Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Stay hungry...

I already see now what Arnold means in his The Education of a Bodybuilder by saying you have to "keep your mind hungry." His point is that you have to stick to a realistic schedule, not only so you don't over-train your body, but also in order to 'tease' your mind to want more gym time. If you went to the gym everyday at any time, on a manic whim, you could easily get bored with your routine, your progress, your gym--such is human nature. If, however, you 'fast' from gratifying the impulse to hit the gym, your mind can only visualize what the next workout will be, and visualization is a crucial dimension of any serious exercise regimen. Once I finish a month of my current regimen, I will switch over to the 4-day plan Arnold outlines in The Education. I already feel mildly addicted to my exercise plan and do find myself mimicking exercises in anticipation and visualizing my form as I review upcoming workout. But I'm keeping myself balanced. Mentally hungry.

Last night I did scratch the itch by doing about 30 minutes of jump rope. I invested in a Bobby Hinds speed rope (Made in the USA, if you can believe it!), but I think the handles are smaller than a beginner needs and it might be a tad short for me. Such are the woes of an over-eager noob. As for the workout itself, oh my goodness, jumping rope is so humbling. I can only do a standard two-foot skip and maybe some slalom skips. Forget about one-foot skips or jogging steps or reverse skipping or crossovers for more than 1-5 revolutions. Truly embarrassing. My final "challenge" last night to wrap up the session was to skip 100 times straight without stopping. I did it, though, the last twenty were pretty grueling (lots of tongue-biting frowns), and it took me just over a minute. Again, pathetic. I feel truly oafish compared to skilled jumpers.

But such is fitness: if at first you suck, try, try again; practice makes less laughable; even the longest journey begins with a single visit to your physician; and the like. As I mentioned before, because I want to "bomb" my calves as heavily as I can, without injury, I will be doing jump rope nearly every day. Every humbling, embarrassing, oafish day.

Even though I had trouble falling asleep last night (ermanentpay ixnay on the early evening offeecay, idiot!) and had to get up a little earlier this morning, I didn't feel wrecked and zombie-like as I normally do in the morning. I guess this fitness thingamabob is having some benefits, after all. It was and is a blessed thing to begin the day on one's knees in the Word of the Lord with a less than totally cotton-stuffed head.

Stay tuned.

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