02/18/2026
All time bench press PR for me at 180 # 🥳
No, I am not training it specifically through a strength cycle right now. As a person in their 30s who is wearing a lot of hats in life and juggling life things and does not have a recovery surplus, here is how I train:
✅ try to keep a consistent 3 days per week minimum of weights - if I feel good I push, if I don’t I just move what I feel safe with and what I know will make me feel good later
✅ try to keep 3-4 days of walking (30-45 minutes depending on weather) - outside is key for me
✅ prioritize protein intake and have a general idea of macros and cals, but also not stressing if my son wants to make an impromptu banana pie (true story, we made it healthy lol)
✅ trying not to rely on caffeine and remembering to get water in - starting my mornings with a glass of water and electrolytes helps
✅ sleep is what it is - little man has had a lot of bad dreams lately and post nasal drip making him cough at night, so lots of wake ups. When going into exercise, I take into consideration my sleep through the course of the week (did you know you can bank sleep for later??)
So for this lift - I woke up SO EXCITED to bench, which got my mindset right, AND, even though little man woke me up 4x the night before, I had banked some sleep for a few nights prior (at least less interruptions lol), I ate a good sized breakfast balanced with carbs fats and proteins, and had my caffeine after a glass of water and electrolytes. I didn’t have any shoulder pain like I had been dealing with (rehab exercises for the win!) and I felt good going through my warm ups.
I maybe go heavy like this once every 3-4 months now. It’s not a weekly attempt, not even monthly, because I don’t have the consistent sleep (that’s my biggest recovery factor). I try to keep everything else on point leading up to days I want to do something like this to give me the best shot.
And - at the end of the day - if I get there and it’s not feeling great - I’ll save it for another day. The pro of not competing or training for something at the moment is that I don’t HAVE to do anything if it’s not the right day for it ☺️
…but when it is the right day… 😈💪🏽
