Born Again Gym Rat: Warming Up Is Suppose to Help

Friday, May 1, 2015

Warming Up Is Suppose to Help

Pre-gym Morning Selfie

Yes, the Stretch Cage is gone for good. Bummer. Not only did I use it to stretch my legs and hips, but it was the only place I could use a Hammer Grip to do pull ups. Now there's no place that accommodates my tiny hands and fingers. Double bummer. The gym owner tells me that the stretch chairs are now positioned next to the recumbent bikes. It's a good place for them as far as I'm concerned because neither does anything for me. Seriously.

Today is Leg Day, and that's a good enough excuse for me to do 30 minutes of cardio on the Cross-trainer. Use it or lose it. I'm not able to make the same mileage anymore. Bummer. I am busting a sweat though, so that's reassuring. I wander down into the free weight area. Yellow balloons are tied to the three new pieces of equipment: a tricep machine, a chest press, and a power rack cage. The latter is situated right next to the Smith machine. Whew! I'm happy the Smith is still there, and apparently vacant, so I glom onto it for my Squats, One-Leg Split Squats and SLDLs.

Squats feel unusually heavy today, the weight painful on the base of my neck and upper back. Then I realize that the pad that's affixed to the bar is not the one I normally use so I pull it off and replace it with the thicker neoprene half sleeve. That is soooo much better!

New Power Rack Cage

Between sets, I glance over at the new cage. A small diagram on the side bar shows the different exercises that can be performed on it. It appears that the bar is affixed to metal rods that keep it inline. A guy drags one of the big adjustable benches over to do Inclined Presses. He's flummoxed by the way the bar is attached to the guides, eventually gives up, and resorts to DBs while still seated inside the cage.

There's a lot more people willing to check out the tricep machine and the new chest press than the rack. The rack looks medieval even though it's brand spanking new. Next week maybe I'll get one of the trainers to show me just how it works because I'm curious. The rack also has pull-up handles at the very front top of the cage. I can't reach them without standing on something very tall, and the hammer-grip handles are probably too wide for me anyway. But I won't know unless I try.

Leg Day Selfie

I see Jude, The Mayor and other regulars. Because all the equipment has been rearranged, people are milling about trying to locate their favorite bench, etc. I can't find anything to use as a low bench for my Split Squats so I grab a bosu ball. That actually works well since it's the right height. My injured left index finger only hurts intermittently so I put my VGs on for the heavier sets of Smith SLDLs. The diagram on the new cage suggests that one can perform DLs there but I'm not sure whether you'd be facing the mirror or the gym to do it. I've done a lot more sets today than I have for the past few weeks. I think doing a 30 minute warm-up really helps. But the idea of GHRs leaves me worried. Still, I'm not one to let the thought of failure keep me from the very last exercise in my routine.

I'm actually surprised that I can do actual GHRs today, pushing myself up to perpendicular, feeling my hamstrings and calves contract. Or at least I get the first two sets, and then most of the last set. By rep 8, I can feel my lower back, a signal that my form is crumbling. Back to the ellipticals for 30 minutes. I try talking myself into doing just 10 min of HIIT cardio, but since I did 12 last time, I do 12 this time. I'm trying to work up to 15 min of HIIT, and 20 min of LISS. Today I manage to keep the LISS portion fairly steady. And although HIIT started off a bit slow, with me hitting a max of 264 for the first three cycles, my legs acclimatize and I'm able to reach a max of 284 for a few seconds during the 10th cycle. Then it's all downhill. Well, not really. But I'm only able to reach 264-268 for the last two cycles. Then it's a slow jog. The gym is fairly empty today because it's nice out and that's where everyone wants to be. I seize this opportunity to use the Step Mill for 15 minutes for more LISS. At least we're not hiking tomorrow: I'm sure my glutes are going to be complaining.

Friday Leg Workout
(5.95 miles cardio, 16,560 lbs moved)