Still Tired, Still Going...

I cut back on my workout today because I'm tired. Note, I didn't say that I didn't work out, I just cut back. Oh, I still did my double cardio, and I did on the rickety "tractor" Precor because the two others were occupied. But after a while, I didn't even feel the grinding bumps on this elliptical, and when I did notice, I was hoping that it'd be enough to jar my toes out of the tingling numbness they sometimes experience. I admit to be surprised that I made my quota on both sessions of cardio today, especially since I looked at the screen every ten minutes during the second session, wondering how much longer I was going to put up with this insanity. Because I'm still tired from the weekend. We actually have no plans this coming weekend, other than the standard morning Chinese school and swim class, and I think we're all looking forward to being lazy. If only I could sleep in... but that's not going to happen until Winter Break. Sigh. I know my son is tired because Monday he didn't come home with his coat. Tuesday he came home with someone else's coat. Today, he came home with the three jackets I've been searching the house for, AND his coat from Monday.

Again, the free weight area is sparsely populated. It's nice but a tad unnerving. Is it a holiday that someone forgot to tell me about? No, 'cuz that would mean more people at the gym, not less. Hmmm. I try a few Squats at the Smith machine, going lower than I normally do. But first a set of butt-to-heel speed-squats with just the bar (30 lbs). I keep adjusting my feet and stance until I'm comfortable. Then I add a mere 15 lbs per side to the bar and try below parallel squats. It's a weird balance in positioning footing and stance because at one point my knees are uncomfortable, at another point, I feel pressure in my lower back. Then there's that Goldilock's spot where everything's just right.

I swap out the 15 lbs for a 25 lb plate on either side. I can still go below parallel at this weight so I do a set. But when I up the weight again, I feel my knees and then my lower back so halfway through my set, I only go to parallel. As I add plates, I drop my reps. At 140 lbs I'm only doing 6 reps. I can get more but I don't like the way my lower back feels about it. I strip the plates and do another set of butt-to-heel speed squats. There's a young Italian guy watching, like a puppy. I think he might just be barely out of HS. Even though I have my eyes aimed up at a point on the Smith that I can see facing the mirrored wall, I can see him in my peripheral vision. I'm counting my reps. He seems to be counting along with me.

I strip off my hoodie because I'm too warm and feeling a little light-headed. I'm only going to do a few sets of SLDLs because I don't want to stress my lower back too much. First just the bar. Then I plop the 25 lb plate on either side. Okay, this isn't exactly easing into a set, but I know I can do it so WTF. Last week I did 3 sets at 110 lbs but I'm tired today. The combination of maxing out on the Lower Back Extension yesterday (felt like it was all glutes and hams), and ZZ hovering at the adjacent bench makes me cut the work out short. I even cut kicks at the Cage short although I do all the hamstring stretches. Seated Leg Curls are still hard at 127.5 lbs and I only do one short set after warming up to it. Seated Leg Extensions are easier but I've cut my sets back to four, getting 12 reps at 135 lbs. I don't even want to do Sit Ups, not in these shorts anyway, so I plod over to the crunch station and knock out a quick 100.

Even the Mat Stretch seems daunting, but at least I have it to myself. Today the regular-stance DBPUs seem harder than normal, and the plank is just godawful boring. I lift my head as if I've awoken from a deep slumber after matching a twenty count for twenty breathes. My splits are good though, unusual for Leg Day. Every day seems to be different. By the time I get up from the hip bridges, the entire free weight area has changed cast members, with the lunch crowd making an appearance.

June 14 (left)  vs. October 29 (right)

The gym scale reads 111.0 lbs which is heavier than I'd like to be mid-week, but my clothes still fit okay. I think it's water weight from all the salty Chinese food we've been snacking on lately. Well, it's better than the 112.2 it registered yesterday. I could probably do to lose a bit of fat. When I compare a recent back photo with one taken four months ago, I see that now I'm a tad bigger, and less defined. Sigh. I like lifting heavier so I'm not giving that up any time soon.

Tomorrow is Arm Day. And Halloween. I'm toying with the idea of wearing my Halloween pajama pants to work out... they're orange and black with flaming skulls on it. I wonder if anyone will notice.

Leg Work Out:

35 min Interval 7 = 4.41 miles + 35 min Hill 5 = 4.01 miles Grand Total = 8.42 miles Yay!

Smith Machine Squats: 25 @ bar (30 lbs) butt to heels as fast as I can go / 12 @ 60 lbs below parallel / 12 @ 80 lbs below parallel / 12 @ 100 lbs parallel / 8 @ 120 lbs parallel / 6 @ 140 lbs parallel / 25 @ bar (30 lbs) butt to heels as fast as I can go

Smith Machine SLDL: 12 @ bar (30 lbs) / 12 @ 80 lbs / 12 @ 100 lbs / 12 @ 110 lbs

Cage Stretch with BW heel dips & calf raises and side kicks

Seated Leg Curls: 12 @ 90 lbs / 10 @ 105 lbs / 8 @ 120 lbs / 6 @ 127.5 lbs
Seated Leg Extensions: 12 @ 90 lbs / 12 @ 105 lbs / 12 @ 120 lbs / 12 @ 135 lbs

Ab Crunch Station: 100
Mat Stretch with 12 wide-legged DBPUs, 3 rolling, 12 regular-stance DBPUs, 20 second plank, splits, upper and lower back/hamstring and hip stretches, etc