Whaddya Mean I'm Punching Too Hard?

The weather seems typical for April: chilly and wet, and the only thing I'm glad of is that I get to slack off for the next two days, because today is Friday. Yay! The back of my upper arms are uncharacteristically sore and I attribute that to the heavy benching I did yesterday. Yep, they're sore, but not painfully so. Just a little tender when I flex them straight. Today I get to do Back & Biceps, and try out the new padded sports bra I bought online from Old Navy. I had to exchange the size M for a L and I'm worried that with my AA(A?) figure, the bra'll just slip right up. Gosh that reminds me of Phyllis Diller jokes!

Again the gym is busy, but I get on my elliptical and peddle away. Today my butt is sore as well and as hard as I try, I can't really move past the 195 SPM pace. Again, I miss my 4 mile quota, but just barely. Seated Cable Rows seem a bit daunting today and I have to think about how many reps I ought to do. I skip Lower Back Extensions completely today: I've been feeling a little stiff there, and I'd rather do Pull Ups, and maybe even a set of Chin Ups whenever possible.

Today's Total Workout:
35 min cardio = 3.96 miles
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 lbs / 12 @ 105 / 10 @ 120 / 3 x 6 @ 135 lbs
Pull Ups: 12+2 / 10+2 Legs curled up to my chest
Cage Stretch & Kicks
The Nexersys Virtual Boxing stations are up and running and I make a note to check them out when I'm done with my workout.
Pull Ups: 12+2 / 10+2 Legs straight out perpendicular to my body 

90 lb barbell

Reverse Grip Bent Over BB Rows (I'm too lazy to go back to the front desk to pick up magnetic discs so I just up the weight instead and pray that it's not too heavy for me):
6 x 12 @ 90 lbs (the last 2 reps are hard so this is a good weight)
Alternating DB Curls (my arms are so tired that by the 3rd set, I can barely turn the DB to raise it):
3 x 10 @ 25 lbs
Torso Twist Station: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Ab Crunch Station: 100
BB Curls: 3 x 15 @ 40 lbs
Reverse Grip BB Curls: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs
Pull Ups: 12 + 2 Legs curled up to my chest
Chin Ups (I'm really really happy that I can actually do these considering that this is the end of my back and bicep workout and my arms are burnt): 11+1 Legs curled up to my chest

I go check out the Nexersys station. My lifting gloves have too many internal seams to make them good for punching the pads. There's a 4-minute intro session that I start. It asks me whether I'm male or female, and a beginner, intermediate or advanced. I punch in Beginner Female. I can barely hear the speaker on the screen above the ambient gym noise and there's no place to plug in headphones. There's no volume control. I miss part of the instructions but start wailing away when it seem appropriate. Several times the machine stops to warn me that I'm punching too hard. Really? Too hard? It tells me to adjust my stance or power down my punches. I quit out of the program, but not before viewing the stats that tell me my power is at 120%. Good thing I decided to try this AFTER my workout, now that I'm tired and looking to cool down. The gym has appropriate MMA gloves on order. I may buy a pair and give this another try. It still looks like fun.
Mat Stretch: stretches are so much better when I do kicks at the Cage! even though I stretch at the Cage, it's apparently not enough and I feel it at the end during Mat Stretch.

I see B, and M and a few other regulars. There are a lot of new faces too. There's one gal who is making amazing progress since she ditched her svelte girlfriend for a dude to coach her through her cardio and weightlifting. She looks like she's dropped a good 30 lbs around her hips and belly. The dude isn't anything special to look at, but he's definitely having a great effect on her training! Yay for gym buddies who actually help you achieve your goals!

I see S and she always looks distressed when she notices me (she hasn't been around for several months). I'm not sure why--I've never spoken to her. She and M are good friends. I know she can move a lot of weight (power lifting) and that she once told B that she could get her to "the next level", because she's a Personal Trainer. She's relatively young, maybe in her 30s, with two young kids. But she doesn't have the type of body that screams Personal Trainer. She's strong, but her arms are covered in a layer of dimpled fat. She's not fat. She's not even really big even though she's bigger than I am. But then again, just about everyone here is bigger than I am.

I wave a quick Hi to M during Mat Stretch. He seems a bit embarrassed and he's not on the mat for very long. I'm thinking my stretches are probably intimidating as well, but I work hard every day to get to this point. I don't really care what anyone else thinks, and when I'm working out, I don't really see them either. The locker room scale reads 107.8 lbs. I haven't even drained my water bottle yet!

Today I strayed from my  trusty Ensure High Protein RTD and have a Muscle Milk 20 gm protein vanilla drink. It's really kind of awful: too sweet in a weird artificial way that leaves an odd aftertaste that makes me not want to eat or drink anything afterwards. I'm back to the Ensure on Monday. I may be bored with Homemade Vanilla and I wished they'd make Strawberry flavor (the chocolate is just too intense and seems to mask a slight sourness) just for a change of pace. But at least I can end the week with a chuckle... punching too hard? Really?