chonk & stronk

[cosmolinguist]

My birthday present from diffrentcolours was a t-shirt that has an illustration of a dumbell on it and around that is the text "chonk & stronk." (Which for any less Online people I will translate: "stronk" just means strong, and "chonk" means fat in a good way (like chunky) -- it's used about things like dogs who are cute because they are robust rather than gracile (ironically it's too small for me, it needs to come in bigger sizes to represent its target demographic!).

I got to wear my new t-shirt to the gym today!

The physio said last week that I could go back to the gym, obviously with modifications to my usual strength training and with lots of care not to do too much. I knew the trainer would be cool about it and they were very contentious, reminding me I wasn't allowed to do planks on my toes (I actually found them harder on my knees! which I guess might just be that I'm not used to that), I did squats only to the degree that I was feeling no resistance in the ankle, and no goblet squats (where you hold a dumbell as you do them), which I'd already expected just because I didn't want to be holding anything if I was going to lose my balance!

D later called those "goblin squats," which made me giggle. I tried to tell him they're not goblin squats, but he told me they are when I do them. He loves teasing me about living in goblin mode, and I love it too.

I had a great time. Breaking my ankle also snapped one of the few means I have of feeling connected to my body, and it feels so good to start to get that back.

I made myself laugh, hours later. I couldn't understand why the people I went to the gym class with were saying their arms feel like noodles! Mine feel fine! I don't understand. I used the same size weights that I did the last time I was in the gym...

I totally forgot a thing that I wrote two months ago:

Some people when they start T hit the gym with a regimented workout routine to build upper body muscle.

I, in Month One spent a week lifting heavy things to help my parents prepare a farmstead for sale, and now here in Month Three broke my ankle so having to get myself around on crutches for the foreseeable future.

I have already spent significant amounts of both experiences mentally yelling at my arm muscles to grow faster.

Oh yeah. So that might be something to take into account!

Comments

[zhelana]

Yay huzzah! I've found the gym to be far too crowded for the last couple of weeks (this happens every January. I should expect it.) I've gone in and spent like 10 minutes milling around and then left. I am hopeful that I will be able to do a full workout on Monday, even though it's really only my own social-phobia that has kept me from doing it for the past 2 weeks and then Christmas that prevented me the week before.

[haggis]

I really miss strength training! I got to my lifetime peak of strength and fitness for the IVF and loved that feeling. Its something I want to get back to.

[cosmolinguist]

Happy to make some gym dates if we can coordinate times and find a location that fits in my household's covid risk budget!

[tarasacon]

Yay, healing sufficiently to be reconnecting!