Another Anatomy Mystery

My lower back is still a bit stiff this morning when I get to the gym. I'm running late because the old silver sedan in front of me turned left (East) into the low morning sun and smack right into a huge, "so big how could you possibly not see it" garbage truck. It blocked the entire main thoroughfare until a police officer directed the garbage truck to back up onto the shoulder. I wonder if this is the same car that ran the stop sign on my road as my son and I waited for his school bus. I tell B about this when I get into the locker room and she tells me that she's sure the driver was on her cell. I can't even change the CD in my car while I'm driving, much less talk on the phone. When I'm driving, I'll have the radio on, but all I'm doing is driving. I'm very single-minded.

Today is Leg Day and I warm up on the elliptical for 15 minutes, barely breaking a sweat at 200 Strides Per Minute. I'm definitely doing a de-load next week, but haven't decided whether I'll continue alternating LISS and HIIT days. The Smith is occupied so I do a light stretch at the Cage. When I return to the Smith, the fellow has moved on to machine shrugs right behind me. Squats feel okay until I get to 120 lbs. I'm probably doing a lot more volume than I need and I'm considering cutting back my reps. At 120, my back starts to feel crunchy. My right knee also twinges a bit. Although I can drop to my heels on the lighter weights, it's too hard on my knees as I go heavier. At 150, I'm just barely parallel but I'm okay with that. I don't need a bigger butt than I already have. And I already have massive thighs.

My lower back is still stiff, and what's really bothering me is my right front hip. I'm not sure what muscles are involved but it's certainly annoying. I'm thinking that yesterday's heavy rows are taking their toll on me. Yeah, a de-load is looking really good right now. But I still want to do Smith SLDLs. All the step platforms are stacked inside the ongoing Zumba class. Luckily they don't use these platforms in Zumba. I didn't like pulling up from just under my knees and the platform allows me to grab the bar closer to my ankles. This movement doesn't seem to hurt my back although I did curse under my breath when I got to 150 lbs. Last week I could get 12 reps. This week I cut back my heavy sets to less reps.

I feel okay but that changes as soon as I try to do some of the accessory work I skipped last week because school's were closing early. Both the Seated Leg Curl and Seated Leg Extension made my lower back ache, which is really odd because it's never happened before. Part of it may be because I don't really fit into the equipment properly. My legs are too short to rest my ankles on the rollers without me scooting myself up against the lap bar, which means my back is not flat against the seat. I have to drop the weight substantially in order to do anything. I'm disappointed. The Leg Extension is even worse. I know I can get 12 reps at 135 lbs. But today I can barely do 105 lbs without my hips and lower back complaining. I toss in the towel after a few sets and mount the elliptical. Walk pedaling while reading my email and forum posts slows me to a mind-numbing 39 SPM.

The gym scale reads 114.0 and at first I think it's a mistake because it's been 115 for the past 3 days. Well, that's okay. I'm baffled by the stiffness in my back and hip but I'm not sure what muscles are actually affected. It's another anatomy mystery. I'm only planning to do some cardio and boxing tomorrow, things I don't think will bother my sore spots. And then next week I'm not going to lift at all. Not a thing. Except maybe my water bottle.

Leg Day Workout
15 min warm up elliptical = 1.63 miles

abbreviated Cage Stretch

Smith Machine Squats: 25 @ bar as fast as I can go Heel to Butt / 12 @ 60 lbs HTB / 12 @ 80 lbs all other sets are parallel / 12 @ 100 lbs / 12 @ 120 lbs / 12 @ 140 lbs / 12 @ 150 lbs / 12 @ 130 lbs / 12 @ 110 lbs / 12 @ 90 lbs

Smith Machine SLDLs: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 80 lbs / 12 @ 100 lbs / 8 @ 120 lbs / 8 @ 140 lbs / 8 @ 150 lbs / 10 @ 130 lbs / 12 @ 110 lbs / 12 @ 90 lbs / 12 @ 80 lbs

Seated Leg Curls: 12 @ 75 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 90 lbs

Seated Leg Extensions: 12 @ 75 lbs / 12 @ 105 lbs / 12 @ 90 lbs / 12 @ 105 lbs

20 min elliptical LISS = 1.04 miles

In the Groove

I dropped my son off at school at 8:10 this morning because he has his last Extra Gym Class which allows kids to run around a good 45 minutes before class starts. I would've gotten to the gym at a reasonable hour if I hadn't been trapped behind a white Chevy Impala who needed to break at every curve in the road, couldn't make up her mind whether to make a left turn in rush hour traffic, changed her mind and then sat so far back from the intersection that the light had changed before she finished making her turn. My husband agrees that the worst drivers seem use Impalas as their vehicles of mass frustration. And these aren't the land-yachts of my childhood. But their drivers seem to think they are.

