So, I made it over to the gym on my own for the first time in a good long while, and did 20 minutes on the recumbent exercise bikes, while playing & listening to Lumines. Ended up picking a relatively consistent, high-resistance routine, and now my legs are trembling. Whee! Still, it felt good to have the time, and the slack to actually go to the gym, instead of sitting at my desk all day, stressed out of my mind.
Yesterday, did some upper body on the Total Gym at home, so that’s another plus. Whee-ha.
Now, if only I could get a real, honest-to-goodness solid night of sleep. That would be something.
I could dope you up. But then I’d be obligated to sell your organs.
Slime! No. Clementine! No, that doesn’t rhyme. Ummm … Stitch in time saves nine! No, that’s a phrase. Shit. Crime? Fuck.
In any case, the secret to a good night’s sleep is Tylenol PM.
After a crazy Winter of work, I’ve been going to the gym more than once a week as I was doing. It’s always tough get there, but I’m always really happy after I leave the gym. It feels like a substantial accomplishment. I don’t care that I’m sore for the next couple days.
But given how happy after I leave the gym, I’m surprised at how much I don’t like going. You’d think all the post-gym, positive feedback would end up changing my attitude about going.
As a former recumbent exercise biker, and not that you asked, but I recommend forgetting about it and just running on the treadmill at whatever pace you can handle. I don’t recall if you’ve ever mentioned doing any running.
If you’re like me and have little patience for the gym, the treadmill is much faster at getting you into any kind of shape.
Obviously, it’s harder while you’re doing it, but it’s so much faster. I don’t know what the conversion is, but it’s like half the time to get a decent workout. You just get it over with, which I prefer. And I noticed I was getting into shape faster through running.
The barrier to entry for running is higher than sitting down on the bike (I found it a little intimidating), but I think it is worth it. I can’t imagine ever going back to the recumbent bike except for medical reasons.
Like I said, just do what you can handle, and then work your way up to higher speeds and inclines.
“I can’t imagine ever going back to the recumbent bike except for medical reasons.”
The bum knee would not take kindly to it.
Heh, Tylenol PM is exactly the doping I was thinking of. I have a ginormous econo-pack at home. I don’t know what I was thinking, getting such a big one.
“The bum knee would not take kindly to it.”
I knew there was something I wasn’t remembering. As I wrote it, I thought, “doesn’t he not run for some reason?” Couldn’t remember it, so figured I was thinking of something else.
Do you use the Tylenol PM?
Seriously, it changed my life. Like most people, I don’t sleep well if I’m worried about something that will happen the next day. And since, that’s me quite often, I never could sleep. Tylenol PM let me get some sleep.
These days, I’m so exhausted and have come up with other ways to fall asleep (playing video games before I go to sleep takes my mind off of what stresses me), that it’s not often a problem. But if I need it, I love it.
My problem is that I feel really groggy & nauseated the day after, like I’m hung over. Except I have never been hung over, so I can only go by other people’s descriptions of this phenomenon.
I use it once in a blue moon, when I’m having both pains and insomnia.
Yep, the knee keeps me from running. The barrier for entry is both raised by the pain, and the knowledge of further pain when I stop. Whee! Fun! I definitely got a good workout on the recumbent today. The other thing that I’d be doing is lifting, or using the rowing machine. Hopefully, as long as I’ve got free time, I’ll be able to keep this up.
I can’t do the treadmill either. I haven’t been diagnosed, but my knee is dead after ten minutes.
But congrats on the gym. Showing up is half the battle…GEEEYYYYYJOOOOOOO!
As for getting to sleep, my girlfriend used to drug herself with ambien(sp) and it knocked her out cold everytime. It’s prescribed, but it’s good. I stood up on the bed one night, as a test, and started clapping and singing Outkast’s “Hey Ya” and she didn’t even blink.
It was awesome.
Wow, I don’t need drugs, but you could do that next to me, and I wouldn’t wake up. But IF I did, I’d kick your ass.
I can’t do the treadmill either. I haven’t been diagnosed, but my knee is dead after ten minutes.
Kero, you might want to get that checked out. I have a bum knee (not nearly as bum as Seppo’s) and I can run on the treadmill just fine. I have limitations to how often I can run outdoors on concrete, but I can run every day on the treadmill.
No, really. Get that checked out. That’s not normal.