Random Renegade, sick of “used to”

Aug09
by Duf on August 9, 2016 at 5:51 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Failure, Injuries, Old Age, Soapbox, Today at the Gym

You may recall that under the prior gym ownership they brought a trainer in there that went by the name Renegade.  He sort of looked the part as he wore almost exclusively plaid button down shirts (mostly unbuttoned) with the sleeves cut off.  I never talked to him much if at all during his first stint.  Naming yourself Renegade is just something that is going to cause me to steer away from you by reflex.  During that time he was just a trainer, I don’t think he was technically a gym employee.

Well he rejoined the staff a month or two ago, this time as an employee that works behind the counter and trains as needed.  His attire has changed as he has to wear the official Retro Fitness branded shirts that I assume he isn’t crazy about.  Well anyway this time around I have made an effort to engage him more although I refuse to call him Renegade.  It’s always “dude” or “buddy”.  He seems like a nice enough guy but he has this weird thing he has done to me twice now, random conversation topics as I am walking away from him.

The other week after I said hi to him as I walked in. On my way to a cardio machine he blurts out “So do you think Trump is going to do it?”  I just shook my head and gave a non-partisan response, something like “It’s a mess”  He said something else that made me think he actually hopes Trump wins which I just mumbled something in acknowledgement that I heard him.

Today as I was walking out the door after saying “see you later dude”, I literally had the door open, he said something like “Did you hear about the ISIS – Metallica connection?”  I could have totally misheard him but that is what it sounded like.  I did not slow my exit or ask him to repeat what he said.  He said another sentence as the door closed behind me.  I said over my shoulder, still having no clue what he was talking about “Yea man, it’s crazy…”

As I was in the bathroom before leaving the gym I glanced in the mirror and remembered I was wearing my 2011 Tough Mudder shirt.  For some reason this triggered a landslide of very fast images where I thought about a lot of the t-shirts in my collection.  Many of them are connected to various events I used to compete in, volleyball tournaments, running races, triathlons and Tough Mudders.  I thought about how I am now several years removed from doing any of these things and I felt pissed off about it. Almost every weekend used to include a run on Saturday followed by a bike/swim brick on Sunday.  That simply never happens anymore.

I am not quite sure how I slid into the mindset that I didn’t need to push myself as much to compete in such things.  I think mentally the “just part of getting older” syndrome set in.  I think it was initiated by some of the chronic injury problems I started to have, mostly with my knees and IT band.  However once I got those pretty much under control I just did not have the motivation to start cranking the training back up again to higher levels, forget even thinking about competing.  By putting this into words I am hoping it is a method to hold myself more accountable.  I want some new shirts that I earned instead of ones that are bought or given.

Today was chest day, 24 hours later than normal since I was off yesterday.  I tried benching 235 pounds for the first time in quite awhile.  I needed a slight spot from my buddy but at least I gave it a shot.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Barbell bench press – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 5, 225lbs x 1, 235lbs x 1 (spotted), 225lbs x 1, 205lbs x 4, 185lbs x 7, 135lbs x 15

Cybex pec dec fly – 115lbs x 12. 160lbs x 10, 190lbs x 6

Decline bench press – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 5, 205lbs x 2

 

Comments Off on Random Renegade, sick of “used to”

Burned out, do you even grip bro?

Aug04
by Duf on August 4, 2016 at 5:29 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

maxresdefault[1]Three of the four exercises I rotated between today worked my grip pretty hard.  Finishing up with 100 pound shoulder shrugs was the final straw.

Speaking of grip, there was a strong looking guy there today I never had seen before.  He was built like a fullback or linebacker.  I did a double take when I saw him doing one arm bent over dumbbell rows with 75 pounds.  I didn’t look twice because that is a huge amount of weight to do the movement with.  Even with my ostrich like build I have gone into triple digits.  What made me look twice was he was using wrist straps to hold the dumbbell.

When I did my 100 pound dumbbell shrugs, with no grip assistance, I made sure I was within his line of sight. Come on bro!

