Look Better Naked

A quick photo before
I leave for the gym

Looking better naked is one of the hooks that nerdfitness.com uses to lure people to visit its site. Looking good in clothes is great, but honestly, who doesn't want to look better naked, if only for our own smug sense of satisfaction? Working out hard has its rewards, one being body parts not currently being exercised still look good. It'd be a shame if the only body part that looked good was the arms on arm day, or legs on leg day. We'd either never leave the gym, or get out of bed!

Day-glo shorts!

Today is Leg Day and I'm not at all concerned about how my legs look. I toy with my day-glo socks this morning but decide that comfort outweighs flash so I put on my dull, seamless-toe, navy blue, Land's End trouser socks instead. I'm able to make both my quotas on the elliptical machine which makes me happy in spite of the intermittent abdominal stitch, numb toes and fingers and oddly achy knee. The Manchurian is using the Smith machine so I opt to Cage Stretch & Kick instead. He's not really manchurian; I just call him that because he looks like Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon. One-legged Pistol Squats are saved for later since I don't want to get too tired. I know SLDL (Stiff-legged dead lifts) are going to suck because I worked back yesterday. And I'm not wrong. After each set of dead lifts, I'm panting so hard that I have to stand with my head against the rack post for a few moments before I can regain my composure. I stretch my forearms after each set as well because both the Squat and Dead Lift seem to put stress on my elbows even though they're leg exercises.

I spy Mo at the other end of the gym but I'm not inclined to break my routine to say Hi so I don't. I note Nixon, Loud Mouth, ZZ and a few others, but no Mayor. M shows up later dressed in a uniform. He's a retired cop so I assume he's just coming off a security job. I see R at the next bench over. He's not usually here this early so after I've caught my breath from the SLDLs, I wander over to say Hi and see how he's doing. He's doing light standing leg presses interspersed with DB lunges. I've never ever seen him do legs before! Three spine shots of anti-inflammatory meds, lots of physical therapy and he's doing okay but he still hurts all over, especially his knees when it rains. He tells me it's going to be like that forever, the best it's ever going to be. He's had to ease off from full intensity workouts. I tell him that if he wants to live forever he needs to take care of himself. I know Ranger Rick and Nixon are both watching our conversation from across the weight area. Then I ask R if he's added any new ink. His guy is at his other shop in Spain for the next 6 months so he'll just have to be patient and wait. Good things are worth waiting for, and I agree with him.

Over 700 calories burned! Cool!

I don't want to do my Pistol Squats right there in the Smith Rack so I wander back to the Cage Stretch Rack but Skinny Mustache is busy rearranging a bench there. As a last resort, I peek into the room where classes are normally held. It's empty except for J (who sometimes works the front desk) and a friend. They're busy doing odd jumping calisthenics and the chilly, mirrored room is big enough so that I can do my Pistols in the corner without feeling self conscious. Ranger Rick appears at the door and he stands there talking with an older skinny man I've never seen before. Later, at Mat Stretch, I see Ranger Rick and R chatting. My sister tells me that men are as bad as old hens with gossip, and I can only wonder.

Today's Leg Day Workout:
35 min hill #5 = 4.07 miles + 35 min intervals #7 = 4.49 miles  Grand Total = 8.56 miles Wahoo!
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Smith Rack Squats: 12 @ bar (butt to heel) / 12 @ 95 lbs  (thighs parallel to floor) / 12 @ 115 / 12 @ 135 / 3 x 12 @ 155 lbs
The last 3 sets are godawful heavy and my left elbow twinges painfully. I have to strip off my sopping wet hoodie and put my elbow braces on before doing dead lifts.
Smith Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 95 lbs / 6 x 12 @ 115 lbs
After each set, I'm panting so hard that I momentarily stand with my head pressed against the post and my eyes closed. I stretch my forearms. Time for another set!
Alternating Pistol Squats: 12 each leg
Torso Twist: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Seated Leg Curl: 3 x 12 @ 105 lbs
This is a popular machine and I don't want to sit on it too long so I only do 3 sets.
Seated Leg Extensions: 6 x 12 @ 75 lbs
Mat Stretch: horizontal split is a skosh better than yesterday; vertical split feels okay today. I've hardly had any back spasms or knots since I started incorporating back stretches in this routine so I'm quite happy.

The scale surprises me with 108.2 lbs because I'm so used to seeing the number over 110 lately. I'm also so hungry that I'm reconsidering putting the egg back in my breakfast oatmeal. I woke up hungry. And I'm hungry again! My home scale reads 106.4 lbs but tells me oddly that my body fat is up slightly, and my bones are lighter (4.4 lbs from 4.6 lbs). Luckily, I don't really believe any of that because that's just silly.

I discovered a lovely tiny spider web on the deck a few days ago. Perhaps an orb-weaver or garden spider. But certainly not a wolf spider or common jumping spider, of which we have plenty. The day is cool and sunny and my snow peas have finally sprouted in the garden. I planted zucchinis as well, but more for their beautiful, edible blossoms than actual squash themselves. We like to eat them stuffed with goat cheese. My son actually just prefers the flowers with strips of American cheese instead. Wild caught salmon is on sale at the supermarket so I have errands to run today while I can. Tomorrow's going to rain. Again!