Working Through DOMS

I had a serious debate with myself this morning about whether I should proceed with my scheduled Back Workout, or if I should heed the uncharacteristic soreness I was experiencing. I reasoned I could do the Back Workout on Wednesday, and Legs on Friday with Tuesday and Thursday for recovery, or boxing, or whatever. But I liked last week's workout, which piled all my major workouts at the beginning of the week, and left me the end of the week for boxing, and then attacking the body part of my choice. My jaw is still a bit tender from yesterday's mishap, but there's no visible bruise. My sore shoulders are probably reacting to the Bent Over DB Flyes and Lateral Raises. Even my pecs are a bit sore. But I still don't see any reason not to do a Back Workout. Issue resolved!

No HIIT today. Instead, I lope along on the elliptical for 20 minutes. I'm barely sweaty but at least I feel warm. Warming up with just the Olympic bar feels a tad silly, but at least I can correct my lopsided grip. I have to check last Friday's log to see how much and how many. I'm hoping that adding 20 lbs at a time isn't too drastic but I don't want to waste too much energy with warm up sets. My hands have felt tired for the past several days and I suspect it's because they're so small. It's not like I'm able to add muscle to my fingers and hands. Even my forearms are very small. I don't wait until I sense grip failure — the VGs go on as soon as I hit 115 lbs. I skip right over 125 lbs and go straight to 135 because I want more sets than last time. Picking up the bar is like doing a SLDL and that's not too bad because I've picked up heavier in the Smith machine.

Yesterday's Selfie

I'm a little worried that the 5 sets I've done (next week I'll do 6, and then I'll consider upping the weight, but I'll probably use a Dead Lift instead of SLDL) will affect the One-Arm DB Rows. All the benches are taken except for the adjustable inclined one that is literally 2 inches higher. It's too tall for me to comfortably position myself. Luckily, as I grab the 50 lb DB to start, one of the flat benches frees up. Now I'm worried that I'll be expending too much energy on warm up sets as I work my way up the rack. 55, 60, 65. Last week I got 5 reps. I want 6 today. I get 6 for the first set but not sure if I can get them for the next two sets. B comes by to chat and I don't mind because I need a breather.

"You got stuck yesterday," she says to me. "You gotta use a spot! You're moving a lot of weight." I explain to her that I had the first set but the elbow failed at the end of the second set. I tell her that I'll get someone to spot me from now on, and she even volunteers herself, something she's never done before. But she's bummed that her "gym husband" is moving to Florida at the end of the month so she won't have a workout partner, although she tells me that she's since hooked up with another lady to exercise with. I'm a bit puzzled but she's used to me not knowing who the heck she's talking about. By the time she's done chatting, I'm cold. The 2nd set of DB Rows is harder because of that. But the 3rd set is easier. I get 6 reps for all three sets, and I'm happy.

I only do 3 sets of Lower Back Extensions at 180 lbs before grabbing the Close Grip (Neutral) Handles and setting up at the Lat Pull Down station. I'm taking a long time between sets now because my shoulders are starting to tire, and my right elbow is feeling a bit odd. Last week I got 3 sets at 120 lbs for 8 reps. After the first set, I say WTF and go for broke, upping the weight to 135 lbs. Because this is a bit more than I weigh, I hang there momentarily before kicking my legs under the seat and wedging myself under the lap bar. If I can get 6 clean reps I'll be happy. And I do. And just to make sure it's not a fluke, I do it again. Yay! Yep, I'm going to be feeling this tomorrow.

All that's left to do are some crunches, and suddenly I see someone exiting the Step Mill. Yay! I clamber on for 20 minutes but I've been upping the speed so I don't know if this qualifies as LISS anymore. Still, I don't actually break a sweat until the last 5 minutes. Then a quick partial Mat Stretch and off to shower. The gym scale reads 112.2 lbs today. My home scale reads 110.4 lbs and a tad less BF (20.5%) so I'm feeling pretty good. As much as I love my husband, he has the worst influence on my eating habits. Right now he's stuck in Boston until next Saturday but at least he has access to the hotel gym. Of course, now he's too busy to utilize even that small amenity. 

Tomorrow I get to see my eye doc at 9 am before I head to the gym. I'm prepared to attempt real squats in the squat rack and real SLDLs if the Smith happens to be busy, which it probably will be since I'll be getting to the gym later. I feel pretty good because in spite of taking a month off from heavy lifting (doing a week of cardio and boxing, then 3 weeks of a high rep shred program) I haven't seen any strength loss. If anything, problematic joints benefited from the time off. I may have to consider building this into my "program". It's a plan.

To Hell With DOMS Back Workout

20 min Precor elliptical = 1.71 miles

RG BB Rows
12x45 (bar)
12x95 lbs
12x115 lbs
5x12x135 lbs PR (+2 sets) Yay!

One-Arm DB Rows
12x50 lbs
10x55 lbs
 8x60 lbs
3x6x65 lbs PR (+1 rep each set) Yay!

Lower Back Extension Machine
3x12x180 lbs

Neutral (Close Grip) Lat Pull Down 
12x90 lbs
10x105 lbs
8x120 lbs
2x6x135 lbs Yay! 

Crunches
50
50 knees to elbows
75
 
20:26 min Matrix Step Mill = 1003 steps

Mat Stretch with 2 x 12 DBPUs (no plank today), splits, upper and lower back stretches