Life and Other Distractions

I like my routines so it's disconcerting to me when my body's not quite in sync with my schedule. Today I had to be back at the house around 2 pm because I needed to phone someone. Because I got to the gym late, and Big Guy was on the Smith, I wound up doing a cardio and body weight workout. Which, at least, was a workout. But not the one I wanted. Normally I do a Pull Day on Thursdays. And why was I late? Because I had to go back to the house after taking my son to camp, so that I could finish my coffee and empty my bowels.

My bowels are a morning creature so if I miss my opportunity, unhappiness ensues until the next day. I don't want to chance having to use the gym facilities because while their toilets employ automatic flushing, they have no water pressure. And there's probably nothing quite as embarrassing as leaving a sticky pile of poo in the bowl that no amount of flushing will remove. Sometimes I lay down sheets of toilet paper in the bowl beforehand to prevent the proverbial skidmarks. Because, yes, it IS that embarrassing. Ugh.

I rush through my workout, pick up some groceries and rush home only to find that the person I need to call is now stuck in transit at an airport because her flight home got cancelled. So can I call her tomorrow? Well, of course. Meanwhile, my sister phones me to tell me she'll be stopping by my town on her way to the Poconos with her new beau. My sister lives near Albany so I think it's kind of out of the way, but since she offered to drop by to say Hi (and show off her boyfriend), I suggest they meet me at the library, and then they can see my photo show as well. But she can only meet me between 11:30 and noon tomorrow because they have a schedule to keep. Uh, okay. I don't want to give up gym time because I missed the past two days. So it's another abbreviated workout, but this time it's Whack the Kickboxing machine day. I can make do with less rounds, or it can be another Cardio day, but smacking the machine is much better fun.

Meanwhile I get a text telling me that my son's week at Kung Fu camp has been cancelled because the Master's wife has been called to jury duty and she can't put it off any longer. Of course, there's always a chance that she'll call the night before and they won't need her... meanwhile, now my son has three weeks of nothing to do before school starts. He's fine with that. I'm the one worrying...

I meant to go to the gym yesterday but the electrician came later than I had expected. He and his apprentice checked all the wires in my son's room and said they were all fine, but the one outlet was a bit funky so he replaced that. This endeavor entailed pulling furniture away from the walls so they could access every socket just to be safe. And 10 minutes after they left, the power went out for a half hour. Meanwhile, I have to put all the furniture and bedding back in place.

My son had a sleepover the previous night and asked me to pick him up at 3 pm. I get there, and he's playing a game with his two friends, and asks me if I can let him stay until 5. His friend says 7. I say "Go ask your mom" who's downstairs in the basement. At 5, I text my son and he asks if he can stay until 6. At 6, I ask him if he's ready, and he is. His two friends are still at the same table playing video games. Well, at least I had time to compose, print and address letters to Read Scout Reservation. My son and hubs will be away from this Sunday until next Saturday, and the Scout Master emailed to ask parents to be sure to send real mail, starting today. I found a joke web site and copied a dozen different jokes for each letter I'm mailing out to Scout Camp. Hopefully, this will be better received than last year's Word Puzzle books.

I'm not happy when I get on the scale today. I've been tracking my food, but missing workouts really hurts the effort. I snap a few selfies and feel like I look like a big bruiser. And yet, I know that I actually weigh less than when I first met my husband back in 1997. Oh well... 

Thursday
110 lbs
6.78 total miles

30 min x-trainer + 5cd
Calories 170
Miles 3.90
Average Heart Rate 142

HGPU 26
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 50
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Push Ups 50

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Calories 322
Miles 2.88
Average Heart Rate 137

HGPU 31

Well, I Didn't Fall On My Face

I had an apple ale with dinner but made a point not to take anything else. Except a capsule of ZMA (zinc and magnesium supplement that's suppose to promote quality sleep and muscle recovery). Again, I wake every few hours but I don't really feel tired. However, the body is definitely sore. Not so bad that I can't go about my business, but enough to let me know I have definitely let myself go. Nothing is as bad as the one time I maxxed out on seated calf raises back in my 20s. Tears literally streamed down my face as I tried to negotiate getting down the subway stairs to get to work the next day. I can't quite remember which gym I belonged to at the time...