Today is Leg Day but I've missed the opportunity to mount a Precor elliptical. I trudge over to the LifeFitness Cycles, the only other ellipticals I sort of fit into. I don't like them because the resistance stresses my ankles, even at the lowest level. Today, I get a good warm up, logging in only a bit over three and a half miles. I'm also getting a blister on my right foot from it. The Precors are suddenly all vacant, so for the next leg of cardio, I trudge over to my favorite machine and punch in Interval 7. It's starting to make grinding noises like the tractor (Precor #2) but not as loud or rough. I can deal with this and I find myself singing (silently) along to Meatloaf on my iPod. I make over four miles and I'm happily drenched. I seem to need at least a day or two of cardio before I feel really great doing it. Monday and yesterday's cardio sessions weren't as good as today's. I'm not sure why, but how I feel doesn't lie. I probably won't feel this good tomorrow, but maybe I will.

The Smith is empty. Yay! Smith Squats and Stiff-Legged Deads are on the menu. They are the mainstay of my Leg Workout, with Curls and Extensions less important. I only do one set of Speed Squats with the bar for 25 reps. I really don't want bigger legs, or a bigger butt — I like my pants the size they are! After warming up, I just do 10 rep sets. I notice my right hip, but not my lower back. Then I prepare to do Smith Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts, mindful of my form, trying to slow the negative movement. I don't really feel it in my hammies although I know they're being worked because I have trouble with the Leg Curls that follow. It's odd to have muscles fatigue without actually feeling them work. I use the VGs when I get to my max weight and do sets of 8 reps. It's the same weight as last week but I've managed one more set. Yay! And I don't feel like throwing up afterwards anymore, although I am breathing hard.

The Seated Leg Curl is surprisingly hard today, proof in my mind that I was doing the Deads correctly. I bail after a mere four sets and knock out some side abs on the Torso Twist machine while I wait for the Leg Extension to free up. Those I can get full 12-rep sets while steadily increasing the weight. But I don't want Tom Platz legs so I stop after five sets. No Cage Stretch today. Instead, I set up my timer and plop myself down for Mat Stretch and 60-second plank. It feels okay, stretches are all good, and I'm moving at a fast enough pace for it to leave me pink-cheeked and a bit sweaty. I feel really good!

The gym scale reads 113.0 lbs and I'm uncomfortably resigned to being bigger. The last time I put on unexplained weight, it turned out I was pregnant with my son. Somehow I don't think that's the case now. At least I hope not! Tomorrow I'm planning cardio and boxing the Nexersys because my shoulders, a bit sore today, should be recovered enough for me to whack the avatar for a few rounds. I'm soooo looking forward to THAT!

Thursday Leg Workout:
35 min LifeFitness = 3.67 miles + 35 min Precor Interval 7 = 4.26 miles  Grand Total = 7.93 miles
I try to avoid the LifeFitness machines but it was better than not doing cardio at all.

Smith Squats: 25 @ bar BTH as fast as I can go / 12 @ 80 lbs / 10 @ 100 lbs / 10 @ 120 lbs / 3 x 10 @ 140 lbs (assuming bar is 30 lbs)

Smith SLDLs: 12 @ bar / 12 @ 80 lbs / 10 @ 100 lbs / 10 @ 120 lbs / 3 x 8 @ 130 lbs Yay!

Seated Leg Curl: 12 @ 90 lbs / 12 @ 105 lbs / 12 @ 120 lbs / 12 @ 90 lbs
At 120 it's almost as if I can't feel my legs contract so I drop the weight back down to the start.

Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs

Seated Leg Extension: 12 @ 75 lbs/ 12 @ 90 lbs / 12 @ 105 lbs / 12 @ 120 lbs / 12 @ 135 lbs

Mat Stretch with 2 x 12 DBPUs, 60-second plank, splits, etc.

Revising Leg Day Goals

I'd like to say I'm completely recovered but fact is the sniffles linger longer than the actual illness itself. As the rain falls, the temperature drops from 50°F down into the 30s, making for much confusion. Today is Leg Day, and tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a day of long travel and sumptuous feasting, only to return home late (dog will still need to be fed and walked) where we will not be able to sleep in but rather, travel distance again on Friday.

