On a Scale of 1 to 10 I Give It an ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!

I mentioned my new nutritional supplements a couple of days ago, the L-Carnitine and the Beta Alanine. Yesterday was the first day that I’ve had to really put them to the test. The rest of the week has been taken up paying for LMJ’s college and staying in compliance with the state of Florida. Back and rear delts were up, and I wasn’t really excited to be in the gym. LMJ decided she wanted to be up at midnight the previous night and I didn’t get much good sleep. 5am gets here quickly. Back means deadlifts and deadlifts suck, especially when I don’t want to do them, but I need to continue losing weight so deads it was. I had to pump myself up to go heavy, and a dude was staring at me like I had mental problems, which I did. I didn’t want to be there. After convincing myself that ten reps wasn’t nuthin’ but a peanut I blasted through twelve reps. I got light headed but that just means it was a good set. The intensity of my weight lifting was off the frickin’ chart. When I was finished I was spent, and there was no way I was pushing it on my cardio. I was taking it easy on the elliptical when I looked down at my numbers and was shocked. I was burning calories at a rate I haven’t burned them in more than a year – cruising. I got caught up in a particularly kick-ass tune and ran right through my time. The machine shut down. That’s how I knew I was done. Uh, okay. I was stunned. I thought it had broken and I was about to get frustrated that I was going to have to change machines. I’m sold on the amino acids, and there’s a really cool side effect bonus to taking the Beta Alanine. It makes my skin tingle when I take it. It has something to do with neurons doing new things and nerve endings near the surface of my skin getting used to it. It’s only supposed to last about a week, bummer.

Training A 38 Year Old Body or We're Having Pizza Tonight

Well, I never seem to learn. I have a chest cold. I can’t breathe, but that didn’t stop me from trying to do my Monday interval training. I was supposed to do 3x1mi, hopefully finishing each interval in less than ten minutes. The first interval was fine. I finished in about 8m10s. Maybe I went out too fast because I struggled through the second interval, and I barely finished in 9min20s. I walked part of the last lap. I just couldn’t breathe. I guess I don’t know how to pace myself, but I’m new to interval training so maybe it will help me learn. There was no third interval. I left the track more than an hour ago and I’m still coughing. On the plus side I’m losing weight and my brand new kicks felt great. I have to start keeping better track of my shoe mileage because I can never tell when my shoes are worn out until there are holes in them. But whenever I get new shoes a light goes on, “Oh, that’s what cushion and support are supposed to feel like.” I also have a new schedule which is going to allow me to ramp up my workout intensity. I’m going back to weights five days a week. I haven’t hit my legs hard since LMJ was born; she’s almost two. Welcome back Mr. Squat. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve started taking L-Carnitine, which is a free form amino acid that helps facilitate the metabolism of long chain fatty acids. Beta Alanine has also been added to the mix – it’s the junk – is another free form amino acid that helps regulate muscle pH levels. It allows muscles to process lactic acid more efficiently and therefore perform longer and recover quicker. The older I get the bigger the role nutrition plays in getting me through my workouts. It was a lot easier being an eighteen year old perpetual motion machine, but getting old is better than the alternative.