The Epic Fail

I blame the Rip Crushers I did on Friday and still haven't quite recovered from because my triceps are uncharacteristically sore. Still, I never let a little soreness get in the way of a good workout. Rip Crushers are so much harder than the standard skull crusher because it's a two-part movement. I use less weight and grit my teeth through three sets at 40 lbs but I wasn't expecting this to really impact my Benching today. Maybe I'm laying blame in the wrong place?

I had no intentions of doing HIIT cardio today but 5 minutes into a leisurely lope on the Precor and I suddenly remember that HIIT is best done two or three times a week, and well it's Monday so really I should be doing HIIT today. I'd planned to do 20 minutes on the elliptical anyway, so I break into a run as fast as you can stride for 45 seconds, and then drop down to a pleasant jog for 75 seconds. Until it's been nearly 21 minutes.

I really dislike the new benches, because even with yoga blocks under my feet, I don't feel as secure as with my feet flat on the ground. I don't ever feel properly grounded, with my back in a slight bridge. I work my way up to 125 lbs like last week. I feel pretty good. I actually get 6 reps for the first set. Yay! And then I get 5 reps for the 2nd set and wonder if I can get one more. And I don't. EPIC FAIL! My right elbow crumples and the bar winds up resting on the right side of my jaw only because I've had the sense to tuck my chin into my neck. I can't move the bar. And I can barely squeak out Help Help Help. No one hears me although there are people all around. I try to squeak out louder. It's hard to yell when the bar is resting on your jaw, keeping you from fully opening your mouth. Finally, a woman on the adjacent bench hears me and rushes over. Then all the guys rush over. M pulls the bar up and racks it on the low stay.

I've seen the woman before but I always confuse her with her identical twin sister. She tells me that she'll spot me cuz she understands not wanting a guy's crotch in your face while you're benching. I decide I need to "get back on the horse" so I strip the bar and reset it back on the top stay, and replace all the weights. The woman comes over and I tell her "It's my third set so I'll be happy if I just get 3 reps," and that's all I get. "I could've pushed you for one more," she says but I'm good and she goes back to doing her yoga moves in the DB area. I drop the weight down to 95 lbs and only get 19 reps. I really wanted 20, but M steps in and grabs the bar as I just finish the 19th rep. Because I don't want him constantly stepping in, I don't even bother to try and get 5 more reps like I normally would.

Instead I move to the Inclined Bench and do a few sets there. I'm a bit leery of having another fail because I don't want to need another rescue, but at least the bar will wind up in my lap if I fail. There's a guy doing maintenance on the Decline Bench and the other Inclined Bench. I grab some DBs and do Inclined Flyes, Then DB Lateral Raises, and finally Bent-Over DB Reverse Flyes. I've got a good pump in my shoulders but my chin is a bit sore. The woman comes over and asks how I am. "Oh, I'm fine," I tell her, "but do you think this is going to leave a mark?" "Did you hit your chin?" she asks. "No, but when the bar came down, I tucked my chin so it was resting on my jaw." "Naw, should be okay," she says. I completely forget to ask her name, but I will next time.

The Step Mill is busy so I drop onto the Mat and knock out a few crunches, then dance off to the LifeFitness ellipticals by the front door. I was planning to do LISS but I have too much energy and I've just put Billy Idol on my iPod, so my LISS is more like a 20 minutes jog. Then a quick Cage Stretch and a Mat Stretch before hitting the shower. The gym scale reads 112.4 lbs and I'm good with that considering my son and I ate rainbow marzipan cookies for dessert last night and salted caramel gelato the night before. He's quite disappointed that Winter Storm Titan completely missed us, but I'm sure it's because I have three bags of rock salt in my garage.

