Before I went to the Wild West Arts Convention, I was doing a hard cardio-vascular workout every day, and going to the gym twice a week to lift weights. When I returned, I came down with a bad bronchitis that lasted for a couple of weeks, more or less. I still didn’t have much wind when I quit coughing. I was pretty slow to get back into my exercise routine, doing cardio only three times a week. I have finally (last two weeks) gotten back into my daily routine, but no weight-lifting. Today was the first day back in the gym after two months off.
I had to drop from six sets to four, and drop the weight by 25%, about what I was lifting in February. It’s a little dismal to look at your notebook and see how much ground you’ve lost. On the other hand, I’m still ahead of where I was last fall. I have some tendency to overdo things, so being patient in returning to my workouts is a little bit of a challenge.
People sometimes ask me what my goal is in working out — what point do I want to reach? The answer is not so cut and dried. I don’t have a bench-press goal, and I’m certainly not going to impress the girls. It’s just that when you get to a certain age, you either work at getting stronger, or you get weaker every day. If I’m going to be physically able to wear all my hats, I need to be in good shape. I can’t lift dogs, dodge horses, and climb ropes if I’m a couch potato. And that’s not to mention my hereditary risk of heart disease.
So, it was hard to start back after two months off. I know I will be seriously sore this week. But, as they say, whaddayagonna do?