The Sub-7 Experiment

Tag: sled work

  • Not Feeling It, Still Turned Up

    It’s Wednesday and I’ve just come out of the gym.

    I wasn’t really feeling it today, if I’m honest. But I still turned up. I talked to ChatGPT about what the session should look like and started with ten minutes on the rowing machine.

    That ten minutes actually confirmed it: I wasn’t quite there today.

    So instead of forcing a full rowing workout or walking out, I pivoted. I went and did sled work instead — pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying — the stuff I enjoy and the kind of work I can always get something out of.

    After that I finished with another five minutes on the rower, just to close the loop and leave feeling like I’d done a complete session.

    On the way out I had a proper “of course” moment: the little key in my key fob wouldn’t work, so I had to break into my own car. Thankfully there’s an old-school mechanical key hidden in the fob, so I got it sorted without too much drama.

    I feel a bit better now. And it’s actually a nice day outside — blue sky, sun shining — even if my head and legs weren’t totally on board this morning.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment: turning up, adjusting, and getting it done anyway.

  • A Letter to My Future Self

    Wednesday Strength Session

    Wednesday and it’s a strength session in the gym today — the first one for a good while.

    And it felt… flat. Underpowered. Enlightening?

    The rowing warm-up was clunky at best, off form, and left my head all over the place. Then the weights — fine, but I was down a few kilos from before. That’s no surprise really, given how long it’s been since I last did strength work.

    On to the sleds: 100 kg pushes with arms straight and bent, followed by 80 kg sled rope pulls. All of that was fine, but I only did three sets instead of five, and I let myself walk away from the last two.

    They say mindset is everything, and the power of the mind immense — and today I let mine get in the way. I’m still wondering why.

    I always feel sad at the end of summer, knowing we’re heading into short, dark days with dropping temperatures. I don’t mind the cold; I just don’t like being cold. But it’s the lack of sunshine that gets me. Maybe I’m feeling it more right now because I’m trying a new Vitamin D supplement and it isn’t agreeing with me. Maybe it’s the crash from all the honey in my cycling food at the weekend. Or maybe it’s simply still recovery from the 121 km on the bike.

    Whatever it is, I need to remember to be kind to myself and just let it be what it is. They say what you resist persists, so go easy on yourself.

    I think I’ll put a note in my calendar for June next year — a letter to my future self, reminding me how I feel right now after taking a summer off from measuring things: calories, distance, effort, kilos lifted or carried. That letter will say something like:

    Loosen up, but don’t let go completely.
    Keep some rhythm in the gym.
    Enjoy your summer, but don’t drift so far that September feels like a restart.
    Future you will thank you

    Right now, the Sub-7 goal feels far away. Not as far as when I first set it last year, but certainly further than it felt in June. So this little reminder to my future self will be worth it.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment.