The Sweet Spot

I didn't get quite enough sleep but I didn't wake up in a fog either. Taking the ZMA an hour to two hours before dosing with ibuprofen and gabapentin seems to work better for me. Taking 3 caplets of the NSAID also works better than 2 for me since I didn't feel my wonky left leg at all today. Yaaay me! The gabapentin runs out on Friday so I best renew the 'script. Not quite sure why I need "permission" since it's not an opioid.

Today's my last physical therapy appointment so I'm in a bit of a rush at the gym. I get my cardio in, but there's a dude on the Smith doing inclined presses. I wouldn't mind so much if he didn't wander off to chat with The Mayor halfway through his set. I go the the CF section and start doing light RDLs with the trap bar. Then this middle age guy shows up to use the cable machine immediately behind me. Ugh. Not only is he standing waaay too close to me, I can smell the stench of cigarettes on him. I'm so allergic to smoke particles that I won't ride an elevator with heavy smokers because my eyes and sinuses will burn as if I'd been maced. This guy's not that bad smoke-wise, but he's still creeping me out. The minute I leave, he's at the front desk chatting and buying a protein drink from the cooler.

At the MaxRack

I make no bones about hating the MaxRack. The bar is heavier, and because of how it's constructed, I feel as if I'm constantly fighting the bar to keep it from pulling me forward, instead of focusing on my lift. I don't have that issue with the Smith. An RDL there works the entire back, shoulders, glutes and hammies. I'm going to stop using the MaxRack so at some point I'll have to start bringing my own Rogue collars again. I found ONE flip collar in the CF area today. ONE is useless for RDLs.

I spoke to the gym owner about the busted kickboxing machines. He says he's waiting on parts from Nexersys, that the Austin-based company has been floundering. I don't think its last product, a digitally-monitored speed bag (called a Cross Body Trainer), was very well received. It sells for under $200, but it's not something I'd ever buy. (See below.) Personally, I love whacking their kickboxing trainer, but that's me. I've gotten excellent responses from Nexersys's FaceBook site, so I may post a query there to ask why it's so hard to procure new sensors for one machine and a new arm for the other one. Or, the gym owner, who also needs to fix the dry sauna in the women's locker room, and at least one exercise bike, and reupholster a lot of the benches, just doesn't want to spend the cash. It's a hard economy.

I just have enough time for 30 minutes on the elliptical. Ever a glutton for punishment, I choose to do Intervals. Eventually I hope to work them into my program twice weekly. Just like eventually I hope to achieve a wider-than-shoulders-width pull up. I'm fresh enough to ramp up to 270 SPMs (Strides Per Minute) for a few seconds. Haven't done that in a really long time! Mostly I manage to stay in the 220 range, although, by the last few minutes, it's hard enough to stay above 200. But I feel really good when I'm done, and I'm drenched.

And then, because I have two minutes, I stretch and knock out a set of pull ups.
Yaaay me!

Wednesday
6.61 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 144
Miles 3.92
Average Heart Rate 154

Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 80, 50, 30
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Crunches 3 x 50

Trap Bar DL
63 lbs ? X 12 x 2
(guy behind me reeks of cigarettes)

MaxRack RDLs
Bar (55 lbs) x 12
75 x 12
95 x 13
115 x 12
135 x 12

30 min elliptical
Intervals
Calories 308
Miles 2.69

HGPU 26