Boot / Transition Day 35

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Tue, August 4, 2026

A retro comic-style illustration of Plato, the Greek philosopher, in a teal tunic and orange sash, captioned in bold cream lettering: '“Nice argument, but how much can you bench?” - Plato'.

Pain

2 /10

Weight-bearing

NWB

Mobility

Still NWB in the boot; week 3 of heavy upper-body lifting, week 4 of daily stretching, one lonely lower-limb machine in the rotation

Mood

Strong and a little smug; the gym is paying me back in compliments

Swelling

mild

Going on week 3 of heavy lifting, week 4 of stretching and mobility. And god, what a difference it all makes. The catch is that it matters what and how I’m doing it. I can’t just run a normal yoga flow, and I definitely can’t wade into the depths of the weight room and start slinging plates around like Plato up there is daring me to. So here’s what I am doing.

Anatomical training diagram, two frames, of a seated chest press machine. A grayscale muscle figure grips the handles and drives them forward; the pectoral muscles are highlighted in red. — Chest Press

Anatomical training diagram, two frames, of a seated shoulder press machine. A grayscale muscle figure presses the handles from shoulder height to overhead; the deltoids are highlighted in red. — Shoulder Press

Anatomical training diagram, two frames, of a seated biceps curl machine with the arms braced on a pad. A grayscale muscle figure curls the handles inward; the biceps are highlighted in red. — Biceps Curl

Anatomical training diagram, two frames, of a seated triceps extension machine. A grayscale muscle figure pushes the handles down and away; the triceps are highlighted in red. — Tricep Curl

Animated anatomical training diagram, side view, of a seated rotary torso machine. A grayscale muscle figure twists the trunk against the pad; the oblique muscles along the waist are highlighted in red. — Obliques Twist

Anatomical training diagram, two frames, of a seated inner and outer thigh machine. A grayscale muscle figure squeezes the pads together with the knees; the inner-thigh muscles are highlighted in red. — Inner / Outer Thigh

All six of these I do 2x a week, to complete failure. And I am genuinely thankful I can wedge the boot onto the inner/outer thigh machine, because that is the entire extent of my lower-limb work for a while. At least until we go FWB. And even then it’ll be a very slow roll. If I recall correctly, last time was rough when I started actually doing things again: lunges, squats, and heavy leg presses have a way of reminding you exactly how long you sat still. So I’m in no hurry to rush back to that particular party.

Anyway, a guy at Safeway told me I had nice triceps last weekend, so I’ll take that as progress made, progress gained. Daft Punk wanted it harder, better, faster, stronger. My version runs a little slower and a lot more careful, boot still strapped on, one thigh machine and a whole lot of patience. Of those four, I’m only really chasing the last one. And stronger is the one that counts.

Firsts & Wins

Three weeks of heavy upper-body lifting stacked on four weeks of daily stretching
Built a careful six-machine routine that works around the boot
A stranger at Safeway complimented my triceps; the receipts are rolling in

Tags boot-transition strength-training mobility upper-body mindset progress