Playing violin on the deck of the Titanic

Mar30
by Duf on March 30, 2017 at 5:22 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Today at the Gym

So I was happy to see the lights were still on at the gym and pleased that somehow water service has been restored as well.  However the manager was once again not present and the two employees present had definite “we don’t give a fck” aura about them.  Since yesterday I heard of at least four gym staff that had been “left go”, not surprisingly the woman that called the local Fox News station was one of them.

The official stance still is that corporate Retro is coming in however I have heard this disputed by now fired employees.  They said that they actually are certain that the corporate office is not going to do anything.  The gym is quickly falling into disarray.  Any paper towel or soap dispenser that runs empty is not refilled, they have no supplies to do so or money to buy more.  A number of employees or former employees have still not been paid the money owed to them either which is another surefire sign the ship is sinking rapidly.

I tried to ignore the rising seas around me and just did a decent shoulder/back session.  I talked with my bench press buddy about what we would do if the gym closes.  We both agreed our only alternative would be to go back to the absolutely miserable confines of Planet Fitness and just be pissed off everyday we walk in the door.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Wall handstand hold x 60 sec

Australian pull ups x 10

Handstand wall walk x 12

Australian pull ups x 10

Handstand wall walk x 12

Australian pull ups x 10

Handstand wall walk x 12

Seated plate loaded lat pull down – 200lbs x 10

Inverted bodyweight shrugs x 10

Seated plate loaded lat pull down – 250lbs x 6

Inverted bodyweight shrugs x 10

Seated plate loaded lat pull down – 250lbs x 6

Inverted bodyweight shrugs x 10

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The light is dimming

Mar29
by Duf on March 29, 2017 at 5:37 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Today at the Gym

So supposedly my gym had avoided being shut down by coming to some sort agreement to be taken over by Retro Fitness corporate.  If you would like to see the local news story that ran on the mess you can see it here.  When I walked into the gym today I immediately noticed that all the signage on the windows that had been up regarding fitness classes had been removed.  The manager was not behind the desk but one of the girls was and she was scrambling because the gym suddenly had no water.  They seemed to indicate they thought the water was turned off intentionally, perhaps because of non-payment of water bills but they were checking with others in the shopping plaza to see if they had water.

As I worked out I heard more information from other patrons that makes me think the story I was told by the manager about the salvation were not true.  One employee said that someone actually called the Retro corporate offices to confirm their takeover of the location and were told that was not true.  Then I heard that there is potentially a private entity interested in buying the gym but not under the Retro affiliation.  If that scenario played out the gym would likely be closed for an extended period of time.

I heard some employees have already contacted a lawyer about the non-payment of earnings so in a nutshell there is a lot of ugly shit going on, none of it makes me feel very hopeful about my lunchtime exercise future.  For now I just plan to keep showing up everyday and hoping when I pull on the door handle it still opens.

My bicep/tricep routine today went fine.  I tried to avoid movements that caused elbow tendon pain which is not easy to do nowadays.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Strict chin ups x 10

Seated dumbbell overhead tricep extension – 50lbs x 10

Strict chin ups x 10

Seated dumbbell overhead tricep extension – 60lbs x 10

Strict chin ups x 10

Seated dumbbell overhead tricep extension – 70lbs x 8

Standing dumbbell preacher curl – 25lbs x 10

Standing supinated grip tricep push down – 45lbs x 10

Standing dumbbell preacher curl – 30lbs x 10

Standing supinated grip tricep push down – 45lbs x 10

Standing dumbbell preacher curl – 35lbs x 8

Standing supinated grip tricep push down – 60lbs x 10

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Still there

Mar28
by Duf on March 28, 2017 at 5:14 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

Well the gym manager made good on his promise that the gym would be still open today.  Things still seemed more or less normal although the newly installed and even more newly removed supplement shop next door was still empty.  There also have been no group classes this week which supposedly will return soon after some “recycling”.  I specifically asked about the class Cindy teaches and the manager indicated that was one they definitely wanted to keep since it is well attended.

I got back under the barbell for some squats today.  The fact that I have let three weeks lapse since my last squat session will likely mean I will have a steep soreness penalty to pay the next few days.  At the end of the workout I used the standing calf raise as a psuedo squat press machine.  I dropped the shoulder adjustment to it’s lowest setting and cranked the weight stack to it’s highest at 295 pounds.  The ROM is roughly half of a real squat but it felt effective at working the top half of the movement since each rep started from a dead stop.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Barbell squat – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 5, 205lbs x 3, 135lbs x 10

Seated leg extension – 115lbs x 10

Seated leg curl – 115lbs x 10

Standing calf raise – 250lbs x 10

Seated leg extension – 145lbs x 8

Seated leg curl – 145lbs x 8

Standing calf raise – 295lbs x 10

Standing 1/2 squat press – 295lbs x 5

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Bottom of the 9th, two out

Mar27
by Duf on March 27, 2017 at 5:31 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Lifting Heavy Things, Today at the Gym

So those of you that read my normal blog already know about my latest gym saga. Cindy, who teaches a few classes there, was told Friday that the gym would be closing very shortly, evicted for not paying rent.  This came as a surprise to everyone.  Over the weekend I stopped in at the gym just to verify.  I was told by staff that the doors were supposed to be locked on Monday and she handed out information about how to cancel your membership.  I was not happy at all as all of my other options for getting my workout in over the lunch hour pretty much suck.