I've worked out at a lot of different gyms, from Madison Avenue Muscle (see YouTube link) to Better Bodies (of Brian Moss and Gladys Portuguese fame -- and another YouTube video) and Fifth Avenue Gym in South Slope Brooklyn (which is now closed and reminiscent of a prison basement). Yeah, I'm old. But I can still kick some serious butt.

However, today I'm taking it easy. Sorta. Just some cardio and a few body weight movements. After 30 minutes on the cross-trainer (where I surprise myself by making it past 4 miles), I knock out pull ups (hands about shoulder's width apart), knee-ins and a few push ups. Because I've neglected abs all week, I know crunches and planks are going to hurt. And they do. I finally strip off my blue hoodie to do my shoulder exercises with the baby bells. T, Y and I raises. A stocky middle-age guy doing DB curls while seating on a giant exercise ball seems a little surprised. Not sure if it's because I'm a woman, I'm Asian, or that I actually have arms. Unlike most of the ladies. Today there are a very few ladies in the gym, and those that are here, are on the cardio machines. Figures. Because I'm back on the cardio platform as well.

This time, I'm on the elliptical for Intervals. I know. I just did that on Wednesday. And yesterday I whacked the machine. But if you suck at something, then that's the thing you work on until you don't suck at it anymore. And I suck at cardio. Mostly because I have troublesome joints. It doesn't help that the rest of mainstream media has finally gotten on the bandwagon about NSAIDs and the risk of cardiac issues, like stroke or arrest. I feel compelled to get back in shape before I start looking seriously for a paying job. My back-to-back photography shows are a distraction, but at least I can put them on my resume, and update my website with pieces I'm proud to show.

My legs feel like logs, and not the type that roll by themselves. More like dead weight, so I'm surprised that I can actually keep my SPMs (Strides Per Minute) well above 200. Mostly I'm doing a minute at 240, then dropping to 160 for another minute. Then trodding for two minutes at 120, or someplace close. I actually hit 270 for a split millisecond. Boy, did that hurt. My lungs. Nothing else really hurts. Unless you count the growling tummy. But that's not really pain. Meanwhile, Gym Owner has Client on one of the erg machines, and they are chatting and laughing loudly. If you can talk, you're not working hard enough!

When I'm done, I stretch at the Stretch Cage and then examine the roof bars. I'm not exactly sure how wide the next set of rungs are, but since I'm at the end of my workout, I don't really have anything to lose. Because the roof arcs up, it's damn near impossible for me to get my chin past the edge. I manage 12 decent pull ups, which is actually more than I expected. Later I look up the dimensions of the Stretch Cage, but no one can tell me how far the bars are from each other. I guess, based on a width of 48 inches. At home, I put a straight edge to my shoulders and estimate I'm about 14" wide. So my first set of pull ups is at shoulder's width, and the 2nd set is 10" wider. I'm okay with that. It's more than any girl I've ever seen at my gym... and quite a few guys.

Friday
6.7 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 146
Miles 4.03
Average Heart Rate 155

HGPU 26
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 50
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Push Ups 50

T, Y & I Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

30 min elliptical
Intervals
Calories 305
Miles 2.67
Average Heart Rate 146
Max Heart Rate 166

Wide HGPUs 12

Letting Go

My son and I are cut from the same cloth: we're both night owls, which means we're both going to have a terrible time adjusting to the new Middle School schedule. Classes start at 7:38!  Good grief! The local librarian tells me that this was set up so kids could get back in time to help their families with crop harvesting. Uh, news flash! Not many agro families around here that require the help of their school-age kids! I'd rather he sleep in later and get home later. Now I have to figure out a schedule for his afternoons. Busy kids are kids not getting into trouble.

Today I leave the house a bit late. It's 10:20 but my son is still asleep. I leave a note on the bathroom mirror telling him I'll be home around 1:30 pm. Yes, with time for travel, changing clothes and showering, it's about 3 hours.

