Ah moms, gotta love em! 
1 Like
Leggie Day!
Leg Press: 125 unbroken reps
You guys are not going to believe what happened today. It proves how much power the mind has over the body.
So I was working through the 100 reps while listening to In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. And as usual, reps 60 to 100 felt like pure torture. I wanted to stop every time the sled made it to the top.
But the moment I hit 100 was the exact time the drum solo hit: Ba bum, buh bum, bum bum, bum. bum. buum.
And the most bizarre thing happened. The fatigue didn’t matter anymore. My quads were on fire, but it would’ve been criminal to stop. The emotions took over. And I repped out 25 more reps, but they were different: fiery, passionate, almost-angry reps. It was epic.
More Leg Press: 5x5
Set 1: 90
Set 2: 140
Set 3: 160
Set 4: 160
Set 5: 160
Had to pee at set 4, but didn’t want to abandon my machine. I also set my timer for every minute on the 3 minutes. This gave me about 2 minutes and 45 seconds to rest between sets. I needed the extra time today.
It appears as though I may be progressively overloading this exercise and the hammer strength chest press on upper body day. Maybe I’m not so rebellious after all.
Swiss Ball Ham Curl: 3x12
Got a text from the contractor saying he would be over in 45 minutes, so I had to put a rush on the rest of the workout because there was stuff I had to do before he came over.
Abductor Machine: 1 long drop set
Questions for anyone dropping by:
-
Has there ever been a time when your emotions made you out-perform your expectations or workout plans?
-
And how do you feel about improvisation during a workout? I know a lot of trainers look down on that – probably for good reason – but what’s your personal philosophy on it?
7 Likes
If any guy says he hasn’t found the extra energy for a bonus rep or two when a nice looking gal walks by, he’s lying like a rug. Doesn’t happen to me of course. Pretty sure no other women train at our gym. Never noticed.
5 Likes
Have a plan but be able to alter that plan at any time. Maybe you didn’t sleep great the night before. Maybe something is hurting. Or, practically, maybe the machine/bench/rack you need is being used and you have to get a move on with your workout, so you switch exercises. In the end, it doesn’t matter as much as many coaches would have you believe.
4 Likes
Chaos IS the plan
2 Likes
I do whatever I want all the time.
No, wait, I’m married with kids.
I think I’m pretty aligned with @Chris_Shugart on this. I have a basic plan (because I read it off my phone!) when I walk in, but at least 10% will always change based on what hurts or what someone else is using or whatever.
2 Likes
Yep. Emotions can definitely unlock a lot of untapped energy. Like a nitrous button!
Also, I’m firmly in dress A camp. 
1 Like
It’s funny you mention this. I can make you grunt just by walking past you mid-set. I’m not sure if this is because you start using more effort, or you start vocalizing subconsciously to sound like you’re using more effort.
Either way it’s endearing, and I’m always impressed by the weight you use.
1 Like
LOVE THIS.
1 Like
This cracked me up!
That seems reasonable. The more injuries and irritations you have to work around, the more of a benefit improvisation becomes.
And I wonder if some people get out of shape over the years because they get injured, and then don’t have the toolbox or desire to improvise. If all you can do is the big three, and you wreck your knees and shoulders, well, then you’re down to just one lift.
2 Likes
So dang true! And now I’m wondering what we can do to trigger emotions that make us more productive and passionate about doing hard stuff.
Music usually isn’t that trigger for me.
Thank you!! So I just ordered 3 more dresses. 
I think the bride is wanting a really elegant look. And even though that dress is sexy, I think it’d be better for a date night than this particular event.
It’s taken me a while to figure out what aesthetic she was wanting but now I think I’ve got it! Hopefully all my posts about dresses didn’t make this community too annoyed.
Turns out my log is more of a journal than a recording of my workouts.
I used to be the Rage lifter. Metal blasting, overhyped, and usually injured. 
It was actually Dr. Jack Singer who did a Hardcore Hypnosis thing on here many moons ago that changed my mind.
Now I’ve noticed I get more done and easier when I’m in a better place and feeling good/happy, work, lifting, family, and otherwise.
I haven’t had to hit the rage button much in a long while, and was told its not very good to hit it too often, as your body and brain get better at doing that the more frequently you do it.
My log is a bit off the rails too, so I dont mind the journaling at all.
Coincidentally I used “The Trooper” from Iron Maiden yesterday to charge to the end of a cardio session.
2 Likes
Seems like the norm for super strong, serious lifters: rap or metal. It’s a stark contrast to the days when I’m blasting peppy stuff from Hall and Oats, Whitney Houston, Paul Simon, and Huey Lewis and The News. LOL.
Amazing! I wouldn’t have expected that outcome, but it’s great to hear. Let me know if I can recommend some 80s yacht rock for you.
What?! This is incredible information. Because if we can make our brains better at being ragey simply by tapping into that state of mind more often, then what else can we get them better at? Being sociable, relaxed, driven, etc? Is it possible to “practice” being in a state of mind in order for that to be the norm?
Mating call.
1 Like
The problem with having elderly friends at the gym: When they go missing for a while, you don’t know if they’re playing pickle ball or if they died.
I was about to do an exercise yesterday when my friend Debbie rushed over and said that one of the men at our gym (80+ years old) passed away. This man was a regular on the stepmill, and he even climbed manitou incline at 80 years old. Super fit. I actually didn’t know him, but given the description: smaller gentleman with silver hair, I thought it was one of my other friends!
So yesterday on the way home from the gym, Chris and I mourned one of our friends who wasn’t actually dead.
