Seeing Results

After a sweaty, heart-pounding 45 minutes on the elliptical and a hard-earned 5.19 miles, B asks me why I'm doing so much cardio.
"I thought you were going to cut down," she says hopefully.
"Well, actually, since I'm eating more and my weight is pretty stable, I thought I'd maintain my cardio routine."
What I don't tell her is that I think cardio is critical to building endurance (and being prepared for the coming Zombie Apocalypse). Okay, I'm joking, but only sort of because you never know when, in this day of peculiar weather patterns and unstable economic times, that you'll need to have physical endurance.

She's doing more cardio too but mostly because she's hoping that it'll bring her congenitally high cholesterol down to reasonable levels. That's not my issue. I just want to be as fit as I can possibly be for as long as possible. I'm not even sure that "cardio" really counts if you don't work up a good heart-racing sweat. I hear that merely walking several miles a day is as good as running a few miles a day but I find that hard to believe. It seems that in the quest to get people off their spud bottoms, scientists keep lowering the bar on the amount and type of activity the body requires for health. I don't really know what to believe, except how my body is responding to my current routine.

I'm definitely stronger than when I first started, and I'm definitely a lot leaner. Today is a Back and Biceps Day (Pull) so I do rows: 3 sets of 12 reps at 90 lbs, 3 sets of 8-12 reps at 105, and just for the heck of it, 2 descending sets: 12 reps at 90 lbs and another 12 reps at 75 lbs. Lower back extensions, torso twists (25 reps each side at 55 lbs), cage stretch and kicks, then back to the pull down station. I dread pull downs due to the Golfer Elbow problem. I have my braces in place and set the weight to 90 lbs and manage to get 6 sets of 12 reps, and actually it doesn't feel all that bad. My back feels bigger, because it feels like my lats are pushing out against the fabric of my gym shirt. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking.

I do another set of lower back extensions (2 sets of 25 reps at 90 lbs) and then put on my brave face and do bicep curls with first the 15 lb dumbbell, and then 3 sets with the 20 lb dumbbells. My thumb and elbow ping at first so my first set is hammer curls. Then I modify the curl angle and my elbows feel okay, and I can see my triceps flex as the dumbbell descends. It's kinda cool to watch.

I skip doing the seated incline dumbbell curls because it's too much pressure on my elbows. I'm going to skip doing 21s and other barbell curls as well. Especially since I know I'm going to have trouble with the Reverse Grip Barbell Row. It's only 50 lbs but I'm going for 6 sets of 12-15 reps. The first 2 sets I can squeak out 15 reps but the last 4 sets I have to catch my breath few times just to get to rep 12. I'm done.

A bit of stretching (damn, my glutes are still sore) and I'm heading off to the shower. The scale bounces around before resting at 106.2 lbs. I take the reading 3 times figuring 2 out of 3 just in case something's funky. 106.2 seems good. I'll take it! In past weeks, my weight'd usually drop by the end of the week but I think I've got it balanced now. Until I decide to change things up again.