When Your Body Fails You

I hate to admit this, but I'm going to have to cut back from my 3x week kickboxing the machine routine. Not that I don't love it because there's nothing more satisfying than being able to throw lightning-fast punches 14 rounds into your session and still maintain enough power to bring up the Warning: You Are Punching Too Hard screen. It's an awesome workout that combines both cardio stamina and strength endurance. But my hands are getting beat to crap. In spite of moleskin, white tape, cloth wraps AND gloves, my knuckles are bruised and scabbed. Yes, I have ridiculously small hands, even for a person of my size, and they're boney, veiny and sinewy. Not much meat on them and while I think that punching makes the bones thicker, I am worried about stress fractures and joint problems. Last night my knees and shins felt sore and achy. If it weren't for the fact that I'm 54 years old, I'd think they were growing pains.

Today I try the Gel Wraps with just taped knuckles and only get a few punches into round one before cancelling the session. Too painful. I pull those off, wrap my hands and stuff them into my old gloves. Yesterday I resorted to tossing them into the dryer on the low setting so they were actually dry after three days. Today I do 10 rounds at Beginner and 5 Intermediate. Halfway through the 2nd session, I feel the familiar sting and pinch between my right pinky and ring finger. Yep, that'd be about 12 rounds into it. I'm not sure what's happened exactly except that I've got a bruise and a scab there, but not from impacting the machine. A proper punch involves the first two knuckles (pointer and index finger). This has been happening for the past several weeks and I can't figure out why, except that perhaps my right hand can only handle 11 rounds before starting to fail, starting with the last knuckle. I'm disappointed in myself.

I've got moleskin and white tape wrapped around my left pointer where the edge of the Gel Wrap took the skin off. My old gloves come down further and don't bite into my left fingers, although they do on my right which is why I always wrap my right pointer with tape. Afterwards, I do my 10 min of cardio and then some abs before calling it done. The locker room is blissfully empty.

This morning there were several chatty women there, and one I'll call WoodyWoodpecker because of her shock of short red hair. She's a loud middle-aged woman who thinks nothing of driving diagonally through a parking lot because traffic rules don't apply to her. Today she really pissed me off because as I'm unloading my gym stuff into a locker, she puts her sneakered foot up on the bench, right next to my bag, like she's showing off her legs. After a few moments, I can't take it any longer and say to her, "Are those indoor shoes?" because the gym (and most martial arts schools) make a distinction between outdoor and indoor shoes. She says, "Oh you can wear these indoor and outdoors." WTF? They have what appear to be cleats on them. Then I say, "I'm sorry, but can you take your feet OFF the bench then." She's so flummoxed that she's actually quiet for a second before whispering to The Apple (whom she was chatting with), "Uh, I gotta go use the bathroom." Because really, what's she gonna say to me? At least I didn't say to her, "Were you raised in a barn!?" because that's what my grandmother would've said.

Friday Workout

10 min elliptical = 3 min steady state + 4 min Tabata + 3 min steady state = 0.78 miles

Nexersys 10 rounds Beginner Follow Me (40 min)
  Accuracy 97% / Strikes 100% / Average Power 139%

Nexersys 5 rounds Intermediate Follow Me (20 min)
  Accuracy 86% / Strikes 102% / Average Power 95%

10 min elliptical = 2 min steady state + 8 min Tabata = 0.76 miles

25 crunches / 50 bicycle alternating knee to elbow / 25 pulse-ups

photos posted for actual stats: