I take Lyft as a matter of course for work. Mostly it’s a quiet and tame affair—the driver only speaks to confirm my name and say hello and goodbye, and the interior of the cars are clean, comfortable and unremarkable. Every now and then I get a lively and chatty driver, which I don’t mind. It makes the time go by faster and I always learn something new. But this week’s Lyft ride took things to a whole new level. I climbed into a brand-new, luxury Tesla, which the driver immediately pointed out and was very proud of. He offered me an iPhone charger and when I told him I had an Android, he whipped out an Android charger from an array of chargers and urged me to plug in my phone. He then offered me snacks, asked about my day, and gave me a weather report. In the back of the front passenger seat pocket there were two gold-plated devices that looked very much like microphones, and when I asked him about them, he said they were for Karaoke. Dude had a full Karaoke set up in his car! He said people coming home from bars love it. Upon further conversation, I learned that he was from a village in China where they had no electricity or refrigeration and his family were essentially subsistence farmers. Heating oil was strictly rationed, so winters were a cold affair. When he came to the US, he was shocked that electricity and heat is standard in housing. And now he drives a luxury Tesla with a Karaoke rig. He’s a happy, energetic person who loves his job driving. I hope I get him again. Joy truly is contagious.
In physical fitness news, I can report that under the new trainer, I am getting ever-closer to that elusive pull-up. He’s very aggressive with piling on weight, and there is nothing he loves more than a good drop-set. A drop-set is when you slowly drop the weight on a heavy set in order add more reps. I’ve done them before, but he has elevated it to an art form, where before I know it I’ve done 50 reps and my limbs are trembling like a wet noodle. He also showed me something called “21’s”, which is a technique that builds all three heads of the bicep by using a different range of motion every seven reps. I can do a pull-up with 25 pounds of assist now, and a half-one at 15...agonizingly close!
But my secondary, secret Big Goal in line behind the pull-up has been to be able to pass the Army Combat Fitness Test. Not because I have any aims whatsoever to join the military, but in my mind, the ability to pass that test has represented the ultimate proof that I am strong. I looked at the test in more depth this week, and I was shocked to realize that I can pass about 75% of it in my current state of physical conditioning, which is not athlete-level by any means. I can for sure pass the deadlift. I can do the minimum number of push-ups (just barely) and the planks. I am terrible at running and I hate it with the passion of ten white-hot suns, but I could probably do it for two miles without collapsing. The only question marks are the Sprint-Drag-Carry and the Standing Power Throw, simply because I don’t have access to the sleds or a track, or anywhere to throw a ball in the gym without hitting someone. I don’t know how my cardiovascular endurance would hold out under the Sprint-Drag-Carry. It looks very tiring but also kind of fun. Maybe my trainer knows of a track somewhere where I can go try it out. Although the test is not as hard as I had initially imagined it, I will still be proud when I can check all of the items off it.
I can’t believe it’s Easter already. Happy Easter! Eat some chocolate bunnies and contemplate the coming Spring with hope.
—Kristen McHenry
Lyft Party Bus, Pull-Up Progress, My Secret Goal Revealed!
Great post, Kristen! :--)