Born Again Gym Rat: Familiar Faces

Friday, July 1, 2016

Familiar Faces

The day did not start off auspiciously. Yes, it was pleasant out and my hubs had left fresh-pressed coffee for me this morning. The UPS (uninterrupted power source, or basically, a back-up battery) showed its worth by keeping the micro-cell up and running in spite of last night's power blip. I remember waking briefly in the middle of the night because the UPS tends to scream loudly when it senses a power interruption. It's very annoying, because if you're awake, well, then yes, the lights have all gone out, the TV has stopped, and there's no actual need to be startled by an alarm. The microwave blinks madly because it needs to be reset, and the bathroom light develops an irritating low-level hum that apparently only I can hear. But it tells me that the power blipped. And then I reset all the things that need to be reset. Things that no one else in my house ever notices.

While sipping coffee and getting my son ready for camp, I get a text from my hubs saying his car died. What?! Later he texts me that it died on the highway while he was driving to work but he had enough momentum to safely get across to the side of the road. He was having the car towed to the dealership. It's 11 years old and whatever part was broken, well, no point in going anywhere but to the dealership. Eventually they give him a loaner car, and the option of replacing the engine with one that has only 79K. His car has well over 250K miles on it. A broken timing belt pulley completely totaled the engine. Either fix it, or get a new used car. Ugh. I guess we're going to look at new used cars tomorrow, although he's leaning towards just replacing the engine. I worry that after the engine, it'll be something else. But everything seems okay on the car. Except for the tail hatch, and the dashboard light. We do love our Subies.

Once at the gym, I settle into my routine, but using my new Sony earphones. The sound quality is better than the earplug earbuds, but it doesn't block out peripheral noise as well. At least the sound quality doesn't change when I tilt my head. I feel tired but that's probably because I skipped yesterday. You'd think that would make me feel more energized, and in reality, I do have more energy. I just don't recognize it. However, I'm able to get 31 reps of pull ups for all my sets. Must be more energy? I can knock out 100 push ups without the pause at rep 80 or 90. That's so far from when I struggled to do sets of 50 push ups, interspersed with pull ups. 12 pull ups was hard. But I hadn't figured out the proper technique yet, saving my elbows and using my back. Yep, sometimes you just don't appreciate how far you've come until you stop and really think about where you used to be.

It's summer and there are familiar faces here. Faces that have been MIA for months, if not years. ZZ is greeted by the Mayor like a long lost friend. I see a few other guys, but there are several missing women. The anorexia queen seems to have put on a few pounds so she's not so painful to look at. There's one guy who looks like he could be Kyle Clark's kid brother. But I know KC doesn't have a kid brother because KC is a fitness model, actor, spokesperson and FaceBook presence who lives in LA with his too cute Pomeranian, Koda. But this kid is nice looking, and I glimpse him without actually staring. Finally, someone with a nice bod to look at. Seriously. A gal's' gotta have some distractions. And I'd have to be stupid not to think that he knows I'm looking. Because everyone looks. Just not blatantly.

This is Kyle Clarke

I can't get on the Smith right away so I do three sets of RG BB Rows on the Max Rack. I don't miss doing this movement. All the small benches are in use so I do sets of Smith Inclined Benching. For reps. Then, not quite an after thought, Smith SLDLs. I'm lucky to get 8 reps at 130. Again, I feel my form start to break down so I cut my reps, then I drop the weight and try for more reps. This is the one truly exhausting movement! Nothing compares to this.

I need some smaller movements before my next set of pull ups, and DB laterals fits the bill. I'm toying with the idea of heavier weight and fewer reps, but not just yet. Besides, the DB is suddenly really crowded. Ugh. And because I need to balance out these monster triceps (kidding), I do a few sets of Seated One-Arm Cable Rows. They're almost more a bicep exercise than lat movement. At least for me. Especially after knocking out a set of pull ups, because as much as I try to isolate my back when doing this, the biceps and forearms are still involved.

I can't resist doing Intervals today and they really kick my butt. It feels good. I'm exhausted. And I can still do another set of pull ups! Yaaay! Then some quick stretches and off to shower. We're having some friends over on the 4th so I have groceries to buy. And a big party package of "sparklers", because they're suddenly legal in NYS now.

Happy Fourth of July!

Friday July 1 Workout
(6.47 miles total cardio; 30,611 lbs moved -- Wahoo!)