So despite being assured the gym would be closed today I changed and went to Retro.  My plan was to verify it was closed and if so drive over to shitty Planet Fitness to see what my options would be there.  So I park and as I am walking towards the building I see a Fox 4 News SUV parked in the lot, weird.  I also see the lights are on and gym patrons entering and exiting the place normally.  What the hell…

So I get inside and see a normal Monday scene.  The manager is behind the desk and I ask him what is going on, I was told by  staff the gym was closing the doors Monday.  He nervously laughed and turned a bit red in the face.  He said nope the gym isn’t closing but it is going to be “transitioning” from a privately owned franchise to a Retro Fitness corporate owned location.  Evidently some sort of last minute deal was struck so the landlord wouldn’t change the locks.  I was still not convinced and reiterated my question, asking if I come back tomorrow the gym will be open?  The manager said yes absolutely so either he is lying to my face or there actually has been a last minute hail mary to save the place.

I found out from a gym buddy that Fox 4 was called by one of the employees because in addition to the no warning impending shutdown, the gym was bouncing employee checks as well recently.  They also have not produced any checks for the most recent pay period.  I don’t really care how they manage to keep the place open.  According to the manager, becoming a corporate owned location is going to pump a lot of money in to address some glaring issues.  If that is indeed the case, that’s awesome.  If this all was one final smokescreen and the gym does actually go down the tubes I will not be a happy camper, at all.

They gym aggravation helped fuel me to another strong decline bench press performance, including 135lbs x 20 on the cool down.  If I went to Planet Fitness that progress would cease since they no longer have any barbell related benches in the place.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Decline barbell bench press – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 5, 205lbs x 3, 225lbs x 1, 240lbs x 1, 225lbs x 4, 205lbs x 7, 185lbs x 10, 135lbs x 20, 135lbs x 10

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Tough T, different intake

Mar23
by Duf on March 23, 2017 at 5:46 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Nutrition, Old Age

I had some tough exercises mixed in today with one arm wall handstand holds and heavy T-bar rows topping the list.  It feels good to be ramping up numbers at the gym recently instead of the steady tail spin I have been accustomed to the past year or so.  The HGH must be kicking in.  Just kidding.

Speaking of HGH, I used to do a lot of consistent supplementation to go along with my exercise program.  It all started with me using creatine in the late 90’s which added 15-20 pounds of bodyweight and impressive amounts of power, strength and endurance.  Unfortunately it also was part of the reason I damaged my knee, requiring two knee scopes since.

I then remember popping my Hydroxycut prior to my workouts to give me that extra energy to help push me to new personal bests.  After every work out I would follow up with a Lean Body protein shake which packed over 40 grams of protein into a relatively low calorie shake.  Of course in addition to the whey protein the shake contained a bunch of other stuff that is not good for you.

Once I became hardcore interested in calisthenics I pretty much cut all of that out as being lean and mean was the key to maximizing performance with bodyweight exercises.  When I was supplementing my weight got as high as 210 pounds.  When I was hardcore calisthenics my weight dropped as low as 170 pounds.  I also had my best days as a runner at low bodyweight level which again is not surprising.

Nowadays I use calisthenics as a supplement to my fitness instead of the main focus and my running has tapered back dramatically.  I still don’t do any supplementation and my weight has normalized between 180-185 pounds.  I still have the urge to drop maybe five pounds to lean out a bit more but for the most part I am ok where I am right now.  Avoiding serious injury has taken center stage when it comes to my exercise program.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Wall handstand x 60 seconds

T-bar row – 135 pounds x 10

One arm wall hand stand – 20 seconds each hand

T-bar row – 160 pounds x 10

One arm wall hand stand – 20 seconds each hand

T-bar row – 185 pounds x 8

One arm wall hand stand – 20 seconds each hand

T-bar row – 210 pounds x 5

Cybex plate loaded alternating one arm lat pull down – 200lbx x 10

Seated dumbbell lateral raise – 20lbs x 10

Cybex plate loaded alternating one arm lat pull down – 250lbx x 6

Seated dumbbell lateral raise – 25lbs x 8

One minute pull up – 30 secs high – 15 sec head to bar – 15 sec dead hang

 

 

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