Injuries & Repairs
Work at the gym continues. I'm enjoying the ride --for the most part. The delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) still kicks my ass from time to time, but that's the price one pays for progress.
A level of pain will come up next May when my gym membership expires: LA Fitness no longer does annual one-time payment memberships with discounts for multiple years, but instead offer only monthly subscriptions. The same tier as I currently have (multi-club access except for the Signature gyms, unlimited usage) will cost $30/month. My existing membership was about $750 for three years, or about $21/month, so the new monthly subscription will represent a 43% increase. This doesn't make me happy. Come May, I'll have to dig a bit to see how much wiggle room LA Fitness can offer me, or I could downgrade to the $25/month single-gym option. Or I go looking for another gym.
In my physical pain, injuries come and go. In early 2015, I overworked my right medial deltoid, causing me some discomfort for a long time. I could push & pull directly in front of me for, say, low rows or light bench presses, but could not lift my arm over my head to steady the bar for squats or inclined shoulder presses. Medical exams showed it would heal on its own and it finally did: I've only recently reincorporated some of my original above-shoulder exercises into my regular routine.
Other injuries are more embarrassing. I have a wound still healing on my right shin from accidentally walking into the jutting end of an unused barbell. That one joins two other scars on the same shin for the same reason. *sigh*
And this week, I lost a postage stamp-sized piece of scalp & hair while bench pressing. I just finished a set at 160lbs when I sat up for a minute rest; I misjudged the space between my head and the barbell, scraping the top of my head against the roughed handgrip portion of the metal bar which --because it had 160lbs on it-- didn't budge an inch. It's just a minor skin scrape but damn, it hurt. And bled. And was embarrassing.
In my own defence, I have yet to have to be rescued from equipment because I trapped myself under weight I couldn't handle. I haven't dropped any heavy equipment on my toes. I haven't fallen down stairs. No ambulance has been called for me. But then again, there are many years left ahead so who knows what the future might bring?
A level of pain will come up next May when my gym membership expires: LA Fitness no longer does annual one-time payment memberships with discounts for multiple years, but instead offer only monthly subscriptions. The same tier as I currently have (multi-club access except for the Signature gyms, unlimited usage) will cost $30/month. My existing membership was about $750 for three years, or about $21/month, so the new monthly subscription will represent a 43% increase. This doesn't make me happy. Come May, I'll have to dig a bit to see how much wiggle room LA Fitness can offer me, or I could downgrade to the $25/month single-gym option. Or I go looking for another gym.
In my physical pain, injuries come and go. In early 2015, I overworked my right medial deltoid, causing me some discomfort for a long time. I could push & pull directly in front of me for, say, low rows or light bench presses, but could not lift my arm over my head to steady the bar for squats or inclined shoulder presses. Medical exams showed it would heal on its own and it finally did: I've only recently reincorporated some of my original above-shoulder exercises into my regular routine.
Other injuries are more embarrassing. I have a wound still healing on my right shin from accidentally walking into the jutting end of an unused barbell. That one joins two other scars on the same shin for the same reason. *sigh*
And this week, I lost a postage stamp-sized piece of scalp & hair while bench pressing. I just finished a set at 160lbs when I sat up for a minute rest; I misjudged the space between my head and the barbell, scraping the top of my head against the roughed handgrip portion of the metal bar which --because it had 160lbs on it-- didn't budge an inch. It's just a minor skin scrape but damn, it hurt. And bled. And was embarrassing.
In my own defence, I have yet to have to be rescued from equipment because I trapped myself under weight I couldn't handle. I haven't dropped any heavy equipment on my toes. I haven't fallen down stairs. No ambulance has been called for me. But then again, there are many years left ahead so who knows what the future might bring?