Submitted by Jsparrow on Tue, 23/09/2008 – 10:42am
Inspired by Mr Motley himself, Jon, and his new circuit training routines, the competitive edge came out in myself. That edge has been laying dormant for a number of years, and only recently been awaken (see below). And with no more party food scheduled until Christmas, now is the ideal time to get into some form of shape.
So, what have I been doing in the year since my last blog entry? Not an awful lot, it has to be said. I am playing five-a-side football a lot more reguarly now, approximately once every two to three weeks. That’s where the edge was rediscovered. Generally, the games I play are kick-arounds with work colleagues. There is running involved, obviously, but the game is played at a nice slow pace.
We entered into the company tournament in May. Seven teams, six games, top four through to semi-finals. After four games, we had won one and lost three. We were dead and buried. But two wins in our last two games gave us fourth place. We were tired, but had to play a semi final. We won that 1-0 against a team that really should have beaten us. They were getting really serious and started turning on each other. That’s when I found the edge. That desire to win and be the best. And win we did. Somehow we managed to find the extra energy for the final, and came away 2-1 winners. To say I was shattered was an understatement. I finished that last game on will-power alone.
So, back to the present day. I’ve got three games of football lined up over the next month. No need to do any more there. But this circuit training looks a doddle, I’ll give that a go….
So I started last night. Before I continue, I should point out that back in my peak, half a lifetime ago, I was rubbish at press ups. I think the most I ever managed without stopping was 20. That’s no joke – I just don’t have any arm muscles. Never needed them, never wanted them. I think I attemped a pull up once, and ended in a heap. Now sit ups were a different matter. I could do loads of them in a row. Never had any problems with squats either. Star jumps just make me feel stupid, so avoided them at all costs.
I didn’t have a lot of time last night, and I wanted to start off slowly. No point in trying to do too much and end up aching for a week. I started with press ups. My aim was to do as many as I could before my arms gave way. After four, they were shaking, but managed a fifth. Hopefully next time the fifth will be a bit easier.
Sit ups proved to be a bit easier for me. My aim was to do 25. When I got to 15 I realised that it wasn’t going to be easy. At 20 I was ready to give up, but just about managed five more to reach my target. Tonight I’ll aim for 30.
I skipped out the squats and star jumps. I’ll introduce them later on. I’ll concentrate on press ups and sit ups for now. I’m playing football on Friday, so I don’t want aching limbs for that. When the last time you did these kind of exercises was over six years ago, then you need to start off slowly!