Monday Workout
20 min Precor elliptical: 5 min @ 160 SPM; 15 min @ 45 sec run / 75 sec jog = 1.73 miles

Flat Bench Press:
12x45 (bar)
10x95 lbs
10x115 lbs
6, 5, 3 x 125 lbs Epic Fail on 2nd set as I was going for rep 6
19x95 lbs

Incline Bench Press
12x45
12x65 lbs
8x75 lbs
8x85 lbs
4, 3 x 95 lbs

Incline DB Flyes
12x20 lbs
3x12x25 lbs
12x20 lbs

DB Lateral Raises
12x20 lbs
12x25 lbs
3x12x30 lbs

Bent Over DB Reverse Flyes
6x12x30 lbs (just because I said I was going to do this last week)

Torso Twist Machine
2x25x50 lbs
Crunches: 2 x 50

20 min LifeFitness elliptical = 1.9 miles
Cage Stretch
Mat Stretch 2x12 DBPUs and 60-sec plank, upper and lower back stretches; splits

My Winter Storm Prep Workout

Today is Friday and because I've hit every major body part once this week and enjoyed smacking the Nexersys, I felt free to improvise and do a combination workout. Especially since I don't think I'll be getting to the gym on Monday, courtesy of Winter Storm Titan, and tomorrow I'll be spending a lot of time supervising my son. We'll probably hit a bunch of the cardio machines and then I'll show him push ups and pull ups by the mirrored wall so he can see his form. Maybe we'll do some DB work with the little plastic ones too. But I'm not counting on it being much of a workout for me.

Top: Precor elliptical HIIT;
Middle: LifeFitness bike LISS;
Bottom: Matrix StepMill LISS

I start off with a 20 minute warm up on the Precor, but since I did "steady state" yesterday, I decide to do HIIT today. 45 seconds "run" and 75 seconds "jog". I'm pretty warm by the time it's over. I haven't done an Arm Workout in a long time so that's on the agenda today, but I want to do two big compound exercises first, just to work everything properly. So I do reps at the Flat Bench. I'm still having trouble finishing the 3rd set of 20. I get to 19 and have to rack the bar, take 10 breaths and then push out 5 more reps. I was hoping for more but it's all I can do.

Today I've decided to finally use the Olympic bar for BB Rows as well, now that I've gotten to some real weight! I have my ProLoc collars in my bag, but I actually don't need them. The new flat edge plates don't allow the barbell to roll around and, as long as I'm careful how I set it down, the plates don't move. I start off with just the bar for a quick warm up, then add a pair of 25s. Then tens. Then fives. Then finally, another pair of fives. I need the VGs because my wrists are twinging and I suspect that's a tendonitis alert. I get three full sets at 135 and I'm really happy. I'm sure the Mayor, M and Tall Pace who are playing musical chairs with the squat rack and the inclined bench have noticed because they keep traipsing directly behind me.

Okay, now I can just focus on the Arm Workout. I don't have too much hope of pushing a lot of weight doing Rip Crushers, so I start with a 30 lb BB. Then add 5 lbs in magnets. Then grab the 40. My wrists are bothering me. I probably should use the EZ bar, but I don't. Maybe next time. Three grueling sets done. Dang these are hard. The BB Curls are easier although it takes a set before my right elbow warms to the movement. Because I can get 13-15 reps at 50 lbs, I should probably up the weight a tad next time.

For fun, I decide to knock out a few sets of Bent Over DB Flyes for rear delts. I feel as if they're lagging because I don't do much overhead movement. Three sets aren't too bad. Next time I'll up my sets to six. An extremely frail elderly lady is on the adjacent bench. She's waving a baby blue beauty bell in the air. I'm not sure what exercise she's doing, but it's good to see her doing something. Because I haven't done BB Reverse Curls in months, and they're suppose to be good for my bad elbows and wrists, I start them again. Afterwards, more as an afterthought, I attempt One-Arm DB Extensions. I know that my triceps are shot, but figure that at least there's a good stretch in this movement. My left arm is so much weaker than my right that I can't finish the last set properly. I head for a Cage Stretch only because both Step Mills are busy.

For LISS, I clamber onto one of the LifeFitness recumbent bikes and read my mail and online forums. When 20 minutes is done, I don't really feel like I've done anything although the bike tells me I've gone almost two miles. Really? I'm not satisfied and the Step Mills are both free now, so I climb up and do 20 minutes there. I'm a little bored so I up the speed to 5 for a bit while singing to my iPod. But I'm a silent singer. You can see my mouth moving, but I'm not making any noise. Now I feel good. I do a quick lower back stretch on the Mat and I'm done for the week. Yay!

The gym scale reads 112.4 lbs and I'm good with that. I saw the gym owner fixing the Nexersys yesterday so I'm looking forward to smacking it around again. But that'll have to wait until next week. After I shovel us out. The school bus driver is already saying "See you on Tuesday."

