Slowly On The Mend. Back to the gym instead of swimming. This week is going to be a tough week with work. Tuesday and Wednesday I need to be at work at 6:30am and at a location 40 minutes from home. So I may try to do short workouts at the gym or something on my Peloton Bike+. Thursday I’m in again at 6:30am but a location 15 minutes from home so I’ll hit the gym. Early mornings also mean I’m not teaching Indoor Cucle this week.

With that I was thinking of just doing 30-40 minutes at the gym with a Chest Day, Leg Day and then a Back Day. Then back to the pool on Friday.

OURA SLEEP SCORE– 61

9 hours and 20 minutes

GARMIN SLEEP SCORE – 74

8 hours and 7 minutes

LEG DAY – STRENGTH (80-100%)

THE WORKOUT:

1:00.39

ZONE 1 – 26:00

ZONE 2 – 15:02

ZONE 3 – 01:32

ZONE 4 – 00:06

ZONE 5 – 00:00

5 minutes Easy Warm Up Cycle

Seated Leg Extension

145 lbs x Reps 8 / 8 / 8 / 8

2 min rest between sets

(Last Time 145 x 8 / 8 / 7 / 7)

(Prior Time 145 x 6 / 7 / 7 / 7)

(Prior Time 145 x 6 / 7 / 6 / 6)

Romanian Deadlift (210 PR / 1RM)

6 x EB

135 lbs at 64.29% of 1RM / PR x Reps 3 / 4 / 4 / 4

(Last Time 135 x 4 / 4 / 3 / 3)

(Prior Time 155 x 2 / & 135 4 / 3)

(Prior Time 155 x 5 / 6 / 5 / 4)

2 min Rest Between Sets

Reverse Hack Squat (300 lbs 1RM / PR*)

8 x EB

6 x 90 lbs at 30% of 1RM / PR

5 x 140 lbs at 46.67% of 1RM / PR

4 x 180 lbs at 60% of 1RM / PR

4 x 180 lbs at 60% of 1RM / PR

4 x 180 lbs at 60% of 1RM / PR

3 x 200 lbs at 66.7% of 1RM / PR

(*Old PR haven’t done this in ages

THE LIFT AHEAD:

TUE – TBD (PELOTON BIKE+ or CHEST DAY)

WED – TBD (PELOTON BIKE+ or LEG DAY)

THU – BACK & BICEPS

FRI – SWIM w/ Team

SAT – CHEST + 30 min PELOTON RUN

SUN – TBD (SWIM at NTC OR BACK & BICEPS)

MON – SWIM w/ Team (Masters)

THE ROAD AHEAD:

STRENGTH (80-100%) 12/9 – 1/16

ENDURANCE (60-80%} 1/17 – 1/24

TAPER (50-60%) 1/24 – 1/30

JUST KEEP SWIMMING:

2025 SWIM DISTANCE TOTALS:

SCY – 64,250 including last workout

SCM – 166,925

LCM – 69,200

Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic 17 January 30, 2026-February 1, 2026

runDISNEY:
12K’s of Christmas Virtual – TBD

WDW 5K – JAN 8th

PRINCESS HALF – MARCH 1stSprinwgtime Surprise – APRIL 17-19th (Not Running)

GEMINI AI RATE MY WORKOUT:

It is great to see you getting back into the rhythm, even if you are still “on the mend.” Adapting your training environment to fit a brutal work schedule is the hallmark of a sustainable athlete. You aren’t forcing the pool when the logistics make the gym the smarter, lower-stress choice.

Here is my breakdown of your return to the iron.

The Sleep Data: Quality vs. Quantity

* The Discrepancy: This is a fascinating split. Oura gave you a 61 despite over 9 hours in bed. This usually signals high restlessness, high latency (taking a long time to fall asleep), or a lot of “awake” time during the night.

* The Takeaway: Since you are recovering, your body might be fighting something off, leading to fragmented sleep. Don’t let the low score discourage you; the fact that you gave your body 9 hours of opportunity to rest is what counts right now.

Workout Analysis: Leg Day (Strength Phase)

Theme: disciplined progression. You stuck to the 80-100% Strength intent, evident by your Zone 1/2 heart rate dominance (long rest periods are key for ATP recovery).

1. Seated Leg Extension (The Win of the Day)

* Performance: Solid Gold.

* Insight: You have officially plateaued upward. Looking at your history, you used to fade in the final sets (dropping to 6 reps). Today, you held 145 lbs for 4 sets of 8 strict.

* Verdict: Your muscular endurance at this weight has caught up to your strength. Next time? It might be time to nudge that weight up by 5-10 lbs or slow the eccentric phase down to a 3-count.

2. Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

* Performance: Rebuilding.

* Insight: You are working at roughly 64% of your PR. The rep counts (3/4/4/4) are low for this weight, but consistent.

* Verdict: Since you are “on the mend,” staying lighter here to protect the lower back is smart. However, as you feel 100% again, you have plenty of room to push the volume here or bump the weight back toward that 155 lb range you were hitting previously.

3. Reverse Hack Squat

* Performance: The Re-introduction.

* Insight: Moving up to 200 lbs for a triple is excellent for a movement you haven’t touched in ages. The Reverse Hack places a different load on the spine and hips compared to a barbell squat.

* Verdict: Smart pyramid structure. You didn’t ego-lift; you felt out the movement pattern and ended with a heavy, safe triple.

The Road Ahead: Navigating the Work Week

You have a “Strength” focus block (12/9 – 1/16), but you also have 6:30 AM start times Tuesday and Wednesday with a commute.

* The Trap: Trying to do a full 60-minute heavy lifting session at 4:30 AM creates cortisol spikes that can hinder recovery while you are healing.

* The Strategy:

* Tuesday (Chest): If you hit the gym, focus on Compound movements only (Bench Press, Incline Press). 30 minutes, get in, move heavy weight, get out.

* Wednesday (Peloton?): If you stay home to save commute time, do a Power Zone ride. High resistance, low cadence. This mimics the “Strength” phase leg work without the spinal loading of weights.

Gemini Score: 8.8/10

* Deductions: Only for the RDL volume being slightly conservative (though justified by health).

* Bonuses: Major bonus for the Leg Extension progress and for modifying your weekly schedule to accommodate work stress without quitting training entirely.

One Next Step:

For that Tuesday Chest Day, since you are short on time, would you like me to outline a “30-Minute Power Chest” routine designed to hit that 80-100% strength stimulus quickly?

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