Time For A Rest

     I'm late to the game posting yesterday's workout and I have somehow misplaced my training notes. So join me on the journey through my mind, trying to remember what the hell I did 18 hours ago. Here's what I think got done:

••••••••••

CABLE HAMMER CURLS:

(35lb x12) 4x

CABLE TRI. EXT.:

201b x12

(15lb x12)

SEATED DIPS:

60lb x15

(70lb x15) 4x

MACHINE PREACHER CURLS:

(30lb x12) 4x

EZ BAR SKULLCRUSHERS:

(30lb x12) 4x

DB SPIDER CURLS:

(25lb x12) 4x

*I did a variety of standard curls and hammer curls.

••••••••••

     I've come to the conclusion that while I like the cable machines for some things, for movements like curls and extensions I much prefer dumbbells. From here on out we'll probably just substitute those when we have to.

     There were a fair amount of young men in the weight room yesterday and I have to say, they talk more than any of the women in the gym. At times it makes me laugh, but it also annoys the piss out of me. I'm not calling for a silent gym, that's just stupid and unrealistic. It would be nice though not to hear some arrogant little puke running his mouth non-stop, talking about the new vein on his bicep. Now I know why people wear headphones lol.

     Frank and I are both glad that yesterday was somewhat of an "easy" day. The 4 days were taxing for both of us, but it does feel good in a weird sort of way. We're feeling accomplished and looking forward to the full 5 days this next week. Monday will be deadlifts making this the first time we've deadlifted at the gym. I've missed it - I think it was one of my favorite lifts. 

     My left knee was very sore yesterday and I think it was residual soreness from leg day without braces. I'm happy that I got stuff done sans braces, but I will be wearing them for Monday's session. I don't want to take any chances. I feel as though my legs are getting stronger and helping my knees and that is definitely a good thing! 

     Here's to a relaxing 2 days off!

     

If You Want Boulder Shoulders...

     Today we went a little earlier to the gym. We seemed to hit it at a good time - not too many people there which was nice. It was shoulders and abs today. Here's what got done:

••••••••••

SEATED O.H. DB PRESS:

(25lb x6) 4x

DB LATERAL RAISE:

(10lb x12) 4x

REAR DELT FLY MACHINE:

(50lb x12) 2x

(50lb x15) 2x

DIVERGING LOW ROW MACHINE:

(90lb x12) 3x

*These weren't on the program, we added them in because we were waiting for the press machine.

CONVERGING PRESS MACHINE:

(40lb x12) 4x

CAPTAIN"S CHAIR LEG RAISE:

(x7) 3x

DECLINE SITUPS:

20

*I was futzin' around with the bench trying to get the right angle so I didn't get full sets in. 

DB SHRUGS:

(40lb x15) 4x

••••••••••

     It was a pretty good day even though I had on the wrong pair of pants. I thought I was putting mine on, and thought they felt a little weird. I realized, as we were walking into the gym and they were sliding down my ass that I had on Frank's pants. Oh well most of the stuff was seated today anyhow lol.

     Frank has been having some shoulder pain and I keep telling him to "keep it light". Of course he does not and of course, his shoulder still hurts. Oy vey.

     The one thing that was programmed that I refused to do were barbell rollouts. My knees may be feeling better, but anything involving kneeling is a big no from me.  Other than that, today felt relatively easy. I think we'll probably add a few things in as we get into the swing of it. No where to go but up.

Walking Is Overrated

     I'm keeping it short and sweet tonight. We did legs and I'm totally gassed. I'm questioning my life choices at this moment. Here's what got done:

••••••••••

BACK SQUATS:

65x10

(95lb x6) 5x

ROMANIAN DEADLIFT:

(95lb x10) 4x

45° LEG PRESS:

(190lb x15) 3x

*Improvement over 9 days ago - 3 full sets at 190lb

LEG CURL:

70lb x2, 80lb x13

(80lb x15) 2x

*improvement over 9 days ago - 10lb weight increase

INNER/OUTER THIGH:

Inner: (40lb x12) 3x

Outer: (40lb x12) 3x

*These were absolutely killing me tonight and I actually went down in weight. I think it was because I was just already tired from everything else.

