Screw Being Tired. Let's Lift Some Weights!

Glutes and hamstrings are a tad sore this morning. It's a surprise because it's been a long time. I figure it's those DB Lunges that I hate so much. I only really notice the slight soreness during the 20 minutes I do a fairly quick Steady-State jog on the elliptical. I have a hair cut appointment at 12:30 so I don't want to run late doing unnecessary things. I'm already running late because I had a few errands to do before I got to the gym. I knock out quick sets of flat BB bench press without any issues. BB Rows are next, warming up with an overhand grip, but hitting the heavier weights with an underhand (Reverse) grip. It seems to help preserve my delicate wrists and hands from too much strain.

Me, my gear sack, water
bottle and the weight.

165 lbs!

Jumping from 95 lbs directly to 135 lbs just to preserve strength, I try to assess how my back feels today. 155 looks daunting, but because I got full sets on Tuesday, I'm not worried. I can't bring myself to use the 2.5 lb plates. Nope. The smallest plates I grab are the 5s. That's 165 lbs. It's heavy, and the lift takes slightly longer than the previous one, but it's not horrible. I stand fully upright, then lean forward slightly and see how many rows I can get. I don't want to use a predetermined number because I've short-changed myself in the past. I'm surprised to actually get 10 reps. I'm so happy I take a couple of photos with my phone. I could probably do another 10 lbs, but I know my back is a little tired so instead, I strip the bar down to 115 lbs and knock out 20 reps. For fun.

The rest of the workout seems harder than last week. Yep. I'm a bit tired. Or at least parts of me. I skip the Shoulder Press because my right shoulder feels a bit off today. I'd rather spend the time doing Arms anyway: Rip Crushers, BB Curls, Reverse Grip Curls. The EZ bar is in use so I grab one off the plate rack. It's not quite as cambered as the EZ bar so my wrists aren't very happy with me. I am happy to use the Rogue® ProLoc collars that I keep in my orange gear sack. After two sets, I see that the actual EZ bar is free so I swap my bar for that one. It feels a little better, but the Rip Crushers are still hard. I really hate the new benches too because they have a break in the padding for where your head is suppose to go. My shoulders always fall into this crack and it's distracting and uncomfortable. Then I realize that I can just turn around and put my head at the bottom. The bench tapers so the bottom is slightly narrower, and infinitely more comfortable for someone my size.

I use the same weights to warm up for BB Curls, but ultimately have to add weight. It's odd when your curl weight is more than your skull crusher weight. I drop back down to do Reverse Grip BB Curls which is my only forearm movement. Then I just have enough time to get a few minutes on the Step Mill before showering. The hair cutter is the next town over and there'll be lunch hour traffic. I feel pretty good. I'm not happy that the gym scale reads 114.0 lbs but seems I'm always 2 lbs heavier the day after I make mustard and soy pork for dinner. Water weight. I'm okay with that. Hell, I pulled 165 lbs today and I can probably pull a bit more. I'm pretty damn happy.

Friday Workout

20 min Precor elliptical Steady-State jog = 2.05 miles

BB Bench Press
12x45 (bar)
3x20x95 lbs

BB Row (overhand grip)
12x45 (bar)
12x95 lbs (warm up)

RG BB Row (use VGs)
12x135 lbs
12x155 lbs
10x165 lbs +10 lbs PR Yay!
20x115 lbs (for fun)

Rip Crushers (using EZ bar)

12x37.5 lbs (ProLoc collars weigh 2.5 lbs total)
3x12x47.5 lbs

BB Curl (using EZ bar)
12x47.5 lbs
3x12x57.5 lbs

RG BB Curls (using solid straight BBs)
20x40 lbs
3x20x50 lbs

15 min Matrix Step Mill = 825 steps