Getting the Thrust

Wednesday is supposed to be my rest day. Active rest, but rest. Sunday through Tuesday I Run, Lift, Run; Thursday through Saturday it's Lift, Run, Lift. Three days each of lifting and running, and one day of recovery. A prudent schedule, if a bit heavy.

And Wednesday's a good day to rest. On the weekends I have plenty of time to workout and nap as needed. But during the week time is tight, and by Wednesday I need a morning to sleep in or catch up after an inevitable late night. So I definitely should stick to the schedule and rest on Wednesdays.

But the success of any schedule rests in knowing when to depart from it. This week I have the traditional Turkey Trot 5-miler on Thursday, i.e., Thanksgiving. Then I've got three days off from work. So it made sense to skip the Wednesday rest and lift, then run on Thursday, and then take Friday off to get in an important recovery day as soon as possible.

But when you vary the schedule, it's harder to adhere to the variance. And that little bit of hesitation is the difference between getting up at 5:00 to workout or getting up at 5:45 and vowing to workout sometime later in the day. Guess which I did?

The punch line is that not until 8:00 tonight did I get to do my first interval workout. And it kicked my can, just in time for a 5-mile morning run.

The workout was eight two-minute sets, one minute intense and the next minute easy, though not totally resting. The intense minute was DB thrusters; hold a 30-pound dumbbell in each hand at the shoulder, then squat and come up fast enough to push the DBs straight overhead like a military press.

It's a surprisingly difficult exercise. You're not really pressing the DBs overhead; the explosive movement from the legs should do that. But you have to really work your arms, shoulders and core just to stabilize the DBs. And maybe 30 pounds was too heavy to do eight one-minute sets, but those are the weights I have. Got a great deal on them off of Craigslist, like $35 for the pair.

So I started, and the first set I cranked out 25 reps. Then did a minute of jumping jacks, then back to the thrusters. And proceeded to struggle to get fifteen each consecutive set. Some sets I don't think I got more than 12 reps. When I couldn't go on I at least tried to keep the DBs at my shoulders, and I never dropped them before time ran out. But it's fair to say I was worn out really early, and sixteen minutes never seemed so long. I was most worried I'd drop the weights on my foot or my wife's car; working out alone in your garage is not without its dangers.

But I did the workout, burned the calories, and for the rest of the year that's what counts. Once I'm in shape there'll be plenty of time to practice rope climbing and cliffhanging. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to rest up for the Turkey Trot.