Perseverance

Change is suppose to be good. But I know from experience that change means learning to adapt, and that isn't always comfortable or beneficial. I get to the gym and there's a big truck with it's tail down in front of the open doors. I'd seen the gym owner yesterday, surveying the gym with a serious eye, as if he was mentally placing new equipment. Today there's new equipment being delivered in parts and pieces, and being assembled by a three-man crew. The mats are all up in front of the kickboxing machines. Are they being replaced as well? And where's the Stretch Cage?

It turns out that the restaurant next door has had a leak and flooded the gym. Egads. The floor is wet and one of the staff is mopping. I've already got moleskin pieces pasted to my knuckles and I'm bumming that maybe I won't be able to whack the machine. The machines are on but the thick black mats are sopping wet. The old guy behind the front desk manages to move a mat in front of the good Nexersys. Water squishes up between the edges where two mats meet. I hope my trainers have decent traction. 10 minutes of elliptical to warm up, and then I'm at the machine, taping and wrapping my hands, stuffing them into my gloves.

I do my standard 7 rounds Beginner Follow Me and 7 rounds Intermediate Follow Me. Wearing my leather Ryka's helps with scoring Lead and Power Kicks. I had issues with those last week when I wore the mesh Ryka shoes. What is an issue is the odd strain I feel on the top of my right forearm as I land my Cross punch and Power Digs. I suspect that yesterday's sets of RG BB Curls with the EZ curls bar have something to do with this. Next week I'll go back to doing those with the solid straight BBs because the curve of the EZ works against me on the RG movement.

The strain persists throughout my entire 7 rounds Beginner session, but otherwise I feel pretty good. After a few minutes to blow my nose, blot my face and sip some water, I punch in 7 rounds Intermediate. I'm starting to feel really good now, my forearm doesn't hurt anymore and I'm moving with the music and hitting all my marks. It's only toward the end, when my shoes are wet and slippery that I start to miss a lot of my Lead Sweeps. My foot just slips right off the pad without registering anything. Bummer.

I compare my stats with last week and they're better. I feel pretty good. Normally I do 10 min of HIIT afterwards, but since I'm already doing HIIT 3x week, I do a slow boring 20 minutes of LISS. I check my phone for the first 3 minutes, averaging 35-40 SPMs. The elliptical tells me to pedal faster. Sigh. I put my phone away and start jogging to the music. The SPMs are up to 170 and my heart rate runs the gamut from 120 to 180 so I slow down to 135 SPMs. I'm not really sure how fast or slow I should be going, but I'm dripping with sweat. The mats have been rearranged and the ab/dip bar station has been moved so that it sits inbetween all three mats. I don't like the new arrangement because now there isn't a single mat that sits evenly on the floor. Each sits on an uneven or lumpy spot but I still do the stretch portion, splits and all.

Tomorrow is Leg Day. I hear that there's a new Smith machine. And maybe the old one is still there although it's been moved to the mirrored wall on the other side of the classroom. It makes sense because one is less likely to cause floor vibrations with it, less likely to disturb the yoga folks. I guess I'll find out tomorrow if they've done away with the Stretch Cage for good. Oh well... it's another adventure.

Thursday Workout

10 minute elliptical steady state warm up
7 rounds Beginner Follow Me (28 min)
7 rounds Intermediate Follow Me (28 min)
20 minutes elliptical LISS

photos posted for actual stats:

7 Rounds Beginner

7 Rounds Intermediate