Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Running As Fast As I Can Just to Stay in Place

People create goals to have something to work towards. It's incentive to keep going. But what happens when you reach those goals. Is there a sense of accomplishment, or is it more in the journey, not the destination? Some folks get depressed. Others create new goals. What if the goal is merely to forestall decrepitude? When you hit your 50s, not only do you get inundated with mail calling you a Senior Citizen, but you start to wonder about your goals. I'm not trying to squeeze into my college clothes. Heck, I'm smaller now than I was when I was a freshman! I'm not looking to compete in any Master Class shows either, because the youngest Master is 35 yrs old. Heck, that's 20 years my junior. I'm competitive to a point, but there's got to be a point. There's got to be a reasonable expectation of success. So lately my goal has been to keep this 50+ body looking and acting more like a 35+ body. I don't mean acting as in pretending. I mean acting as in being, as in flexible, coordinated and strong.

It's hard to know what routine to use, but best to say that it's the routine you will actually stick to. Until it's time to change. Only you know for sure what works for you, and that's usually through trial and error. So far I'm able to add back one set of Hammer Grip Pull Ups at the end of my workout. I do feel a touch of tendonitis inside my left elbow (Golfer's Elbow). It's aggravated slightly by Drag Curls. I'm sure if I cut the Drag Curls out, I wouldn't even notice my elbow during Pull Ups. I feel a need for balance, and Push Ups and Planks are all triceps and delts. Rows, curls and pull ups are more biceps. Just because it's Winter and we're all wearing long sleeves doesn't mean we don't want to have nice arms.

I start off with the usual 30 min LifeFitness cross-trainer, do some stretching and then find those handles to do push ups. First I do a set of 25 with my hands in a thumbs-up (vertical) position. Then I do a set with my hands in a horizontal position. It's surprisingly tiring. I've been watching videos on dynamic planking and while it might be something I'll try when I'm really bored, all I can think of now is that it's way too much cardio, and that it's going to kill my push ups between plank sets. I'd rather just focus on trying to keep myself from falling on my face for 30 seconds at a stretch. The dynamic planking also seems, counterintuitively, easier because constantly switching between left and right sides means less worries about core balance. But maybe I'm wrong.

I can hear The Mayor squeaking loudly. He seems to have a perpetual case of laryngitis. I see Shaggy benching with his Jughead cap and white muscle shirt. Creepy PJ Pants is on the treadmill. I see a lot of regulars today. And I don't talk to any of them. It's only the women who have their heads down, nose to the grindstone, that seem to show any progress in their physiques.

Lately I've been suffering from a knotty upper back, mostly traps. I blame high reps and the RG BB Row. Kickboxing the Nexersys doesn't help either because I tend to stand sideways, with my left forward. The knot's in my right trap. Foam rolling helps. I could cut back the reps and up the weights.  I do that for the last two sets of DB Lateral Raises superset with DB Reverse Flyes. I'm tempted to grab some discs from the front desk, but in the end, I throw caution to the wind and just grab the next heavier DBS. I keep weight the same on everything else.

I've read several articles in T-Nation that claim that the weighted torso twisting machines are injuries waiting to happen. The articles seem convincing, but I'm not using heavy weights either. Still, I might give them up and try something new (for me) like Side Bends. I am really happy that I can do a set of Hammer Grip Pull Ups without too much trouble. Especially since it's been weeks since I could do several sets in a workout. My stomach hasn't been bothering me either, but I've been very cautious with it. When I remember, I take a tbsp of apple cider vinegar before bed, chased by a cup of water. It's either the ACV or eating Greek-style yogurt for breakfast that's cut my weight, or mabye a combination of both. I finish my workout with some Pistol Squats and a Mat Stretch, but maybe I'll add something new (for me) like walking bodyweight lunges, or side lunges. I just watched a video on them and they look like fun! The gym scale reads 108.4 lbs which isn't bad considering I've drained my 1.5 liter water bottle. Tomorrow I get to whack the machine. Yippeee!

Monday Workout
(6.86 miles cardio)



N/A

Calorie :   142 CAL
Distance: 4.21 mile
Speed :    8.41 mph
Lap/Rep :  --
Duration : 00:30:03


25

Set 1 : 25 Lap/Rep
Set 2 : 25 Lap/Rep


N/A

Set 1 : 00:00:30
Set 2 : 00:00:30
Set 3 : 00:00:30
Set 4 : 00:00:30


50

Set 1 : 50 Lap/Rep


N/A

Set 1 : 00:00:30
Set 2 : 00:00:30
Set 3 : 00:00:30
Set 4 : 00:00:30


50

Set 1 : 50 Lap/Rep


N/A

Set 1 : 00:00:30
Set 2 : 00:00:30
Set 3 : 00:00:30
Set 4 : 00:00:30


50

Set 1 : 50 Lap/Rep
Set 2 : 50 Lap/Rep


174.17

Set 1 : 55x25
Set 2 : 75x25
Set 3 : 95x25
Set 4 : 95x25
Set 5 : 95x25


31.67

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


35

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


63

Set 1 : 45x12
Set 2 : 45x12
Set 3 : 45x12


75

Set 1 : 50x15
Set 2 : 50x15
Set 3 : 50x15


91.67

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x23
Set 3 : 50x25


Prgm#3

Calorie :   304 CAL
Distance: 2.65 mile
Duration : 00:30:03


165

Set 1 : 110x15


139.33

Set 1 : 110x8

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