Stagnant and Yet Progressing

Monday's high reps really take a toll on the body as I'm still a tiny bit sore in the chest and triceps. But it's not really noticeable unless I concentrate. Today I'm finally able to get on the one LifeFitness machine that actually starts at Level 0 instead of Level 1. I'm only doing a 15 minute warm up but I'm very happy that my toes aren't numb. I am, however, hungry. I just don't have enough time to eat breakfast these days. Blame it on summer vacation because my son and I both stay up too late watching odd programs, like Through The Wormhole: Are Aliens Inside Us?

from MayoClinic.org

The online forums all compare notes on pre-workout stimulants, and post-workout recovery drinks. I can't be bothered, don't want to spend the money, think it's potentially dangerous for my health, and am macho enough to do my workouts "raw". Seriously. According to the Mayo Clinic, there's about as much caffeine in instant coffee as half a cup of brewed coffee. They don't have a listing for instant espresso so I have to make assumptions. I don't need a pre-workout. All I need is my headphones and adequate water. I drink about 3/4s of my 1.5 liter bottle, depending on the day and the routine.

Everything is standard today, except that I'm much happier with my partial drag curls. I'm standing just a foot away from the mirrored wall, between various squat cages and OHP stations. The left arm is definitely looking much better than the right arm during this movement. I'm happy that I can actually see the muscles working. I can't see anything during the subsequent RG BB Curls because most of the time I'm grimacing while staring at my forearms. HIIT cardio is still awful, and I'm still doing 10 minutes of it followed by 20 min of LISS, although my LISS is changing. I can now trot along at 130-140 SPM while keeping my heart rate in the proper zone, which is suppose to be 120 and below. Yaaaay!

Tomorrow I get to whack the machine. Double Yaaaay!

Wednesday Pull Day Workout
(4.04 miles total; 36,910 lbs moved)

CrossTrainer

Warm Up

Calorie :   67 CAL
Distance: 1.83 mile
Speed :    7.31 mph
Duration : 00:15:03

Max Rack BB RG
Bent Over Row

217.5

Set 1 : 55x15
Set 2 : 105x15
Set 3 : 125x15
Set 4 : 145x15
Set 5 : 145x15
Set 6 : 145x15
Set 7 : 105x25

Cable Seated Row

152

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

Cable One Arm Seated Row

73.5

Set 1 : 30x12
Set 2 : 45x12
Set 3 : 52.5x6 changed handle grip from wide to normal -- big difference!
Set 4 : 52.5x12
Set 5 : 52.5x12

Back Extension Machine

315

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

Barbell Drag Curl

77

Set 1 : 50x12
Set 2 : 55x12
Set 3 : 55x12
Set 4 : 55x12

Barbell Reverse Curl

78

Set 1 : 40x25
Set 2 : 45x22
Set 3 : 45x22
Set 4 : 45x22

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   222 CAL
Distance: 2.21 mile
10 min HIIT
20 min LISS
Duration : 00:30:00

Oatmeal as a PreWorkout Stim

I read a lot of posts about people's opinions on pre-workout stims like C4 and Psycho. I'm in the minority as one of the few who work out with maybe a paltry cup of instant coffee. Today I didn't finish the coffee, but ate my oatmeal, egg and blueberries for breakfast. I just didn't want to be hungry in the middle of my workout. Usually, I'm ready to eat my arm by the time I'm ready to change and shower. Not good. I keep a couple of Quest bars in my purse for dire emergencies. Wild Berry is hands-down my all-out favorite.

Maybe I need a vacation but I feel a bit apprehensive now when I get to the gym. I'm grudgingly trudging through 15 min on the LifeFitness cross-trainer, and I'm not making the mileage I'm used to seeing. Pushing the weights still feels okay, but again, maybe it's time to change things up. It's hard to know since I only do each movement but once a week. After a month, I've only done an exercise 4 times. Is that enough to warrant a change? Not that I'm unhappy with the results. Since I'm not competing, there's really no reason for me to get leaner, other than vanity. My home scale tells me I've been slacking because my BF measures 15.7%. I look at myself in the mirror just to make sure I'm not getting complacent. Complacency leads to waking up one day and being 20 lbs overweight with high blood pressure and a pre-diabetic condition. Yes, I worry about things like that.

I do my standard Back and Bicep routine, making minor adjustments to weight, reps and sets. I drop back in a few sets, making use of the half plates. Because I'm only doing partial reps for Drag Curls, I up my weight all the way to 55 lbs. It feels pretty good. But I'm not looking forward to the 10 min of HIIT cardio. Before I can slack off and take a 5 min LISS break between the 5th and 6th minute of HIIT, I stop thinking and just do the entire 10 minutes. That's better. It's almost like being consciously unconscious. Just do it already.

