Mild Hump Day Workout

My son has been reluctant to finish his assigned summer reading. Lord of the Flies and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes might make for great movie fare, but actual print is another story. Online gaming with his friends is much more exciting. Truthfully, there's a whole different personality that emerges when he's online: loud, raunchy, irreverent and yet, still darkly humourous. This means he stays up much too late and is hard to wake come morning, or should I say, afternoon. We got to the gym by 2 pm and he was still yawning.

I'm still sore from those Walking Lunges I did two days ago, mostly the left hamstring. Yesterday, we skipped the gym and went to see the Angry Birds 2 movie. It was silly but still funny. Of course, I'm easily amused. Except when I'm not. (Hey, I fell asleep on La La Land twice!) Today, I start with HIIT cardio. My son has on his comfy headphones instead of earbuds as he pedals along while watching cat videos on his phone.

We knock out our pull-ups and core, then my son remembers to do his pushups. It's late in the day but the gym isn't that crowded yet. There are several stations with loaded bars so it's hard to know if anyone's using them. I hate it when people walk away without reracking their plates. We skip the Smith because there's a lot of plates on that bar. Besides, my son should learn to be comfortable with free weights. (Many gyms don't have a Smith machine.) We haven't touched any of the circuit machines all summer.

We do a few light sets on the Inclined Breaker bench. At least I can step up on the platform behind the rack to spot my son. We only use the bar (45 lbs) and then a set or two with just an additional ten pounds. Free weights require much more body control, which my son isn't used to. He learns how to adjust the bench seat height, and how the bar should feel in his hands. He might never become a gym rat, but I want him to learn the basics anyway.

Then we do a few sets of Lat Pull Downs. I could do more at a heavier weight, but my son is actually tired. He likes the idea of pedaling on the recumbent bike before ending with a standard Mat Stretch. When we get back to the car, my son tells me he's hungry. I always put a few bottles of RTD protein in a cooler in my car for exactly that reason. There's no better time to ingest vitamins and protein than right after a workout.

Some people have complained that exercise whets their appetite and with that increased hunger, there's even greater weight gain. A few studies have found that people (and especially women) with high amounts of body fat have a blunted response to the appetite-suppressing effects. Those people are advised to be particularly mindful of their caloric intake.

All I know is that when I exercise vigorously, I eat less. As much as I purport to hate cardio, I do it religiously because it makes me feel good, and I'm not endangering my vision. Now I just need to get my snacking in check!


Wednesday Combo

Norwegian 4x4
5 min w/u
(4 min on / 3 min off) x 4
5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30, 33
Calories 288
Miles 2.65
140-173 (115)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 22
Child 8

Crunches Legs Up 50
Crunches knees bent 50
Bicycles 50
Horizontal Scissors 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Child Push Ups 30

Incline Bench Press w/ Child
Bar 45 x 12 x 2
55 lbs x 12 x 2

Lat Pulldowns
70 lbs x 12
85 x 12 x 3

20 recumbent bike + 5cd
Manual 1
Miles 3.01
Calories 104

Mat Stretch


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