Snow Snow Go Away!

They're closing school early down in Westchester and even in neighboring townships, but the snow's not sticking to the asphalt and the only cancellations have been for after-school programs and events. I went to the gym after putting my son on his school bus, but I kept my cell near me, something I rarely do when I work out. The ellipticals were once again abandoned so I hopped on my favorite #3 and punched in hill #5 and pedaled away for 45 minutes, enjoying all of the sweaty exhilaration that good cardio music brings. I got 5.09 very pleasing miles.

I have to listen to my body more these days otherwise I'm in danger of underestimating my own strengths and falling into a mindless routine. For example, I usually warm up with a set of 12 reps at 90 lbs, then 105 lbs before doing 3 sets of 120 at the Seated Cable Rows. Which is what I did. 3 sets of 6-8 reps. Except that it dawned on me after the 2nd set that I wasn't really struggling at rep 8 when I stopped. So for the 3rd set, I got another 2 reps past 8. Damn! I should be doing sets of 8-10! The 12 reps at 90 lbs (a cool down of sorts) seemed pretty easy as well.

Lower back extensions then off to the Cage Stretch & Kicks. I read in the Muscle & Strength website that one should always do Pull Ups or Chin Ups instead of Lat Pull Downs if and when possible. Because the Cage isn't really set up with horizontal bars positioned for me to safely do pull ups (if I'm grasping at the edge of the Cage, there is the risk of toppling the Cage over), I have to grab bars that are inset a good 10 inches from the edge. This leaves little room for one's head so I could only do partial pull-ups, but I did get 3 sets of 12. These didn't hurt my forearms and elbows as much as the neutral grip chin ups and I'm not sure why. Now off to do a few sets of Lat Pull Downs...

I can do 90 lbs without any issues but it's boring so I always up the weight to 105 lbs, close to my own body weight. I get 3 sets of 12 reps. Then I start to feel my right hand get a bit numb in the fingers. Another quick set of Lower Back extensions at 97.5 lbs and then I grab 10 lbs of magnetic discs to stick on the 60 lb barbell for Bent Over Rows. I like this exercise. It makes my back and arms tired at the end, but I can feel my lats and biceps.

Today's Total Workout:
45 min = 5.09 miles
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 / 12 @ 105 / 3 x 6-10 @ 120 / 12 @ 90 lbs
Lower Back Extensions: 2 x 25 @ 90 lbs
Cage Stretch & Kicks & 3 x 12 partial pull ups (have to figure out how to do these better)
Lat Pull Downs: 12 @ 90 / 3 x 12 @ 105 lbs
Lower Back Extensions (again!): 2 x 25 @ 97.5 lbs
Bent Over Barbell Rows: 15 @ 65 / 5 x 15 @ 70 lbs
Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Reverse Grip Barbell Curls: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs
Torso Twist: 25 each side @ 50 lbs (no other abs today)
Mat Stretch (no Twisted Triangle today but I feel very limber and my stretches are good)

I see R so I go over and say Hi to him and then we get into a discussion about tattoos and tattoo artists. Knowing me, I probably won't speak to him for the rest of the week. But I'm trying to be more "social" in a normal manner. There are other regulars at the gym but none whom I chat with out on the gym floor. B hasn't been here in a very long time. She texts me that she's not sure when she'll be back. She misses working out but she doesn't come as long as her husband is home on use-it-or-lose-it vacation time from his job. Wow. She might not be back until next year! Egads! I know she has a home gym but she doesn't appear to use it much. And my new elliptical is scheduled to arrive in two days. We've decided to park it in the garage, where the old treadmill used to be. I'm itching to try it out on the weekends, but, as everyone knows, I'm a fanatic.

The scale reads 111.2 lbs which is better than yesterday. The home gym reads 109.2 lbs and again, my BF is up, TBW down, muscle down and bone down. But these are fractional differences. I look at the calendar and realize that I'll probably get my period next week. Egads!