Keep an exercise gournal

though not an awful one. The big lymph node lump in my neck is a little ooky, my wrists hurt and I’m fatigued. So I stayed home and did one set of all but one exercise. Pretty good for a flare day and not overdoing it.

One armed plank: 20 seconds each side
One armed Supermans: 1 set of 20 2sec reps
Leg raises: 1 set of 20
Floor wipers (oblique leg raises): 1 set of 12 to each side
1 sets 20 alternating clean & press squat with 8lb dumbbell
1 sets 15 lunge to snatch with 8lb dumbbell
1 sets 20 turning lunges with 8lb dumbbell
1 set 15 single leg stiff leg deadlift with ankle tap

Also stretched my very tight calves.

Absmacking day.

3×30 oblique crunches with medicine ball
2×15 each side ab rotation machine, 45 lbs
Bench knee ups 3×15
leg raises 3×15
Glares at obnoxious loudly grunting jerk wearing loud, bad cologne that kept getting in my personal space – 2. The second one got my point across. Go Away.

35 minutes on the elliptical machine, w/ 4 – 2 min. intervals at 80%

Today’s workout music: She Wants Revenge, Volbeat, K’naan

I took a long look in the mirror tonight, and I know I’ve come a long way. I’m almost in that size 8, down from barely squeezing into a 14. Although I am very proud of that, I’m not done yet. I’m in better shape than I’ve been in YEARS, but I’m aiming higher. I want to be in exemplary shape.

This means its time to up my game. I work hard, but I’m not pushing it much right now with the cardio. I think that’s what I can do to most effectively tip the input to output ratio and burn some more fat, and I can monitor my caloric intake like a hawk for the next month. I refuse to let the holidays undo my work. I’ve made it thru Thanksgiving with no gains, and I think Christmas is a wussy, I can take him.

December Bootcamp, here I come. Bring it.

Rest.

Stretched for 30 minutes.

Lower body, 3×15 each, no super sets tonight:
Leg Press, both legs, 150 lbs.
Leg Press single legs, 50 lbs.
ham curls, both legs, 70 lbs.
ham curls, single legs, 40 lbs
leg extension, both legs, 70 lbs
leg extension, single leg, 30 lbs
Glute press, single legs, 50 lbs.

Upper body:
Chest flyes, free weights, 15 lb dumbells, 3×15
Chest press, free weights, 15 lb dumbells, 3×20 (5 each x being smaller isolating movements)
Curls, singles, 15 lbs, 3×20, 5 being iso’s each time.
Curls, doubles
supersets-15 then straight to the next complementing exercise for another 15, ai mama, they HURT so good.
tricep pressdown, 50lbs
tricep overhead rope press, 40 lbs
seated lat pulls, 100 lbs
seated lat pulls, lunging, 100 lbs
wood chops, 40 lbs
swing blades, 40 lbs
8/5’s shoulder sets…hate the muthas!
Lunge Pulldown, 35 lbs.
Lunge Alt pulldown, 35 lbs.

Abs:
medicine ball oblique crunches, 1 set of 30
bench knee ups, 2×20

My abs were still hurting from the other day, I went light today. I didn’t have as much energy, so I didn’t make any real gains in weight, and had to really slow down between sets, but I got them all done.

I solved my aversion to inversion issue tonight. Every time I do any exercise that drops my head lower than my heart, I get extremely dizzy, and when coupled with exertion, I get nearly faint. Tonight, I went to doing the glute press single legs only, and went much more slowly. I took longer inhales as I pulled my knee in slowly to a count of 4, and exhaled fully and sharply to a count of 2. Its all about the breath, it seems. Still a little dizzy, but much better.

Workout music de jour:
311, starting with ‘Down’ and finishing the self titled album.
A little old Prince thrown in, to keep it funky. I just hope I wasn’t walking around the gym singing “If I Were Your Girlfriend” in horribly offkey falsetto ‘headphones’ vocals. Ai, mama, I’m a dork.

Walked Abi in a tryptophan and wine induced haze, so I obviously didn’t go very fast.

