Frequency, Reps and Volume

I had trouble getting out of the house this morning in spite of walking my son down the hill to the school bus stop. No, it wasn't the dead 'possum in the middle of the road, or seeing my breath in the brisk 46°F autumn air. It was because I was tired and my legs felt stiff. I debated with whether to do all my errands first or after the gym while the car was warming up. It's an old Subaru and always runs better if I let it heat up for a bit. I guess I'm that way too. I need to warm up before I'm fully functional. I love my old car but it's slowly rusting away. Still, I'm loathe to even consider a newer model. I love how well it accelerates and maneuvers through tight turns. Because the AWD adds a lot of drag, there's no need to brake when coasting will do. It's not gas efficient. The trim is peeling away from the passenger rear door and there's a dent from where a truck bumper or shopping cart hit it while parked at the supermarket.

The parking lot is mostly full so I'm wary when I enter the gym. I'm not sure where everyone is though because the ellipticals are all vacant. I punch in Hill 6 and start peddling. Lately I've taken to wearing my lifting gloves here they seem to keep my hands from cramping up. Yes, my hands and fingers cramp up while I peddle the elliptical. Go figure. My legs are sore from yesterday but I push through it until I'm warm and sweaty. Not as good as yesterday, not quite four miles.

There's a cluster of chatter boxes at one of the Lat Pull Down so I circumnavigate to the other station. I don't look up or around except to replace the handle with a lighter one. My plan is to do all my back exercises in some fashion, but not so much that I'm too tired to do the next one. I only do 4 sets of Lat Pull Downs and I don't do full 12-rep sets except for the first one, which, at 75 lbs, is akin to a warm up set. The Pull Downs bother my right elbow, but lately everything does, including movements that have nothing to do with elbows. Again, go figure. I'm looking at this as a back warm up as I head to the Cage Stretch. Even those are tight, but I'm not surprised.

I return to do Close Grip Pull Downs, my elbows are unhappy and I wrap my wrists. Again, I only do 4 sets, with descending number of reps, starting at 75 lbs and 12 reps. I miss doing Reverse Grip BB Rows so here's my chance. I have a pair of discs with me as I grab the 90 lb barbell. WTH. My lower back doesn't complain and I get 12 reps. Immediately I think, okay this is too easy. I swap the BB for the 100 pounder. 10 reps isn't that hard, but my right elbow and forearm are making themselves noticeable. I may lose my grip on the heavier weight. I stick the discs on for 105 lbs and do 3 sets of 6 reps. I can feel my back and lats in the movement, but what's failing is my grip. I'm not even going to bother with the last BB on the rack, 110 lbs, because I don't think I can hang on to it.

I've missed doing the Lower Back machine so that's next while I let my elbows and forearms recuperate. I start at 120 lbs and knock out my usual 25 reps, knowing that I'm going to go heavier. 135 lbs. Another 25 reps. Okay, moment of truth. 150 lbs. It's heavy but not impossible. I do 12 reps, rest for 30 seconds and do another set. And another set. Then another. Okay, that's four sets of 12. I think my elbows still need rest so I wander over to the sit up board and do a set there, and then a set of kick outs. I had planned to do only 50 lower ab kick outs but once I got to 50, it seemed silly not to finish the set (100). I can't delay this any longer so I go to the DB area where I see the sign that says the DB Area will be closed for new flooring on Thursday.

I like DB Rows but I'm not sure whether I should place the DB on the floor after each rep. I have short arms that don't allow the DBs to hit the floor when I'm bent over a bench. I figure I'm already warmed up so I skip the 40s. I can easily get 10 reps at 45 lbs. I'm aiming for sets of 6 at 50 lbs. I'm basically right-handed for strength so it's odd that my right grip is failing before my left. What's odder is that even though my grip fails on set 3, I recover enough to do set 4 without any issue, and even think that I can handle the next weight up. I must be so tired I'm delusional. The 55 lb DBs are at the other end of rack, starting the bottom row and I'm not about to wander past half a dozen chatty guys grunting through DB presses and flyes. I've completely forgotten about the magnetic discs because I could've used those 2.5 lb increments. I'm done.

The Mat Stretch is a bit stiff because I've cooled down too much and I'm glad to stand in the hot shower afterwards. The gym scale reads 110.2 lbs which is okay since my home scale reads 108.2 lbs and there's usually a two-pound difference between the two. Tomorrow is Leg Day. I'm not sure I can handle a Double Cardio day after a week off, but that's never stopped me before. I just need a plan.

Back Day Workout:
35 min Hill 6 = 3.90 miles
Wide-Grip Lat Pull Down: 12 @ 75 lbs / 10 @ 90 / 8 @ 105 / 6 @ 120 lbs
Cage Stretch with BW heel dips & calf raises and side kicks
Close Grip (Neutral) Pull Downs: 12 @ 75 lbs / 10 @ 90 / 8 @ 105 / 6 @ 120 lbs
RGBBRows: 12 @ 90 lbs / 10 @ 100 lbs / 3 x 6 @ 105 lbs
Lower Back Extension Machine: 25 @ 120 lbs / 25 @ 135 / 4 x 12 @ 150 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Lower Ab Kick Outs: 100
One-Arm DB Rows: 10 @ 45 lbs / 4 x 6 @ 50 lbs
Mat Stretch with 12 wide legged DBPUs, 3 rolling, 12 regular stance DBPUs, splits, yoga stretches for upper and lower back, hamstrings, etc