Yes, only did very little leg work. Just enough to test them, really. I didn’t want to be hobbling around on my holidays, to be honest. 
I am very proud of myself today.
I reached over 10,000 steps today. I did 30 minutes treadmill, 10 minutes bike, 5 minutes cross trainer, 15 minutes muscle work on legs and arms and then 25 minute swim.
Thinking about it, I deserve to be proud of me. 14 months ago I could never have even walked to the end of my own drive and up my bedroom steps without almost collapsing.
Today I am a new woman I know my beautiful Sister and my Mum are pushing me along.
On that note, I bid you goodnight, godbless.
better to be safe than sorry mate, and a little more rest will benefit you too 
Lion Queen, that’s an amazing turnaround in such a short space of time. You should rightly be proud of yourself, well done 
Keep it going, progressing a little more each time, but remember to get some rest in between which gives the muscles a chance to repair themselves.
You are an inspiration to others who perhaps feel they are a lost cause with their health and fitness who may well see this post and make an effort to regain their health
I love Fridays for the simple fact that work is over for a couple of days and I have no pressure about trying to fit in a session in a given amount of time. Today I eventually made it to the gym at 5pm which gave me time to be fully energised and ready for the onslaught.
In the event I decided to do as much as I could without busting a gut as I want to visit the place again tomorrow for a second workout, my usual Saturday afternoon drinks meet with my friends not taking place this weekend.
Friday 17/8/18
DB bench press:
6x36’s, 6x36’s, 10x28’s
*Somewhat lacking strength in the shoulders today for some reason, so I curtailed this exercise after three middling sets.
Decline bench, -30°:
12x60, 12x60, 12x60, 12x70, 8x75
*Played about with this apparatus last week for the first time in a couple of years. Today I had a more worthwhile go at it. Great for all-round stretching actually – the back, arms, abs without even lifting any weight!
Smith shoulder press, 60°:
8x40, 8x40, 8x40
Smith bench:
6x60, 4x70
*As with the DB presses, I was severely down on power with this today. No sweat, all this accumulative pressing adds up .
Smith flat bench, c/g:
20x40
E-Z bar bench press:
25x38
At this point I decided my pressing wasn’t really going anywhere, so I switched things around and did a little bicep stuff (which I will be really hammering in tomorrow’s session).
BB curl, seated, 60° bench:
12x30, 12x30, 12x30, 12x35
*Curling very smoothly. Felt so easy.
Concentration curl, alt:
6x16, 6x16, 6x16
*No rest between swapping over hands.
Still having a niggling feeling about my presses not being up to scratch, I tried the standard shoulder press for a few sets.
Shoulder press:
10x60, 8x70, 6x80
*Okay, but too late in the session for doing these for any kind of gains. I may do a few tomorrow earlier on.
Fly delt dec:
12x80, 12x95, 12x110
*This was very enlightening for such a mediocre afternoon at the gym. Oddly I do excel on this machine and pulling those weights was very satisfying.
Tricep extensions:
25x40
*Another exercise I didn’t particularly want to do today, so I settled for a quick blast of high reps.
Leg ‘sled’ press:
50x150
*I like to have a quick set on this to tide me over until my main legs session in a couple of days time.
1hr. 10mins.
Not so bad if I’m honest, the pushing exercises could have been better. Tomorrow I’ll be doing mostly back and bicep stuff.
Thanks for reading.
Part two of my weekend session (there may even be a Part Three tomorrow if I do legs) saw me continue what would normally be wrapped up in one humongous session. Wisely, I ceased that early yesterday not being on such hyper mega form. Today it was the turn some back and lat work and then hitting the biceps to round things off with.
Saturday 18/8/18
Lat pulldown, hammer bar:
15x40, 12x50, 10x60, 6x70
Seated row, v-bar:
10x53, 10x59, 10x65, 10x71
Seated low row, single arm alt.:
8x80, 8x90, 8x100, 6x105
*I haven’t done these in a while because a while ago I was getting too many lower back pulls at one side due to not pulling the weight symmetrically, i.e. one arm at a time tended to twist my spine. Same reason I no longer do single-arm DB bench pull ups. No issues today though as I made sure I counteracted the pulling side with me leaning toward the opposite side as I lifted. Pleased with the 105 after not doing these for so long.
