Here Jonny, have your parents sign this... A Progress Report....

The grandeur of doing something grand. The feeling of power when you think of it. The trepidation before doing it. The sadness when you turn away from it.

When I was growing up I would, every chance I could, take a little shuttle bus from the south shore of Lake Tahoe to Sierra Ski Ranch (now Sierra-at-Tahoe). It is where I learned to ski. I would go by myself because I lacked a lot of friends then. I wore Levi 501's with these ridiculous gators and an even more ridiculous ski jacket. I had Head Radial Carbon skis, 180 length with awesome Nordica bindings, Rossignol boots and Apre' curved ski poles.

All of this gear would carry me safely down the hill with each run. I would stare at the ski trail map for hours. Plotting the journey in my head, but never leaving the green runs except for the couple of times I got turned around and had to snowplow to the bottom until my knees were pure fire. Then I set a goal. I would, before I finished school and leave for the Coast Guard, ski down Upper and Lower Dynamite.

These runs were terror to look at. Cliffs really. They ran directly underneath the chair to cap it off. The last place I would ever be caught. Until I caught the idea to make it my goal. So for a few weekends I would plummet helplessly down other black diamond runs out of view (Jackrabbit, Chute), and hate every second of it.

Then, there I stood. I sat at the top of Upper Dynamite looking into an abyss. A ski patrolman whizzes by like he's walking down the bread aisle. No fear. Smooth and Awesome. Heroic looking in his white cross jacket. Full speed over the edge and right into Upper Dynamite. I do not believe he even turned. Straight down at like 900 miles an hour.

I did it by the way. I conquered the Dynamites. It took forever and there were times I felt it the end of my life, but when I reached the bottom I felt more powerful than I had in my entire life. I have never told anyone that story until now.

So I write this as a progress report for this current journey I am on. Benching 400 pounds by the time I am 45. I started this skiing the greens. Enjoying the scenery. All of my weightlifting life I have been skiing the green. Now I am headed into the Dynamites and I feel amazing. I have posted a little video that shows where I am now.

 

My 265 bench (ok form, not great) and 135 curls (suck form)

I feel pretty great. Strong. I am taking in a lot of calories which aid my healing after a workout. I see awesome pectoral striations in the mirror. My form is lacking, but the cheating movements get me where I need to go.

My laboratory remains open and cold and dark and beautiful.  400 pounds is a great possibility. My Lower Dynamite. This time I wear no gators.

I am inclined to incline. How Incline bench Presses dominate chest development.

I will revert back to my previous posting about my orangutan arms. This also means my pectoral muscles are very wide. This is a large canvas to have to destroy and repair to invoke growth and strength.

You have all seen that guy, the one who lives only on the flat bench and has a chest with an almost Madonna like pointy anterior and nearly inverted upper chest. Without much thought you can deduce that this guy has rarely moved his bench beyond the horizontal. Unfortunately, by doing so, there is a whole undiscovered world of muscle tissue waiting to be shredded and reborn.

But, incline bench presses suck. They suck. Really suck. They are hard to do and many guys avoid them because of the smaller amount of weight they are able to press. This is detrimental to ones image you know.
A travesty though.

Since I started this journey, with my Total Sports America 2000 smith machine, I have relied on incline bench presses nearly 80% of the time and I have fallen in love. Contrary to positioning, the flat bench press calls upon more shoulder and triceps participation than incline. This not only means that incline presses target a more specific pectoral growth potential, but a wider area of chest development.

So after about two weeks of strictly inclines, I dusted off the pin and lowered by bench to flat. My strength was exponential. I benched 270 with no back arch, controlled, almost like a ballet. It felt beautiful.

Man I am loving this challenge.