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Day 6
When I woke up this morning, I did not want to get out of bed. It wasn't just that I abhor mornings (which I do), but also because my leg muscles felt as though they had been repeatedly beaten with a baseball bat.
I was eventually able to will myself out of bed and stumbled into a warm shower, still incredibly sore from the day before. Despite the fact that I had been working out for a while now, this was by far the most aches and pains that I had felt the day after.
But I had to admit, there was something very satisfying about this feeling, as well.
I usually just dismiss people who talk about getting a "good pain" from exercising as dropping a subtle hint towards their secret love of sexually deviant behavior. But now I think I'm beginning to understand it a little. I could actually feel a slight tightness running through my entire core/abs which I had never really felt before (even back many years ago when I was working out consistently). I also knew that this was a sign I was getting things done.
And as an added bonus, I get to self-righteously complain to my co-workers, friends, and family about how much all the work I was doing at the gym was killing me. You just can't put a price tag something like on that.
Day 7
When I got home from work at around 4:30 on this glorious Friday afternoon, my body refused to let me do anything but climb into bed and pass out. I missed a comedy show I had been planning to go to and an invite from my friend Jeff to go out that evening.
But the rest was definitely needed. I woke up around 10:30 (!), got dressed, and headed out to the gym for some light cardio. Tomorrow morning brought another session at Long Fitness Studios, so I needed to take things easy.
Day 8
Today marked my first session without Tracie at Long Training Studios. I was more than a bit worried going in; not about the quality of her staff, but about whether or not Tracie had informed them of what a giant pansy I am and not to push me too hard.
The morning was also already off to bad start when I arrived to my 10:30 AM session at 10:40. This was primarily due to a couple of factors:
-As embarrassing as this is to admit, I got stuck in the the drive thru line at McDonald's. In my defense, however, I was only getting a chicken biscuit WITHOUT any hash browns or soda. If you know me, than you also know the extreme amount of self control that had to be summoned to make such a sparse breakfast order at the Golden Arches. The drive thru line was also terribly long and I was past the point of no return (i.e. my car can't make it over the curb to get away once I'm boxed in).
-The traffic problems in Mount Pleasant and Charleston aren't due to there there being too many cars on the roads. They're are caused by idiots who like to drive slowly in the left lane. I know that everyone says their city has this problem, but if you live in Charleston long enough, you'll start to think that passing people on the right is the way that it's supposed to be.
When I got to Long Fitness Studios, I was greeted by two instructors. One was Erin, who I had met before and appeared to have been genetically engineered from the womb to be a personal trainer.
The other was Jared, who looked like a viking warrior that also cared about his personal grooming.
Fortunately, I wasn't the latest person to the class. Unfortunately, the last one in was one of the fitness model-looking girls from a few days ago, which meant I would once again have my manhood kicked squarely in the balls for the next hour while this chick destroyed me on every exercise.
As we got started, I could tell this was going to be rough. The circuit was a series of very different exercises and movements. None of them were too complex, but all of them were designed to work the hell out of you. The one that really got me were the sliders.
Instead of the delicious
TGI Fridays mini-burgers that I had come to associate with that name, the sliders referred to in this exercise go under your feet on a mat. While positioning yourself like you are going to do a push up, you slide your knees up into your chest and slowly bring them back to their starting position while trying not to let anyone hear you quietly sobbing.
This...this is what hell feels like
Jared and Erin continued to run us through the intense workout while I struggled to keep up. I must admit that on one of the strength band exercises, I shaved a couple of reps off my last set when they weren't looking. I felt bad about it, but also figured it was a better alternative than puking on the floor.
But for all my internal whining and outwardly profuse sweating, the workout was actually great. For the first time ever (including when I was in shape), I really felt like I was getting something done with my core and legs. My upper body and arms weren't being neglected at all, either.
Jared and Erin constantly circled around the group, helping us to maintain our form and offering words of encouragement while also joking around with everyone and putting us all at ease. They also genuinely seemed interested in helping us exercise better with their form corrections rather than using it as an excuse to take out pent up aggression on a weak fattie like myself.
During the final "burn out", I talked to Erin about my health scare over the summer and how it helped motivate me to get back in shape. I felt bad for dumping all that on her so soon after we'd met, but like I said before, she genuinely seemed interested in my health and well being. I was also stalling for a longer break during my wall sit bicep curls. (Sorry, Erin).
Once we were done, I did some stretching on the foam roll and posture ball, got some water, and drove back towards Mount Pleasant to watch my Kentucky Wildcats play. I could actually feel my abs burning while sitting in the driver's seat, which was definitely a first.
When I got to the bar to watch the game with Karen, I could feel that day's workout more than any I had gone through before during this time period. When UK looked like they had the game well in hand, I went home and collapsed. After sleeping for a few hours, I got back up to watch Francesca's soccer game (where she's an absolute beast on defense) and planned on doing cardio later that evening...
...which totally didn't happen. I guess I technically had already done some since we didn't really stop moving much back at the studio. But this would be the first night in a couple weeks that I hadn't done cardio on my own at the neighborhood gym. I was just too worn out...and that actually (and strangely) felt pretty good.
...but I would still rather deal with these sliders any day of the week.
If you want to cheer Tracie on while she kicks my butt on a weekly basis, you can find her on Twitter. If you live in the Charleston area and would like to have your butt kicked into shape like mine has been, then take a moment and check out the Long Training Studios website.
Please also feel free to leave a comment below. If you'd like to sing my praises or tell me how terrible I am more personally, I can also be found on Twitter. To get updates on when new articles or podcasts are published (and occasional random musings) 'Like' the official RamblingBeachCat.com Facebook page.
