Workout N #5: A bit discombobulated but good!

I did things a bit out of order because of people at the gym,
but it was still a good workout. :D 

Monday's workout was a little bit of a mess -- we were running late for a variety of reasons (errands, Patrick got out of work late, etc.) and Patrick didn't feel up to working out with the stitches in his back (and a bandaging fail which had them being unprotected and rubbed by his jeans for a while in the morning). So I dropped him off and changed at home and didn't get to the gym until about 7pm (which is often about when we're leaving). That's why I didn't do any Insanities -- I was already running so late.

I definitely had it brought home to me how nice it is to work out with a trainer on Monday -- it was a little bit crowded at the gym and the cable machine station I need for Coordination Rows was in use so I had to work around that and I had a little trouble finding space to warm up in. I missed having Travis thinking about those details so I could just do what I wanted to do.

One thing I've been wanting to do and am still trying to figure out how to do on my own is keeping my breaks between sets shorter -- like 30 seconds. I read recently that longer set breaks lets one improve lifting performance (I think the study ran for a couple of months and the people who rested for 3 minutes rather than 1 between sets could lift significantly heavier weights at the end of the study) but I'm far less concerned about how much weight I'm lifting than I am about keeping myself working and moving and going the whole time. Shorter set breaks seems like it would really work for my goals.

On the other hand, wrangling the equipment and the timer on the phone and the notebook I keep records in is just a bit *much*. Maybe when I move into my next phase (I've got two more workouts in Phase 7, plus one with Travis this weekend (\o/!!)), I can try and take that idea into account in the planning. I'm going to see if I can go kind of equipment-light next time. Which would be the opposite of one of my "heavy" phases, but I'm really not liking the idea of one right now anyway -- they kind of beat me up and don't feel like they're doing a lot of good.

Monday's workout was:

• Push Aways - 3 x 12 - Still hard, though I didn't feel like my back was as prone to collapsing, so something must be getting stronger, right. I think I'm going to give these a rest in Phase 8 and move onto something else for my core. Maybe Inchworms or the Plank-Jacks things that Travis had me doing (though those were *hell*). 
• Dumbbell Push Press - 3 x 12 - The pair of 20lb dumbbells was still the right weight for these this time -- it wasn't quite the singing heavenly choir that happens when it's perfect, but it was close and I think I'll hit that next time. Which is something to look forward to. :D 
• Alternating sets of: (Yes, this is out of order, the cable station I needed was in use.) 
• Dumbbell Front Squats - 3 x 15 - I really don't love these just in general and I especially didn't love doing them right after the Push Presses  because there's some similarity in the move. In both cases the dumbbells (a pair of 20lb weights) are held at the shoulders and I bend my hips and lower my body. For the squats, I lower a lot and for the Push Presses I lower just a little bit then snap back up as I fire my arms up, but it still winds out putting a lot of work on my arms and my upper back (keeping my shoulders square)  and so on. By the end of the squats, I'm afraid my form had broken down some because I was just pooped. 
• Pullovers - 3 x 15 - I was back at the fixed high cable station for these and it was more of a challenge than on the high adjustable pulley. Harder for sure (but why??) but I'm pretty sure I could raise the weight next time. I didn't make a note of it in my book, so I only hope I remember. 
• Coordination Rows - 3 x 15 - By the time I'd finished the Squats and the Pullovers, the cable station for these was free again, so it all worked out. (For the record, the guy who was using the cable station was doing alternating sets and indicated he was happy to share with me, but he had a different handle on and the pulley at a different height and it was easier to just rearrange my workout a tiny bit.) I was a little wobbly, possibly because of the pooped-ness from the front squats, which wear me out. 
• Alternating sets of: 
• Offset Loaded Step-Ups - 3 x 15 - I thought I was going to have to be on the stairs again, but wound out having room and a step box available, though a lower one than would have been my preference. Whenever I'm on a lower step than I'd like, I make these Sprinter Step Ups and raise my non-working knee as high as possible on each step up. Still, the 20lb weight was not enough work and I have a note to raise it. 
• Press and Twist - 3 x 15 - I did the first two sets of these with a pair of 10lb weights and the third with a pair of 8 lbs weights. I'm really hoping that next time I can do all three with 10lbs, that would be a tasty bit of improvement (from 5lbs to 10lbs) over the course of the month. 

As mentioned above, there were no cardio intervals because of already being late and not wanting to be later.

So it was a very good workout though I didn't get quite as energized by it as I usually do -- I'm a little flat right now and my energy level is a little bit low. I'm hoping that a good workout tonight and a good workout with Travis on Saturday will get me back to rights. :D 

Next workout is scheduled for this evening. I'm not sure if Patrick is going to be working out as well -- as always, I hope so, but I don't want him to hurt his back. I think he's feeling pretty confident about Saturday. Goal for the workout is to really push hard on Workout M and do my last go with that workout really strong. :D