DAY 36 and the sad morning of DAY 37

I donno what to start with...
I was gonna write about the rest of the day yesterday. But maybe I'll write about it at the end of the post and just tell you what just happened. So I decided to pick up "strolling" again today and I set the ipod to 45 minutes. It was clear that I wasn't only gonna walk since the playlist I had on suggested a more active mood. So Karly and I just started jogging. We went all the way up to Sassine, did a couple of loops there and decided to return at 22.5minutes (walking). I had "Shine on you crazy Diamond" on and nothing could've been more Zen... Wa Iz! A really wild cat – man that dude was like a Lynx or something – ATTACKED Karly! I mean come on! I was really pissed to see that the cat was actually winning ground and to be very honest here – and not that Karly is a complete pussy (see what I did here?) – my pup was terrified! I couldn't pull back Karly or run or anything because we were in this very tiny space. I didn't think twice, just took my left foot and was ready to kick the cat soo hard to make it stop – and act as alpha for my poor boy. And it happened. My foot SMASHED on a stone street pole. I felt all my toes crinkle and the pain was ... well there was PAIN. I thought I had broken my 2nd toe, but it turned out, as I was limping back home, that it was my big toe, it wasn't broken but I could feel the nail detaching. I got home. Sat down and removed my shoe. My sock was soaked with blood at the top right. Took off the sock and there it was. My toenail had detached from the top and letting blood out. My mom rushed with Betadine and I opened my laptop. That's the 2 clearest  I found that explained all the steps necessary to resolve this 1 2. I couldn't care less about the toe. I was extremely concerned about the training now. What am I gonna do?! HOW THE FUCK AM I GONNA TRAIN RIGHT!? I HAVE THIRTY DAYS LEFT AND ALREADY TOOK A FOUR DAY BREAK FOR A STUPID "CHAB'IT HAWA"! FUCK! This means no walking, running, jogging...whatever. This might mean NO DRIVING to get to the gym – and do other stuff. This means no Leg training? No straining when doing Shoulders barbells? Back pulls? ANY CARDIO TRAINING MIGHT GO DOWN THE DRAIN! Plus I'm gonna be the Leonidas costume with the gauze wrapped toenail in sandals on Halloween! HAH!

Well ... Wooptie-doo...

OK some track and field athletes apparently keep going and let the pain dictate the training. They "superglue" the nail back on while being very careful not to keep bubbles inside to keep the nail from detaching which accentuates the pain. As long as there are no bubbles which cause fungal infections – tape and gauze pad help here too – everything should be ok. Another solution for the cardio (Karly's not gonna like this), is stationary bike training for 30 minutes. I could even do intervals too for high intensity cardio. What I'm trying to get across is that there is no way I'm stopping my training. I'll take every precaution but won't sit down on my ass just because I have a toe injury. I'd also have to take the anti-inflammatory I had been taking for my left side chab'it hawa that I just healed from... I feel like a toned down version of Job. What else is gonna happen?! Better apply positive thinking advocated by The Secret™, maybe that will solve things! :D You know, maybe this is even better because it would push me to rest for weight lifting rather than let me slip and over-do-it by running cause I "feel like it" and drain me for the rest of the day. This is positive! :)
OK anyways I'll update you about that; got shoulder and back training today.

Now let me tell you about yesterday! Pretty cool thing happened. Exactly what I needed. I took a break and head to the gym right for my 20 minute Chest workout – I had separated Chest and Biceps/Triceps as to give them the intensity they needed, so was training twice that day. Anywho, I come into the gym all proud I might add to come in twice, which reminded me of the bodybuilding days and the coach just stops me right there:
" Michael, I'm sorry bass fi "rule" hone bil gym... bass fik tetmarran marra" (there's a rule in this gym, you can only train once a day). HAH! Can you imagine that guy?! Have you been to a gym where you could only use the training room once a day? It's not like he's losing something, the room's just there!  He added, "if you use it twice, it would be as if you had TWO memberships"! :D Did you also know that you have to take permission to use the treadmill, use the stretching room but are not allowed to turn the lights on if you're alone as not to consume electricity, that you can't use the mills when there's motor light, that you need permission to use a sports ball, that they don't have an extra weight belt just in case ... ETCETERA... I explained to the guy why I had split my training in 2 and that I was only training for a total of one hour (his limit is 2hours! :D) PLUS that I was hitting the gym only 3 days – so I would't be training "as if I had TWO memberships". What a capitalist asshole! Then he continued "Aslan, finish your training today, but rechange your program for later, there are rules". That was the last straw. Remember when I told you a couple of posts back that I believe in the coach and the mood before anything else? A gym can be narrowed down to a couple of dumbbells and a pull up bar. This gym was fine. It had whatever you needed to train, but the staff – the coach/owner that is – was the most obsessive compulsive control freak, who was so careful about his equipment that you felt likewere gonna ruin it if you didn't pay EXTREME attention – not to your form while training, or to your plan, but to the well being of the equipment. I felt like I owed him something for using his equipment. That was gonna affect my training. I don't need someone breathing down my neck for the wrong reasons. I packed my stuff and left. The gym is called InShape by the way and I didn't fail to give it a review: http://www.beirut.com/Sports-Fitness/Achrafieh/In-Shape-Gym/1337 . I'm telling you guys, if you're in Ashrafieh, here are some good gyms you could join:
1. Get Fit in Sioufy – a good equivalent to InShape with a much better and caring coach. 2.Garage in Sassine, run by a staff, a bit small but fun. 3. My favorite and the one I rushed straight to after I left the crappy gym: Olympic Gym!!

I was back! Back to my old crazy ass ghetto gym! I didn't wanna go there because it closed at 9 PM which meant I couldn't train afterward but the extra effort is worth it when I know the extra this place gives me. Leaving InShape was the best thing I did for my training efficiency. I went up the stair in such fervor and energy, the REAL training was about to start.
 
I was hoping to see Coach Bechara but he had already left. No worries, he's at the gym everyday at 8, I'll train with him tomorrow, TWICE! For shoulders AND back! :D
Did my chest workout in 20minutes and had a chitchat with the guy there and we had a good laugh about InShape. I mean I've been going to gyms for the past 9 years and this one was by far the most annoying one so far. To be fair, the guy agreed to freeze my account after I had only trained once in July and had to travel, but that was the extent of the good treatment I got. Better join a Ghetto gym with a great coach that cares for your motivation and well being and helps you reach your goals, or pay extra for a staff in a state of the art gym that has rules and regulation on how to treat a client "properly".

That said and it being off my chest, I'm gonna go test my toe and find a solution for training.

AKHHH! Didn't expect all that extra crap when I signed onto this. Yalla it makes it more of an adventure. W "Alla Kbir" :P

And by the way, I've added new songs to the training playlist. But the highlights of it are:
1. The whole Offspring Americana Album!! WHOHOOO here I come 8th grade madness!!
2. Let the bodies hit the floor – Drowning Pool as corrected by Chris ;). Now this song you can repeat all through any intense workout. It'll do the trick!



HAOUUUUU!!