Born Again Gym Rat: Worse Than Curling in the Squat Rack

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Worse Than Curling in the Squat Rack

We all gripe about the newbies who don't re-rack their weights or drape their stuff over equipment they're not using. But today I saw something new. And because I didn't want to scare them away from the gym, I bit my tongue and said nothing. But HS girls ought to learn that the Squat Rack is for Squats. Not for Dead Lifts. Especially not just the bar and a pair of 10s. And the Squat Rack is definitely not for doing DB Lateral Raises. Especially with those shiny silver beauty bells. I'm guilty of getting annoyed at the haphazard way the DBs are racked and rearrange them in proper order before grabbing the 20s to do my 6 sets of DB Lateral Raises. The girls run away. Nevermind that they're both a good 6-8 inches taller than I am.

Because I spent yesterday as one of the class chaperones for my son's 3rd grade trip to the American Museum of Natural History, I didn't get to work out. But I did walk a lot. We covered a lot of ground between visiting Dum Dum (a Night at the Museum reference), the Blue Whale, dinosaurs and neanderthal remains. By the time we got to the Space Show at the planetarium, the boys (my son & his friend) were complaining that their feet hurt and they were tired. They're 9.

Today didn't start out too well as I got to the gym in the rain only to discover I'd forgotten my trainers in spite of having the distinct memory of placing them in my gym bag. Just as well. The first time I got to the gym it was really really crowded with seniors celebrating a birthday with cake and coffee right by the ellipticals. It's a very sociable gym. These people were mostly gone by the time I returned with sneakers in hand. And just to be safe, I found an old pair of leather running shoes that I've placed, with a pair of socks, in my car. No excuses now.

I did my 2 mile warm up, but like most Day One's, I didn't feel very warm. Not even sweaty. Because I don't want to lose my boxing days, I combined Push and Pull workouts. Bench Press when not quite warmed up is always a bit nerve-wracking for me. Even though I'm moving less weight, I still worry about getting trapped under the bar. I got all my reps except for the very last set where I had to stop at 17. I racked the bar, took a breath and just got one more, instead of the three I was hoping for. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed. The RG BB Rows went better. Perhaps I was more warmed up. I can't say that the DB Lateral Raises were easy. I kill time doing 3 sets of Lower Back Extensions while waiting for the Lat Pull Down station. Then I finish with just 3 sets of Bent-Over DB Reverse Flyes. My rear left delt is slightly twingy and I don't want to risk injuring it.

I know I haven't done abs in ages so I do a 100 twisting sit ups and a turn at the Torso Twist machine. Then 3 miles on the elliptical. Now I'm sweaty. I've also discovered that my heart rate is much more stable during my 2nd cardio session, after the main workout. The initial sessions always have my heart rate bouncing from 188 to 89 and back, without any actual change in pace. I knock out a few sets of Dive Bomber Push Ups, and a plain boring plank for 30 seconds. Then I decide to incorporate alternating knee-to-elbow for the remaining 30 seconds to see how many I can do. I count to 20 so that's 10 per side. It certainly makes the plank less boring.

Tomorrow I'll toss 4 minutes of Tabata into my 20 minute cardio warm up before smacking the Nexersys, and finish with 3 more miles. This is becoming rather routine. I can't actually say that I'm losing any body fat, or that I'm getting any smaller. But I feel better. And I feel leaner even if there's absolutely nothing that proves it. It's become a Faith-based routine. Egads.

Combination Push Pull Workout

Exercise Name

1 RM

Lifting Logs