Gym Gnomes...

I've been to the gym early morning, late morning, noon, early afternoon, late afternoon and evening...

For me, the best time to go to the gym would be early morning. When I say early morning, I mean 5-6 am. The gym is still pristine from usage, the jogging track deserted, freeweights still racked properly and most of all, the people are nice. By nice, I mean, you say a polite hi-hello, and you get on with working out. Finish your set, move on. Do your workout, and go home.

It gets progressively worse during the day tho... and almost unbearable during late afternoon to the evening. The equipment start to get left half used, the freeweights are on the floor... and there are Gym Gnomes hanging around the machines, sitting there, talking about the last time they went to the gym. Some even just stand there... do a set for 2 minutes, then spend the next 10-15 minutes looking at themselves in the mirror. There was even this one guy... well... I was cooling down on the treadmill when he started standing infront of the mirror... touching his muscles.. doing poses, then.. doing a couple of lifts then back to staring... goodness... I usually do a 15 minute brisk inclined walk for my cooldown... I was already done, went to the locker to change.. and when I got back out, he was -still- there, looking at himself... gods...

And then there are the people who use a -lot- of weights, then leave the weights on the floor... these guys are just accidents waiting to happen if you ask me.

And then, there are the "Social" gym goers. These are the types that just sit there on the machines, talking with their friends for gods know how long. Of course one can't be rude and shoo them off because you have a set to do... so you'll have to wander around the gym, keeping an eye on them, waiting for that moment when they stand up and move on to the next machine...

o well... Im ranting I guess

Good for the heart

I've been logging my progress each day and I was surprised to find out that I was maintaining a heart rate of around 140-145 for over an hour everyday while at the gym.

I did some research and it turns out that I'm training "in the zone" for weight loss and a bit of cardio development to boot. I saw charts that placed me smack dab between Low intntensity traning and high impact cardio traning.

No wonder I feel so alive when working out. :D

The Bench Press

Wow... it's been a while since I posted.

Still going to the gym on a daily basis, and the pain has all but disappeared, I guess my body is pretty much well adjusted to the punishment of cardio and weight training everyday. Dont get me wrong, there are still minor aches and pains (maybe those hidden muscles undearneath all the layer of fat, or just unused ones trying valiantly to resist exercise) but not like the ones I had last week when it hurt event to think about moving.

Anyways, I did the bench press for the first time in years upon years of inactivity yesterday, and I think I wasnt quite ready. The bar alone weighed 20KGs and I slapped on 15Kgs on each side of the bar for a grand total of 50KGs (or 110 lbs) bearing down on me chest.

It was a refreshing and exhilirating experience. I was able to do 8 reps at 2 sets, after that my pecs were sore and shivering from exertion. But it was pretty fun, it is true what they say that the only time you truly feel alive is when you're at the point of exhaustion.

On to the specifics.

The Bench Press targets the Pectoralis Major Muscles and supporting muscles (anterior deltoids, triceps and a couple of other muscles I cant pronounce or type). This is basically done by lying flat on a bench while pushing up a weight (weights?) on a bar directly above the chest.

It's also advisable to get a spotting partner to help you out if for any reason you fail to return the bar to the pins or the bar gets too heavy for you to lift.

Machine Lateral Pulldown

This exercise is just like the Assisted Pull-Up (I'll post about this exercise somewhere down the road) It's a pretty straightforward exercise. You sit down on the machine, adjust the seat and the knee (leg?) pads so you'll be seated comfortably. Pick the desired weight by sticking the pin in the right slot and you're ready to go.

The Lateral Pulldown targets (from what I've read on that little instruction thinger on the machine) the back muscles, the forearms and the biceps. It also strengthens your grip (most machine exercises strengthen the grip too).

I started off last week with 35KG and still maintaining 35KG at 20 reps, 2 sets, having a very very difficult time maintaining, but it's still do-able. Hopefully If I get to build enough upper body strength doing this exercise then maybe I can progress to body-weight pull-ups and chin-ups... tried doing them... failed miserably.

Hippocrates got it right

Well, I remember a quote from Hippocrates saying, "That which is used, develops. That which is not used, wastes away." Now see, I don't know if he was talking about the brain or our muscles, but in any case, it's correct in both examples.

I actually feel my brain wasting away everytime that I'm idle and I do nothing but mope around. I counter this by doing odd jobs, doing photography, reading (and writing, unsuccessfully if I might add) books, and other stuff.

I just realized tho that my muscles were doing the same.... Wasting away that is... It wasn't really a lack of anything that clearly showed me the problem, but rather, the presence of pain after a couple of workout sessions.

The adage goes something like, if you havent been using something, then you use it, it will hurt. This applies to the brain too... but I digress. I've been pretty much living a sedentary lifestyle... PC... PC... PC... no exercise... and now, Im paying for it. After just 3 sessions, I feel pain all over... signifying that I havent been using a -lot- of my muscle groups.

O well... In time, this will pay off, both in health and for my future. After reading up on a lot of weight related health issues, I'd rather suffer a few weeks of initial pain, than months and years of pain and treatments down the line.

Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Ouchness!

I had a really really hard time getting out of bed this morning. I did the usual checkups to see if I was still alive.

Stand up... Check!
Raise Arms high.... Fail!
Squat... Fail!
Stand straight... Fail!
Walk.... Barely passed!

Muscles hurt all over, and Im allergic to most NSAIDs. Great, now what am I to do? Well... ANTOS EH! hehehe

I decided to jog to the Gym this morning, since the gym is around 1-2 kilometers away from my place, should be a good warmup for me. I got out of the gate, started jogging... and that's when I REALLY felt the pain... After maybe 2 blocks, I turned around and decided to skip gym for the day.

Well.. Maybe tomorrow.

Day three, post-gym

Just got home,

I had a very very hard time getting there in the first place, my legs hurt, my upper body hurt, and the car wasnt here...

I pretty much expected the pain tho, since I've already experienced this around 7-odd years ago, but I dont really recall it being this... well.. painful. Hahaha

Anyways, as the old adage goes.. FEEL THE BURN! And yes... every single part of me felt like it was burning, and that's only day three folks.

I guess I'll go write about what the exercises actually did when the pain subsides.