Elliptical - Monday Nov 11

30 minutes on elliptical. Just cruisin' - no high intensity work.
Heart rate 138-145 bpm

Legs Friday - Nov 27

Weighed in at 238.5 on Thursday and Friday morning
Pretty sure that Prilosec keeps me about 5 to 6 pounds heavier than I would normally be, since going off of it seems to cause instant weightloss.

Feel like I have a cold, but it's time for legs.

Cell contents = Weight in Pounds x Reps.
Lift: Safety Squat
Sets 1 to 3	140x12	150x12	150x12
Sets 4 to 6	160x12	160x12	160x12
Sets 7 to 9	160x11	160x10	N/A
Lift: Leg Extensions
Sets 1 to 3	70x11	70x12	70x12
Sets 4 to 6	70x10	70x10	70x10
Lift: Calf Raise
Sets 1 to 3	180x11	180x11	180x10
Sets 4 to 6	180x8	180x8	N/A

Chest Day - Monday

pre-workout weight N/A

Cell contents = Weight in Pounds x Reps.
Flat Bench
Sets 1 to 3	160x10	180x10	180x7
Sets 4 to 6	180x8	180x7	160x7
Sets 7 to 9	160x6	160x4	N/A
Lift: Incline Bench
Sets 1 to 3	110x10	110x8	110x8
Sets 4 to 6	110x8	N/A	N/A
Lift: Military
Sets 1 to 3	90x7	90x5	90x5
Sets 4 to 6	90x5	N/A	N/A
Lift: Tri extension
Sets 1 to 3	30x12	30x12	40x8
Sets 4 to 6	40x8	N/A	N/A

Saturday - Nov 21 Raquetball!

Pre-Workout Weight = 237. WHAT!?!?! KEWL!!!

Put on the 44 waist pants today, and they actually had some extra space in the waist. Unbelievable. I haven't even been that disciplined about my eating. I snarfle everything in sight, including an entire pizza yesterday.

I have a theory. I think Prilosec makes me retain water or something. Missed a Prilosec pill, and took it at night, rather than in the morning, and that's when my weight dropped. Should wean myself off that crap anyway.

Ok, so I was a bum on Thursday and Friday. Decisions have been made at work, and it appears that I'll be leaving my executive assistant job in order to start splitting my time between the Lab, and Operations. I'm going to be an OIT! This is HUGE! Not that great in the beginning, I'm sure. And I'm a bit worried about having to get a class A license, and drive big sludge trucks, but the prospects for having an actual career, with a laid-out progression for improving my income and training, is pretty exciting. I can make -good- money if I put in the time and the work.

Anyway, cleaning up my remaining work, cleaning out my desk, and all the other stuff I needed to do in the lab ended up with me working two 9 and a half hour shifts, with no breaks. So I wasn't getting any workouts in on Thursday and Friday.

But today, Tam wanted to play raquetball. I bitched and moaned, and then went along. We don't really play the game, we just chase the ball around and hit it as hard as possible, trying to keep moving as much as possible.

It's a GREAT aerobic workout. Fun, hits the quads hard, lots of lateral and backward motion thrown in - it's like a more natural approach to interval training - one that doesn't involve some pesky timer going off and telling you when to sprint until you heave.

Lot of fun. Sucks being surrounded by a bunch of twenty year old hardbodies, though. Sucks having to keep yourself from staring at some hottie's sweating haunches as she's grinding away on the stair stepper. But wifey would not approve of wandering gaze. --DISCIPLINE--! Eyes Forward soldier!

Still. Great workout. If we made it a regular Saturday thing, I'd be totally up for it.

Things I need to do within the next couple of days. Another Chest workout, and another Leg workout. I worry, however, about hamburgering my legs before starting my gig as an operator. Perhaps I'll wait until Wednesday afternoon to do my leg work.

Wed - Nov 18 - Back day

pre-workout weight 240.5

Cell contents = Weight in Pounds x Reps.
Lift: Lat pulls
Sets 1 to 3	140x12	140x12	140x12
Sets 4 to 6	150x10	150x8	150x8
Sets 7 to 9	150x7	150x6	150x5
Lift: Rowing Machine
Sets 1 to 3	90x9	90x9	90x9
Sets 4 to 6	90x7	90x7	90x7
Lift: Seated Cable row
Sets 1 to 3	90x8	90x8	110x8
Sets 4 to 6	110x7	110x7	fuggedaboutit

Next time I should probably move Lat Pulls to the -end- of the workout, and use lighter weights during the exercise. Focus on getting a good 'squeeze' of the shoulderblades together at the peak of the exercise. Feel like I might be using too much weight at this point, and failing to get complete contractions.

Also, the low cable rows. Saw something in a mag about how leaning forward isolates the muscles the row is supposed to target. Tried leaning forward and found I could complete only a few reps. May want to start distinguishing between standard rows where I can lean back, and lighter cable rows, where I lean forward.

Tuesday - Nov 17 - Elliptical

OMG. Monday was bad. Much limping and groaning and laughing at how much the supposedly 'simple' things hurt. Sitting down and getting up is painful. Today was even worse than Tuesday. Even as quads are beginning to recover, doms is hitting the calves hard. The end result is that I roll out of bed thinking I'll be Ok, only to find that my feet no longer flex at the ankle, and I have to do this flat footed shuffle around the house, until the muscles loosen up again.

