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Sadly, no flying stallions at
Medieval Times but great jousting!

Smith Dead Lift
and no step platform!

I've forgotten to mention what a great time we had at Medieval Times in NJ over the weekend. Dinner and a show! Granted there was no choice in the menu (half a chicken, bread, potato, soup, two barbecued ribs, water or Pepsi, a lovely cinnamon-dusted apple turnover) but the operatic background music added a lot to the festive atmosphere, and the action was well-choreographed. Best were the Spanish stallions. I knew immediately that they were famed Lippizaners and really enjoyed watching them perform. It'll be Renaissance Faire season soon, although I've already gotten emails from the Connecticut Ren Faire regarding their Robin Hood Springtime festival.

Today's Leg Day and having just discovered a drawer of old, irrelevant gym clothes (who wears leg warmers anymore?), I decided to see if the navy blue unitard would work under my Under Armour shorts. I don't wear long pants on leg day because it helps me focus and position myself properly if I can see my knees when I'm squatting or doing pistol squats. Other than being ridiculously contortionistic to get out of if you have to pee, the get-up was remarkably comfortable and I wasn't self-conscious in the least. I even made my quota today! Wahoo!

Today's Leg Day Workout:
35 min hill = 4.07 miles + 35 min intervals = 4.51 miles  Grant Total = 8.58 miles Yippeee!
Smith Squats: 12 @ bar / 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs
ZZ hovers nearby. I don't trust him although I have no concrete reasons. I'm alert as to where he is relative to me and I avoid eye-contact and any interactions. He's probably harmless but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Smith Dead Lifts: 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs
I couldn't find the step platform so the bar was sitting halfway up my shin today.
Cage Stretch & Kicks (my kicks are getting sloppy and I'm not sure why)
12 Pistol Squats each leg
Seated Leg Extensions: 6 x 12 @ 60 lbs
Seated Leg Curls: 4 x 12 @ 90 lbs
Torso Twist: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Mat Stretch: wearing a unitard under my shorts makes the splits much easier to do.

NexerSys Station: I try 3 rounds with the Sparring Avatar, punching in Beginner Female. It beeps several times because again, I'm either punching or kicking too hard. I'm concerned that if I hold back, the punch or kick won't actually register either. I'm better at it now, but I still miss a punch and feel the inside of my glove graze my pinkie knuckle. Later, when I take my gloves off, there's a lovely bruise that doesn't actually hurt unless it's touched. Mo tells me to ice it, but I shrug it off because it doesn't hurt, it's not swollen, it's just a scrape. My husband texts me that I should keep my punching straight in front of me, but that's hard to do when there are Center, Left and Right targets in the Upper, Middle and Lower sections. I land a series of combinations (jab/cross), registering a lot of punches, and a lot of power. Yay for the tiny Asian woman wailing on the boxing station! But I'm not really tiny. Not really.

When I was younger, I remember being disappointed that Xena, Warrior Princess didn't have more muscle. Her sidekick Gabrielle had great abs though. But television and cinema has had a dearth of well-muscled women who weren't portrayed as monstrous or hitting for the other team. My favorite character has been space marine Vasquez in Aliens.

I like the unitard so
it's going back into my
workout gear drawer!

The scale reads 107.8 lbs. I haven't finished my water either. At home, my scale reads 106.4 lbs so I'm definitely heavier. Just to certain, I take some measurements and try to snap a few photos of my back, because that's where I think I'm gaining. Well, that, and my arms. My back looks different, thicker although not as defined as I'd like, but a lot of that is lighting, which I don't have any control over. But I can really see how the delts are developing so that's encouraging. I'll post photos on Friday because that's a Pull Day.

I'm sure smacking the boxing station is only going to do good things for me, like tax my stamina, build endurance and give me a practical arm workout. Hell, what's more practical than being able to go 3 rounds smacking the crap out of something? Well, the NexerSys offers 3 rounds minimum, and goes up in 2 round increments. I was sweating and breathing hard when I got done, so I think 3 rounds is good for now.

