The year 2023 started off with a life changing event: I got a job. After ten years of self employment, I returned to the workforce by accepting a job as a Rural Carrier Associate (RCA) with the United States Postal Service. I thought it would be part time based on the job description, and I’ve always been a fan of the Postal Service, so I figured, why not? As it turns out, the Post Office where I was hired was fairly short staffed, and on the first day I realized it would not be part time after this exchange with the Supervisor:
Me: “What will my schedule be?”
Supervisor, with thoughtful but confused expression on her face: “Are you worried about your hours?”
Me: “Um, no. Just the schedule.”
Supervisor, with a continued confused look on her face: “Mail is delivered 6 days per week, but on Sunday we deliver parcels.”
Me: “Okay, and when will I be working?”
Supervisor: “Well, we start at 8:00 during the week, but 8:30 on Sundays.”
Me: “Great, and which days do I work?”
Supervisor: “All RCA’s work Sundays and holidays to deliver packages.”
Me, feeling a bit nervous: “But which days will I have off? You know, when I don’t work? Like what’s the actual schedule for me specifically?”
Supervisor: “You mean when is your day off?”
Me: “Yes.”
Supervisor: “We’ll let you know.”
And so began an epic journey into all things postal, as I worked anywhere from 70-80 hours per week, often working 10 straight days before I’d get a day off. Several times I worked 12 straight and twice, I worked 13 straight. I tried to hold on to some kind of training routine as I had signed up for a July Powerlifting Meet, but it soon became obvious I would not be competing. Getting up at 6:30 AM and returning home at 9:30-10:00 PM every day makes getting to the gym to Squat, Bench and Deadlift a bit challenging. I eventually gave up trying and would do a full body workout whenever I got a day off, sometimes make it to the gym on Sunday if it was a reasonable work day, but sometimes I just did a few pushups, pullups and Sissy Squats in the morning before work.
The job is pretty physical, pushing large laundry hampers filled with packages around the warehouse and out to the parking lot where I’d load them on the truck. Of course, there’s lots of package delivery to the customer’s door (I eventually stopped wearing my FitBit as it was honestly freaking me out. 25,000 steps per day was fairly common) plus climbing in and out of the truck all day. My energy expenditure shot up dramatically and I started losing weight. As a Macrofactor user I kept increasing the calories but it became rather difficult to prevent the weight loss. First, I could only eat so much for breakfast before being uncomfortably full before going in to work. During the day, I kept the meals to something simple to pack and eat while in the truck, so protein bars, trail mix, that kind of thing. When 5 or 6 PM rolled around and I realized I’d still be working for quite a while, I’d hit up a gas station, where with a little focus, you can actually assemble a decent meal. As the weather heated up though, I found I couldn’t indulge in anything heavy without getting nauseous out there, so I was again limited to protein bars, maybe some chips and my new obsession, diet Mountain Dew.
At some point I decided to ride the weight loss wave and set my calories for a cut. I lost 17 lbs in 9 months, even though I was eating more than I ever had since I started tracking calories almost a decade ago. Fast forward to today and I’m no longer an RCA, but am now the regular mail carrier for Lucky Route 13. My schedule is still 6 days per week, but I often finish at 3:00 PM or so, occasionally even earlier. So I’ve begun lifting again and while I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, the loss of strength still did manage to surprise me.
I started out focusing on hypertrophy training, but do miss Powerlifting, so I’d start to train for that, realize I probably can’t compete any time soon so it’s dumb to train as if I were, go back to hypertrophy training, try to mix in some of the Power lifts, and end up just dAzEd and CoNfuSeD. So guess what I’m doing for 2024? Hiring a coach. That’s right, I’m going to do what I’ve often considered but never followed through on. With my gainful employment, I no longer worry about money, which as Forrest Gump famously said, “That’s good. One less thing.” And I know exactly who I trust and respect enough to hand over the keys to the car. She’s local (sort of) which I wanted, and based on her videos, her demeanor, our online chats and her truly astounding abilities in the sport, like World Class Elite type abilities, I was able to make the call.
Until it’s official, I will withhold further details, but to say I’m excited is a dramatic understatement. Structure, consistency and guidance when I falter, customizing my training to suit me specifically, which no free program you get online can do, is almost hard for me to imagine. As anyone who knows me or has read my musings over the years around training knows, I don’t like being told what to do. I prefer to research for myself, find the experts in the field I can trust, and do my own thing. But it’s only gotten me so far and I seem unable to stay with any plan I create. I know my limitations and when it comes to strength training, especially Powerlifting specifically, my limitations are glaring. I can program for hypertrophy with confidence, but not so for Powerlifting. With Powerlifting America making its debut into the Carolinas, I can see myself once again hitting the platform with a decade ahead of me as an MIII. As I told my soon to be coach, I’d love to get to Nationals as an MIII and even dare to dream beyond that.
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