September 30th: Itching to Get Back on the Road

A good morning at the gym -- really challenging.

I’m not going to bore you with a rundown of all my sets like I have in previous posts. Hit me up if you’re interested. A few highlights:

• As I mentioned last week, adding a 16kg kettlebell to my squats has seriously intensified that workout. I use that same kettlebell for the jugglers, which is also hardcore exercise.
• I’m pretty close to maxing out the leg press machine. I did 2 sets of 12 at 350 pounds. I imagine my 1rm would be more than the 400-pound max. Guess I’ll need to go to single leg presses. I held off on that third set because I felt a little twinge in the MTSNBN. (And yes, I iced when I got home.)
• Bumped up the Cable Cross twists by 40 percent, to 35 pounds. Made a huge difference.
• I tried dumbbell curls, 20 pounds each arm. Maybe should’ve tried these earlier in my workout -- made it through a set and a half before my arms were just dead.

I mention that last one because I’m thinking increasingly about getting more free weights into my workout. Two problems: I don’t know what I’m doing, and I don’t know anyone at the gym to be a spotter. The second problem I’m sure I could rectify pretty easily -- most people at my gym seem pretty friendly. But I’m much less sure about jumping in at the deep end of free weights. I know that I really need to work dead lifts and squats into my workout, and start bench pressing for real instead of on the machine. But I'm really unsure of technique, and frankly, that side of the gym is a little intimidating. Not because I think anyone would give me a hard time, but I guess it just feels like the big leagues. Anyway, any advice anyone could offer would be most welcome. And a question: Will I get close to the same benefit from maxing out on machines, or do I really want to engage my stabilizing muscles?

I'm really itching to get back on the road. It's been a full week since I've done any running now, and I don't know how much longer I can stay patient -- especially since the MTSNBN seems mostly better. Even as I was walking into the gym, I saw people on treadmills and was jealous. 

One last thing: You may have seen in a previous post that I was kicking around joining the Planet Fitness that's opening nearby, because it's so much closer. I've decided against. The whole "no grunting" thing is a turnoff, but I spun by there last weekend just to see the deal, and the salesperson...well, I won't say she was outright rude, but she failed to make a positive first impression. If that's representative of their employees, no thanks.

I'm thinking elliptical tomorrow. Maybe just do some quick core stuff first.