Friday, May 9, 2014

Paying the Piper

Today is Leg Day but I'm still feeling yesterday's workout. I'm not sore, just a little tired. Because I'm still trying to figure my body out, I decide to front-load my cardio today instead of splitting it up before and after weights. I have my choice of ellipticals and my iPod is fully charged so I feel pretty good. But I'm tired. Not so good. I'm still trying to be mindful of the heart rate monitor although I don't take it too seriously. There's no way I can keep my heart rate between 88-130 BPM so I don't even try. Cruising along at 170 Strides Per Minute, my heart rate is more likely to bounce around in the 155-160 range. And 170's not even fast. It takes me 48 minutes to get four and a half miles. I wanted 5 miles today but that's not happening. Not if I still want to lift some decent weight.

I know I'm going to drop a few sets but I'm at least going to try and keep the poundage the same. I hate people who don't rack their weights. The girl who was squatting in the Smith Machine has left her 25 lb plates and neck cushion on the bar. She's no where in sight so I re-rack everything and move the bar down a notch, because I'm shorter. I knock out 25 Butt to Heels speed squat with just the bar before putting plates on. It's so hot and humid in the gym, even with the doors wide open, that I have to strip off my hoodie, something I don't normally do until I get to SLDLs. My hair is plastered to my head and sweat is dripping off my chin.

I even skip a set and go from 120 to 160 lbs. My back feels knuckle-popping crunchy at the heavier weights. Well, at least I don't have low bone density in my spine. Then I drop down to 140 lbs to make up for the set I missed, before ending with a set at 90 lbs. I already know the Smith SLDLs are going to suck because I could feel my right hamstring while I was on the elliptical. Lately I've been playing with the incline levels in order to make sure I hit the calves, thighs and glutes evenly. The higher incline seems to take calves and hams out of the equation, the lower incline is almost like wading through a swamp.

At 160 lbs, my lower back feels tired and I lose my grip at rep 8. I'm having an issue with keeping my hands positioned so that the bar doesn't roll forward and hit the stays on the Smith. Next time I'm going to try a reverse grip to see if that helps. I drop the weight down to 130 lbs for my final set. I do a quick Cage Stretch, primarily for hamstrings and hips and then hit the Seated Leg Extension. It's a small movement because I have short legs. I do even less on the Seated Leg Curl because I don't want to injure my hamstrings. The Lat Pull Down is tempting but I'm too tired to be adventurous today. I knock out a quick 100 twisting sit ups before doing a full Mat Stretch. Still hate that 60-second plank where my whole body quivers with every breath. The Dive Bomber Push Ups are only hard because I'm tired. Otherwise I'd say they're getting boring because they're too easy.

I'm finding it difficult to consume enough calcium everyday without resorting to foods I don't normally eat. Like American Cheese. Because it's salty, and not real cheese, but it's got 250-300 mg calcium per slice. I actually bought some soy "yogurt" just for the calcium. And I got a cheap food scale just to measure out almonds (75 mg per oz), and hard cheese. But there's the claim that dairy foods are linked to an increase in cancers. So there's that. I do have a bottle of calcium citrate on hand just in case I don't make my quota. Now I keep a running total on a notepad in the kitchen to see whether I'm taking a supplement or not after dinner.

On the other hand, there's been a bevy of birds visiting our feeder lately, and today I saw a rose-breasted grosbeak. Normally there's just chickadees, tufted titmouse, cardinals, downy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, sparrows, wrens, goldfinches and purple finches. Way cool.

Friday Leg Day

48 minutes cardio = 4.56 miles

Smith Machine Squats
25 x 30 lbs (bar) Heels to Butt Speed Squats
12 x 80 lbs
12 x 120 lbs
12 x 160 lbs
12 x 140 lbs
12 x 90 lbs

Smith Machine SLDLs
12 x 30 lbs (bar)
12 x 80 lbs
12 x 120 lbs
12 x 140 lbs
8 x 160 lbs
12 x 130 lbs

Cage Stretch

Seated Leg Extension
12 x 90 lbs
3 x 12 x 135 lbs

Seated Leg Curl
12 x 60 lbs
2 x 12 x 75 lbs

100 Twisting Sit Ups

Mat Stretch with 2 x 12 DBPUs, 60-second plank, splits, upper and lower back stretches

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