You know what they say...you never forget your first.  Well, today, I bent my first nail!  A Grip Rite, hot dipped galvanized, 6" 60d nail from Home Depot--also known as a 60 penny nail.  It wasn't pretty, not like this guy, but I did it none the less.  

I've lifted weights off and on for about 20 years now.  I used to set goals for myself: one of my first was the 100% Club.  The athletic department at my high school had created it (as I'm sure every other high school, too): the membership requirement was that you benchpress your body weight 10 times in a row (1 set, 10 reps).  My personal goal was to meet that metric by the end of high school and I achieved it literally on the last day.

I've set other training goals for myself, too, but lately I've just been going through the motions.  Getting one or two workouts in a week was a good week.  Getting a run or two in was even better.  About two months ago, I picked up John Brookfield's book The Grip Master's Manual.  Wow, what a book!  John walks through a whole litany of exercises to turn your grip into a potent weapon.  I found the workout regimen he describes very inspiring and decided to adopt it for myself (at least, most of the less insane exercises--where am I going to find a big boulder to pick up over my head, anyway?).  

So, about two months later, I achieved my first goal.  This has been a big confidence booster for me.  Naturally, I'm now going to work hard to clean up my technique and probably try different variations (I did this bend with a double overhand grip), but I'm also eager to look forward to the next goal.  Maybe it's time to invest in IronMind.com's Bag of Nails?  I don't know--I still can't see spending $65 on nails when my 5lbs box of 60 penny nails cost $12.  Guess I'll have to think about it some more.