I have been lifting light weights and strength exercises on and off for the past 50 years. I say light because whenever I really made a go for it and started lifting heavier weight or doing significantly more sit ups, I always seemed to injure myself and then have to stop for months at a time before returning.

When I was young and lost track of the number of reps I had taken, I would go back to the last number I remember saying — just to keep myself honest. I wanted to make sure I got in all of my reps even if I went over the actual number I needed.

Now that I have gotten older I have discovered a better way to handle the lost count problem. I think surely I am ahead of the last number I remembered, so I take a wild stab at where I left off and continue from there. I don’t want to do more reps than I should. This wisdom of age strikes again.

Keep this strategy in mind next time you lose count.