Wow. Just wow.
Today I just couldn't do it. Today I couldn't finish the workout.
Hell I couldn't even finish the second set.
I've never given up before, not even in the beginning. But this, this was me waving the white flag.
This was my back not just giving up but giving in.
Guess I should explain.
Today the workout was four rounds of 10 overhead squats, 15 kettlebell swings and a 200 meter run.
Not bad right? I've written about worse workouts for sure.
But when I hit the run on the first round I felt my back tighten up like someone was twisting screws into the muscles around my lower spine..
Maybe it was because I got to the gym late and didn't properly warm up. Maybe it was the deadlifts beforehand. Maybe because I started my new job today and sat around more than usual. (Not that I was very active when I worked from home, I still sat around all day). Or maybe because I took a week off from the gym while my son was here last week.
Whatever the reason, when I started doing overhead squats for the second round I found that my back wouldn't bend anymore.
See, when you do overhead squats you have to put a little curve in your back in order to hold the weight up above your head right. But I couldn't bend my back at all, which meant the bar was a little more forward than it's supposed to be, meaning I was off balance, meaning there was no way to get the weight up and down without falling forward.
Damn it.
The thing is this isn't the first time I've felt this way. A while back when my brother was living with me on Oahu (like in the late 90's) we decided we were going to surf every weekend. Neither of us were "surfers" but we could go to Waikiki and longboard at least. We just wanted an excuse to take our shirts off and walk around and carry the boards like we were real surfers. (Hey, I was skinnier back then).
Anyway, it was a great idea and we were having fun, getting a workout and getting more tan. That was until my back started feeling tighter and tighter and after 2 hours of surfing I tried to stand up to catch a wave and couldn't pop up any more. You know, that "pop up" you do from the lying down position to stand up and surf. Yeah, my back like just gave out and instead of popping up I just fell forward into the water. I tried catching waves like six times after that and just couldn't do it.
Well tonight was exactly like that afternoon surfing, except it didn't take two hours for my back to give in. It only took a couple of minutes to do that first round.
Damn it damn it damn it.
I don't know what to say except I'll be back on Friday. And if my back messes with me again I will kick its ass.
Which would be weird because my back's ass is my ass. But you know what I mean.
Right?
