Archive for June, 2009

I was sore, all day today in my chest and inner shoulders. Now I really understand the full meaning of “muscle failure”

It was a good soreness though, and while I was exhausted all day from errands and such, I mustered up the strength to go to the gym again. Today was “back” day, and I think I did pretty good. I probably didn’t use enough weight though, because I didn’t experience the same finality as yesterday, just a general stiffness indicative of a decent workout. So, next week, I’ll make sure to increase the weight to keep up.

The gym was pretty packed today, I saw a lot of people, some bigger, and some smaller than me. It felt really good to not be the “worst” one there any more. I actually caught a few people watching me, because I was on weights heavier than they were. The best part of all that, though, was looking in the mirror at my arms and upper chest/shoulder area. It’s really getting massive, but not in the scary way. I feel like I have energy and strength there again, and I feel… well.. Good. Now I just need to get the stomach to hide, and I’ll be happier with my body than I have been in 10 years.

Thanks for the encouragement you guys have been giving me! Believe me, knowing people are out there supporting me in this, and rooting for me, means SO much. Thank you all!

Back to the gym today… and we decided to step up the routine. That’s right, STEP YO GAME UP, sucka.

I go 4 times a week now, M T W Th, and each day I work a different muscle group. Then, F Sa Su I do cardio.

Today was chest. I haven’t been this worn out from a workout in quite some time, and it felt great. By the time we finished, while it only took 40 minutes, I felt like my chest was a rock solid wall… that was doused in napalm. A nice hot bath with salt helped quite a bit, so hopefully I’ll still have motion tomorrow.

Also, a fun new concept today, “muscle failure.” Basically, you push a muscle or muscle group so far, and it just starts to ignore the messages coming in. “I need you to lift this…” ‘Nah.’ “C’mon, please I really need this!” ‘… mmm… nope.’ And you just stay there, shaking, waiting for that message to be received. Well, according to a lot of physical trainers (my trainer included) this is a *good* thing. To be honest, I agree with it, considering I feel really great now, and not in the bad pain, just the good burn and soreness after a workout.

So, here we go, after a nice week off, it’s good to be back in the saddle, hurting myself for gain.

No, that’s not the title of the DVD, that’s what it felt like. I started Yoga this morning, with a DVD for beginners I picked up.

First, I have NO IDEA how people who have a roommate or even a partner in the house can even do this. Even the sound of my rabbit munching on breakfast was enough to constantly distract me from the soothing beach scene with new wave background ambient music.

Secondly, it does feel good. Like, I do feel all stretched out and everything, and when I got up, I felt much better than when I did when I first lied down for the 2 minutes of warm-up meditation. I just know this is going to take a LOT of practice. One of the things I’ve never been able to do is “clear my mind.”

I also wish it said somewhere on the DVD “You might want to buy these 2 products to assist with the workout.” By 2 products, I mean a strap and a small blanket. Halfway through the exercise, I hear (since they told me to close my eyes) “Take the strap and put it on the ball of your feet.” What strap? I see no strap, none in the box…

I know I sound cranky and nit-picky, but honestly I was very happy with the yoga session. I’m looking forward to doing the one tonight, and I might just head to Academy or something to pick up the strap and blanket. Hopefully those things are cheap.. but I still don’t really know what I’m doing.

Any yogi’s out there want to lend a hand?

This week is my off week from fitness, so I haven’t been posting.

I basically do some very light cardio (140 hr) here and there, and mostly focus on yoga and stretching. I ordered my Yoga DVDs through Amazon, and should be getting them today.

Other than that, I’m still doing my best to maintain a decent diet, and I’m still drinking tons of water. So, while I’m not busting iron, I’m still staying on track.

Incidentally, there is a small spot, about as long and thick as my thumb on my back just to the left of my spine near the top of my back that goes numb periodically. It’s something that’s happened for about two years now… and it just happens randomly. Anyone have any clue what it could be?

Summer’s starting to rear it’s ugly head again. For someone who enjoys the weather in the nice, cool, crisp 65-70 range, 100+ temperatures don’t sit well.

Picked up one of those tall fans that’s supposed to help, and it does a little. I need to figure out a great place to put it.

Other than that, played games mostly during the weekend. Good times.

Can someone turn Summer down a few deca-degrees?