(Just Like) Starting Over

It’s been too long since we took the time …

Today I hit the weights for the first time since injuring my left shoulder in a softball game on July 26.  I probably could have returned to strength training a week or two ago, but only recently have I been free of little twinges.  Fortunately the injury didn’t keep me off the bike.  If the lower body had withered as much as the upper body apparently has, then I wouldn’t be much of a cyclist anymore.

It’s scary how quickly fitness can disappear.  After 30 minutes in the home gym doing a routine that I would have considered “light” just a few weeks ago, I’m literally trembling from the effort.  But in a way that’s good.  Those twitchy muscles are waking up from a long nap.  They’ll come back; they have before.

Every autumn as the days get shorter I find myself spending more time in the home gym.  This year I have the added incentive of a fitness contest sponsored by my employer.  The contest began today and runs through Nov. 4.  I’m not sure whether there are any prizes to be won, but the competition itself will provide a little extra motivation for me to keep hitting the weights and to look for other cross-training exercises.