Christmas Eve isn't Actually a Holiday

 I got up a bit late today but still made it to the gym in order to alleviate my guilty conscience for all the "holiday partying" and "merrymaking" over the weekend. I'll admit that yesterday I woke up with a hangover and I haven't had one of those in at least 15 years! My husband suspects it's because I'm not much of a drinker and the volatile mix of RumChata and root beer vodka just overwhelmed my system. Personally, I like a nice fruity chilled sangria (without all the odd chunks of fruit in it because it is NOT fruit salad). Or a gin and tonic. I'll take a gin and tonic any day. As long as I'm not working out the next day.

The gym isn't horribly crowded but 3 out of 4 Precors are occupied. I get to the last machine and the screen is blank so I kick the plug in the floor, next to the On/Off switch and the screen magically activates. The fellow on the adjoining machine looks a bit stunned, as if the idea hadn't occurred to him. There are a lot of very timid people in the gym. It doesn't bother me. What bothers me is doing 45 minutes of hill #6 and only logging in 4.93 miles. I feel warm but not as sweaty as I'd like. My glutes are also a bit sore and stiff.

I bench heavy today after doing 2 warm up sets. But first I have to walk all over the free weight area looking for two pairs of 10 lb plates to add to the bar. I suppose I could just add another 25 lb plate to each side, because it still totals 145 lbs, but I like being able to pull the 10s off individually after each set so I can then bench 125 lbs and then 105 lbs. It still amazes me that I can barely get a 12-rep set at 105 lbs, but then I drop to 95 lbs and knock out 25 reps. It's only a 10 lb difference. But it feels enormous. I note all the teenage guys in the free weight area. It's crowded but I ignore them. They seem to hover as I work out. That is until I do sets at 145 lbs. Suddenly they're self-conscious. And gone. I'm amused. Maybe I AM intimidating! Yeah, all 5 feet and 110 lbs, soaking wet. Yeah, right.

Today's Total Workout:
45 min cardio = 4.93 miles
Smith Bench Press: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 95 / 3 x 10 @ 145 lbs / 12 @ 125 / 12 @ 105 / 25 @ 95 lbs
Cage Stretch & Kicks

from stansgym.com

Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 6 x 12 @ 20 lbs (I need a photo of me doing these! I can see striated delts and pecs and it looks so cool)
Seated Rear Inclined Dumbbell Raises: 6 x 15 @ 20lbs (I'd really like to know what my back looks like when I'm doing these but I can only imagine)
One-Arm Tricep Extensions: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs (my small hands and wrists preclude me from ever upping the weight on this movement)
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs (I do these because a fellow has beaten me to the Sit Up bench and I want to stay warmed up)
Flat Bench Sit Ups: about 125
Lower Ab Kick Outs: about 100 (I start to feel a rug burn and stop before there's blood)
Tricep Press Downs: 12/11/10 @ 50 lbs (this is definitely an intimidating workout because I'm pushing nearly half my body weight, and I'm barely tall enough to reach the handles on my tip-toes -- this freaks guys out)
Mat Stretch

from stansgym.com

I see Mo in my peripheral vision because one can't help but notice a 6 foot tall woman with long white hair, wearing candycane-striped Hello Kitty clothes. Then she's gone. On the next bench over, K nodds Hi to me. She never looks very happy but she says she's doing okay. There are very few regulars here today. Probably getting ready with last minute shopping, cleaning, cooking, wrapping, traveling. Whatever.

The gym scale reads a whopping 109.8 lbs but I'm feeling a little pre-menstrual. It's the end of the month so the timing seems right. I have a ton of last-minute errands to do after I leave the gym, and I don't have time to check my weight at home. Today, my son got a letter in the mail from Santa and he's quite thrilled (we mail letters to Santa every year, addressed to Santa's Workshop, North Pole --  the Post Office has a special protocol for that, and sends out a Santa letter to each child). Tomorrow is Christmas so he has promised us he's going to bed early tonight. Tomorrow is Christmas -- one of the few days the gym is actually closed. Thankgoodness!