Catch up Day...
Saturday is my catch up day.
During the week I plan to do lots of different workouts but for whatever reason some get missed or lost within the time frames.
There's lots of reasons for this:
Swimming
I hate swimming at peak times because the lanes are usually filled with muppets. At Virgin we have 3 lanes and half the pool segmented off for families. I don't have a problem with that.
Slow lane - Slow people / beginners
Medium lane - Capable swimmers
Fast Lane - Fast swimmers / elites
Now if the pool is empty I usually go in the medium lane. My 100m splits over 400-800m are somewhere between 64 seconds (with fins) to 78 seconds (without) per 100m. I don't consider myself fast, because I compare myself with an elite swimmer. Which I'm clearly not.
I find myself swimming up and down the pool at a descent pace, then a muppet will walk in and with the whole pool empty start swimming either a SLOW breastroke, or lie on their backs and slowly kick their legs, in my lane. Taking between a minute and a minute and a half to complete a length. 9 times out of 10 their lane discipline is useless and they drift all over the place, and it winds me up.
WTF?
In which world do they consider themselves 'medium'? I'm betting these are the same people that drive in the middle lanes on the motorway. Get in the inside!!
And it gets worse the busier it gets. I've had people complain that I'm wearing fins in the fast lane and I 'might' injure them. How?! How will they ever get close enough to me at that speed for me to hurt them?
I've been swimming since I was 4 years old. I've had two injuries in that time; someone dislocated a finger doing slow breaststroke in a fast lane, and someone mistiming their kick off the wall and kicking me in the face instead, FROM the NEXT lane!@!
Gym equipment
The busier it is the harder it is to get on equipment, get the right dumbbells or doing anything that links together quickly. My gym at work is fantastic, it's spotlessly clean, the equipment is well maintained and although we sometimes have the odd moan it's pretty much an all round 10.
Virgin is filthy. Disgustingly so. I once left a mars bar wrapper in a locker over a holiday period. It was there for 3 weeks. I took it out eventually because it just confirmed a lack of attention. That would have been picked up in a 10am sweep the first day in my gym.
On Monday the first 4 rowers out of a block of 11-15 had no working batteries. The two rowers I used were clunky and need lubing and a little love and care.
Gym equipment is hardy enough to last a lifetime. The old leg press I first used in 1987 came from the Lido before the second world war allegedly. Sure the bearings on the wheels had to be replaced, but it worked.
It's simple. Check it regularly and maintain it.
Last excuse...
I sometimes start work at 6am in the gym, that's a 0502 train to work. I usually work back to back till 1400h just because I like to stack things.
Train home at 1439, gets me in a 1515 and I'm starving. If it's pouring down with rain and I have a run scheduled or a bike ride. I'm tired, hungry and cranky and I've no interest in training. For me it's like going back to the office.
If I miss the 3pm window in the gym 4-6pm is the builders slot, and forget it 6-8.30pm.
So I either have to go straight to the gym from the station or drag myself by the scruff of the neck out of the house.
Not impossible.
If it's my only workout of the day it's easy. If it's my second or third. I'm not unduly concerned about shifting to Saturday...
Just started an awesome book which I will talk about in my next blog.
Everyday is Game Day.
To be continued....
During the week I plan to do lots of different workouts but for whatever reason some get missed or lost within the time frames.
There's lots of reasons for this:
Swimming
I hate swimming at peak times because the lanes are usually filled with muppets. At Virgin we have 3 lanes and half the pool segmented off for families. I don't have a problem with that.
Slow lane - Slow people / beginners
Medium lane - Capable swimmers
Fast Lane - Fast swimmers / elites
Now if the pool is empty I usually go in the medium lane. My 100m splits over 400-800m are somewhere between 64 seconds (with fins) to 78 seconds (without) per 100m. I don't consider myself fast, because I compare myself with an elite swimmer. Which I'm clearly not.
I find myself swimming up and down the pool at a descent pace, then a muppet will walk in and with the whole pool empty start swimming either a SLOW breastroke, or lie on their backs and slowly kick their legs, in my lane. Taking between a minute and a minute and a half to complete a length. 9 times out of 10 their lane discipline is useless and they drift all over the place, and it winds me up.
WTF?
In which world do they consider themselves 'medium'? I'm betting these are the same people that drive in the middle lanes on the motorway. Get in the inside!!
And it gets worse the busier it gets. I've had people complain that I'm wearing fins in the fast lane and I 'might' injure them. How?! How will they ever get close enough to me at that speed for me to hurt them?
I've been swimming since I was 4 years old. I've had two injuries in that time; someone dislocated a finger doing slow breaststroke in a fast lane, and someone mistiming their kick off the wall and kicking me in the face instead, FROM the NEXT lane!@!
Gym equipment
The busier it is the harder it is to get on equipment, get the right dumbbells or doing anything that links together quickly. My gym at work is fantastic, it's spotlessly clean, the equipment is well maintained and although we sometimes have the odd moan it's pretty much an all round 10.
Virgin is filthy. Disgustingly so. I once left a mars bar wrapper in a locker over a holiday period. It was there for 3 weeks. I took it out eventually because it just confirmed a lack of attention. That would have been picked up in a 10am sweep the first day in my gym.
On Monday the first 4 rowers out of a block of 11-15 had no working batteries. The two rowers I used were clunky and need lubing and a little love and care.
Gym equipment is hardy enough to last a lifetime. The old leg press I first used in 1987 came from the Lido before the second world war allegedly. Sure the bearings on the wheels had to be replaced, but it worked.
It's simple. Check it regularly and maintain it.
Last excuse...
I sometimes start work at 6am in the gym, that's a 0502 train to work. I usually work back to back till 1400h just because I like to stack things.
Train home at 1439, gets me in a 1515 and I'm starving. If it's pouring down with rain and I have a run scheduled or a bike ride. I'm tired, hungry and cranky and I've no interest in training. For me it's like going back to the office.
If I miss the 3pm window in the gym 4-6pm is the builders slot, and forget it 6-8.30pm.
So I either have to go straight to the gym from the station or drag myself by the scruff of the neck out of the house.
Not impossible.
If it's my only workout of the day it's easy. If it's my second or third. I'm not unduly concerned about shifting to Saturday...
Just started an awesome book which I will talk about in my next blog.
Everyday is Game Day.
To be continued....
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