As Good As It Was, The Conversation Ended Pretty Much How It Started.

The enjoyment of weight training workouts is something seventeen-year-old J and I have in common. When he was playing midfield in lacrosse a couple of years ago he discovered that adding resistance training on top of his practices made him stronger, of course, and his game improved. For the last two years he has chosen a weight training unit in gym class as much as is allowed, skipping over other units like basketball, soccer, and other sports, and on school breaks he’ll use the Bowflex we have in the basement.

I have always (well, since I started working out twenty years ago) enjoyed feeling strong and having some tone in my arms. Eight years ago I taught resistance classes for a while and then stuck with a pretty good routine on my own–using free weights in the ten to fifteen pound range–for a long, long time until about three or four years ago. Since I started working out at The Dailey Method this summer, I have been working hard to bring my level of arm strength back to where it was before. In fact, I may have passed the level I held before when it comes to total upper body strength. If I haven’t yet, I’m definitely nearly there.

We often tease J because we catch him checking out his own muscles all the time, but I get it. I may or may not do the same thing, but pretend you didn’t read that.

At dinner tonight, J looked at me and said, “I’m really excited. Tomorrow in gym class it’s bicep day.”

I love bicep work.

I said, “Awesome! Hey, by the way, you should really try the workout I’ve been doing. We use TWO POUND WEIGHTS.”

J paused for a moment and then, with an equal blend of sarcasm and respectful enthusiasm, said “REALLY? Two pounds? WOW.”

I explained to him that I know it sounds like nothing and in fact I used to lift much more than that in my freeweight workouts, but what we do in class is very, very challenging and often I even have to put my weights on the floor. I told him that the class is a hybrid of a ballet barre workout with pilates and yoga mixed in, and that guys come to the studio, too.

He said, “You don’t have to tell me that guys go to class. I’m fine with myself and could go if I wanted to.”

“Alright then, you should come with me some time!”

He replied, “What is it called again? Dailey Method. Hmm. Maybe. You know, YOU should do a weightlifting workout with ME sometime!”

“Okay, when?”

“I don’t know.”

I said, “Okay.”

And then we went back to eating, saying nothing more about it.

He cracks me up.

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