I get on a totally different LifeFitness cross-trainer today. My right foot starts to tingle a little more than halfway through the 30 minute session. Before it's over, my left foot also starts to get numb. Ugh. I think I had a dream about buying those toe-spreading cushions just to see if they'll sort things out with my feet. My two pull up sets were bears. But I decided to add a few more push ups at the end. I didn't really have time for a full Mat Stretch, or to play with any iron. For now, doing enough cardio, core and body weight exercises are my priorities.

The Mat area is full and I keep on walking to the back of the gym where there's one large classroom. Luckily, it's empty and I can grab a small personal mat for crunches. I snap a few quick selfies in the mirrored room. The lighting is weird, and my image is distorted. I put on a few pounds this weekend, having drank too much at our lake association BBQ Saturday night, and subsequent foray to the awesome Big W's Roadside BBQ joint on Sunday. Followed by dessert at PeachWave. Yes, I'm pretty relieved that the scale only reads 111.6 lbs this afternoon! But I'd be happier if it was back at 108.

At some point I'll be strong enough to actually complete rep 41 on Hammer Grip Pull Ups. 31 reps is now my new minimum. I add a few push up variations that I suddenly remember: T-push ups, and Dand (Hindu) push ups. When I walk by the mirror, my triceps have a great pump. Guys are jealous. No, I'm kidding. Or not.

I see other middle-age women and I want to drag them off the machines where they're mindlessly flailing their limbs. I feel this way especially with women with such poor muscle tone that their arms are mere bones poking through flabby hanging flesh. And what would I do with them? I'd make them do push ups. Unless they had serious shoulder issues, I'd have them start with kneeling push ups. What's nice about push ups is that by changing the position of your hands, you can change the angle of the exercise, adjusting it to bypass shoulder, elbow and sometimes wrist issues.

Ladies don't seem to understand that shoulders and arms take work. Serious work, not just reps on a machine while staring into space. That's probably as effective as pushing a door close a few dozen times. Personally, I've been looking at a movement called the Cuban Press for shoulder work, but I haven't tried it out yet. Obviously, I'd have to use super-light DBs since I have a wonky right shoulder, but that's not a problem. Unless I'm forced to use those plastic pink Beauty Bells. Ugh.



Monday's Abbreviated Workout
6.1 miles total cardio

30 min X trainer
144 cal
3.55 miles
7.09 average speed

HGPU 36
Knee Ins 50
Push ups 100
Crunches 3 X 50
Bird Dog Planks 2 X 60 sec

30 min elliptical
Prgrm 1
288 cal
2.55 miles

Knee-ins 50
HGPU 40.5
T-push ups 25
Dand push ups 25

Swayed By the Label

I'm not Scarlett O'Hara the morning after, singing and feeling flush and lovely. I'm more like a dark beast lurking in the forests of where the Wild Things Are. This is of course, unexpectedly, only after a rousing good night of adult activity. My explanation is that I've got a serious O-hangover, or a serotonin deficiency that only massive amounts of exercise can remedy. It's not just me. I've read of other women who have the same dark, moody feelings the morning after. It's not disappointment. It's usually after a really exciting and blissful evening that makes the earth move and the sky roll over. It seems to be cyclical the way hormones are cyclical. We humans are all beasts under the skin, after all.  Unfortunately, the better the night, the worse the morning. Oh well...

This morning I skip the instant espresso and have a cup of Greek style yogurt with maple syrup. But I picked up a new container of Cabot, a known cheddar brand. It's a big 3 lb tub promising more protein than regular Greek style yogurt as it's fortified with additional whey protein. 20 gms vs regular Greek style yogurt (15 gms). It's less expensive than the organic brands. Unfortunately, it's also got a grainy texture with an odd taste, both reminiscent of powdered milk. Probably the whey protein powder. It's also got 50% of the USDA calcium requirements. This afternoon, to soothe the heartburn, I mix another cup of it with molasses because maple syrup is too delicate a flavor. I'm glad the dog doesn't care and he's only too happy to lick the bowl.

