New Plan Day 1

I've been trying to formulate a coherent new program for a few days, incorporating what appears to be the best of cardio and weight training. Which means I'm actually cutting back on my mileage. At least for now. I'll give this new program a few weeks before making any further changes. I've been distressed over my incremental weight and size gains. This past weekend, I went through my summer clothes and found that I can't wear my bright cantaloup-colored shorts and two other pairs are too tight to be comfortable. I also finally tossed out all my "fat" stretchy pants and put them into a "donate to charity" bag.

The only good news was that two pairs of jeans I'd bought a few years ago that didn't quite fit right, suddenly fit perfectly. Yep, it's because my glutes are bigger. Okay, I'll concede that they're men's GAP jeans, size 28x28. That's the size I used to wear in my 30s. I like the men's jeans better because not only do they fit better and wear better, but they have functional pockets. Front pockets I can stuff my phone into. None of this BS half-inch deep ornamental pockets you can barely squeeze a fingertip into.

I also admit that weekends are murder on my dietary habits. Yesterday I made french toast with a loaf of stale ciabatta bread for breakfast. That afternoon, we had a Cub Scouts Den meeting and the hosting family grilled cheeseburgers and hotdogs while another family brought a lovely Polish spongecake for dessert. By dinner time, my hubs had grilled boneless chicken thighs, which I served with sauteed kale. So I wasn't horribly surprised that the scale dissed me today.

The new plan entails lifting weights three days a week, absorbing Arm Day into Chest/Delts and Back Day programs. Leg Day remains on Fridays. On those days, I'm cutting my warm up on the cross-trainer in half, to just 15 minutes. After lifting, I'm starting with 10 minutes of HIIT (or actually Takata style) cardio, followed by 20 minutes of LISS. I'm probably not moving slow enough, but slower than I've been moving. Eventually I'll work up to 15-20 min of HIIT, followed by 20-30 min of LISS. That leaves me a day to do straight cardio (two 30 min sessions for endurance) and abs, and a day for whacking the Nexersys. It also means my time at the gym will be shorter on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If I can get more efficient on M, W & F, then I can save some time here too.

I was hoping to see some gains in strength by cutting back on energy expended during warm up, but I suspect that my body is so used to 30 minutes of cross-trainer, that there's very little advantage except for a savings of 15 minutes, and maybe a hundred calories. I do get brave enough to add a measly 5 lbs to the Smith for a max of 135 lbs. It was hard but not that hard. What was hard was the last set of Close Grip Bench Press after doing Smith Bench, Smith Inclined Press, DB Laterals superset with DB Reverse Inclined Flyes and then RIP Skulls. My legs started shaking and I had to put the bar back on the stays for 2 breaths before finishing the last 5 reps. I'm too short to have my feet lay flat on the ground when I bench so I've been just benching with my knees bent and my feet up by my butt. It's definitely not ideal on a regular flat bench but less of an issue on a Smith machine. I also muscled through the last two sets of DB Lateral Raises superset with DB Inclined Reverse Flyes. Hhmmm.

I need to revise my stretch routine as well. After 10 min of HIIT and 20 min of LISS, I'm not warm enough for a good Mat Stretch. My legs feel stiff, not limber. I'll need to reserve full stretch days for full cardio days. I ran out of protein powder last week so I was very happy to see a box on my front steps when I got home. But I miss the exhilaration I get from intense cardio. I'll give this program a few weeks and then re-assess.

Monday Push Day
(total weight moved = 21,085 lbs; 4.15 miles cardio)

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   75 CAL
Distance: 1.91 mile
Speed :    7.64 mph
Duration : 00:15:04

Smith Machine Bench Press

174.17

Set 1 : 30x15
Set 2 : 80x12
Set 3 : 120x10
Set 4 : 130x8
Set 5 : 135x6 PR Yay!Set 6 : 95x25

Smith Machine Incline Bench Press

126

Set 1 : 30x15
Set 2 : 70x12
Set 3 : 90x12
Set 4 : 80x12
Set 5 : 70x12

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

35

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 25x8
Set 4 : 25x8
Set 5 : 25x12
Set 6 : 25x12 superset with

Dumbbell Reverse Flyes

37.5

Set 1 : 20x15
Set 2 : 20x15
Set 3 : 25x12
Set 4 : 25x12
Set 5 : 25x15
Set 6 : 25x15

Barbell Reverse Grip Skullcrusher

52.5

Set 1 : 15x15
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12
Set 5 : 37.5x12

Barbell Close Grip Bench Press 

Set 1 : 45x25
Set 2 : 65x25
Set 3 : 75x20
Set 4 : 75x5

Elliptical Training

10 min HIIT / 20 min LISS

Calorie :   230 CAL
Distance: 2.24 mile
Duration : 00:30:03

Plank

Set 1 : 00:01:30