Tired and Sore? Not an Excuse!

I'm still a little sore but I don't mind because it enables me to determine what muscles got a good workout on Tuesday (Back Day). As I squirm and stretch, I feel lats, delts and all the smaller muscles that comprise the upper middle back. I'm only doing a 35 min cardio session today because it's Arm Day, and I figure I'll do a double cardio tomorrow. I scan the Precor programs and punch in Interval 8 because it's hard and I really dislike how challenging it is. Yep, embrace the stuff you hate and get it over and done with so you can do the stuff you like. It's easy to have energy for the latter, much harder to work up enthusiasm for stuff you'd rather not do.

That's one of the main reasons I do cardio first, and I do a lot of it. Because I hate it, and I suck at it. And after a year or two, maybe I don't quite hate it so much, and maybe I don't quite suck at it that much. The second reason I do cardio first is because some sports training literature suggests that doing cardio before weight lifting helps kick the body into muscle-building mode, whereas doing cardio afterwards basically tears the muscle down. I end all my workouts with stretching because it's relaxing, and I think it helps prevent a lot of problems with knots (I'm a knotty person and only deep-tissue massage alleviates that problem) and soreness. You don't want to lose your range of motion just because you got a few muscles! That's a recipe for injury.

My cardio is better today than yesterday and that's a surprise. And yet, maybe one week out of the month I have a really good cardio week. Logging all my numbers on a calendar helps me to see patterns emerge. The Smith is busy so I set up on a free standing Olympic bench where I can see the Smith because I'd much rather use that, even for Close Grip Bench Presses. That's become my favorite primary tricep movement because it's a big movement and I can get a mild chest workout in as well. I use my new wrist wraps but pull the thumb loops off my thumbs after they're secured. When the loops are attached to my hands, my hands feel sprained after a big lift, probably because the loops are exerting too much pressure on that joint. But it's hard to wrap wrists by yourself unless you use the loops, at least to start. After a quick set of 25 reps with just the Olympic bar (45 lbs), I see the 7 foot tall dude (okay, he's probably not 7 feet tall but he's a helluva lot taller than anyone else in the gym) strip the bar and leave. Yay!

I do a dozen quick reps with just the bar to make sure I'm positioned on the bench properly, then add a pair of 25s. I'm going for reps today, making sure my elbows are tucked in close to my sides and the heels of my palms are directly under the bar. I tend to use a "thumbless" grip (also known as a Dead Man's Grip because the bar can roll off and crush your chest, but that's not likely to happen on a Smith where the bar is on a track) to keep pressure off the thenar space (area between thumb and forefinger). After I squeeze out the last set, my chest and arms get a good pump. That's 100+ reps, so no surprise there.


My Cage Stretch feels a little stiff, probably because yesterday was Leg Day and a Double Cardio Day. Those days tend to make my muscles and ligaments feel much tighter. Again, sports training literature suggests that athletes who excel in aerobic activities such as running tend to have tighter muscles, and that stretching before aerobic activity can actually make the runner less efficient. Not to be a contrarian, but I've also read that cheetahs owe their amazing speed and agility to their hyper-flexible spines and hips. Personally, when I want to kick up my speed on the elliptical, I make a conscious effort to loosen my hips as I move. It seems to work (at least for me).

Because it's Arm Day, I alternate between Triceps and Biceps. Never mind that I'm still a tad sore from earlier this week. Lately my methodology has been to do a set and then up the weight, until I can't really do a complete set. And then I just do a few sets at that weight. Sort of cementing the deal. When I knock out a set of 20 reps with 25 DB curls, it's time to up the weight! I've toss on a 2.5 lb magnetic disc that I've borrowed from the front desk. These feel a little heavy so I do a set, lose count and stop myself at 10. Not sure why, perhaps I'm just not psychologically ready. but I don't want to curl 30 lb DB today, so I do sets at 27.5 lbs. I think it's because I'm worried about my elbows and wrists and I'd like my arms to catch up to my head. I'll just ease into the 30s. Maybe next week.

I know my left wrist can't handle anything over 20 lbs on the DB One-Arm Extension and I only do 3 sets. My right arm can knock out sets of 15, maybe even 20, but the left arm lags and starts to fail at rep 10 by the 3rd set. I toy with Concentration Curls for a moment. Again, my left elbow screams at a mere 6 reps at 25 lbs so I stop. I need my elbows for Back Day so no point in aggravating them. My right arm, however, knocks out 12 reps without a pause. Sigh. Yes, I'm right-hand dominant although I write and draw left-handed and I can trackball ambidextrously.

Alternating between Triceps and Biceps means that the next movement is Tricep Kick Backs. And although the 20 lb DB feels heavy when I pick it up, I can do 20 reps. So I affix the 2.5 lb disc to one end of the DB and do another set. Of 15 reps. Hhmmm. Again, in my head, I'm not prepared to tackle the 30 lb DBs. But I put the other 2.5 lb disc on the other end of the DB and that's 25 lbs. For Kick backs. For sets of reps. Good grief. Worried about my elbows, I pick up the 40 lb BB and affix the discs to bring it to 45 lbs. 20 reps later, I put the BB back and grab the 50 instead. Last week I did the 50 so I shouldn't be worried. Yet, I am. I do 3 sets of 12 reps and my elbows don't say a thing. They're silent when I grab the 40 lb BB again to do Reverse Grip BB Curls as well. Yay!
My lower back feels really stiff when I hook my feet into the Sit Up board but I'm stubborn. Doing twisting sit ups doesn't really hurt and eventually my back loosens up a bit. By this time I've done 200 sit ups. Time to move on. After the Torso Twist machine, I'm game for the Mat Stretch. I place my water bottle, towel and cell at the edge of the mat and scan for pebbles (I've gotten some nasty wounds sliding across a mat that had tiny gravel bits on it). A few Dive Bomber Push Ups and splits and other assorted stretches later and I'm good to go. A hot shower, no skin cream mishaps, various errands still to run.

Push Through Your Soreness Arm Day Workout:
35 min cardio Interval 8 = 4.63 miles Wahoo!
Olympic Free Weight Close Grip Bench Press: 25 @ 45 lbs (just the bar)
Smith CGBP: 4 x 25 @ 95 lbs
Cage Stretch with Heel dips, Tip toes and Side Kicks
Alternating Seated Bicep Curls: 20 @ 25 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 27.5 lbs
One-Arm Tricep Extension: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Concentration Curl: 6-12 @ 25 lbs
Tricep Kick Back: 20 @ 20 lbs / 15 @ 22.5 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 25 lbs
BB Curl: 20 @ 45 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 50 lbs
RGBBC: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 200
Torso Twist Station: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Mat Stretch with Dive Bomber Push Ups (10 hands under shoulders and 3 hands under waist) and splits.

It's Arm Day so I tried to get a few quick cell pix in my bathroom. I've concluded that my hands are too small to hold and press the camera button accurately while trying to focus the phone...

This is two pics cobbled together, hence the "seam" in my chest. LOL!