Monday is Always a New Start

It was pouring when I got to the gym this morning. I was hoping it'd cool off a bit because the entire weekend'd been a scorcher. I found another broken robin's eggshell while walking the dog. It must be the season! Besides the requisite classes my son has to attend, we did enjoy visiting the Kiwi Summer Camp (they've installed a new Zip Line) as well as a visit to Johnny Gelato. Their pistachio ice cream is the best I've ever eaten, softly beige and incredibly nutty without any trace of artificial green or red coloring. I also tried Jäegermeister for the first time. It was oddly reminiscent of anisette and prune juice, but with a kick.

Figuring that I'd be stiff and creaky after two whole days of limited activity (walking across a field and standing in the blazing sun shooting video doesn't really count), I punched in program #6 gentle hill. It actually didn't feel too bad today. Tomorrow I'll do hill #5 and save the intervals for the rest of the week. The gym was icy so I'm glad I had my hoodie on. The Smith still feels sticky and heavy but I'm resisting the urge to complain. It's enough that the women's locker room quiets down when I enter. Mo grouses she wishes they'd do that when she enters because she has as little tolerance for the cackling as I do. I tell her she just doesn't look mean enough. LOL!

My elbows are still sore but now where near as bad as last week so perhaps a bit of rest was good for them. B comes over while I'm benching and tells me that her elbows are killing her too. Perhaps it's just a plight amongst middle-age women although I do see a few guys with their elbows wrapped as well. Bad joints are bad joints.

Today's Push Day Workout:
35 min hill #6 = 4.09 miles Yippeee!
Smith Bench Press: 15 reps @ bar / 12 @ 95 lbs / 10 @ 115 / 8 @ 135 / 3 x 6 @ 155 / 12 @ 135 / 22+5 @ 115 lbs I was pretty pissed at myself for not being able to get a complete 25 reps without having to set the bar down and rest for 5 seconds before knocking out an additional 5 reps.
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Seated Rear Inclined DB Raises: 6 x 15 @ 25 lbs
Lateral DB Raises: 3 x 15 @ 20 lbs
Lateral DB Raises SuperSet with One-Arm Tricep Extensions: 3 x 15 @ 20 lbs
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
When I get up I see PJ Pants sitting expectantly at the station across from me. He's been sitting there the entire time I've been doing sit ups, waiting for me to flip around and do lower ab kick outs, as if it was a private lap dance. I'm so annoyed that I stare at him for a second and then walk three stations over to the Ab Crunch instead. He slinks away disappointed.
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Tricep Press Downs (I was debating whether I should do these or kick backs or close grip benching. These might be the most benign regarding my elbows. I'm a bit worried that I just did Torso Twists and I hope that I haven't sabotaged myself because the Press Down seems to be a whole body exercise, at least for me. However, I was able to do a burn out, drop set so my worrying was silly.): 12, 12, 10 @ 50 lbs / 10 @ 40 / 12 @ 30 / 20 @ 20 lbs
Mat Stretch (not as good as last week but not horrible)

When I walk into the locker room I see that my face is sweaty and puffy. The scale reaffirms this with a reading of 111.8 lbs. I'm toying with the idea of raising my cardio back to 45 minutes but not only do I hate cardio, I hate the idea of spending so much time here at the gym even though I do love working out. I have other things to do!

Walking around in shorts and a tank top all weekend, I got to gauge people's reactions to my physique. I'm not a big person but apparently I'm intimidating, even when I don't mean to be. Men seem to be either intrigued or embarrassed. Women run the gamut from plain scared to envy to admiration. I'm glad my husband finds me sexy although the only person I'm doing this for is me.

New Term: De-Load

This unitard reminds
me of my grandma's
long line girdle!

I like to scan a few other websites (nerdfitness.com and marksdailyapple.com) and belong to two other weight lifting forums because I can get feedback and information there that I can't get at my gym. Actually I've never really tried to get any lifting information other than the occasional chat with R because he's a personal trainer for semi-pro football and hockey players. And once M backed me when B and I had a disagreement over lifting heavy. But I'm not the only one who posts daily lifting stats and I've learned a lot from reading logs on muscleandstrength.com. Not as much on bodybuilding.com but both sites have lively discussions. Last week I learned a new term: de-load. It basically means take a week off from working out. I'm thinking maybe I'll take this Monday off since it's Memorial Day and the gym'll probably be packed with one-a-year members trying to work off all those hotdogs, burgers and beer. It'll be good for my elbows, although bad for my waistline.

