I was planning on starting back into lifting last week. Then it was last weekend, then it was Monday, It's nearly Wednesday & I haven't started yet. I guess I need to whip out the old training logs & review some of my old workout footage... & anything else that I can think of to get me going.
Part of it is being too tired when I get home from work. If I come home, eat dinner & then set down in the recliner I inevitably end up taking an involuntary power nap. I fought it off this evening... but yesterdays was over an hour. I was dead to the world. I hate that. I feel like crap when I wake up & then I have trouble getting to sleep when I go to bed. Sometimes the nap feels pretty good... while it's happening. Afterwards it's horrible though.
Ironically, I know that after a few days of weight training, getting to sleep will not be a problem. Any carbohydrates knock me right out though. I usually don't eat breakfast... mainly because during the week I get up early anyhow & don't feel like climbing out of bed 15 to 30 minutes earlier to eat. I think I need to start. I don't really eat lunch either. I usually buy several bags of nuts; peanuts & sunflower seeds & start munching those around 10 AM. I also drink coffee though... usually only one or two cups but occasionally I down a third during the day. This is also a mistake.
I measured my upper arm the other day & I cannot believe how much size I've lost. Back in 95 when I was still training two to three days per week I'd gotten my upper arms to just over 17". Now I'm right around 14.5". I've lost around 2" on my neck. I haven't measured my legs but I imagine that I've lost two to three inches there as well.
The one good thing about this is that I know I'll start responding immediately. I actually think that I might be able to manage three days per week for a while if I watch the diet & try not to screw up my sleep schedule. I was thinking about trying a hybrid Atkins thing as well. I could boil up eggs for breakfast the night before. I usually drop fat pretty fast on that regimen & if I can manage to eat often enough during the day not to starve & keep my energy up I should do well. It's getting started that's the toughest part.
I'd prefer to do nothing but lifting but I know that I need some type of aerobic training as well. I haven't started the Couch to 5k yet but that still seems like a viable program. In poor weather I can use one of the treadmills that we have... provided the roommate hasn't buried it underneath a stack of filing boxes again.
Oh... I was down in the basement the other day. IT WAS... FREEZING!!! Oh joy. Most of the frost is gone & it seems to be warming up during the days... but I could still see my breath down there the other night.
The last time I "trained"... (Gag!) I did fine on the overhead presses. The high pulls were sloppy... but then I expected that. The squats were what killed me almost immediately. I started off much too heavy.
Just looking at the log... holy crud the last entry was back in November of 2007. Has it really been that long? So the OHP's were started at 55-65 & 75 pounds. Perhaps I went a bit heavier than I should have but I managed those sets; 1x5, 1x4 & 1x2. I may have been able to make three sets of five had I gone at it again.
The high pulls were done at 75 pounds; 1x3 & 2x5. I was getting sloppy & lazy already.
The squats? Pffft... I attempted to start out at 115 pounds. I managed two reps. I dropped the weight to 95 pounds & only managed three on the second set. Then I quit... I remember getting stuck or dropping both of those sets. Pathetic... but I couldn't get my form down.
I think that my legs are stronger now than they were then.
So... maybe tomorrow night, Wednesday the 18th will be the evening that I start up again. This sounds stupid but I'd like to see what I can pack on over the next few months while I’m on this contract. Simply because one of the guys at work thinks he works out. I'm not sure how I'll manage taping the sessions. I might not bother with it for a while.
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