WALKING LUNGES:

(12lb DB x12 ea. leg) 3x

*weight per hand

CALF RAISES:

(112lb x15) 4x

••••••••••

     I didn't wear my braces tonight and I was somewhat apprehensive about what I would be able to do. I was pleasantly surprised that everything felt OK, even those walking lunges. My form on my squats needs some rehab, but I'm not too worried about it, A little more mindfulness when I'm squatting and I'll be back in form in no time. The calf raises sucked hard, but I got through them. All in all, it was a productive night. I anticipate not walking correctly by Friday.

Programmed

     We went away for the weekend and were busy getting prepared last week. We came back yesterday, got unpacked and got back to the gym today. We spent the weekend working our asses off doing chores and projects at our cabin and I feel like I've been beat up several times. In a way, I kind of was because I never missed an opportunity to hurt myself - walking into the tip of our ladder/staircase (think of walking into a trailer hitch), screwing my finger while trying to hang curtains, doing something to my back while sleeping on the worst mattress ever; hurting myself is my special talent. I didn't feel very motivated to go today, but, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I've built the discipline to go anyway. 
Frank was't happy with the stuff I had us doing (insert eye roll), so I got us a new, 5 day program that we're giving a try. Anyone who's ever tried to find a program knows there's a million and two different ones to choose from. We're not at a level where we have to be super picky or dial in to extreme detail, so we really had any choice we wanted. The only caveat that we had was that it had to be Monday through Friday. Frank likes the 5 days and weekends off. We settled on one from Muscle & Strength. You can find the link here. We did add in a couple of extra things, but didn't change too much. Here's what got done:

••••••••••

INCLINED BENCH:

55lb x6

(65lb x6) 3x

DECLINED BENCH:

65lb x12

(75lb x12) 2x

FLAT BENCH:

65lb x12

65lb x15

65lb x13

PEC FLY:

(60lb x12) 3x

REAR DELT FLY:

(50lb x10) 3x

*Improvement over 7 days ago - 3 sets at 50lb

ASSISTED DIPS:

(80lb x6) 3x

CRUNCH MACHINE:

(70lb x15) 3x

ROTARY TORSO:

(70lb x15 ea. side) 3x

*Improvements over 8 days ago - increase in weight and reps

••••••••••

  

     Pretty happy with what we did tonight. I've never been a fan of inclined bench, but it felt good tonight. I've also never done declined bench. I liked it, to me it felt easier than the inclined. The assisted dips still suck. I'm weak as water with them. I'll keep doing them, I have to get stronger with them at some point. 

Benched

     We may be switching up the routine, but for now, Tuesday is bench day. Here's what got done:

••••••••••

BENCH:

55lb x10

65lb x10

85lb x8

(95lb x5) 3x

*Improvement over 10 days ago in my working weight and also my warm up sets.

CLOSE GRIP:

65lb x15

60lb x16

55lb x17

SUPPORTED CHEST ROW:

20lb x15

20lb x20

20lb x25

DB PULLOVERS:

35lb x10

35lb x11

35lb x12

PEC FLY MACHINE:

70lb x15

80lb x10

80lb x6, 70lb x4

REAR DELT MACHINE:

50lb x10

45lb x10

40lb x10

••••••••••

     I feel like I could have and should have done more. I'm pleased with the improvement on the bench though. Not much else in my brain at the moment. I'll end it here and go get myself a cup of tea.

Mondays Are For Squats

     The training schedule for this week may get a little screwed up because we're going away for the weekend. Getting in today's workout was a must. Mondays are for squattin', so here's what got done:

••••••••••

 

BACK SQUATS:

65lb x10

85lb x10

95lb x6

(115lb x5) 3x *10lb increase over last Thursday.

45° LEG PRESS:

190lb x15

190lb x13

(190lb x10) 2x

LEG EXTENSIONS:

(50lb x15) 4x

SEATED LEG CURL:

60lb x15

(70lb x15) 3x

INNER/OUTER THIGH:

Inner:

60lb x10 *10lb increase over last Thursday

50lb x10

40lb x10

Outer:

60lb x10 *10lb increase over last Thursday

50lb x10

40lb x10

CRUNCH MACHINE:

(70lb x10) 4x *Added an extra set over 9 days ago, weight stayed the same.