Machine arm curl, both arms:
12x35, 12x40, 12x45, 10x50
SUPERSET E-Z preacher curl, c/g / DB preacher curl, alt.:
10x28 / 6x14
10x38 / 6x14
8x50.5 / 6x14
8x38 / 6x14
10x28
15x18
Barbell preacher curl:
12x25
*Didn’t like doing preacher curls with this straight bar. No good for the wrists.
1 hour.
Nice, enjoyable session. Feeling pretty well swole and hench 
Thanks for reading.
Hi, all. i am watching a rainstorm pelt the pavement I had hoped would lead me to a five miler, but Mother Nature has put that on hold. I’ve been reading to catch up on your adventures and happy to see everyone so busy. My workouts have been sporadic due to so much travel, but I’ve been looking forward to coming home so I could dust off the cobwebs and get back into my routine.
Most of my “exercise” has been in the form of labor around my parents home and gardens, but I did manage a lovely run in the foothills of Colorado with elk, deer, and even a pasture of buffalo for company. The altitude presented only a slight challenge with my breathing, but I could tell that my legs are not quite as strong as they used to be, so I decided to jumpstart my return with a day or two at the gym. I made the rounds with the leg press and other machines before spending a few sessions on the elliptical machine which I can see will be my go-to in another decade or so when my running begins to take a backseat. It really is an exceptional smooth-as-silk workout when done right that minimizes joint stress.
Good eating returns too. In fact, I suppose I should head to the grocery store since this run just isn’t going to happen for a few more hours…
Good to be back!
Great to see you back too, Suzie! And also to hear that you’re okay and you’ve still been busy exercising in some shape or form when it’s been possible. Your parents’ home must be really spik and span after you’ve been clearing things out for them.
I’ve missed you on here. With Bob on his holiday break too and others not being here much for whatever reason, it’s been largely very quiet.
Again, I’m sorry to hear about the accident last week. Hope things are improving a little there for those concerned.
As with my previous upper body session I’m seeing me revert back to a more sensible style of weight training (if you call pushing 350kgs sensible that is), but at least I’m now back in the game of doing sets which are more constructive than simply pounding the high reps. Those will remain as a final fling following certain exercises, but the old tried and tested formula of slowly and gradually adding weight to sets which are few but fairly intensive gets my vote again now that I’m happy once more with my fitness and body shape. This way I can retain (and even gain) my strength whilst at the same time enjoy my time in the gym once more.
Today’s legs session was typical of my current routine. Nice, heavy sets with the end result of knowing I had worked those quads to their full potential.
Monday 20/8/18: Legs
(All weights in kgs)
Incline press:
20x150
12x200, 12x200, 12x200
10x250, 10x250, 10x250
8x300, 8x300, 8x300
14x350 to failure
*Easily the most substantial incline press work I have done since I had the knee problems over a year ago. Although I was certainly conscious of being careful, I didn’t lock out on the movement.
The three main sets above were done without dropping the weight between sets but holding the plates at the top of the motion for a short pause and carrying on with the rest of the reps.
Plus it was great to lift 350 again after so long.
Horizontal leg ‘sled’ press:
25x150
10x200, 10x200, 10x200, 10x200, 10x200
*The sets of 200 were done as per with the incline press above: a short pause in between sets without lowering the weight.
Seated ham curls:
25x45, 15x50, 15x55
10x60, 10x65
7x70, 6x75
5x80
25x40 fast reps
Extensions:
20x50, 12x70, 12x80, 10x90
6x100, 6x100, 6x100
12x100 to failure
*Nice to get firmly back into the swing with extensions again. No knee issues.
Adductor:
25x60
Abductor:
25x50
Incline press (reprise):
80x100 high reps
Ab crunch:
30x35 – 4 sets.
50 mins.
Thanks for reading.
That leg burner was a great compliment to the upper body the other day, Floydy. It sure was fun being in the gym last week after a long hiatus. You will know when I’ve hit your machines Floydy, because you’ll have to drop the pin way, way down…lol!
We really do have a strange weather pattern going on here. At a time in which we should be baking in sunshine, apparently we have been drenched by storms almost every day for a month. Another few weeks of this and all the suntans will have faded and we will have attained tropical rainforest designation.
