Call this a modified workout, huh?

I would like my leg to hurry up and heal.

So I can go back to the ‘real’ workout which is suddenly looking like Pleasantville compared to the so-called ‘modified’ one I’m now on. Though, in the ‘be careful what you wish for’ constant lesson plan at the gym, I should zip my lips and carry on.

So what does ‘modified’ look like with Stefan?

For the first couple, there were a lot of stretches mixed in with some ‘heavy lifting’ that didn’t involve the actual barbell – seated cable rows, a free weight or two, and various contortions with the stability ball to strengthen glutes and abs, mostly. (see just one sample maneuver below)

You roll the ball towards you, then back out again, butt in the air (mine's about a half inch off the ground compared to this gal), many reps.

Though I often feel like an idiot with her legs on a big ball, about halfway through I’m often pouring sweat, face clenched, and praying Stefan lost count and we will finish soon. He never does.

So these workouts were good but I didn’t have to wring out my shirt afterwards.

The last couple – while still ‘modified’ (a word that has lost all meaning now) – different ball game, different universe.

After a few intro exercises, down to the weightlifting depths we went.

Most of the workout we spent doing supersets (see link for reminder) – 4 sets of each, on an apparatus that Stefan says is the king of them all. Of course, I had to ask if it did windows. It does not.

It’s called a Freemotion EXT Dual Cable Cross.

Looks like a friendly, welcoming robot, doesn't it? It can make you cry.

What ensued was a no-holds barred, flat-out, MODIFIED workout of:

• Rows
• Deadlifts
• Chest Presses
• Squats holding a 25 lb weight

Remember, 4 sets of everything, 12 reps, with short rests in between the sets of two exercises.

I was wearing my favourite ‘I believe in donkeys’ t-shirt, proudly advertising the incredible Donkey Sanctuary in Guelph.

It’s a lovely, thin, bamboo fibre shirt I thought would be perfect gym wear. It is, if you want people to ask about donkeys. But it’s not high tech – that fake breathable stuff that was essential on long marathon-prep walks on summer days. Sopping wet, that was me, but I felt rather proud of that sweatfest – my donkey shirt a merit badge for effort.

Back upstairs for some planks (51 seconds and 1 minute!), back extension machine, and, of course, foam rolling and many stretches.

I felt great, just sayin’. I told Stefan I was surprised at what a ‘modified’ workout could be. Tough, the kind of tough where thought ceases. The gym sort of disappears. All of you – mind, heart, and body – galvanizes around the deceptively simple act of lifting, pulling, and breathing.

It’s mindful, not mindless. There are many things to do and consider – or weight-lifting can be dangerous at worst or unproductive at best.

Yet for me it’s also an experience I don’t have often – ever? For those power lift moments, every work issue, ‘to do’ list item, and all of the other ‘stuff’ – good, bad, or indifferent – that we all carry around every day – poof, gone.

Apparently this is a pic of the ashram where the Beatles went, oh so many eons ago.

It’s an extraordinary, though brief, meditation – the gym as ashram. (ok, there’s no rap music and spandex in ashrams, but still…)

Anyway, my comment about the workout earned me a rather withering look. He wondered whether I thought I would be getting a fake workout or spa treatment or something?

Uh, no, guess not. Stefan tailored everything – very deliberately – to what I could do that wouldn’t hurt my leg more, or prevent its recovery, but would challenge me hard because that’s what we do.

Mission accomplished.

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