Well, for the first time in a good four years, I went to the gym yesterday. Going in, I felt pretty good. I had worked my way up the push-up food chain - from tall counter, to kitchen sink, to floor - so I knew I was stronger than the last time I was in there. I mean, I've been working with 90 pounds and two dumbells for almost four weeks now, so of course I was getting some major improvements.
And then I hit the weight room.
I won't go into detail here, as I'm honestly too damned ashamed, but I came out of that place realizing just how weak I had become while letting myself go. I was ready to quit. Seven weeks, and I was still as weak and pathetic as I was years ago.
It took me most of the day to come around. I had two equally loud voices arguing in my head. One was telling me to screw the whole thing - I was too weak to go on. The other was telling me to shut up, and pick up the intensity - make sure I wasn't this out of shape a month from now.
I'm going with the second voice.
Today, I'm too sore to move. But tomorrow, I'll be heading back to the clubhouse work out room for 30 minutes of cardio, and Wednesday I'll hit it for 30 minutes of weights. I've only got 30 minutes in the morning while Beck is getting ready for work, so I'll need to make it count. Three days of cardio, one day of weights at the gym, and three days of weights from home. That's the new plan.
As a reminder, I've gone through these first seven weeks with no personal trainer, no trips to the gym, no cardio sessions, no overly drastic diet changes, and very little time. I'm coming up on 18 pounds lost this week. I'm hoping to see that number increase by a large margin now that I'll be picking it up a little bit.
Here's to a better Monday than Sunday.
1.08.2007
Not An Encouraging Sunday
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8 comments:
Great to hear that you are going with the second voice :)
Be sure to bring a journal and record your results, you can modify your workout each session.
You've been doing great. Just because you're not putting up as much as you thought doesn't mean you haven't made progress. You said it yourself, you went from being able to do four pushups on the sink to consistent sets of pushups on the floor.
To quote a movie you love...
"It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"
;)
Do you remember the day BEFORE you started the 100? Fast forward to today.
Learned a lot, and have seen tons of improvement, right?
You're on day 1 of the gym. If you already could bench what you're happy with, what's the point of going to the gym?
One step at a time, Kev. Shake the male ego (I struggle with it too, much easier said than done), and realize where you are, and focus on the steps that it takes to reach your goal.
Remember, Kev.
Shift.
"Remember, Kev. Shift.
Nice, Rob. I got chills...just a little bit.
I've still got it ;)
First, let me say this:
F#@* what you "should" be able to lift.
F#@* what other guys are lifting.
F#@* what anybody else thinks.
It's only about being a little better than you were yesterday. That's it.
F#@* yeah. Billy's right.
Kev,
If it helps you feel better … My first day with weights was a little bit like yours. I thought I could move mountains while in fact, I could barely finish my workout with small dumbbells. I’m a very proud guy by nature and I had a hard time digesting this. I soon came to think that I don’t owe anything to anyone and that it was my right to start slow (and low) and to move my way up the pounds. I came to realize, like every one is saying, that what is important is getting my health back and the pace at which it happens is not as important as getting there!
Keep it up!
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