Leg Day for Me but...

The attack at the Boston Marathon is everywhere in the news. No one mentions it locally, or at the gym or school. It's a horrible tragedy foisted upon the unsuspecting public by someone who either hates runners, or someone looking to maim the greatest number of amateur athletes. It's bringing anti-personnel devices back home. I think of the late Princess Diana and her efforts to ban land mines because of the devastation left after wars end. I think of all the progress made in robotic prosthetic legs and wonder if now there will be enough amputees crying out for limbs to drive research into the realm of science fiction. I'm glad that I'm crowd-phobic; I'll watch from the safety of my laptop.

Today is Leg Day for me. I wake up tired. The right lower back over my hip, what I'm guessing is the external oblique, seems stressed and sore. I'm always stiff when I get up so I'm not overly concerned. I'm just hoping to do at least 8 miles on the elliptical. The JVC headphones start off promising but I quickly discover that they sound a bit tinny. Eventually I figure out that I need to swap out the ear bud cushion (they come with 3 different sizes) because the mediums are actually too large so the buds aren't placed correctly. I get my 8+ miles and I'm happy. And drenched. I feel really good.

Today's Total Workout:
35 min hill = 4.0 miles + 35 min intervals = 4.36 miles  Grand Total = 8.36 miles Wahoo!
Smith Squats: 12 @ bar / 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs
Smith Dead Lifts: 12 @ bar / 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs (I really feel these on my right side today although dead lifts have never been easy)
Cage Stretch & Kicks: an elderly women on the stretch chair beside the cage is unprepared for my kicking routine and gets up in a huff. I guess she was offended but the gym's not the place to get upset when people get physical.
12 Pistol Squats each leg
Seated Leg Curl: 4 x 12 @ 90 lbs
Torso Twist: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Seated Leg Extension: 6 x 12 @ 60 lbs
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Mat Stretch: my stretch and splits are good and I'm happy enough to put on my pink gloves and wander over to the NexerSys station afterwards.
NexerSys: I do 3 intro sessions at Beginner Level: technique, sparring & follow me. Afterwards, one of the guys at the front desk asks me to critique the system because they need the feedback. I'm happy to oblige. It's fun, but even with gloves, I still bruise my knuckles although I didn't actually notice until I took my gloves off. That's probably because I'm "punching too hard" as the system tells me. My accuracy is improving, but because it's hard to hear the "trainer" or understand exactly what and when I'm suppose to be punching or kicking, my scores could be higher. But I manage to keep my Punch Strength at a respectable 92%. I'm sweating slightly when I finish. It was fun and I'll definitely do it again.

I note a few regulars but I'm the least social on Leg Day because I move from exercise to exercise with little time for resting. And still I'm at the gym for several hours! I completely forget to weigh myself today because of all the commotion the broken toilet in the locker room causes. It's spouting water like a geyser tornado and the accompanying roar foretells some sort of broken valve. I still manage a nice hot shower which feels really good. It's a beautiful sunny day, all the tiny biting insects are out and squirrels are trying to steal the sunflower seed holder again. I love Leg Day!