Then when I saw him this morning I freaked out and gave hugs. Apparently he just decided to play pickle ball instead of going to the gym. I love these people so much. They’ve invited us to a little party at the end of this month.
Guess I won’t break out the edibles when I attend that.
8 Likes
I worked at my town’s Y for a while and the older people were always the most consistent - they’d be there at the exact same time every single day (usually doing the exact same routine, too). I always felt the same way when they didn’t show up - “wait a minute…did something bad happen??”
2 Likes
They are! And their complete lack of ego is so refreshing in the gym.
1 Like
Abs and Walking
NEPA: Not sure if I should even list our dog walks. The poopers won’t go to the bathroom in the back yard, which means we have to walk them twice a day.
That may sound like a pain; it is on days when the streets are icy or the weather is scary (remember the polar vortex?) but it’s actually been a blessing in disguise. There’s no skipping it. Walks happen every day whether we like it or not. If I’m sick or injured, Chris will take them, and if Chris is busy, I’ll take them, but the fluffers are so difficult for one person that we usually end up going together.
This is their soft rock 80s album cover.
Gym Time
Banded Ab Crunch: 2 sets of 12-15 each side
This is a one-armed exercise, but it hits the whole rectus abdominis regardless of what side you’re holding the band on. So 2 sets on each side is really just 4 sets.
You have to try this exercise. It’s probably the most effective thing I’ve ever done for abs. Here are a few tips:
-
Make sure the band is super taut even when you’re in the extended position. Then when you pull the band into the crunched position it gives you enough resistance to force your abs to work.
-
Keep lower back “glued” to floor the whole time.
-
When you extend your working leg, don’t let it touch the ground. Extend it and allow it to hover just above the floor. If you really want to feel your abs, dorsiflex the foot of your working leg (toes toward shin).
-
Use only the range of motion where your abs are feeling it. You don’t need to rest your shoulders all the way back down on the floor. Doing so makes you lose tension in the abs. So just rep out those crunches in the range where you can keep the tension. Then keep at it until the fire in your muscles causes you to make whimpering sounds.
Walk Time
I was going to zone out and listen to a podcast or tutorial on YouTube, but gym friends came over and I spent about 30-45 minutes chatting while walking. Way more enjoyable. I’m a firm believer that nothing is more health-promoting than talking to other people.
This is more true now than ever before. If you don’t interact with others in real life, you may start to think that social media is an accurate depiction of how people are. The mouse with the megaphone who’s always outraged is what’s most visible on social media. But that’s not a real reflection of most people.
10 Likes
Friday’s workout didn’t get logged. That day and the whole weekend was a nonstop whirlwind of working, cleaning up after the contractor, assembling an IKEA closet, shipping mauve/pink dresses back for a return or exchange, and taking back unused tile and other supplies to various stores.
Friday was full-ish body though: leg press, chest press, hammy stuff, shoulders, glutes.
I finally have an appointment with a highly recommended deep tissue massage therapist.
And I thought I found THE perfect dress. Bride-approved, and even my mom approved too. But there’s one problem nobody else seems to care about but me. It’s SO pale pink that it looks almost white. And at an evening wedding, if pictures are taken (they will be), I’m going to look like the fool who wore white to someone else’s wedding.
I’d post the dress here, but I feel like I’ve already used up my quota of acceptable posts about dresses in a workout log.
Today’s gym session wasn’t a workout
Abs, mobility work, Pso-Rite stretching to loosen up my hip flexors.
Tomorrow I’ll crush it, but today I had to recover from assembling six, 7-foot tall “Pax” units.
Here’s me sun-burning my face off.
7 Likes
Upper Body + Plus Leg Press
Tried to start the session with 100 unbroken leg presses, but the machines were all taken. So…
A. Chest Press
90 lbs: 15 reps + 10 partials at the top
140 lbs: 8 reps
150 lbs: 8 reps
160 lbs: 5 reps
160 lbs: 5 reps
Back-off set: 90 lbs for 15 full ROM reps
B. 100 Unbroken Leg Presses
The key is to acknowledge how terrible it feels and then press with intention… as if you want it to feel terrible. Explode up, control down, no pauses.
Kinda reminds me of long distance running; you can trudge up a steep hill hating it the whole way, or you can grin and go faster out of spite.
Muscle gives us that control. You don’t have to trudge. But you do have to wake up and realize that.
Today was an upper body day, but since my knees were feeling great I decided just to add a little load to the leg press and do 5x5.
C. Leg Press: 5x5
90
140
150
160
170
Going by the numbers of the first two exercises, it appears as though my chest is as strong as my legs. 
D1. Seated Cable Row: 4x10-15
D2. Arnold Press: 4x10-15
D3. Seated Bent-Over Lateral Raise: 4x10
This giant set did not include much rest. Weight was low, tension in the muscles was high, reps controlled. Every minute on the 3 minutes mark.
E. Lateral Raise Machine:
4x long pause at the top, then full ROM reps, then partials, then a drop set to failure.
Instead of counting reps for this one, I use the fire in my delts as a gauge.
Also, can we talk about why a machine may be superior to dumbbells for the lateral raise? It is for some at least. Why? Because it removes your grip. You’re not holding dumbbells and you don’t even have to hold the handles.
That means, if you have elbow or forearm pain, you won’t trigger it with this machine. You can hit your delts and nothing else.
Also, if you remove other muscles from helping out, you’ll feel that target muscle working immediately. An instant mind-muscle connection is a win.
6 Likes