Born Again Gym Rat: Fixing What Ain't Broke

Monday, July 27, 2015

Fixing What Ain't Broke

I know I partied too much this weekend, drinking too much wine and eating too much salty foods. Still, although I didn't make any Personal Records today, I was fairly satisfied with my workout. My problem with Smith Bench Pressing is my right shoulder. Actually, it's a problem with any sort of benching movement. Today, The Manchurian is one the Smith. I ask him how many sets and he asks if I can perhaps work in. I decline. I'd have to shift the bench and readjust all the weights. It's not productive. I tell him not to rush because I hate pressuring people. He's an older man who was out all winter. When he returned in the Spring, he looked very frail and used a walker. But he's since recovered and built himself up. When he benches, he uses the foam neck pad for Squats to cushion the bar as it touches his chest. That's a new technique I'd not seen before.

While I'm waiting for the Smith, I bench light sets on the Matrix Breaker Bench. I'm too short: my feet don't sit flat on the floor so I'm anchored with the balls of my feet only. I do four sets, which is probably too many for a warm up. My right shoulder feels odd. It doesn't hurt but it feels as if it could shift out of position and become very painful. I only do sets up to 130 lbs even though I've managed to squeak out a few reps at 135 lbs. But not today. I always skip Inclined Benching when my shoulder feels odd. It's better to live to fight another day.

I make it all up in the DB Lateral Raises superset with DB Inclined Reverse Flyes. Warm up with two sets of 20 lbs and move on to 25 lb DBs. Start off with 8 reps Lateral Raises and 12 reps Reverse Flyes, and up the reps to 12 and 15 respectively. Not only do they grow nice shoulders (and who doesn't love nice shoulders?) but they also help with the endurance aspect of jabbing and punching. Having a powerful punch doesn't do you any good if you're too tired to keep your arms up round after round. And I have to admit that after 14 rounds, my arms and shoulders aren't tired. My hands are just a bit sore. Maybe I'll use the new cotton wraps I bought last year. And remember to keep my thumbs tucked and my fists tight.

Working from the body outward, the last body part is triceps. Rip Skulls and then Cable Push Downs. I like the Rip Skulls because they're a full muscle movement, working all three heads of the tricep muscle. The Cable Push Downs are move of a finishing movement. I know I'm going to struggle with the last set at 40 lbs so I use that as an opportunity to do a Burn-Out Drop Set: dropping the weight 10 lbs and adding reps. It's a lot harder than it sounds.

And then, finally, there's the 10 min of HIIT cardio followed by 20 min of LISS. I can't even think about it because I'd talk myself out of it. I'm rewarded by actually hitting 290 Strides Per Minute for a few seconds for three out of the ten minute-sessions. Yaaay! I'm also seeing results from the Smith Split Squats. Workout shorts I'd purchased from Athleta a few years ago, and then regretted buying because they didn't seem complimentary, now fit better. Now that my butt and thighs are bigger, or maybe just firmer? Or maybe just a different shape? I'm not going to argue with results.

Tomorrow is a Cardio and Core Day. And then my son and I are going to see that new Pixels movie.

Monday Push Day Workout
(3.98 miles total cardio; 17,345 lbs moved)