Simplicity

My butt is sore today. Okay, not my butt, my glutes. It's either having to muscle through the squats yesterday, or the half dozen pistol squats I tacked on at the end of my Leg Workout. Either way, my glutes are sore. Not painfully so, but enough to make me appreciate them.

Today's a Push Day and the Smith machine is still non-compliant. If anything, it's worse today as I glide the bare bar upward to wrestle the inclined bench out into the open. I have no choice but to do reps today for chest, but I can muscle my way through shoulders (deltoids). Because I'm doing flat and decline benching today, I skip triceps almost altogether, doing only a cursory set of one-arm tricep extensions. I've also lowered my weights on abs to try and tighten them, and reduce their width. I do sets on an abdominal crunch machine, alternately placing my feet high on the stays, and low on the floor. The latter position seems to work the lower abs better.

I think my chest looks pretty good but if I had a tan, it'd be easier to see the striations ripple as I move. A bottle of Neutrogena "tan in a bottle" sits on my nightstand but I haven't been brave enough to test it yet. The warning suggests that an anaphylactic reaction might be possible from the application. Not that I think I'm susceptible. But still, it gives me pause.

Today's Total Workout:
45 min cardio = 5.25 miles
Flat bench: 25 @ bar / 25 @ 65 / 25 @ 85 / 25 @ 65 / 50 @ bar
Cage stretch & kicks
Torso Twist: 2 x 25 @ 50
Front & Lateral Dumbbell Raise Supersets: 3 x 12 @ 15 lbs
Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Rear Seated Inclined Dumbbell Raises: 6 x 12 @ 20 lbs
One-Arm Tricep Extension: 12 @ 20 lbs
Ab Crunch Machine: 4 x 50 reps
Decline Bench: 25 @ bar / 4 x 25 @ 65 lbs
Mat stretch

The scale reads 107.2 lbs. No surprise there. I think my arms, and especially my shoulders look a wee bit thicker. I keep wondering who I should ask about the upcoming NPC show because I'm my own worst judge and I need an honest opinion as to whether this is something I should pursue. I hate fruitless endeavors as I'm a very cautious person by nature. B marvels at how quickly I've managed to transform my body, but really, all it takes is a stubborn adherence to what you believe in. I believe in 5 miles of cardio, lifting weights and rewarding hard workouts with protein drinks immediately afterwards. Seems pretty simple to me.