Satisfaction on a Friday

Smith rack as Pull Up bar

The heat kicks on this morning before I take the dog for his walk. It's 37°F and I've got my winter parka on over a fleece hoodie, boots and gloves. I know that by noon, it'll be in the tropical 70s so I'll have to pack my gym bag accordingly. The parking lot is very crowded so I'm momentarily worried but fears are allayed by the chatter of Zumba and RPM class jockeys. If I time it right, I can usually avoid the crowds and do everything in my routine.

I don't write anything down. Perhaps I should. I've seen people enter their stats into their phones but it always seems that they spend a lot more time on their phones than on working out. Maybe that's just me. Apparently not everyone thinks it's normal to workout the way I do. But I get results and no one can argue with that.

My cardio is a tad weak this morning. I'm not on my regular ellliptical and the peddles wobble a bit on this one. I know I'm not making my quota but I'm ever hopeful in spite of developing a stitch halfway through the session. It's a nasty stitch that starts inside my lower right hip and travel up the side and across the bottom of my rib cage, ie, the diaphragm. I grit my teeth and peddle faster. Eventually I win because the stitch melts away. I'm tired and I know my workout is not going to be as good as earlier this week, but I figure I might surprise myself so I'm not throwing in the towel just yet.

Today's Pull Workout:
35 min cardio = 3.96 miles Bleah!
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 / 10 @ 105 / 8 @ 120 / 6, 5, 6 @ 135 lbs (these feel awfully hard today)
Pull Ups: 12+3 legs curled to chest / 10+2 legs straight out
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Pull Ups: 10+2 legs to chest / 8+2 legs straight out
Reverse Grip Bent-Over BB Rows: 15 @ 90 lbs / 6 x 12+3 @ 95 lbs
If I wasn't so tired I'd consider upping the weight again but maybe not today
Seated Alternating DB Curls: 3 x 12 @ 25 lbs (the last set I have to stop at rep 8 for a few seconds before finishing the set)
It gets really crowded in the DB area with The Mayor, Fish Guy, Tall Pace and a few others all jockeying for benches or spotting each other through DB flyes or pull overs.
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Lower Back Extensions: 2 x 25 @ 97.5 lbs
BB Curls: 15 @ 40 lbs / 4 x 15 @ 45 lbs
Reverse Grip BB Curls: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs
And just for fun, but mostly to see if I can, I go do another set of pull ups, and then a set of chin ups:
Pull Ups: 10+2
Chin Ups: 8+1
Mat Stretch
Nexersys station: I do a QuickStart intro round and get the buzzer to sound at least a half dozen times that I'm either kicking or punching too hard. But I don't hurt myself today and I'm still surprised at how much more of a wallop my right cross packs compared to my left jab.

I see Mo briefly as well as a few other ladies. The scale reads 108.2 which confirms my suspicions that I've indeed put on some size/weight. I feel pretty satisfied and plan on getting some lamb chops for dinner. At the supermarket I get ambushed by V who virtually insists that I give him a ride to the gym next Monday. He wants my phone number. I tell him that R, his partner, has it because he's the social director of our Lake Association. He doesn't care that I'm taking my son to school that morning. He vaguely threatens that next time when I need a ride... and I'm thinking "well, I wouldn't want a ride from you" but I'm too polite to voice it. Luckily, after he disappears back into the store, I see R waiting in the car, and we have a rather lengthy conversation about what just transpired. Yes, there's something wrong with V, R admits, and tells me that he's under a neurologist's care, has some symptoms of Parkinson's... I apologize to R because I know how hard it is to be a caregiver, and then I tell him that I think V is developing Alzheimer's. He says he'll talk to V because there's no reason for him to force me to give him a ride. And I don't want V knocking at my door Monday morning.

Tomorrow we're going to Medieval Times in NJ, right after Chinese School and kung fu. It won't be the same as the Renaissance Fair because there's only non-alcoholic beverages. Gosh, I do enjoy a good cup of mead! I discovered absinthe at a local liquor store but haven't been brave enough to try it yet. It's the fabled drink of poets and madmen... luckily, it's been cleaned-up a bit and promises to be a lot more mellow that it's reputation. I get my final bra order from LuluLu.com and it's a lacey underwire (why a 36AAA would need an underwire beats me) with a touch of modest no-peek padding. I have a few thin-as-paper T-shirts that require such an undergarment because this summer will probably be a scorcher. I just want to be prepared!