I’ve been approaching my weightlifting once more with renewed interest and vigor. I found that dividing the week up into separate days for each muscle group was much more effective. Four days a week, one each for legs, arms, back, and chest. It lets me hit each one with more intensity, put up higher weights, and make excellent gains as a result. My max deadlift hit 307lbs over the weekend, which was a huge accomplishment for me. I’m going to be focusing on my legs for the next month or two, then moving on to my chest.

My arms have made a huge improvement over the last month or two. I was doing a routine that put a little more focus on them because I wasn’t quite satisfied with how they were developing in relation to my legs. My legs have always responded extremely quickly to any sort of training. I guess that’s what I get for playing soccer for over 10 years.

I’m at about 182, maybe 183lbs right now, which puts me exactly 30lbs over my starting weight of 153lbs, which was on 27 Sept 2010. The progress has been fairly steady, but I’m ready to invoke the old cliche and take it to the next level. I’ve already put a heavier focus on a proper diet, now I just need to make sure I have the right lifting routine to match it or else I’ll just get fat.

Life at home has been pretty positive overall. With Kaitlin having hit the 10 week countdown recently, the reality is sinking in a little bit more. We’re going to be parents, I’ll think suddenly. Like I hadn’t known that to begin with or something. The Great Accumulation of Stuff has been coming along nicely. We’ll be getting the remainder of the cloth diapers, washable wipes, the crib, and God only knows what else within the next month or so.

Aside from the finances, the only thing I really need to “worry” about is the birth itself. While Kaitlin will definitely have the Big Job that day, my responsibilities aren’t to be overlooked. We’ve got a definite idea of how we’d like the birth to go in terms of medication, interventions, and the like (namely, as natural as possible). It’s my job to make sure that, when Kaitlin is at her most vulnerable during the birthing process, she doesn’t have to worry about anything else. We’ve educated ourselves to the point where we’re pretty aware of the pros and cons of all the different medical interventions, so we’re going to be more than capable of “informed refusal” as well as “informed consent”.

I’m going to be switching into Protective Husband Mode for the duration of the process. I’m well aware of the fact that the difficulty ahead for me pales in comparison to the difficulty Kaitlin’s going to be facing, but it’s nonetheless something for which I should be extensively prepared. It’s going to be exhausting, I’ll have drained the lion’s share of my own mental and physical resources upon its completion. My physical fitness is just another way of preparing me for that. It’s going to be my crucible, an event which will shape me in ways entirely unknown to me. It is a trial of which I must be entirely capable.