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

Seated overhead barbell shoulder press – 95lbs x 10

Tuck front lever pull ups x 9

Seated overhead barbell shoulder press – 115lbs x 8

Tuck front lever pull ups x 8

Seated overhead barbell shoulder press – 135lbs x 3

Tuck front lever pull ups x 7

Seated overhead barbell shoulder press – 145lbs x 1

Tuck front lever pull ups x 6

Standing dumbbell shrugs – 80lbs x 10

Seated lat pull down – 150lbs x 10

Standing dumbbell shrugs – 90lbs x 8

Seated lat pull down – 165lbs x 10

Standing dumbbell shrugs – 100lbs x 5

Seated lat pull down – 180lbs x 8

Comments Off on Burned out, do you even grip bro?

It’s no AC Wednesday!

Aug03
by Duf on August 3, 2016 at 5:26 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Today at the Gym

B_gZ5MHUcAEXZMvSo the gym today was once again experiencing AC problems which seems to be at least a bi-weekly occurrence.  In the free weight area it was 81 degrees and humid which very quickly felt pretty miserable.  The only saving grace was the gym has one of those monster ceiling fans that has a diameter of somewhere around 10-12 feet.  I tried to keep as much of my workout as possible in the proximity of the BAF. (Big Ass Fan)

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

Standing barbell curl – 50lbs x 12

Bodyweight skull crushers x 10

Standing barbell curl – 70lbs x 10

Bodyweight skull crushers x 10

Standing barbell curl – 90lbs x 5

Bodyweight skull crushers x 10

Seated preacher hammer curl – 50lbs x 12

Standing tricep press down – 80lbs x 10

Seated preacher hammer curl – 70lbs x 10

Standing tricep press down – 100lbs x 10

Seated preacher hammer curl – 90lbs x 8

Standing tricep press down – 120lbs x 6

Comments Off on It’s no AC Wednesday!

Lifting on lousy legs

Aug02
by Duf on August 2, 2016 at 5:11 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Injuries

ninecrashI was not looking forward to doing lower body today.  My Ninebot One training has left me with a contusion on my left hip, an inflamed left ankle, a slightly sprained right ankle, a jammed right wrist, and various bruises and brush burns on my legs from the knee down.  I don’t list these things for sympathy as they are entirely of my own doing.  It’s just an FYI as to why leg day, which I normally dislike anyway, had an extra big dosage of dread this week.

I got under the bar for squats today.  Instead of doing multiple sets of 8 reps at 185 lbs I ventured higher in the weight totals for the first time in quite awhile.  My rep numbers could probably have been a little higher at each weight level but I was conservative. I did at least make sure to get some decent depth, even at 225lbs. Of course my lower body hurt during the entire session but nothing debilitating.  I did shut seated leg curls down after two sets because of an uncomfortable pulling sensation I was feeling inside the left knee.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

18 pull ups

Barbell squat – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 8, 205lbs x 4, 225lbs x 1

Seated leg curl – 115lbs x 10, 130lbs x 10

Seated leg extension – 115lbs x 10, 130lbs x 10

Standing calf raise – 220lbs x 10, 295lbs x 10

15 pull ups

Comments Off on Lifting on lousy legs

Beat, all press, no bend please

Aug01
by Duf on August 1, 2016 at 5:20 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

9onninebotI had a pretty active weekend. It included a prolonged Ninebot One training session on Saturday where I got a fresh round of bumps and bruises.  On Sunday I ran around 3.5 miles and then rode a total of almost 15 miles on my Ninebot Minipro, six of those miles with Cindy and nine solo.

My bench press buddy is out of town for a couple weeks so I went at chest day alone, doing dumbbell flat bench chest press and decline barbell bench press.  My strength today felt middle of the road at best.

I was happy to see they are starting to get some new benches back in the free weight area of the gym.  The decline bench I used today was brand new.  I asked the manager if they planned to replace the bent barbells too.  He said he uses them everyday and never noticed any were bent.  I grabbed the first bar that was free and rolled it on the safety bars of the squat rack so he could see the wobble.  He was surprised by my demonstration. Depending on the severity of the bend and the amount of weight you have on the bar, it can be a problem ranging from annoying to downright disastrous if the bar suddenly spins under load due to it’s curved geometry.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

Dumbbell chest press – 50lbs x 12, 70lbs x 10, 80lbs x 8, 90lbs x 4, 80lbs x 6, 70lbs x 8

Decline barbell chest press – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 5, 205lbs x 3, 215lbs x 1, 220lbs x 1

Comments Off on Beat, all press, no bend please