Born Again Gym Rat: Pulling From Your Inner Strength

Monday, April 27, 2015

Pulling From Your Inner Strength

I didn't get much sleep this weekend because we went into the City to meet our Cub Scout Pack at the Intrepid Sea and Air Museum for Operation Slumber, an overnight experience. While we didn't have much time to see all the planes, and the Space Shuttle Museum, the boys had ample opportunity to explore special hands on exhibits in the Exploreum. We were also able to take their 5-minute 4D Motion Ride, which was very similar to experiences at many theme parks. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep, and after the breakfast next morning, we went home. But it was too nice a day to stay inside and sleep. So, we went hiking on the Michael Ciaiola trail for a few hours. And then we ate great ribs at a local BBQ joint (Big W's Roadside BBQ), and the best banana gelato (Johnny Gelato) I've ever tasted.

Today is Push Day, and again I have half a mind to crawl back into bed and hibernate. Instead, I eventually get to the gym and do 15 minutes of cardio on the Cross-Trainer. I feel slow. Like a half-dead slug. After a slow stretch, I head toward the free weights. Venus is on the Smith machine, doing what looks like single-leg presses against a weighted bar. She switches between that and the Cable Station. I ask her how many sets and she says almost apologetically, Only one more. Dang if she isn't intimidated by little ol' me. So I ask her name, shake her hand and tell her mine. Meanwhile I do a few sets of DB Presses to warm up. I'm pretty sure I can bench more than the pair of 35 lb DBs but I don't want to expend all my energy just yet.

Benching feels heavy today and I'm sure it's because I haven't had enough sleep. Still, I insist on doing my routine. I'm too stubborn to quit. 120 lbs is heavy. 130 lbs is heavier. And then I think, WTH, and I put 5 more pounds on because I did 135 last week. And it feels just as heavy as 130 lbs, but not heavier. Six reps. Done! I drop the weight to 95 lbs and manage a respectable 25 reps. Yaaay! I should do sets at 135 but I'm not going to push my luck today. I'm happy I was able to get the 6 reps and not hurt myself.

Then I swap my flat bench for an adjustable inclined bench. I definitely feel this movement in the shoulders, especially the front delts. Ah, delts. I do my standard DB Lateral Raises superset with DB Reverse Incline Flyes. The Mayor hovers nearby. I'm not quite sure what his story is, but he has a desperate, needy aura about him. I can't help but ignore people like that. Venus is long gone. I see Tattoo Tank and PonyTail, Maroon and Soccer Boy. Again, I finish my last set with a flurry of reps, just to prove to myself that I could. The flat benches are all taken so I do Close Grip Bench Presses. I can't make my last set of reps, and only get 15 out of 25 at 75 lbs. Yes, it's a lot of reps, but when your weakest link is wonky joints, you take reps over weight where appropriate. Oddly, I think if I had done Rip Crushers first, I might've been able to have gotten all three sets at 25 reps. Like last week. The Rip Crushers are my last exercise before I go back to the cardio platform. I haven't moved up in weight in a long time but by moving this to the end of my routine and pre-exhausting my arms, I still feel it's a productive movement.

I"m on auto-pilot when I get on the elliptical, dreading the 10 minutes of Takata HIIT (15 sec On / 45 sec Off) before the leisurely 20 minutes of LISS. The first three cycles I'm barely hitting 265 SPMs, but then I'm able to reach 270, then 274 and eventually, just for a second or two, 281. I'm barely sweating though, and I don't like the LISS for exactly that reason: it feels like a cool-down and I worry that my Mat Stretch will be stiff and painful. But it's not. I keep my hoodie on during my splits and other stretches. It's almost effortless. Yaaay! But now I'm starving. Time to go.

Monday New Program Week 2
(cardio = 3.88 miles; 21,555 lbs moved)