After Shoveling, Weights Are A Tad Disappointing

After my husband got home late Friday, I discovered there was not quite enough room to get the car doors fully open. Since he had to work all weekend (from home) and he was in a grumbly mood, I decided to take advantage of Sunday's balmy weather and shovel the driveway wider. Since the privet hedges hadn't been trimmed before losing all their leaves, sharp tiny branches jutted out into the driveway as well, threatening to scratch our cars every time we exited our property. Of course, the hedge trimmers were in the garage where they belong. But I hadn't shoveled the path after Nor'easter Pax so I had some work to do, breaking the quarter inch thick ice crust before shoveling out softer, fluffier snow, 12 to 16 inches deep all the way from the driveway to the garage. Now that was a good workout!

I get to the gym a bit late today because it's a holiday and my husband is home with my son. But his car is parked in front of mine in the driveway and there's no way to drive around it. I could take his car but that means completely readjusting his seat and mirrors, and since he planned to trek to the Asian food market anyway, I figure I'd just leave for the gym after he left for the store.

The gym crowd ebbs and flows like the tide. One minute every piece of cardio equipment is in use, then 10 minutes later the area is completely desolate. I can't get on any of the ellipticals to warm up so I spend a few minutes on the StepMill because it's the only thing available. I don't really feel warmed up. I'm not sweating and my heart rate is barely up. I haven't benched in a long time so that's the first thing I do, grabbing the yoga blocks and a pair of 25 lb plates. I have to stop myself after I get to 12 reps because auto-pilot would have me do 20. My left wrist and right shoulder feel a bit off today so I'm torn between being cautious and seeing how far I can go. It's been a month and even though I know that I usually maintain strength fairly well, I'm not 100% certain.

I try to keep lower reps in mind, remembering how I've seen people just bench 3-5 sets of 5 reps, after warm up of course.  So after adding a pair of 10s, I just bench 5 reps. Okay, 3 more sets of 5 reps to go, so I put a pair of 5s on the bar. That's 25+10+5 per side, making it 125 lbs with the bar. I can do this I tell myself. I can. It's not really pretty though. I'm just muscling through it, wanting to see if I can get the 3 sets of 5 reps. I have to pause after the 4th rep for all three sets before I can get that last rep. It'd be prettier if I had a spot because I'm a tad worried about my wrist and shoulder, but I'm not going to worry too much about it. I'm hoping that if I stick with this, these last three sets will get easier. And prettier. Everyone seems to have the 20-rep craze, so I drop the weight back down to 95 lbs and do 20 reps to finish.

Because it's been nearly a month since I've done any heavy weights, I'm treading a bit lightly. I grab the 90 lb BB and knock out an easy set of 12 reps of Reverse Grip BB Rows. Swap it for the 100 lb BB and repeat. Then the 110 lb BB and repeat. I have to get 4 magnets from the front desk to bring the BB up to 120 lbs for the next three sets of 12 reps. My back feels fine but my grip is starting to fail so I pull out the VGs. Problem solved. I could probably do 130 lbs if I dropped my reps to 6. Maybe I'll give that a try next time. I'm doing Chest and Back today because tomorrow I'll have my son at the gym with me and I'll be short on time... probably do Squats and SLDLs if I can get the Smith machine. Both Inclined Benches are busy but the Decline is available so that's next.

The Decline is hard on my front delts so I'm happy to do just a few sets. It isn't so much the angle, but the fact that the bench is for a longer reach. Even with "breaker bars" I have to stretch way over my head to grab the bar and pull it so that it's positioned properly over my chest. This limits how much weight I can press, and wouldn't be such an issue if I had someone to give me a proper liftoff. I drop the weight down to 65 lbs and finish with 20 reps. Off to the DB area for One-Arm DB Rows. It's a tad crowded with very young faces, probably HS boys. I'm not quite sure where to start so I arbitrarily pick up a 45 lb DB. 12 reps feels pretty good. So I grab the 50.

I can't use the handles on this as
they are slightly too far and make my
lower back hurt, but it's fine for LISS.

My intention is to drop reps as I increase the weight so I only do 10 reps. I'm glad I have my magnets because the 55s and 60s are being used. With 2.5 lb magnets, I can keep the 50 for the entire session. I need the VGs again once I start rowing 55 lbs. Then three sets of 60s. I debate between doing DB Flyes or DB Lateral Raises and the latter wins out because DB Flyes are a weaker movement for me and I'm still concerned about my wrist and shoulder. Lateral raises feel safer. I start with a pair of 15s and do 12 reps. Then 20s. Then 25s where I settle for 3 sets. I'm done. Well, sorta done. Fifty crunches and fifty knees to elbow crunches, 10 minutes on a LifeFitness elliptical I've never been on before, a partial Mat Stretch with two dozen Dive Bomber Push Ups and a 60-second plank and then I'm done. But this is all strangely unsatisfying because I've barely broken a sweat the entire time. 


Monday Chest & Back Workout
10 min Matrix StepMill warm up
Bench Press: 12 @ 95 lbs / 5 @ 115 lbs / 3 x 5 @ 125 lbs / 20 @ 95 lbs
Reverse Grip BB Rows: 12 @ 90 lbs / 12 @ 100 lbs / 12 @ 110 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 120 lbs
Decline Press: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 75 lbs / 12 @ 95 lbs / 20 @ 65 lbs
One-Arm DB Rows: 12 @ 45 lbs / 10 @ 50 lbs / 8 @ 55 lbs / 3 x 6 @ 60 lbs
DB Lateral Raises: 12 @ 15 lbs / 12 @ 20 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 25 lbs
50 Crunches
50 Knees to Elbow Crunches
10 min LifeFitness Cross-Trainer LISS
Mat Stretch with 12 wide stance DBPUs and 12 normal stance DBPUs, 60-second plank, splits, etc