I see R talking to The Mayor when I wander back to the Mats to stretch out. Other regulars include Tattoo Tank, PonyTail, Loudmouth, M, Big Glasses Dude and Scruffy. I have Billy Idol blaring so I can focus on my splits and stretches. I catch a brief glimpse of The Mayor. His face looks desperate. Maybe that's how he looks when he's not talking? A quick shower and I'm happy but shocked that turning the knob to the far left finally results in icy cold water. Lately it's been lukewarm. Tomorrow is my favorite day: whack the machine day! Yaaaaay!

Back and Biceps Day with Cardio
(3.94 miles total; 35,700 lbs moved)

Cross-Trainer

Warm Up

Calorie :   72 CAL
Distance: 1.81 mile
Speed :    7.24 mph
Duration : 00:15:03

Barbell Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

Set 1 : 55x15
Set 2 : 105x15
Set 3 : 125x15
Set 4 : 145x15
Set 5 : 145x15
Set 6 : 145x15
Set 7 : 105x25

Cable Seated Row

Set 1 : 90x12
Set 2 : 105x10
Set 3 : 120x8
Set 4 : 112.5x10
Set 5 : 97.5x12

Cable One Arm Seated Row

Set 1 : 30x12
Set 2 : 45x10
Set 3 : 52.5x8
Set 4 : 52.5x8
Set 5 : 52.5x8

Back Extension Machine

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

Barbell Drag Curl

partial curls

Set 1 : 40x15
Set 2 : 45x15
Set 3 : 50x12
Set 4 : 55x12 Yaaay!

Barbell Reverse Curl

Set 1 : 45x21
Set 2 : 45x21
Set 3 : 45x21 Oooh!

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   207 CAL
Distance: 2.13 mile
10 min HIIT
20 min LISS
Duration : 00:30:02

New and Used

I got my new used car home yesterday, but it almost didn't happen. They wanted me to come over at 6 pm. What?! No way! Wednesday? Not good for them. How about 2 pm. Okay, we can do that just as long as someone is home to meet the schoolbus at 3:45 pm. My hubs decided he could work from home as long as he dialed into a conference call at 1 pm. So we planned to drive to the dealership earlier and just sit in the parking lot since my hubs can't do a conference call while driving. The conference call gets cancelled at the last minute. What a waste of time. So we go to lunch. And just as we head to the dealership, we get a call that they can't register the car to me because they haven't received the lien-release from the previous owner. What?!

So we get on the highway to go home and are just at our exit when the dealership calls. The lien-release got delivered to the dealership next door by accident. They have it now. Can we come back? So we turn around and head back. It's sunny out but we've seen the severe weather warnings. After my hubs drops me off, I tell him he has to meet the school bus. Because there is so much paperwork, I'm not able to get home in time to take my son to his MineCraft meetup at the library either. My husband has to do that too, while preparing to leave for Boston the next day. Meanwhile, the sky darkens, I hear thunder and then rolling sheets of water crash down from ominous storm clouds. The wind is whipping rain sidewise. "I'm not driving in that," I tell the finance guy. Eventually the sun comes out again and all my paperwork is finalized. Just in time for pre-rush hour traffic. Yippee!

This morning I put a few things back in my car, including my ancient Sirius Radio receiver. The antennae is a magnet you stick on the roof of your car, and then the wire trails through the window. It's ancient technology because I'm sure everything is BlueTooth these days. I put the antennae on a piece of rubberized matting (used to keep rugs from slipping) on my dashboard. The suction cups have long lost their abilities so I remove the mounting and stick the receiver inside a shelf just below the radio and 6-CD changer. I'm not sure why a 6-CD changer became the icon of luxury 5 years ago. It's good I have several dozen CDs in a big shoe box, just for putting in my car.

Today is Back and Biceps Day with HIIT and LISS cardio. Oddly, I'm still sore from Monday's home workout which consisted of 20 minutes on an elliptical, 150 push ups (not all at once), sit ups and some very light DB work. I suspect it's that new movement, DB Lying One-Arm Lateral Raises, with the measely 5 lb DB that has my lats a tad achy. I only work each body part once a week but I still feel guilty for all the time I spend at the the gym. And it's not like I'm a chatty person either. Today is fairly routine, but I have to check last week's log to know how much I should be lifting. I'd slack off if it weren't for records of my previous workouts.

