Unleashing The Beast :: FitBob

Didn’t sleep a wink last night, opted to get up and go for the modified SSS… back at it!

Weight: 209, 7am

Soak: 25m
Steam: 5m (HOT)

Weight: 196.8
12:30pm

30 minutes on elliptical, level 5 to get circulation pumping
15 minutes hot tub w/jet massage
10 minutes steam

Total calories: -460

Good session, got the blood pumping, noticeable decrease in finger tinglies.

After taking a month off for the holidays and dealing with a pinched nerve, (annoying as hell) I finally made it back to the gym today for a light workout. Call it a sign from the universe or whatever, but there was an extended citywide power outage today. No internet, so I couldn’t work. No television, so I couldn’t distract myself. The result? More productivitiy!

I cleaned up a pile of bills, made some calls I had been putting off, and went to hop in the shower only to discover/realize that tankless water heaters require electricity to run their temperature control… doh! Since I was beginning to smell a bit ripe, I figured I would go take a shower at the gym. I called them to see if they were affected by the power outage and happily they weren’t.

I had let my training fall off long enough that, as happens to many I suppose, I wasn’t overly eager to jump back in. I had replaced the habit of training with the habit of not training. Work seemed more important. Holidays seemed more important. I had let the workout priority slide.

Since I was powerless (all pun intended) to use any of my usual distractions as excuses and really needed that shower, I knew it was time. And there was no way I could justify paying the gym for a shower. So off I went.

I did the usual 10 minute warmup on the spin bike and some light stretching before moving on to the weights. My hand is still tingly so I wanted to take it easy, plus I wasn’t feeling particularly energetic, so I rotated through some high-repetition/low weight upper body exercises: cable rows, pulldowns, barbell shrugs, incline bench press, dumbell shrugs – my own little “mini-circuit”.

Next it was off to the pool. The rec center has several pools for aquatic therapy, one of which is essentially a small indoor waterpark ride. It’s fun to float around with the current, but I turned against it – using the water pressure as gentle resistance against my pseudo swim strokes. By changing the angle of my hands I could control how much resistance they were getting while letting my legs and core work a little harder.

After 10 minutes of that, I went to soak in the outdoor hot tub for another 10 minutes. Those few steps from the door to the tub, dripping wet, in the winter mountain air… that’s BRISK baby!

As luck would have it, one of my fellow soakers happened to be a physical therapist. I explained I was doing some light rehab work on my pinched nerve, he asked me a few questions and showed me the location of the cubital tunnel on the elbow, which is where the ulnar nerve passes through the bone. We chatted for a few minutes and he said he thought my self-diagnosis of a pinched nerve coupled with carpal tunnel was spot on.

Weight: 198.6
12:30pm

Getting back in the flow of things. 20 minutes of spinning followed by some light circuit-style upper body lifting. Aquatic resistance and hot tub soak to finish up.

Cable Rows: 80×20
DB Incline Bench: 30×20
BB Shrug: 45×20
Pulldowns: 80×20
DB Shrug: 45×20

10 minutes aquatherapy
10 minutes hottub

Total calories: -270
Total weight: 8000 pounds