ROTARY TORSO:

60lb x10 ea side

65lb x10 ea. side

70lb x10 ea. side

STANDING CALF RAISES:

I googled the type of machine at the gym and I believe the empty weight of the machine itself is 67lbs. The weights listed from here on out for STANDING CALF RAISES will reflect this empty weight.

(157lb x10) 2x

112lb x10

••••••••••

     I'm tired but happy with adding 10 more pounds. I told Frank that I want to start adding in some extra sets after the working sets. One with lighter weight and more reps. My knees feel good at the moment, I hope it stays that way. 

     I have to say that today was far better than last Friday. My mind was in a better space and Frank and I had a blast killing ourselves. We may be old, but we're not dead yet!

Not Every Day Is A Winner

     Tonight was not a good night. Let's just jump into what got done, which wasn't much:

••••••••••

BARBELL SHRUGS:

Bar x10

65lb x12

(115lb x15) 2x

     It was at this point that I was beginning to feel extremely agitated. there were about 5 or so young boys all on their phones, all just grouped around talking and watching. 

GOOD MORNINGS:

65lb x10

     This is when I threw in the towel and left the weight room. Good mornings are, let's say, an awkward move to begin with. That awkwardness is made even more palpable when young men are hanging around on the benches behind you while you're trying to make sure your form is right. Now, mind you, Frank always stands behind me when I do things like this because he's a gentleman, but I was still more than mildly self conscious. I also caught a glimpse of my fat self in the wall of mirrors and, you know, some days I just don't need to be reminded of how far I've fallen. 

     Frank and I went out to try and do some cable work. That was a shit show as well because now I'm agitated, pissed and fed up and the friggin pulldown bar is falling on my head. I tried a few pulldowns and quit. I went over to the bike and pedaled out my aggression. 

RECUMBENT BIKE:

10 min; level 4 Rolling Hills; 2.38 miles.

     I found Frank and told him that I was going to try to do some KB swings. They're in the back corner of the weight room and it looked as though all the children had left. Nope. They were all there. One was doing wall balls. Maybe sets of 10 with a moderate rest period of about 10 minutes in between each set. 

KB SWINGS:

(45lb x15) 5x

DB REVERSE LUNGE:

10lb x5 ea. leg

*Pathetic that I can only do 10lbs, but it is what it is. Mind you, I hadn't planned on doing this so I had no braces on.

(12lb x5 ea. leg) 2x

*I made a mindful effort to only use my toe tips on my back foot to stabilize myself and to really push off with that front leg with zero weight on the rear leg. 

SINGLE LEG RDL:

(20lb x5) 3x

••••••••••

     And that was it. We were there roughly 45 minutes, so all was not lost, but it certainly was not what I would call a productive night. I know that it's the Y, and there's going to be a mix of people there. That being said, I'm already over all the kids with their chit-chat and their phones. They sit on the machines, they hang around and talk while people are working and it's annoying. There's a whole rest area out in the lobby where they could sit in nice comfy chairs and shoot the shit, they can go upstairs to the indoor track and goof off, they could even hang around outside. Don't be in the way of people who are trying to work. Especially cranky old women who ain't got time for your shit. 

     Anyway, we were more productive than if we had stayed home so that's a positive. My head is beginning to hurt so I'm going to eat and relax and try to shake this funk. Onwards and upwards.

Unnerved

     I wasn't looking forward to tonight's lower body. Around noon time I was already giving myself reasons why I didn't have to do it - too tired, an extra rest day would be OK, I can make up for it tomorrow; all bullshit. As I always did with squat days, I was nervous and apprehensive of the effort that was going to be required. I was going to try for deads, but I thought I would do squats for a month, then maybe switch it up. I dunno, we'll see; my plans usually change. Anyhow, I was nervous and looking for an out. 

     Frank was telling me the other day about some guy who is always saying "just go to the gym". I had no idea who he was talking about, but it stuck in my head. So I told myself "just go to the gym". We went, we squatted (and a bunch of other stuff) and all those excuses I was so ready to use fell by the wayside. Here's what got done tonight:

••••••••••

LOW BAR BACK SQUAT:

65lb x10

95lb x10

(105x5) 3x

*My math wasn't mathing and I screwed up my warmup sets. I wanted 3 sets, but I only got 2. I did add weight to my working sets though so that was great!

