The Adjustment Period

My knees let me know that I got on the wrong cross-trainer this morning. Even at Level 1 (the lowest resistance), the joints to my lower body were in rebellion. Rather than move to yet another questionable machine, I just dropped my warm up time from 20 to 15 painful minutes. I felt really old at this point. Then I had to kill time waiting for the Stretch Cage. Again. This time it was an elderly man, but at least he seemed to be actually performing stretching movements. But it did take him a long time, and I don't like to lean on people so I wandered off and did flat bench knee-ins, and then played with the torso twist machine. I was about to do push ups at the mat when I saw him exit the apparatus. I always like doing my pull ups before push ups.

My chest and arms are sore from yesterday's workout so push ups were harder than I expected. I get them done, but it wasn't pretty. I think I might have to try something new for abs. Something that won't make me bulky, or hurt my lower back. So ab rollers are out, as are hanging knee raises: my lower back flexes too much. Or I could just stick with crunches, and add leg lifts or something like that.

Again, I'm really happy that the Smith machine is vacant when I get there. I plan to do Smith SLDLs and Smith RG BB Rows, although I have no set amount of sets or reps. Play it by ear and listen to the body. I'm still a bit sleep-deprived, and some of my joints are achy today. I can hear The Mayor long before I catch glimpse of him. I'm still wearing the Apple earbuds, but I'll probably use the earplug versions tomorrow. These earbuds leak a lot of peripheral sound, and some days I'm just not in the mood to hear everyone's conversation.

I'm debating whether to whack the machine tomorrow because I also have swim class that evening. My hubs is leaving for Tallahassee in the morning and will be gone the entire weekend. I told my son I can take him to the gym or to "Family Swim" for fun. I already know I'm going to miss a few of my swim classes since Middle School events like Meet Your Kid's Teachers is on a Thursday evening, as is the 6th Grade Social. Uh... what?

The scale hasn't moved much. I'm 112.4 lbs today. The tape measure is no kinder, although I've never had much of a waist. My only solace is remembering that, in HS, my measurements were a dismal 31-29-36 and I weighed about 110 lbs (which my mother thought was fat). Now I'm a bit more balanced (34.5-27-34.5), although I still feel like that awkwardly bottom-heavy teenager. Still, I'd be happier at 108 lbs especially since I own clothes that won't fit me at 112 lbs. Bummer...

I've started playing with the new Cybex Torso Twist machine, hoping that maybe it'll trim my waist a little. It's a dangerous machine if you go heavy, because the human spine is not meant to withstand torque like that. I only use 30 lbs, and only do one set per side. Bodybuilding forums suggest all sorts of peculiar exercises to trim the waist. One of the oddest I've come across is the vacuum, where you practice sucking in your abdominal muscles. Uh, seriously?

Before I resort to the Versa Grips, I find myself letting go of the bar during SLDLs in order to readjust my grip. The set still counts. Weight is still moved. It's just not pretty. Old guys stare. Young guys don't stare. They just look uncomfortable, or not. They work hard. They don't chat so much.

My left arm is weaker than my right so it's no surprise that I can only get 8 reps at the next higher weight (52.5 lbs). I use a 7.5 lb "brick" to cut the increments in half. 15 lb jumps is too much for a one-arm movement for a small person like myself. I get a full 12 reps with the right arm. So I make the left arm do an extra set. It only gets 7 reps. Done! Time for cardio! 

I wish old guys would stop staring. I feel like asking them if they're having a stroke, but I'm always worried that my speaking to them will just encourage further interactions. And I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in interactions. It might be a bit Machiavellian, but I don't think they can actually do anything for me, except interrupt my workouts and slow me down. They're not going to take advice from me, and I don't want advice from them. Is that wrong?

Wednesday Workout

15 min X trainer
 62 cal
 1.30 miles
 5.20 av spd

Knee-Ins 50
Twist 12 X 30 lbs
HGPU 31
Push ups 100
Crunches
3 X 50
Bird Dog Planks
2 X 60 sec

Smith SLDLs
15 X 30 lbs (bar)
12 X 80 lbs, 100
VGs 12 X 110
120 X 12 X 3

Smith RG BB Rows
15 X 30 lbs (bar)
15 X 80, 100, 120

HGPU 31

One-Arm Seated Cable
37.5 lbs X 12
45 X 12
52.5 X 8L, 12R
52.5 X 7L

30 min elliptical
Program2
2.59 miles
294 cal

HGPU 31

Mat stretch