Counter-intuitive Energy

Southpaw combos!

I got much less than the optimal 8 hours of sleep last night. In fact, I rarely ever make it to 7, unless it's a lazy weekend. Which meant my "intelligent mind" was dreading the gym session today because working out when you're really tired isn't very enjoyable. But I was wrong yet again. This is probably the millionth time (yes, I'm exaggerating as I truly only remember one other time in recent memory) I've worried over sleeplessness ruining a gym workout (and short-term memory retention), only to be proven wrong by the actual experience.

Warming up on the elliptical, my pulse rate is racing and never drops down to a resting pace. Not too weird. I've got an extra layer on today because it's colder than normal. The gym is never "tropical" no matter what the weather outside. My right elbow is still sporadically tender, but only during certain movements. Mostly I forget that it's borderline injured. (When I'm home, I apply a bit of Penetrex® cream because it contains arnica and DMSO2, both known to reduce muscle and tendon inflammation. Click here to view the product website.) 

7 rounds Beginner 

The Nexersys is looking really beat-up, especially the pad facing my left, AKA the traditional-stance Cross. It hangs lower at an odd angle and I'm worried I'll hit it too hard and break the screws holding the pad to the extended arm. (I've done it before.) However, when I prod the arm, it seems sturdy and stable enough. I do my 7 rounds Beginner level just to warm up. As usual, I don't start to perspire until the 5th round. I'm dreading the Intermediate rounds, and because the machine looks like it might not last much longer, I decide to add a few Advance level rounds. But I'm not a masochist, so I cut 2 rounds from Intermediate. 

The Intermediate program is erratic and flaky enough to be so frustrating that I'm planning to cut rounds down to 3 next time. The screen goes black over a dozen times, and more often than not, the combinations flash the screen haphazardly. This program level is probably the most popular among whoever else uses this machine. Maybe some of the evening, after-work crowd? No doubt it's overused and abused. 

It's been a long time since I last did rounds at the Advance level. At first, I forget that the machine defaults to South Paw (left-hand stance) when I go to select my program choice. I have to deselect everything I don't want to do such as Spar, Cardio, and Core. All I want to do is Follow Me. Then I remember that if I change it to Traditional stance, the first round shows up as South Paw. If I leave it as South Paw, the first round appears as Traditional. Ugh. Worst, the second round defaults back to South Paw, which I don't notice at first until I wonder why none of the combinations line up with the avatar. Once I realize I should ignore the commands (listed as words along the side of the avatar) and just strike where the avatar lights up, I score better. I'm happy when the third round reverts back to Traditional Stance. 

Not only does the Advance level have better combination strikes, but the programming is less erratic. Blows are called for at a much more rhythmic pace which I enjoyed. My lungs aren't burning (a good thing!) and I don't feel tired. Bonus: the screen didn't go black either! Next week I'm going to swap the number of rounds so that I'm only frustrated with 3 Intermediates and 5 Advance level rounds. But I don't know if the program will alternate between South Paw and Traditional as it did today. Hopefully, I'll still get a few more weeks of whacking the Nexersys before it becomes irreparably damaged. 

After I strip off my gloves and all the protective padding underneath, I see how many hammer grip pull-ups I can do. I get to 23 and my right elbow is really starting to hurt. Ugh. This is going to be supremely inconvenient tomorrow when I have to clear the snow out of the driveway from Winter Storm Evan. I hear chatter in the locker room with women betting on whether there'll be a two-hour school delay or not. Probably. 

So happy to sleep in my own bed!

I'm hungry even before I make it back to my car. But I'm awake. There are many theories about why getting less than the optimal amount of sleep might make you more energetic, the most popular one being that your body is overcompensating by releasing a flood of stress hormones. (Click here to read about that.) It is also suggested that waking during a less deep phase of sleep will make you less groggy. I know that if the alarm goes off and I'm in the middle of a dream, I'm very unhappy and fuzzy-brained for hours no matter how much caffeine I imbibe. I find it impossible to know when I'm going to fall into REM or deep sleep, which makes it difficult to "plan" when to wake up. 

Feel pretty rested

I have an app on my phone to track my sleep, but I haven't been able to use the data effectively to know when I'll fall into REM. REM or Rapid Eye Movement is when you dream and is considered Stage 4 in the sleep cycle. Deep Sleep precedes that at Stage 3. There are only 4 stages that repeat and cycle throughout the night. Without enough Stage 3 and 4 sleep, the body doesn't recover properly physically and mentally. If you don't get enough sleep, you also get sick. Ugh. 

Not enough sleep! 

I already know my immune system isn't the best -- why else would I have gotten shingles two years ago? So, on top of taking my vitamins, and getting reasonable amounts of sleep, I'm also back to eating smashed raw garlic a few times a week. I think it's working, if only because I keep hearing about people lately ill with the flu or bronchitis, and so far I'm okay. Well enough to shovel snow tomorrow. 

Pre-Evan Wednesday

10 min elliptical
Calories 90
Miles 0.81
HR 165-192

T, Y & I Raises
5lbs x 15 x 2

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15
Cage Stretch

Nexersys FM
Beginner 7r
Intermediate 5r
Advance 3r (trad/southpaw/trad)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 23
Quick Mat Stretch