I have one of those ridiculous weekends again. Chinese school and kung fu. Then we should return some library books, go to the gym, also get my son a haircut so I can see his face. Sunday we have a play date in Connecticut. I'll be bored. I need to prep files for the tax accountant but it'd be rude to do that at a play date. The supermarket is awash in apples lately, and not just the standard golden delicious and macintosh, but exotics like fuji, gala and pink lady. I like the sweet crispness of the fuji and gala apples, but I'm happy with goldens. I buy some ambrosia apples because the name is intriguing. They're yellow with a blush of pink, and they're crisp. But they're not really sweet. My son says they're tart like Granny Smiths. I don't think they have much flavor, so they're consigned to being cooked with pork tossed with mustard, and cabbage for supper.

Storm Prep Workout

20 min Precor elliptical HIIT: 45 sec run / 75 sec jog = 1.71 miles

Flat Bench Press
12x45 (bar)
20, 20, 19, 5x95 lbs (was shooting for 3x20)

Reverse Grip BB Row
12x45 (bar)
15x95 lbs
12x115 lbs
12x125 lbs
3x12x135 lbs PR Yay! (thankgoodness for VGs otherwise I'd never be able to hang on to this)

Rip Crusher
12x30 lbs
12x35 lbs
3x12x40 lbs (dang these are hard!)

BB Curl
15x45 lbs
13, 13, 15x50 lbs (time to up the weight)

Bent Over DB Reverse Flye
12x25 lbs
3x12x30 lbs (should do 6 sets next time)

BB Reverse Curl
3x20x40 lbs (I'll add sets rather than up the weight here)

One-Arm DB Extension
3x12x20 lbs (left arm failed at rep 11 on 3rd set)

20 min LifeFitness recumbent bike LISS = 1.92 miles
20 min Matrix Step Mill LISS = 947 steps

Slow and Steady

I got to the gym an hour early and all the stars were in alignment. Kidding. Mysteriously, my iPod worked fine today. It's also a tad warmer, peaking today near 50°F. All the ellipticals were occupied as I approached the cardio area, but then two gals suddenly vacated their machines and I got to ride Precor #3. Anything's better than the Tractor (Precor #2). Interval 7 feels hard when I start but as I get into my tunes, my legs loosen up, my glutes stop being sore and I can ignore the fatigue in my quads. Yes, made my quota and then some!

The Decline Bench is vacant although I can't find the foam block so I do without it. The Mayor, Tall Pace and M are kibbitzing loudly at one of the Inclined Benches. I'm not planning to move anything I know I can't lift, so I'm not worried about a spot. But because I'd like better control over the weight, I keep my reps low at my max weight today. Six reps feels pretty good but I'm cautious. Next set I just get seven reps. Then B stops by to chat a bit. Okay, I can use the rest. Her doc wants her to get an MRI 'cuz she's pinched a nerve in her back, but she's so claustrophobic that she can't. Not even sedated. So now she's looking for an "open MRI" that her health insurance will cover. She waves by at me and moves on to chat with more people. The Mayor waves his hand at me to ask how many more sets and I reflexively tell him Three. The next set I actually get ten good reps and I'm really happy because they were a bit shaky last week (when M grabbed the bar as if he were rescuing me, which he wasn't). Just for fun, I knock out a dozen reps at 95 lbs, and then I'm done with the Decline.

The Cage is busy, and there's apparently a line! I stand by the wall and stretch out while waiting for my turn. Two women later, I get to stretch and kick before heading back to the DB area. I see Flirty Girl chatting with a circle of women gathered around an arm-pedaling station. I've grabbed a pair of 2.5 lb magnets and a pair of 1.25 lb magnets so I'm set. This week I'll just stick to the 25 lb DBs instead of wrestling with the 30s, but at some point I'm going to get bored. I guess I could try 27.5 lbs next week and see how six 12-rep sets feels at that weight.

