Step 1: PAIN

A lot can happen in two weeks. In my case, "a lot" translates into muscle atrophy and a measurable decrease in physical ability.

After only two weeks of not being on the training schedule, I appear to have suffered a very noticeable setback. When I went to the gym today, I was hurting quite a bit. The 30 minute run that I would have easily done before was now a struggle. I stopped before I wanted to and moved on to doing stretches, crunches, etc.

I remember this point when I first started going to the gym at the beginning of the year, and I didn't like it then either. If things this time around work like the first time, the pain should subside after a couple more trips to the gym before the end of the weekend.