Showing posts with label Arm day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arm day. Show all posts

Thursday, April 2, 2015

I Love the Internet

Yesterday I bought some new cream (after reading about it in a fashion/beauty mag while waiting at the eye doc). I have unreasonably dry skin so anything that has new ingredients and promises to help skin retain moisture is of interest to me. Especially since, as we age our skin gets dryer, thinner and more delicate. And more susceptible to wrinkles! My local CVS had only one jar of the cream, but I had a 30% off coupon, which made it cheaper than the store-brand generic version. But when I got home, I found the lid suspiciously loose, and no safety seal. I'm accustomed to safety seals in this post-Tylenol-tampering era.

What to do? I went to the company website but it was useless. In order to contact them, you had to prove you weren't spam and type in a code. A code which was invisible because all I got was a gray rectangle. So I resorted to FaceBook and sent a message. Then I did a Google search of the product and safety seals. Not only did I get an answer from the company via FB, I also found several discussions about CeraVĂ©'s lack of a safety seal on their jars. No safety seal. Take your chances. Well, at least I know now.

I also emailed EatRight regarding their digital body fat scale and the two settings. I got a nice email back telling me to call a particular person (Bill, no last name) in their company because he "is very informative and can answer all your questions." Well, alright now. Yes, I love the Internet. I can find almost anything. Almost. I'm still looking for good cross-trainer sneakers that are as comfortable as my old Asics. But tapping in Asics Gel GT-2160 doesn't actually lead me to those shoes. Just whatever Asics is currently offering. And I'm not fond of the day-glo colors that are all the rage lately. Just give me plain black trainers, please. I used to wear Ryka's and recall that they're made for women's feet: wide at the ball and narrow in the heel. Yep, that's me. But hardly anyone online carries the Ryka brand so I may have to resort to old-fashion shopping at a few brick and mortar stores. Sigh.

Today is Arm Day and I feel sluggish. It's probably because I'm experimenting with my diet to see if I can't tweak my body fat lower just a tad. I'm having a lot of trouble trying to get enough protein based on the MyFitnessPal app, and that's just for a normal person who's trying to lose a meager 3 lbs. Last night I slurped a protein shake before bed and that's not normal for me. I don't want to buy a lot of supplements. Having to take calcium citrate, Vitamin D and fish oil just to maintain a reasonable middle age seems bad enough.

After 30 minutes on the cross-trainer, I stretch a bit and then head to the free weights. Lately I've been warming up with Close-Grip Bench Presses, using high reps and very light weight. After knocking out 25 quick reps with just the bar, I toss on a pair of 10s. That's 65 lbs and I do 20 reps. Then I realize that I can probably do more so for set three, I do 25 reps. Next week I'll add a little more weight and so how many reps I can get. A few guys stand near the cable station, staring. I think one fellow, Scruffy Beard, is quite amused. I'm not sure why but I suspect it's the high reps. That, and 65 lbs is more than half my body weight. But a lot of people just don't have any endurance. I've done high (25) reps with 95 lbs, but not Close Grip. This is still relatively new.

Then I do my Standard Arm routine, super-setting One-Arm DB Tricep Extensions with Alternating DB Curls, Rip Skulls with BB Curls. I always get a massive pump from this. I see Chatty Guy and Venus. She's doing Smith Squats, and then the Hack Squat machine. She's wearing a clingy, long sleeve T-shirt and leggings, but she doesn't seem very muscular today. Maybe it's her sports bra, but her profile is noticeably bustier than usual, as if she's stuffed laundry into a push-up bra because it looks sorta lumpy. She's very flirty today as well, at one point grabbing Chatty Guy's arm and butting him with her head, knocking his water bottle out of his hand and onto the ground. He seems much more reticent lately. I've caught glances of him staring.