I knock out six 12-rep sets with them, super-setting them with the two-part Rip Crusher tricep movement (yes, thanks Chad). Those are exciting because I'm still figuring out what I can handle. I start with 30 lbs because I did six 12-rep sets last week. Then I up the weight for each set in small increments. By the fifth set I'm up to 40 lbs. So I do another set just to make it an even six sets. Next week I'll see if I can do all six sets at 40 lbs. R wanders into the area and we exchange a quick wave. There are a few other regulars floating about like RR, Skinny Mustache, Big Mustache, Ollie, ZZ and a couple of gals I recognize. But I'm not feeling chatty today.

I move my stuff over from the bench to the mirrored wall so I can do BB curls with the 40 I already have. I just need to plop magnets on it to make it a 45. I can get six 12-rep sets here too, so I guess it might be time to gingerly up the weight. In the past, the 50 has made my elbows scream, so perhaps next week I'll just inch up to 47.5 lbs instead. I already know I can get three or four sets of 20 reps at 40 lbs for the Reverse Grip BB Curls, so I cautiously up the weights here too. A set at 42.5 lbs is easy enough. At 45 lbs I have to pause briefly at rep 18 before finishing the set. I guess I'll be doing them at 45 lbs next week. It's progress. Slow and steady.

A hundred crunches in the Ab Station and then the Mat Stretch with two dozen Dive Bomber Push Ups before the dreaded 20-second plank. But these are all feeling easier. Hmmm. Even my stretches are really good today, and that's unusual the day after Leg Day. Could be hormones. Could just be all the stars in alignment today. The gym scale reads 110.6 lbs and that's okay. I've sucked down my entire 1.5 liters of water so I'm pretty sure my home scale will tell me about 108 lbs, and I'm good with that.

Arm DayWorkout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.56 miles Yay!
Decline Bench Press: 12 @ bar (45 lbs) / 10 @ 75 lbs / 12 @ 95 / 6, 7, 10 @ 115 lbs / 12 @ 95 lbs
Cage Stretch
Alternating DB Curls: 4 x 12 @ 25 lbs / 13 @ 25 lbs / 14 @ 25 lbs
superset with Rip Crushers: 12 @ 30 lbs, 32.5 lbs, 35 lbs, 37.5 lbs / 2 x 12 @ 40 lbs
BB Curls: 6 x 12 @ 45 lbs
Reverse Grip BB Curls: 20 @ 40 lbs / 20 @ 42.5 lbs / 20 @ 45 lbs
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Mat Stretch with 2 x 12 DBPUs and 20 sec plank, etc

Trying to Create Muscle Memory

I admit that this morning was harder than most school days because 1) we had to leave the house earlier for me to drive my son to school so he could join his classmates in an hour of extra gym class; 2) my son didn't fall asleep until midnight and so was hard to rouse; 3) my hubby has been very frisky this week so I didn't get to sleep until 1 a.m. I got to the gym almost an hour earlier than normal and was pleased at how vacant the parking lot was. The gym was noisy with the early morning crowd leaving for their jobs. I even got to pedal on my favorite elliptical. It's unseasonably warm at 60°F so doors to the gym were wide open. Today is Arm Day and I'm going to try to be as efficient as possible.

30 minutes plus 5 minute cool down on the Precor gives me a tad under four and a half miles. Sweat is dripping off my nose onto the Decline Bench which I'm trying to adjust. I even place the foam yoga block back under the foot of the bench to raise it up. But today I'm not as strong as I've been and I wonder if I've not fully recuperated from my 2-rep bench max on Monday. I do decline presses because I can't use the Dip station and today is Triceps and Biceps. The first few warm up sets are uneventful. Even 95 lbs feels easy. But there is trouble at 115 lbs.

My head seems stuck in an odd position (hair got caught which is odd because it's mostly short) and my bench movement is not as deep or smooth as it should be. I struggle a little with rep 11 and push for rep 12 when suddenly M grabs the bar and sets it on the stays. I just look at him without saying anything. He doesn't say anything either. I have a weird half smile on my face because I'm pretty sure I could've managed that last rep. He has a weird half smile too, but still neither of us says anything. He goes back to the squat rack. Trying to redeem himself for forgetting he agreed to spot me some months ago? He's supersetting Squats with Cable Rows or something. I take 5 minutes and decide that while he's out of sight, I need to get a set all by myself because if I don't need a spot but you grab the bar anyway, well, then I'm unsure as to whether I could handle it myself or not. And I hate it when the spot grabs the bar away from you, especially if he's not been asked to spot. Sigh.