Abs:
Rotations, 45 lbs. 15 each side.
medicine ball oblique crunches, 3 sets of 25
bench knee ups, 3×15
bench leg raise, 3×25

Cardio:
30 minutes on video bike gizmo

Played at the climbing gym, found a new form of exercise to love.

supersets, 15 each, straight through, 60 sec between exercises.

Lower body:
Leg Press, both legs, 150 lbs.
Leg Press single legs, 50 lbs.
ham curls, both legs, 70 lbs.
ham curls, single legs, 30 lbs
leg extension, both legs, 70 lbs
leg extension, single leg, 30 lbs
Glute press, both legs, 70 lbs
Glute press, single leg, 50 lbs.

Upper body:
Curls, singles, 15 lbs
tricep pressdown, 40lbs
tricep overhead rope press, 40 lbs
seated lat pulls, 100 lbs
seated lat pulls, lunging, 100 lbs
wood chops, 40 lbs
swing blades, 40 lbs
8/5’s shoulder sets…hate the muthas!
Lunge Pulldown, 35 lbs.
Lunge Alt pulldown, 35 lbs.

Abs:
Rotations, 45 lbs. 15 each side. New exercise, wow, this works.
medicine ball oblique crunches, 3 sets of 25
bench knee ups, 3×15
bench leg raise, 3×25

I am loving this trainer. A lot of the exercises he gives me require balance and the less I have, the more my muscles work to keep me upright. There’s a lot of flexibility training built into these, too.

Foam roll: piriformis and lats
Stretch: piriformis, hip flexors

One armed plank: 20 seconds each side
One armed Supermans: 2 sets of 10 2sec reps
Leg raises: 1 set of 20
Floor wipers (oblique leg raises): 1 set of 12 to each side

2 sets 20/18 alternating clean & press squat with 8lb dumbbell
2 sets 12 lunge to snatch (teehee!) with 8lb dumbbell
2 sets 20 turning lunges with 8lb dumbbell
1 set 15 single leg stiff leg deadlift with ankle tap
2 sets 15 step up to twist with 4lb medicine ball

If there were two steps up to our office instead of one, I would have had to call in sick. My quads/glutes are screaming. I don’t have a bicep ache, but my triceps, shoulders and back are all talking to me, too.

Also did 30 minutes on the elliptical on Monday, hoping to do 30 tonight unless it’s a pre-feast madhouse. I’m going to walk to my folks’s house tomorrow morning, about 4 miles.

I was crowing about the one armed planks and Supermans to Mr. Yes and he was so happy that I like the gym. He’s an active guy and it makes him happy that we can hike together and with Little Yes.

1 plank, 30 seconds + counting to 10 twice as fast as I could
2 sets 20 scissors with 5lb dumbbell
3 sets 20 prone knee ups on stability ball against wall
2 sets 15/12 10lb chest flyes on stability ball
2 sets 20 standing back rows 10lbs
2 sets 20/12 50lbs cable pulldowns
2 sets 15/10 30lbs cable pushdowns
2 sets 12 walking lunges with rotation of 4lb medicine ball
2 sets 20 side squat to opp. side extension with 4lb medicine ball
2 sets 15/12 kettlebell swings with 18lb kettlebell
Foam rollers on my ITB, hamstrings, and quads
Piriformis stretch

Not bad, considering I’d done such a big workout on Weds. I tried to do the knee ups with the stability ball away from the wall and managed two before I felt a nasty twang! in my right hamstring. It’s better today after massage and rest, thank goodness. Mr. Yes says my biceps are bigger and I noticed while shaving this morning that I have two muscles defined in my calves. Sweet!

Did 30 minutes on the elliptical last night. I went after work, the busiest time, so I ended up on an older machine with no ramp adjustment. I worked around that by changing direction, resistance and speed, including a two minute all out burst during which I closed my eyes and ran as fast as I could.

I’m doing a full weight workout tonight. Still sore from Weds, esp. my quads, glutes, back and pecs, so it may not be as Xena, but it will be my second weight workout this week, fulfilling my subgoal. Sunday and Thursday weight sessions are definitely the best for me. Lots of rest so I can hit it full bore both times. Gotta check out the gym’s holiday schedule. With more cars at the mall during the shopping season, I have to park far enough away that I can jog to the gym and make that my warmup!