Diminishing Returns? Maybe Not.

Because last week I had three fairly satisfying double cardio sessions, I'd expected the same or better this week. Alas, it's been a real grind to get through cardio lately. I'm not sure what the issue is, although I've had a sweets craving lately, and if I was still getting those nasty monthly messes, I'd attribute it to my hormone cycle. Which it might be anyway. My lower back doesn't hurt but is stiffer than usual. I should be thankful that I did over 8 miles today. Instead, I'm disappointed that I didn't get close to 8 and 1/2. That's the problem with keeping tract of personal bests -- you're always trying to top yourself.

I actually got 3 minutes into Interval 7 on the Tractor when Precor #1 suddenly became available and I hopped on it before anyone else could claim it. Not that anyone was. But even on my favorite elliptical, with my favorite tunes blaring, I still had trouble, feeling every sore spot and ache in my glutes, intermittent numbness in my fingers and toes, the old iliotibial band injury outside my right knee, a pebble-sized knot under my left shoulder blade that seems to be migrating down towards my lower back. Today my Intervals got worse but the Hill got better. Still, there's a satisfaction I relish having done at least 8 miles.

Today is Arm Day so I head over to the Smith Rack to do Close Grip Benching for Reps. I tuck my elbows in against my chest with my hands and wrists tilted slightly inward on the bar. I don't count the first set of just the bar. It's not really a warm up -- more of a way for me to determine whether the bench and my placement on it is correct. I toss on a pair of 25 lb plates and do 4 sets. The sets go smoothly and considering each set was 25 reps, I feel pumped and warmed up. I spy Mo across the gym because she's wearing a bright green T-shirt, but she's on her way out the door and I'm sure she hasn't seen me. I'll probably see her tomorrow anyway.

Cage stretch is uneventful. Good. Boring is good. I wander back to the free weight area, trying to figure out what I'm doing next. I'm on autopilot when I grab a pair of 25 lb dumbbells and plop myself on a flat bench. Well, they're too heavy for one-arm tricep extensions so I guess I'll be curling these. And I do. Taking a page from everyone who's lifting for strength, I cut my reps. I'm not sure what I'm comfortable with so I go to 6 reps, then realize I can do more and go to 8 reps. I get 6 sets and realize that my elbows don't hurt. Hurray! And if I were to cut my reps down to 5 or 6, I might be able to up my weights again, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. Maybe I'll do these for a couple of weeks. I want to alternate triceps and biceps so I go to the cables. I haven't done these in weeks so this'll be fun. I manage to get three sets at 50 lbs before moving back to biceps.

The 40 lb barbell is missing and I eye the 50 lb barbell warily, reasoning that since I just curled 25 lb DBs I should be able to curl a 50 lb BB. The mirrored wall is crowded and I squeeze myself into a spot between the Squat rack and a really big guy doing SLDLs. I had wanted to do 21s but I can't do them with 50 lbs so I settled for doing regular old-fashion BB curls. Again, my elbows are silent. I'm really surprised and extremely pleased. I move back to the DB area to do Tricep Kickbacks.

R glides by and I almost miss his quick wave Hi. I wave back. Then I pull off my headphones and ask him about wrist wraps because he's the only one I see here with them. He's told me before that he wears them for support because he's got weak wrists from injuries from catching the ball and getting tackled. I ask him if they're wrapped over the thumb like in boxing, or loop over the thumb like in power lifting, or just around the wrist. He tells me just around the wrists. We chat briefly before moving on with our own workouts.

The 20 DB feel heavy in my hand and I wonder if I've made a mistake. But when I kick the DB back, I see my triceps flex in the mirror and I get 15 reps so it's not a mistake. After 3 sets I feel pretty toasted, and then remember that I still have to do Reverse Grip Curls for my forearms. The 40 lb BB is still missing. Someone's using it in a vacant class space. Oh well. The obvious workaround is just to do more at a lesser weight so I grab the 30 lb BB and do 6 sets instead of 3. (I'm too bloody tired to go to the front desk to grab magnetic discs to make the 30 a 40.) After doing some abs, I drain my water bottle and head for the Mat. My glutes and lower back still feel stiff but as long as I move slowly and deliberately, I can do this. A long limbed girl plops herself on the mat across from me. She's doing the hurdler stretch which I think is awful for the knees but I hesitate to council her against it. After all, I'm not a personal trainer by any means. Later, I see her with legs apart, leaning forward. She can sort of get her elbows on the mat. She has time -- she's young.

After I grab my sopping wet hoodie and the rest of my gear, I stoop down to say Bye to R who's sitting on a bench between sets. He's been massaging and rotating his neck and shoulders throughout his entire workout. I know it's the humidity. Broken bones, no matter how well healed, always seem to be affected by the dampness. The weather's screwing up my sinuses so I'm intermittently dizzy but it passes. It's amazing what one can get used to. The one thing I really enjoy about the gym is taking a hot shower afterwards because of the great water pressure. The gym scale again reads 109.6 lbs and I wonder what's up with me. Damn, well, I am stronger. I just don't really want to get bigger. When I get home, my scale tells me 107.8 lbs and my BF is back to 19.5%.

Tomorrow I might have a go at the Nexersys again. It'd be a fun way to end the week.

Arm Day with a Double Dose of Cardio
35 min Interval 7 = 4.24 miles + 35 min Hill 5 = 4.02  Grand Total = 8.26 miles Yay!
Smith Close Grip Bench Press: 4 x 25 @ 95 lbs
Cage Stretch with BW Heel Dips and Side Kicks
DB Curls: 6 x 8 @ 25 lbs
Tricep Press Downs: 12, 11, 10 reps @ 50 lbs
BB Curls: 6 x 12 @ 50 lbs
DB Kickbacks: 3 x 15 @ 20 lbs
RGBB Curls: 6 x 20 @ 30 lbs
Ab Crunch Station: 125
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Mat Stretch with splits