Workout Nuances

Even though I didn't have to take my son to camp this morning, I still had a ton of other things to do before getting my butt to the gym. I arrive uncharacteristically late at 10 am, the parking lot full (whether due to early morning flicks at the local cinema or morning zumba classes I'll never know) but the locker room empty. I see B in my peripheral vision but I really don't have the patience for her today. Besides, she's busy chatting.

Mondays are chest days for a lot of people. I should probably do more than one exercise for chest but I haven't been able to find one that doesn't risk me tossing my back out of alignment. That means DB presses and flyes are out. I like bench presses because I haven't hurt myself too much doing those. First, of course, I get my cardio out of the way and warm up. My glutes and lower back feel stiff and I wonder if that means my kidneys are compromised. For the past two weeks I've noticed that my pee has been oddly bubbly. Not consistent in intensity, but enough to make me notice and wonder. Yesterday my brother emailed me that bubbly pee is a sign of kidney disease, an excruciating ailment my maternal grandfather died from. This morning I make an appointment to see my internist tomorrow first thing. It could be dehydration but I find it suspicious that the bubbles are present whether the pee is concentrated (dark) or pale although there is considerably less bubbles present during the latter. I wonder if drinking 25 grams of protein 4-5 days a week for months at a time is causing this. Then I wonder what I would do if I couldn't drink Ensure® High Protein as a post workout meal. That would be devastating!

I don't quite make 4 miles today but close. As I get near the Smith, I see The Manchurian stripping the bar and I wave a quick greeting. He smiles and moves on to the Cybex machines. Although the first two sets seem sticky and I'm dreading my heavy lifts, the cables miraculously loosen up and my heavy lifts are easier than I anticipate. Yay! Because I feel good about my lifts, I do three drop sets instead of two. The free weight area is slowly filling up with high school and college kids. Most of the regulars have come and gone by now. Mo stops by to say Hi but she's not looking good. She had to put her 17 1/2 yr old dog down this Saturday, and that's always a tough thing.

After Cage Stretch and kicks, I move back to the free weight area and find a bench to plant myself on to do Rear DB Flyes for delts. My arms and shoulders are tired but I'm stubborn. Six sets done and I stand up to do six more sets of Standing Lateral Raises, another delt exercise. These feel even heavier even though it's the same pair of 25 lb dumbbells. A couple of JHS boys pile DBs all along a flat bench and I want to yell at them for 1) stressing the pleather bench pad and 2) stock piling DBs they aren't even using. Instead, I walk away muttering loudly about jerks in the gym. I just need to do some abs, and then get a few intro sets of Upright Rows in before Mat Stretch.

Monday Workout:
35 min cardio hill #5 = 3.96 miles
Smith Bench Press: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 95 / 10 @ 115 / 8 @ 135 / 3 x 6 @ 155 / 12 @ 135 / 15 @ 115 / 25 @ 95 lbs
Cage Stretch with BW heel dips and side kicks
Rear DB Flyes: 6 x 15 @ 25 lbs
Standing Lateral DB Raises: 6 x 12 @ 25 lbs
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
BB Upright Rows: 6 x 15 @ 30 lbs
I'm using a relatively light weight because I want to be certain that this movement won't stress my elbows or wrists too much. I'll probably see how it feels at 35 lbs next week.
Mat Stretch: full stretch except for the horizontal roll forward since my left hamstring is very tight today and I'm pretty damn tired now.

Pants with Zip Off legs (inset)

The gym scale reads 111.4 lbs which is what it's read for the past several Mondays. I did eat well all weekend and didn't do a lick of work or exercise. I even got a pair of cool, lightweight cargo pants with zip-off legs at EMS in Danbury. They're a tad large even at size 0-S (for short) but with the belt, they fit pretty good.

EMS has relocated from the Danbury Fair Mall to a strip next to the newly opened Whole Foods. I'm disappointed that the new store doesn't carry sundresses anymore. However, the pants are great! My husband owns several pairs of them so I was quite happy to discover women's sizes.

Tomorrow's a Pull Day so definitely Back, and maybe Biceps... because Wednesday will be Legs and that leaves Thurs and Fri open as wild card days. Nice!