Make Hay While the Sun Is Shining

Driving home from the gym, I feel the sun through the windshield of my car and it's so warm and relaxing that I don't mind waiting at the traffic lights. I just have to give my car enough space so I can see the potholes in the road ahead. I've gotten most of today's chores done: bank, gas, gym, groceries, extra salt, shovel out a spot in the snow bank for the garbage bin. I only got two 25 lb bags of halite, although I had been meaning to pick up a good half dozen 50 lb bags. Maybe tomorrow. I lug the remaining 50 lb bag from the garage into the house through the newly dug snow path. The dog keeps stopping in front of me and it's annoying because eventually this bag of dead weight is going to slip off my shoulder. We've whipped through two 50 lb bags already, making up for the fact we didn't use any last year. This is old salt, from two years ago, when a sudden late-season ice storm caused a run on all the ice-melt in our county. This year there are stacks of rock salt everywhere, but shovels are hard to come by. Go figure.

I feel a little more recovered today so my mileage is better. The gym is oddly crowded so I skip RG BB Rows for Smith RG BB Rows. I can't lift as much, but my form is better here. My shoulder and elbows aren't complaining yet so I do a few One-Arm DB Rows. The first set is awkward because I can't find a flat bench to use and I wind up with the over-sized Inclined Bench laid out in the flat position. It's higher than the other benches, with wider legs which get in the way. Eventually, one of the smaller ladies finished her DB work and I grab her bench for the remainder of my sets. So much better!

I'm debating whether to do Lower Back Extensions at all today since shoveling is hard on the back. That machine is very popular, so in the end, I skip it completely. Instead, I up my weight on the Seated Cable Row, and cut my reps. It feels pretty good. I've got to remember to do this moving forward in my routines. More cardio is my version of resting my elbows. After 30 minutes of Performance Program #2, I'm ready to do a few pull ups at the Cage. I see D at the Nexersys kickboxing machine. She's only managed to make it to the gym every few weeks because she tutors math and chemistry. "Stay away from the Left machine. It's just awful," she tells me. I show her my left knuckle. "Looks like a scar," she says. "Well, I guess it's not going to get any better than this," I say, resigned to having beat up looking hands. I was never hand model material anyway. We laugh.

I get my hammer grip pull ups, but the last two of the last set are always, always hard. After a quick stretch, no planks, no push ups and just a few pistol squats, I'm ready for a hot shower, and the rest of my errands. I do manage to squeeze in some lower ab knee-ins and a turn at the Torso Twist machine, but those are mostly time killers. Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow. I have to drive my son to his Extra Gym class at 8 am, and pick him up from school at 3:30 to take him to the Chess class at the library. As long as the town plows and salts the roads, everything will be fine.

Wednesday Cardio and Back Workout
(total mileage: 6.48; 20,680 lbs moved)

Cross Trainer

Calorie :   151 CAL
Distance: 3.93 mile
Speed :    7.83 mph
Duration : 00:30:08

Smith Machine Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

196

Set 1 : 30x12
Set 2 : 80x12
Set 3 : 100x12
Set 4 : 120x12
Set 5 : 130x12
Set 6 : 140x12
Set 7 : 100x15

Dumbbell One Arm Row

82.33

Set 1 : 55x12
Set 2 : 60x10
Set 3 : 65x8

Cable Seated Row

152

Set 1 : 90x12
Set 2 : 105x9
Set 3 : 120x8

Seated Flat Bench Leg Pull In

100

Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep

TorsoTwistMachine

91.67

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   287 CAL
Distance: 2.55 mile
Duration : 00:30:15

Hammer Grip Pull Up

161

Set 1 : 115x12
Set 2 : 115x12
Set 3 : 115x12

One Leg Bodyweight Squat

134.17

Set 1 : 115x5