I Love Leg Day

There! I've said it. I love love love Leg Day. I love doing two sets of cardio and emerging from the elliptical completely drenched. And no matter how lugubrious I feel at the first set, I always feel better at the second. It's a miserable wet rainy day and the gym feels crowded because no one wants to exercise outside. I just miss the 4 mile mark on my first set of gentle hill, but make it up on the interval session. By the cool down, I'm racing along with a big sweaty grin on my face, not that anyone can see it because the wet hoodie droops down to my nose. But at least I'm not flecking sweat on any innocent by-standers.

Cage stretch follows immediately because I don't like stretching if I'm cold. (That's a good way to injure yourself!) I've got my fluorescent safety-orange UnderArmour shorts on today with a black nylon t-shirt over a sports bra. And my all-cotton, royal blue Land's End hoodie over everything. I've given up on the LLBean sports fleece hoodies: after a few workouts (and I wash my clothes after every workout) I can't get the stink out of the fabric. The cotton hoodies always wash out clean, but I do admit to liberally dousing the actual hood itself with a dollop of Tide laundry detergent. I'm such a "housewife" that I do laundry every day just to wash my gym stuff!

The Smith is free and I proceed to do squats. One set with just the bar to warm up my knees, and then another 6 sets with a pair of 25 lb plates (total weight = 95 lbs). Oddly, my left knee twinges and I readjust my stance to make that go away. The Dead Lifts haven't gotten any easier but I do 6 sets of those as well. Because even the first set feels hard, I know it's going to "kick my butt" for the remainder. It's not like I have anything better to do though (not exercise-wise anyway as I don't fit into most of the machines). After each set, I find myself panting with my head in my knees and sweat dripping off my chin into the hoodie zipper. Still, I enjoy it.

I see R and because the weather is crap, I know he must be hurting. He's walking like a man tip-toeing on eggshells. Yesterday I chided him about not considering acupuncture. He told me he didn't like needles, that even when they draw blood he has to look away. Yeah, well who doesn't look away when they draw blood, but damn dude, you've got freakin' tattoos all over. That's different he says. More like scratching. I tell him that he wouldn't even be able to look if it was his back but he says he'd know. Jeez, I marvel, because he's 6'4 and 225 lbs, can bench press 385 lbs and he's squeamish about needles that don't even inject or withdraw fluids! I'm so into doing my workout that I don't even talk to R today. Lots of others want to chat with him anyway.

Today's Total Workout:
35 min #6 hill = 3.99 miles + 35 min #7 intervals = 4.28 Grand Total = 8.27 miles (Wahoo!)
Cage stretch
Smith Squats: 12 @ 45 / 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs (yeah, I should up the weight)
Smith Dead Lifts: 6 X 12 @ 95 lbs (no way I'm upping this weight)
Leg Extensions: 6 x 15 @ 45 lbs (my right knees twinges for the first 3 sets but settles down)
Ab Torso Twist: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs (I was waiting for the Leg Curl station)
Seated Leg Curl: 12 @ 75 / 3 x 12 @ 90 lbs
Mat stretch with 120 knee to alternate elbow ab curls

The scale rewards me today with a reading of 107.8 lbs. I really need to invest in a good scale. A friend recommends the Tanita Brand fitness scale that will accurately determine not just your weight but body composition. If I'm going to put on weight, I want to know what kind of weight, and not just make assumptions. This isn't that expensive at a bit over a hundred bucks. Amazon probably sells it for less.

The shower feels good, and then I realize that I'm actually sore today. Not just my butt. But my chest. From Monday's heavy benching. If I straighten my arms and squeeze, my triceps are a bit sore too. Jeez. Maybe I have been working out too hard, working out so hard that I've never given my body a chance to be sore. That's actually kind of amusing. Okay, yeah, so who's a damn gym rat.