45° LEG PRESS:

100lb x12 (empty sled)

190lb x10

210lb x10

SEATED LEG CURL:

65lb x15

85lb x15

105lb x15

LEG EXTENSIONS:

65lb x15

85lb x15

90lb x15

INNER/OUTER THIGH:

INNER:

50lb x10

40lb x10

30lbx10

(no rest)

OUTER:

50lb x10

40lb x10

30lbx10

(no rest)

SEATED CALF RAISE:

*I have no idea how much the empty machine weighs, so I will just put down the weight that I actually added.

45lb x10 (they were only "half raises" because I didn't know how to use the machine lol. )

25lb x4 (Frank showed me the right way!)

25lb x9

25lb x10

STANDING CALF RAISES:

*As with the seated, I don't know what the empty machine weighs. So the notes reflect the weight that was added)

90lb x6

(90lb x5) 2x

HIP FLEXORS:

(23lb x10) 2x ea. leg

18lb x10 ea. leg

••••••••••

     After all of that, I was toast. I'm so very glad that we went. By the way, I did some googling, and the dude that Frank was talking about Is Papa Swolio. You're welcome lol.

Up Up and Away

     We couldn't get to the gym last night because Em had some dental appointments to go to. It feels good to be back into a routine of lifting and I like that feeling I get when I have to miss a day. It's like missing out on going to the playground. To me, it means that the gym is once again back in my blood.

      Still no movement on the scale but in general, I do feel much better. My energy has improved and my pain level has decreased. Walking down stairs without stabbing pain is a beautiful thing. My knees are not 100% pain free or "normal" but I know that's an unrealistic goal. For instance, tonight getting up from the bench, my left knee pulled weird and was tight feeling the entire time we were working out. It felt fine doing all the squats and lower body work, so maybe it's just still tired from that. I'm not sure but it's certainly not debilitating.

     My goal was to get in better shape overall and to also rehab my knees as much as possible to avoid any sort or surgical intervention. While that may very well be an option years down the road, I think I'm moving in the right direction and making good progress. All that being said, here's what got done tonight:

••••••••••

OVERHEAD PRESS:

(bar x10) 2x STRICT

50lb x5 2 were STRICT, from here on out they were PUSH PRESS

(55lb x5) 2x

*There was no improvement over last week. I probably could have pushed myself more. I'll make a point to go heavier next time.

SINGLE ARM LAT PULL DOWN:

These were performed by doing 10 at full ROM and then 10 little "half pulls". I'll link to the video that used at the end of all of the notes to explain it better.

40lb x10 / pulse x10

(45lb x10 / pulse x10) 2x

INCLINED DB PRESS:

10lb x10

*These were much too light and I don't know why I chose to start with them lol.

15lb x10

20lb x10

( 30lb x5) 3x

INCLINED DB PULLOVER:

15lb x10

*Again, much too light to start with.

(35lb x10) 2x

INCLINED DB CURLS:

(20lb x10) 3x

DIVERGING LOW ROW:

70lb x10

80lb x10

90lb x10

DIPS:

(90lb x7) 3x

WIDE GRIP PULL UPS:

105lb x8

90lb x4, 105lb x5

105lb x4, 1.5

You can click here to watch the video where I got the exercises for tonight. I did forget one - the cable lateral raise. I'm definitely adding that in the next time!

•••••••••

     I was absolutely dusted after that. I went home, ate some porkchops and veg and now I'm sitting typing this up. I'm feeling like having a good cup of coffee and watching some trash tv with my dog (and Frankie too 😉). 

Bangin'

     Tonight was lower body and we settled on squats. Not much to say about it so let's get right to the work. Here's what got done:

BACK SQUATS:

65lb x10

85lb x10

90lb x10

(95lb x5) 3x

Bar wide/mid/narrow x10 ea.

*improvement over last week - 3 warm up sets instead of 2 and they were at heavier weights. Also got a full 3 working sets at 95lb.

