My son and I got to the gym at 2 pm once again. I admit that we went to bed much too late. Of course, hearing the oddest wailing outside at 4 am didn't help one bit. (I leave my screened windows open in the summer to help with cross-ventilation.) There's a dog up the road that does quite a bit of barking. I can hear him/her clearly through the swamp in spite of tall trees and dense brush. But this sound wasn't barking, growling or whining. It wasn't cats having a row either. The more I reflect, the more I think it's possible that those were coyotes.
The 40-second mark in the recording below sounds a lot like what I heard last night. But there were only two voices, not a whole pack.
My son complains that he's tired before we've even begun. I tell him to set his own pace while we're both on the ellipticals. I'm still doing the Norwegian HIIT cardio even though my legs feel sluggish and heavy like fallen timber. We can't get on the Stretch Cage right away so we move right into core exercises. I have to remind my son to do his pushups. Then back to the Cage to stretch and knock out a few pull-ups. I only get 20. My son gets 8. Seven looked really good but his forearms got tired and the eighth was a struggle. A valiant effort though.
The Smith is vacant so we do our standard Inclined Bench Press. My son is able to complete his three sets of 12 reps at 70 lbs. He did have to pause for a moment before the last two reps for the last set, but he's definitely stronger. I knock out my 25 reps without any fanfare. We did Lat Pull Downs on Wednesday, so today we do Seated Cable Rows. This is based on the principle "Same But Different." We are hitting the same basic muscles (back, arms and shoulders) as we did two days ago, but differently.
Even though we are using the same close-grip handle, my left shoulder blade doesn't roll or knot up with this movement the way it does during Lat Pull Downs. We pull exactly the same weight but this is harder and more critical to retain strict form. Eight-five pounds is as much as my son wants to attempt. I can go heavier with Lat Pull Downs but not with Seated Cable Rows. Moving up past 85 lbs risks my lower back, and in a weird domino-like sequence, my right hip, glute, sciatic nerve, and hamstring. That doesn't happen with Lat Pull Downs because of how the upper body is positioned with the shoulders arched back and the hips held stationary. Instead, my left shoulder tends to knot up. Everything has consequences!
My son tells me he's exhausted. I tell him he can rest on the stationary bike and stare at his phone while I pedal the elliptical behind him. He declines and gets on the adjacent elliptical. He barely breaks a sweat. Later, he complains about getting hot to the point where he's very uncomfortable, but not enough to sweat and how unpleasant that is. I tell him he might have an extremely mild form of IV (ichthyosis vulgaris) since it's a dominant hereditable condition. His palms are extremely lined but don't look ancient (like mine do) and he doesn't seem to have any tell-tale scales either. Issues with heat and sweating are common for people with IV.
We're both hungry, even after drinking 16 gms of whey protein. At the grocery store, we scan the frozen pizza selection. My mom used to buy Ellios' brand. I see that's still an option, as well as Tree Tavern. Back in the 60s, those were excellent brands that my mom would doctor with extra cheese and sauce. This, of course, rendered the pizza thick and heavy, and prone to a mushy collapsing crust. There's a big variety in the freezer case but we settle on Red Baron Classic Crust 4-Cheese Pizza. Red Baron has been around since 1976! My son questions why pizza is named after a World War I German flying ace, and I have no answer. I don't think anyone does.
Friday 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 291 Miles 2.65 HR 139-175 (78)
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
Cage Stretch HGPU 20 Child 8
Smith Incline Bench Press w/ Child Bar 30 x 12 50 x 12 Ch 70 x 12, 12, 12 70 x 25, 25, 25
Seated Cable Rows 70 lbs x 12 85 x 12, 12, 12
20 + 5 cd elliptical Program 1 Miles 2.04 Calories 227 HR 148-182 (85)
Even though we are using the same close-grip handle, my left shoulder blade doesn't roll or knot up with this movement the way it does during Lat Pull Downs. We pull exactly the same weight but this is harder and more critical to retain strict form. Eight-five pounds is as much as my son wants to attempt. I can go heavier with Lat Pull Downs but not with Seated Cable Rows. Moving up past 85 lbs risks my lower back, and in a weird domino-like sequence, my right hip, glute, sciatic nerve, and hamstring. That doesn't happen with Lat Pull Downs because of how the upper body is positioned with the shoulders arched back and the hips held stationary. Instead, my left shoulder tends to knot up. Everything has consequences!
We're both hungry, even after drinking 16 gms of whey protein. At the grocery store, we scan the frozen pizza selection. My mom used to buy Ellios' brand. I see that's still an option, as well as Tree Tavern. Back in the 60s, those were excellent brands that my mom would doctor with extra cheese and sauce. This, of course, rendered the pizza thick and heavy, and prone to a mushy collapsing crust. There's a big variety in the freezer case but we settle on Red Baron Classic Crust 4-Cheese Pizza. Red Baron has been around since 1976! My son questions why pizza is named after a World War I German flying ace, and I have no answer. I don't think anyone does.
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