I don't actually sweat that much when I do exercise, but today I feel like working out for a long time. I had a busy workweek and I didn't get to do much physical exercise--just two miles of swimming and that is it. So today is a day for catching up. This blog post will be written during my workout to keep things interesting and give me a bit of time between each set to rest. My starting time (right now!) is 3:10pm. I'll start with a warm-up bike ride on the stationary bike...
Time: 3:32
I've done 9.5/4= 2.4 miles on the bike. The bike speedometer is shot, so I take what it says and divide by 4 just to get a more realistic mileage.
Then 3 sets of 20 calf raises.
Then 3 sets of bench presses. I did 10 reps the first set and 5 reps for the second two.
I watched professional snowboarding on TV while I worked out. Those guys are awesome athletes but they need to cut their hair. Not every snowboarder should have the trademark hair style of Shaun White. Come on, guys. It's a little silly and transparent. I also noticed that if the snowboarder messed up, they quit. They didn't bother to finish their routine on the half pipe. I understand they may not want to injure themselves if they know they're going to lose, but it makes them seem lazy. Real athletes do their best...all the time. OK, gotta keep going. Time is 3:37pm.
Time: 3:58
I've done 3 sets of triceps extensions. Those are hard, as I am trying to keep the upper arm completely vertical and my shoulder just isn't that flexible. I suppose the triceps is worked in any case, but Salo and Riewald (2008) says to keep them as straight up as possible.
I also did incline chest flys. I did a set of 20 @19 pounds with no problem but my muscles were shaking rather violently so I reduced the weight in the successive two sets. This is not the first time I've gotten the shakes, but it's weird. I can only assume my muscles were already fatigued from the bench presses I did a few minutes ago.
Lastly, I did 3 sets of 20 standing rows using elastic bands. This works the back muscles.
Law & Order was on TV. I've seen the episode already, so I was not that invested. I like that series a lot! Time is now 4:03pm
Time 4:17pm
I've done 3 sets of dumbbell military presses (with decreasing weight each set). Now that I think about it, I should probably increase the weight with each set, but I haven't lifted weights in so long, I'm not sure what weights to start out with. It appears I'm overestimating my abilities rather consistently!
I also did 2 pull-ups using the bar in my doorway. I've written about this before. I'm afraid of it, because I seem to always hurt myself doing pull ups on that bar. So, as I indicated above, I'm starting slow (again). In fact, these were not full pull-ups because I started from a bent-knee-on-chair position.
Lastly, I did 3 sets of 30 abdominal crunches. I'm going to be sore tomorrow! A good sore.
More Law&Order on TV, this time the "Criminal Intent" version. It's not as good as the original, but I still like it well enough. Interestingly I'm not paying close attention to the plot. That's a good thing, as it means I'm really listening to my body and paying attention to my form. So the time is 4:22pm. What should I do now? Answer: more cycling.
Time 4:45pm
I did 17.5/4 = 4.4 miles on the stationary bike in 20 minutes. I'm sweaty now! Time to go check on my household laundry. Then I'll do some leg raises and go from there. Time 4:47pm.
Time 5:09pm
I did 15+10+10 leg raises to work the lower abdominals. I also ate a banana. I realize that I am feeling pretty tired at this point. It's been 2 hours now, and I think I'm done for now.
Overall, I cycled 6.8 miles, worked all my abs, worked my calf muscles, my back muscles, and used my arms, shoulders, and chest to lift a combined 3,925 pounds.
