Unexpected Gains

Went to bed too late, drank too much sangria (although the frozen blueberries and pomegranate arils made it an anti-oxidant powerhouse beverage), ate too much high-fat, high salt food, and still had to get up early to take the child to school and myself to the gym. I'd already made dinner (skirt steak, crispy potatoes — leftover baked potatoes sliced up and pan-fried until crispy, and kale) when my husband came home from a day trip to Boston (for a meeting) bearing a big bag of Chik Fil A chicken sandwiches. We don't have them in our county so he was excited to bring some home from CT. Except I already had dinner on the table, and he didn't tell me he was bringing home fast food. Ugh. So we had dinner, and fast food for a hobbit's 2nd dinner. Oh well...

My son had an extra bag of snow clothes with him this morning because today's gym class sent home permission slips for the kid's to go sledding, IF they were properly attired. The school provides the sleds. Wow, wish they'd done that at my school when I was a kid, but I went to school in the 60s, in the Bronx and there's no sledding on asphalt or swampland. I have to pick my son up in a few minutes because the school bus takes too long and he has a chess class at the library. I wish we'd had that when I was a kid. Next week my son is off for the entire week, with President's Day beginning the Winter Recess. I'll have to cart him off to the gym with me, so it'll be abbreviated workouts all week. Bleah.

I'm tired but I still make my quota of cardio miles. I don't even remember when 6 became the new "5 mile" quota. I warm up with DB OHP, careful to arc my arms and avoid the painful clicking my shoulders make when I press straight up. I see B who is very upset that her shoulder and arm feels very wrong today. She hasn't had the surgery to remove that spot of skin cancer yet. That'll keep her out of the gym for a few weeks because she might pop the stitches otherwise. I see another lady doing her basic full body workout with some light DBs, and I wonder if I should correct her form on the DB Lateral Raises. She's got her elbows locked and her hands are rotated thumbs up. Not the best form.

Well, I just got a text from someone I used to work with about another ex-coworker who is apparently not doing very well at the moment, having survived breast cancer two years ago, and was just diagnosed with end-stage liver, brain and lung cancer. I'm going to post today's workout, and then I have to get my son from school.

Thursday Cardio and Arm Workout
(total mileage = 6.12)

Cross Trainer

Calorie :   147 CAL
Distance: 3.49 mile
Speed :    6.95 mph
Duration : 00:30:09

Dumbbell Standing Press

21

Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 15x12
Set 3 : 15x12

Dumbbell One Arm Triceps Extension

28

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12 SuperSet with

Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl

28

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12

Barbell Reverse Grip Skullcrusher

52.5

Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12 SuperSet W/

Barbell Curl

52.5

Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12

Sit Up

100

Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep

Barbell Reverse Curl

68

Set 1 : 35x20
Set 2 : 40x21 +5lbs
Set 3 : 40x21
Set 4 : 40x21

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   298 CAL
Distance: 2.63 mile
Duration : 00:30:13

Cable Triceps Pushdown

60

Set 1 : 30x12
Set 2 : 40x10
Set 3 : 45x8
Set 4 : 50x6

Crunches/PulseUps

50

Set 1 : 50 Lap/Rep
Set 2 : 50 Lap/Rep
Set 3 : 50 Lap/Rep

Trying New Things Isn't Always Better

I finally remembered to do my entire Arm Routine today, which means I actually finished with three sets of light (30 lbs) RG BB Curls for forearms. Of course I warmed up with 30 minutes on the cross-trainer, and then did a few sets of light (15 lbs) DB Shoulder Presses. I really don't like this exercise. My right shoulder clicks and starts to get a bit painful if I'm not really careful. Supersetting DB alternating bicep curls with one-arm DB tricep extensions was much easier this week. I'd be amused by the mother-daughter team at the beauty bell rack if the mother wasn't leaning all over the DB rack for support. Makes it very difficult for anyone else to use any of the DBs there. When they start flapping their arms and alternately kicking their knees up, I have to suppress a giggle.

At the other end is a sturdy young woman seated on an Inclined Bench with DBs, doing alternating curls. She's intermittently chatting with a young man who bounces from DB Flyes to  the cable system and back. I swap the DBs for an EZ bar for the next routine: BB Curls superset with Rip Skulls. I'm always very happy to have brought my own collars since all they have are those nasty spring clips at my gym.

