A Ladder Routine

It's been over a year since I used that newfangled cardio machine the Octane LX8000. I copy the data and then step on. After 23 minutes, my legs are a little tired and I'm kind of warmed up, but not really sweating. And while most of the data is similar to that from last year, the one big difference is "mileage." For roughly the same calories and steps, I've not even covered half the distance. An additional 140 steps isn't going to make up for another 1.62 miles. 

The settings are the same: Manual 1, lateral 4. Not really sure why the machine is giving me values for Watts and METs. (I have to look that up later to learn that METs is a measurement of cardio intensity and Watts is for resistance. Okay, that might be useful if I decide to do this again in the future. But I really miss having a breathlessly sweaty workout, so the Precor elliptical is still my favorite.) Today, two out of four of the Precors are occupied and no one's on the treadmill.

Core seems mindless. Or maybe I should say that crunches and dead bugs are too easy even at 60 reps each. But I keep to variations that won't trigger a sciatic attack because those are just awful and debilitating. The Inclined Breaker Benches are free and I choose the one without an olympic bar in the holders. That's one less thing to worry about when doing inclined DB presses. There's a smattering of people rotating through the free weight area. Most of the women are working legs: squats, hack squats, lunges, hip thrusts. Except for the one ditzy gal who trails the gym owner and squeals when he sets her up with the shiny, pretty chromed BBs on an adjustable bench. She's bigger than I am but this might be her first training session.

I focus on doing my shoulder routine and everything is going as planned. But the 25s feel unstable in my hands and the right shoulder worries me. After completing the set, I decide that doing a ladder (increasing then decreasing) would give me enough reps to satisfy a workout requirement without endangering myself. Yes, I'm concerned about having the 25 slip out of my hand and fall on me. That would really hurt! My knee is already bruised purple from dogs running recklessly at the park and slamming into me while leading a pack of galloping canine ruffians... No need for further injuries.

7 October 2022
Changeable Friday

Octane LX8000 (Vs July 2021)
20 min +3 cool down
Program Manual 1 lateral 4
HR 121-156 / 85-156, 122 avg
Cal 160 / 156
Distance 3.09 / 1.47
Floor 49 / 47
Steps 2956 / 2816

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3 (right eye lid edge!)

DB Incl Press s/s Lat Raise s/s Rev Inc Fly
(ladder up/down)
10 lbs x 25/15/20 reps
15 lbs x 20/15/25
20/15/20 lbs x 20/15/25 reps
25/15/25 x 25/15/25
20/15/25 x 25/15/25
15 lbs x 20/15/25