Round 7: Day 3: Just Arms

Starting over can be liberating; it can be frustrating; it can also be very, very painful. I'm still smarting (not in the good way) from Sunday's 30-15 workout. It's a bit embarrassing when you think you're in good shape, only to discover that your body seriously objects to some exercise following a 3-week hiatus. I thought I was better than this. Apparently, not.

But that's why I exercise. To be a better me. So, I'll accept short-term pain as a reminder not to lay off for too long again. My body will once again become accustomed to the daily regimen and, hopefully, I'll be rewarded by having a body which operates smoothly, efficiently and pain-free on a daily basis for many years to come. That's the plan, anyway. And it's always good to have a plan.

Today I got back into Just Arms. I didn't think that I could handle any shoulder or chest exercises, still being quite sore from the resistance workout a couple of days ago, so I felt that limiting the workout to arms would be tolerable. To my surprise (and delight) the workout went reasonably well. I decreased the weight on a couple of exercises (forearms and hammer curls) and managed to complete the workout without incident. For the last few months, hammer curls have been my nemesis, so decreasing the weight was probably a good move, to increase reps and gain a greater benefit from doing the exercise. Unfortunately, my arms were out of gas (it was the third exercise from the end of the workout) so reps didn't go up, in spite of the 5lb weight decrease. There's still a little endurance to be built up. Right now, my triceps are screaming with pain, and my biceps are still looking puffy and inflated. The good news is that weightlifting didn't have any adverse effect on my recently stressed back. It appears as though things have returned to normal. I'll be very careful to ensure that I'm lifting with good, clean form, so as to avoid any aggravation of the back, and will do some gentle, supplementary exercises to strengthen the affected area.

Yoga is going to be most welcome tomorrow, as always.