What a Rush!

Thursdays are the days I normally do reps instead of heavy movements, just to mix things up and give myself a break. I'm tired and sore, and the sun's playing peekaboo with storm clouds all day. Yesterday I took a moment to sit on my front stoop and watch avian friends at the bird feeder.

What really signals spring to me, more than the purple and white crocuses and the budding daylily shoots, is the shrill frantic singing of tiny peeper frogs. I love that sound!

It's certainly a lot nicer than the thick throaty bullfrog croak which I'll hear the rest of the summer. Bullfrogs are already getting squished on the road. There's always either a mouse or snake or frog flattened outside.

The gym seems unusually busy this morning but the normally raucous women are oddly silent. Maybe it's me. I'm not very chatty in the morning and some might say I'm downright anti-social. I've been accused of being "gangsta" when I stalk off with my hoodie pulled down over my eyes. I get to my favorite elliptical just in time to knock out my 35 minutes. Fatigue sets my pace at a leisurely 190-195 SPM although I do manage for a split second to drive the meter up to 289 SPM, but it's only for a millisecond or however long it takes for me to register the number before I drop back down. I don't even make my quota, but I'm breathless and sweaty all the same.

Two 5s, two 10s and a 25 on
each side of a 45 lb bar

M is doing inclined rows on the Smith so I knock out a few paltry sets on the free bench. Once he's done, I sprint over to set up. I'm not sure whether to count the 3 sets I've just done as part of my routine, but I know I'm going to do more than 1 set at 155 lbs. In fact, I do 3 sets, and all without M's hands on the bar. He says to me about the first set, "That looked awfully easy. You just knocked it out like it didn't weigh anything." And it was true. I stopped at 6 reps because that's all I was expecting to do. But on the 2nd set I decided to see how far I could get. Two more reps. But by the 3rd set, I was starting to feel a bit weak. M tells me that he ends his routine with the heaviest set, but everyone's different, so with me, as usual, I do drop sets afterwards. Yep, a set of 12 reps, then another at 12, and finally, I finish with 25 reps. Now I'm done.

Today's Total Workout:
35 min cardio = 3.96 miles
Free Bench: 25 @ bar / 12 @ 65 lbs / 12 @ 85 lbs
Smith Bench: 12 @ 95 lbs / 10 @ 115 lbs / 10 @ 135 lbs / 8 @ 145 lbs / 6, 8, 7 @ 155 lbs / 12 @ 135 lbs / 12 @ 115 / 25 reps @ 95 lbs
M confirms what I've suspected, that the Smith mechanism offsets the weight by about 20 lbs. That explains why benching the bar is like benching nothing: it's only really 25 lbs. I'm a little bummed that my 155 lbs is really only about 135 lbs on a free bench, but M keeps telling me that it's still a lot of weight. I'm pretty happy, although it is tempered a bit. I could probably up the weight a tad as well.
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Rear Inclined Seated DB Raises: 6 x 15 @ 25 lbs
Lateral DB Raises: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Lateral DB Raises Superset with One-Arm Tricep Extensions: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Torso Twist: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Lower Ab Kick Outs: 100
Close Grip Bench Press on Free Bench: 4 x 25 @ 45 lbs (bar) for triceps
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Mat Stretch

I've drained my water bottle and feel spacey and tired by the time I get back to the locker room. Thank goodness the hot water is on full force! Some days the shower doesn't seem to have enough hot water but today was great. The scale reads 108.0 lbs. I'm good with that. I'm so tired that I momentarily consider not going to the supermarket, but then I realize that I have nothing out for supper tonight, so off I trudge. There's kickboxing tonight but since my husband is in Boston (again!), I won't be making that. Not that I want to. What I really want is a nap. Right now! Now that the Rush is over, it's time to recuperate. Ah, and tomorrow is Back and Biceps. Maybe I'll up the weights on my Bent Over BB Row. Hmmmm....