Paying the Piper

I'm sore and tired today but still went to the gym. We had a busy weekend, but damn, it was fun! The highlight was going to the NPC New York State Grand Prix Show in Poughkeepsie on Saturday night. It ran later than we expected, and we were disappointed that there was only ONE female bodybuilding competitor -- yes, that woman from my gym! But she was in perfect condition! She had beautiful, razor-sharp muscles, a great posing routine and music, and was just generally fabulous! Wow. I've never seen her at my gym because she comes at a different time, but I hear that she's "scary massive" in the "off-season".

Bev Francis in her prime

Bev Francis was judging the event. I didn't get to see her but I remember her well in the 1985 movie Pumping Iron II: The Women. She had more muscle than I'd ever seen on a woman. I'm pretty sure I'm not genetically capable of putting on that kind of size, not that I'd want to. Actually, I like the way I look right now, so my goals are to get stronger, and to maintain (if not better define) what I currently have muscle-wise.

Branch Warren

The men looked good mostly too, especially the heavy weights, but both me and my husband got really bored with the zillions of Bikini competitors. Really, there's only so much sequined boobs and jiggling bottoms that I can bear to watch on stage. The posing routine is non-existant, and most of them were struggling to navigate in heels while flipping their hair over their shoulders. There were some really old guys competing too. They had fans in the audience! But they were kind of sad to watch, all quivering on skinny stick-legs and struggling to hold their flexed arm poses. I do give them credit for being extremely brave to be up there in nothing but sequined lilac posing trunks.

The guest poser, Branch Warren, was phenomenal. Hulk-massive and yet extremely agile, he danced through the auditorium and perched himself atop arm rests so that everyone could get their photos of him. It was quite a sight!

Today's Total Workout:
45 min cardio = 4.90 miles (yes, I suck today)
Cage stretch & kicks (Smith was occupied)
Smith Bench: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 95 / 3 x 12 @ 135 (wussed out today) / 25 @ 95 lbs
Front & Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs (they're still heavy! bleah!)
Rear Seated Inclined Dumbbell Raises: 6 x 15 @ 20 lbs
One-arm Tricep Extension: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: about 125
Lower Ab Kick Outs: about 125
Tricep Press Downs: (what the hell!) 12 @ 50 lbs / 11 @ 50 lbs / 8 @ 50 lbs
Mat stretch

The scale roars 109.2 at me and I'm not happy with it. I really do have to buy a decent body fat scale to use at home. I saw B briefly this morning. She asked me how the show was and I told her it was great, except for the tedious hundreds of Bikini contestants. I see R briefly as well. It's going to rain and I can tell that he's feeling it. A hot shower is all I can think of and off I go. My shoulders are a little achy today. Well, what the heck did I expect? I did massive reps on Friday and virtually nothing all weekend. Of course it's going to hurt today. Of course...