Just Back, No Bi's

Today was suppose to be a combination Back and Biceps Day but it turned out to be all back and no bi's. Things don't always turn out the way you plan, so it's best to just make the best of it and maximize the opportunity. Apparently that's what the raccoon has done because the suet feeder has been stolen again. At least that hat-sized varmint didn't take the bird feeder as well. It's flurrying here but the tiny flakes are melting as they touch down. It's a balmy 42°F which is so much better than the 18° previous.

I get to the gym just as Zumba is about to start, so it takes me a while before I make my way out to the cardio area. I land on Precor #3 and because I normally do Hill 6, I punch in Interval 8 instead. I'm a little tired from yesterday but I always feel more energetic as I warm up. I'm pleased to make over four miles, although it's not as good as yesterday. I see B on the Stair Master and I wave to her, but I really don't have anything to say so I move down to the cable area to claim a spot at the Lat Pull Downs. My elbows have been mostly fine all week. Until I do Pull Downs. And these are the Neutral Grip (palms facing each other) close-grip handles that I touch to my chest at the bottom of each rep. My elbows are very grumpy about these so I reconsider doing pull ups later.

The Cage Stretch is a little boring by now, but I feel it's important to stretch while you're warm. These stretches are exactly replicated in the Mat routine but I use this as a precursor to the spits I do later. The kicks are just to warm up my hips and give the abductor and adductor muscles something to do in a way that pedaling on the elliptical doesn't address. The lights suddenly go out although the TVs and radio are still on. Must've been a power surge that tripped the breakers. The gym owner says it'll take a few minutes for the big overhead halogen lights to reset. Meanwhile I grab 4 magnetic discs and head over to the barbell rack.

I do a warm up set with the 100 lb BB, then drag it back to the rack and grab the last BB there. It's 110 lbs. I know I can do this because I did this weight last week, but it was the 100 lb BB with magnets affixed to the ends. I pick up the BB with a straight back and knees, as if I'm doing a stiff-legged dead lift. It's not really that heavy and I can get three sets of 12 reps. Last week I did six sets. Today I'm only doing half that amount. I'll probably do six sets next week. Once I run through all the magnets I'll have a problem because I don't want to use a bar where I'll need collars. As I've said before, my hands and fingers are too small to compress the springs on them to get them on and off.

The lights flicker back on and I put the BB away. It must seem odd to the guys there that I can pick up a barbell that weighs as much as I do, and then walk it back to the rack. The Lower Back Extension machine is free so I grab my towel, check last week's log and set myself up for a warm up set at 165 lbs. Then I walk all over the gym looking for the 7.5 lb brick because my next set is at 187.5 lb. Those 12 reps come easily so I eye the stack again. WTH, I pull off the brick and move the pin to 195 lbs. Last time I couldn't make a complete rep and I'm worried about only doing partial reps. However, I appear to have gotten stronger in the past few weeks, although I'm still sniffling and blowing my nose a lot, because I can get 11 reps at 195 lbs. Actually I get 12, but the last rep was a partial as I didn't feel my back actually hit the bottom of the arc. I only do two more sets, getting 10 and 12 reps respectively. I really think it takes me a long time to warm up because I've noticed that my later sets are usually better than my early ones. I really feel this exercise in my glutes and hams more than my lower back so I'm probably going to be sore tomorrow.

Now imagine she's pushing a weighted
bar with the upright leg/foot.

I'm uncharacteristically tired and I still have One-Arm DB Rows to do. I swap the 2.5 lb magnets for a pair of 1.25 lbs and head to the DB area. I claim a bench and grab a 50 lb DB to start. A short young woman I've never seen before is adjusting the Smith machine to do squats. To her credit, after doing a warm up set of just the bar, she loads a pair of 25 lb plates on the bar and does a set of beautiful deep squats, in pretty damn close to ATG form. Later, when I glance over, she has placed a thin yoga mat on the floor and is kneeling on her hands and knees under the Smith with one foot pressing up against the bar. The bar has a 10 lb plate on it. I've only ever seen this movement done as a floor exercise, so this is new and intriguing to me. It should also work glutes and hams.

She eyes me warily but we don't make eye contact. I put the 50 back and amble over to the other end of the rack, but the 55s are missing. A guy is using them for seated OHPs but most of the time he's somewhere else and not at the bench where the DBs sit. I don't feel negotiating for their use, and I only need one, so I grab the 60 instead. I hadn't planned on using the 60 just yet, but it's better than having to go back and swap all my magnets again. I'm not even going to use the pair of 1.25s now. Yes, I admit it: I upped my weight out of sheer laziness. My hands are definitely tired and I stuff all my gear back into the sack and pull out the VGs. I manage to get three sets, each time adding another two reps. I guess I'll be doing 60 next week too and see if I can't get more sets.

Even though my sit ups and kick-outs are energetic, I'm mindful of the time. I need to do grocery shopping for the week (before everything's sold out) and I feel as if I've already been here too long. Doing biceps completely slips my mind. I probably could've done some curls, but I don't think missing a week is going to ruin my arms. I knock out abs without much thought and head to the Mat. I see that young woman again. She's doing either push ups or planks with her feet resting on a large stability ball. As she walks away, I note she's got the nice round glutes of someone who squats well.

The gym scale reads 112.4 lbs and that's a tad alarming. My jeans are feeling a little snug in the hips and thighs, which concerns me because I don't want to buy new clothes. It's probably glutes and hams, and I ponder how to alter my routine. I don't want to get bigger, just stronger, with well-balanced, shapely muscles. I know my hamstrings lag behind my quads so I've been working hard to bring them up to speed. When I lost twenty pounds, my butt got saggy so that's another area that required attention. We all want to look great naked, but mostly we're seen in our clothes, so it's important to look good in clothes that fit. I may actually have to modify my diet now in order to continue working out and stay in my clothes. Or at least my pants. I had to size up my tank tops and sports bras even though I'm a small busted woman, because the XS and Sm straps are strangling me and cutting into my shoulders. But I wear XS petite in dresses and casual wear. Actually, boys XL T-shirts and hoodies fits me pretty good too. Sigh.

Back Workout

35 min Interval 8 = 4.39 miles Yay!

Neutral Grip Pull Downs: 12 @ 75 lbs / 10 @ 90 / 8 @ 105 / 6 @ 120 lbs
 
Cage Stretch & Kicks

Reverse Grip BB Rows: 12 @ 100 lbs / 12 @ 110 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 115 lbs PB / 12 @ 110 lbs

Lower Back Extension Machine: 12 @ 180 lbs / 12 @ 187.5 lbs / 11, 10, 12 @ 195 lbs PB

One-Arm DB Rows: 12 @ 50 lbs / 6, 8, 10 @ 60 lbs PB

Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Lower Ab Knee-In Kick-Outs: 100

Mat Stretch with 2 x 12 DBPUs, 20 sec plank, splits, upper and lower back stretches, etc