Day 6 – DOMS strikes with a vengeance

Every kid I knew growing up either had this poster or desperately wanted it.
Every kid I knew growing up either had this poster or desperately wanted it.

DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This is why when you work out hard you are not sore the next day but rather 2 days later. It is one of those things in the fitness and medical field that is still up for debate as to the cause. You would think that in this age we would pretty much know why the body does certain things. Apparently all that money we pay to the doctors really does go on BMW’s and country clubs! Regardless of the reason, the facts are simple. 2 days ago we did a difficult leg and back workout, and yesterday I was in some discomfort. Today I feel like I have a large hunting knife stuck in my left butt cheek. The pain is excruciating, it is a significant hindrance to my ability to walk and my whole hip/back/pelvic girdle area is seized up like an old Chevy that has been sitting in the rain and the snow since Charlie’s Angels was on the telly. Speaking of which, it is with great sadness that we note the passing of one of the greatest sex symbols of my youth, Farrah Fawcett. I watched Charlie’s Angels in England as a kid with fascination not only at the wonder that was American TV but also because every kid I knew thought that Farrah Fawcett was without a doubt the most beautiful woman in the world. There was no debate, she just was, and she will be missed greatly and remembered fondly.

Back to day 6 though, which means at some point I have to stop bitching and do Kenpo X. The saving grace is that a few years ago I took Kempo Karate (Kempo is the Americanized version of the original Kenpo) classes for a summer and also the P90 program (the beginner Beachbody program) had some karate type components to it when we did that a few years ago. I am not going to say I know what to expect beacause to be honest this program has already given me enough curve balls to prove that they have obviously done their homework in preparing a system to throw you off balance. It’s going to be difficult, it is going to be extremely painful, but in the end that is what I signed up for and I am not going to be beaten by a DVD, I just won’t!!!

So it was just as difficult as I imagined however it was a lot more fun than I imagined and the hour just flew by. Probably knowing I didn’t have to do Ab killer afterwards helped. The workout itself it fairly predicatble, some strking, kicking and blocking along with some complex multiple movements that I wasn’t quite able to master right away. My heart rate was over 130 the whole hour, peaking at almost 150. So far, it was the easiest day of the program simply because the movements didn’t really require advanced balance or strength just endurance and an amount of coordination that anyone should posess. It was easy to do well, in so much as you are able to push yourself hard even if you can’t do the movements exacltly as you are supposed to. Of course, there are enough of each repetition that at the end of the workout you are left with the infamous jelly legs but the workout is enjoyable enough that you don’t really notice. It is the perfect way to end the week especially after such a gruelling start.

Hard to believe it was a week ago that I started this. Although I did have to take the 2 days off, I will make up by not taking the rest day and doing a double on Sunday with a morning run while Nicole is at work at the gym.

Week one done! I would pat myself on the back but my shoulders are too sore to reach back there…

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