I'm So Damn Intimidating ;-)

I'm only intimidating at the gym because otherwise I'm just a small Asian woman lugging a big tote bag and sometimes an 8-year old boy by the hand. At the gym I'm a goddess! I realized that the other day when I motioned to a young woman (doing bicep curls with those plastic beauty bells) to see if she was using the bench next to her. She could barely gesture but her face showed sheer wide-eyed terror. I guess I won't be seeing her in the free weight area any time soon. Too bad!

Fat Back?

It's Tuesday. Back and Biceps! I decide that I can't deal with fruit this morning and toss half a plastic spoon of raw sugar into my breakfast oatmeal. My cardio starts off well but at the 20 minute mark I begin to worry that I won't have the stamina to keep up my 200 SPM (strides per minute) pace. I'm barely sweating but warm enough to keep a decent 195 SPM throughout the cool down and surprise myself with 4.09 miles. Maybe today won't suck as much as I feared.

Thickness!

I see B several times throughout my workout. She's moaning and groaning about how bad her work outs are these days. By the end of my workout I don't even see her as she goes to leave because my head isn't focused on her negativity. I have enough awareness to know what regulars are in the gym today, but it's the rare person who draws me out of my own routine. I have a much better workout when I'm not distracted with inane chatter (who doesn't!?) but I know that a lot of folks just can't seem to work out unless it's a big social event. Good grief.

Today's Total Workout:
35 min cardio = 4.09 miles
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 / 12 @ 105 / 3 x 10 @ 120 lbs
Lower Back Extensions: 2 x 25 @ 90 lbs (I can't find the 7.5 lb weight so I stick with 90 lbs even though it seems a bit too easy, and going to 105 would pop me right out of the seat)
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Pull Ups at the Smith Rack: 12 / 10+2 / 6+2 (Legs out perpendicular in the beginning but once I have to catch my breath, then I just cross them below me. And wow, that last set really sucked!)
Bent Over Reverse Grip BB Rows (I stack the discs in a pyramid shape on the ends of the barbell and they seem to stay put in that formation): 15 @ 70 lbs / 6 x 15 @ 75 lbs

The hair HAS to go!

Between sets, I pace within the space I've set up in, vaguely aware that the Spin Class has just let out and a few of the older women are staring as they chat in the doorway of the Spin Room. Hhmmm. I'm just going to assume that they're staring at me because I don't really see anyone else in my general direction. Amazing Stretch & Curly Cap have moved their loaded barbells (for dead lifts and clean & jerk) further down to give me a bit more room, but it's done very nonchalantly, and none of us actually ever makes eye-contact, or even acknowledges each other's existence. I do it when I find myself in a position to un-crowd someone. It's just respectful, and good gym etiquette.
Torso Twists: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Alternating Seated DB Curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Concentration Curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Flat Bench Sit Ups: 125 (I counted)
Lower Ab Kick Outs: 100 (I can feel an abrasion developing during the last 20 reps)
Reverse Grip BB Curls (they're getting too easy so it's either add more sets or add more weight and I don't feel like going back to the front desk for a pair of 2.5 lb magnetic discs to make this 45 lbs because I don't think I can handle 50 lbs): 4 x 20 @ 40 lbs
Afterwards, I strip off my elbow braces and grips, grab my towel and gloves and eye the stretch-out mat area. I need a bit of room for the splits but afterwards I'm perfectly happy with half a mat.
Mat Stretch (Amazing Stretch & Curly Cap are on the mat but graciously move over so that I can use one of the mats. Toward the end of my routine there are 3 more people on the mats. Too crowded for me! I wonder if M is deaf because he seems to speak really loudly, as if to overcome my iPod, but he's not talking to me so I don't know why he'd be speaking so loudly.)

I see R briefly but he's frowning and red in the face from all the exertion of pushing dumbbells that each weigh more than I do. I tell his brother that I just came over to say Hi and I don't want to bother him. He looks a bit spacey but says Hi, and then I'm gone.The only regulars I don't see are ZZ (thank goodness because he seems a tad creepy) and PJ Pants (definitely creepy but probably harmless). Some of the old men are either snow birds, or sick. I hope they're just in Florida, because as creepy as they seem, they're probably okay people and no one deserves to be sick with the flu. And no, I never did get a flu shot. Flu season's almost over and I'm hoping to get away unscathed. I am taking a 50 mg zinc tablet and a couple of fish oil pills every day with orange juice as a sort of preventative.

The scale reads 109.8 lbs which is reasonable. I spend a long time in the shower with my new exfoliating bath mitt from the Body Shop. It works so much better than any loofah I've ever tried. But it's hard to scrub your own back, especially when you have limited shoulder mobility from old exercise injuries.

The new haircut

I didn't bring my extra towel or else I'd've spent time in the sauna as well, but I do have a mission afterwards. I'm almost out of Ensure® High Protein drinks and I trek off to the CVS to redeem a bunch of coupons so that I can restock my vanilla shake supply. The drinks break down to $2.02 a bottle which is about the price for a cup of coffee.

Tomorrow's Leg Day, and I'm all excited. I'm not really sure why except that it feels wonderful, and like R, I get a huge "good feeling" from strenuous exercise. R once told me that a lot of his clients need to be cajoled into doing what they should be doing because they don't get that great endorphin rush. I shook my head and told him there must be something wrong with them because I can't imagine that. Exercise is my drug! But then again, I'm a confessed Born Again Gym Rat junkie.