Let's open with a stretch for my recalcitrant shoulder, courtesy of a friend who turned me on to a YouTube video of the Rippetoe low bar squat stretch for inflexible shoulders:
Never mind that today is a Push Day if I can get out of the house and to the gym... Even if I'm not doing squats today, I can still stretch the shoulder out. Ideally, I'd be doing this a few times a week. We'll see...
I get to the gym a little before noon. The gym is pretty damn empty! Except for the cross-trainers. Those are all occupied. I get on the elliptical and do 30 minutes on Program 1. My skin gets unpleasantly prickly as I warm up. Even though I've slathered moisturizer on myself before coming, I still suffer from pin prick sensations as my skin hovers between sweating and not. Sweating would cool the skin. It's right before that moment that the nerves in my skin freak out and telegraph electric itchiness. Ugh. If I either slow down or speed up, I'll force a sweat and relief. (Apparently, this is not uncommon among sufferers of ichthylosis vulgaris.)
Tank has an interesting cut out in the back
I almost forget to do pull ups before leaving the Stretch Cage, but manage to squeeze out a respectable number. Having slept less than 6 hours is really hurting me at the beginning of my workout. Towards the end it won't matter. Not quite sure how that works, but it does. After basic core work, I amble over to the Smith. The Mayor is gabbing away. My headphones don't block him out as well as they used to, now that I've changed the ear pads. I think my ear canals are two different sizes, and the right ear is a bit achy today. I need a smaller ear pad for that side. Of course, because ear canals change shape and size with head and jaw positioning, it's hard to determine what's really going to work. Music sounds better when I have my head down and it's because the ear pad sits snugger in the canal for me in that position. But I also have really loose flexible joints and sleeping on my side can cause my jaw to fall out of alignment. (I've had to pop my jaw back to alleviate TMJ issues.)
The Smith Inclined Bench is uneventful even though I haven't warmed up the shoulder joints. Actually I only remember to do those physical therapy movements right before kickboxing the machine. The hole in the wall is even bigger than before! Not sure what sort of animals work out here over the weekend. Ugh. I try to remember how to do the Shoulder Stretch (see video above), but don't quite get it right. What I should've done was watched it on my phone. But I didn't. I can't get my wrists anywhere's close to straight because I haven't started out in the right position. I'm going to try again tomorrow, after RDLs on the Smith. If I can get the Smith. (Worse case scenario, I do the stretch at the Squat Rack. Or in the Max Rack, because it also has a horizontal bar supported on uprights.)
The rest of my workout is routine: DB super sets, Rip Skulls and then V-bar press downs. There are a few guys in the gym. But I mostly have the weight area to myself. Nice! The Mayor is long gone. A bunch of folks are on the cardio platform. An older fellow with a great physique comes in and immediately starts doing preacher curls. It must be Arm Day! I don't do "Arm Day" 'cuz every day is Arm Day. Seriously. He's hovering, but I'm not interested in chatting so I ignore him. Yeah, I'm a bitch. It's okay. You want to talk to me? Catch me afterwards. Want me to oooh and ah your physique. Sorry, not gonna happen.
I'm really hungry even though I had yogurt and coffee for breakfast. And a protein boost just before I got in the car. There's been a lot of RTDs on sale so I stocked up. (Besides, my son is eating everything in the house. At his annual, it was determined that he now outweighs me by close to 35 lbs.) I bought a bunch of Fairlife® "milk shakes" for a $1 a bottle in strawberry and chocolate flavor. It's flavored, shelf-stable lactose-free milk. 15 gms protein per serving is pretty good for a buck. With a coupon, the Ensure® High Protein comes to $1.25 per 16 gms protein, and some additional vitamins and minerals. (Some days I literally can't wait until I get home to mix up a shake, and the Quest bars don't always agree with me. It's me, not the bars.) Muscle Milk® has also been on sale at my supermarket. $6 for a 20 gm 4-pack. The flavors aren't great, as there's always a metallic aftertaste. But true with all these RTDs, they're always much much better ice cold! But I'll drink them room temp if it comes down to that...
My favorite thing so far has been the local Five Acre yogurt on sale at my grocer. It's literally from a farm somewhere in NYS. It's not the high-protein skyr or Greek-style yogurt, but it tastes deliciously creamy and smooth. Best yet, the plain has only two ingredients. (The Maple flavor has three ingredients.) It does make me a bit gassy though, so I don't eat very much of it. This is more like an indulgent dessert item.
I think the Maple flavor has three ingredients, not two.
Push Monday
30 elliptical Program 1 Calories 286 Miles 2.54 Average Heart Rate 151 / 196 max
HGPU 30 Push-ups 60 Elbow Plank 60s Side Planks 2 x 60s Bird Dogs 2 x 60s Elbow Plank 60s
Smith Inclined Press Bar (30) x 15 50 x 12 70 x 13 80 x 12 90 x 12 70 x 25 60 x 25
Shoulder Stretch at Smith 3 x 5 count
DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flyes 25lbs x 8/15 reps x 3 sets
The Smith Inclined Bench is uneventful even though I haven't warmed up the shoulder joints. Actually I only remember to do those physical therapy movements right before kickboxing the machine. The hole in the wall is even bigger than before! Not sure what sort of animals work out here over the weekend. Ugh. I try to remember how to do the Shoulder Stretch (see video above), but don't quite get it right. What I should've done was watched it on my phone. But I didn't. I can't get my wrists anywhere's close to straight because I haven't started out in the right position. I'm going to try again tomorrow, after RDLs on the Smith. If I can get the Smith. (Worse case scenario, I do the stretch at the Squat Rack. Or in the Max Rack, because it also has a horizontal bar supported on uprights.) 
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