I see a lot of regulars like Jude, Sunshine, PJ Pants, Ollie, Scabbards,  B, M, Tattoo Tank and Soccer Boy. Tattoo Tank has dropped a lot of weight and is working hard today. He's at the Preacher bench with a pair of 45 lb plates on an EZ bar. I watch him curl at least 3 reps. Never seen that before. But the most entertaining people are a pair of young women. The shorter one has slightly more shape to her arms than her taller, slimmer friend. Clearly, Shorty is teaching Slim how to use weights in an odd dance of movements. She smiles a lot while offering encouragement. You gotta start somewhere, right? Slim is laying on her back on the Seated Cable Row, pulling the bar up the length of her body to her chin. Okay, that's a new one. No one says anything.

Venus has a 40 lb BB across her shoulders and lunge walks down the aisle past all the Cybex machines while I'm doing sit ups. I'm actually waiting for either the Cable machine to open up or the 40 lb bar to come back. I expect her to lunge walk back, but she doesn't. Instead she just walks the BB back and then leans on the rack while chatting. I'm so non-interactive that I'll just walk away and do something else instead of asking how long it'll be. Luckily, she's out of the way when I grab the BB. Most people at my gym are okay though, and fairly pleasant, creepy old men aside. Except for the four Doofus Brothers on all four elliptical machines today. They look like post-grad Goonies all grown up. And with no sense of gym etiquette, because none of them bother to wipe the sweat off the machines when they're done. Instead, they travel like one organism to a Cybex station and stand around chatting, while one of them attempts to do something.

Creepy PJ Pants stares the entire time I'm at the Cable station for Tricep Press Downs, and I put my hoodie back on. I don't usually work out with my hoodie on, but he's just too creepy. During Mat Stretch, I choose the Mat that's tucked away along the wall, out of view of most of the Cybex machines. When I'm changing in the locker room, the older Korean lady asks me how long I work out. Uh, about two to two and a half hours. I don't bother to break it down into an hour of cardio, an hour or more for weights and a good 15 to 20 minutes of stretching. She's clearly impressed because she gestures to her chest and arms and comments that I'm so built up. What doesn't make sense is her comment that it's good for the brain. Uh, no, that would be cardio. But again, I don't explain anything. Because I don't really want to get into a conversation. Nope, I'm just not a people-person.

Thursday Cardio and Arm Day Workout
(6.73 miles; 14,840 lbs moved)


Calorie :   147 CAL
Distance: 3.78 mile
Speed :    7.52 mph
Duration : 00:30:10

Set 1 : 45x25
Set 2 : 65x20
Set 3 : 65x25 Yay!
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12 SuperSet with
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12
52.5
Set 1 : 17.5x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12
Set 5 : 37.5x12 SuperSet w
52.5
Set 1 : 17.5x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12
Set 5 : 37.5x12
105
Set 1 : 105 Lap/Rep

75
Set 1 : 45x20
Set 2 : 45x20
Set 3 : 45x20
Set 4 : 45x20

Calorie :   259 CAL
Distance: 2.95 mile
Duration : 00:30:10
66.67
Set 1 : 40x12
Set 2 : 50x10
Set 3 : 50x8
Set 4 : 50x7
Set 1 : 00:01:30

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Spring Is Such A Tease

I used a broom to sweep the snow off my steps and walkway, and even swept snow off the driveway. I know the warmer temps meant that the snow would melt in all likelihood, but I live in a cold spot and there's always the chance that the snow will remain, and then freeze overnight as temperatures plummet. I've been meaning to get some vitamin B-complex because I'm tired of feeling tired. But I haven't had time lately. Maybe tomorrow. Today is a mad rush to get my son to his early morning extra gym class and then off to my gym. Then rush off to meet a dear friend for lunch -- it's her birthday and she's been feeling isolated by the miserable winter weather. But can't tarry too long because I need to pick my son up from school and whisk him off to the last chess class at the library.

I seriously contemplated staying in bed when the alarm went off this morning, but there's no denying the dog who needed to be fed and walked, packing a lunch for my son because we both refuse to believe that Tostitos® and ground beef makes a nutritious school lunch. Since I'm up, since I'm in the car anyway, well, might as well go to the gym. 30 minutes on the cross-trainer feels okay. Can I go home now? Kidding. Today is Arm Day so I think I'll try Close-Grip Bench press on the breaker bench. I haven't been on this equipment in quite a long time. Because this is new to me, I only use the bar (45 lbs) and knock out quick sets, bringing the bar down to my chest and my elbows below the bench. I should probably add some weight to this. Next time. This is just serving as a warm up anyway.