I'm late to the gym because I have errands to run beforehand, like putting gas in my car. The gas station is a zoo and the poor road visibility doesn't help at all. The gym actually isn't too crowded. I get on Precor #3 and punch in Interval 7 because that's what I normally do on Leg Day. My legs aren't actually sore, just tired. I'd thought that yesterday's Back Extensions would've had more of an impact considering it targets glutes and upper hams more than the actual lower back. I'm dragging, but I do make my quota so I'm pleased. And then I punch in another session at Interval 8. Because I probably won't be back here until next week. I have to drop the resistance from the default setting of 6 at the peak down to 5. It helps a little, but mostly I'm troubled by the ache in my palms, and the intermittent numbness in two or three fingers on my left hand. I suddenly remember that my brother's told me that he has gout, another inherited condition from my mother's side, and I wonder if I should mention this to my physician when I get around to scheduling an annual exam.

In total, I still log in over eight miles, but it was much harder this time. I could be sick, or it could be as inexplicable as those monthly hormones. I have no idea. I see a burly, thoroughly tattooed man in the Smith. I've seen him before enough to know that I'll just come back later. The Cage is free and I stretch my hamstrings and calves thoroughly before wandering back to the free weight area. Burly Tattoo has muddy tat sleeves on both hairy arms, and a big gym bag under the cardio platform railing. Damn it, I'm going to do Smith Squats and Smith SLDLs today even if I don't get around to anything else. I don't even care if I don't get to abs (they're actually a tad sore today and I'm amazed).

Again, my first two really light sets are performed as fast as I can go, as deep as I can go (Butt to Heels). I add weight, but after the 6th rep, my knees start to complain and I have to shift back to just parallel. Assuming the bar is 30 lbs, I go to 140 lbs and get 12 reps. Then I drop the weight back down, doing speed squats for the last two sets, but not the 25 reps I normally end with. I'm concerned that doing so many reps is making my pants fit a bit too snug in the hips. I'm concerned enough to actually cut my sets and reps on the Stiff-Legged Deads I do next, but I make it up by getting 6 reps at 120 instead of 3 sets of 12 reps at 110 as I did last week.

Now that those are out of the way, I'm way less concerned about the Seated Leg Curls and Extensions. Last week, I felt a weird pulling sensation on the inside of my right foot, just inside the arch. It was extremely unpleasant. I feel it again when I hit my max weight of 127.5 lbs but I get my 10 reps, then start dropping the weight down for the next two sets. The weird sensation goes away. I don't have any issues with the Seated Leg Extensions but I only do four sets, dropping the reps as I up the weight. I don't want bigger legs. I just want strong, shapely ones. The lure of the Ab Crunch machine is irresistible and I knock out a quick hundred before settling on the Mat. I see regulars like R and RR, Big Mustache and ZZ, Ollie, Towel Guy, Hoodie Tattoo and a few women that I occasionally chat with. One actually gives me a loaf of home-made pumpkin bread (she leaves it at the front desk for me), and another commiserates with me about children and homework.

The Mat Stretch feels pretty good, my splits are good, the Dive Bomber Push Ups are starting to feel easier although the regular stance ones still cause my shoulders to click oddly. Even the plank doesn't feel all that bad today. The gym scale reads 110.4 lbs which surprises me. Water weight fluctuates wildly in people like me who are sodium-sensitive. What doesn't surprise me is how snug my favorite ultramarine blue khakis fit. Well, at least they still fit.

Leg Day Workout
35 min Interval 7 = 4.32 miles + 35 min Interval 8 = 4.13 miles  Grand Total = 8.45 miles Yay!
Cage Stretch

Smith Machine Squats: 25 @ bar (30 lbs) as fast as I can go Butt To Heels / 12 @ 60 lbs as fast as I can go Butt To Heels / 12 @ 80 lbs (only get 6 BTH, remainder are parallel) / 12 @ 100 lbs / 12 @ 120 lbs / 12 @ 140 lbs / 12 @ 80 lbs / 12 @ 60 as fast as I can go Butt To Heels

Smith Machine SLDLs: 12 @ bar /  12 @ 80 lbs / 10 @ 100 lbs / 8 @ 110 lbs / 6 @ 120 lbs PB / 12 @ 80 lbs

Seated Leg Curl: 12 @97.5 lbs / 12 @ 112. 5 lbs / 10 @ 127.5 (weird pulling sensation at this weight inside my right arch) / 12 @ 120 lbs / 12 @ 105 lbs

Seated Leg Extension: 12 @ 90 lbs / 10 @ 105 lbs / 8 @ 120 lbs / 6 @ 135 lbs

Ab Crunch Station: 100
Mat Stretch with 2 x 12 DBPUs, 20 sec plank, splits, upper back, lower back, hip stretches, etc.