Waiting On the Zombie Apocalypse

At Gold's Gym
today at the
Smith Rack Station

It's hard not to be pessimistic and depressed about the state of the economy, especially after reading that Wall Street is seeing record profits while more people than ever are losing their jobs, prices are creeping higher, and those who are still employed are stressed beyond belief. Unless you happen to have one of those high salary, high bonus jobs that reward you for slashing costs at the expense of increased personal misery. Ah, but those are just the little people. Let them eat cake! Sounds perfectly Dickensonian.

You have to take stress relief where you can find it. My personal favorite is, of course, at the gym. Even if my shoulders ache and I'm tired, I still put on my work out clothes, lace up my trainers and drive to the gym. I figure I can always have a crappy, half-ass workout once I get there. But of course, once I'm there, I plug in my iPod and I'm moving!

The ellipticals were empty so I was on Precor #3 in a flash. I knew I wasn't going to do anything close to last week's ridiculous mileage, but don't tell my legs that. Compartmentalizing means that even though your lungs are burning and your fingers feel cramped and twitchy, your legs are still moving at a 195-200 SPM pace. I wasn't as sweaty as I like to be when I step off the machine, but I was warm and felt slightly more optimistic.

Purchased on Amazon.com

Because my elbows and front delts have been twinging sporadically all weekend, I wasn't game to push myself too hard. Just hard enough. I've been trying a new muscle ache cream called Penetrex but it's only been a few days so it's too soon to tell if it's actually doing anything for me. It does smell nice though, vaguely herbal and softly minty. Directions state to rub into the afflicted area 2-4 times a day for the first several weeks. Okay, I can do that. I'm cheered by the fact that I recognize several ingredients including an old favorite, DMSO2. Of course, I've heard the pros and cons regarding this substance and I still haven't made up my mind on its efficacy.

Bar plus 50 lbs each side

Today's Total Workout:
35 min cardio = 4.02 miles
Smith Bench Press: 12 @ bar / 25 @ 95 lbs / 12 @ 115 lbs / 12 @ 135 lbs / 12 @ 145 lbs (the first time I've managed to get a full 12 reps) / 12 @ 125 lbs / 25 @ 105 lbs 
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Lateral Delt DB Raises: 6 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Rear Inclined Seated DB Raises: 6 x 15 @ 22.5 lbs
One-Arm Tricep DB Extensions: 3 x 12 @ 22.5 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Lower Ab Kick Outs: 100
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Tricep Press Downs (I can't find my favorite triangular bar so I use one that has a flatter angle and resembles a coat hanger; it's more stressful on my wrists and I can't do full 12-rep sets so I compensate by finishing this with a burn-out session): 9, 8, 8 @ 50 lbs / 10 @ 40 lbs / 12 @ 30 bls / 20 @ 20 lbs (note: there is little to no resting after the 50 lbs set)
Mat Stretch

B, and her bud D, have finished working out. She's not sure when she'll see me again though. I'm not worried. It's not like I'll never see her again. "Text me", I tell her. The Mayor and other regulars show up sporadically. He seems to make a big show of assisting some women new to the free weight area. It's amusing to watch for a while. Mentally, I'm already correcting the woman's form on the Decline Bench but I don't budge from my perch on the Inclined Bench for Rear DB Raises.

Even B calls The Mayor "That guy who talks a lot". He's so loud that I can always tell when he's near: I have to turn up the volume on my iPod to drown out his background noise. Or change stations. There's no one really worth watching or even vaguely interesting lately. At least R was entertaining because he'd either be pushing the entire stack, or using a variation of an exercise I'd never seen before. Oh well... The gym scale reads 109.8 lbs which is perfectly reasonable considering that I always weigh more on Mondays than on Fridays, and the long hot shower is a fabulous reward for my efforts.

I may show up grumpy at the grumpy but I always leave feeling pretty good, and with a better disposition in general. Yes, I actually smile as I leave. There's a lot to be said for the endorphin rush from pushing heavy weight in a relentless manner. There's something to be said for moving quickly from exercise to exercise, and then ending it with a good long stretch routine.

The economy sucks and I'm worried about all my friends who've recently lost their jobs, taxes are due soon, and I'm not sure what my next course of action should be. There is a terrifying, pervasive hopelessness that steals into your soul through the media if you're not careful. It makes war, mayhem, mass-murder and murder-suicides all seem reasonable by matter of endless repetition. What isn't taught or promoted is endurance and self-reliance. When the Zombie Apocalypse comes, in whatever guise, you definitely want to be ready.