I see that the Cables are very popular so I grab a 30 lb solid BB for the RG BB Curls. Next week I'll borrow a pair of 2.5 lb magnetic discs from the front desk. I've done this movement at 40 lbs but that was a really long time ago and I'm just easing back into it. Finally I can use one of the four Cable stations, but the V-grip handle is in use. I ask the fellow, who is coincidentally the same chatty guy at the DBs, if he's done with those handles yet. I don't like the rope that's affixed to the station I'm at because it's a lot of stress on my forearms and wrist, and I don't feel a lot of tricep involvement. I use the rope for two light sets and then grab a weird mostly straight bar to use as a handle because Chatty Dude has two more sets, but I'm impatient and I don't want to wait around.

The Torso Twist machine is always fun and I kill a bit of time knocking out 100 Flat Bench Knee-Ins. All the ellipticals and step machines are busy so I'm forced to clamber back onto the rogue cross-trainer, the one that shut down at 20 minutes the last time I used it. So I only punch in 20 minutes. When I'm done, I do a modified Mat Stretch. No Dive Bomber Push Ups, no Pistol Squats. But I do a 2 minute plank. Gosh, they are soooooo much easier when you're not huffing and puffing from 40 push ups. Then I try Dolphin Push Ups because I still have my shoes on. I usually take my shoes off for the rest of the Mat Stretch because it's much easier to drop into a split in stocking feet. I have to say that I'm not particularly impressed with Dolphin Push Ups. I felt a tad in my abs, but mostly in my forearms because I'm leaning on them. I get my butt up in the air and move forward until my chin is just kissing the mat. I do 20 and while my shoulders are real happy with them, I'm not feeling particularly challenged.

I drop into a split a few times, alternating which leg is forward. I happen to glance around and see Chatty Guy with a distressed look on his face. I'm not really sure why though. Tomorrow is Leg Day. Maybe I'll wear shorts.

Thursday Arm, Abs and Cardio Workout
(total mileage: 6.3 miles; weights moved 10,900 lbs)

Cross-Trainer

Calorie :   148 CAL
Distance: 3.7 mile
Speed :    7.38 mph
Duration : 00:30:06

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

21

Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 15x12
Set 3 : 15x12

Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl

28

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12 SuperSet With

Dumbbell One Arm Triceps Extension

28

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12

Barbell Reverse Grip Skullcrusher

52.5

Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12 

  SuperSet With

Barbell Curl

52.5

Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12

Barbell Reverse Curl

50

Set 1 : 30x20
Set 2 : 30x20
Set 3 : 30x20

Cable Triceps Pushdown

56

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 30x12
Set 3 : 40x12
Set 4 : 40x12

TorsoTwistMachine

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25

Cross-Trainer

Calorie :   101 CAL
Distance: 2.6 mile
Speed :    7.71 mph
Duration : 00:20:05

Plank

Set 1 : 00:02:01

Dolphin Pushup

Set 1 : 20 Lap/Rep

Seated Flat Bench Leg Pull In

100

Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep

Week Four Day Two: Cardio and Abs

When you have tickets to see Despicable Me 2 in 3-D at 12:30 pm with your 8 year old, you make sure you have enough time to work out, stretch, shower and dress, imbibe appropriate beverages and snacks, purchase popcorn and find good seats. Today was an extremely abbreviated workout, essentially a cardio day. The first leg was a bit slow going as I felt stiff and a tad sore, but warmed up at minute 25 which seems rather late. Luckily I had intervals to do for the 2nd session and I felt much better, so much better that I started singing along with my iPod. The faster my pace, the more inclined I am to sing along (although I do it in a lip-synch fashion so no one actually hears me). Yep, I'm still singing along to Angel With a Shotgun (The Cab) and Ryan Star (Start a Fire). I wish Ryan Star had other good cardio songs because I like his voice -- no surprise there as I'm also partial to Jakob Dylan (The Wallflowers). They've got a new album (Glad All Over) which is pretty nice but not necessarily something I'd use at the gym.

First zuke of the season!

Week Four Day Two: Cardio & Abs
35 min Precor hill #5 = 3.92 miles + 35 min Intervals #7 = 4.47  Grand Total = 8.39 miles Yippee!
Cage Stretch with BW Heel Dips and Side Kicks
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 200 (yep, I'm fast and sit ups are easy)
Mat Stretch with splits

I'm surprised that the gym scale reads 108.6 lbs because that's a 3 lb loss in 24 hours. Probably water retention from all the salty foods like salsa and chips, sausages and humus, beer and wine. Tonight we'll be eating a zucchini harvested this morning from our garden. Because I'll have more squash than I know what to do with (I don't think they dry well as a vegetable) if I don't, I've been harvesting the luscious yellow blossoms as well.

Tomorrow is Day Three and I'll be doing a few Back exercises. Thursday looks good for Leg Day, which leaves Friday to do Arms. Maybe I'll add the Upright Rows to Tri's and Bi's... I'm flexible!

