Born Again Gym Rat: Beer is Really Fattening

Monday, September 8, 2014

Beer is Really Fattening

I had way too many brewery products yesterday at the last lakeside BBQ of the season, including Red's Apple Ale, Stella Artois, and Stella Artois Cidre. And my eating habits weren't stellar either although the lentil salad with kale, beets and a lovely mustard vinaigrette was so good I had seconds. Not that I was hung-over this morning, but I felt sluggish what with temps in the low 50s. I actually had my fleece hoodie on over my sweatshirt to walk the dog this morning.

I'm not happy that my lower back is stiff and a tad achy lately. Perhaps I'm sleeping wrong? My skin's not at all happy with the sudden seasonal changes either and I'm having to slather moisturizer everywhere even though this afternoon will be in the high 70s — shorts and tank top weather. I get a slow start on the Cross-trainer and only log in 3.19 miles in 30 minutes. Push ups still end with headaches, so I wind up sitting on my knees for a few seconds before getting up just to acclimatize my body to the different positional altitudes. It seems to help a little. Maybe I shouldn't be trying to get 3 sets of 50 push ups? Naw. Gotta have goals, right?

I've changed my routine a tad to "super set" Hammer Grip pull ups and Body Weight Squats (butt to heels) for every set of push ups I do. For fun, I smack the ground with my palms on the down stroke for squats and clap my hands together when I stand up fully. Because I don't do GHRs today, I'm curious to see if my glutes and quads will be sore tomorrow. I haven't done any DB shoulder work in two weeks and wonder how that is impacting my kickboxing power and form. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. The Smith is free so I do my 3 sets of Inverted Rows there. These are definitely not any easier. I feel as if my form is compromised if I arch enough to touch my chest to the bar so for the majority of my reps, I just get to within an inch of the bar instead.

Crunches and Pulse-Ups are never easy, but at least I feel as if I did some core work. No planks today. And I cut my Dive Bomber Push Ups down to one set. One quick set of Pistol Squats as well. The kids have all gone back to school, and there are some regulars and a lot of newbies being given a tour of the facilities. The 2nd cardio leg on the Precor annoys me because all the data disappears as soon as I stop the program. At least I know I got 2+ miles.

Again, there's no gym scale in the locker room. I know eating poorly and drinking too much will really screw up my weight and body fat measurements but I'm not too worried. At least I know now what works for me, and how to achieve it.

Monday Workout