bassline

I just returned from the gym not long ago. The plan was to be there by 9:30 this morning, but me and plans don't have the best of relationships. I just couldn't get out of the house this morning because I was in a funky mood. I'm much better now after expending some energy and moving that much closer to my fitness goals. I'm still a little cranky, but it'll go away...

I almost never go to the gym between the hours of 4pm and roughly 8pm because of the after-work crowd. I did it today, got my workout done and left. However, someone engaged in one of my all-time gym pet peeves which was this. I go into the room people use for ab and some upper-body exercises. There's a mat at one end of the room to do crunches, stretches and other things. I walk in and this guy is laying on the mat reading part of a paper on his side as if he was on his carpet at home. Every few minutes he did a couple of crunches and goes back to reading again.

Helloooo!!!, that's what your apartment, house and the gym lobby is for! Not the mat in the gym while it's crowded and people may need that space. If you're going to work out, then work out...read later, for chrissakes. It didn't affect me directly as I had room to do what I needed to do in there, but it's still irksome.

I had a great work out and that's all that really matters...

I'm feeling great these days. I've been keeping a regular schedule with my workouts and the results have been fantastic. I'm at week six and it's time to regroup and see what I'll do next. So far, I've been sticking to an all-body workout, three days a week and I think I'll keep it that way. A couple of weeks, including this one, I've missed one of the days, but I'm not worried about it. There's no real 'making-up' those days, so I made sure the other two days were plenty challenging. What's really helped is slowly increasing the amount of weight I'm using for each exercise.

( exercise musings )

There are two things that are major pet peeves of mine in gyms. There are more, but these are at the top. The first are people who don't have the common curtesy to put the weights they were using back where they found them. The second are those who refuse to wipe down equiptment, after sweating all over the place.

In the midst of my work-out this morning, heading into the 'chest room' to do some bench presses. Two of the three flat free-weight benches were occupied. One by a gym member and the other by what a gym member left behind...a huge puddle of sweat where his or her head would have been. Talk about nasty... It's not as if the gym maintenance crew doesn't provide cleaning spray and paper towels in nearly every corner of the place. I worked out on the dry one in the middle and wiped it down before-hand just in case (and after, of course)

At least they'd removed the weights from the bar.

......


Ganked from picture_kept

( sheepage )

Back from the gym. Second work-out this week and things are going really well. I have to make some adjustments to my eating habits, particularily my pre-exercise meals. I have to remeber to make sure I get some carbs into my system an hour or so before I work out. I ate, but only had a couple of pieces of fruit-an apple and banana along with water. That was ok, as I don't like to eat too much before exercising, but I have to make sure to get some complex carbs in the mix.

In the past, I've eaten a small bowl of instant oatmeal with an apple cut up in it for a pre-gym meal and that usually worked out really well. It gave me just enough carbs for energy but wasn't heavy on the stomach. Timing is really important, too. If I eat too close to the actual workout, it's no good because the body is busy attempting to digest, thereby diverting much needed blood from the muscles to the digestive area.

( workout log )

......

I've not held a paint brush in my hand for just over a week. That's way too long. It's been like that because I had to deal with the mailing list debacle towards the end of last week.

I've felt odd in the past when I hadn't been working in the studio for a while, but this time there's a palpable difference. You know what they say about people who have a limb amputated, that the amputee continues to 'feel' the limb even though it's not there. I believe it's referred to as a 'ghost limb' or something like that. Well, that's how I've been feeling since at least a couple of days ago. I usually paint with my right hand but have used my left from time to time. It's my right hand that my mind has assigned the feeling of a missing brush to. It's a distinct feeling, also. It's one of my larger brushes. I can make out the smooth wood and the slight change in thickness along the handle. It's as if I'm just about to lay down some color or make a line or two.

Hmmmm, well, I'm more than due to get some painting done, so off to the studio it is.

Just returned from my first gym workout in 8 months. My body is saying, "Oh, thank you, sir...may I please have another?". Soon, very soon, Wednesday, in fact...