It’s Saturday and I can’t swim. Barry Feyder, who is also afflicted with a nerve problem and can’t swim, decided he should come to Manly and we would go for a walk. He arrived at 730am and after filling him up with a cup of tea we set off down the beach on a still, warm morning. We walked to Shelly and over the hill, before flopping back at Manly Wine bar for breakfast. Barry is the father of twin girls and I have raised three daughters so we have much in common and much to ponder. The challenges of modern child raising, what we did right, what we did wrong and the difficulties young women face in a more affluent society than we grew up in. We constantly ponder these questions and agree, that while we have “walked the walk,” and did our best, no one is an expert on raising daughters or what a “perfect” father should be.
“The greatest gift a father can give his daughters is to love their mother,” was my piece of shared wisdom. Barry didn’t seem to disagree. By that measure he has been an exemplary parent.
After the walk, it was still Saturday, so it was off to the gym, sore neck notwithstanding. The show must go on.
Not only is Virgin Active gym at Frenchs Forest noisy, but it also has hairdryers in the mens’ change room. Fair dinkum, it’s hairdryer dreamtime in these gyms. Maybe Sir Richard Branson needs them so if he drops in he can adjust his Pompadour. Maybe they are expecting The Donald who needs to tease his Beehive. Call me a dinosaur. I don’t care. Womens’ hairdryers should be n the womens’ change room.
At level 10 on a 15 level bike going 100 RPM – a long way from six months earlier when I couldn’t do one rotation at level 2
Anyway, big day on the stationary bike: 5 minutes on level 8 to warm up, 10 mins on level 9, then 10 mins on level 10. I cranked to 100rpm twice on level 10. Don’t believe me here is the proof. Then I noticed something. On one side of me was a guy about 40 and he was cranking around at level 8. The the guy on the other side, about the same age was on level 10. They both looked like hairdryer types. With five minutes to go I wondered what it would be like to go up to 11. So I punched the screen. Went to 11 and started to grind. Don’t believe me here it is. Cop that pomade boys – the Big Dog is in the gym. I manged to keep above 80rpm for the remainder of the session on a resistance of 11 and the bike only goes up to 15. I originally started all those months ago on resistance of 2. Can’t believe I’ve got to here.
Cop this pomade boys – 82 rpm at a resistance of 11. An antidote to pain and I don’t have to rub it in my hair.
Rest of the session was pretty standard although I’m finding it hard to get beyond 70kgs on the leg press machine. This stuff is therapeutic as I forget about my neck and the pain in my arm when I’m in the gym. The amazing thing is I’ve completely forgotten about having a broken leg. I guess that’s because I don’t have much pain there now and the pain in my arm is so much more intense that the brain focuses on it and gets anxious about it, particularly as it keeps me awake at night. The nervous system is a vast mystery, at least to me.
Leg Extension……………….10 reps x 30kg both legs
Leg Extension……………….20 reps x 30kg 4 both legs
Adductor……………………10 x 35kgs
Adductor……………………10 x 40kgs Increase in resistance
Adductor……………………20 x 40kgs
Leg Curl …………………..20 reps x 30kg x 2 both legs
Leg Press…………………..10 reps x 50kg both legs warm up
Leg Press………………….10 reps x 60kg both legs
Leg Press………………….10 reps x 70kg both legs
Freeform plate …………….20 lunges each leg
Freeform plate ……………20 one legged squats each leg
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