Earth Day, Back Day. Just Move A Lot of Weight!

I just looked at the JeFit app where I log all my exercises. It says I've moved 44,500 lbs today. No wonder I feel a little spacey. Of course, I'm inclined to blame it on the 10 min of HIIT cardio, followed by 20 min of LISS. If I didn't have my iPod, I don't think I could do LISS, but at the end of my workout, I'm fairly content to sing along with my tunes while doing a slow jog. Actually, I have to look up exactly what constitutes LISS. Am I suppose to be breaking a sweat which is just residual from the HIIT? Is a pace of 130 Strides Per Minute good? Should I be paying more attention to my heart rate instead of my speed?

HIIT is easier: going as fast as you can for 15 seconds, and then dropping your speed to catch your breath for 45 seconds is pretty straight forward. For me, that means 274-280 SPMs for 15 seconds, followed by 70-90 SPMs for 45 seconds. Doing LISS has me trotting along at 130 SPMs which isn't taxing at all since I'm used to 180 for steady-state cardio. But should I be going slower? By the end, my muscles have cooled down and stretching is harder than normal. Today I only stretch my lower back and shoulders.

Tattoo Tank is at the Smith machine so my first movement is RG BB Rows. I do my standard routine. It feels okay. Venus and B are chatting. Chatty Guy and Tattoo Tank are chatting as well. Sometimes they lift weights. B flits about like a butterfly. I see a few more regulars, but it's hard for me to emerge from my workout mode and be social. So I don't. Tattoo Tank has finished OHP at the Smith so I take this opportunity to do Smith RG BB Rows. I use less weight and I'm much more parallel to the floor. I can hit different muscles. Before Cable Seated Rows, I do a few sets of Inverted Rows (at the Smith because there is no other place to do them). It's been a long time and these are hard on my elbows. I can see Venus in the mirrored wall as she does One-Arm Cable Rows. She could be a fitness model with her long, lean, muscular yet extremely feminine look.

At the Cable Seated Rows I notice a man with a definite attitude problem. He's on the adjacent Seated Row station, and the weights drop onto the stack, as if he just let go at the last rep. I have tremendous disdain for people who can't control their equipment. My last rep is always super slow and virtually silent. This slob, half-shaven and unkempt, also leaves the BB rack in disarray. As if he's purposely dyslexic. My nickname for him is Scuzzabutt. That's right, just like in South Park. Because he's beastly, but not in a good way.

I see Hollywood too. She reminds me of those 1950s movie stars, with the cat-eye glasses and short brown wavy hair. Think Liz Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren. But she's got a weird, high-pitched screechy voice that sets my nerves on edge. Oh well. She's got nice arms too, but not as nice as Venus. I almost forget that I'm adding a few sets of bicep work to my Back Day. I start off with BB Curls and my elbows immediately complain. Next time I'll try DB Curls, maybe windmills or hammer curls. Afterwards, I do a few sets of RG BB Curls. And I'm actually really surprised that I can do them at all so soon after BB Curls. Ugh.

Drain Fly (magnified)

I'm really happy to have my choice of ellipticals. Because I can't start off going as fast as I can, I jog for a minute while setting the machine parameters. I'm tired and feel as if I won't be able to do 10 minutes of HIIT. But I'm good at ignoring myself. Just do it. And I do. I expected my speed to slow after the first 5 minutes, but I'm able to hit 270-276 repeatedly during the Intensity phase. It's during the recovery phase that I'm gasping. But I don't feel bad for long, and the 20 minutes of LISS that follow has me singing along (silently) to my tunes. My triceps and lower abs are sore but not really noticeable unless I contract them. I've gotten my first nasty bug bite of the season too. It's a long welt across my collar bone that itches like the dickens. Probably a gnat. Or a drain fly, those odd tiny moth-like creatures that look like soot flying up out of the sink or shower. No one will admit it, but they can actually bite! Yep, Happy Earth Day.


Wednesday Back and Bicep Workout
(44,500 lbs moved; 4.13 total miles cardio)

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   71 CAL
Distance: 1.74 mile
Speed :    6.96 mph
Duration : 00:15:03

Barbell Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

232.5

Set 1 : 45x15
Set 2 : 135x20
Set 3 : 155x15
Set 4 : 155x15
Set 5 : 155x15
Set 6 : 135x20

Smith Machine Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

150.33

Set 1 : 30x15
Set 2 : 80x15
Set 3 : 100x15
Set 4 : 110x11
Set 5 : 100x15
Set 6 : 100x15

Inverted Row

161

Set 1 : 115x12
Set 2 : 115x12
Set 3 : 115x12 Ugh!

