Sore From

It's 69F and overcast. So it doesn't take me long to warm up on the elliptical. I'm surprised when 20 minutes isn't so bad. Then I remember that I drank half a dose of SuperBeets half an hour beforehand. Normally I drink beet juice after my workout because I've read that you need to let it build up in your system. My husband swears that drinking a full dose of beet juice revs him up like an energy drink. This might be true after all.  

After core, I position myself to do push-ups, but slower than I'm accustomed to doing. I'm a bit dismayed to find that the bodyparts hitting the floor isn't chest. Nope. It's forehead, abdomen, and top of thighs. Now, granted, I have big thighs that are front-loaded (more quad than hamstring), a decent caboose, and not a tiny waist nor much of a bosom. Any size I have up top is due to a wide back, but I lack thickness. I'm built like a fireplug. My back and hips aren't sagging so the only way I'll be able to figure this out is to do a video. I didn't today but next time I will. Because if I'm going to compromise my form, I want to do it consciously for a good reason. Like painful elbows cause me to spread my arms wider during push-ups, tendonitis in my forearms and elbows means not dropping down to a full extension during pull-ups and chin-ups. 

I do the same pull-up, hammer grip pull-up, and chin-up as last week but the seam inside my gloves is chafing my ring finger. Last night's supper of homemade shrimp and garlic scampi (my husband's treat) was a tad salty and my fingers tend to swell up in reaction. Luckily, it's only temporary, but it's enough to cause discomfort today. My hands, forearms and hamstrings are also sore from Saturday's bout with whacking the driveway privets down to half their height with anvil loppers. Using them reminds me of old-time chest expanders except I'm squeezing the handles together to sever the inch-thick stalks instead of pulling springs apart.  

I'm barely able to do a dozen reps for each position and unlike last week, chin-ups this time cause my right wrist to throb. Next week I'll try the wider position, outside the mounting bracket. To change things up a tad, I do Split Squats first, then Air Squats. The latter becomes much, much harder this way and my reps slow down greatly after the first dozen. 

I add Flys to my DB superset, take out Rip Skulls, but add close-grip presses with the EZ bar. I'm ending the routine with two dozen curls and reverse-grip curls, and then a quick stretch. At least I can clasp my hands behind my back and straighten my arms. Big triceps and short arms make that last move a bit difficult. Lithe and slender I am not. 

Monday Workout

Vision elliptical

Program: manual

20 min

Miles: 1.84

Calories: 170

HR 74-148

Crunches 60/60

Elbow Plank 60s

Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Bench Knee-Ins 60

Bicycles 60

Pushups slow 25

Regular PU 12 (finger seams)

HGPU 14 barehanded

Chin Ups 15 (narrow/ right wrist)

Split Squat 12 each leg

Bodyweight squats 25

DB SuperSet x 3 sets

Press x 25

Flys x 12

Alt Front Raises x 12

Lateral Raises x 12

EZ Bar 30 lbs Close Press x 12 x 2

EZ Bar BB Curl 30 x 25

EZ Bar RG Curl 30 x 25

Quick stretch