She had just completed doing one arm dumbbell rows, when I told her to go over to the dumbbell rack and get 5-pound dumbbells. 

I was finishing a set of incline pushups on the Smith Machine, when a burly man inquired if I was still using it. I told him I had one more set to go. He shared that information with the young lady who accompanied him. 

I had seen the two of them before. Only reason I had taken notice of them, he was training her, and between sets they were doing Squat Jumps.  

My daughter returned with the weights. I told her to have a seat on a flat bench, and instructed her on how to perform a shoulder overhead press. As luck would have it, the man was doing shoulder presses as well on a utility bench. 

I had just finished pressing 40-pounds dumbbells, when my daughter pointed to the man, and asked if I could lift the same weights. 

“What would be the purpose?” 

“Uh?” 

“What are we trying to achieve?” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“Let me see if I can twist your arm. Knowledge is power, but only when it’s properly applied.” 

I grabbed the 40-pound dumbbells and fortuitously the gentleman had picked up 95-pound dumbbells. I was on a flat bench with no back support, and he on a utility stool, where the back support reached the mid back. As we pressed, I counted the number of reps he did. He stopped at five, while I continued until 12 reps had been accomplished. 

I placed the dumbbells back on the rack and went over to my daughter. 

“Did you notice anything?” 

“Yes,” she smirked. “He lifted twice as much weight as you.” 

B.M.Booth