Forging After 40: Day One

🔥 Forging After 40: Day One — The First Strike

Today, I showed up.

No excuses, no overthinking, no waiting for “perfect.” Just me, a pair of dumbbells, and the decision to take the first swing at the old me.

Walking into this, I’ll be honest — I was nervous. It’s been a long time since I worked out with intention. But that’s the thing about forging steel: you don’t start with a perfect blade. You start with a jagged, bent, ugly hunk of metal. And you hammer the hell out of it.

Today’s mission was Push Day — chest, shoulders, triceps.

Here’s what went down:

✅ Flat Dumbbell Bench: 40 lbs — 4x10

✅ Incline Dumbbell Bench: 35 lbs — 3x12

✅ Overhead Dumbbell Press: 30 lbs — 3x10

✅ Side Lateral Raise: 15 lbs — 3x12–15

✅ Band Pulldown: 60 lbs — 3x15

✅ Push-ups: 2 sets of 15

✅ Cool-down walk: 10 minutes

By the end, my chest was on fire, my shoulders were smoked, and my arms felt like they’d been through a forge. And you know what? It felt damn good.

I’ve spent years feeling tired, weak, and frustrated — like life had worn me down without me even noticing. This blog, this journey… it’s about saying enough is enough. It’s about fighting back.

Not for anyone else. Not to impress strangers. Just for me.

Because the truth is, the hardest rep isn’t on the bench.

The hardest rep is walking through the door and picking up the weight for the first time.

And today, I crushed that rep.

Tomorrow, we pull.

💡 If you’re reading this and you’ve been thinking about starting… just start. Pick something up and move it. Your future self will thank you. I know mine already is.

#ForgingAfter40 #DayOne #PushDay #BuiltNotBorn #EarnedNotGiven