Leg Day Blues

I decided that since I don't care about going heavier in Squats or Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts, that it'd be better to do Legs on Wednesday and save Thursday for Boxing so I'd be more rested for Friday. It's not really as convoluted as it sounds. Again, every freaking machine is occupied except for a few recumbent bikes. I pedal 20 minutes, never break a sweat and jump at the Smith machine. I'd rather do Squats on the Smith than use the Icarian Hack Squat 640 because even unloaded, the pads leave tender bruises on my shoulders. I don't go to my max because my lower back is a bit tired. Not sore, just tired. I toy with the idea of not using the Step Platform to do Smith Stiff-Legged Deads, but I'm a creature of habit, so I use it to bring the bar to my ankles instead of mid-shin. After I'm done, I see B who motions me over to chat with her. She's on the Step Mill.

"What were you just doing? Isn't that for Back?"
"Smith Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts. Well, it's lower back, but glutes and hamstrings as well. The whole backside thing," I reply.
"Oh, we were doing something like that yesterday but it was more for Back."
"BB Rows?" I venture because they both start out the same way.
She makes a rowing motion.
"Oh, yeah. That's it."
"Oh yeah, I was doing that yesterday over there," and I point to the mirrored wall by the Incline Benches.
"You're moving a lot of weight. You're huge! You got so big!"
Then she tells me not to get too big because I don't want to look like a guy. I laugh. I tell her that I know I'm bigger but I've only put on 4 lbs and so now I'm worried that I'm getting fat. She frowns. "That's not fat," she says matter of fact.
"Don't go too heavy. You get injured that way," she says.
"Yeah, I know. I think I'm reaching my limit. Then I'll just go back to doing cardio and high reps for a month like I did in January."

She looks puzzled then remembers that I'd been doing a 3-week high rep and cardio program. And as soon as I stopped and went back to lifting heavy, I started to put on size and made strength gains. B volunteers that she dead lifted 205 lbs, but it was a few months ago and she hasn't lifted that heavy since. Her "gym husband" is moving to Florida in two days so she's bummed.  B is an inch taller than I am and probably 100 lbs soaking wet. She's also 62 years old. I tell her that's Wonderful, but she says she's got too many aches and pains to even consider lifting heavy anymore. Well, I think, until she finds a new "gym husband".

I still have Seated Leg Curls, Seated Leg Extensions and DB Lunges to do. I'm not particularly excited by any of these movements. My knees really hate DB Lunges. A quick Cage Stretch and then I see the Step Mill free for a moment. Uh oh, I'm too late. So I clamber up on the elliptical for 20 minutes and sing along to Billy Idol. When I'm done, the Step Mill is free again so I climb up on that for 20 minutes. I'll do HIIT tomorrow. Now I'm good and sweaty, and finally feel decent. A quick 100 crunches on the Mat and I'm heading towards the locker room. The gym scale is not kind, reading 113.4 lbs. I'm just getting comfortable at this weight, but I don't like it. I'm thinking that after a few more gains (my bench could use some improvement), I'm going to drop back into cardio mode for the summer. I'd really like to be leaner. Guess I'll have to change my goals from More Strength to Less Fat.

Leg Day Blues

20 min LifeFitness recumbent bike = 3.30 miles (didn't even bust a sweat)

Smith Machine Squat
12x30 lbs (bar)
12x80 lbs
12x100 lbs
12x120 lbs
12x140 lbs
12x150 lbs

Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts
12x30 lbs (bar)
12x80 lbs
12x100 lbs
12x120 lbs (put on VGs)
10x140 lbs
10x150 lbs
12x130 lbs
12x110 lbs

Seated Leg Curl
12x75 lbs
3x12x90 lbs

Seated Leg Extension
12x90 lbs
12x105 lbs
12x120 lbs
12x135 lbs

Cage Stretch

DB Lunges
15 (each leg) x 20 lbs (each hand)
2x15x25 lbs

20 min Precor elliptical = 2.05 miles
20 min Matrix Step Mill = 1050 steps

100 crunches

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