Getting Stronger

Today I had a hard time getting myself to the gym.  Probably because I usually work out in the morning and today I had to wait for Keith to get home at 3pm.  It took everything I had to muster the energy to get out the door.  I finally arrived at the gym around 4pm and decided to punish myself for my lack of motivation.  I put myself on the dreaded Arc Trainer thinking payback! Much to my surprise, it wasn't as hard as it normally is.  I even bumped up the resistance and incline a bit.  Gone are the days of relying on my HRM and my Garmin.  Since I tore my ACL and meniscus I have been relying completely on how my body is feeling as to how hard and how far I push myself.   I did 30 minutes on the Arc Trainer and then headed over to the Upper Body Bike. I did 10 minutes and had to bump up the resistance there too.  I then headed to the weight room. Today my strength routine looked like this...

     (3) 12 step ups each leg
     (3) 12 leg presses
     (3) 12 leg curls
     (3) 12 leg extensions
     (3) 12 inner thigh machine
     (3) 12 outer thigh machine
     (3) 12 lower back machine
     (6) 25 abs

This workout was turning out much better than I could have imagined.  In all my years of working out, I've always been a cardio queen.  I've always tried to incorporate strength training because I know how important it is and how great the benefits are, but for some reason I've never been able to stick with it for more than a few months.  When times get busy, strength training is always the first thing I abandon.  Today I increased my weights again and my workout was over before I could get annoyed with it.  I actually really enjoyed it.   I loved knowing that my legs were getting stronger and that will in turn help my recovery....I discovered today that my playlist really helped keep me going.  I always have my ipod on for cardio, but usually dump it for weight training....Why?  I have no idea, but I must of forgot today and the result was a great workout. The music really kept me in the zone.

I'm not saying that my knee injury is a blessing, but I will say it is teaching me valuable lessons about myself that I may not have ever learned......giving me more things to ponder the next time I'm on the Arc Trainer.......