I've spent the better part of the last week sulking and trying to psych myself up to train without Dale and without the safety net of Logan to "fix" anything that goes wrong. It wasn't difficult to find excuses... have to clean the house, I'm already sore, have to bake for Christmas, it's Christmas Day...
Yesterday I threw all those excuses to the side. I was sore. I was stiff. I was grouchy. I know the best way to cure the grumbles is to get moving. So I did. As soon as DH was up, I abandoned my family for me time. Jumped on the treadmill and made myself do 30 min. Around the 20 minute mark, I could feel my good leg suffering but I worked through it. There's no point in stopping at the first sign of pain or I'd never get anywhere! So 30 min on the treadmill. I didn't travel as far as I normally do (in fact, I was about 400m off) but it wasn't a bad effort considering I'm still in recovery mode. After that I did some stretching to extend the muscles that contract during walking with the restricted stride on the treadmill before heading out the boxing bag.
15 minutes on the bag saw me throw the towel in due to DH relocating my boxing stand to a location that is not suitable for boxing. Every time I stepped backwards I was running into his bloody BBQ! We have a very small court yard (no back yard) and over the warmer months, DD's massive trampoline (purchased by DH without considering the space issue!) takes up almost half of the space we do have. But 15 min is 15 min and I will tackle the logistics issue another time.
Reminding myself I'm still on the recovery path, I headed back into the garage to do my least favorite part of exercise - floor work! I loath free weights, cable weights, mat work! I don't know why (other than all those disgusting meat heads in the gym who look at you like you're wasting space) but I loath it. I prefer to slog it out with cardio! BUT, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! So, onto the yoga mat I go!
Knowing full well that the best way to get back to doing the floor exercises I DO enjoy (lunges, squats, step ups) is to strengthen my core, I get to it. First off on my list is The Plank. Now, the last thing my trainer said to me before going on holidays was NOT to do the plank on my toes. To build up to it and stick with the knees for now. Well he's not here. I am. I need a challenge. So I start on my toes ;) I know that in PT I've been doing around 30 sec on my knees before my back begins to spasm. So my goal was 30 sec. Positioning my watch so I can see it, I start. At 25 seconds I could feel things starting to waver - but just 5 more seconds... PLEASE! I stick with it and last the 30 sec! WOOT! a short break and then round 2. This time I started to waver at 20 sec... 25 seconds was dangerously close to damaging so I pulled the pin. I shook it off with a silent reminder that this is what recovery looks like. Besides, it's an improvement from the knees!
Next up, opposite arm opposite leg extensions. I loath this exercise! I struggle to control my hips. But it is so good for me! So off I go. By the this time, my arms are complaining after the weighted boxing gloves, but I ignored that. The first few reps were pathetically dismal - I kept losing my balance! Forcing myself to focus, it finally got through a set. And then after a short break, another set. By this time, DD is downstairs asking me if I'm done. Reluctantly, I begin my stretching regime.
Laying on my back with my feet on the fit ball, I did my rolls ins - rolling the ball up to my bum and back out again. A brilliant stretch for the lower back! Then the side to sides to promote movement in my lower back. Then hip flexor stretches, hamstring and quads, glutes, arms.
After the session I felt GREAT! My back felt good - free and mobile! I felt good! I was sweaty, I was worn out, I was relaxed. I am looking forward to my next session!
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