One More Month

It's Friday and I admit that I'm tired. I'm looking forward to taking some time off from heavy lifting which is odd because normally I have to be convinced by others. However, since I've been making what I consider ridiculous strength gains for the past several weeks, it's not completely improbable to think that I actually need to rest up sooner. And by rest, I don't mean a complete hiatus from the gym, but rather, a week or two of just cardio and boxing, and then perhaps a few weeks of HIIT cardio and high reps/low weight.

I'm going to see if I can make gains through April, and then pull back. It's an experiment that bears repeating to see if this is a sustainable program for me. Since I didn't lose any strength whatsoever when I took January off, I'm not worried about taking May off. I'm also trying to adjust my expectations for the summer since there's still the chance that I might need eye surgery which will preclude any lifting whatsoever, at least for a few months. Right now I'm using Xalatan and Azopt and the IOP test in May will show whether that's an effective combination.

Top: LF elliptical
Bottom: LF bike

Again, the gym is ridiculously busy and the only cardio machine I can use is one of the LifeFitness ellipticals by the entrance. Good enough for 20 minutes of Steady State cardio. The free weight area is fairly empty though. I get my 3 sets of benching for 20 reps, and move on to the BB Row. The gym is so humid that I break a sweat just wrangling the plates onto the Olympic bar. I am getting better at it though and only do a set at 95 lbs, then quickly swapping the 25 lb plates for the 45s, skipping 115 lbs and going directly to 135. Then 155. Then, deep breath, 175 lbs. It's only 5 lbs more than what I pulled on Tuesday. And I can pick it up and do those odd row-shrugs for 12 reps. That's my all-time Personal Best. Then I drop back to 155 for a set, and then down to 135 for a 20-repper. Oddly, it's the 155 that seems to give my lower back a bit of trouble. Not exactly quite sure why, but I suspect it's because I was a lot tighter in my form for 175. I've got to be more mindful.

Today is Arm Day and there's Rip Crushers and BB Curls on the agenda. I find one of the EZ bars and use my Rogue ProLoc collars to secure a pair of 10 lb plates. They're so effortless! I notice the Mayor, disheveled as always with his baggy polo shirt and red oven-mitt lifting gloves, looking a bit disconsolate. I'm not sure if it's because I've got my own collars, or if it's because I'm doing Rip Crushers. I remember seeing him do this movement once, but he'd positioned himself on a bench right in front of the Preacher so that its bar rest sat a few inches past his head, I guess as a sort of safety. I figure if I can't pull the bar back over, I'll just drop it. But that hasn't happened yet, and I doubt it will. I use the same bar to do BB Curls, but find myself adding a little more weight. It's still lighter than last week because I'm trying to keep my form strict without killing my elbows.

My elbows and wrists don't care for the One-Arm DB Tricep Extension behind the head so I've skipped that and do a few DB Kickbacks instead. I'm not totally impressed with this movement either, but it's nice to see muscles move in the mirror. Finally, I swap the EZ bar for a solid straight BB to do Reverse Grip BB Curls, working my way up from 40 lbs to 55 lbs. My hands are tired. I have a choice between the Step Mill and the recumbent bike but since the guy is still wiping down the steps with the bleach solution, I decide to be lazy and plop myself down onto the bike. I swear I can do this in my sleep, and I close my eyes for several minutes while I pedal. The gym is crowded again. I knock out a few sets of regular crunches because I don't feel like the spectacle that knee to elbow crunches inevitably becomes. Then a full mat stretch with Dive Bomber Push Ups (my son complained to me the other day that he thought they were crazy hard), a 60-second plank, splits and other stretches.

The gym scale reads 113.0 lbs and my face is all red and puffy. I feel and look better once I've showered though. I need to cut my time at the gym because I have too many other things that need doing: a big solo photography show in November, and several unfinished stories that nag at the back of my head. My gym time is also my procrastination time, and while it makes me feel good, it's not helping me finish all the things I need to do.

Friday Workout

20 min LifeFitness elliptical = 2.13 miles

BB Bench Press
12x45 lbs (bar)
3x20x95 lbs

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

RG BB Row (use VGs and underhand grip)
12x135 lbs
12x155 lbs
12x175 lbs +5 lbs PR yay!
12x155 lbs
20x135 lbs (for fun)

Rip Crushers (with 15 lb EZ bar and 2.5 lb ProLoc Collars)
12x37.5 lbs
3x12x47.5 lbs

BB Curls
12x47.5 lbs
3x12x52.5 lbs

DB Kickbacks
15x15 lbs
12x20 lbs
12x25 lbs

RG BB Curls
20x40 lbs
20x45 lbs
20x50 lbs
20x55 lbs

20 min LifeFitness recumbent bike = 3.17 miles

Torso Twist Station
2x25x50 lbs

Crunches
3x50

Mat Stretch with 2x12 DBPUs, 60-second plank, splits, lower and upper back stretches