Reliance on Technology

My memory used to be better, or so I believe, but that's me relying on my memory to actually know. Lately I've taken to using my cell to snap a quick pix of my cardio screen when I'm done so that I don't have to remember what the numbers are. Now I find that what I remember and what's on my cell are often slightly different numbers! Perhaps I used to try harder to remember. Or perhaps my memory's always been faulty. I'll never know.

I'm still very happy with my cardio session this morning even though I struggled to start. My legs and butt were definitely stiff, feeling the effects of yesterday's workout. But there's nothing I like more than challenging myself. I am my own worst enemy. I punch in Interval #7 and do 30 minutes with a 5 minute cool down but I never slow down for that. I'm rewarded with good numbers and that makes me happy. And sweaty. The Smith Rack is free so I set up to bench press. My elbows have been a lot better lately so I'm hopeful that today will be good in spite of the fact that the Smith seems to be overdue to have it's pulley system cleaned. It still feels gunky but I decide that makes it's a tad more accurate in how much weight is being hoisted. I can justify almost anything.

Benching goes okay but I'm not entirely happy with my first two heavy sets. Then it dawns on me that I'm not quite positioned where I should be, and scoot myself down half an inch so that the bar is set over my armpits instead of over my boobs. That makes a huge difference although I still only get 6 reps to the set. Note to self: pay more attention to positioning!

Today's 2nd Push Day Workout:
35 min cardio Intervals #7 = 4.67 miles Yippeee! Did I really burn 393 calories? No wonder I'm starving by the time I head for the showers!
Smith Rack Bench Press: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 95 / 10 @ 115 / 8 @ 135 / 3 x 6 @ 155 / 12 @ 135 / 22+5 @ 115 lbs Yep, I'm a bit upset that I can't make 25 reps straight. On the other hand, I did knock out 27 reps on my last set and it felt pretty good.
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Bent Over (chest in lap) DB Flyes: 6 x 15 @ 25 lbs
These always feel so heavy when I first pick them up! But then each set actually gets easier.
Lateral DB Raises: 3 x 15 @ 20 lbs
Lateral DB Raises SuperSet with One-Arm Tricep Extensions: 3 x 15 @ 20 lbs
Flat Bench Sit Ups: 125
Lower Ab Kick Outs: 100
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Tricep DB Kick Backs (I'm feeling very self-conscious about doing these but when I look in the mirror I see that my body profile looks pretty good, and I get a thrill from seeing my tricep and parts of the delt flex as I kick back the DB): 3 x 15 @ 15 lbs
I'll probably add 2.5 lbs to this next week and see how it feels. Mostly, I like that this movement spares my elbows.
Mat Stretch (Verticals are good today although a tad stiff from yesterday's leg workout, but horizontals kinda suck. Still I keep trying.)

I see Mo flop down next to me as I stretch out on the Mat. We chat briefly about not having spotters and whether guys would spot someone they didn't know, and if that would lead to social awkwardness. Regulars like The Mayor and M, Ranger Rick, Nixon and Fish Guy are all present. I see a young woman in skin tight spandex doing sidebends and bench dips. She giggles as she talks to The Mayor but thankfully I can only hear my iPod. She does have a very round butt, like a small beach ball, but otherwise, there's nothing memorable about her. There are a few new faces today, mostly younger faces. I make note of two big football player guys because they're huge, and wonder if they'll be back for the summer, or if they're just scouting the equipment.

My beloved yoga pants reek and I'm forced to conclude that I need to explore new laundry solutions because they smelled bad pulled fresh from the clean laundry bin. I had to spritz them with Bodycology gardenia spray to mask their odor (from me) when I put them on this morning. It's the synthetic material that won't release nasty body odors the way natural fibers like cotton and wool do. Ugh. The Kung Fu instructor recommends Willy's Stink Away as a way to neutralize those nasty smells. It's one reason I stopped wearing the LLBean Fitness Fleece hoodies: couldn't get the stink out of them! It's $15 for a bottle, not including shipping, handling, tax but it'd be worth it.

The scale reads 109.2 lbs but I don't care. My stomach is growling as I shower. When I get home, my own scale reads 106.8 lbs and I'm happy. My face doesn't look puffy and swollen anymore. But I had a dream that I got my period, and that was a shock because I'm pretty certain I won't be seeing those any more. Still, my body tells me that it's cycling hormones and in hindsight, I definitely felt crampy and menstrual last week. I'm still contemplating upping my cardio, but not just yet. I want to see what adding intervals to Thursday and Friday workouts will do for me in the long run.