Even though the Smith is free, I decide to bench on the Olympic. But not heavy. Today is reps. I did 6 sets of 12 last week and I'll do it again this week. Warming up to bench always feels a bit arbitrary to me. Doing 25 reps with just the bar doesn't seem like enough so I do a set with 75 lbs. Then I do my first set at 95 lbs. It feels a bit heavy, but not hard. By the 4th set, I feel warmed up but a little tired. I'm trying to avoid stressing my right front shoulder. After I finish the 6th set, I feel unfinished so I drop the weight to 75 and knock out 15 reps. That seemed easier than the first time. With just the bar, I knock out 50 reps. I'm tempted to do more because I know I can, but I don't want to be here all day. I wipe down the bench and head to the Cage Stretch.
I see my neighbor V grab a coffee and newspaper from the front desk. Luckily he doesn't see me, and I can avoid (his) unpleasant attempts at conversation with me. Then I see Hannibal Baggy Knees on one of the seated stretch chairs adjacent to the Cage. He was hovering while I benched. I find him particularly creepy, an old man who can't take No for an answer, as in "No I don't want to talk to you, not even to be politely social because I'm not politely social". Of course, I've never quite said that. That would require actually talking to him. I'll walk the perimeter of the workout area just to avoid having to pass by him.
I sit down on a bench and grab a pair of 20 lb dumbbells to curl. They seem easy and I'm too lazy to go back to the front desk to grab any magnets. I grab a pair of 25s and put one of the 20s back. I only need one 20 for one-arm DB extensions. I know that, in spite of my wrist wraps, I can't handle more than 20 lbs in that position. I went heavier last week but my elbows have been complaining lately. At 25 lbs there's no pain whatsoever and I get a nice pump after 6 sets. Today I do kickbacks instead of press downs. Then barbell curls. The Mayor, Nixon, M and RR are floating about. I see a large black woman in sunglasses (indoors in a low-light gym), a do-rag covering shoulder-length dreads, doing reverse flyes with 20 lb DBs. Later, she loads the bar at the Squat rack and does shrugs. I don't know why women do shrugs. I know I don't want huge traps -- they make tank tops fit oddly. I grab a 50 lb BB and do 6 sets of 12 reps. My elbows don't hurt but my wrists are starting to complain a lot. I've not had that happen before.
My lower back feels stiff when I start doing sit ups but eventually it loosens up. After 125 it'd better be loose! Then a few ab crunches just for fun. Then back to the barbell rack to grab the 40 lb BB for Reverse Grip BB Curls. In the mirrored wall, I see Nixon standing at a bench, curling the bar with big plates on it. Impressive. R glides in with his baseball cap and hockey t-shirt, and is greeted by RR and the White-Haired Marine, a big mustached man who drives a big gray pickup. I float off to do my Mat Stretch but forget to adjust my routine for the Dive Bomber Push Ups. I'll have to do that tomorrow. When I'm done, I grab my hoodie off the railing and wave Bye at R. He smiles, surprised.
Good Day, Back Day, It's Still Arm Day:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.03 miles
Bench Press: 25 @ bar / 12 @ 75 lbs / 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs / 15 @ 75 lbs / 50 @ bar (45 lbs)
Cage Stretch with BW Heel Dips & Calf Raises and Side Kicks
DB Curls: 12 @ 20 lbs / 6 x 12 @ 25 lbs
One-Arm Tricep Extension: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Tricep Kickbacks: 15 @ 20 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 25 lbs
BB Curls: 6 x 12 @ 50 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Ab Crunch Station: 100
RGBB Curls: 4 x 20 @ 40 lbs
Mat Stretch with 10 DBPUs and 3 rolling; splits etc.
The gym scale reads 109.4 lbs. I don't have time to weigh myself at home, and I'm not really that concerned although I'm worried that upping the weights for legs is just going to make me stockier. I'm a short person. I don't need to look like a fireplug. Maybe I should cut back on my reps like everyone's suggesting. I'll have to do some research.
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