So for those of you with short attention span let me just outline today’s workout by giving you the bare numbers. Those interested in reading about my time on the floor of my office afterward, keep reading.
The goal was to complete as many century circuits as possible in 30 minutes. A century circuit consists of 40 body weight squats, 30 push ups, 20 hanging knee raises, and 10 pull ups. I failed right from the start, forgetting to start my watch until the first circuit was completed. Guessing that the first circuit took between 3 and 4 minutes, I completed four century circuits in around 33 minutes for a total of 160 BW squats, 120 push ups, 80 hanging knee raises and 40 pull ups.
I expected to do much, much better considering I did 620 reps in my parking garage workout last week and this was only a total of 400 reps, albeit more exercises and much larger reps per set. However the most interesting/concerning part of this is how I felt during and after the workout.
One of the reasons I wanted to try this challenge was to punish myself for the beer and copious amounts of shitty food I ate at the fantasy football draft party I hosted the night before. I felt a bit hung over this morning and didn’t feel great as I entered the gym.
When I started moving around I found myself getting instantly irritated, I smelled. To be more specific my Xbox t-shirt smelled. This beat up shirt is normally used just for working around the house. I was lazy and just stuffed it in the gym bag because it was on top of the drawer. The smell was really annoying me. It was almost like somebody took the shirt and used it to squeeze a dogs anal glands. I found myself distracted both by trying to breathe through my mouth so I didn’t smell it and also wondering if other gym goers were catching a whiff of the stench.
The first century circuit went ok but I was already feeling pretty fatigued. After the second circuit I was feeling like somebody pulled the plug on my energy reserves. I was looking for a place to sit down, something I generally try to avoid during workouts. I just felt very tired. Circuit 3 was very difficult. After I completed it I was just sitting with my head down for a long time. I felt wiped out, much more than I should be.
I was angry with myself for being so beat, I felt like a pussy. After a prolonged resting period I struggled through a 4th circuit and I was done, in more ways than one. I grabbed my water and towel and marched my stinky shirt adorned body out to the Tacoma. Despite already being late, the first thing I did when I got in the truck was recline the seat, crank the AC to max and laid back with closed eyes. I have NEVER done this after a gym workout, not matter how intense it was. I just felt awful, possibly like something was wrong.
After a couple minutes I sat up and drove myself back to work. As soon as I got back to my office I promptly closed the door and laid down flat on my back on the floor, using my towel as a pillow. I never felt the need to do this before either, I just felt really weak. I laid on the floor for a good 5 minutes with my eyes closed until I felt like whatever was going on was dissipating. I feel better now so I’m not sure what to attribute the severe fatigue to. It could have been a combo of things, like spotty sleep, alcohol and a large dose of bad food. All could all be partly responsible for my time on the floor. Or maybe, I am just old.
Todays workout – Leg press 225×10, 405×10, 495×8 – felt tweak in left hamstring on this set, DL (all overhand grip)- 135×10, 185×10, 235×5, 285×3 – weight was kept low in an attempt to work on form (described more below) Leg extension with pause at top position 115×10, 145×8 Leg curl 115×10, 145×8.
Todays compressed gym routine – 5 minute cross trainer warm up with forearm stretching, 20 second quad and hamstring stretches, set of 22 pull ups, set of 50 push ups, alternating front/side straight arm dumbbell raises 15lbsx15, 20lbsx12, 25lbsx8, hanging knee raises 1 set of 20, one arm dead hangs alternating hands 3 sets each with hold of 15-30 seconds per hand, 30 second fingertip hold top push up position (2 sets), bottom push up position (1 set)
