Your trainer is not your therapist.

With yesterday off, I elected to visit Steve a bit later than usual, and in some ways I regretted it. My revelation that I dislike working out with distractions was apparent during my six reps of GI Jane (10 Burpees + 1 bodyweight row after each, 20 situps with 12-lb med ball, 30 bw squats, 4 blocks run).

At the hamster gym, my nerves are frazzled by the zumba ladies shrieking while I'm running 20 feet away, headphones on full blast and I can still hear them. 

At the spartan gym, it's the person who gives not only their life story, but also the stories of anyone who they know anything about. I wonder if it is also a hazard of making your living as a bartender, hair / nail stylist, probate lawyer. 

At any gym, any time, I'd rather not ever talk - I'm there to get in, get challenged and get on with my day. 

It is a contradiction. At the hamster gym, I wear headphones, every day, as loud as possible to not only ignore other people and try to achieve focus, but to drown out my internal voice which is usually crying "ow! so. tired. please stop! running isn't fun!" and other such distractions. I suppose I should thank the loud zumba ladies - they actually got me mad enough to make real progress and find Steve.

I rarely ever wear headphones. Now I can hear myself breathe, hear the tire clang down, feel the beat of the sledgehammer, and take part in any random joke someone happens to throw out there - like why in the world people think about getting glute implants. That has most definitely never happened in my brain.

So I guess my deal is this: I'm there to work, not to talk, not to whine, not to drown out my inner voice (which has been mostly absent the past three weeks = good riddance), not to chit-chat and not to listen to other conversations. I guess I like the quiet to focus on my reps, my personal bests, my new favorite challenges and my body getting stronger. 

Today my therapy was five rounds of: 20 tire flips + 20 sledgehammer (12-lb.) + 10 push + 10 sumo squat (50-lb.) + 50 jacks / 30 burpees (got 15, switched) + 10 pull-ups (or downs as it mostly was) + 10 sprints.  

Therapy resumes tomorrow at 5:30 a.m.