It was more than 2 days since my last day at the gym because I got paranoid about some twinges in the back when I was done with work. That and I was just too depressed to motivate myself in time. By the time I'd managed to take a different (More Fiery) outlook on the things that were depressing me, it was too late for me, in good conscience, to ask my ride to take me there, and in this heat...heehhhhhh...yeah. Ain't happening. So I went the next day.
I may have a second workout buddy, by the way. I'm particularly excited about this one, since it's one of the people I've been trying to agitate into bettering themselves over a longer term than my time in the weight room. Albeit, admittedly a lot more passively than with most of the people I've tried to leave touched for the better.
I still feel like my performance could've been better, but today was still a step in the right direction for a couple of reasons.
- I continue to lose weight, yet I am getting stronger. In 3 months, I've consistently stayed 10 lbs off from where I was starting, at 232, now weighing in at 222. One of my friends theorizes that this is because I am putting on lean muscle...which is all I want, anyway. I'm already built for Power and Endurance. The key is to preserve my Speed by not adding Bulk.
- One of the things that was royally irking me, my repeat collapsing fits, appears to finally be getting under control. Even with the Seated Row, I only had one time where I was forced to take a couple of deep breaths.
- My knee, which was beginning to worry me, appears to not be getting worse since I started paying more attention to the size knobs on each machine, and putting myself further out on the bike machine so that I extend my legs more.
Bike(Cardio): 30 minutes. Started at level 8, added a difficulty level every 10 minutes. I maintained 102-113 RPM the entire time. #Progress.
Bench Press (105 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. I started to lose my grip at one point, so I briefly re-shelved the bar, long enough to re-position my fingers as I was taught all the way back in 2005.
Pec Fly(100 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. I didn't need to tweak my elbows into it for the final 5 reps this time, and found it easy enough the entire way through.
Abdominal Fuse (100 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. It shoved the breath from me a couple of times...but I sucked it right back in without slowing.
Leg Extension(100 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. This is the one that killed me. Right near the hips, the muscles were on fire from rep 8 onward.
Seated Leg Curl(100 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. Retained my full range of motion this time around. Difficult...but I made do.
Leg Press (100 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks.
Chest Press(100 lbs): 30 reps.
Shoulder Press(100 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. Slow and steady, with only some difficulty with the final 4.
Lateral Pull-Down (100 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. I tried matching myself to the recommended image on the machine, and had a much easier time of things. Perhaps...too easy of a time?! >:U
Lower Back Fuse(100 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. This one has become a glorified veg session for me. May start going with my original idea of grabbing plates to hold while I do it.
Seated Row(100 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks. While still irritating, I only lost my breath at one point. I threw myself into this one with high octane, and that didn't start really leaving me until the 20's.
Bicep Curl(25 lbs): 30 reps, no breaks.
Tricep Extension(30 lbs): 30 reps.
Weighted sit-ups: One 35 lb plate on my upper chest, 30 reps, no breaks.
Weighted back raises (Draping myself from the waist down across a bench, raising from the waist up until back is straight with a 25 lb plate clasped on my chest) 30 reps, no breaks. As Shawn used to say...E-Z-P-Z.
Incline Elliptical(Cardio): 30 minutes, level 9 difficulty. It wasn't muscular fatigue that killed me on this one, it was a pain I thought I'd neeever ever have to feel again, in my lungs. Well, lung.
Thankfully, it was only one brief bitchfit that crippled me into the 110 RPM range...but it was miserable, and it came at a time where I was entirely ready to go apeshit and kick the machine's ass.
Aside from that, I solidly maintained in the mid 140's and low 150's. After my lung started throwing its fit, I finished with a considerably lower average...more in the high 130's and mid 140's. My heart rate was through the roof, in the mid 170's, from the word Go, and I finished this as red as a beet everywhere, but I finished it. >:D
Tonight's musics come from the Xenoblade Chronicles OST. I've seen it put to a couple of different fictional fights, but the one closer to my heart was for a segment of the Kenpachi VS Gremmy match in late Bleach. Right as Gremmy gets slapped out of his dream-like stupor and begins to...get a bit more into the life or death struggle against Kenpachi, Soulmadness had this track ready.
And this one came on my "Play All" playlist right as I was trying to motivate myself to just do the damn Seated Rows and get it over with. >:D Couldn't be better timing.