Lifting for 3-27-9

So, Candi and I celebrated by downing 3/4s of a bag of white cheddar popcorn. :: smirks :: It was so worth it. Tasty, tasty. Even if your hands get coated in white stuff afterwards. We watched Star Trek: Insurrection while we munched. Candi actually liked it. I described it as more like an episode, and I felt like it never reached movie level. It’s a movie that’s grown on me. The more I see it, the more I like it. As opposed to First Contact, which seems to piss me off slightly more every time I watch it. (Why didn’t they just use machine guns on the damn borg?)

Work was okay today. I’m openning tomorrow so I decided to shift my workout to tonight.

NROL, Fat Loss I
Day B, Workout IV

Rest: 75 sec between exercises

Alternating Sets
BB Deadlift: 3×15 @ 165 lbs (+10 lbs)
DB Incline Press: 15, 15, 13 @ 35 lbs

Alternating Sets
High Step-up: 15, 15, 13 @ BW
Mixed Grip Lat Pull: 15, 15, 15 @ 110 lbs

Alternating Sets
BB Romanian Deadlift: 3×15 @ 100 lbs (+10 lbs)
Swiss Ball Lateral Roll: 3×15 @ BW

Metabolic Overdrive: 3 rounds on elliptical (1 minute hard, 2 minutes recovery)

Deadlifts were heavier. I felt like fatigue set in earlier in my sets. Finished them, nonetheless. Inclines absolutely burned to get that extra rep. I wonder if people thought I was nuts from how much I was gasping for breath. You just don’t see too many people ready to collapse after a set.

Those step-ups were a wise sub, as they get hard as hell once you’re trying to get the second leg to match the first leg’s repetitions. BURNS.

Going light on RDLs, still, is a wise decision. They actually felt easier in subsequent sets. So much so that my range of motion was getting vastly deeper by the end of the third set.

Used yet another elliptical today. This one made me feel like I was going to hyperextend my knee at the back of the range of motion. I had to consciously keep myself from locking my knee as my hips extended back. On the plus side, this one didn’t seem to hammer my calves. I must say, I stand by my statement that machines can be dangerous. It’s simple: No machine is made for me. I felt like this machine was made for someone taller than me. I’ll find one I can tolerate. I’m avoiding treadmills for the metabolic overdrive simply because I don’t want to crank it up too high and fly off. Maybe I’ll try spinning next time.

I had the display set to METs (Geek term for metabolic equivalent. One MET is roughly the amount of energy you use at rest. Thus, working at “five METs” would be roughly five times the amount of energy used at rest. METs can also be roughly translated into VO2. :: nods :: Oh. VO2 refers to oxygen intake.). I found that I simply couldn’t match the effort of my first interval. I’m not so interested in how intense I can make it, I’m simply concerned with putting in an effort over one minute. That’s difficult to gauge.

After my stretching, I propped my legs up against a wall. Something I picked up from yoga, lets the blood drain from your legs. Which would make me think “Okay, less blood means less energy floating around”. Yet when I stood up, my legs felt a LOT better, considering the pounding I’ve been putting on them. Definitely going to add this permanently to my stretching/cooldown. Plus, I’m generally so exhausted that it feels good to just lay down on my back, feet in the air or not.

So, first four workouts done. I feel like a million bucks. A very tired million bucks. I’m looking forward to an increase in weight. I’m not looking forward to the drop in rest periods. It shall be done.

And I totally exercised seven days in a row. Ha ha. Yes, as I said, I’m taking tomorrow off.