HAMSTRING CURLS:

50lb x10

60lb x10

50lb x10

LEG EXTENSIONS:

(55lb x10) 3x

PRECOR LEG PRESS:

40lb x20

SINGLE LEG: (20lb x5 ea. leg) 2x

*my left knee started complaining, so I called it quits.

MULTI HIP MACHINE:

INNER THIGH ( ea. leg): 29lb x10 

                                           35lb x10

                                           41lb x10

OUTER THIGH (ea. leg): (29lb x10) 3x

KICK BACKS (ea. leg): 29lb x10 

                                         35lb x10

                                         41lb x10

••••••••••

     As I was dying on the multi hip machine tonight, I was reading the information stickers that they have on it. I was under the impression that the numbers on the plates (1, 2, 3, etc.) were the weights. They aren't. The tiny little chart shows you the weights that they correspond to. So my previous posts are incorrect, but I'm not going back to fix them lol. 

     As far as the squats, well, I'm actually really proud of myself. I added not only extra sets, but extra weight. If I was doubting my efforts, all I have to do is read in black and white the improvements that I've made. Frank and I are both working our asses off and we're starting to see results. 

     On a little side note/rant, I don't understand the people that bang the weights down on the machines. Some dude was in there smacking the plates down on every rep like his worst enemy was under them. It was annoying. Seriously guy, nobody cares how much you're pushing when you do that. It's douchey. Just stop. 

We Didn't Phone It In

     We missed yesterday's workout which meant it was a must that we went today. The gym was pretty empty, except for one weird kid that was singing to himself. You now what I noticed though? Everyone is on their dang phones. Now, I understand the concept of timing heavy sets, or more so the recovery time, but it seems like they're timing everything. Every set gets at least a minute rest. Am I missing something here because that seems a bit...excessive. Maybe that's why I don't see more people sweating. I guess it really isn't my issue to worry over, I just find it odd.

     Anyhoo...It was back to upper body for me so I started with bench and moved on to some accessories. Here's what got done tonight:

••••••••••

BENCH PRESS:

55lb x10

65lb x10

75lb x8

(85lb x5) 3x

*Improvement over 8 days ago as I added in an extra set @ 75lb

DB REAR DELT FLY:

(15lb x10) 3x

DB CHEST FLY:

(15lb x10) 3x

DB LYING TRICEP EXTENSION:

(15lb x10)

DB BENT ROWS:

20lb x10

30lb x10

40lb x10

PRECOR BICEP CURL:

30lb x10

40lb x10

30lb x10 (with pause)

PRECOR DIP/CHIN UP MACHINE:

DIPS: 

(60lb x5) 2x, 3rd set was failure

CHIN UPS:

90lb x5

105x 4.5

105 x5

*in case you don't know, because I didn't, the higher the weight, the bigger the assist. So the goal on these is to have less weight. 

ROTARY TORSO:

50lb x10 ea. side

60lb x10 ea. side

70lb x10 ea. side

PRECOR CRUNCH MACHINE:

(70lb x10) 3x

*Improvement over 4 days ago by adding 10lbs to ea. set.

••••••••••

     I hadn't even seen the dip/chin up machine the other times that we've been there. I was glad I saw it because I really liked it! I can't do either a dip or chin up/pull up so this machine is going to be a great help to me. 

     Everything went pretty well tonight. I'm glad I made some improvement on the bench and the crunch. I haven't seen any improvement on the scale to speak of. it's up and down from day to day. I have noticed, I think, that my love handles have shrunk some and my shirts are fitting a little better. It's a tiny thing, but it gives me a small boost to my mood. 

I Don't Wanna Bench!

     Today was a weird day. Energy was down, vibe was down, everything was kind of "meh". But we went to the gym anyway. I wanted to deadlift because Monday I squatted. I had it all planned in my head but it blew to shit when I got there. There was a couple women down by the kettlebell area, so I couldn't do KB deads, which was my alternate plan for deadlifts. There was some other guy doing dumbbell stuff in the other back corner so I couldn't deadlift over there. That left the squat rack / deadlift platform at the front. I'm gonna just come out and say that I was too nervous to do it there. 