Slog, slog, slog went today’s run and it wasn’t until I really couldn’t see any longer that I abandoned the trail at four and a quarter miles. Cracks form in pavement faster than my pace, but it felt just fine breathing in the salt air and feeling the dewy air condense little droplets on my skin. Tomorrow will be a five…or a six? We’ll see!
Suzie, you appear to be having some of the weather we would normally get in our patchy summers. It’s all highly irregular the weather patterns at the moment and rather worrying to wonder where we are heading in future years. best just to make the best of the sunny weather we get I guess!
Great to see you running even if it’s rather wet out there at the moment. And four plus miles is some going. How is your toe healing by the way?
Good also to see you doing some gym work. I know you are familiar with the apparatus set up in these places, but if you are unsure of anything please let me know and I’ll try to explain a good technique etc. We all do what we can manage weight-wise, but it’s not all about strength, it’s about keeping ourselves in good shape and healthy for our future; always an ongoing battle and one of which I know you too are dealing with in a positive and winning formula.
Keep it up, you’re doing great
My mid-week top-up. Three sets of everything. Mid-range weights. Nice little sesh.
Tuesday 21/8/18: Upper body.
(All weights in kgs)
Smith flat bench press, c/g:
15x40, 15x40, 15x40
Shoulder press:
6x60, 6x70, 6x80, 6x90
Chest press:
10x80, 10x80, 10x80
Pec dec:
12x60, 12x60, 12x60
Fly dec (delts setting):
15x95, 15x95, 15x95
*On the above three exercises I did a set of each on different seat height settings: Standard, high and low. That ensured I hit all areas of the chest equally.
Barbell curl, seated, 60° bench:
12x30, 12x30, 12x30
Standing bicep cable curls, alt.:
12x10, 12x10, 12x10
Tricep extensions:
20x40, 20x40, 20x40
Ab crunch:
30x35, 30x35
45 mins.
I’m very pleased with how my training is going at the moment. I don’t need to lift super-heavy anymore, just enough to push myself as far as possible without rupturing anything is fine with me these days. I’m certainly looking stronger but without the bulk that goes with it and my muscles are much more defined than they were, say, six months ago. That is mainly down to my diet and keeping active at work too. Quite simply, I don’t over eat anymore and my work pack-up is much smarter than it was; wraps instead of sandwiches, a crunch bar instead of a Boost bar etc and no crisps. On the whole, I’m very satisfied that I’m approaching my mid-fifties holding back the years.
Next session Thursday but then it all goes out the window for the weekend.
Thanks for reading.
It’s always satisfying to be clicking along with one’s workout and to have shifted from discipline to habit in the fueling department. It sounds like you are doing well in both, Floydy. Great job.
The neutral - neither El Niño or La Niña - year has indeed left us with an extraordinarily wet year, and today was no exception. Soaking rain marching southeast in a wide swath foiled my run once again. Never fear, I did manage to do a round of step aerobics with three pound weights, a good 15 minutes of abs work, and enough lunges around the house to leave my dogs staring at me in wide-eyed concern.
While I love to run just before sunset when the sea breezes are at their peak, I am beginning to think I may have to switch to mornings when the air is more stifling, but the rains are less likely.
I am bounding about in a new model of New Balance shoes that I found at outlet pricing, but they aren’t as flashy as Bob’s new pair. Oh well, he’s got better legs anyway 
.
I love the beach at Sunset too Surfer, but run? I think not lol. That’s when we like to take the Clydes for a run and a paddle.
That sounds heavenly Roxy! I know you get out with your dogs a lot for good walks. Between that, your swimming, and the work you do around the farm, I imagine you are fit as a fiddle!
It sure feels good to be home. Tonight’s conditions were 87F (30.5C) and 85% humidity with a very light north breeze.
With the sun sinking behind a stand of moss-covered river oaks, I took off down an inland gulf trail with nary a person in sight. With the school year started, most of the tourists have gone back to their own towns, leaving the paths and roadways nearly empty. There was a light breeze
With amber light filtering down through the canopy overhead, I labored somewhat as my lungs and heart went to work, only to have them settle down as the as I passed a familiar magnolia in late bloom marking the first mile. Though the approaching series of hills don’t quite measure up to the ascent that OGF is making in Guernsey, they are respectable, and I enjoying powering through them. Even though my legs aren’t nearly as strong as they once were, hills seem easy enough and the reward is vast view of the pine forest and the gulf that lies a good mile off in the distance. In a matter of feet, the grade steepens to the point in which my feet wanted want to fly, despite my knees reminding me to go easy.
