This Week

What a good week. Finally!

I got back in the gym again after so long. Three good workouts.

I started slowly for the first workout because I didn’t know what kind of post surgical issues I was going to get. I found that some things were a little painful in the area where my guts were hacked up, but nothing extreme.

I was fine for cardio and most of the stretches that I tried. The first day back, I did a more traditional cardio workout, just to ease back into it. Twenty minutes of moderate intensity. For the subsequent workouts, I picked back up with my HIIT routine.

I started some basic weight training exercises. Nothing heavy, but I feel like I’ve lost some strength in my arms and upper body, so I want to tighten that up.

I got back to the driving range yesterday for the first time in a few weeks. I was able to get through it without much abdominal pain. However, by yesterday afternoon, I was having a lot of pain around my surgical area and I’m not sure if it was from that or from my Friday workout, or a combination. However, when I got up today, it was fine again, so I went right back at it in the gym this morning.

I plan on playing a round today to see what happens. I don’t expect to score well, but hey, it’ll be great to get back. At this stage of the year, any golf or golf practice I can get in is a bonus. The weather at the driving range yesterday was very cool (in the 50’s) and very windy. It had to be blowing steady at well over 20 mph. And it was blowing back at me.

I got weighed this morning before going to the gym and I’m up 2.4 pounds from last week. I think this happened for three reasons. First, I lost ten pounds in a week after surgery. We know that “starvation diets” don’t work because the body tries to fight that when we start eating again. It wasn’t an attempt at a starvation diet on my part, but the effect is the same.

Second, I was eating a little more to offset the workouts. After two weeks of sedentary recovery time and a weeks of little or no exercise before that, the sudden surge told me that I better eat a little more.

Third, picking up intense workouts after so long, combined with the other two factors has my body in a “wait and see” mode. It’s just trying to figure out what’s going on and is probably trying to slow my metabolism a little so I don’t get into starvation mode again.

I’m still eating well and the workouts are continuing so I expect a decent loss next week. That should be enough time for my body to figure out what’s going on and get on board with the plan. If I see another gain, then I’ll start a detailed evaluation of what I’m eating to figure out where I’m going wrong.

Overall

On the whole, I’m still down about 7 pounds since I started keeping records less than a month ago. That’s a step in the right direction.

My game is not sharp right now because of so much down time. Injuries, followed by gout attacks, followed by surgery have dulled me. It’s probably going to stay that way for the winter because regular play and practice just isn’t something I can count on because of the weather. I’ll play when I can, but it’s not something that can just be scheduled.

However, if I can keep on schedule with diet and workouts, then I should be in my best physical shape ever by the time the season picks up again in March or April. That alone will make such a huge difference in my game, not matter what else I do in the meantime. I shudder to think how many strokes I give up to poor physical condition.

Tweaks

I’ve been giving thought to my schedule from this past season. I think it was a little too regimented.

I had golf scheduled 4 days a week and workouts scheduled 4 days a week. They overlapped on Saturday and Sunday. With a full time job this was just too much.

Clearly, I can’t just play less golf because that’s the whole point of this thing. Working out is so important too, because physical conditioning is a big part of where I want to be.

I think what I’m going to try for next year is something that will be the best compromise.

Since golf takes a back burner during the off season due to weather, I need to focus 90% on workouts (and play golf when the weather allows to keep the rust from building). I figure 3-5 workouts per week will do it. This includes cardio, weight training, and stretching. And of course, proper diet has to be a 365 days per year thing.

Now, that gives me 5 solid months of intense workouts before the weather breaks.

My plan after that is to transition back to golf during April and May, continuing to work out when possible. Then, when the summer hits, I’ll reduce my workouts to simple stretching maintenance sessions.

I’ll be getting plenty of exercise walking the golf course each week and will be in good shape from hard work over the winter. But, I’ll have more time to spend refining my game instead of in the gym.

I’ll be more focused on golf, and won’t feel so overwhelmed with such a full work/golf/workout schedule.

Then, at the end of summer, I’ll start the transition back to workouts in October and start the cycle all over again.

Did you like this post? Get free RSS updates!

Leave a comment | Comment Policy | Trackback URL