#my workouts

I’ve been hitting the gym a lot this summer and weightlifting overall has been very calming for me so i want to start yelling about my workouts on here.

i have a pair of 10s 15s and a 20lb weight I do this with.

main focus is legs, cardio and abs and you’ll also see I’m trying to get a push up finally at my big age. :-)

Hot as hell today but had a great bike rally ride

Still on my journey to become a more competent confident cyclist. Today was really tough but the fact that my legs felt fine even after 66 miles was great! Just really hot. It’s amazing how this time last year when I did my longest ride of 65 miles I was really struggling, but today even with a helluva lot of climbing and 100+ temps I still had gas in the tank

05.22.2023 // a rare leg day Monday

I don’t really do a lot of lower body on Mondays because I typically prefer to do upper body on M and Thursday and lower on Tues and Friday (end the week on a high note). But last week’s Thursday hike + really sore calves + Saturday upper body work meant today I was still feeling fatigue in my upper body accessory muscles (and tbh some in the legs still). So I swapped days for this week.

Overall not a bad workout. Got in early to avoid seeing the manager or having to workout later (I woke up early today so I have a feeling I’m going to be tired tonight). Because it was so dead, I used the barbell instead of dumbbells for calf raises, which actually made them easier since I didn’t have to use my arms to hold up the barbells. I did, however, smack my head into the barbell so that wasn’t fun. I contemplated trying deads again since I already had a small weight on the barbell. Clearly I did not- walking into the barbell kinda killed that for me.

Anyway, I set some new “PRs” on StrongLifts. Leg press is still quite easy- I could’ve sworn at one point I was doing 180 on that machine but I can’t find those records now. Back extensions were also easy. I think 90# was what I was doing with 3x10-12 so it’s nice to see that isn’t too hard. The curls and extensions were probably true PRs tho at this point (not counting whatever tf I did when I was young and “lifting was my life” aka pseudo-recovery, because I def don’t have those records anymore).

Also did a little over 6 miles in a 30 min stationary cycling session. Was debating that but ended up going for it anyway, especially since I likely won’t get to hike again anytime soon.

5.20.2023 // upper body day?

Husband finished his workout in 30 min but mine took an hour. He walked a little bit and then decided to just lay down in the car while I finished (the final 3 exercises). So no spinning today which is fine because hike.

StrongLifts didnt up some of the weights today that were easy for me last time, so I upped them myself. But I kept the side raises the same and they were even HARDER today than last time. Also it decided to up the triceps extensions from 12 lbs last time… I was only BARELY was able to do all 5 reps the last 2 sets especially. Oh and I totally forgot that with the pec deck/reverse flyes machine I have it set to 3x10 so I did 2x5 first 🙃

I was complaining about how hard the triceps extensions and side raises were and my husband was like “if it makes you feel any better I could only use the 20# dumbbells for my side raises.” NO ROB THAT DOESNT MAKE ME FEEL BETTER. (“But I used to be able to do 35#. Also I’m a man, with more testosterone, and more upper body lean mass in general” which is true my arms and chests and to a degree upper back are always the weakest part of me compared to standards and the slowest to see any progress on).

5.16.2023

I upped some weight more than 5 lbs because I was getting antsy- the weights felt too low and like I wasn’t doing anything for some of them.

I’ve been lamenting my general lack of strength lately. For others, I think all progress should be celebrated, even- or perhaps especially- if that progress is simply consistency or doing what they can when they have the energy without “taking from tomorrow.” For me though? I hold much harsher expectations.

But really, I’m doing better than even where I was last year. I took basically half a year off because of the stress of applying to school and the spasms I’ve experienced in the past (which I did PT for).

Previously when I’ve been going to the gym regularly, I wasn’t doing (mostly) 5x5 and was opting for (mostly) 3x10-12. Weights were lower across the board- and I wasn’t even trying to do calf raises as I was too worried about how heavy the dumbbells were (compared to my upper body strength).

3.5 weeks ago when I first did this particular workout, my ankle mobility and strength, and my generalized balance were so poor that I couldn’t even work my calves. I first tried using to 30# dumbbells (60# total) and kept falling- my calves felt nothing, but I couldn’t keep myself on my toes. I could barely hold onto the dumbbells too. I had to drop to the 25# (50# total) for a couple workouts to just learn how to use heavier weights. Today I could use the 35# (70# total) without severely struggling with it in any sense. That alone feels nice- even if it’s mostly an isometric workout for my arms still.

“Lucy why do you constantly skip upper body day?”

Because I’m weak, okay? Leg day is fun because I’m good at it and the weights are way higher because major muscle groups. Upper body day reminds me of how weak I am.