What Was Your Work Out Today?

Treadmill - 1 hr, 3.0 mph, 12% incline

Thanks, @DiscusTank5. Most years I'm working on Veteran's Day, but this year I had off so took full advantage of as much as I could. A free haircut to go along with free food from Dunkin Donuts, Arby's, Little Caesar's, Chick-fil-a, Subway, In-n-Out, Chili's...

(Note that I didn't eat all of this myself, but instead shared with my family so we all had free lunch and my meal at dinnertime.)

Treadmill - 1 hr, 3.0 mph, 12% incline

I've been working on my ankle rehab, which has been going OK but slowly. I seemed to recover reasonably quickly for most things; climbing is proving to be the slowest. I suspect that climbing puts a lot of strain on the ankle. I had one session a couple of weeks ago, where I climbed for 2.5 hours and was limping heavily by the end. Walking to the station afterwards seemed to be good, and I had recovered by the time I got there.

Yesterday I climbed for 2 hours, and did OK. It wasn't my best effort, but my best since the injury and not too shabby.

Upper Body - Hypertrophy

Incline Bench Press 4x10
DB Bench Press 3x10
BB Row 4x10
Pulldown 3x10 (1 set each hands over, under, neutral-grip)
Machine Reverse Fly 3x10
Machine Lat Raise 3x10
DB Shrugs 3x10
Preacher Curl 3x10 (3-second negatives)
DB Preacher Hammer Curls 4x10
Cable Pushdown 3x10 (5-second negatives)
Perloff Press 3x10, 20, 30sec

The preacher curl station was super popular today, busy the entire time I was at the gym. So when it came time for my preacher curls (saved for last just in case the station opened up...no dice), I had to improvise away from the machine station and instead propped up a weight bench at a maximum angle, propped my armpit at the top, and did DB hammer curls using the bench to keep my arm motionless. (I had to do hammer curls because the torque was uncomfortable doing them with wrist facing up.)

It's been about 10 days of taking the HCl version of creatine, I've gotten in a half dozen workouts using it, thought I'd put on paper some observations:

1. Aesthetically - the tiny amount does nothing to change my morning drink taste-wise, but is far more effective in dissolving for maximum consumption, as opposed to the monohydrate creatine which leaves a residue of undissolved powder on the bottom of the cup
2. Functionally - my lifting workouts using either form are virtually identical in terms of weights used etc, though my cardio sessions are noticeably easier using the HCl
3. Visually - from my reading, the HCl version works without drawing extra water into the cells, which implies using it will allow water currently there from the monohydrate to leave the cells. I can confirm this both from my weight dropping 5 lbs in the last two weeks, as well as in the mirror where I simply look smaller. Smaller, yet at the same time slightly more muscular, as the definition has increased. Haven't decided which I prefer yet, looking swole or looking cut.

Upper Body - Power

Bench Press 5x8
Cable Row 5x5
Mac Decline Press 5x5
Machine High Row 5x12, 10, 8, 6, 4
Seated BB OHP 3x12
Preacher Curl 3x8
Cable Pushdown 3x10
Cable Woodchoppers 3x10

Treadmill - 1 hr, 3.0 mph, 12% incline

Treadmill - 1 hr, 3.0 mph, 12% incline

I did a 10 mile walk, then went climbing for 2.5 hours. It was fun; I was in good form. I seem to be back to the form I was in pre-injury. My ankle was slightly swollen at the end, but not painful. (I can do pistol squats again.)

Lower Body

Squat 4x10
Rack Pull 4x10
BB Hip Thrust 4x10
Leg Press <<superset> Leg Press Calf Raise 4x10
Seated Leg Curl 4x10
Cable Crunch 4x10, 15, 20, 25

Must have slept wrong, as my lower back was grunting during squats, and the smart move was to not do rack pulls in that situation. So I swapped in hip thrusts instead. Been a while, felt awkward.

20 min. of outside walking today; 18 min. on the stationary bike; 2 min. of sit-ups and skullcrushers. Not much stretching--I ran out of time before an over-the-phone meeting.