I get a set at 115 lbs but it's not pretty. I can tell from seeing how the bar moves, how it feels. Well, time to drop the weight. I go for two more sets at lower weights. Then I wipe off the bench and relax at the Cage. When I return to the DB area, it's to do curls and skull crushers. The DB curls are standard boring alternate seated curls that don't hurt my elbows. However, I'm trying something new today for triceps. Having viewed a How-To video on a form of skull crushers by Mark Rippetoe, I decide that his reasoning seems sound, so WTH, let's give this a try. Rip Crushers or Skull Rippers are two of the most popular names for this movement.

He uses an EZ bar with plates held in place with a spring collar. I can't use those because my hands are so small that the last time I even tried to get one on a bar, I sprained my hand. Yep, sprained the part where the thumb attaches to the rest of the palm. Makes you fairly useless as you can't grip or hold anything until it heals up. So, I grab a light 30 lb BB and figure I'd get the form down first before seeing how much weight I can actually do. It's a bit tricky but I do like this two-part movement because I can feel the different muscle sections work. I stick with the 30 lb BB and knock out several 12-rep sets because I need to be comfortable with this before I can up the weight. My movement is exaggerated because I'm new at it and I know it doesn't quite look like the video, but Rippetoe is great at explaining how you "throw" the bar over your head in one motion.

Meanwhile, the Latino baseball player and his skinnier friend are trying hard not to be obvious in trying to get my attention. Sigh. First they asked me if I was using all the abandoned DBs someone left on a bench while I was the Decline Bench several yards away. Then they plopped themselves besides me while I was doing curls and triceps. I tend not to look at my neighbors when I'm on a bench. I moved my sodden hoodie a few times across the cardio railing because their gym bags full of product seem to overtake all the free space there. Finally they're done and they leave, or at least their gym bags are gone. I'm glad to swap the 30 lb bar for the 40 and plink a pair of magnets on it. I only do three sets of BB curls, return the magnets and do four sets of Reverse Grip BB Curls. Hmmm. Because I can get between 20-25 reps, perhaps it's time to up the weights on this movement as well.

I feel done, but I'm not because yes, alas, there's still abs to do. A hundred reps here and there and I finally feel a little fatigue. The gym has gotten crowded. While I'm on the Mat, I see M greet a cute gal with wild long brown hair. She has nice triceps and a cute butt. Most of the women here don't, so of course I take notice. She's all smiles with everyone, but quickly loses it when she sees me and I'm not even looking at her. I'm not sure why she reacts this way because we're not competing for anything that I'm aware of. I've never spoken to her. We're not even the same shape. She's got a toned girly figure, and I'm built like an athlete. Maybe it's the attitude. She's a flirty girl but she's probably in her late 30s or early 40s. Me, I've probably got that "You're in my way" 'tude. Or at least that's my take on it.

A convention forms at the edge of the Mat where I'm stretching, so I'm glad I have my iPod turned up full blast. Yes, I'm completely oblivious to everyone -- I really prefer to finish my routine without falling over because I've been distracted by conversation. Jude is on the Calf Press machine with his back to me, The Slav is doing Tricep Press Downs, Hoodie Tattoo and friends are kibitzing by the cable stations. At least some people work out here.

The gym scale reads 110.4 lbs which is a tad disconcerting, but my clothes still fit fine so I'm not worried. What I am worried about is regressing from my 2-rep Bench Press max. Monday is just around the corner. Sigh.

Arm Day Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.47 miles Yay!

Decline Bench Press: 12 @ bar (45 lbs) / 10 @ 75 lbs / 10 @ 95 lbs / 2 x 10 @ 115 lbs / 12 @ 105 lbs / 12 @ 95 lbs

Cage Stretch

Alternating DB Curls (last 4 sets superset with Ripp Crushers): 12 @ 25 lbs / 10 @ 27.5 lbs / 3 x 8 @ 30 lbs / 12 @ 25 lbs
Ripp Crushers: 5 x 12 @ 30 lbs

BB Curl: 3 x 12 @ 45 lbs
Reverse Grip BB Curls: 20, 21, 21, 25 @ 40 lbs Time to up the weight?

Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 150
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Lower Ab Knee-In Kick-Outs: 100

Mat Stretch (still hate the 20 second plank)