30 minutes plus 5 minute cool down on the Precor gives me a tad under four and a half miles. Sweat is dripping off my nose onto the Decline Bench which I'm trying to adjust. I even place the foam yoga block back under the foot of the bench to raise it up. But today I'm not as strong as I've been and I wonder if I've not fully recuperated from my 2-rep bench max on Monday. I do decline presses because I can't use the Dip station and today is Triceps and Biceps. The first few warm up sets are uneventful. Even 95 lbs feels easy. But there is trouble at 115 lbs.My head seems stuck in an odd position (hair got caught which is odd because it's mostly short) and my bench movement is not as deep or smooth as it should be. I struggle a little with rep 11 and push for rep 12 when suddenly M grabs the bar and sets it on the stays. I just look at him without saying anything. He doesn't say anything either. I have a weird half smile on my face because I'm pretty sure I could've managed that last rep. He has a weird half smile too, but still neither of us says anything. He goes back to the squat rack. Trying to redeem himself for forgetting he agreed to spot me some months ago? He's supersetting Squats with Cable Rows or something. I take 5 minutes and decide that while he's out of sight, I need to get a set all by myself because if I don't need a spot but you grab the bar anyway, well, then I'm unsure as to whether I could handle it myself or not. And I hate it when the spot grabs the bar away from you, especially if he's not been asked to spot. Sigh.
I get a set at 115 lbs but it's not pretty. I can tell from seeing how the bar moves, how it feels. Well, time to drop the weight. I go for two more sets at lower weights. Then I wipe off the bench and relax at the Cage. When I return to the DB area, it's to do curls and skull crushers. The DB curls are standard boring alternate seated curls that don't hurt my elbows. However, I'm trying something new today for triceps. Having viewed a How-To video on a form of skull crushers by Mark Rippetoe, I decide that his reasoning seems sound, so WTH, let's give this a try. Rip Crushers or Skull Rippers are two of the most popular names for this movement.
He uses an EZ bar with plates held in place with a spring collar. I can't use those because my hands are so small that the last time I even tried to get one on a bar, I sprained my hand. Yep, sprained the part where the thumb attaches to the rest of the palm. Makes you fairly useless as you can't grip or hold anything until it heals up. So, I grab a light 30 lb BB and figure I'd get the form down first before seeing how much weight I can actually do. It's a bit tricky but I do like this two-part movement because I can feel the different muscle sections work. I stick with the 30 lb BB and knock out several 12-rep sets because I need to be comfortable with this before I can up the weight. My movement is exaggerated because I'm new at it and I know it doesn't quite look like the video, but Rippetoe is great at explaining how you "throw" the bar over your head in one motion.
Meanwhile, the Latino baseball player and his skinnier friend are trying hard not to be obvious in trying to get my attention. Sigh. First they asked me if I was using all the abandoned DBs someone left on a bench while I was the Decline Bench several yards away. Then they plopped themselves besides me while I was doing curls and triceps. I tend not to look at my neighbors when I'm on a bench. I moved my sodden hoodie a few times across the cardio railing because their gym bags full of product seem to overtake all the free space there. Finally they're done and they leave, or at least their gym bags are gone. I'm glad to swap the 30 lb bar for the 40 and plink a pair of magnets on it. I only do three sets of BB curls, return the magnets and do four sets of Reverse Grip BB Curls. Hmmm. Because I can get between 20-25 reps, perhaps it's time to up the weights on this movement as well.
I feel done, but I'm not because yes, alas, there's still abs to do. A hundred reps here and there and I finally feel a little fatigue. The gym has gotten crowded. While I'm on the Mat, I see M greet a cute gal with wild long brown hair. She has nice triceps and a cute butt. Most of the women here don't, so of course I take notice. She's all smiles with everyone, but quickly loses it when she sees me and I'm not even looking at her. I'm not sure why she reacts this way because we're not competing for anything that I'm aware of. I've never spoken to her. We're not even the same shape. She's got a toned girly figure, and I'm built like an athlete. Maybe it's the attitude. She's a flirty girl but she's probably in her late 30s or early 40s. Me, I've probably got that "You're in my way" 'tude. Or at least that's my take on it.
A convention forms at the edge of the Mat where I'm stretching, so I'm glad I have my iPod turned up full blast. Yes, I'm completely oblivious to everyone -- I really prefer to finish my routine without falling over because I've been distracted by conversation. Jude is on the Calf Press machine with his back to me, The Slav is doing Tricep Press Downs, Hoodie Tattoo and friends are kibitzing by the cable stations. At least some people work out here.
The gym scale reads 110.4 lbs which is a tad disconcerting, but my clothes still fit fine so I'm not worried. What I am worried about is regressing from my 2-rep Bench Press max. Monday is just around the corner. Sigh.
Arm Day Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.47 miles Yay!
Decline Bench Press: 12 @ bar (45 lbs) / 10 @ 75 lbs / 10 @ 95 lbs / 2 x 10 @ 115 lbs / 12 @ 105 lbs / 12 @ 95 lbs
Cage Stretch
Alternating DB Curls (last 4 sets superset with Ripp Crushers): 12 @ 25 lbs / 10 @ 27.5 lbs / 3 x 8 @ 30 lbs / 12 @ 25 lbs
Ripp Crushers: 5 x 12 @ 30 lbs
BB Curl: 3 x 12 @ 45 lbs
Reverse Grip BB Curls: 20, 21, 21, 25 @ 40 lbs Time to up the weight?
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 150
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Lower Ab Knee-In Kick-Outs: 100
Mat Stretch (still hate the 20 second plank)
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