I have a hard time getting up to speed at the gym. I can't get on my favorite cross-trainer so I get on the adjacent one. 30 minutes and my skin, already dry and flaky from the unexpected cold temps and lack of humidity, starts to itch with pin pricks. It feels like prickly heat, and only abates after I finally manage to bust a sweat. Relief! A quick stretch and then a tentative attempt at the first set of Hammer Grip Pull Ups. I'm surprised with pain that runs up the outer right rib cage, like a streak of lightning. Is it a muscle-spasm? I can do the pull ups fine, as long as I ignore the pain in my side. No problems with the fingers, hands, elbows or shoulders.

I still feel weak. Doing push ups will be interesting. I know I'm not able to knock out a 100 today. I go as far as I can without falling on my face: 75 reps. Well, at least I'll have something in reserve for the other sets. Got 3 sets of planks for 2 minutes apiece, alternating straight arm with elbow versions of plain planks, bird dog planks and side planks. In between, I do a set of diamond push ups, and then a set of dand (hindu) push ups. Since I slacked for the first set, I figure I could do some One Leg Push Ups. After doing reps with the left leg raised, I worry about matching reps with the right leg raised. Done. Well, not quite. Another set of pull ups. The pain is still there. Still do the pull ups.

30 minutes of elliptical training gets me sweaty and warm again. Another set of pull ups. Still hurts. I curl my knees to my chest and it doesn't make any difference. Back to the Mat to do Pistol Squats and then a full Mat Stretch. Okay, just one more set of pull ups. Yep, still hurts. And I don't care. I'm hoping that it's just my GI tract rebelling against the one cocktail I had at Saturday dinner. I made my husband take us out to dinner because our anniversary is tomorrow, but of course, he's already back in Boston for the week.

Do I regret having the drink? No, because it tasted great. But dang, my stomach let me know who was boss yesterday and today. Now I have to statt anew to regain it's trust. I'm not a big fan of taking apple cider vinegar twice a day. But cut up limes in water with honey gives me relief, and makes me belch. I need to buy more limes and lemons tomorrow. And bananas. But at least I get to whack the machine. Yaaaaay!

Curious point: my weight seems to have stabilized at 109-110 lbs for now with this workout program. When I was lifting weights and doing HIIT/LISS cardio, my weight fluctuated much more from Monday to Friday.

Monday Workout
(6.15 miles total cardio)

Cross Trainer

Steady State

Calorie :   128 CAL
Distance: 3.62 mile
Speed :    7.21 mph
Duration : 00:30:11

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

Regular Push Up

75

Set 1 : 75 Lap/Rep

Elbow/Straight Plank

alt 30 sec

Set 1 : 00:02:00

Diamond Push Up

30

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Bird Dog Plank

alt 30 sec 

Set 1 : 00:02:01

Dand Push Up

40

Set 1 : 40 Lap/Rep

Side Plank

alt 30 sec 

Set 1 : 00:02:01

One Leg Push Up

26

Left Leg : 26 Lap/Rep
Right Leg : 26 Lap/Rep

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

Cybex Torso Twist

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25

Elliptical Training

Perf Prgm #2

Calorie :   284 CAL
Distance: 2.53 mile
Duration : 00:30:10

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

One Leg Bodyweight Squat

141.87

Set 1 : 112x8

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

Your Body Knows When You're Slacking

I wasn't really apprehensive about today's procedure on my left eye until the technician took preliminary IOP (intra ocular pressure) readings. 14/28. What? The right eye registered 28? It's the eye that's already been treated! That's the highest reading I can remember for my eyes, and that was before my sight started to degrade. The doc assures me that pressure fluctuations are normal. When she retakes the pressure, my left reads 22, up 8 points in a matter of minutes. After the procedure, it reads 18. She tells me that some glaucoma patients have a different type of glaucoma because their sight deteriorates even though they have normal or very low pressure. She says it's due to restricted blood flow damaging the optic nerve. I've never heard of this before, but she's a specialist. Now I'm even more worried.