Rinse and repeat anytime I'm stationary for more than half an hour at a time.

Despite that, I got on the elliptical. After all, it's only after I'm -stationary- that things really hurt, so I figured the elliptical might help me work out some of the kinks.

completed 25 minutes without too much difficulty. Heart rate 140-145 bpm. No sprints or 'climbs' during this session. Just cruising.

Sunday - Nov 15 - Hamburger Legs!

Excellent Leg workout. Completely hamburgered my quads, and can feel muscle soreness in my abs and low back as well. Some slight pain from disc compression, but most of the pain is the 'good'/muscle soreness kind.
Things that make me go 'OW' today. Picking up a pen that I dropped on the floor. Getting in and out of the car. Stairs. Walking. Breathing.

Must'a done -something- right.

Safety squats-- by the time I finished all seven sets, my heart rate was hovering around 115, and would spike to between 140 and 160 during each set.

Calf raises -- using heavier weight (180). Can definitely feel it today, but am wondering if I am only hitting one part of the calf muscle. May need to do more sets, or train several times a week. May need to experiment with a variety of foot positions.

Cell contents = Weight in Pounds x Reps.
Lift: Safety Squat
Sets 1 to 3	140x12	150x12	160x12
Sets 4 to 6	160x12	160x12	160x12
Sets 7 to 9	160x12	N/A	N/A
Lift: Leg Extensions
Sets 1 to 3	60x12	70x12	70x12
Sets 4 to 6	70x12	70x12	70x11(fail)
Lift: Calf Raise
Sets 1 to 3	180x11	180x11	180x9
Sets 4 to 6	180x11	180x9	N/A

Wednesday Nov 11 - Chest

Chest day - Worked out hard today. Been drinking too much lately, and have missed a day here and there, but am trying to use my guilt to re-commit, and do some serious work. Always feel pressed for time, but forced myself to do a few extra sets this time, even though every extra minute made me feel like my life was slipping away from me as I ground out the additional sets.

Cell contents = Weight in Pounds x Reps.
Lift: Flat Bench
Sets 1 to 3	160x12	160x12	160x10
Sets 4 to 6	160x09	160x7	160x7
Sets 7 to 9	160x6	160x5	160x5
Lift: Incline Bench
Sets 1 to 3	130x7	130x6	130x6
Sets 4 to 6	130x5	130x4	130x3
Lift: Military
Sets 1 to 3	90x6	90x5	90x6
Sets 4 to 6	70x7	70x6	70x5

Tuesday - Nov 10 - Elliptical

11 10 09 Tuesday
Elliptical for 20 min. Cruising speed only. No 'peaks'. heart rate probly 135-145.

Monday - Nov 9 2009

11 09 09 Monday
Elliptical for 20 mins. 140-150 bpm 'cruising', with two to three 'peaks' at 160. Post workout weight = 239.5.

This is not promising. I've clearly put back on some of the weight I had lost earlier. To be expected, I guess, considering four plus weeks of injury, and two weeks of sickness.

Also haven't been good about logging my progress, so I'm just getting around to sitting down and transcribing everything from the logbook. There's like a month's worth of scrawlings in here.

Sunday - Nov 8 - Back Day

Back Day - Pre Workout Weight = 242.5

Time to take this new rowing machine for a test drive

Cell contents = Weight in Pounds x Reps.
Lift: Lat pulls
Sets 1 to 3	140x12	140x11	140x12
Sets 4 to 6	150x11	150x8(longrest)	150x9
Sets 7 to 9	150x8	150x5
Lift: Rowing Machine
Sets 1 to 3	90x7	90x8	90x8
Sets 4 to 6	90x8	110x5	110x5
Lift: Seated Cable row
Sets 1 to 3	90x8	90x8	90x8
Sets 4 to 6	90x8	90x8	90x8

Rowing machine actually seems to make it so I lift -less- than when I'm doing bent-over rows. I think it's because I can no longer 'cheat' the weight up by swinging it, or by popping it past a sticking point with my lower body.

Don't know how much I'm getting out of the low cable rows. Pretty sapped by the time I get to them, and the weight is light. Should try doing the last four sets with 100 next time.

Monday - Nov 5

pre workout weight = 239

Several days w/o working out - for a couple of them, I was feeling sick enough that I came right home and went straight to bed. Then I had one day spent assembling the new rowing machine. Anyway, still feeling weak, tired, and a little sick. Also depressed. Hoping working out will help. Going to use new safety squat machine.

Can't be too excited about pre workout weight. Forgot to eat lunch, and am also massively dehydrated. Probly lost some muscle mass, too, during the layoff/sickness.

Time to kick it back into gear.

Cell contents = Weight in Pounds x Reps.
Lift: Safety Squat
Sets 1 to 3	120x15	130x 15	140x14
Sets 4 to 6	140x10	140x10	150x10
Sets 7 to 9	150x10
Lift: Leg Extensions
Sets 1 to 3	60x15	70x12	70x12
Sets 4 to 6	70x11	70x11	70x11

I think my legs could handle more weight on the squats, but I can really feel it in my back, so I think I should probably ease my way into any additional weight. Upside -- I think I'm getting more out of the extensions this time. Doing them slowere and more controlled, and can really feel it. But my left side is -weak-.