Pain in the Neck

I woke up at 3:50 this morning with shooting pain in my neck. I've noticed that I've been rolling over on my left shoulder lately in my sleep, and this combined with last night's intense workout has completely killed my left side.

not a happy camper

I managed to drift in and out of sleep a few more times until 7 AM and then took a hot shower to relax the muscles. Then I dragged my broken body to CVS for Icy Hot medicated patches. The last time I did this to myself, these patches were a lifesaver. Shout-out to Matt who is facing his own neck pain. Feel better soon and if you're looking for someone to commiserate with, I'll bring the Dewars.

God bless Icy Hot

Now that I've thoroughly scared you, let me tell you about the classes I went to yesterday.

Omar Sandoval is one of my favorite instructors. I also harbor a not so secret crush on him. He is known for his Titan classes and his classes are nuts. He also looks great in spandex.

Back when I was teaching, I made it to Titan Method pretty regularly. He has since introduced another class called Titan Method Phantom that is done entirely with your own body weight. I was super psyched to be able to go to both.

Phantom is 30 minutes of planks, push-ups, burpees, lunges, and variations of those moves. Try lying on your stomach and launching your body into a squat so that you're doing a burpee without relying on your arms. Now do this for a minute. Try not to throw up. The yoga push-up is another killer. It's a fast paced transition from downdog to chatturanga to updog without stopping. It hurts and it's not easy.

I used 8 and 10 lbs weights for the hour long Titan Method class, but I saw some women rocking 15 lbs. To these women, I salute you.

You perform 20 sets of 5 exercises 3-5 times in 9 minutes. Then you mop up your area for a minute. There are 5 different circuits. Everyone moves at their own pace, which is bad for me because I can't follow directions that I hear nor can I count my reps without getting distracted. I tried to find people to watch in the mirror to use as a reference, but alas, I pitifully tried to remember the sequence in vain. I still think I looked pretty good with the one armed clean and snatch.

my disgusting pile of laundry that had to be left to dry in the shower

While lying in a puddle of my own sweat, convinced that this would be the day my heart finally gave out and I would die in the gym I call home, I remembered how fun a punishing full body workout can be. Omar offers Titan Method and Titan Method Phantom at 85th & 3rd on Tuesdays and at Columbus Circle on Wednesdays. I'm open to attending either once volleyball ends the last week in February. Hit me up if you're a member and want to join me.

in case you're wondering what I'm wearing to work today