The SLT procedure itself only took a few minutes, but I can always feel some vague pain in my eye when she's firing the laser. She also had to switch lenses halfway through because my left eye appears to have a narrower angle, making access to the trabecular meshwork more difficult. I go back for a pressure check in 6 weeks. My eye feels a little sore but I've already decided to go to the gym. I don't get there until well past noon. There's only half a dozen people in it, but that's normal for a Friday. No one wants to go work out on a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon.

from epainassist.com

Online, I discovered epainassist.com and find information on Substernal Chest Pain, and this fits my symptoms better. Uh oh. This could actually be serious. Now I really have to have it checked out. Bummer. The web site lists a slew of serious ailments from cardio problems to anxiety attacks. It could be caused by costochondritis, or an aortic dissection. Oh jeeze. I can rule out cardio stuff just from the subsequent list they provide: "Some of the associated symptoms which can determine that the chest pain is less likely due to a cardiac cause are:

• Presence of a sour taste in the mouth or a sensation of regurgitation where that the swallowed food reenters the mouth
• Individual having problems with swallowing
• If the pain changes in character with changing positions, be it better or worse
• Worsening Substernal Chest Pain with breathing or coughing
• Presence of chest tenderness with deep palpation
• Individual having symptoms of heartburn with a burning sensation behind the breastbone"

Yes, there's been a bit of reflux, and some heartburn last night. Changing positions definitely changes the discomfort. And if I press, it definitely hurts. Okay, this is a major bummer. But it's not like it's my liver, right?

30 minutes on the cross-trainer is followed by push ups and planks. No pull ups today until those sore tendons, ligaments and/or muscles heal up. Because I normally pre-exhaust myself doing pull ups, I'm curious to see how many regular push ups I can crank out for my first set. It turns out to be quite a lot. One hundred to be exact. I do admit that I had to pause a moment at rep 90, slow down, and pause again at rep 95 before finishing. I wonder if I'll be sore. I'm pretty happy now.

I feel my sore abs when I drop down for planks: 30 seconds elbow; 30 seconds straight arm, 30 seconds elbow, finish last 30 seconds straight arm. The next set of push ups are standard Diamond push ups. 30 is all I can do without worrying too much about the click on my left elbow. I try doing straight arm and leg Bird Dog. The support arm is shaking like crazy. After 30 seconds, I have to drop down to elbow and knee Bird Dog. Another 30 seconds, and I switch sides none too gracefully. My last set of push ups are 30 Dand (or Hindu) push ups. Some web sites mistakenly call them Dive Bomber Push Ups, but those are harder on the shoulders. This isn't really hard, but I do them slowly to experience the upper back stretch and Downward Dog position for each rep.

My last set of planks is hilarious. I start off with Elbow Side Planks for 30 seconds, then try lifting the top leg upward. Okay, now straighten the supporting arm. Soooo hard to stay balanced! Now switch sides, starting with Elbow Side Plank again. While I'm focused on not falling on my face, a bunch of guys show up on the Mat to toss medicine balls at each other. I'm not sure if they're HS seniors because while they're all out of shape, one of them sports a full beard. My cue to head back to the cardio platform for 30 minutes on the elliptical!

A quick lower back stretch and then I'm done. I need to pick up some groceries and get home before the school bus arrives. I'm actually really surprised when the gym scale reads 109.0 lbs even. I'm not even trying to lose weight at this point so I've been eating whatever. Whatever probably just happens to be fairly healthy, i.e., I had a cup of plain Greek yogurt with a tsp of molasses in it for breakfast. Of course, I was absolutely starving by the time I got to the gym, but I only drank half my water bottle. I'm not sure how long to wait until I attempt pull ups again. I guess I'll play it by ear. But my body knows when I'm slacking.

Friday Cardio and Core Workout
(6.29 miles total)

Elliptical Training

Steady State

Calorie :   128 CAL
Distance: 3.71 mile
Speed :    7.4 mph
Duration : 00:30:07

Regular Push Up

100

Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep

Straight Arm / Elbow Plank

Set 1 : 00:02:00

Diamond Push Up

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Bird Dog Plank

Set 1 : 00:02:01

Dand Push Up

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Side Plank

Set 1 : 00:02:00

Elliptical Training

Perf Prgm #3

Calorie :   292 CAL
Distance: 2.57 mile
Duration : 00:30:04

Active Hypochondria

I'm getting to this blog late because we've been out of the house all day. Literally. I'm glad my dog is old and patient, sleeping most of the day when he's not barking at the UPS man. I let my son sleep in a bit but then off to the gym! I do a 10 minute warm up on the cross-trainer and then my body weight routine. My hip is soooo much better today although my left quad is peculiarly sore. I don't normally only have one sore limb if I've exerted myself. There's still the lingering "ghost" of discomfort in the left hip, almost like a warning sensation not to step a certain way. But no actual pain. Cool!

