Week Two Day Two (B) Lower

I was dismayed this morning to see that it was 4°F outside when I took the dog out, already missing the balmy mid-30s of yesterday. Today, we'll be lucky if it climbs past 20. I like getting to the gym early but this new short workout has me colliding with the various classes. It's a tiny locker room and a dozen women chatting and blow-drying their hair makes for an unnerving cacophony. Everyday I'm thankful for my iPod and headphones.

Distance / Calories / Time Elapsed

The 20 minutes of HIIT doesn't feel any easier and this is the 2nd day of the 2nd week. I'm still glad when it's done and I can run over to the Smith machine for some light squats. It dawns on me this morning that I can bench more than I can squat for reps. LOL! Never saw that coming. As if this program wasn't hard enough, I still decide to up my DB weight from last week, making the DB Lunges even harder today. Well, at least I don't think they'll make me sore this week. But it's hard to hang on to the 25 lb DBs. My small hands are tiring even as I cup them to my hips. The Calf Raises aren't much of an issue and I change my foot position every ten reps just for variety. Crunches are easy, and the Elbow to Knee Crunches are still hard and make my neck ache. I knock out the two sets of this circuit without any problems and then jog back to do another 10 minutes of cardio. Again this is really hard, but it's me pushing myself to pedal as fast as I can so that I'm gasping for breath when I'm done.

When I return to the free weight area I see that the Smith is occupied. I toy briefly with the idea of holding DBs while doing body weight squats but I can't really hang on to them. Instead, I just do 20 body weight squats as fast as I can, swinging my hands up in front of me as I rise and dropping down, butt to heels. Then I grab the 25 lb DBs for lunges and calf raises. There's no resting between sets but I do manage to swig water and jot my weights down via pen and paper. If I don't remember to drink then I find myself getting a bit lightheaded and that's so not cool. By the 4th total set I've decided to go for broke with the crunches and do 40 reps. I'm done in 55 minutes! But, maybe a bit more cardio. As I head up to the cardio platform, I see R stretching his shoulders on the railing.

Last time I spoke to him I forgot to ask him what his new son's name was. Caleb Quinn he tells me. I tease him about the song Mighty Quinn. He doesn't know it but shows me a photo on his cell of a sleeping newborn with a full head of jet black hair. He's still in awe. "I love my wife but it's just unbelievable how much more I love my son," he gushes. I tease him about taking enough photos, and especially video because they change so fast, change so much. He jokes back that as the middle child, he always felt neglected. I don't tell him that my son, an only child, still wishes he had siblings. 

I've decided to do another 10 minutes of cardio, but I don't think I can stand to do LISS, especially not with the new songs I've added to my cardio mix: Counting Stars (OneRepublic), Demons (Imagine Dragons) [see below] and Love Me Again (John Newman). Afterwards, I stretch out at the Cage and then head to the locker room. It's crowded and loud. Ugh. The gym scale barely reads any difference from yesterday at 114.6 lbs and I chalk it up to the salty garlic-stuffed olives, and the parmesan-laced meatballs and sauce I made for dinner last night. What I mean is Water Weight. Of course, some of that is undoubtedly Fat.

When I get home, I take some unpleasant measurements as well. Yep, I'm bigger. Hips, waist, chest/back. I suspect that without adhering strictly to the Shred Diet, this program isn't going to do much for me. I'm doing less abs and less back than I normally would. My body appears to be highly adaptive, which is great. But a bit frustrating.

Week Two Day Two (B) Lower

20 min elliptical 1 min Walk / 1 min Run = 1.65 miles 
The following done twice as a circuit without rest
20 Smith Squats @ 60 lbs
15 DB Lunges (each leg) @ 25 lb DB (+5)
30 Calf Raises holding pair of 25 lb DBs (+5)
30 Crunches
30 Crunches Knee to Elbows

10 min elliptical 5 min Walk / 5 min Run = 0.82 miles 
The following done twice as a circuit without rest
20 Body Weight Squats Heels to Butt
15 DB Lunges (each leg) @ 25 lb DB
30 Calf Raises holding pair of 25 lb DBs
30 Crunches / 2nd set 40 Crunches (+10 reps)
30 Crunches Knee to Elbows / 2nd set 40 Crunches Knee to Elbows (+10 reps)

10 min elliptical Moderate Pace = 0.84 miles
Cage Stretch