Freakin' Friday

I won't lie. I was damn tired when I got to the gym this morning. I had my son in tow as there was no school today but I think it was the culmination of the week's workouts, plus the fact that yes indeed, I do have my period. Of sorts. I got to the gym a half an hour late, and still the cardio stations were fairly vacant. But instead of climbing aboard elliptical #3, I decide to use  #1 just to mix things up. 25 minutes into my set, the sweat dribbles down my face and I start to feel good. 45 minutes gives me an even 5.0 miles. Great! I was thinking that I'd be lucky to make 4 1/2 miles when I started out. It helped just a teensy bit that I'd added Katy Perry's Firework to my cardio mix. (Yeah, I'm a teeny bopper at heart, a middle-age woman who just can't act or look her age. Is that a problem?)

I can't find the handles I like for the Seated Cable Rows and have to use handles with a thicker rubber grip that bites into my palms. I use my neoprene grips after the first set and lift heavy just for this exercise. Damn if I wasn't right about being able to do 10 reps instead of quitting after 8! I get 3 sets and I feel quite satisfied with that.

Afterwards, I do Lower Back Extensions and then proceed to Cage Stretches and Kicks. I'm thinking that if I do Pull Ups, I can skip doing Lat Pull Downs. Because I can't get my face past the Cage edge, I only do partial pull ups but I do 3 sets of 12. I'm concerned about time since I have my son in the child care room, and I move right into Bent Over Rows with 70 lbs, then Dumbbell Curls, Concentration Curls, and then Reverse Grip Barbell Curls. I finish with the Mat Stretch (no Twisted Triangle today).

Today's Total Workout:
45 min cardio hill #5 = 5.00 miles
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 / 12 @ 105 / 3 x 10 @ 120 lbs (this is very satisfying!)
Lower Back Extensions: 2 x 25 @ 90 lbs
Cage Stretch & Kicks & 3 x 12 partial pull ups
Bent Over Barbell Rows: 15 @ 65 / 5 x 15 @ 70 lbs
Dumbbell Alternating Curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Concentration Curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs (I really think this is adding a fullness and length to my biceps I hadn't seen before so I'm considering upping the weight on this a tad)
Reverse Grip Barbell Curls: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs (as much as I grimace doing this, I really enjoy how this feels and the heavier weight seems to be helping my golfer's elbow as well)
Mat Stretch (I didn't do abs today and feel a tad guilty about it; on the other hand, I've been feeling twinges in my lower abs that I can now attribute to menstrual cramps because yes indeed, I am getting my period!)

I'm pleased to see R arrive at the gym but I don't have time to even say Hi to him. He's chatting with J anyhow, and it's not my style to insert myself into conversations. I just walk around to get my stuff and slide off silently. The scale bounces between 110, 109.6 and 109.8 lbs and I'm not sure what's going on. After I shower, M (someone I know from a previous gym some 15 years ago) comments on how great my back looks. She says she told herself that I'm just a kid so of course I can have a great back. Then she asks me how old I am and without any hesitation, I tell her I'm 52. She tells me that I'm her inspiration now. She's only a few years older than me and damn, if I can do it, well she can do it too. Go girl!

I tell her two things that I think are key to my success: a good cardio workout every day (I don't bother with counting calories because that sort of mindset will really screw you up with focusing on the minutia of calorie-counting when you should be concentrating on the big picture of muscle-building to activate your metabolism), and enough protein afterwards to keep you from eating all sorts of crap that will sabotage your fat-loss efforts. She tells me she eats a Luna® bar after working out, and I shake my head disapprovingly. Sheepishly, she admits that there's a lot of sugar and carbs in there. She's allergic to dairy so the Ensure® High Protein I drink is out of the question as it contains whey protein. She's got some homework to do if she wants to be successful!

M needs to lose a few pounds (isn't that how we all start?) and is moving slowly with the 5 lb dumbbells because she doesn't want to hurt herself. She's taller than my husband so I think she's being a tad too timid but I don't want to scare her off, so I just nod in agreement. Honestly, she could go heavier. And if she did, she'd see faster results. Why are women so timid? Sometimes I feel like a "guy" in my attitude and my workout. I can't be bothered with fear. I've read that muscle-building testosterone levels rise after workouts in both men and women. Well, I guess I'm making good use of that fact, if that's truly the case, because I believe in working out hard to make good use of my time.

I spend all afternoon running errands with my son, and even have his photo taken with the Mall Santa like we've done for the past several years. By the time we get home, there's barely time to feed him and do some Chinese school homework before I have to get him ready for Ninja Game Night at our tae kwon do school. My home scale tells me that I'm 106.2 lbs with 18.8 BF, 52.6 TBW, 39% muscle and 4.8 lbs bone. Again, the readings are fluctuating in an odd way, but really, all I'm concerned with is that I weigh less than 110 lbs. Really. And that my clothes fit properly. Really. Maybe I'll get a chance this weekend to use my new elliptical that's parked in the unheated garage. But I'm not holding my breath. Really.