u/tsuga-canadensis-

Five years ago, I made this post detailing my fitness goal of being to carry my (now) wife ~10 metres from the couch to the bed while asleep. This community made very helpful replies about how to achieve this. I incorporated your suggestions (zercher squats, weighted walking lunges, raised split squats, farmer carry, uneven carry) into a workout plan rotating major muscle groups that I've been using ever since.

Did I achieve my goal? In short, no. But I stuck with the plan as best I could and had some unexpected wins.

I had been aiming to lift 3-4x/week, which never happened. Over the last five years, I've had to take some very long breaks from lifting (a medically-complicated pregnancy concluding in an extended hospital stay, a devastating climbing fall injury, IVF). Life impeded frequency of lifting (parenting, switching to a new job with very heavy hours) and its quality (persistent iron deficiency and other medical issues). Besides the big breaks, though, I've managed to continue lift 1-2 times a week for the last 5 years.

I never was able to carry my partner from couch to bed. At the time we were both ~130 lbs, now both 145 lbs. We moved out of that apartment and into a house with the bedroom upstairs from the living room, and carrying her up the stairs is both probably never possible and too dangerous.

But continuing to lift over years has had impacts. The numbers for my big lifts have gone up:

Deadlift - 7 reps x 3 sets. Went from 85lbs barbell to 145lbs

Shoulder press - 7x3, from 20lbs each dumbbell to 30lbs each

Back squat - 7x3, from 75lbs barbell to 125lbs (full ROM)

Bench press - 7x3, from 25lbs each dumbbell to 30lbs each

I'm proud of the numbers going up, if modestly. But the real gains have been functional. I can now carry a kayak or paddleboard easily under one arm, I can lift mattress corners to tuck in a fitted sheet, I can move around small pieces of furniture myself. I can rack/unrack 45 lb plates at the gym easily and carry lighter plates with one hand like they’re nothing. Doing long hours of fieldwork with a heavy pack and lifting bags of gear (seasonally part of my job) is no problem. Most importantly, I could carry my baby for hours on end and even as a toddler can easily carry him on my hip, up and down the stairs, or in a hiking carrier for as long as he likes. I'm proud I can still get off the floor with him in my arms without using my hands.

There have been downsides. Lifting heavy + creatine + postpartum & perimenopausal weight gain means I've bulked up and had to go up a clothing size. I constantly feel inadequate while lifting: beating myself up for not fitting in more time for exercise around parenting, work, and chores. I get actually angry that I can't do things that look effortless for men (moving queen mattresses, putting a kayak on a roof rack, small chest freezer, etc.). For some reason, despite also still bouldering 1-2x/week, my grip strength still sucks. I feel frustrated by my limitations.

However, I'm happy I didn't give up. Now, my goal has shifted: I want to be better able to lift large awkward heavy objects around the house, and to carry my child in event of an emergency for as long as I possibly can. My wife is on her own for dragging her exhausted self up to bed, haha.

Looking for help because I’ve decided to put in an oral exam and never done this before (been teaching 13 years). It’s a graduate level class.

Students will have to describe an ongoing issue (each student will select a unique issue), situated it the relevant policy framework and explain the timeline, then describe benefits and concerns.

I’m looking for your advice on how long to make this, how to schedule it, how to schedule time between students, whether it happens in class time or outside of class time, and how to grade it fairly (one assessor? Two assessors?). I’ve run the class for many years with this assignment as a policy brief but never done this before. I also have a TA and could delegate much of this to them.