Broken robin egg

It's a good day when I can tell myself I saw or learned something new. This morning, while I was walking the dog, I spied a tiny patch of beautiful blue in the grass and dead leaves. It was two halves of a robin's egg. The shell was a bit soft and rubbery so I wonder if the nestling hatched or if the egg was stolen and consumed, perhaps by a possum or raccoon. I've only ever seen robin eggs in photos so to see one in actuality was quite a treat even though I'm sure there's a robin's nest at the top of the red maple outside my front door. Today won't completely suck, I tell myself because after all, this is something special. And a lot nicer than the snakes and frogs I find freshly squished on the road, tire treads still visible.

Today's 2nd Push Day
35 min cardio #5 = 4.03 miles Yippee!
The gym is eerily empty this morning (except for the screams emanating from Zumba class) and I'm really happy that I have the weights all to myself.
Smith Bench Press: 12 @ 95 / 10 @ 115 / 8 @ 135 / 3 x 7 @ 155 / 12 @ 135 / 25 @ 115 lbs
Both elbows and right shoulder are achy today so I'm cautious about lifting but the more I press, the better the joints feel. 
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Seated Rear Inclined DB Raises (my right front delt twinges for the first two reps but settles down):
6 x 20 @ 25 lbs
I know 20 reps is ridiculous but I don't think my shoulders can make the jump to 30 lb DB so next week I can try affixing those 2.5 lb magnetic discs and see how that feels. Afterwards, I notice tightness on the left side of my neck and trapezius. Damn, I've developed a knot deep inside the trap muscle. I'll need my husband to press it out with his thumb. It's excruciating, but worth it to get rid of.
Lateral DB Raises: 3 x 15 @ 20 lbs
Lateral DB Raises SS w One-Arm Tricep Extensions: 3 x 15 @ 20 lbs (yep, this is getting aerobic)
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Just as I move to the other side of the bench, I see PJ Pants sitting across from me. I ignore him even though I think he's secretly getting off watching me do Lower Ab Kick Outs. He's a creepy middle-aged guy and I avoid him and a few others like the proverbial plague.
Lower Ab Kick Outs: 100
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Tricep Kick Backs (I don't really like this exercise but I'm looking for something that doesn't stress my elbow so I use a really light weight): 3 x 12 @ 15 lbs
As I straighten my arm back, I can feel how sore my triceps are and see the muscles move up my arm and the front delt wiggle as well. Okay, this exercise isn't soooo bad. 
Mat Stretch

Regulars seem to have taken the morning off but all show up by noon. Ranger Rick has chatted up a lovely tall blonde woman who's only been coming to the gym for a few weeks now. Eagle Eye, Nixon, Hoodie Tattoo, ZZ, Skinny J are interspersed among newer faces, not all of them High School boys. I guess Spring is here and with that, body-revealing clothes. I wave Hi to R and he nods back. Sometimes I think the weirdness is all in my head, but I can't help the fact that I'm just not a friendly person. I struggle to remember to smile at people I know when I'm in the midst of something because my inclination is to completely ignore them. Not that I mind working out in the middle of a bunch of guys. Actually I prefer it, as long as they're not in my way, because I'm fairly (although not 100%) certain that they won't drop the weight on me or otherwise do something stupid. I don't mind the few women in the weight area, but most of them are so timid that I find them perplexing. And they tend to clump right in front of the racks which makes it impossible to get to.

The gym scale is not kind and reads 110.0 lbs. My only solace is discovering, quite by accident, the feel of fuller leg biceps. My legs have always been lopsided: big quads in front, no visible hamstrings or leg biceps in back. Finally they're taking on a more balanced appearance and I find that quite exhilarating. Of course, I still want to be able to wear all my candy-colored Gap khakis so I have to be careful with where I put on size. I wonder what would happen if I just did cardio and stretching for a week and skipped the weights. I don't even know if I'd be able to do that because I'm so compulsive, and truthfully, lifting weights feels really good to me.

I love benching!

I started looking at the E-books provided by the muscle website looking to buy my before and after photos. It's 3 huge PDFs written by a guy who wants to be the next P90x. I just skimmed a few pages and then copied it onto a thumb drive for my husband to look at. It claims to forever change your life in a mere 45 days as long as you do exactly what he says. Hell, I can't do that. Not even for a mere 45 days, because I don't work out every day, and there's no way I'm eating 5-6 meals a day or giving up adult beverages (on weekends only). All his examples are big buff guys looking to hook up with skinny cheerleaders so I'm not even his target audience. Honestly, I don't know why he even approached me. Just one more day, a Pull Day, and then a long weekend. I'm looking forward to De-Loading. At least for a day.