Cable Seated Row

152

Set 1 : 90x12
Set 2 : 105x10
Set 3 : 120x8
Set 4 : 120x8
Set 5 : 120x8

Back Extension Machine

315

Set 1 : 195x15 too easy!
Set 2 : 210x15
Set 3 : 210x15

Barbell Curl

67.5

Set 1 : 40x15
Set 2 : 45x15
Set 3 : 50x10
Set 4 : 45x12
Set 5 : 40x15

Barbell Reverse Curl

75

Set 1 : 40x25
Set 2 : 45x20
Set 3 : 45x20

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   189 CAL
Distance: 2.39 mile
10 min HIIT
20 min LISS
Duration : 00:30:00

St Pat's Day Workout

I'm unabashedly back to 6+ miles of cardio. The first 30 minutes is hard but worthwhile as a warm up. The second 30 minutes is more like a reward because I always feel really awesome afterwards. In between there is the real work... weights and stretching. My back still feels stiff, but again, it's not painful and I've regained some of my flexibility. I see the Smith machine and immediately decide to do some lighter sets of RB BB Rows. I'm trying to keep my back nearly parallel to the floor but I don't want to stress my lower back either. And since I have use of the Smith, I decide to try doing an Inverted Row ladder. I start at the bottom rung of the Smith and do 12 reps. After each set, I move the bar up one rung. I have to adjust myself closer to the bar each time, and by the last set, I'm nearly standing. I can't really say that I felt it much in my back, but my forearms got a good pump.

I feel my back much more in the Cable Seated Rows and I'm careful to lower the weight slowly so that it lands silently back on the stack. I'm leery of doing the Lower Back Extension. It's a popular machine today so I wander off to the Cage and try to do a few Hammergrip Pull-ups. Because my forearms and elbows are tired, I have a hard time finishing and give up after two incomplete sets. The One-Arm DB Row seems more promising. What it is, is exhausting but I grind through it.

While I'm at that bench, I notice Chatty Guy speaking with an attractive young woman. I've seen her a few times, usually on the Leg Press, Hack Squat or cable station. She has great quads and a fairly voluptuous athletic figure under the mass of wavy blonde highlights. Wide-set eyes and pale skin are reminiscent of Botticelli's Venus. I'm a bit disappointed she's wearing black eyeliner because that doesn't enhance her features. At first I think that Chatty Guy and Venus are a couple, but then I see them working out separately, so they're not. Couples never work out separately at my gym.

Audobon Society photo

When I finally convince myself to do a few Lower Back Extensions, I see that Venus has a bosu ball and is in fact the only other person I've ever seen doing GHRs at the Lat Pull Down station. I have to suppress a smile. I'm nervous about my lower back so I put the peg down one plate to 195 lbs. It's too easy! I've underestimated myself and put the pin back at 210 lbs. After 5 reps there is a loud thump and jolt. I'm not sure what's happened. I look around and ask one of the trainers to have a quick look at the machine. Everything seems fine. I start my set over again and there's no further issues.

30 minutes on the elliptical, pedaling furiously to Performance Program #2 and then I'm done except for some needed stretching. The sun has broken through the chilly morning mist and the day looks promising. I have a few errands to run. On the way home I spot a pileated woodpecker landing on a tree two roads before my house. They're big birds and don't usually come to my bird feeder (unlike the downys and red-bellies). But it's always thrilling to see them.

Tuesday Cardio and Back Day Workout
(6.46 miles, 38235 lbs moved)

CrossTrainer

Calorie :   150 CAL
Distance: 3.86 mile
Speed :    7.67 mph
Duration : 00:30:11

Smith Machine Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

168

Set 1 : 30x12
Set 2 : 80x13
Set 3 : 100x12
Set 4 : 120x12
Set 5 : 120x12
Set 6 : 120x12
Set 7 : 80x20

Inverted Row

(Ladder)

Set 1 : 115x12
Set 2 : 115x11
Set 3 : 115x12
Set 4 : 115x12
Set 5 : 115x12
Set 6 : 115x12

Cable Seated Row

152

Set 1 : 90x12
Set 2 : 105x10
Set 3 : 120x8
Set 4 : 120x8
Set 5 : 120x8

Hammer Grip Pull Up

ugh!

