Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Kicking My Butt

After working the complete circuit on Sunday (on the machines I did not like), I went through with swimming yesterday. Even though it had only been a few days since I was last in the pool, I felt almost akward in there, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it was just that my muscles were sort of "pre-tensed" but for some reason, my strokes didn't seem as smooth and my breathing was off. I tend to breathe every third stroke, which was fine, but it seemed like I was getting some water every time I breathed...it was odd. Anyway I did 1050 (450 free, 150 free kick, 150 free pull, 150 free, 150 free kick), and then was bummed out to discover that the whirlpool at the gym was broken. I tell you, that's my favorite part of my swimming workouts, and it was a bummer not to be able to relax in the hot tub afterwards. Oh well.

Today I worked with Brian again. I got to the gym a lot earlier than I meant to, so I took the time to do an extended warmup on the elliptical...I did 30 minutes on it, keeping my heart rate in the mid- to upper 140's which should have had me talking "in broken sentences" but I was still pretty conversational. Oh well, it felt like a good workout. Today Brian had me do a lot of leg work, including some standing squats and balance exercises, as well as work on the Cybex and Free Motion machines doing leg press, leg curl, leg extension, and some calf raises. I think all of the exercises went well, though I discovered that I'm pretty weak in my calves. I suppose, given my history of ankle issues, that shouldn't really be a surprise, but it was somewhat frustrating. I also did some stuff for my core including an ab exercise machine, oblique work, and a back strengthening Cybex machine.

All in all, it was a good workout. I see Brian again on Thursday, and I think I will take the day off from working out tomorrow. The rest of the week I think will go something like:
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: work with Brian
Friday: swim
Saturday: work with Brian
Sunday: rest

I guess we'll see how I feel tomorrow, but right now I'm feeling pretty good.

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