okay . . . so i didn't lift. i actually think that At My Age, two days of rest between sessions might be better. no reference to anyone else of my age, but r.a. and all that and like that stuff as well.

anyway, that's not the reason of course. i didn't lift because i spent the first half of the day NOT buying a bike, then the first part of the second half of the day buying a bike . . . and then the first bit of the second part of the second half of the day taking my other bike to the mechanics to get its winter rebuild. and then i sat around and just breathed for a bit . . . and then i went out and rode my new bike. basically, i set out at 5:20 and i took it down to a technical-clothing outlet 5 or 6 miles from here, and bought a full-bore rain suit before they closed at 6. which i changed into at the side of six lanes of traffic, and then i rode home.

i'm pretty happy. i'll lift tomorrow.

when you come home and take your whole freezer apart, because 'i know i made chili last month and it's in here somewhere . . . ' must be stronglifts.

workout a:

squats: bodyweight, 2x5@45, 1x5@65, 5x5@85. very happy. the time i'm investing before i even get started, in getting down below parallel at bodyweight and then just practicing 'finding' my glutes and hamstrings and doing maybe an inch or so of hip bounce in that position . . . it really feels as if it's paying off when i do my actual lifts. these are 5 pounds heavier than last time and it's my all-time pr weight for squats, but they felt good and strong and solid all the way through.

bench: 3x5@45, 5x5@65. better than i expected. left shoulder felt like it was going to be a problem during warmup, but somehow once i went to my full workout weight it got much better and much easier to get set and lift strong. i'm really finding that bench is much much more doable if i put everything all my other muscles have got into it too. i think my glutes will be getting more doms off the bench than i even gave them with squats.

rows: strange . . . again. i saw someone demonstrating a very limited row to a younger kid, and he really seemed to know what he was talking about when i saw him coaching the same kid to squat. so i tried his version of rows. plus, i overheard the word 'lats'. so what this was, is sort of like a roumanian deadlift except you move the bar with your arms instead of using hip hinge. so basically, just pulling the bar from your knees to your hip crease, while keeping it in contact with your thighs the whole time. this was actually more work than i thought it would be and put a pretty good burn on my lower glutes/upper hamstrings as well. but then i did 8 reps per set instead of just 5, to make up for the shorter bar path. 1x8@30, 2x8@50, 5x8@70.

accessories: pulldowns: sets of 5 reps, various weights and grip widths. deloaded on weight because of various twinges and pinchy feelings in various tendons, but i was pretty happy with form. 2x60 sec planks during warmup, not bad for how slack i've been about planks.

while i was in the second one this pair of women walked past me on their way out the door, and one of them pointed me out to the other one and said 'now that is a perfect plank'. then they both stopped to tell me the same thing again and we had us a little conversation with me hanging out in mid air and talking at them kind of upside-downy it was nice.

oh and also: working on deadlift form and implementing the rippetoe tips, so i did about 10 of those too. but i only used 100lbs, so i don't think they count the thing about bringing your shins TO the bar without dropping your hips, and then squeezing your chest up really does seem like it's a big key. much easier to push through the heels like that, for some reason.