What's bothering me now is the tenderness under my rib cage. Right side. Which is where the liver resides. I'm not sure why I only started feeling pain there while doing pull ups, but it's not getting better. Now the area just under the right rib is tender to the touch. Unless I flex my abs and press hard. In which case, nothing actually hurts. So, to my medically untrained mind, that suggests not the muscle but the underlying organ. Uh oh. Liver. Gallbladder. Hmmmm. I look up symptoms online and find jaundice, nausea, death. Uh oh. I've been mildly queasy for the past few weeks, but I had attributed that to the seasonal changes screwing up my sinuses and inner ear and giving me mild vertigo. It happens every year. Maybe it's not my ears after all? I've been taking milk thistle to aid liver function. Could it be having an adverse effect? I haven't read anything that supports that notion about this particular herbal. Dang. I do love drinking sangria, hard cider and peach moscato. And I'm a flyweight.

Pain doesn't actually deter me from doing pull ups. Yeah, I'm stupid that way. Just like having a wonky hip didn't stop me from doing cardio, or whacking the kickboxing machine. I do have an appt to see my primary care physician for a routine physical but I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't wait 4 weeks to get this checked out? Maybe I'll just cut out alcohol, milk thistle and anything else even vaguely suspect? Or maybe I'll just call the doc tomorrow and ask them whether they think this is serious or not. Because I have no idea. I don't want to die young because of something stupid.

Because I have serious time constraints, I don't do a full Mat stretch. I also change the last set of push ups to Leg Lift Push Ups, doing 25 push ups with one leg raised, then another 25 with the other leg raised. Of course I'm doing it wrong. The YouTube videos say that do it with one leg raised, then again with the other leg and call that one push up. Uh, no. Your arms and chest worked that twice. It's two. I also add another full minute to one of the plank sets. I did the Bird Dog from the Straight Arm position for 30 seconds each side. That's really hard and I had trouble balancing. Then I dropped down to Knee and Elbow for anther 30 seconds each side. That's soooo much easier. Side Elbow planks are easier than Side Straight Arm Planks, and pulling the top leg up into the air is crazy hard. It's also fun and looks really silly.

I try to mitigate the pain in my abdomen by pulling my knees up to my chest. But that doesn't change anything. I also try positioning my hands on different bars but I smack into the side of the Cage. I'm really quite annoyed by all this because I'm just starting to feel like I've accomplished something by doing sets of pull ups and not wrecking my elbows. Two steps forward, one step back. At least I get to whack the kickboxing machine tomorrow. Yaaaay! And then I have to rush off for the annual mammogram that I didn't do last year, and be back in time to get my son from school to take him to kung fu, rush home to feed and walk the pup and ourselves before rushing off to a Cub Scout Pack meeting. Bleah! Friday I get to have SLT done on my left eye so I'm not even sure if I'll make it to the gym. Maybe I'll come in just to do cardio. Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Fall Equinox Humpday Workout
(3.9 miles cardio)

Cross Trainer

Warm Up

Calorie :   44 CAL
Distance: 1.19 mile
Speed :    7.09 mph
Duration : 00:10:06

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

Regular Push Up

Lost track!

