Back in the Gym!

Alright!  Let the procrastination end!  I spoke to a friend, R^Callous, and he said I need to start going to the gym right now.  Which, I already knew.  No waiting for the swim suits to arrive.  Tomorrow starts the pre-work gym routine.  Must be strong for the 2010 US Transplant Games!

So, night time planning phase speed revs up one gear.  Tonight, do laundry and set aside both workout clothes to wear to the gym tomorrow morning, and all items to dress for work.  Check it twice.  Dress, two types undergarments (I'll leave those to your imagination), work shoes!  Workout clothes are easier because I put them on before I leave the house.  Deodorant (unless going for a goal of being left alone all day)!  For some reason I often forget things like my socks.  Weird.

Now, planning the gym workout.  I get out my book, which has been sitting, sadly waiting for me to pick it back up again.  What day will it be?  Legs and Lats day.  Working out, being a gym addict in a former life, is a very detailed process.  I will pick my exercises, and look back at my book to see where I should start weight-wise.  Now, lifting for swimming is about endurance, not so much strength.  So, lower weight higher reps.  Must be disciplined!  I cannot go to the gym with no idea what to do or how much to do of it.  Then I will look dumb.  Here it is the plan for tomorrow:

• Leg Press (picked over squats because I'm feeling wimpy):  90lbs x 14 x 2 sets  this seems like the right weight to start at based on my records.  Maybe too light but we'll see how sore I am afterward.
• Leg Extension:  35 lbs x 14 x 2 sets  Why do these burn so much?  
• Leg Curl:  35 lbs x 14 x 2 sets  To keep them the same as Leg Extension
• Lat Pull down:  45lbs x 14 x 2 sets  It seems like I wasn't finishing whole sets at 50lbs
• Rows:  25lbs x 14 x 2 sets.  I'm not sure about this one, it looks like I wasn't increasing fast enough on these and I was always increasing.  So, let's see how it goes.
• Push-ups:  10 x 2 sets

And the most important, 4 ab exercises, keeping in mind that I'm not allowed to do sit-ups or crunches or anything at involves crossing over my body all due to my osteoporosis.  So:

• Standard Leg Lifts:  15 seconds x 20
• Supermans:  15 seconds x 20
• Scissors:  15 seconds x 20
• Thrusters:  15 seconds x 20 (now these are kinda naughty looking)

I can't seem to find my stopwatch, and I don't see one on my blackberry.  I'm looking for one to download to it, my counts get pretty quick after a bit.  Any ideas?

This year I hope to really get my upper body strength back up.  After transplant it really declines because the sternum wires restrict you to lifting a maximum of five lbs for a while.  Since going into transplant you aren't exactly pumping iron and afterward you are concentrated on aerobic exercises, the upper body strength really suffers, not to mention I'm a female and it's not exactly our strongest quality.  Beyond that I was always a bit afraid that I'd drop a bar on my Port.

I'm [slightly] sorry that I can't run or walk anymore.  I have a something on my spleen that is growing and it is irritated by the pounding of my feet on the ground.  I figure the swimming is going to cover it, but truthfully, I had the most growth of lung capacity during the period I was running.  Oh well, can't risk hurting my spleen.  I don't want it to break.

Now my book is all set for tomorrow.  And my wake-up call is coming to ensure I get out of bed.  The clothes are in the dryer.

I realize that this blog post is kind-of boring.  But, what the heck.  Life is sometimes boring, yo!