Day 3 done

Day 3 is done, and I'm pooped, although I can already feel something like the beginnings of strength returning to my limbs. I'm going to take a day or two to decide whether to change to a MWF schedule: while this new routine does already seem to be producing effects, it's also leaving me pretty tired and achy, as if I were on a much gentler-but-still-intense version of "The Biggest Loser." I might need the extra rest days to give my muscles a chance to heal from the previous day's punishment.

Walking up 14 flights of stairs with a 5-kilo vest on is no picnic, as it turns out. I'm sweaty and out of breath by the end of the climb, which is probably a good thing. Doing the half-staircase ascent unencumbered, I used to be able to go 14 floors without breaking a sweat. (Of course, part of the problem could be the imminent arrival of summer.) It's hard, right now, to imagine getting to a point where I can do 1.5 staircases with 20 kilos strapped to myself. Maybe I'll get there; maybe I won't.

I'm enjoying how the chest-press machine is forcing my shoulders to stretch more than they normally do. This is, I think, therapeutic for my frozen shoulder. The one-kilometer walk/jog is also nice, at least for the moment. Unlike inside my building's staircase, the outside nighttime air is cool and moving. I remain at a 60-step/40-step jog:walk ratio; that probably won't change for a couple of weeks. 

I'm definitely going to have to bring back my old taekwondo stretching routine; along with being sore, I'm also pretty tight, muscularly speaking. A normal person's workout usually starts with a warmup period to get the muscles loose. This is followed by stretching, and only after you've stretched do you start your actual routine. Once the routine is over, you should probably stretch again while also cooling down. All of this takes time, though, so I haven't bothered with stretching yet, despite knowing I should. Time to reawaken some of the old limberness—see if I can kick at head level again. It's been a while.

Friday and Saturday, I'll be walking 60 kilometers to Yangpyeong, so I won't be doing this routine on Friday; I'll start again on Monday. Sometime before then, I need to decide what my workout schedule is going to be. I might end up making only certain parts of the workout a 3-times-a-week thing.

More later.