     So I went out to the machines in a huff and left Frank to bench. I didn't want to bench. I sat on a recumbent bike and started pedaling while I let my anger get the best of me. I was going to just spend 30 minutes pedaling and leave, but then I thought that would be the easy way out and I never do anything the easy way. So I came up with an alternate, alternate plan for lower body. Here's what got done:

••••••••••

RECUMBENT BIKE:

10 minutes, 2.16 miles

CABLE SQUATS:

(60lb x10) 3x

80lb x5

90lb x5

100lb x5

LEG CURLS:

(Precor Leg Curl Machine)

60lb x10

70lb x10

(90lb x5) 3x

BACK RAISES:

Body Weight x10

10lb x10

(25lb x5) 3x

INNER/OUTER THIGH:

(Precor Machine)

INNER:  50lb x10

              40lb x10

              30lb x10

OUTER: 50lb x10

               40lb x10

               30lbx10

MULTI HIP MACHINE:

Kickbacks: 8lb x15 ea. side

Knee Raise: 8lb x15 ea. side

ROTARY TORSO:

60lb x10

40lb x10

••••••••••

     I stopped after those 2 sets because they were stirring up my acid reflux in a very bad way. 

Tonight was not what I wanted, but it still was better than just tossing in the towel. I have to say that I kind of like the bike as a warm up. In other, exciting news, Emily said she actually did some jogging around the indoor track. I can verify that when I saw her there was perspiration on her brow. I cannot verify the extent of her exertion lol. I'm just glad she gave some sort of effort. It did worry me that she said she doesn't want muscles, she just wants to be skinny. I told her she needs to do something to gain some muscle or she'll just be skinny fat and she said she didn't want that. So maybe she'll start listening to her embarrassment of a mother (wink wink).

     All in all, today was a good workout - I'm tired and sore. I do know that I need to start drinking more; I think that's part of my energy problem. The other is that I haven't been getting good sleep but that's an entirely different can of worms!

Who's Intimidating Who?

     Tonight was press night. I got back under the bar and did some strict presses (not very heavy lol) and mostly some push presses. It felt really good. I almost didn't do them because when we got into the weight room, there was no bar on the rack and I didn't want to grab one from a bench and bring it over. But then I just said "screw it" and did my thing. I will admit that I do suffer from a little bit of intimidation when I'm in there. I bring it up here because it was a discussion that I had with Emily on the way home. 

     We all go as a family. The first night she worked a little, but since then, she mostly just stands next to us with her arms crossed scanning the room. She said she feels awkward and it shows. I get it, she's a 15 year old girl and getting sweaty is an extreme form of embarrassment, especially when there's young lads roaming around. 

     I felt the same intimidation for a minute or two. I had finished pressing and was doing some dumbbell work at the bench. Two young men, about Emily's age, came to grab some weights and work at the bench next to me. Now, I'm an overweight, middle-aged woman trying to scrabble my way back to being fit so to have 2 teenagers, in the spring of their lives lifting next to me made me a tad self-conscious. I felt even more awkward when I heard one of them say "oh, she took the other one". I was only using the 15lb weights. Then they sat next to me while I was working, doing presses and such, and I could tell that I was actually making them a little uncomfortable. One of them was pressing but was giving up, and cussing and only doing a couple of reps at a time. He was making excuses of his arm hurting and such and such. I have to admit that I stifled a chuckle. Seriously though, it pushed me to finish my sets strong. 

     There are all sorts of people that are in our Y; young athletes, middle-aged housewives, older people trying to rehab from injuries. All sorts of people there and I guarantee you that at some point, almost all of them were intimidated by somebody in there. Granted, some of the younger kids are there trying to impress, but most people are there trying to make themselves better. I know that's why we're there. We're putting in the work to see the results and that's truly all that matters. I hope that Em can get past this hurdle. It's nothing that we can do for her, it's an obstacle that she needs to climb herself. All we can do is hold the support ropes while she's climbing.

