Manic Monday

I'm exhausted from the weekend and I didn't even do anything except cart my son to his Chinese class, his kung fu class, then to the apple orchard. It was too cold and rainy to actually go apple-picking. The next day he had swim class, the traditional post-swim-class bacon-and-fried-egg-bagel sandwich, and then 4 hours outside at Camp Kiwi's Friends & Family Day where he got himself thoroughly soaked by kayaking under the pond's aerating fountain several times. With his shoes and socks on. So it was quite a relief to put him safely on the school bus this morning while I headed back to the house to knock out some chores before going to the gym. Chores like paying a few bills, putting out the trash can, refilling the bird feeder, starting a load of laundry, setting up the crock pot to cook a defrosted pork loin over onions, garlic, black olives and a can of diced tomatoes. Sprinkled generously with brown sugar and a splash of sherry. Okay, now I can leave the house.

It's nearly 10 am by the time I get there. My favorite Precor is occupied so I hop on #3. I know I'm going to have a hard time because it's Monday and I generally can't quite make my quota after two days of being a slug. I don't feel warm until 17 minutes into it although I occasionally rev up to 200 SPM, I'm not able to sustain the speed, and my final mileage is just short of 4. Well, it wasn't abysmally short of 4. It'll be better tomorrow.

Today is Bench Press Monday and even though the Smith is vacant, I ignore it and head for a flat bench. My left wrist's been hurting for the past two days for no apparent reason. I'm worried that benching will make it much worse, but not worried enough to skip it. I've found sometimes, counter-intuitively, that working out actually makes it feel better. If I do it right. When I bench heavy on the Smith, I seem to aggravate my right front delt. The same with Decline Presses. I don't work front delts at all anymore. And yet they're fairly prominent in photos I've seen of my arms and back. Go figure. 

I'm surprised to see R, The Mayor and assorted other regulars. It's as if all the retired celebrities have come out for a fundraiser. Kidding. I warm up with just the bar, then add a bit of weight. Another set, more weight. The Mayor and R are engaged in deep conversation and I hate bothering people so I ask the white t-shirt guy benching next to me if he'll spot me. He says sure. He asks if I need help with the bar. I don't. I get to the 10th rep and struggle. He grabs the bar and sets it on the rack. Then I realize that I don't like his spot, that I'd rather have The Mayor. Jeeze. I feel like a fickle girl who's dancing between suitors. I've added 10 lbs and I wait until White T-shirt is benching so I can ask The Mayor if I can borrow him.

Actually I stand waiting for a few minutes while R and The Mayor are talking, and then at a pause, I ask if I can borrow him. Because R never actually looks at me, I don't feel compelled to say Hi to him. I like The Mayor's spot because he actually lets me do the work to get the reps even as I struggle. I manage 6 hard reps. He again tells me it's the left twisting motion. I'm not so sure but I can't tell from my angle. He counts the plates and remarks, "Hey, you put another 5 on there! That's 125 lbs." "Uh, yeah. I'm working up to a big plate on each side," I say quietly. Then he wants to know how much I weigh and I tell him about 108 and he seems impressed. He goes back to his conversation with R. Later, R walks by and I try to give him a quick wave, but he has a weird, twisted look to his face. I don't know how to read it. He looks, oh, I don't know, betrayed. It doesn't make me feel good but I'm lousy at all these social head-games anyway.

Drop sets follow until I'm down to the bar. I knock out 50 reps and I'm done. I realize that Sunshine (formerly FatAss, but I don't like that name and he drives an orange jeep with a big smiling sun on the spare wheel cover) has been watching the entire time. It's weird. Everything's weird today. At the Cage Stretch, I note that White T-shirt is at the cables there. But I'm so focused on the stretches and kicks that I ignore him as well. I feel a little bad, but not enough to start conversations. Conversations always lead to long periods of inactivity and I don't want to cool down yet.

I grab 4 magnetic discs from the front desk and head back to the DB area. I start with 25 DBs for a set, then add a disc. Do a set. Add the rest of the discs and debate whether to do 4 or 6 sets. WTF, I do 6 sets. Because I can. The standing Lateral DB Raises are harder. They've always been harder. But I like the way my arms look when I do them so I keep doing them. I appreciate what great arms boxers have, and I figure working delts can only improve my punching at the Nexersys.

Before I attempt Upright BB Rows, I need to rest my joints so I wander over to the ab stations. After sit ups, twists and crunches, I'm back at the mirrored wall with a 40 lb BB. There are plates and bars scattered all over the floor as if the users have been raptured. But I know that didn't happen. I do a set and add weight, do another set and add more weight. 50 lbs is hard on my wrists, especially the left one which seems to bend oddly in the mirror even though I'm wearing wrist wraps.

When I get to the Mat Stretch I briefly forget the order to my balance steps and re-do them twice before settling into splits and other stretches. I do wide-legged and regular dive bomber push ups as well just to give myself a full range of motion. This is a cool down and a stretch, a way for me to prevent my muscles from knotting up and joints from getting too stiff. The gym scale reads 110.4 lbs but I'm not concerned. When I get out to my car, it's there all alone at the far end of the lot.

Manic Monday Workout:
35 min Hill 5 = 3.95 miles Bleah!
Flat Bench Press: 25 @ bar / 12 @ 75 lbs / 12 @ 95 lbs / 10 @ 115 / 6 @ 125 lbs / 12 @ 105 lbs / 12 @ 95 lbs / 15 @ 75 lbs / 50 @ bar (45 lbs)
Cage Stretch with BW Heel Dips & Calf Raises and Side Kicks
Inclined Rear DB Flyes: 15 @ 25 lbs / 15 @ 27.5 lbs / 6 x 12 @ 30 lbs
Standing Lateral DB Raises: 12 @ 25 lbs / 12 @ 27.5 lbs / 6 x 8 @ 30 lbs
The last 2 reps of each heavy set were definitely hard and required a pause for breath.
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Ab Crunch Station: 100
BB Upright Rows: 12 @ 40 lbs / 12 @ 45 lbs / 6 x 12 @ 50 lbs
Again, the last 2 reps of the last 2 sets seem really hard and requires a breath.
Mat Stretch includes 10 wide-legged Dive Bomber Push Ups and 10 regular DBPUs, splits, etc.