Born Again Gym Rat: Acknowledging Fatigue

Friday, August 21, 2015

Acknowledging Fatigue

I didn't sleep all that well last night. Perhaps it was the rainstorm. I'm a light sleeper and despite the soothing white noise from the floor fan, I still managed to wake several hours before dawn. Perhaps it's a good thing that this is the last day of summer camp, and I'll be doing abbreviated workouts for the next two weeks. I suspect I'm over-tired, or even, over-trained in spite of working each body part only once weekly. Except for legs. Because I do some semblance of cardio nearly every day, even if it's just 10 minutes of HIIT followed by 20 minutes of leisurely LISS. The body is adaptive, but there are limits!

It seems counter-intuitive to plan more cardio and less lifting for the next two weeks. But what I'm planning is a sustainable program change: something I can do that won't make me unhappy. Cardio makes me happy. We'll see if I lose any size, but I doubt it. I have the type of body that retains mass and strength very efficiently. Being scrawny just isn't in my genetics.

I'm in a rush this morning so I neglect to put a patch of moleskin over the bunion bump on my right foot. The leather trainers I wear for whacking the Nexersys, and for Leg Day (I own two pairs), seem to chafe at that spot. Worse, I have a rectangular birthmark (shaped like a flag) very close to the bunion, and I'm leery of inflicting any damage to such delicate tissue. No one wants to effect changes to a black birthmark (melanocytic nevus) because of the potential for it to degenerate into melanoma. Pedaling on the elliptical and cross-trainer aggravate the chafing. I don't have this issue with my mesh shoes, but they don't provide enough foot support when I'm shouldering weight for Split Squats. Next time I have to build time into the schedule to apply that patch!

The Smith Split Squats are heavier than I remember. Worse, my lower back seems a bit sore but only when I do the movement. I keep adjusting my stance, but the soreness persists. I only do one heavy set today. I don't want to chance an injury. I think my back is just tired. I do three heavy sets of Smith SLDLs, which means GHRs are going to be super hard. The gym isn't as crowded today. I see Venus, trailed by Chatty Guy. I guess they are dating after all. She's got her long wavy blonde hair loose, with dark roots showing. That seems to be a valid look these days. She has a stunning figure, big bust, tiny waist and high round butt. The college guys can't help but give her a second stare.

The gym staff is busy today with several new members being introduced to various machines. Most of them are middle-age women who seem very timid. I hope they find their comfort zone and discover how much fun this all is. GHRs just get harder each week. But of course, I'm not helping myself by increasing the workload my hamstrings have to contend with prior to doing GHRs. It's a case of pre-fatiguing the muscle group to make them work harder. I'm such a sadist.

I always do the Interval program on Fridays. Maybe I should change that next week. Even though I'm pedaling at a pretty good pace, I'm only able to log 2.81 miles which isn't enough to break the 7-mile total. I'm also trying to keep my heart rate reasonable. Venus is on the treadmill for 10 minutes then switches to the rowing machine. After 10 minutes she's on the Step Mill. I had thought about doing a few minutes on the Step Mill as well, but there's only two machines and a tall thin woman with lavender highlights in her bleached white hair is on the other Step Mill. (I know it's bleached because I can see the dark roots near her scalp and neck.)

At the Stretch Cage, an older woman (maybe she's my age -- I can't really tell) gets off the Cybex Glute Machine and puts her leg up on the platform next to me. I guess she's stretching her hamstrings. I do my own hamstring stretch and then, as usual, stick my leg out 90° to the side and rest my foot on the side bar of the Cage. Then I move it up so that it's about 135° from the floor. I change positions so I can bring my foot up the next rung, until I'm at the top side rung and my foot is over my head. Then I rise up on tip-toes and stretch the calf of the supporting leg. I do this with the other leg as well. The woman seems taken a back. Her rolled up mat tells me that she's taking the Yoga class. I hope she's not discouraged. Shaggy is giving me a wide berth today. I think I prefer it to his past behavior where he seemed to be hovering.

At the big Mats, I do my routine stretch but add a few pistol squats. They're actually pretty easy but I only do 10 in total, which is 5 per leg. I could do more but it takes a bit of time, and I'm impatient to change and shower. I'm tired. And hungry. And I have errands to do. I'm so outta here!

My son wants to see Hitman: Agent 47, the movie based on the game he just talked me into buying him. Granted it's a pre-owned game so for $7 it's okay although I blanched at the Sales Clerks warnings about it's M rating, violence and sexual situations. The movie got horrid reviews, and although I think I'd have a vaguely better time at American Ultra, my son has his heart set on Hitman. So I guess we're going to see Hitman on Tuesday.

Friday Leg and Cardio Day
(6.93 miles total, 11,385 lbs moved)