THE HEALTHIEST PR

THE HEALTHIEST PR – The lifting game is often about numbers: the weight on the bar and the weight on the scale. Most men want to see both go up. They want to be strong and they want to be big. And for many years, that’s a fine goal. The potential problem? For the experienced lifter with a couple of decades under his belt, those numbers eventually start to work against him. Once he’s close to his natural genetic limit, the heavier one-rep maxes create more pains than gains. And the growing scale weight? Yeah, that’s probably fat.

What we’re left with is a hoard of over-fat middle-aged men with various cardiovascular problems percolating and silently brewing in their bodies.

At this stage, most of us need to shift our mindsets. Instead of trying to add 10 more pounds to that bench press – a left-shoulder screaming, butt-lifting “PR” – maybe we should focus on other, more beneficial goals. Instead of adding another 5 pounds to the bathroom scale, maybe there are other numbers that are more important.

Those new numbers may include your blood pressure, resting heart rate, and waist measurement. All should go down. That’s your new PR. You don’t have to give up heavy lifting, but your primary goal now is to get metabolically conditioned. Your heart is your new favorite muscle to train. You flex it by not having a heart attack or a stroke. Really, chicks dig it.

Bonus: You’ll look better naked too.