Two weeks ago I’d woken up and decided to get my lazy ass out of bed to do a morning workout. This is almost unheard of for me. I get up every morning around 5 a.m. to go to work and love the chance to sleep in a little on the weekends. And I’ve always hated working out in the morning – except for times when I could ride my bike to work. But something had to change. I hadn’t done the Survival Workout consistently in over a year and was determined to get it going. I did an abbreviated version that day, but nothing since.
Until yesterday. Dakota and I started with pushups, feet propped up on the picnic table across from my home. I could only manage 45, but that was five more than the first time out. I did crunches, dips, and pull-up at a chinning station – also across from my home – before heading down the towpath trail to Indigo Lake. I did a second set of everything at the train station at Indigo before hiking up the side of the hill overlooking the tracks to look for more rocks and logs to lift. I found both in the right sizes and did overhead lifts and biceps curls before descending to the tracks and back to the house for a third and final set.
What a difference over two weeks earlier when I’d only done 11 total sets. I’d managed 16 of different exercises and could feel the ‘pump’ in my arms and chest. I love that feeling, which comes with the knowledge that I’d worked hard and that I’d be sore as hell in two days. Untrained muscles experience and actual tearing of fibers at the mitochondrial level and this pain intensifies for 48 hours before subsiding. When done regularly and following a very similar routine, muscles quickly adapt and this pain does not recur with every workout. Change things up a little, and it will return, but only as a reminder that you’re doing something hard…and right.
The Paleo Diet continued at breakfast at my new favorite diner, Molly Brown’s in Cuyahoga Falls. Outstanding food, great service and decent prices. Their omelets – when you’re not doing Paleo and can have cheese and sausage – are the fluffiest and best I’ve ever had. I chose a vegetable omelet though, and a side of fruit instead of toast and home fries. Later that night it was a dinner of lean pork chops and Brussel sprouts – good, but not filling.
So…I’m exercising and eating right. I’m planning two trips – one in April to Pennsylvania for some camping and hiking with Dakota and another towards the end of May in the Adirondacks. The Adirondack trip will hopefully include a hike up one of the lower mountains since the big ones will likely have a snow pack on the trails above 3,000 feet. The pack was about 6’ deep this winter, which in some areas won't melt until early June and is better traversed with snow shoes to keep from breaking through every ten steps. I’ve done that and it sucks.
Focusing ahead and setting goals, which helps so much to keep the balance in an ever-changing personal life.
Survival Workout: 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150
Calories Burned: 450
Bonus: 15,000 steps
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