I up the weights at Seated and Standing One-Arm Cable Rows. Because I'm twisting my arm as I row in to my lat, my biceps seem to be getting the bulk of the benefits. Which means they are absolutely exhausted by the time I try to do full Drag Curls. I can complete partial Drag Curls and that movement is enough for me to feel my biceps contract. Bringing my elbows forwards to finish the movement isn't very graceful, and doesn't seem very productive for my short arms and long torso. RG  BB Curls are my last exercise before doing HIIT cardio. It's just fun fun fun today! I know I can't do 10 straight minutes of HIIT cardio. I'm just too tired. So I do 5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of LISS to recover a calmer heart rate before another 5 minutes of HIIT. The next 15 minutes of LISS goes by effortlessly. I do a partial Mat Stretch because my lower back feels achy and tight. I'm still following my hot showers with cold for as long as I can stand to shiver. It's not very long, maybe 10-15 seconds. But it feels good.

I get out to the parking lot and wonder if I'll recognize my car. Not only is it bigger, newer, shinier, it's a different color altogether. And it has leather seats and steering wheel! OMG! This is the nicest car I've ever owned. Ever. I feel like a kid. The only things I absolutely had to have were automatic transmission (bad knees can't do a stick), fog lights and alloy wheels (because of the rust isues). Everything else is like icing on the cake!

Wednesday Workout
(3.97 miles total; 30,655 lbs moved)

Cross Trainer

WarmUp

Calorie :   74 CAL
Distance: 1.91 mile
Speed :    7.66 mph
Duration : 00:15:02

Max Rack Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

Set 1 : 55x15 (Bar)
Set 2 : 105x12
Set 3 : 105x12
Set 4 : 125x12
Set 5 : 125x12
Set 6 : 125x12
I would've done sets at 105 if it werent' for my tracking app telling me to do 125 lbs.

Cable Seated Row

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

Cable One Arm Seated Row

Set 1 : 30x12
Upping Wt today
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 45x12
Set 4 : 45x12
Set 5 : 52.5x12
Set 6 : 60x8

Cable Standing One Arm Row

Set 1 : 40x12
Set 2 : 40x12
Set 3 : 40x12

Back Extension Machine                

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

Barbell Drag Curl

50.67

Set 1 : 40x8 OMG!Set 2 : 40x7
Set 3 : 40x7

Barbell Reverse Curl

66.67

Set 1 : 40x20
Set 2 : 40x20
Set 3 : 40x20

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   193 CAL
Distance: 2.06 mile
5 min HIIT
5 min LISS
5 min HIIT
15 min LISS
Duration : 00:30:00

Rethinking the Remix

Today is probably the hardest day of my 4 day routine because Back Workouts are brutal enough as it is, and then I have to remember Biceps. Granted it's just a few curls, but still, I'd like to have a bit more energy when I perform them. It's probably just a matter of proper rest between sets, but honestly, I spend too much time at the gym as it is. The only thing that made today worthwhile, besides hitting a few Personal Bests, is the fact that I actually don't feel compelled to go work out tomorrow (although I probably should) and I can do fun things, like clean the gutter on the low part of the roof and shovel out the matted dead leaves clogging the road drain at the end of our property. Yep, fun fun fun.

I punch in Interval 7 again today and I'm happy to notch my mileage up a tiny bit. I've still got the sniffles but I suspect I'll have that for the rest of the week even though I don't feel sick anymore. The Close Grip Pull Downs starts out hard at a mere 75 lbs. My elbows complain. I keep upping the weight and dropping the reps after each set, until finally I feel warmed up. By 120 lbs, I say WTH and go for a full 12-rep set. It actually feels pretty good. Even the Cage Stretch feels pretty good today. There seems to be an awful lot of guys in the free weight area debating the merits of the new benches. I grab the 110 lb BB and find a spot by the mirrored wall. It's a bit claustrophobic because everything is moved forward for the new equipment. Just as I start my second set, a guy plops himself down on the Inclined Bench literally right behind me. I'm not at all pleased at shoving my butt out stiff-legged dead lift style in order to get the BB in position.

I think he keeps trying to catch my eye, but I'm really good at ignoring people. He's not really cute anyway. My hands are inordinately tired so I grab the VGs out of my bag and use them for the first time on RGBB Rows. But since I"m not used to using them with BBs, I get flustered and one of my sets is actually a regular grip BB Row. I'm happy because I get 6 sets of 12 reps at 115 lbs, but I know I'm going to be paying for this later.

Next are Lower Back Extensions. I got a few sets at 195 lbs last week so that's what I'm aiming for today. I get 3 full sets of 12 reps and I'm happy. But I notice a slight pulling sensation down the inner right thigh, and egads, it culminates with a weird sensation in the right arch of my foot. This is a lot like the Seated Leg Curl in many ways as it works lower glutes and hamstrings. Maybe my body can't really handle the higher weight? I think muscles are only adaptive to a point, and I am a bit older, in that fluctuating hormone mode. Who knows what havoc those pesky hormones are wreaking!

