Not Sure How I Feel About Legs On Thursday

I guess I start to feel a little beat up by Thursday, but since I boxed yesterday (and have the bruised knuckles to show for it) it was Leg Day today. I got on a Precor with the intention of doing some HIIT, but it wasn't well formulated. I like to change things up when I start to feel like I'm dragging so I did 30 seconds On and 90 seconds Off for 15 minutes, and then 5 minutes of Steady State cardio just to catch my breath. You can certainly go a lot faster if you're only going for 30 seconds instead of 45. I hit 270 Strides Per Minute today. On days where On is 45 seconds, 250 SPMs is the best I can do to hang on for the duration.

Lots of guys in the free weight area today. No hope of getting anywhere near the Smith machine, so I settle for unloaded squats on the Icarian Hack Squat 640 machine. Not even the gym owner knows how much it weighs unloaded, but it weighs something because even though I have a heavy cotton hoodie on, the pads leave bruises on my shoulders, which I only notice after I go in to shower. I'm so dang delicate! I do three sets facing outward (machine Hack Squats), and then three sets facing the machine (Power Squats). I feel it in my knees, hips,

Bruises from the Hack Squat

glutes, quads and lower back. I'd rather do Smith Squats but this is better than nothing.

Now M is in the Smith, doing Inclined Benches. I amble over to the mirrored wall where I normally do BB Rows. I guess I'm actually going to do real BB Stiff-Legged Deads. This can't be too awful: I've done rows with these weights! Again I jump the weight from just the bar to 95 to 115 to 135 lbs. I'm flexible enough to reach my ankles with a straight back and legs without any problem, but I have to be mindful of not slamming the weight against the floor. I try to keep to mid-shin. At 135 lbs I'm dragging the bar up the front of my thighs, rolling my shorts upward.

Another pair of 10s. That's 155 lbs. I know I can pick it up. But I worry about my lower back because it feels a bit tired, so I only drop to a few inches below my knees. Does that make them Romanian DLs now? Eight reps is all I want to do. I finish with 15 reps at 115 lbs. Oddly, I never feel these movements in my glutes or hamstrings. Perhaps it's the flexibility. I worry that today will ruin tomorrow's workout which is normally benching for reps, and then upping my weight for the BB Row. Of course, do I really think I should attempt 160 lbs tomorrow? I guess I'll see how I feel. Tomorrow. What I find amusing is that I can see my chest straining against my tank in the mirror when I lift, and by that, I mean pecs.

Seated Leg Extensions hold no surprises: the first set is a bit stiff, but each 15 lb increment gets easier as I warm up. Seated Leg Curls are also rote but I'm careful to squeeze tightly at the end of each rep. Then, because I finally remembered, I go back to the DB area which is now completed deserted, and do DB Lunges. My knees and ankles so don't like this movement. At the last set, it's my hands that are tired from holding the DBs against my hips as I lunge and retract.

B and M are chatting while he's on the Step Mill. The one next to him is vacant but I don't really want to be next to chatty people, even with my tunes turned up full blast. So I plunk myself onto a recumbent bike and pedal furiously while checking my phone. It's still LISS because I go from being sweaty warm to cooled down. Before I leave, I do crunches and knee to elbow crunches. The latter really suck, but I do them anyway. Probably 'cause they suck. The gym scale reads 112.4 lbs again. I'm in a hurry to meet a friend for lunch. Her birthday was yesterday and each year we meet for a celebratory birthday meal. It's still Hudson Valley Restaurant Week and I already know what I'm going to order: clams casino, angus burger, and bread pudding with salted caramel gelato. Yum!

Leg Day

Precor elliptical: 15 min HIIT (30 sec On / 90 sec Off) + 5 min Steady State = 1.94 miles

Icarian Hack Squat 640 Machine
Facing Front 3x20 unloaded (50 lbs?) dunno
Facing Back 12, 15, 20 unloaded (50 lbs?)

Cage Stretch

BB Stiff Legged Dead Lift
12x45 (bar)
12x95 lbs
12x115 lbs (use VGs)
10x135 lbs
8x155 lbs (only go to few inches below knees)
15x115 lbs

Seated Leg Extension
12x90 lbs
12x105 lbs
12x120 lbs
12x135 lbs

Seated Leg Curl
12x75 lbs
3x12x90 lbs

DB Lunges
15x15 lbs (each hand)
15x20 lbs
15x25 lbs (hands are too tired now)

LifeFitness recumbent bike 20 min = 2.57 miles

50 Crunches
50 Knee to Elbow Crunches
80 Crunches
50 Knee to Elbow Crunches