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This workout was slightly confusing, because the gym rearranged most of the exercise machines in the room I use most, so we were all playing "now where's the $device?" This game is complicated by the fact that all the pieces are the same colors, and that the new arrangement seems arbitrary and, per one of the staffers, is temporary in that they plan to remove some of the equipment. The cut-tagged part of this post is longer than usual, because I tried a different approach to one exercise and because it includes comments about the rearrangements.
Cardio, 15 minutes, top heart rate 153. (I ran out of newspaper.)
Chest press, 75 pounds, 8; 65 pounds, 10
Seated calf raise, 80 pounds, 3 sets of 13. I was thinking I could aim to increase the weight to 90 by sometime in November, and then decided that getting up to sets of 15 first might be better.
This was one of the machines they moved, and I had to find a different way to do my between-set stretches: I can't stretch behind the machine, using it as support, now that it's right next to the wall. I used another machine instead: this worked at 11 a.m., but might be problematic at a busy time of day. Oddly, I first tried this machine, three years or so ago, because it was on the way into the weight room from the exercise bikes I use, and I'd started wondering what it was as I walked past it.
Adjustable row, 70 pounds, 3 sets of 15
Leg press: I put 320 pounds on this, started my first set, stopped, and said "Damn!" because my knee was bothering me. Another regular, at the machine next to me, asked what was wrong, and then suggested (first) reducing the weight, and then a different approach, in which I'd use a lot less weight, and lower my body much further, bending my knees much more in the process. After doing one set at a somewhat lower weight, I asked him to show me. He did, and I tried it out, with him guiding me through my first set. Thus:
Leg press (regular): 270 pounds, 15
Leg press, legs all the way down, 90 pounds, 12. I decided I could do more weight. 160 pounds, 4 reps, and not lowering myself as far as I'd wanted. 125 pounds, 8 reps, got further down.
I think I'll try 100 or 110 the next time I do that technique. Also, I don't think I'm going to give up my higher-weight one, even though this person said that lower weights and all the way down works more muscles than the other. Yes, I know that the point isn't the numbers, it's strength, endurance, and balance (the last not being what this particular exercise is good for, in either form), but I like having an exercise where I'm moving significantly more than my own body weight. Dropping back from 320 to 270 to ease my intermittent knee pain (which is not arthritis, nor a treatable injury) is annoying; going from 320 to 110 would be moreso, I think. I'll probably either do more of what I did today: one set high weight, two low, or two high, one low, or alternate days: high weights Monday and low Thursday, or vice versa.
At this point in "where's my machine" I found the "Freedom Trainer" I use for the not-quite-fly that Eric (the trainer) showed me as a balance exercise, and found that where they'd put it, the method he showed me had me walking right into the wall. *sigh* Later on, I explained this to a trainer, who told me why they'd moved things around (I won't say "explained" because that would imply my understanding their reasons, which I don't really) and suggested I modify the exercise in question to fit in the available space. A standard fly does: we saw someone doing one. But I'm deliberately much further forward, to be a little off balance in the rest position.
Tricep pulldown, standing on balance pad: 45 pounds, 15; 40 pounds, 15. (My preferred rope handle wasn't visible, so I used a slightly longer plastic rope one I like less. It's tempting to blame the lower weight on that, but I suspect spurious.)
Crunches, 3 sets of 30
Back arches, 17, 24, 17 (I was thinking about something else and lost track of what I was doing as I counted in the second set)
Tree, 4 sets of {3 on each leg}
Balance lateral raise (using a slightly higher balance dome; I slipped off once, while looking at a nearby machine instead of into the distance): 5 pounds each had, 15; 2.5 pounds each, 2 sets of 15
~fly, using a different device, 20 kg, total of 30 reps, but again I lost track, so (I think) this was either 20 with one leg forward and ten with the other, or 15, 5, 10. *sigh*
Hip adduction, 110 pounds, 12, 10
Hip abduction, 90 pounds, 12, 10
Bicep curl, 30-pound bar, 3 sets of 15
Wrist curl, 30 pounds, 2 sets of 15
Stretches.
Cardio, 15 minutes, top heart rate 153. (I ran out of newspaper.)
Chest press, 75 pounds, 8; 65 pounds, 10
Seated calf raise, 80 pounds, 3 sets of 13. I was thinking I could aim to increase the weight to 90 by sometime in November, and then decided that getting up to sets of 15 first might be better.
This was one of the machines they moved, and I had to find a different way to do my between-set stretches: I can't stretch behind the machine, using it as support, now that it's right next to the wall. I used another machine instead: this worked at 11 a.m., but might be problematic at a busy time of day. Oddly, I first tried this machine, three years or so ago, because it was on the way into the weight room from the exercise bikes I use, and I'd started wondering what it was as I walked past it.
Adjustable row, 70 pounds, 3 sets of 15
Leg press: I put 320 pounds on this, started my first set, stopped, and said "Damn!" because my knee was bothering me. Another regular, at the machine next to me, asked what was wrong, and then suggested (first) reducing the weight, and then a different approach, in which I'd use a lot less weight, and lower my body much further, bending my knees much more in the process. After doing one set at a somewhat lower weight, I asked him to show me. He did, and I tried it out, with him guiding me through my first set. Thus:
Leg press (regular): 270 pounds, 15
Leg press, legs all the way down, 90 pounds, 12. I decided I could do more weight. 160 pounds, 4 reps, and not lowering myself as far as I'd wanted. 125 pounds, 8 reps, got further down.
I think I'll try 100 or 110 the next time I do that technique. Also, I don't think I'm going to give up my higher-weight one, even though this person said that lower weights and all the way down works more muscles than the other. Yes, I know that the point isn't the numbers, it's strength, endurance, and balance (the last not being what this particular exercise is good for, in either form), but I like having an exercise where I'm moving significantly more than my own body weight. Dropping back from 320 to 270 to ease my intermittent knee pain (which is not arthritis, nor a treatable injury) is annoying; going from 320 to 110 would be moreso, I think. I'll probably either do more of what I did today: one set high weight, two low, or two high, one low, or alternate days: high weights Monday and low Thursday, or vice versa.
At this point in "where's my machine" I found the "Freedom Trainer" I use for the not-quite-fly that Eric (the trainer) showed me as a balance exercise, and found that where they'd put it, the method he showed me had me walking right into the wall. *sigh* Later on, I explained this to a trainer, who told me why they'd moved things around (I won't say "explained" because that would imply my understanding their reasons, which I don't really) and suggested I modify the exercise in question to fit in the available space. A standard fly does: we saw someone doing one. But I'm deliberately much further forward, to be a little off balance in the rest position.
Tricep pulldown, standing on balance pad: 45 pounds, 15; 40 pounds, 15. (My preferred rope handle wasn't visible, so I used a slightly longer plastic rope one I like less. It's tempting to blame the lower weight on that, but I suspect spurious.)
Crunches, 3 sets of 30
Back arches, 17, 24, 17 (I was thinking about something else and lost track of what I was doing as I counted in the second set)
Tree, 4 sets of {3 on each leg}
Balance lateral raise (using a slightly higher balance dome; I slipped off once, while looking at a nearby machine instead of into the distance): 5 pounds each had, 15; 2.5 pounds each, 2 sets of 15
~fly, using a different device, 20 kg, total of 30 reps, but again I lost track, so (I think) this was either 20 with one leg forward and ten with the other, or 15, 5, 10. *sigh*
Hip adduction, 110 pounds, 12, 10
Hip abduction, 90 pounds, 12, 10
Bicep curl, 30-pound bar, 3 sets of 15
Wrist curl, 30 pounds, 2 sets of 15
Stretches.