Set 1 : 115x11
Set 2 : 115x10

TorsoTwistMachine

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25

Dumbbell One Arm Row

77

Set 1 : 55x12
Set 2 : 55x12
Set 3 : 55x12

Back Extension Machine

315

Set 1 : 195x15
Set 2 : 210x5 Thump!
Set 3 : 210x12
Set 4 : 210x15

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   296 CAL
Distance: 2.6 mile
Duration : 00:30:10

Social Pressures

When I was a child, someone asked my mother about my personality. "She's an extro-introvert," my mother explained. I tend to be quiet, except with people I know. And even then, I might not be the loudest. But I can be fairly garrulous, if I'm in the mood. Most often I'm not. This past Saturday, my husband and I attended my son's kung fu school annual Chinese New Year Banquet (and fundraiser). I haven't seen him in over a week so it was like having Date Night. With our son in tow. With a show and food and drink. All the different students, kids and adults, performed their skills including a flag dance, dragon dance, lion dance, sword play, different shaolin forms, fan dance, and drumming. My husband, a bit skeptical of the kung fu school, actually felt inspired enough to ask about their class schedules and cost. (He'd rather my son attend an MMA-style school, but I wasn't impressed with the local school's set up, or class roster. 20 kids, one instructor and not enough space means a reserved child like my son never gets a chance to participate or practice skills. My son is like me, quiet, unless he's with friends. Then he can be boisterously funny.)

The food was actually pretty good buffet style: there was salmon, salad, chicken, pasta, scalloped potatoes and a meat station with large slices of tenderloin. It only fell apart at dessert because not enough coffee cups had been placed at each table. Seriously, if you have twelve places set, you need to put out twelve coffee cups, not seven. And the servers were badly trained, haphazardly bringing cake to random tables instead of completely serving each table before attending the next. There were two other families at our table. One was a large extended family busy kibbitzing among themselves. The other was the parents of one of my son's kung fu friends. We sat so far across the table that we just didn't bother trying to scream any conversation at each other.

Because it was a fancy dinner, I wasn't sure what to wear and tried on a few outfits before settling on the cute red velvet dress I wore to my photography reception. Except that I wore black tights and boots this time. I thought it matched my husband's wine red dress shirt fairly well. And I thought I looked dang good. The Master of the school stopped briefly by our table to say Hello, and actually mentioned how nice it was to see me dressed up. I was kind of surprised but didn't really think anything of it. He's a very soft-spoken, pleasant man. However, at yesterday's kung fu class, I could read discomfort among the adult staff. I can only guess the reason because I tend to read quietly instead of chatting with the other parents in the vestibule.

And what am I guessing? I'm guessing that I looked absolutely great. And more than surprising the adult staff, it made them feel self-conscious. But as shaolin disciples, they shouldn't be bothered by such things. So now I wonder if this is a problem. (Is this Planet Fitness?) Regardless of all the social awkwardness I face, and this is, of course, of my own doing because I'm not a naturally gregarious person, I still workout with the goals of becoming stronger, maybe a tad bigger in some places, and with enviable endurance. I haven't taken measurements in a long time, but I can tell from the way my clothes fit that my quads and glutes are bigger. My back is bigger. And I still have monster triceps for a tiny woman. Just the way I should be. Needless to say, I'm more comfortable in the gym than I am perhaps anyone else, except home.

Today I cut back my cardio by 10 minutes on the elliptical. I also added a set here and there to my other back exercises. I tried doing the Smith RG BB Rows facing forward but my natural inclination to rotate my arms out at heavier weight causes the fixed bar to catch on the stays. I switch positions and face the other way, thinking that this will solve my grip problem, but without the mirrored wall in front of me, I have trouble with my form. Odd. I add another set to Seated Cable Rows because I'm waiting for the Lower Back Extension machine to free up. A very large woman is doing her sets while reading her phone. I'm glad to end my routine with just a few sets of One-Arm DB Rows because those are still totally exhausting. Oddly, Pistol Squats are easy today and I do a few sets of Dive Bomber Push Ups during Mat Stretch. No planks though. I'm saving abs for tomorrow. I think I'll whack the Nexersys for a few rounds too.

