I never thought I would say this

Feb03
by Duf on February 3, 2015 at 7:13 pm
Posted In: Fitness Equipment

planet-fitness-logo_0[1]Well today at lunch instead of working out I popped into Planet Fitness, the same gym I left and swore I would never step foot back into over 5 years ago.  The horrid commute to the Wellness Center during season and the sterile environment I have found there have given me reason to once again look at Planet Fitness as an alternative since it is less than a mile from my office.

As soon as I got in there I immediately spotted two of my old gym buddies from Royal Fitness who jumped over to PF once Royal was evicted two Fridays ago. That was reassuring.  The equipment in the place looked better then when I left it.  They brought back some of the heavier dumbbells, now up to 75 pounds instead of 50.

They also had multiple spots to do pull ups, all of which are better than any of my options at the Wellness Center.  They have two rowers, along with treadmills and bikes by the dozens.  There is plenty of open space for me to drop and do floor work as needed and the bathrooms/lockers/showers, while not as nice as the Wellness Center are fine, and will work for cardio Wednesdays.  The gym looked well maintained and clean.

I am actually sort of excited about the switch and will be stopping at the Wellness Center on my way home to cut the cord.

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Fck this!

Jan29
by Duf on January 29, 2015 at 7:20 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

demotivational_posters_fck_this-s492x476-184599[1]So I was in the middle of a stressful day at work.  I stepped into the truck for the recently more stressful commute to the Wellness  Center.  After the now typical 10+ minute commute dealing with relentless snowbird lane cloggers I pull into the parking garage.  I then am behind three vehicles, all mongering for an open spot on the ground level.  As I completed the entire loop without finding a single spot available I literally blurted out FCK THIS and in a split second spun the wheel right, out of the parking lot.

I was just sick and tired of dealing with the bogged down commute day in and day out.  The lack of a parking space just set me off, I had enough.  I decided I would drive to nearby Cambier Park and do some sort of outdoor workout.

I have not walked through Cambier in quite awhile.  It turns out they have a massive and nearly new looking playground area.  On the perimeter of it are some adult outdoor exercise machines, none of which excited me much.  Inside the playground it was a different story.

They had a ton of things I could use including a lot of hand over hand things like rings, regular monkey bar as well as an up and down set of monkey bars, sort of like a small version of what they have at Tough Mudder.  They had a nice bar I could use for pull ups and equipment everywhere where my imagination was the only limitation.  It was pretty freaking awesome.

I over did it with all of the hanging/pulling stuff.  I walked out of there with two bloody blisters on my right palm.  It was sort of funny working out with a crowd that mostly consisted of children with their parents/grandparents but the place is so big nobody got in the other’s way.

So of course outdoor workouts are a nice change up to the routine but are not a permanent answer to my lunchtime exercise needs.  Trying to do what I did today in 95 degree August afternoons would be brutal.  It is pretty clear to me that I need to bail on the Wellness Center, it’s location makes the commute just miserable during season and not great any other time of year.

Some of my gym buddies have actually stepped foot back into Planet Fitness and have delivered some positive feedback.  The lunk alarm, while still hanging on a wall is either broken or disconnected.  The staff is no longer watching the gym floor like an elementary school teacher looking for someone to break the rules.  They even brought some heavier weights back into the place with dumbbells that go up to 75 pounds.

So who knows, maybe it isn’t as maddening as it was when I bolted out of there 5-6 years ago.  It’s literally a 1/2 mile away from my office.  I will be dropping in sometime soon to survey the situation first hand.  Even though I vowed to never set foot in Planet Fitness again I also am a person that is not afraid to reevaluate a situation if merited and based on that evaluation make different decisions.  We will see if this is one of those situations.

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20, Too deep for 240, careful placement

Jan27
by Duf on January 27, 2015 at 7:41 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Failure, Injuries

67898776655567900[1]There were some wins and losses today.  I started my workout with a set of 20 pull ups, a rep count I had been unable to hit since my various problems at the end of 2014.  The squat rack was occupied so I stepped onto the total body squat machine.  Despite being a machine, it allows for a much better squat motion than something like a smith machine would.

