|
Thursday, March 20, 2003
No Pain, No Gain..
Look out, "gain," cause here I come!
Most of you have probably exercised before. But have you ever done an exercise to the point that your muscle actually failed you? Last night at Josh's house, I used Mr. Freeze's 40-lb weight bar and did some bicep curls. While 40-lb isn't too much, by the term "some," I mean roughly 90 reps (that might not sound like much, but you try it!). Consequently, I could actually feel my muscles tearing. Further proof that my muscles got their share of a beating was later when I was trying to carry a pan of jello across the kitchen and my arms were quaking. They were quaking more than Quaker Oats (so sad because it was a PAN OF JELLO). Didn't think too much about it more last night when I went to sleep, but lo and behold, this morning was a doozy. My left arm isn't as bad as my right one, but both are super sore. A factoid about exercise physiology is that there are two reasons why a muscle feels sore after a workout: 1) lactic acid build-up when oxygen isn't getting to your muscles fast enough, and 2) when the actual fibers have been micro-torn apart and need to grow back together. The first only lasts maybe an hour or less while the second requires days of healing time. In order for it to get better, the muscle fibers have to grow back together (usually thicker and stronger than before, hence the ability for weight training to alter your muscle composition and body shape).
You never really know how much you use a muscle until it becomes painful to do so. As Eileen could tell you, most of you probably don't give your bums the respect they deserve (she hurt herself while snowboarding). While the triceps are functionally used so much more than you biceps, the biceps are indeed necessary for so many movements (in fact, anything that counters the movement of your triceps). It doesn't help that my quads (leg muscles) are bit sore from running with the marathon-contender Jenn-uine Hwangster at Stanford on Tuesday (she's got some crazy endurance). Activities that hurt my bicep plenty this morning: brushing my teeth, shaving, washing my face, undressing for my shower, lathering up my hair, soaping up in the shower, drying my hair, putting on my socks, putting on my pants, picking up my wallet/keys/watch, opening my car door, shifting gears, turning on my air conditioning, etc. Basically, anything that involves reaching out, lifting my arm, or bringing stuff closer to me hurts (sorry girls, no hugs for you today!). Unlike normal people, my arms can't even be extended to hang straight at my sides. It's been awhile since I've been like this (one time in high school, my biceps were similarly impaired and it was really hard to wash my face at the sink because my face scrubbing action had no pressure to back it up). The soreness really makes you appreciate your muscles and how much work they do for you..
Wouldn't you like to be a Quaker, too?
(For those who remember the movie "Short Circuit," there's a time when Number Five the robot is at a gas station and he sees an ad for Dr. Pepper which reads "Wouldn't You Like To Be a Pepper, Too?" Whatever he sees is transmitted to a computer screen where one of the inventor guys says that aloud.. it was funny - and memorable - because he had a funny accent.)
9:33 AM Albert
|
..a life in DUO