Week Three Day One

My shoulder is actually still a tad sore from Friday's bout with the Nexersys station, but I don't let that slow me down. Indulging over the weekend, and the 90+ degree weather makes me sluggish today so it's important that I kick into gear with at least 30 minutes of cardio. I know I'm not making my 4 mile quota. The question is by how much? Precor #3, the smooth glider, is free because someone has inadvertently kicked the power switch off. It's simple enough to kick it back on and punch in Hill #5. I find that on Mondays I don't sweat much even with my hoodie up. It takes me so much longer to get into gear, at least 20 minutes before I feel vaguely warm. Amazing what a weekend of relative inactivity will do for you! (Spending hours crouched in the blazing sun picking organic raspberries doesn't actually count as an activity.)

The Manchurian is using the Smith and I ask him how many sets he has left. "Oh, uh, two or three," he says hesitantly. I guess he doesn't actually know how many he's going to do, so I walk away to the Cage Stretch because it's not worth waiting for, and besides, I don't want to pressure him. When I return, the bench and bar are all set up perfectly for me. He's doing something with dumbbells but I'm in my own world and fairly oblivious to everyone else. The gym is oddly empty for a Monday morning, and doesn't start to fill up until noonish. I see The Mayor looking disheveled and frantic as ever as he spots a much younger guy. Maybe, like myself, they all have other things to do and places to be. Although the gym is nicely air-conditioned, no one wants to spend all day here!

My right shoulder feels odd on the heavier lifts, especially the front deltoid. I still lift my routine but toss in an extra set of reps at the end to give my chest and arms a pump. Today I don't feel the benching in my chest at all. Delts are probably going to suck. I'm a bit dismayed that they're still recuperating from Friday. Recuperation shouldn't take so long!

Week Three Day One: Chest and Delts
35 min cardio hill #5 = 3.92 miles bleah!
Cage Stretch with BW heel dips and side kicks. Because of an ancient IT injury in my right quad, I'm careful not to push the side stretch too far: I've felt my kneecap slip painfully, on the verge of dislocation doing this stretch.
Smith Bench Press: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 95 / 10 @ 115 / 8 @ 135 / 3 x 6 @ 155 / 12 @ 135 / 21+5 @ 115 / 25 @ 95 lbs
I toss the last set of reps in because I'm so annoyed at having to pause with the previous set.
Bent Over DB Raises: 6 x 15 @ 25 lbs
Standing Lateral DB Raises: 6 x 12 @ 25 lbs
I certainly like the way my arms look when I'm doing these! 
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 150
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Torso Twist Station: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
I don't even consider doing Decline Presses today because suddenly the gym is crowded and I'm not in the mood to wait for the one decline bench. 
Mat Stretch: I'm worried that my legs will be really stiff and that the splits will be painful because I'm not really warm anymore, but everything is relatively good. I don't even attempt a full horizontal split where I roll forward because it's Monday and I want to ease into that particular move.

I see V while I'm doing abs and I make sure to walk a wide circle around him as unobtrusively as possible. The gym scale reads a reasonable 111.6 lbs. It's what I weighed last Monday. Psychologically, as long as I'm below 112 lbs, I don't really feel bad for weighing more at the beginning of the week. But I'd feel bad if it was Friday. Ah, the mind games we play with ourselves!

While I'm dressing, one of the trainers comes in with a 3-pack of boxing wraps. It's actually 6 wraps because each of the three colors (red, white, black) is a pair. "They're $25 for the package," she says. I tell her that's way too much money, especially since I don't even know if I want to use them, much less 3 pairs of them and she agrees with me. I tell her I'll probably stick to putting band-aids on under adhesive tape before I don my gloves. She suggests ACE bandages. Then she tells me she used to teach a kickboxing class here, and that an instructor she knew used to have the class wrap their hands even though they weren't actually hitting anything. That's odd. She said people just liked to feel as if they were boxing, even if they didn't actually make contact. That's funny. And a bit sad.

This year must be a good year for the deer because they haven't eaten the wild day lilies like they did last year. The heat is wilting my snow peas but the zucchinis have large beautiful leaves and I'm hoping they provide some shade for the peas. Cilantro, basil and thyme are also in the garden, as well as a pot of bok choy. We'll see if baby grasshoppers wipe them out as in previous years. I was looking forward to the cicada invasion, especially after all the hoopla, but we've heard nothing and now it's passed. But this is the first year I've put black oil sunflower seeds out for the summer, and I'm pleased to see all the finches, purple and gold, and others I haven't identified yet, along with what I thought were winter birds: downy woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, cardinals and tufted titmice (or is it titmouses?)... robins, jays, sparrows, mourning doves, grackles and starlings round out the rest.