When no one is on the trail and the sun begins to set, the animals come out for one last meal before settling down for the night. Tonight it was several young cottontails and squirrels foraging through the leaf litter that were much more focused on their work than on the late day runner plodding along.
One last push across a wooden bridge running over a boggy marsh and I was back where I started with no one to greet me except my faithful steed on four wheels. After a good long stretching session followed by a quick stop at a local farm for produce, I was back home ready for a round of step aerobics, abs work, and a very, very tall glass of water.
You really do paint a lovely picture of your surroundings, Surfermom. One day I’ll spend some time in a place like you live. Beautiful visions there 
I was hoping to get a quick gym session in this afternoon but decided to finish off the month’s food shopping instead, otherwise there wouldn’t be time.
This weekend from tomorrow I’m going to a gorgeous destination just across the River Humber called Grimsby:shock: It’s not quite so glamorous and idyllic as the Florida Everglades, the least said the better about it to be honest, but I have good reason to visit and stay in a nice hotel on the gold course there - I received a letter out of the blue a couple of weeks ago from an old RAF friend I haven’t seen for twenty years who lives and works in sunny Grimsby and he asked me to get in touch.
So with that in mind, me and Mrs. Floydy are travelling down the almighty distance of thirty-five miles to spend a couple of days with my buddy, no doubt indulging in copious real ales which will required sweating out and burning off when I return on Monday.
Got to be done
Not a scrap of exercise done since last week because i.ve been really poorly and slept more this week than I do in a year.
Starting to feel normal again but recovery has been slow. I.m so looking forward to getting back to it but I will use my noggin and start with gentle swimming.
Sorry to hear you’re feeling unwell, Lion Queen. As you say, ease yourself back into any kind of exercise as the body will need to adjust itself back into the routine again.
You’ll be soon hard at it I’m sure
I doubt this very much…
The running has been fantastic in Guernsey; What kind of runner would I be if I lived here and got to run these hills every week? Even after a fortnight I can feel the difference that the hill work has made, and each run has been generally faster than the last without even trying.
Six and seven milers have made up my weekly tally, and today fifty lengths of the pool were only terminated because my time ran out and I had to dress for dinner…
Tomorrow I leave this beautiful Island to a country I don’t recognise any more…Such is life…
Nice to see you back in here, Bob, and great to hear you’ve had a great time away mate 
LQ, I’m so sorry that you are feeling poorly. Your body needs all of your nutrition right now to heal, so you take it easy and let us known when you are up and running…or swimming…as the case may be!
OGF, coming back from a holiday more fit that going in is phenomenal! I know you love those hills and you seem to be making the best of them. I think you get to know a place much more intimately by running and walking, and some of the most solid memories seem to be mental snapshots of those places. It is hard to leave, I’m sure, but the sooner you go, the sooner you get to start planning for your next visit.
Floydy, that getaway sounds perfect. It really makes me happy to hear that you and your wife are getting to break away from the demands of home and work. I hope you two have a good time catching up with your old friend. Have a wonderful reunion!
With a life that is fairly demanding and hectic, empty trails beckon like cool water. After a few minutes of stretching, I was just about to take off when I heard a familiar voice from the distance. A good friend was making his way through the park by bicycle so we stopped for a minute or two to catch up. After two minutes turned into ten, the setting sun behind his head gave me the alarm to get on with the show. After making hasty farewells, he pedaled off just as I pushed the start button the watch, impatient with the GPS signal it had picked up earlier. Off I went.
A bit concerned about the time, I picked up the pace and used my watch to keep me in a brisk zone. The lower the sun sank, the faster I tried to go. Soon it was too dark to wear my sunglasses, and near the end, I was counting on a lightly painted center line in the trail to keep me from going off course. By the time I made it back, the explosion of pinks and blues of the day’s end had faded from indigo to nearly black. All around me the night creatures were awaking and singing a symphony of frogs croaking, doves cooing, and the occasional owl hooting. With the crickets singing soprano I rolled down the windows to take in the cool, damp air as the car crept forward. Just to my right, the moon was already hanging overhead looking down on Mars glowing crimson framed by red cedars and longleaf pines.
While it’s never a great idea to run alone at night. It sure was…heavenly.
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