Pandemic Training Diary Week 3 Day 1

Pandemic Training Diary
Week 3 Day 1
Day 1 of Week 3 started out badly. I did finally get some sleep but woke up in more pain and more exhausted. Sleep hangover. When you go a long time without decent sleep a night of sleep actually makes you feel worse because your body has just started healing. Still, I’m determined not to fall off of my training schedule, no matter how hard it gets. Sometimes that’s all you have. As a fighter we referred to this as biting down on your mouthpiece. You might not win the fight and your only victory may be in not giving up, and that has to be enough. So I started out with the beginning of a full 36 Hour Fast. Followed that with Shadowboxing. (See my past post at: https://www.facebook.com/HITTScarborough for a description of this exercise).  I started out each technique, movement and combination in super slow motion so that my body, especially my lower back could get properly warmed up before accelerating the movement. The pain and exhaustion didn’t go away. Some days it does when I get moving. Back when I was starting out doctors would put you in traction if your spine was injured and order you to lay in bed and do nothing. Now we know that movement is an important part of healing. Some days you can feel the difference almost right away. Other days you don’t. Today was one of those days. This is also true psychologically. Some days doing the work despite not wanting to and feeling like you’re not able to makes you feel better emotionally right away. Some days the clouds of depression that often go hand in hand with pain and exhaustion just cannot be dispelled. I suspect that being 58 and having my best days well behind me and the emotional tension that goes with this pandemic, with feeling particularly vulnerable because of my age and the years of damage to my body is contributing to my depression. I’m on meds but some days even the meds make no difference. But I do know, I do believe that doing what I’m supposed to do despite all the hardships is a kind of investment in both my physical and emotional health. It might not seem to make a difference today or even tomorrow, but knowing that I did not and will not just give up will mean that I can at least wake up with that knowledge, with knowing that the hardship did not win. So I bit down on my mouthpiece and did the Shadowboxing. And followed that up with Seated Yoga and Meditation. A little rest and then walked with a friend. I really needed my walking stick this walk just to keep myself upright. The pain and exhaustion towards the end was almost unbearable. But I put one foot in front of the other and finished. Then I rested and did some writing, including working on this training journal. Still feel awful in every way but I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and I’m not giving up. For today that has to be enough. I did cancel my second walk. Needed to give my joints and my body some rest. Toughed it out as much as I could but, as Dirty Harry said: “A man’s got to know his limitations.”.  I did walk Benji and do some Stretching and Yoga Breathing. While the pain today is horrible, it would be far worse without the Stretching and Yoga. And, while I was tempted to skip Benji’s walk, doing this for him, while it did not make me feel better in the moment, is part of that emotional investment that I’m talking about. By putting his needs ahead of mine I wallow that much less in my personal misery. Did some more writing and then some reading. Maintained my Fast. Writing often comes more easily to me when I’m tired and down, probably because my rational pedestrian left brain is partially or mostly shut down. The reading came much harder for me. I found myself reading the same lines over and over again. But I was determined to get back to reading, and no TV, for at least a few days a week. I’ve always loved reading and not being able to read was just adding to my depression. So I struggled through it, but did manage to get in some reading. I usually read with my legs up on the wall and doing some minor stretching for hips and groin. It might look add, but it’s a habit I’ve been in since childhood and it almost certainly helps my lower back, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. I did my Relaxation Yoga Series and Meditation to finish off. I did pretty much everything that I was supposed to do today. That’s a victory. It may not feel like it now. But it is an investment in my psychological health. I didn’t let the pain, the hardship and the depression win. If that’s all I get for today, that’s something.

That’s it for Day 1 of Week 3. So far so... Something.



#metabolic #circuittraining #fatburn #6pack #proathlete #fitmodel #fitnessmodels #sixpackla #teamgallice #hiit #fitness #motivation #mi40 #mindfulmuscle #musclebuilding #mindfulmeathead #fit #instagood #ebonyfitness #gains #gainz #sherdz #health #menshealth #womenshealth #healthyliving #cardio #weightlifting #tracklife #Toronto #Scarborough #HITT_Pt #HITTScarborough #covid19 #coronavirus #pandemicfitness

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