Tuesday Workout
(5.48 miles cardio; 30,420 lbs moved)

CrossTrainer

Calorie :   149 CAL
Distance: 3.84 mile
Speed :    7.67 mph
Duration : 00:30:06

Smith Machine Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

196

Set 1 : 30x12
Set 2 : 80x12
Set 3 : 120x12
Set 4 : 140x12
Set 5 : 140x12
Set 6 : 140x12
Set 7 : 120x15
Set 8 : 100x25

Cable Seated Row

152

Set 1 : 90x12
Set 2 : 105x10
Set 3 : 120x8
Set 4 : 120x8
Set 5 : 120x8
Set 6 : 120x8

Back Extension Machine

315

Set 1 : 210x15
Set 2 : 210x15
Set 3 : 210x15

Dumbbell One Arm Row

77

Set 1 : 55x12
Set 2 : 55x12
Set 3 : 55x12

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   182 CAL
Distance: 1.64 mile
Duration : 00:20:10

DiveBomberPushup

20

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

One Leg Bodyweight Squat

145.67

Set 1 : 115x8

Days Seem Shorter

My son decided that today was the worst day ever. Or at least that's what he said when he got off the school bus this afternoon. He was upset that Winter Storm Thor had caused the local schools and library to cancel all evening activities, which meant no MineCraft meetup. After struggling through his writing assignment, he paused to ask me how my day was. So I told him: after the gym, I bought dish detergent at the RiteAid because it was on sale. I didn't tell him that I'd found the perfect Easter basket plush for him and have it hidden in my closet. Then I had to brave the ridiculously long tangle of shoppers at the ShopRite. I'd already expected this chaos based on the dearth of available shopping carts outside the store. I only had a dozen items but the line snaked past pharmacy and into the frozen food section.

After 10 minutes, I realized that two women blocking the "12 items or less" weren't actually on that line but were too busy gabbing over their over-filled carts to notice. A man called out that I had snuck past everyone. I wanted to Baaa back at him and the other sheeple. Instead I said he could just as well get on this line as well, but he stayed where he was, on the "Express 6 Items or Less" with a good dozen other people. I can't help stupid people. If you show them the way and they don't follow, not my problem.

Then off to the CVS to pick up my glaucoma meds. Then Kmart to get hangers. I get home and unload groceries. It's starting to snow. I cut apart a big black trash can liner and find clamps in the garage, trudge out back to basement, and manage to secure a new "tarp" over the doors, just in case it rains. I have my phone set with an alarm to tell me when to run down the road to meet the school bus. I barely have time to change out of my wet clothes (because I fell into a waist-deep snow drift trying to secure the plastic) and boots before it sounds. Yep, I want to smack everyone who asks me what I do all day with all my free time.

Today was Back Day. I slacked a bit on my warm up cardio, but at least I remembered to wear my blue cotton hoodie. Smith was busy, so I made good use of the oly bar on the floor, working my way through my standard routine. I can't up my weight at the RG BB Rows without totally wrecking my form so I'm relying on the additional exercises for progress. I feel a bit burnt, but that just might be the endless cold and snow. The lysine I'm mega-dosing with has vastly improved my mouth but I feel unusually fatigued. I can muscle through the Seated Cable Rows and the Lower Back Extension machine. But I cut back on the One-Arm DB Rows: only three sets of 12 at 55 lbs. I'm not happy with the way my elbows react to the heavier DBs so I've decided to stay at 55 lbs for now. It's still exhausting, and I can't wait until the sets are done so I can clamber onto the elliptical for a "relaxing" 30 minutes of cardio.

I punch in Performance Program #2. Halfway through, I realize that this particular machine (number two out of four) has a glitch in the software: it skips a directional Pedal Backward so I'm caught pedaling forward when it tells me to switch and pedal forward. No matter. I still feel pretty good. I've been neglecting my upper abs lately so I do a bunch of crunches before a modified Mat Stretch. I knock out a few Pistol Squats and splits, but no planks or Dive Bomber Push Ups today. Because I'll probably have to shovel tomorrow, and I'll need my shoulders and elbows.

Tuesday Cardio and Back Workout
(total mileage = 6.33; total weight moved 31,890 lbs)

CrossTrainer

Calorie :   149 CAL
Distance: 3.8 mile
Speed :    7.57 mph
Duration : 00:30:08

Barbell Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

232.5

Set 1 : 45x15
Set 2 : 135x15
Set 3 : 155x15
Set 4 : 155x15
Set 5 : 155x15
Set 6 : 135x20

Cable Seated Row

152

Set 1 : 90x12
Set 2 : 105x10
Set 3 : 120x8
Set 4 : 120x8
Set 5 : 120x8

Back Extension Machine

315

Set 1 : 210x15
Set 2 : 210x15
Set 3 : 210x15

Dumbbell One Arm Row

77

Set 1 : 55x12
Set 2 : 55x12
Set 3 : 55x12

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   285 CAL
Distance: 2.53 mile
Duration : 00:30:15

TorsoTwistMachine

91.67

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25

Crunches

50

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

One Leg Bodyweight Squat

134.17

Set 1 : 115x5