Inspiration or Idiocy?

There's a new poster up on the crammed bulletin board in the locker room. It's for the New York State NPC Grand Prix bodybuilding and physique contest in Poughkeepsie this coming October. I'd like to go. It's not that far from where I live. Part of me wonders how I'd fare competing with other women in the 45+ category, and part of me is completely terrified of standing in an itsy bitsy bikini in front of lots of strange people. Just viewing the NPC website is totally inspiring, and intimidating. Unfortunately, the two things I keep thinking are: I need a tan, and I have such a boring body. Maybe I'll just go as a ticket holder instead and see what the women in the Master's Class look like.

Image from: osteo-path.co.uk/BodyMap/Thighs.htm

45 min of cardio gives me 5.17 miles today which is good considering how sore my glutes are this morning, and how tired I feel when I get up. My home scale read 105.8 so I add 2 lbs and think, okay, I've lost some water weight. I can usually see that in my face because it's so round. The cardio warms me up enough to proceed straight to the flat bench for reps where, on the last set, I knock out 75 reps with just the bar (45 lbs). Once I get to the 50th rep I slow down and count sets of 5 until I get to 75. It doesn't actually feel that bad, and it doesn't hurt. By the last two reps, my whole body is rigid with the effort as I will the bar up and slowly lower it to my chest. It feels good.

Cage stretches and kicks follow. I've noticed a new muscle in my upper thigh and I have to look it up to see what it is. Cool. M. tensor fascia latae. I've seen it on those fabulous legs the Olympic runners and sprinters have. I think it's all those silly kicks I do. And probably all the cardio...

Then delts. I do the first superset with a pair of 15 lb dumbbells but then add the 2.5 lb magnetic discs so that my next 2 supersets are heavier. I leave the weights on for the 3 additional sets of lateral raises. Because the dumbbell area is so crowded, I'm doing my raises near the benches instead. The lighting is different, and I can actually see the striations in my delts as I raise my arms. It's kinda cool!

Today's Total Workout:
45 min cardio = 5.17 miles
Flat Bench Press: 1 x 25 @ bar / 1 x 25 @ 65 / 1 x 25 @ 85 lbs / 1 x 25 @ 65 / 1 x 75 @ bar
Cage stretch & kicks
Front & lateral dumbbell raise superset: 1 x 12 @ 15 / 2 x 12 @ 17.5
Lateral dumbbell raises: 3 x 12 @ 17.5
Seated rear inclined dumbbell raises: 6 x 15 @ 17.5
Tricep one-arm dumbbell extension: 1 x 12 @ 15 / 1 x 12 @ 17.5 / 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Torso Twists: 2 x 25 @ 60 lbs
Seated Lower Ab kickouts: 150 reps
Decline Press: 1 x 25 @ bar / 4 x 25 @ 65 lbs
Mat stretch for hams, calves, back, shoulders & neck

The scale reads 107.4 lbs and I'm not surprised. I'm also parched and ravenously hungry. I may have to start bringing more than 1.5 liters of water as I'd drained the bottle by the second set of Decline Presses. I hate walking around with 2 water bottles — it's hard enough to keep tract of my gloves, grips and towel, much less another bottle. Maybe I'll be forced to sip from the (gasp) water fountain. Bleah.