Motorcycle Muscles

[alanmcorcoran]

So, finding myself out of town (and away from the stable) this weekend, and acutely disappointed to know that I cannot pick up my Kawa any better than The Beast, AND, having access to a decent hotel fitness center, I figured I might adopt a new fitness goal - getting into good enough shape to pick up the KLR 650. I have a rule of thumb (which may be completely incorrect) that says "If I can dead lift half the weight of the bike, then I should be able to pick it up." (Anybody know how valid or invalid this statement is?) From there, I kind of wondered - what's the best approach in the gym? My gym routine has gotten wimpier as I've aged and, at this point, it's more about not hurting myself rather than developing any muscle, but, I think picking up the Kawa might possibly still be in my range (hard to tell, really. My max bench has dropped from a peak of [one rep of] 215 [was never that high to begin with] to a mere [six reps of] 135 of late. A few tweaked shoulders, etc. will do that to you. I was doing 20 pounds more last year, but it was a trial, so I backed off so the "dread" factor wouldn't chase me out of the gym entirely.)

For lack of any better ideas, I am wrestling the two heaviest dumbbells with which I can safely clear the rack and setting them on the floor. I then walk up to them and... pick... them... up. Rest. Repeat. Try to use the legs mostly, but I'm definitely using back muscle, too. Did ten reps of 75 pounders (150 total.) Feel like I could probably do a little more, but not a lot more. I'm thinking - If I can work my way up to 100 pounders (not really sure this is physically possible), I'll be in range of being able to do ONE rep of the Kawa.

Thoughts?