Bench Press Victory

I benched the bar today.  That's 40 pounds.  And I did it after completely tiring out my pecs (pectoralis major muscles) by benching 6 sets of 20 with 10 pounds, 1 set of 5 with 15 pounds, and 1 set of 5 with 20 pounds.  Even my tired pecs could bench the 40 pound bar 10 times despite spending the previous 30 minutes doing significant upper body weight training.  That's really great!  I almost cried when I benched the bar.  I've been so afraid to even try it.  When I have a spotter around, I may put weight on the bar next time.  Woo Hoo!

To understand my reaction, you'd have to know that I've always been really strong in my pec muscles and upper body in general.  I've been able to serve a volleyball over-handed since the 3rd grade.  My best swimming event was breaststroke.  As a sophomore in high school, I beat a star football player in a fingertip pushup contest (real ones, not with the knees down).  More recently, about 6 years ago, I could bench over 100 pounds.  Then I got breast cancer and in addition to losing both breasts, the doctor had to cut my pec muscles clear through to put the expanders behind them.  Now my pecs are no longer along my chest wall.  They are now curved over my B-cup sized implants.  So, in addition to the trauma of losing my breasts, I also lost a significant source of pride; my upper body strength. 

So it was great today to see that I'm starting to get some strength back.  I'm sure I over-did the upper-body workout today.  I'll be really sore tomorrow.  However, I'll be smiling.  I benched the bar.