Set 1 : 70 Lap/Rep

Straight Arm & Elbow Plank

Set 1 : 00:02:01

Diamond Push Up

30

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Bird Dog Plank

Set 1 : 00:02:01

Dand Push Up

30

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Side Elbow & Straight Arm Plank

Set 1 : 00:03:00

Leg Raise Push Up

30

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Cybex Torso Twist

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

Elliptical Training

Intervals

Calorie :   312 CAL
Distance: 2.71 mile
Duration : 00:30:03

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15
Set 2 : 112x15

The Importance of Sequence

Sequence is defined as the particular order in which related events, movements, or things follow each other. In weight lifting, it is common practice to do big compound movements first that work the entire body, followed by smaller movements that isolate particular sections. The only reason to do the opposite is if you want to pre-exhaust the smaller muscles because they seem to do doing the bulk of the work in the bigger movements. I find the sequence to my workouts to be a determining factor in whether I can do 4 sets of hammer grip pull ups successfully, and without elbow discomfort.

Today I warmed up with 15 minutes on the Step Mill only because I hadn't done it all week, and it happened to be available. If there's an opportunity, I'm going to take it! From there I can do a set of hammer grip pull ups fairly easily. The gym is mostly empty today so I have access to the Mats. Plus the gym owner has finally relocated the ab tower that sat in the middle of all three mats in the stretch area. I do 60 regular push ups. The trick to doing volume push ups is to do them quickly. I barely breathe in order to knock them out.

Planks are becoming easier now that I intersperse Straight with Elbow Planks. Diamond Push Ups are still hard, especially on the right elbow. I shift my weight a tad to the left to compensate. 25 is all I can manage. Another set of planks. It always takes me a few moments to get my balance when I lift my leg for these. Dand (or Hindu) push ups is a lot more taxing that it looks and I'm not sure why. I do them slowly in comparison to my other sets. I want to get the full stretch in my back and shoulders. I can only do 25. My last set of planks is the Bird Dog. It's not too bad once I find my balance. The right side balances more easily than the left. My last set of push ups are regular ones and figure I'll just go for broke: do as many as I can before I fall on my face. I get to 60!

I'm breathing hard and my arms are a bit shaky when I leave the Mat area. I want to do another set of Hammer Grip Pull Ups, but I feel weak and resort to a slight kipping motion to get my reps. It's discouraging. I don't like kipping because it feels like cheating even though CF people use it when training. I get on the Precor for 30 minutes of Intervals. That program kicked my butt on Wednesday, and since I'm not smart enough to avoid a challenge, I'm at it again, knowing full well that I'm going to be doing a lot worse today. That's not the point. The point is to condition the body.

Once I'm done with that, and logging a respectable 2.73 miles (Wednesday was 2.77), I'm back at the Stretch Cage. This time Hammer Grip Pull Ups are easy. I move back to the Mat to do some Pistol Squats and a full Mat Stretch (splits and all). Then before I hit the locker room, I do another set of Pull Ups. And they still feel pretty good. No elbow issues! But dang, my lats are tender.

What I hadn't realized was just how taxing push ups and planks are on the whole body, including lats. It's really difficult to pull yourself up with arm strength alone. Pull Ups utilize those huge back muscles, the lats (latissimus dorsi) to hoist the body against gravity. I'd always thought of Push Ups and Planks are being Core (abs) and Chest (pectorals, triceps, delts) exercises. Now I know better. And that doing Pull Ups right after Push Ups and Planks is going to be really really hard. Because of the exercise sequence.

Friday Whole Body Workout

Step Machine

Warm Up

Calorie :   132 CAL
Lap/Rep :  57 Lap/Rep
Duration : 00:15:00

Hammer Grip Pull Up

156.8

Set 1 : 112x12

Regular Push Up

60

Set 1 : 60 Lap/Rep

Plank

Straight/Elbow

Set 1 : 00:02:00

Diamond Push Up

25

Set 1 : 25 Lap/Rep

Plank

Leg 

Set 1 : 00:02:00

Dand Push Up

25

Set 1 : 25 Lap/Rep

Plank

Bird Dog

Set 1 : 00:02:00

Regular Push Up

60

Set 1 : 60 Lap/Rep

Hammer Grip Pull Up

156.8

Set 1 : 112x12

Elliptical Training

Intervals

Calorie :   315 CAL
Distance: 2.73 mile
Duration : 00:30:00

Hammer Grip Pull Up

156.8

Set 1 : 112x12

One Leg Bodyweight Squat

141.87

Set 1 : 112x8

Hammer Grip Pull Up

156.8

Set 1 : 112x12