I'm worried that six plus sets of BB rows have drained the tank and I don't have the energy to do DB rows. Well, might as well find out for sure. I start with a 55, then affix a pair of 1.25 lb magnets to it. I can get a set but I feel a bit worn. I swap the smaller magnets for the pair of 2.5s, making the 55 a 60 for the next two sets. I could probably get one more set, but I remember that I still have biceps to do. I don't even think I can do a pull up at this point. I look over and the Smith is occupied by a big dude who was doing BB rows in the Squat rack. I give a brief wave to R who's chatting with Big Mustache. RR and the Latino Baseball guy are sharing a bench because RR needs a spot for the 95 lb DBs he's trying to press. The occasional woman flits into the DB area for a round with the plastic beauty bells.

DB curls are harder than they should be and I start with 20s but only move up to 25s. My elbows and wrists are complaining. Only 3 sets. I grab the 40 lb BB and move to the mirrored wall to do BB curls. My left wrist has been achy since the elliptical this morning and even wrist wraps aren't enough. The BB curls really don't help. After my elbows warm-up to the movement, I toss on magnets. I normally do 45 lbs for all my sets, but since I'm only going to do three sets, I move up a tad for the last set. 47.5 lbs feels okay. I've done 50 lbs before but my elbows always scream at me so I've been very skittish about approaching that weight. However, 45 lb Reverse Grip BB Curls are doable with just a bit of work. I get a quick set of sit ups in before heading to the Mat. As I set up for Dive Bomber Push Ups, I remember to open the Timer app on my cell and leave it where I can reach it when I drop into a plank. Boy am I surprised when I open my eyes (yeah, I do planks with my eyes closed, my face on my thumbs) after counting to twenty. The timer reads 39 seconds. Forty by the time I hit the Stop button. Shoot, next time I'll go for the whole minute.

The gym scale reads 112.4 lbs and that makes me feel a tad better. I'm hoping that drops to 110 by Friday. Overall, I'm about two pounds heavier than last year, but I'm stronger. I don't make monumental gains. I just creep along slow and steady. I'm regretting getting the size S "equator tank" because it's tight in the shoulders already, although it has a very nice feminine cut, something I'm not used to in workout gear. The only issue I have with the Medium tanks is that they're too lose and floppy in the body, and tend to fold up when I bend down.

I'll have to see how much I get done at home tomorrow to gauge whether this new workout is worth it. I don't like being this tired at the end of a routine. Perhaps I should alternate between BB Rows and DB Rows on different weeks. That might be enough to make the additional bicep work worthwhile. I'm also probably going to kill those seated Leg Curls unless I can be satisfied with using a lower weight. I'm thinking it's because I'm still too short to fit properly in the machines, even with the  lowest settings, so I'm actually sitting with my hips pushed forward and only my upper back against the seat. The old Nautilus equipment at my college gym at least had extra seat pads I could pile up behind me so I fit properly. Not here. Well, this'll certainly give me fodder for a New Year's resolution... haven't made one of those in some time!

Tuesday Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.54 miles Yay!

Neutral Grip Pull Down: 12 @ 75 lbs / 10 @ 90 lbs / 8 @ 105 lbs / 12 @ 120 lbs Yay!

Cage Stretch

Reverse Grip BB Rows: 12 @ 110 lbs / 6 x 12 @ 115 lbs PB Yay!
Used VGs for all rows; will add 2.5 lbs to see how many I can get at 117.5 next week

Lower Back Extensions: 12 @ 180 lbs / 3 x12 @ 195 lbs PB Yay!
I might be better off doing 6 sets at 187.5 lbs instead

One-Arm DB Rows: 12 @ 55 lbs / 12 @ 57.5 lbs / 12, 10 @ 60 lbs
I think the RGBB Rows really took it out of me today

Alternating DB Curls: 12 @ 20 lbs / 10, 12 @ 25 lbs
My left wrist and right elbow were complaining the whole time

BB Curl: 12 @ 40 lbs / 12 @ 45 lbs / 12 @ 47.5 lbs
Again, my left wrist is complaining and VGs can't help with this movement

RGBB Curls: 3 x 20 @ 45 lbs PB Yay!
These actually weren't as hard as I thought they were going to be

Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Mat Stretch with 2 x 12 DBPUs and 39 second plank (this time I actually used the timer to check my count, and I guess I count slow). Yay! Stretches, splits, etc.