Reverse Practice

I got up early and went to Plate City. It really is nice to see the day come in out there. Birds sing, the breeze is gentle, and squirrels scurry over the tops of large limbs high in the sky. I am out there all alone. Well, we are never alone. There is Pee Wee and there is God.

Push. I did a push workout. Only this time, I did not priortize the bench press but the overhead press machine instead. No, I am not tired of that machine. I don't think I will become tired of it. The way it makes my shoulders feel is something I like. I set a new PR at 145 on the overhead. If you are keeping count, yes, I set four PRs in the last four push workouts. I only did one set on the bench. In addition to all of that, I did lots of external rotations for the corator ruff muscles like I always do.

Inside, I made and drank a high protien shake, showered, got dressed, and went to work. At work, it was one of my two long days. I have four straight classes on Moday and Wednesday. That might not sound like much, but to me it is very tiring. I enjoy it, but when it is over, I am washed out.

Back home, I found my wife on the front porch with a grin on her face. What's up? I wondered. Our daughter and granddaughter were what was up. They had been there all day and were just gone to a store to buy some shoes. They came back two hours later.

There were hugs and talking and listening. Mostly listening. Our daughter is one of the great talkers of the world. She can and does talk for hour on end. We like that. We listen. We enjoy being in her presence. 

They left about 7:00 p.m. and I went to the pool. I almost never go to the pool at that hour. When I got there, Alaina was in and doing a set. I waded in and had the temerity to ask what she was doing. "Hundreds and fifties," was her response. I asked if I could jump in and she agreed. So I did 3 X 100 hard with no warmup. Then we did 50s and then it was time for a cooldown. So that is where I did my warmup. 

How did it feel to go right into a set without a warmup?

Not as bad as you might think. That first 25 was geat. Then I was sucking air. But I always hurt warming up, so now the only difference was I was swimming faster. That is probably not good for tendons and joints, but it's nice to know that it is doable. 

I only swam 1,400. After Alaina left, I gave in to that old temptation of not pushing myself because I was all alone. It's far too easy to tap out early when no one is there to push you or hold you accountable.