Mental Block

It was so tough to go to the gym this morning! I was so sore from yesterday's boxing lesson - my arms and torso were killing me. Still, I had to go. If I want to finish Stage 1 of NROL4W before traveling, then there as no way I could miss today's workout.

As soon as I walked into the gym I saw H, my boxing coach. I kid you not, my muscles immediately tensed. I was like 'Please, stay away. My muscles are crying!' He laughed a bit and then reminded me that I had to cut my nails before our next session (protest!) and that I needed to make sure to cool down properly after our workouts to ease the soreness. Points noted H. I'll see what I can do about cutting my nails.

Since I've been doing a bit more cardio than I had planned I thought I'd take it easy on that front today and just focus on the weights. Doing squats on the new free weights machine is a bit tough - you've really got to watch your balance -- I was grateful when M put the neck cushion the bar - it really helped. My poor math ability really comes out when trying to calculate how much weight I should add ... for example, it wasn't until I got home and I was entering my sets into the computer that I realized - wait a second, I didn't lift 35/35/40 today like I thought I had ... the bar weighs 20. There were 2 10-kg weights on either side -- in my mind, I didn't think about the other side and just wrote down that I did a set of 30 ... then I added a pair of 2.5 kg plates -- and wrote it down as 35 ... for the last set I thought I'd push myself and decided to add another pair of 2.5 kg plates ... and I thought I was just lifting 40 ... Wait a second - that wasn't 40 kg - it was 50! So I did a warm-up set at 40 kg. Then went on to do two sets at 45, and the final set at 50 ... wtf. How did that happen? I knew the bar felt heavy ... but I pushed through it ... once again, making me realize what a major effect mental preparation has on my workouts.

I continued the rest of my workout - my push-ups are definitely getting better, I'm having a tough time with the 41 kg seated rows. I increased my step-up set by 1 kg ... and then the prone jackknife ... I was a bit freaked out because this is the last phase ... will I really be able to complete 3 sets of 12? I did the first two sets and struggled a bit with balance during the last 2 reps ... and then, just before I started my third set I realized - wait a second, I'm not supposed to do 3 sets of 12. I'm supposed to do 3 sets of 15! How the hell will I be able to manage that? I was so disappointed - I already struggled a bit with the 12 reps ... and now 15? I paced around the workout studio a bit (another benefit of working out in the women's only section - you pretty much have it all to yourself!) ... and then thought - no, if the program says 15 reps for Workout 7, then I'm going to do 15. So I braced myself and did the set of 15. It was all about concentration and sheer determination of getting at least 1 set of 15 done today ...

My legs were feeling a bit achy so I decided to just walk for 15 minutes to kind of loosen them up. While I was walking I thought - just 1 set of 15 is not enough. You've got to do at least one more set. If I could do it once, then I can do it again ... so after I finished on the treadmill I went for it - and managed to complete my 2nd set.

I would be (should be, perhaps?) happy that I managed to do it - but I guess I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't complete 3 sets of 15 ... I also can't help but wonder if I'm getting the most out of my workouts doing them on my own? I guess that's part of the challenge.

Anyway. I'm glad that I completed workout 7A though I do think that I maybe I should have taken today off to rest a bit. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.