I haven't said as much about my diet/exercise progress because I didn't do such a great job of focusing on that in the past month. However, I'm back in business now that I'm less busy--walking more with the pack, lifting and doing body weight exercises in my basement, eating my veggies. I'm down around 5 lbs. now but there's no more time to waste if I really am going to have a negative pack weight.
Today I did body weight squats, some ab work, calf raises, supermans (lower back), and a few other exercises before work. My legs were all jello-like when I got done. I walked to work and then walked to the grocery store and back. On the way back, the pack was 33 pounds, which is uncomfortable and more than I will carry on the trail, but we were running low on a lot of things, and I threw in a bag of apples at the last minute. The good news is that now I know what that weight feels like and am motivated to get more weight off my body and out of my pack.
We'll see how the legs feel tomorrow and the day after.
The Gym.
I used to really like the gym. In grad school, my apartment complex had free memberships to a nearby gym, and I used it at least 3x per week. With my schedule, I could go in the early afternoon as a mental break between classes and studying. I took a weightlifting class and got strong. It was great. Then the free memberships went away, I moved to a different part of town, my classes and research took up more and more time, and I let my fitness slip. Big time.
I really want to like the gym again, but as I use my current membership less and less, I realize that I just don't like it so much. There are a lot of kids around, including high school kids who think that sitting on a weight bench talking to their friends is a good way to use their gym time, and one too many well-meaning but ultimately annoying people who want to "help" me in the weight room. One guy told me "for sure" I was using one piece of equipment wrong (I wasn't)...not that he used it, but he saw it on TV at the Crossfit Games. Dude. Not the same piece of equipment. Not the same exercise. Not the same muscles worked. Not any of your damn business. Most people do mind their own business, but I'm realizing that I like lifting in my own basement better even if I can't do some things because of limited equipment.
There are two things keeping me from canceling my membership, though. One: It's the only place nearby to swim that doesn't require a long-term contract, I kind of like swimming now after I took some lessons last winter, and it could be decent cross training (though I'm not a very good swimmer, so this benefit isn't as good as it could be). Two: I live in a freakin' flat area, so even if I walk a lot of miles outside, I'm not getting the leg workout I'll need to do well on the trail. I can get to some hills or long sets of stairs on weekends, but I really should just get into the gym and use the incline on the treadmill and the stair climber thingy during the week. So...I'm going to keep the membership for now, but I'm planning on canceling it before I get on the trail and using the money to build myself more equipment in my basement instead.
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