Strength Without Size?

Last weekend Oct 27-28

I ate like the proverbial pig this weekend, first at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in Hebron, CT where I inhaled a paltry pulled-pork sandwich (actually, I didn't eat the bread), a cheeseburger, a mini-donut, meager beef stew in a bread bowl (I'm not much of a bread fan so I didn't eat the bowl), hot apple cider, half a protein bar, and great handfuls of kettle corn (sugar & salt). We were there until it closed because we wanted to view the Flaming Night Jousting. But it wasn't as spectacular as we'd hoped. Blaze at Phillipsburg Manor is a better deal, but I hear it's completely sold out now.

The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze

Continuing our piggy odyssey on Sunday, we got brunch at our local Greek diner and I spied sweet potato pancakes. Oooh. Give me that with a side of scrambled eggs please! My husband made pulled pork (put a picnic pork in the oven for 20 hours at 225°F with a sugar and spice rub) and we ate that over macaroni & cheese for dinner. I topped Blue Bunny® Chocolate ice cream with fresh mango slices and a sprinkle of Red Hawaiian Sea Salt for dessert. Yup, I've put on weight.

So I didn't gasp too loudly when the gym scale read a whopping 110 lbs even. B told me it was all muscle and I laughed in her face. But I did indeed have a fairly decent day at the gym, even if my 45 min of cardio only got me 4.97 miles. I've done better. But I was probably lighter!

Smith bench pressing was good today. I got my 3 sets of 10 reps at 145 lbs. Wahooo! Then I did a set at 115, and a final set at 95 just for fun. Unfortunately, my right "golfer's" elbow has been twinging all weekend, and continues to nag me through the duration of my workout.

My hips and legs were stiff from being a slug all weekend, so the Cage stretch & kicks were a bit daunting. Then I did my regular repertoire for shoulders with the 20 lb dumbbells. B came over to tell me she was packing for their cruise so she didn't know when she'd see me again this week. She & her husband have been married 35 years and both turned 60 this year, so they're taking a cruise to the Dominican Republic next weekend. They'll be gone for about 10 days. Nice!

Today's Total Workout:
45 min #6 hill = 4.97 miles
Smith Bench Press: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 95 / 3 x 10 @ 145 / 12 @ 115 / 15 @ 95 lbs
   (Bodybuilding.com tells me that my one-time best bench press would be 194 lbs based on
   pressing 10 reps at 145 lbs. Not sure I'd believe them.)
Cage stretch & kicks
Front & Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Lateral Raises: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Seated Rear Inclined Dumbbell Raises: 7 x 15 @ 20 lbs (B interrupts me after set 4 and
   by the time I start up again, I'm cold. So I do an additional 3 sets. Because I can.)
One-arm Tricep Dumbbell Extensions: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Ab Curl Station: 2 x 50 (upper) / 2 x 50 (lower)
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Tricep Press Downs: 11 @ 50 / 10 @ 50 / 8 @ 50 lbs
Mat Stretch

The sit up bench is busy, so I use the Ab Crunch Station instead. And finish off with just 3 sets of Tricep Press Downs at 50 lbs. After the Mat stretch, I see B again in the locker room.
 "You're benching more weight than some guys," she says.
I reply, "Well, then I don'wanna know them."
Honestly, if I can out-bench you and you're a guy, I'm not really interested in anything you have to say to me. Really. 

When I get home from all my errands, I set up the new EatSmart scale I bought from Amazon. Of course, I've peed like 6 times since I left the gym and the 1.5 liter of water I sucked down during my workout is probably finally flushed out of my system (no pun intended). The scale tells me that I weigh 106.8 lbs and my body fat is 19%. That definitely makes me happy! I like being strong. And I like the way I look now, so I'm not inclined to want to put on any size. I certainly don't want to look like a power lifter! I guess I'll find out just what's possible. This is sooo exciting!