I'm Going To Pay For This Tomorrow

I woke up this morning and my entire body felt oddly…. weak. Not painful, just weak. I did a bunch of sets of man-makers last night cause I still can’t run on the bad ankle and I wanted a tough workout. I think my muscles are insulted because I treated them with such contempt. 

They’re sad, depressed and pouty so they didn’t want to move as I laid there in the bed. My mind is stronger than my body, so I got up, ate a few Advils and got to work. With twenty-four hours to think about it, tomorrow they’re going to be pissed.  They’re going to inflict pain back on me, and I am not looking forward to it.

I found this man-makers exercise on the internet. Supposedly Navy Seals do it. I don’t know if that's true because I don’t know any Navy Seals and I have discovered that not everything on the internet is true.

Start out with a pair of dumbells. The metal kind, not like the slowpoke in front of you at the supermarket writing a check for $4.38. I used 25 pounders.

So you have one in each hand, and you do a squat-thrust. Then do the push-up. Then while still in the plank position, lift the right hand up to the chest and back. Repeat with left hand. Hop back to the squat position still holding the dumbbells on the floor. Rolling your weight forward, lift the dumbells and reach back between your legs as far as you can. Bring your hands forward and stand while curling the dumbells up to your clavicles. Finish it by pushing the dumbells straight up over your head. Repeat.

There's a bunch of variations on this exercise. Here's a video of one using kettlebells...

This is really a full body workout. I did reps of four with a one minute recovery and I was really huffing and puffing. I did maybe six sets and then a half hour later did another six. It was far tougher than I thought it would be. I could have used lighter weights, but the next lighter ones I have are ten pounders, and the bar was not high enough off the floor so it crushed my knuckles. If you’re a Navy Seal or a Marine, you probably think I’m a wuss. I’ll get over it.

If I was being chased by a pack of wild dogs, I could probably run on this ankle. It feels structurally sound but it’s still pretty sore. I’ll try to do three miles Saturday. Can’t afford to lose too much time because there’s a marathon May6th and I have only one week of fat in the training schedule.

Don't pay too much attention to my whining. I really do have some perspective. This bum ankle is just a minor annoyance compared to what our injured service members have to deal with every day. Jump on my bandwagon and help support these injured heroes through the Semper Fi Fund.