Another week, but like every week, it is a completely different experience then the previous one. I am slowly becoming a morning person with early call times for the new movie we are shooting down in Waterford. In the first week I was up out of bed around 5.45 am, but thankfully the call times have been a bit later last week, which allowed me to get in and out of the gym before going to work. That brings a certain freshness to that day, instead of rolling out of bed, into the shower then car. Monday we did not start shooting until 1pm, and with Davy Jones keeping the gym open on the Bank Holiday, I got to rock in before starting the day.
Session 1 :
I had previously agreed with some lads that I was gonna do a session with them on the Monday. Some strongman, however the gym opened at 10 am so I had an hour to get everything in, when they and planned at 2-3 hour strongman session. So I started blasting away before Vinnie popped over and said he would put me thru my paces. Chest and back day was very much a routine session featuring bench, inline, decline and press. We tried a new maneuver, stacking weight on just one side of the bar, while keeping the other side empty. It was a strange sensation, particularly when swapping the weight to the previously empty side. Balance, it was all about keeping balance. Little challenges like that, keeps everything fresh and challenging. That is exactly what you want, to challenge yourself every time you go into the gym. Back wise, due to time constraints we couldn’t really experiment , that is not to say the workout was not strenuous….it always is! You never get to coast.
Session 2 :
I certainly did not get to coast on Wednesday morning. 7 a.m. leg session. What was I thinking? Certainly helped shake off all the brain fog, I felt the clouds disappearing with every squat. We started with some free squats with 20kg in the hand, and then some barefoot, slow lunges. The barefoot element is quite an interesting one. Due to shoes, your feet are naturally protected, when outside the confines of an ole foot glove, your toes naturally seem to stretch out with trying to keep you upright. With that you start activating muscles in your feet. Yes folks, feet workouts! Don’t believe me? Run barefoot for 1km and tell me how you feel then!
From the barefoot lunges, we got the Nike Air Pegasus (my preferred running shoes) back onto my feet, and hopped onto the hack squats. 20 squats over five sets on the hack squat, then it was time for the leg press. As per usual the leg press got the best of me, we focused on explosive movements with a slow descend. It was a long 20 reps for every set. I just started counting the groves on the grip, so as to focus my mind on something other then the pain. The mind gives up before the body, and by going somewhere else, you can still have the movement in your periphery, but the the voice that you are tired just fades away. We finished up on hamstring curls to test out my pulled hamstring, and all was well in the world. However I did have a few wobbles throughout the day, the pain really set in when out on the hurling pitch for the movie a day later.
Session 3 :
Another early morning start with Lee, focusing on shoulders and arms. Once again time was a big factor in the workout, so we tried to fit in as many workouts and sets as possible before I had to go. We went straight into shoulder presses, followed by more shoulder presses and raises. We flew through it, which definitely elevated the heart rate, however I would of preferred to have more time. A big worry of mine is with the time constraints, I would just piss away all the work previously done. I felt like I had alot more in me, especially on arms. I wanted to get some ab stuff in before jetting off, so admittedly I kind of blew off my arms. For shame Shane! I expect more of the same next week, with early morning starts and late evening runs. I am busy, but I’d prefer that then sitting on my own watching youtube videos downing bottles and cans like I was during lockdown.
