Magic Mirror on the Wall...

Last night the pesky twinge in my left knee became a full-fledged "Uh oh, maybe I've done something bad to it" pain that had me limping. I could put weight on my leg and I could walk. It was only the actual impact of my foot hitting the ground that hurt. I rubbed in some Penetrex cream both last night and this morning and behaved as if nothing had happened. My knee felt a bit thick, as if it were swollen but it didn't feel too bad, except when I walk. Great, it's an impact injury, probably from kicking the Nexersys pad incorrectly. It'll heal, as long as I don't exacerbate it with more impact stress. People think I'm exaggerating when I say I can't run, jog, do jumping jacks, burpees, hop but I'm not. There's a lot of things I can do, and a lot I can't do, and I'm experienced enough to know the difference.

I'm not limping noticeably when I get on the elliptical. By the time I get off, I'm hot and sweaty, and my knee feels a lot better. Never mind the fact that I modified my gait to favor my right leg most of the time. But I did manage for a millisecond to get my SPM up to 290 before dropping down to the reasonable 195-210 range. I make my quota, but just barely. Good enough!

Today's Push Workout:
35 min cardio = 4.02 miles Yay!
M is on the Smith doing inclined rows and I butt into his conversation with Pony Tail Tattoo to ask him how many sets he has left. I could wait for him to finish chatting but experience tells me that he could go on for some time, and then I'd lose access to one of the three free weight benches. He says two sets, so I warm up on a bench, doing 25 reps with just the bar (45 lbs).
Smith Bench Press: 12 @ 95 lbs / 10 @ 115 / 8 @ 135 / 6, 5, 5 @ 155 lbs / 12 @ 135 / 15 @ 115 / 25 @ 95 lbs
I never feel fully pumped unless I do the drop sets after the max sets, which probably means I can probably do a heavier weight. Except that I could only comfortably do 5 reps at 155. The 6th rep was sort of half-assed and I didn't like the way it felt.
Cage Stretch & Kicks: ooh, I managed to take a bad cell phone photo of me with my leg up over my head!
Rear Inclined DB Raises: 6 x 15 @ 25 lbs
Lateral DB Raises: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Lateral DB Raises SuperSet with
  One-Arm Tricep DB Extensions: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Lower Ab Kick Outs: 100
Close Grip Bench Press (for triceps): 25 @ bar (45 lbs) these seem kind of light so I up the weight just a tad / 3 x 25 @ 55 lbs
Mat Stretch: my knee only occasionally twinges but in general it feels okay.

I see R and say a quick Hi to him before I head off to the locker room. For a tall skinny guy, he has great arms and I like to watch him surreptitiously. Most guys wear t-shirts and have their arms well-hidden so there's nothing to look at. M, the Mayor, Skinny Mustache, Fish Guy and others all come and go. Tall Pace walks like a defeated man until a skinny blonde woman with an unnatural tan comes over to chat with him. I run into Mo in the locker room and she introduces me to a young woman I've never seen before. But I'm not good at remembering people at the gym. Because I'm not usually looking at them.

I forget to weigh myself because I so desperately need a shower. But I snap a few quick photos with my cell in the mirror. You can tell the images are distorted because the closer shoulder looks enormous compared to the far shoulder, and yes, I need a haircut, but just add some gel and I could have "animé" hair! Maybe it's a magic mirror, like the ones in the fitting rooms at Marshall's. Even though they're filled with blue fluorescent lights, the mirrors actually make you look fairly attractive, which is great for increasing sales, because, honestly, we're not going to buy clothes that don't make us look good, right?

My home scale tells me that I'm 106.8 lbs. Seems pretty reasonable. I'm not trying really hard but as I up my weights and drop my sets (just a bit) I'm either putting on size and/or changing the shape of my arms. This is the best my arms have ever looked. I'm happy. It's a beautiful spring day and I've just spotted two goldfinches at the bird feeder. My workout didn't suck too bad and tomorrow I get to smack the Nexersys again, after I work Back and Biceps. Yay!