The Right Stuff

I got an e-mail from a long-time subscriber to the Gray Iron Newsletter. He has what Tom Wolfe called “the right stuff.” In 2003, Pauly was diagnosed with Hodgkins B-cell lymphoma in his right shoulder. He began treatment and finished in 2004. He returns for check-ups every 6 months. He is 54 and lives in Buffalo, New York.

Let Pauly finish the story.

“My overall shoulder strength is slowly returning. This weekend I did overhead dumbbell presses with 60s for 15 reps, 65s for 12 reps, and 70s for 12 reps at the end of my dumbbell press workout. (I clean the two dumbbells and then do my presses.) I am trying to get to 100s for 10 reps.

“After my dumbbell presses, I do barbell overhead presses from the rack; I follow an old Doug Hepburn pressing routine. (The old timers will recognize Doug's name.) I return to the doctor in late June 2006 for a check-up and I hope to be doing 75s for 10 reps in the overhead dumbbell press.

“I started training in the mid-1960s under the guidance of my older brother. Our Dad had purchased a York weightlifting set for my brother in the early 1960s. I have been training ever since. I lift every day. I also pull a weighted sled in my back yard and at the local park.

“One of my mottos to live by is ‘Live to lift and lift to live.’”

Are you impressed? I sure am.

Good going, Pauly!