DB Area Closed to Install New Flooring

I'd finally had enough of the maggot-infested possum corpse at the edge of the road where the school bus stop is, so I got my portable shovel out of the car (every northerner carries one in the trunk as a precaution against blizzard conditions that necessitate digging your car out of a sudden snow bank). The possum was a lot bigger and heavier than I had estimated, and I was afraid it would fall off and splatter grossness as I moved it deeper into the wooded brush. Not as good as burying it, but at least we don't have to step over it anymore.

Thursday seems to be National Truck Day and although there were no patrol cars along the main corridor, traffic was heavy and the sky overcast. Not a promising start. Again, my favorite elliptical is already in use so I trudge off to Precor #3 and punch in Interval 7. I'm stiff and mildly sore from yesterday's Leg Workout. Intervals seems a lot harder today and I wonder if I'm going to even make four miles in the 30 minutes of actual program and five minute "cool down" which I never use to cool down. I'm pleasantly surprised by the mileage reading but a tad disturbed by the ruckus in the free weight area. There's a sign up declaring Breaker Benches Will Soon Be Here! That's nice but only if I fit into the new equipment.

The DB area has been shifted into the Olympic bench space because the gym owner and two of his trainers are replacing the rubber floor mats. It's a good thing. They've frayed at the interlocking edges and it's not unusual to trip over them. I decide to do my Cage Stretch first and deal with weights later. While I'm stretching and kicking, a man comes over. He has dark Slavic features but newly shorn hair. I'm not sure if I recognize him as one of the regulars or not. I pull my earpiece out because it seems like he has something to say or ask. "You are the most flexible person I've ever seen," he says to me. I wasn't expecting this so I'm a bit flustered. "Uh, you just gotta practice," is what I lamely manage to answer. "I know. I see you train all the time!" "Oh?" Sweat is dripping off my nose even though I still have my hoodie on. "It's great the way you can move." "Uh, thank you," I finally mange to say before putting my earpiece back in. I think I have a fan or something but I'm more concerned with getting through my routine.

I can weave between the benches in order to get to the one Decline Bench. I haven't done those in a long time. My right front delt tends to get sore so I'm very cautious with my form today. I do sets of 12 reps all the way to 105 lbs. I could probably go heavier but I'd rather find the DBs and do some curls. Very few regulars brave the chaos. Nixon, whom I'm renaming Jude because he has a vague resemblance to Jude Law, receding hairline included, a big Latino (he always travels with a gym bag stuffed with protein powder containers), RR, a couple of skinny white dudes I've only ever seen a few times. Eventually, even the Slav also makes his way over to the temporarily relocated DBs. I'm too lazy to go back to the front desk and grab the 2.5 lb discs so I have to wrestle with the 30 lb DBs that threaten to eclipse my thighs as I position myself. The 25s are so much more manageable.

I notice RR hovering and his mouth is moving so I remove an earphone. Can he alternate using the seat I'm on? No problem. It's my last set anyway. He's hoisting ridiculously heavy DBs overhead, his face turns purple and I'm glad I'm not standing next to him. The Latino is spotting him. I look around for a free bench not attached to a benching platform because I want to do Skull Crushers. I find one lone bench between the cable stations so I grab the 30 lb BB. I'm unsure what I can handle so I figure I'd start light. I need to grab the discs because 30 is too easy. 35 is easy. 40 is harder. 45 lbs is good. Heavy enough to make the last two reps of each set a bit of work. I can tell my right tricep is working harder than the left but I'm not sure how to rectify it. What's worse is that I've noticed that my left pectoral is actually bigger than my right. No, not boobs, but pectoral muscle. Sigh. The weaker left side has nicer biceps, triceps and pecs. Go figure.

Time to go!

The middle-aged dude (who was giving unwanted advice to the tall thin gal a few weeks ago) has stepped off his stair-stepper and is doing assisted pull-ups. Then he crosses to the dip station, so I have to stand in front of him to do BB curls which I'm supersetting with Skull Crushers. I'm glad he has enough sense to keep his advice to himself with me. I want to forget to do Reverse Grip BB Curls but of course, I don't. A quick three sets and I can knock out abs and then Mat Stretch. The Dive Bomber Push Ups, especially the wide-legged ones, are easy enough to do, but the regular stance ones have my shoulders clicking oddly. I keep adjusting my hand position to make the noise stop. My lower back has been very stiff lately so I'm not entirely certain that the lower back stretches are helping at all. Today I decide not to do them just to see how it feels tomorrow.

The gym scale says 109.4 lbs. I've sucked down a lot of water today. The hot shower feels so good I just want to stand in it all day, but of course I can't. But I'll be back tomorrow. Tomorrow is Double Cardio Friday and I'll get to whack the Nexersys!

Arm Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.34 miles Yay!
Decline Bench Press: 12 @ bar (45 lbs) / 12 @ 65 / 12 @ 85 / 12 @ 95 / 12 @ 105 / 12 @ 85 lbs / 15 @ 65 lbs
Alternating Seated DB Curls: 12 @ 20 lbs / 12 @ 25 lbs / 3 x 6 @ 30 lbs
Skull Crushers: 12 @ 30 lbs / 12 @ 35 lbs / 12 @ 40 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 45 lbs last three sets superset with
BB Curls: 3 x 12 @ 45 lbs
RGBBCurls: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Lower Back Kick Outs: 100
Mat Stretch with 12 wide legged DBPUs, 3 rolling, 12 regular stance DBPUs, splits, upper back, shoulder, hamstring stretches...