Shock Therapy

One of the axioms of physical training is that your muscles adapt to new stresses placed upon them. Conversely, a completely homogenous routine is not productive -- if you do the same workout every day, there's nothing new to provide that "shock" to the muscles, and no growth (adaptation) occurs. Or as Conan O'Brien once said "That which does not kill you makes you stronger."

Though the jury's still out on whether it killed me or not, I'm thinking that this weekend has a good chance of making me stronger. We'll see.

I started Saturday morning with weightlifting at the gym. Because I wanted to do some running right after I lifted, I went to the 24-Hr Fitness facility at Belleview and Santa Fe, which provides easy access to the Platte River Trail. I'm not sure why, but it seems that each 24-Hr Fitness facility has a unique set of exercise equipment; no two gyms have exactly the same kinds of machines. So, Shock #1 came from working out on weight machines that provide different motions than I'm used to. (And since the new motion is kinda fun, I probably hit it harder than I would have on my "familiar" machines.)

Shock #2 came on the run. I'm really trying to hold my "Chi-Running" style, with a midfoot strike and good posture. It's not habitual yet, and it takes concentration...so even though I'm experiencing less knee pain than I did with the old heel-strike stride, my leg and core muscles seem to be working harder. Between holding form, resisting the urge to walk and rest, and trying to make it back to my car in time for my next appointment (more about that in a minute), I was pretty beat up by the end of the run. It was only 5 miles, but it felt twice that far.

Immediately after the run, I jumped back in the car and drove over to where I had agreed to meet my buddy Kim for a bike ride out to Red Rocks. So there's Shock #3.

We had done this ride several times during the summer. But it had been a long time since I had been back on the bike (other than some low-intensity rides in the living room). Kim and I enjoy the social aspect of the ride, so there are opportunities to chat...but we also challenge each other to push the pace. Our route takes us over about a 25-mile course, with multiple killer hills. The road from downtown Morrison up to the amphitheater doesn't look all that steep, but I run out of granny gears in a hurry. A minute before we made the turn into the park, we had been chatting casually -- now we were both huffing and puffing and still not getting enough oxygen.

Red Rocks is bad enough, but then there's the hill over the Dinosaur Ridge hogback, the climb up to the Bear Creek Lake dam, and the ascent back up out of the valley to return to the Wal-Mart where we had met. My legs were burning...and after the weightlifting earlier, my arms weren't exactly feeling fresh, either.

The weather was spectacular though, and as always the ride was fun and the company excellent. The question was whether I'd be able to move when I woke up Sunday morning.

To my surprise, Sunday wasn't bad...at least not until Shock #4.

I did a short walk/run jaunt around the neighborhood before going to swim practice, and my legs felt pretty good. Once I got in the pool, though, I realized just how much the unfamiliar weight machines, the run, and the bike ride had torn me up. My arms and shoulders were completely uncooperative, my legs felt like lead, and drowning seemed a distinct possibility. But as usually happens, I got looser as the practice went on...and eventually felt good enough to hold a decent pace on a set of 10 x 100s free on a 1:20 sendoff. I was feeling comfortable at that point, and on my way to a shock-free workout.

At that point, Mark (who had been the lane leader) got out, leaving me to finish the workout as the sole male in the pool. So when Lori suggested that we do 5 x 50s with 10 pushups in the middle of each one, I felt obligated (as the lone remaining representative of the brotherhood of manly men) to agree to the challenge.

Holy cow! That was HARD! My poor tired body was screaming for mercy—arms shaking, legs wobbly, and breathing ragged and raspy. But the gauntlet had been thrown, and there was no way I was going to give up on the pushups while a bunch of frail little girls cranked through them without complaint. I refuse to be outdone by a group of dainty, dress-wearing, Oprah watchers!

---Oh, OK. You got me. I just threw that last bit in there to see if you're paying attention. Anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that I've been getting my butt kicked by girls throughout my entire life. I don't like it very much and I try to avoid it, but after having it happen so consistently over the years, I think I handle it with adequate dignity. And besides, while every single woman on my swim team is lovely, sweet, and very feminine, they are NOT frail by any stretch of the imagination. One of the things I love most about this group is that each and every one of them embraces challenge, and they attack their workouts with positive attitudes and enthusiasm. The women on the Foothills Masters Swim Team are truly kick-ass babes!

And they make me work. At the end of practice, I could barely move. I think that final pushup set made Shock #4 the biggest one of the weekend. If the axioms are true, then I should be getting a LOT stronger after this one. I'm guessing that I'll be creaky (and sleepy) all day Monday at the office, and will want to take a hot bath when I get home Monday night. But you know what? It feels good to know that I got in some effective training over the weekend. It may hurt a bit, but it feels good.

I hope your weekend also provided some opportunities to feel good. Let's hope the rest of the week does too. Have a great day, my friends!