ReThinking Plans

OMG! I can be such a pushy bitch sometimes. I got to the gym this morning and all the ellipticals were occupied, including the LifeFitness ones. B tells me that she'll be done in 3 minutes and I can have hers so I chat with her while she finishes up. As soon as she gets off to wipe it down, a sweaty old man approaches, having hopped off one of the LifeFitness machines. I tell him I've been waiting for this one and he sulks away because I'm ready to fight him for it.

B tells me sheepishly that he'd been on the Precor next to her but that it clunks really badly. Again. It's broken! So he was biding his time on the LifeFitness machine because she also told him that he could have it when she was done. But she forgot and offered it to me. Now personally, even if I get on a machine that's not my first choice, I'm not suddenly going to jump on the next machine just because it opened up. I'll finish what I started. And I certainly wasn't going to get on the LifeFitness he suddenly exited, leaving it all hot and sweaty. I hate when people don't wipe down their stations. Or leave their discarded tissues and magazines behind. Gross!

Of course, my 45 minutes only gets me 4.99 miles but I feel warmed up. I'm also sore and stiff from yesterday, but that's why I do cardio before weights. Otherwise I'm too sore and stiff to work out! I still haven't decided whether I'm splitting today's routine today even though I decided to exercise one body part each day. I'm having trouble sticking to it because I actually feel more sore this week and I don't like it one bit. I only do 5 sets of seated cable rows and then cage stretches and kicks, finishing that with a dozen close grip chins, again, with my knees to my chest.

Lower back extensions precede the lat pull downs. My right pinkie finger was feeling odd during cardio, probably from gripping too hard and I'm conscious of trying not to exacerbate any hand-grip issues. Lat pull-downs are murder on my hands. But after a warm-up set of 12 reps at 90 lbs, I manage to squeak out 5 sets at 105 lbs. Only the first 3 sets are a full 12 reps. By the last two sets, I'm lucky that I can hang on to the bar to reach 10 reps.

The heck with it. I'm going to do Reverse Grip Bent Over Rows which is back and biceps. And then I'm going to do biceps anyway because tomorrow I'm going to bench reps and delts. The first two sets feel easy but quickly wear on me. Probably because I'm doing 15 rep sets. Oh well. I see R on the inclined bench the next station over, and he's got thick blue hand grips on the bar. Naturally I ask him what those do. He tells me that they change his grip and make the work out harder so he can't lift as much. It's for forearms. (My hands are so small that I'm lucky I can just grip the normal equipment, much less make the grip wider and harder!)

Before I go over to the dumbbell area, I ask R for his opinion on how many times a week one should work a body part. He tells me about when he played football and started out doing 4 sets of 4 reps, resting for 4 minutes in between. You get big and strong but lose the endurance. Not practical for real world sports. It's what I suspected all along. His preference is body parts twice a week and I agree with that, but I'm surprised that he works chest and back on the same days, preferring to work large body parts first, then following the week with smaller muscles. By the end of the conversation, though, he's cooled down enough to be in visible pain and he's on his way home. I, on the other hand, still have biceps, abs and mat stretches to do.

Today's Total Workout:
45 min cardio = 4.99 miles
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 / 3 x 8 @ 120 / 12 @ 90 lbs
Lower Back Extensions: 25 @ 90 / 25 @ 97.5 lbs
Cage Stretch & Kicks & 12 close grip chin ups with knees to chest (because I hate hanging like meat)
Lat Pull Downs: 12 @ 90 / 5 x 12-10 @ 105 lbs
Bent Over Reverse Grip Rows: 6 x 15 @ 60 lbs
Alternating Hammer Curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: about 150
Lower Ab Kick Outs: about 125
Reverse Grip Barbell Curls: 3 x 20 @ 30 lbs
Mat Stretch

The scale reads a welcomed 107.6 lbs and I'm off to enjoy a hot shower. I run into B and she tells me she's got grocery errands to run. She seems a little put-off even as I ask her how her leg workout went today. She says she actually had a good workout but her fibromyalgia's been flaring up. I wonder if it's the same as the burning sensation I've gotten sporadically over the years. Sort feels like my skin is on fire and has been burnt. But then it goes away. I'm not going to worry about it though. Because tomorrow I'm benching reps! Yay!