Gym Talk...

I went back to the gym yesterday after not going for just over six years.

Okay, yes, we have a pretty decent set up in the garage so it's not like I haven't worked out in six years. And yes, it's not really back since we switched gyms so this is a new place. But basically it's back to the gym.

For the past few years (yes, YEARS) I've been going back and forth between deciding that I have enough equipment here to get a good workout and thinking, no I really do want some of the machines that are available in a gym. I finally came down on the side of the gym.

I loaded in the program I was doing when Covid hit. And I do mean, when Covid hit. The gym was either the last or the second to last thing we gave up. I was in the gym when it was a ghost town. Me and maybe two other hard cores. It was great. If they hadn't closed everything down I might have never stopped going. Just masked up and pushed through. Probably a good thing they shut everything down.

Anyway...the program I use to craft and track my workouts saves old ones so I just set that as my new program and hit they gym yesterday.

The other thing is does is saves the last weight you lifted.

I did not attempt those weights. It was a little humbling to see how much more I was lifting back then. As Brent said it's my first goal. Get back to that level. I was a beast.

Well beastish.

But even lowering the weights yesterday, today I am sore. I haven't been this sore after a workout in ages. Which is exactly what I wanted to be so that's a good thing.

Now I have a few months of fighting off the WHAT THE FUCK as my weight climbs before it lowers a bit and then levels off. It's not really the muscle weighs more than fat thing that everyone talks about, actually building muscle takes a long time to happen, but more that my body is going to start retaining fluids for awhile as my muscles cry about how much they hurt. Sissies.

But it's what I want. I want those muscles back. Not just for vanity, though a little of that, especially after working out in front of those giant mirrors yesterday and actually seeing that though I've lost a lot of strength my arms are still popping when I lift. But mainly I'm trying to see if I go back to lifting a little heavier can I get my cholesterol to lower even more.

I'd like to get back into the normal range. Not borderline high. Not barely normal. But solidly normal.

The diet changes nudged it down, now I want to see if I can give it another push. It's actually kind of amazing what you can do on your own. If it hadn't moved I'd have gone on medication, no shame, I love my better living through chemistry that I already do, but I'm always glad when I can have the control over it all myself.

I can do it myself. My life motto. And also my worst personality trait.

But whatever...

So I'm back in the gym.

Which means I'll have gym stories again. Yay! Can't wait to invent entire personalities and backstories for a whole new crew of people. Though I don't think anything will ever top the couple that broke up in the middle of the free weight section...