4.8 tons (or Zen and the Art of the Squat)
The American Alpine climber Mark Twight called the squat the 'king of exercises' and if I had to pick one desert island exercise, it'd be top of my list, too. Tony and I were in the gym today for a legs/abs weights session and squatting was first on the menu. In four sets, we lifted 4,815kg each (15×45 kg, 12x95kg, 15x95kg, 15x105kg). That's four MINI Coopers. Cool.
Cyclists call the time trial (an individual best effort against the clock) 'the race of truth'. In many ways, the squat is the exercise of truth – you can't cheat, you can't freewheel, you can't rest half way down. My record squat is 190kg (418lbs, including the bar). This was nearly three years ago, yet I can recall every split second – the bar flexing as I pushed up into it, lifting it off the rack, a tiny shuffle step backwards, lower, lower, thighs parallel with the floor and them BAM – drive drive drive through the heels, breathing out through my teeth, up, up, up, up, UP… shuffle forwards, BANG, bar back on the rack. As an exercise in mental focus, nothing comes close; your mind simply cannot wander when you've 190kg balanced across your shoulders. To me, that squat was more than an exercise: it was a reminder of what we're all capable of when we apply ourselves.
On a less philosophical note, I'll leave you with this:
Down the road, in a gym far away
A young man was heard to say,
"No matter what I do, my legs won't grow!
He tried leg extensions, leg curls, leg presses too.
Trying to cheat, these sissy workouts he'd do!
From the corner of the gym where the big guys train,
Through a cloud of chalk and the midst of pain,
Where the big iron rides high, and threaten lives,
Where the noise is made with big forty-fives,
A deep voice bellowed as he wrapped his knees,
A very big man with legs like trees,
Laughing as he snatched another plate from the stack,
Chalked his hands and monstrous back,
Said, "Boy, stop lying and don't say you've forgotten!
Trouble with you is you ain't been SQUATTIN'!
— Filed under Inspiration, Rumination