I got ambitious and put 240 pounds on the weight selector.  The first rep on this machine is always the hardest because you squat down slowly to reach your depth level and you begin pushing basically from a dead stop.  I was able to get the stack off the ground while starting very deep but could not get all the way up before gravity defeated me.  I reset the machine doing shorter ROM and squeezed out 4 reps.

When I got into the kneeling leg curl machine, where I twisted my right knee two weeks ago, I was VERY careful to monitor my foot placement at all times.  Despite being two weeks out I still have some residual pain and soreness in the right knee but it feels like it is getting better at least.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

Total Squat machine – 140lbs x 10, 180lbs x 10, 240lbs deep depth FAIL, 240lbs not so deep depth x 4

Leg extension with 1 sec pause at top – 100lbs x 10, 140lbs x 8, 160lbs x 6

Kneeling one leg curl – 50lbs x 10, 60lbs x 10, 70lbs x 8

Seated calf raise – 135lbs x 10, 180lbs x 10

4 minutes A2G hold

 

 

 

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Up to 8, Royal Fitness evicted

Jan26
by Duf on January 26, 2015 at 6:54 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

10952409_935363423143579_6015835900416437997_nWell the endurance training I had planned for Sunday never happened because of the tragic killing of our chickens Saturday night.  I won’t rehash it here but if you want to read about what happened you can do so in my personal blog.

Today at the gym I mixed in chest and back getting some of my best rep numbers with 185 pounds in quite awhile.  At various times during the workout I used my anger I feel at myself for not doing a better job of making the chickens coop predator-proof.  Anger is very effective workout fuel.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Barbell bench press – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 8, 185lbs x 4, 185lbs x 5, 185lbs x 5, 135 lbs x 10

Hanging knee raises 20 reps x 3

VMX rope pull 500 feet in 3:21

Hammer strength low row hands in supinated position – 140 lbs x 10, 200lbs x 6, 240lbs x 3

4 minutes A2G hold

 

I forgot to mention that on Friday, Royal Fitness (formerly Retro Fitness), my gym for 5-6 years, locked their doors.  Apparently they were being evicted due to not paying rent. I can’t say that I am that surprised, the place seemed to more or less be in some state of turmoil the last couple years I was a member.  When a place stops fixing machines and doing simple things like keeping the place clean it never means good things.

You would think, “so much for flipping back to them”, but there is the possibility of a silver lining.  Someone posted on their Facebook page that they could reopen in as little as two weeks, presumably under different ownership.  If that is the case it would make the idea of returning much more attractive.

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Rejecting Richard, +1

Jan23
by Duf on January 23, 2015 at 6:29 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

richard-simmons1[1]You may recall the other day I wrote about how for most of the last year it has felt like I lost my inner drill sergeant and instead had him replaced with a Richard Simmons-esque trainer, someone who wants you to workout, just not that hard.

Well since writing that and pretty much since the new year began I have been trying to get more of a sarge mentality back into my workouts.  For example today I started my workout with a set of 50 push ups, something I haven’t one setted in awhile.  When I got to 40 reps I was getting down to 1-2 rep then pause territory.  The less intense inner voice would have been saying, “good enough”.  Today the voice was saying “I don’t care how long you have to hold rigid plank to rest, your knees don’t touch the ground until you push up the 50th time”  It was painful and uncomfortable but I did it.

In general I am trying to take a +1 mentality.  Before you start off anything you normally set some sort of mental number in your head of the amount of reps you want to achieve.  Today I was +1’ing that number.  I hit my mental goal, pause briefly and then do another.  A +1 attitude is the way to improve, progress and achieve.  I need more of it.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

50 push ups

20 hanging knee raises

45 lbs standing side raise x 10 (each side)

Wall walks x 3

8  hanging knee raises w/20lb dumbbell between feet

20 dowel rod trunk rotations

Wall walks x 3

8  hanging knee raises w/25lb dumbbell between feet

20 dowel rod trunk rotations

Wall walks x 3

7  hanging knee raises w/30lb dumbbell between feet

 

 

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