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Sadly, no flying stallions at
Medieval Times but great jousting!

Smith Dead Lift
and no step platform!

I've forgotten to mention what a great time we had at Medieval Times in NJ over the weekend. Dinner and a show! Granted there was no choice in the menu (half a chicken, bread, potato, soup, two barbecued ribs, water or Pepsi, a lovely cinnamon-dusted apple turnover) but the operatic background music added a lot to the festive atmosphere, and the action was well-choreographed. Best were the Spanish stallions. I knew immediately that they were famed Lippizaners and really enjoyed watching them perform. It'll be Renaissance Faire season soon, although I've already gotten emails from the Connecticut Ren Faire regarding their Robin Hood Springtime festival.

Today's Leg Day and having just discovered a drawer of old, irrelevant gym clothes (who wears leg warmers anymore?), I decided to see if the navy blue unitard would work under my Under Armour shorts. I don't wear long pants on leg day because it helps me focus and position myself properly if I can see my knees when I'm squatting or doing pistol squats. Other than being ridiculously contortionistic to get out of if you have to pee, the get-up was remarkably comfortable and I wasn't self-conscious in the least. I even made my quota today! Wahoo!

Today's Leg Day Workout:
35 min hill = 4.07 miles + 35 min intervals = 4.51 miles  Grant Total = 8.58 miles Yippeee!
Smith Squats: 12 @ bar / 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs
ZZ hovers nearby. I don't trust him although I have no concrete reasons. I'm alert as to where he is relative to me and I avoid eye-contact and any interactions. He's probably harmless but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Smith Dead Lifts: 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs
I couldn't find the step platform so the bar was sitting halfway up my shin today.
Cage Stretch & Kicks (my kicks are getting sloppy and I'm not sure why)
12 Pistol Squats each leg
Seated Leg Extensions: 6 x 12 @ 60 lbs
Seated Leg Curls: 4 x 12 @ 90 lbs
Torso Twist: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Mat Stretch: wearing a unitard under my shorts makes the splits much easier to do.

NexerSys Station: I try 3 rounds with the Sparring Avatar, punching in Beginner Female. It beeps several times because again, I'm either punching or kicking too hard. I'm concerned that if I hold back, the punch or kick won't actually register either. I'm better at it now, but I still miss a punch and feel the inside of my glove graze my pinkie knuckle. Later, when I take my gloves off, there's a lovely bruise that doesn't actually hurt unless it's touched. Mo tells me to ice it, but I shrug it off because it doesn't hurt, it's not swollen, it's just a scrape. My husband texts me that I should keep my punching straight in front of me, but that's hard to do when there are Center, Left and Right targets in the Upper, Middle and Lower sections. I land a series of combinations (jab/cross), registering a lot of punches, and a lot of power. Yay for the tiny Asian woman wailing on the boxing station! But I'm not really tiny. Not really.

When I was younger, I remember being disappointed that Xena, Warrior Princess didn't have more muscle. Her sidekick Gabrielle had great abs though. But television and cinema has had a dearth of well-muscled women who weren't portrayed as monstrous or hitting for the other team. My favorite character has been space marine Vasquez in Aliens.

I like the unitard so
it's going back into my
workout gear drawer!

The scale reads 107.8 lbs. I haven't finished my water either. At home, my scale reads 106.4 lbs so I'm definitely heavier. Just to certain, I take some measurements and try to snap a few photos of my back, because that's where I think I'm gaining. Well, that, and my arms. My back looks different, thicker although not as defined as I'd like, but a lot of that is lighting, which I don't have any control over. But I can really see how the delts are developing so that's encouraging. I'll post photos on Friday because that's a Pull Day.

I'm sure smacking the boxing station is only going to do good things for me, like tax my stamina, build endurance and give me a practical arm workout. Hell, what's more practical than being able to go 3 rounds smacking the crap out of something? Well, the NexerSys offers 3 rounds minimum, and goes up in 2 round increments. I was sweating and breathing hard when I got done, so I think 3 rounds is good for now.