As far as this “experiment” goes I am not going to try and pretend there is anything more than a vague and unscientific methodology behind it. I took 10 days off, so I am going to do 10 days on. There is a little information about glucose burnout and inefficiency around the 10 day mark but I think my experience with working out 10+ days in a row is just as valid. Also, it kind of fits with my schedule at the moment given that 10 days will give me 2 full weeks of bootcamp.
Day 1
Day 1 is cake, it’s filled with enthusiasm and determination, it’s a true romance of physical challenge and I felt like there was nothing that was going to stop me. I even pushed aside my frustration with getting tired too fast, with being weaker than I had imagined I would be and the inevitable body shakes which come with a vigorous workout. I knew pain would be coming but it was day 1 so I didn’t care. It was bootcamp, so I had the added motivation of being surrounded by other fitness enthusiasts and my own motivation to stay ahead. Day 1 was great. I love day 1.
Day 2
I foolishly lulled myself into a false sense of comfort and security during day 2. My day 1 workout was at 6pm so of course during the day at work I was fine, a little tired maybe but otherwise in good spirits. It was not until the tail end of the day that I started feeling nagging aches and pains. My triceps started to twitch, my shoulders started to ache and I realized that it had begun. Even though we had deliberately taken it easy on day 1 I was still pretty sore when I went into the garage to do my day 2 workout. The workout was, again, gentle so that I would preserve my recovery. It looked like this:
Using 95lb loaded bar:
50 deadlifts
40 Squats
30 Cleans
20 Clean and Press
It took around 35 minutes in total, probably because I was ensuring that my mechanics were solid and my form was good. The weight was embarrassingly light but then again the pain of my back injury was still fresh in my mind and pushed any ego from my thoughts. By the end of the workout I was loose and although a little sore, I was moving pretty freely. I still was thinking that this was going to be pretty easy as long as I took it in context of a return to form, not a stress test.
Day 3
It’s day 3. My hamstrings hurt. A lot. I have lingering soreness from day 1, sprinkled with a fresh coat of pain and suffering from day 2 in the cold garage with the olympic bar. I am wondering about the effect the painkillers had on me and if they have driven me insane. Even just adding the extra day between the bootcamp days seems like an exercise in insanity. Today was bootcamp weights and although it was a shortened workout it was still a surprisingly taxing process. My arms burned out really quickly, my overall stamina was gone after just a few rounds and I was left clinging to the notion that if I could just get through this day it would get easier. How deluded am I?
Here is the weights workout we did:
D 5.6.2 – Weights Recovery II
x10x2
Double Curls
Double Press
High pull
Wallball
Chin ups or turnarounds
x10x2
Alt curls
Alt press
Front and Back Rolling Shrugs
WallBall
Chin ups or hand turns
x10x1
DB good mornings
Sitting shoulder press
dips no weight – legs above hands
dip hops
dips leg up each side
x10x1
Olympic bar single end push – switch
Olympic bar single end push – waist to waist
Olympic bar single end push – 180 degree throw
Dips no weight – legs above hands
Dips no weight – legs even with hands
Dips no weight – legs below hands
10×2
Sitting shoulder press
Weighted dips both weights
Weighted dips one weight
weighted dips no weight
10 Pullups plus 10 full pbar dips
Abs – With DB
In and Out
Full situp
Legs out arms extend up and back overhead
Crunch
I think I cried a little at the end there.