I follow my standard routine, supersetting DB curls with one-arm DB tricep extensions. Then using the EZ bar for Rip Skulls superset with BB curls. I add another set just to see if I can and how it will feel. My arms get a monster pump. Even I'm impressed. I'm not ready for the Tricep Cable Push Down so I do some lower ab knee-ins. Eventually I get around to Reverse Grip BB Curls before another 30 minutes of cardio. I see Old Yeller on the mats and make an abrupt about-face. I'd rather hit the Cage Stretch again until he's gone. He's a chatty old guy who's probably going deaf. Which means he's so loud I can hear him above my headphones no matter how high I turn up the volume. I've actually ordered a set of earbuds with earplugs from the Run Hundred website and can't wait to try them out. The idea is that cancelling out external noise helps to preserve your hearing, and makes it less necessary to turn the volume up. I detest the chatty people screaming into their phones or at each other while they're on the bikes, treadmills, ellipticals.

When I finally do get to the mats to stretch out, Soccer Boy is there wearing a Bodybuilding.com T-shirt. He's still cute, even if he's probably a jerk. I don't see Venus today. She reminds me a lot of my favorite Vikings character, Lagertha. I see familiar faces: M, Jude, Big Glasses Dude, Tattoo Tank, Pear Bottom.... Yep, eventually it's going to be Spring, although the forecast for tomorrow is snow. And depending on where the info's coming from, anywhere from 1-6 inches. Which might mean shoveling. Or sweeping.

Thursday Cardio and Arm Workout
(6.51 total miles; 13,115 lbs moved)


Calorie :   149 CAL
Distance: 3.96 mile
Speed :    7.88 mph
Duration : 00:30:10
75
Set 1 : 45x15
Set 2 : 45x17
Set 3 : 45x20
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12 superset with
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12
52.5
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12
Set 5 : 37.5x12 superset with
52.5
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12
Set 5 : 37.5x12
100
Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep
63.33
Set 1 : 40x12
Set 2 : 50x8
Set 3 : 50x7
Set 4 : 50x8
76.5
Set 1 : 40x25
Set 2 : 45x21
Set 3 : 45x20
Set 4 : 45x20
Calorie :   286 CAL
Distance: 2.55 mile
Duration : 00:30:13
Set 1 : 00:01:30

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Rethinking the Goals

Today
I've been cutting back on cardio just because I've been feeling a bit stressed lately and I thought that my ever-increasing mileage was depleting my immune system. It's Spring, which also translates into Mud Season, and taxes, and Spring housecleaning, and oh yes, my birthday is just around the corner. I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around that number, even though one number is not much different from the last, save a year. It's the mental and sociological baggage affixed to that number, 55, that's giving me pause. I'm sure we all look at ourselves in the mirror and wonder, when did I get old? Not that I feel old. Or really look old. But if I say the number aloud, it makes me wonder who I'm talking about. Watching my in-laws decline so dramatically and knowing that my parents did not live as long as my grandparents scares me silly. I'd rather up my mileage than take it easy.

I'm at the gym early today but I didn't have time for breakfast. I'm not hungry so that's okay. 30 minutes on the Cross-trainer warms me up. I'm not pushing as hard so I only log 3.89 miles. Because I've cut my time on the elliptical down to 20 minutes, I know my total today will probably be 5+ miles. I feel a sense of disappointment that is hard to shake. Today is Arm Day so I warm up with a few DB Overhead Presses. My right shoulder clicks painfully. Maybe next time I'll try using a light barbell instead. I see B and chat with her briefly. She's sporting a big square bandage on her upper back where her doc removed the cancerous mole. I ask her if she's seen The Mayor lately and she has no idea who I'm talking about. Because if the conversation doesn't revolve around her and her ailments, she doesn't really pay much attention.

