Getting There, 'Cuz I'm Stubborn...

I skipped the gym yesterday and tried to get some other writing done, but most of my time was spent researching and verifying other articles I was using as references. Yeah, I'm kind of a weenie like that. I also went grocery shopping, which was super hard because it's at the other end of the strip mall where my gym is located. It's a big deal when I don't go to the gym when it's right over there...  (sigh) but I wanted to get some non-fat cottage cheese to see if the dog would eat it. It's listed as a suggested food for dogs suffering from pancreatitis. Boiled liver and chicken breasts are also on the list, but I didn't get those items. The dog likes his cottage cheese on top of toast cut into little pieces. The only problem with cottage cheese is the high salt content. The dog drinks a lot of water, and consequently, because he's an old dog, he pees a lot. Sometimes when he's sleeping. He's developing a bit of a stink. But he still enjoys laying in the sun, going for walks where he can sniff all the neighborhood news, and barking at cats in our yard. Life is still good for him.

Today is a Pull Day. I've been getting to the gym later than I'd like, but the upside is that it's not crowded when I get there. I'm wearing some shorts I bought last year. Or maybe the year before. They're Everlast® sweatpants with deep front patch pockets, but they come just to my knees. The drawstring front is extremely annoying so I pull the cords out as far as I can and snip them off. The shorts have a fairly wide elastic waistband so there's no danger these are going to fall off. I put on a gray tank and an old Everlast® sports bra that's usually pretty comfy. Just to preclude any future embarrassment in the harsh gym lighting, I actually take some selfies of myself at home first. If nothing looks amiss, I'm golden! It's almost 40F outside and I've seen flying, biting insects while walking the pup. I put a pair of loose sports pants on over my shorts for the jaunt down the road to my car. Otherwise I'm sure I'd have a few bug bites already!

Basic cardio warm up on the cross-trainer. I'm tired. Again I didn't quite get enough sleep. It's hard to go to bed early when we're getting home from Scouts at 9:30 pm. I squeeze out my pull ups and skip core for later. I've got the Smith all to myself but I have to hunt for the proper plates. I reference last week's workout, and the week before. Because I'm tired, it feels okay to do drop sets. I should really just accept doing them as part of my routine, but old habits are hard to break. I have to adjust my right knee a few times, angling it more straight forward. It's not happy with even a slight tilt outward. The bar looks crazy with all the different plates on it. I double check my math to make sure I've got the right total. I'm good with just 6 reps at my max weight. Afterwards though, I feel as if I can do more. So I go for another set. I can only get to 5. Well, how about one more try? Another 5. But that last set was really hard. And that's enough.

Now it's just peripheral stuff like Reverse Grip Barbell Rows... High reps at 80 lbs and I can feel my lats with this movement. I don't feel any need to go heavier even though I've gone to 120 lbs in the past. Seated One-Arm Cable Rows is more for the stretch, and biceps. My forearms get pumped and I have a hard time with my grip by the last reps of the last set. I use grip pads for this last exercise. I carry a small stuff sack with my gear in it: two or three different pairs of gloves, versa gripps, stretch band, grip pads, wrist wraps (which I haven't used in years), forearm bands (for golfer and tennis elbow) which I also haven't used in years... At least I'm not dragging a backpack throughout like some folks. There were some guys who carried 5 lb jars of protein powder in their gym bags, which just seemed kind of weird. Keep that stuff in your car, dude.

Before I forget... after I was done with the Smith, I did remember to stretch my shoulders using the "low bar squat shoulder stretch" I referenced in my last post. And this time, I remembered to do it correctly. More or less. Since I can't really see my form from the side, it's hard for me to truly know if my wrists were straight and my back at the correct angle. They felt straight. I probably kept the stretch for a good 10 seconds each time. It didn't feel awful this time. But I still had to shake my right arm out afterwards.

I swapped my Fish Oil for Flaxseed Oil a few weeks ago. Then I started to suffer from inexplicable pains in my extremities, like the throbbing vein in my ring finger. I swapped back my Fish Oil. It might've been a weird coincidence. But so far the only things that hurt are my hands under the callouses. Of course, tomorrow I plan to whack the machine, so my knuckles will be next... Going heavier in my weights is definitely causing me to feel a bit more soreness. Or maybe it's just age. Whatever. It's not enough to keep me from doing it. 'Cuz I'm stubborn.

Pull Wednesday

30 x-trainer
Calories 238
Miles 3.36

HGPU 26

Smith RDLs
Bar (30) x 15
80 x 12
120 x 12
140 x 10
160 x 8 (rt knee)
170 x 6, 5, 5

Smith RG BB Rows
80lbs x 25 reps x 3 sets

Low Bar Shoulder Stretch
5-10s x 3

Seated 1-Arm Cable Row
45lbs x 12 reps ea x 3 sets

Elbow Plank 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Mat Stretch