Yes, it was just a few weeks ago that I posted about my whole “older women growing stronger!” quest.

I was making glorious progress, training twice a week with the meticulous Julia Moschella at all the University of Virginia Recreation gyms — AFC, North Grounds, Slaughter — and feeling like a post-menopausal badass in my knee-high toes socks over my saggy tights. Step aside, kids.

With the steely patience of a swole Mary Poppins, Julia taught me the moves and cues for progressively heavy deadlifts, squats, and bench presses, providing just the right spoonful of sugar (“look at that, you lifted 80 pounds!”) to make the medicine go down (“OK, one more set, bump up the weight”).

Increasingly confident, I joined Julia’s once-weekly Barbell Basics class, part of University of Virginia’s Hoos Well offerings for employees. Fun! Community! Heart-thumping music piping through the weight room. About 8-10 actual grown people like me working through the exercises Julia demonstrated.

And then one morning I popped out of bed and my lower back seized up. I scaled back on lifting. Julia helped me with mobility exercises, and I kept up PT with Louisa Bair at acac Fitness & Wellness Center, and Mat Pilates with Elizabeth Poole at Foundation Pilates. I got back to lifting without pain — and then COVID took me down. A week later, I pushed through Barbell Basics, and two nights later, my back and right hip locked up. I can walk upright again, finally, but I’m scared to go back to lifting heavy.

Am I frustrated? Yes. Has my Regenerative Era tour screeched to a record-scratching halt, like Taylor getting booed and the Chiefs getting crushed?

Yeah, a little bit. But I’m not trying to win a post-menopausal Super Bowl here, just trying to be functionally strong. I’ve got the support of my regular fitness crew plus back-up — check out The Strength Initiative, for example, a new non-profit aimed at making strength training affordable and accessible for all women.  

I may be Ms. Wobbly McNoodle Arms right now. But I'll keep trying. And I’ll keep you posted.