Not Old Yet

My right quad is sore today and it takes me nearly half the day before I figure out why. It couldn't be from clambering up the stool to crouch over the sink and wrestle with the lighting fixture. No, it's the kneeling thigh stretch that I do on the mat, usually after push ups but before crunches. I've done this stretch several dozen times before, but perhaps yesterday I leaned back slightly more? I tend not to support myself with my hands and instead have them float in front of my hips, putting more stress on the abs. Hmmm...

I'm happy to pedal my fave cross-trainer and even break the 4-mile mark today in spite of soreness. Wahoo! Then I do some crunches and knee-ins, opting to skip pull ups and push ups. The Smith is finally available so I use it for RDLs. I used to be able to pull 155 on the freestanding bar not that long ago. Today I decide to drop some reps and up the weight. It's a spur of the moment thing. 140 doesn't feel that heavy, but I'm only pulling for 8 reps. I get 6 reps at 150 lbs. I'm pretty sure I could've pulled another two reps but I wasn't really sure I'd keep my form. The last thing I need to do is injure my back! My shoulder is still grumpy.

I do a total of 6.72 miles of cardio today, and according to recent news, I'm still shy of the 15,000 daily steps required for good health. Apparently 10,000 steps isn't quite enough. My 6.72 miles translates to a mere 13,658 steps. Well, there's walking the dog several times a day... 15,000 steps is about 7.5 miles. Ugh.

I don't pull nearly as much weight when switching to RG BB Rows, but then again, I'm going for reps with this move. I feel it more in my lower back now that I'm tired. Time to switch to a different exercise. Seated DB alternating curls are good. I have those one and a quarter pound magnetic discs to affix to the DB ends. I use the discs on the solid-state BBs too for Drag Curls. My biceps are popping and I wish I could take a photo of them. Last, there are RG BB Curls for forearms, the stepchild of "show muscles". Then back to the cardio platform to do 30 minutes on the elliptical. It's very humid in the gym and I'm drenched by the time the set is over.

I can't resist doing one set of pull ups at the Stretch Cage, but this time I'm very conscious of keeping my elbows bent, even during dismount. I'm happy with 26 reps, especially after all that bicep work. The Billy Idol music has me so energized that I do a full Mat Stretch while bopping to tunes. I can tell that some of the guys are staring from their seats in the Cybex machines, but I don't care. I didn't start out being this flexible. It's a lot of work and consistent effort. People say they're envious and wish they could do stuff like that. I tell them they actually have to DO IT. Wishing don't make it so. Yeah, I'm 57, but damn, I'm not going to start acting like it just because it's on my driver's license.

Tuesday
6.72 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 142
Miles 4.13
Average Heart Rate 161

Knee-Ins 50
Crunches 3 x 50

Smith RDLs
Bar (30 lbs) x 12
12 x 80, 100, 120
8 x 140
6 x 150

Smith RG BB Rows
25 x 80, 100,
20 x 120, 130

Seated DB Alt Curls
20 lbs x 12 reps
22.5 x 12 reps x 3 reps

BB Drag Curls
12 reps x 40 lbs, 42.5, 45

RG BB Curl
40 lbs x 22 reps x 3 sets

30 min elliptical
Program 2
Calories 294
Miles 2.59
5264 strides

HGPU 26