Arm Day Selfie
I do my standard Arm Day routine, super-setting DB curls with One-Arm DB extensions and then BB EZ bar curls with Rip Skulls. My arms get hugely pumped and I surreptitiously snap a few selfies. Even I'm surprised at how big my arms are. There are a few women in the gym, bigger and younger than I am. But I'm pushing a lot more weight. The gym isn't very crowded, probably because the sun is out and it's warm. Or warmer than it's been. The BB curl is starting to bother my left elbow so I don't even consider upping the weight. Maybe I'll just change the order next time and start with the BB movements first.

I head to the Cable Tricep Press Down and get intercepted by a tall old guy. So I kill time by knocking out some ab exercises. When I look over at the Cable station, he's moved to the other end because the resistance at that station is easier. Unfortunately, he's taken the V-grip handle with him. Sigh. I grab a 40 lb BB for RG BB Curls and check my logs. Yep, I had sets at 21 reps last time, but I worry that maybe I'm weaker today? So I knock out 25 reps and realize I'm being silly, grab the 2.5 lb magnets and do two more sets at 45 lbs. I definitely have to work for those! I feel weak on the Cable Tricep Push Downs because I have a distinct memory of doing sets at 50 lbs. But of course, it wasn't after doing super-sets of Rip Skulls either. I can barely squeak out the 2nd set at 50 lbs so I decide on the fly to do drop sets as fast as I can handle them. Yeah, no wonder I have big arms.

After 20 minutes on the elliptical and a quick Mat stretch for the lower back and shoulders, I'm ready for a long hot shower. I need to do a bit of grocery shopping and Thursday is usually when everything's been restocked. A lot of people from the gym shop at this supermarket because it's convenient. It's also has the best prices for most items. There's a lot of shopping carts outside so it shouldn't be too crowded inside. I'm having trouble finding a particular sale item so I head back to the Courtesy Desk when I see someone who looks like The Mayor chatting by the poultry section. He looks grayer and a tad thinner though. I keep walking. There's a line at Courtesy so as I'm waiting, I realize that The Mayor is hovering just to the right of me. Odd. Eventually, I find out where the errant item is located, not in the usual locations, and head that way. The Mayor seems to be anticipating my movements and heads in that direction as well. It's unnerving. Traffic is building in the checkout lanes, making efficient navigation difficult so I dodge into a different aisle. The Mayor slips into an Express Lane but doesn't seem to have any items. Whatever. It's just too weird.

What's not weird, but rather predictable is that my jeans and candy-colored khakis are skin-tight and unpleasant to wear. Yep, those One-Leg Split Squats have done their work. Now I'm reconsidering Leg Day. Maybe I'll just resort back to an all cardio day, because damn it, I don't want to spend the rest of my life in stretchy pants like the grossly obese shoppers at Kmart. Since I'm so short, it's really hard for me to find nice clothes that fit. It's even harder now. It'll be Summer soon, and I'd like my shorts to fit.

Thursday Arm Day Workout
total mileage = 5.57 miles; 12,750 lbs moved

Calorie :   150 CAL
Distance: 3.89 mile
Speed :    7.74 mph
Duration : 00:30:10
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12 SuperSet with
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12
52.5
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12 SuperSet w
52.5
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12

91.67
Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25
100
Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep
75
Set 1 : 40x25
Set 2 : 45x20
Set 3 : 45x20
66.67
Set 1 : 40x12
Set 2 : 50x10
Set 3 : 50x8
Set 4 : 40x10
Set 5 : 30x15
Calorie :   188 CAL
Distance: 1.68 mile
Duration : 00:20:12

Friday, February 27, 2015

Where's the Lemonade?

I didn't workout on Wednesday, or rather, I didn't go to the gym that day. I was too busy shoveling a path to the basement (outside cellar doors) while phoning my contractor-neighbor up the street. I hadn't heard the furnace kick on the night before but I wasn't about to go outside in the pitch-dark. Besides, what would I be able to do at that hour? No stores open so best to wait until daylight. And then the awful truth: the basement is flooded. The sump failed because the drainage lines out to the swamp are frozen. Ugh.

