Week Four Day Five Endurance Vs Agility

I'm uncharacteristically sore today, perhaps from spending hours last night standing around the Volunteer Fire Department annual summer carnival. Even though I wore long pants, socks and a long sleeve shirt, all liberally doused with DEET, I must've missed a spot because when I got home, I had a nasty, itchy welt on my elbow. Got bit right through the shirt! My fingers are stiff and slightly swollen as well but that might just be the salt from deli meats. I've rediscovered my sandwich press and made pressed cold-cut sandwiches for dinner last night. Then we ate our fill of wild raspberries for dessert. I've lived up here for 20 years but had never eaten them until this summer! Although they're much smaller than the cultivated varieties, they're both sweet and tart with teeny tiny seeds.

But today is Friday and it's a Wild Card Day. I figure I'll do arms after a bout of cardio. At first, all the Precors are occupied, but after a few minutes of strolling backwards on a LifeFitness elliptical, one of the Precor riders vacates. I leap at the opportunity! Because it's the last day of the week, I'm feeling unusually adventurous so I punch in Interval #8 which I find harder than #7. Afterwards, I decide (on a lark) to do another session, but punch in a program I've never used before. Hill #4 is hard because of its steep incline and the higher intervals tend to be bouncier (working only the glutes and calves) instead of the entire leg. I don't make quota on the second session, but mileage on the first session is more than enough to give me the 8-miles I want.

It's arm day but the Smith is being used by a fellow with a huge rack of plates. He's doing overhead presses while sitting on a stability ball. My triceps are big enough, but I'd like them to have a nicer shape so I opt for reps on a standard flat bench, doing close grip presses. At first I only use the bar. Then I only add a pair of 10s. After 3 sets of 25 reps, I'm ready to do something else. I should go to the Cage and stretch but instead I'm diverted by dumbbells. I've had to alter the concentration curl form for my left arm to compensate for the excruciating pain from a full movement. I can only do partial curls on my left, but my right arm seems fine. After a few sets of curls and tricep extensions, I finally go stretch.

My legs feel very tight. And my quads are unusually tender but I only notice this when resting a 20 lb DB in my lap. On the way back to the free weight area, I grab a pair of 2.5 lb magnetic discs and knock out sets of barbell curls. Both biceps look fairly even in the mirror. I wish I could catch a photo of them while performing curls because they have that lovely square look with a hint of a split at the bottom. The reverse grip barbell curls are becoming routine. When I'm done, I decide that perhaps I should do some abs just because it'll be three days before I work them again. I don't feel as if I have any choice but to do a lot of reps for abs because I feel my choices are high reps or high weight and that would definitely lead to bigger ab muscles. That would just be too freaky.

Having had an opportunity to do double cardio sessions several times this week, I've concluded that the extra miles are great for increasing endurance but have the unfortunate side-effect of making my legs very tight. Stretching is much harder and more painful afterwards, although it does seem to ease up a lot the next day when I typically only do 35 minutes. When I add up my miles this week, I'm surprised to discover a total of over 30 miles. Hmmm. When I was in fat-burning mode Winter 2011, I was averaging 5 miles a day and only 25 miles a week. I admit I want to lean down a little but not enough to deprive myself of cooking with butter and putting half'n half in my coffee. Besides, what would I stuff all those zucchini blossoms with if not cheese?

Week Four Day Five Workout:
35 min Interval #8 = 4.66 miles + 35 min Hill #4 = 3.89 miles  Grand Total = 8.55 miles Wahoo!
Close Grip Bench Press on a Standard Bench: 25 @ bar / 3 x 25 @ 65 lbs
DB curls superset with One-Arm Tricep Extensions: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Concentration Curls: 3 x 12 @ 25 lbs
Cage Stretch with BW Heel Dips and Side Kicks for stretching
BB Curls: 6 x 15 @ 45 lbs
Reverse Grip BB Curls: 4 x 20 @ 40 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 150
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Mat Stretch: my hamstrings are stiff and my quads are sore so the stretches are slow and painful. Splits are barely serviceable but better to do them than not. 

The gym's not crowded today but I see a lot of regulars. I wave at B as I head to the cardio area: she's chatting with LoudMouth. She waves back but it's with a somewhat pained expression. Probably because I'm just not all that interested in what she has to say. I also see Mo and we chat briefly about her self-seeding echinacea and free-range peanut plants. Because there are too many people in the mat area, I wander into the empty room where classes are normally held. Ranger Rick is exiting and he says sternly, "You can use it" as I peek in. I grab a big cushy mat because the wood floor is too hard and I'm too sore and stiff, but it's not the best mat for the exercises I do.

I'm not really sure what the deal is with Ranger Rick. Perhaps Skinny Blonde isn't here today. I saw him complaining (or at least that's what it looked like because my iPod is on too loud for me to hear his conversation even though he's only two feet away) to a staff member. I even see R and I mask my surprise because Fridays he normally comes much later. As I'm leaving, I wave Hi at him, and ask him how he is. He's busy and the heat isn't making it any easier. "I thought all your guys had their own spaces," I say surprised. "Oh, I make 'em go outside and run sprints." But instead of saying something benign, like "Well, just don't kill them because they can't pay you if they're dead," I say, "Oh well, torture's good for 'em." And then I wish him a good weekend and leave. When I get to my car, his car is parked right alongside. There are several other spots closer to the gym. Too weird.