     Most of the accessory work I got from a Facebook post. I'll post the link after all of the training notes. Here's what got done tonight:

••••••••••

OVERHEAD PRESS:

Bar x10 (strict press)

55lb x10

(65lb x5) 3x

SINGLE ARM STRAIGHT FLY:

(15lb x10) 3x

BENT ARM SIDE RAISE:

(15lb x10) 3x

ARNOLD PRESS:

(15lb x10) 3x

ALTERNATING PRESS/HOLD:

(Hold one DB overhead, press 2x with the other. This is one rep)

(15lb x2 ea. side) 3x

ZOTTMAN CURLS:

(20lb x10) 3x

TRICEP DIPS:

(Precor dip machine)

60lb x10

90lb x5 (Got a little over my skis with that weight lol)

70lb x5

70lb x10

DIVERGING LOW ROWS:

90lb x10

100lb x10

110lb x10

PRECOR CRUNCH MACHINE:

(60lb x10) 3x

••••••••••

     If you want to watch the videos that I used for tonight's session, just click here. I liked it and I think I'll keep it in rotation. 

We Didn't Skip It

     We didn't get to the gym this weekend because we were busy moving furniture. Trying to empty a house is no small feat. Today was a must for us, and it was leg day! Here's what got done:

••••••••••

BACK SQUATS:

55lb x10

65lb x10

(95lb x5) 2x

My left knee gave some pain at the end of this set, so I didn't push it.

Bar wide/mid/narrow x5 ea.

45° LEG PRESS:

100lb x10

(190lb x10) 2x

LEG EXTENSIONS:

(60lb x10) 2x

50lb x10

HAMSTRING CURLS:

(60lb x10) 2x

50lb x10 (slow)

BACK EXTENSIONS:

(on back extension bench)

(BW x10) 3x

SEATED BACK EXTENSIONS:

(Precor Back Extension machine)

60lb x10

70lb x10

80lb x10

PRECOR LEG PRESS:

100lb x10

100lb x5

My left knee started to have some more pain at this point so I stopped. 

INNER/OUTER THIGH MACHINE:

INNER: 50lb x10

             40lb x10

             30lb x10

OUTER: 50lb x10

               40lb x10

               30lb x10

PRECOR CRUNCH MACHINE:

(60lb x10) 3x

••••••••••

     I really wanted to do the back squats tonight. The weight was pitiful, but it felt good to be doing them again. A little disappointed that I couldn't get much even at only 95lbs, but I can't say that I'm totally surprised. I'll be back in that rack again next week. I know I'll be able to complete the full 3 sets of 5, then we can add a little bit more. 

     My left knee seems to be the problem child right now. It's the one that's swollen everyday, and the one that's first to give pain. It's funny because the right knee used to be the more painful one. I know the braces are helping, but I hope that I can work my way out of using them.

     I'm sore right now and tired and very hungry. It's dinner time and then I've earned 2 cookies for dessert. 

Hot Bench

     Frank and I were back at it today. We did bench and back and ended with core. I tried the multi hip machine but for some reason it was fighting me every step of the way. The weight seemed too heavy, the roller was uncomfortable and hurting my leg and I just couldn't seem to get it right. So I moved on. Definitely worked up a good sweat today - it was humid in that gym. I even remembered my notebook and pen to keep track of what I was doing.  Here's what got done:

•••••••••••

BENCH:

55lb x10

65lb x10

(85lb x5) 3x

wide/mid/narrow x10 each, empty bar

REAR DELT FLY:

(machine)

30lb x10

50lb x10

70lb x10

PEC FLY:

(machine)

40lb x10

60lb x10

100lb x8

80lb x2

DIVERGING LOW ROW:

(machine)

Double Row 60lb x10

Single Arm 60lb x10 (ea. side)

Single Arm 65lb x10 (ea. side)

Double Row 110lb x10

FACE PULLS:

(machine)

35lb x10

40lb x10 (pause last rep)

45lb x10 (pause last rep)

ROTARY TORSO:

60lb x10

(70lb x10) 2x

••••••••••

     Not a bad showing today. It was nice and quiet when we got there so we had our pick of machines. I found a nice little dumbbell shoulder workout for our next upper body day because I really want to work more DB back in. I'm disappointed, of course, with the weight on the bench, but not surprised. It's been probably a solid year or more since I did any serious bench work. I'm hoping the numbers will go up fairly quickly. 

     As far as the scale, I have lost exactly zero pounds and maybe even gained a pound or two. I'm to not let it bother me too much, I know the scale is a fickle bitch. I'm just going to have faith that hard work and good food will start showing results.