My neighbor tells me he'll be back in a few hours because he's in the middle of gutting someone's kitchen, and there are two other jobs he's working on ceilings and floors. But no heat is way more critical. Meanwhile, I shovel a path to the feed line to the oil burner because it's been nearly a month and I know the house is due for a fill-up of heating oil. And while I'm at it, well, might as well shovel a path to the porch and knock all those massive icicles off the gutters before they tear the gutters off. And reshovel the path to the garage because I'm looking for a space heater to keep the bedroom vaguely warmer that the 47°F it's registering. I have oven on, a pot of water simmering on the stove, a small fire in the woodstove and I'm periodically turning on the heater/fan/light in the bathroom.

The temperature drops to 59°F, which isn't bad considering I usually keep it at 63°F. My neighbor arrives with a new pump (which I purchased over the phone from the building supply place) and plastic hose to snake out of my basement and onto the frozen ground. The water melts a path down past my house toward the wetlands. I'm down to 5 pieces of firewood so I get my husband, who's at work in CT, to purchase some gas station firewood. When he gets home, I hear my furnace kick on. My neighbor is in my now-dry basement and tells me that we just have to keep an eye on the hose because there's nothing to be done about the frozen drainage line. Okay now.

I crank up the thermostats in the house to 65°F because it's dropping into the minus digits at night and I want the house to be warmer just in case the furnace shuts off again. So far so good. I tell my son that the house is like a living thing: it makes noise, and if it's too quiet, that's bad. My son's school has been allowing the children to go sledding and snow-shoeing during gym class. That's so cool! My son comes home yesterday thoroughly exhausted, but I bundle him off to kung fu. He had his belt test this past Monday and went from no sash to white to yellow because of all his hard work. After kung fu, we barely have time for homework and dinner before the Cub Scouts Pack Meeting. My husband rushes home from work, and we are late, but in time to help present our Den's Banner.

Back Day Selfie
I even made it to the gym yesterday. It was Arm Day. And cardio. Everything was hard. Except for the RG BB Curls. I think that if I can do 3 sets of 25 reps, it's time to up the weight. On paper, I'll be reverse curling more than I BB curl, but of course, I'm doing BB curls super set with Rip Skulls. It makes a difference! I'm tired and I think it's affecting my immune system. I may have to force myself to cut back on my cardio. That's new because now I'm starting to average 6.5 miles a day. Spring is suppose to be right around the corner. I'm not seeing it. I see a wintry mix forecast for Sunday night into Monday morning, meaning another 2-hour school delay. The saying goes, "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." I'm not seeing any pitchers of delightfully refreshing citrus beverage on the horizon, are you?

Thursday Arm Workout and Cardio
(total miles = 6.53; 12,400 lbs moved)

Calorie :   150 CAL
Distance: 3.94 mile
Speed :    7.82 mph
Duration : 00:30:15
22.5
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 15x12
Set 3 : 15x15

28
Set1:20x12
Set2:20x12
Set3:20x12
Super Set with
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12
52.5
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12 Super Set w
52.5
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12
63.33
Set 1 : 30x12
Set 2 : 40x12
Set 3 : 50x8 ugh!
73.33
Set 1 : 40x25
Set 2 : 40x25
Set 3 : 40x25 too EZ!

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25
100
Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep
Calorie :   294 CAL
Distance: 2.59 mile
Duration : 00:30:11

Set 1 : 00:01:30

Set 1 : 20 Lap/Rep
Set 2 : 20 Lap/Rep

134.17
Set 1 : 115x5

Thursday, February 12, 2015

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)

Calorie :   147 CAL
Distance: 3.49 mile
Speed :    6.95 mph
Duration : 00:30:09
21
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 15x12
Set 3 : 15x12
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12 SuperSet with
28
Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12
52.5
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12 SuperSet W/
52.5
Set 1 : 15x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12
100
Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep
68
Set 1 : 35x20
Set 2 : 40x21 +5lbs
Set 3 : 40x21
Set 4 : 40x21
Calorie :   298 CAL
Distance: 2.63 mile
Duration : 00:30:13
60
Set 1 : 30x12
Set 2 : 40x10
Set 3 : 45x8
Set 4 : 50x6
50
Set 1 : 50 Lap/Rep
Set 2 : 50 Lap/Rep
Set 3 : 50 Lap/Rep

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