Righty-o then. Today was pretty blah for a day in terms of output, and I paid for it. I was still, ah...overburdening myself with the worries that had set upon me late on Friday. But regardless, I still came through on all fronts. Which, considering how tied my emotional state is to my strength (or utter lack thereof), I'm willing to venture that this was actually impressive for my standards.
Elliptic Machine(Cardio): 40 minutes at level 4/30 difficulty. I kinda cheated on this one and stuck another 28 seconds on at the end, just to even everything out at 350 calories burned, instead of working myself up into a frenzy periodically so that I could've accomplished this without adding time. I figure Fridays are the days to kick my own ass if any day at all...so I was trying to take it easier on myself today.
Bench Press (60 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. I was worked up into a tizzy over whether or not I'd be able to add 3 reps every day, so I decided to stick with 2. That was the better choice; I recognize the intensifying burn in the triceps that were starting by rep 28.
Pec Fly(60 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. This one, ever and always, was the one that gave me grief. I managed the 32 reps, but there was a period where it was all I could do to hold my position halfway through the rep, late in the set. Took a couple breaths while in that position, powered through, finished, won to the max, etc.
Abdominal Fuse (60 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. Easy peasy.
Leg Extension(60 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. I surprised myself with how easy I found this. There were a few times where I accidentally started the rep with too much octane, and slammed the weight at its max extension, or, my far more usual mistake, misjudged the weight's descent path and accidentally slammed it down.
Seated Leg Curl(60 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. Refer to prior moaning and griping of ease and slamming. Different move, same problems. I wanted to offer an apology to the owner each time it happened, but I didn't know how that would be taken, especially since I kept. Doing it. Wak.
Leg Press (60 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. Not only was this markedly easier than I remember it being in high school in BFS class, but the seat adjustment wasn't even right (Yes. I finally discovered this feature.), so I wasn't bending the legs nearly as much to return to base. I fixed it, reset the set, and finished it like a man.
Chest Press(60 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. I could feel a strain on my breathing, but it wasn't so great that I couldn't oxygenate properly, and the reps were done quicker than you could want for.
Shoulder Press(60 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. I remember sets of 3x12 giving me trouble with 70 lbs when I regularly got to see a weight room, in my high school years. I happened to remember this while I was doing the set. I laaaughed laughed laaaaughed...it was the only element of challenge to the set.
Lower Back Fuse(60 lbs): 32 reps, no breaks. I love this one. I try to take the time to ensure that I am using more of my lower back muscles to perform the rep than I am my feet to hold me steady on the device, which, given my freaky rate of stamina recovery, means I'm nearly back to 100% in time for...
Seated Row(60 lbs): 32 reps. I came into this one a bit cocky, and so my guard was down against the wear my shoulders had already taken. I needed to re-orient my grip after rep 27, and then it was shhhmooth shailing all the way to the finish.
Bicep Curl(20 lbs): 32 reps. I got to 16 reps before I found myself off-balanced. The rest was a smooth matter of progress.
Tricep Extension(25 lbs): 32 reps. 16 emphasizing the left arm, 16 emphasizing the right arm. All 32 spent admiring the lines in my arms that weren't there a month ago. Still not prominent or numerous enough to be admiring in the mirror every day, but hey. We're getting there.
Low Row(15 lbs): 2x32 reps. I wanted to learn the exercise form properly this time, and just in case my back decided to throw a pissy fit, I stuck with a low weight. The result...hm. I don't know how to take it. I felt no strain while doing the exercise, and then, when I straightened my back back out and moved to switch sides, all of the strain seemed to wash right over my back on that side. Could mean trouble if I try to just double the weight next time like I had originally intended.
Fingertip Pushups: 2 reps. 2 today, 20 before I know it.
Bike(Cardio): I started at level 4 today, and added 1 difficulty level every 5 minutes, ending at 11. My average RPM was in the high 110's(117), with a nearly unshakable placing in the high 120's for the first 10 minutes. The final 10 minutes were what broke that trend. That, and my attempt to moderate my weekly expenditure. I still didn't go below 110 RPM often, and rarely stayed there for longer than a few seconds before I noticed and began adding the abs, shoulders, and neck into kicking a stronger pace into the game. Buuuut...
This little diddy helped me maintain a minute here, a minute there, in the 136 RPM range, which is what my maximum speed was clocked at. I'd say Zebrahead is now at a 1:2 ratio of Songs I've Liked:Songs I've Heard where they're concerned. Nice, lively, and a beat that it was easy to attune myself to and lose cognizance of my body with.
If you like this diddy, give their actual album, Phoenix, released in 2008, a try.
And then, in the process of acquiring said good news I hinted at earlier, I went full autist and locked myself out of my own house.
Er...I mean, decided that I was too manly to call it quits at this, and went for a 7 mile jaunt through my local town!....Or something! Haaa!....(Laughwithme)
This week marks the beginning of a program I'd like to switch to during these "stalling" periods. Where, hopefully, I can get away with a little less protein intake and still make progress. Fingers and flippers crossed, y'awl.
Also, you may note that Squats are no longer on the listing. There is a good reason for that. I was panicking the owner of the gym (For good reason) with my shitey form. Due to my paranoia about bringing on another spastic fit with the muscles in that region ever again, I was compromising how I did squats, which I've learned rely a lot more on the back than I thought. He was extremely worried about this, as was my family once I mentioned it to them, and so, until I have a stronger back to handle that reliably...I've dropped it from my regimen.
I am still learn de wey.
