~ anonymous
Jaron: 195.5 & 17.2%
Me: 217.0 & 20.4%
Chest and tricep day during this current phase is best described as "3 Charmins and a Colonic" -- The opposing cable press at 110 lbs each arm, plank push ups and single arm machine flys provide strength yet are soft on the pain rubric. With the workout equivalent of a muscle cleansing coming from the wonderful set of corn on the cobs I knew revisions were expected. Since the trainer is an active participant, Krause decided to bench the plank push up and call up from the minor leagues a fine set of standing cable tricep extensions. This little bastard is easy on the eyes with little sympathy for the uncoordinated. Either I screwed the set up by using abs or by taking a running head start with body movement to get the extension going. Either way, I do not look forward to my next go around with this little weasel since I now know the proper technique.
To fully purge the demons of Thanksgiving recently past, Krause and I decided to take on another micro challenge we failed last week; 5 sets of minute planks with descending rest (1:00, :45, :30, :15.) I didn't feel to confident when my trainer started singing, "Second verse! Same as the first!" However, the set was significantly easier following chest and tricep day versus our maiden voyage post leg day. It should be noted that no matter the muscle group day, plank challenges exploit the weakened muscles. Both of us nearly broke plank not because of tired abs or stressed backs, it was our shoulders. I'm glad to return to my regularly scheduled ab workouts next week... variety is the spice of life.
Post Script
I am up to 4:00 minutes without a break on the 20/15/4 Slow Grind challenge. If I don't make it to the 10:00 minute (half way mark) by February I'm calling this challenge a Tebow and moving to the 5-minute plank challenge.
Solid statistics for the lot, no doubt. Salty food imparts a fair amount of water retention. Last week included no shortage of said food, and I think we both suffered from its affects. What's ironic, is that I worked out exactly zero times this week. It's imperative that, when trying to make a positive change in your exercise regimen, you find a way to get your workouts in, even in a hectic week. No sympathy for the devil. In this, I have failed. I had a week that included 55 hours of (work) gym time, and 4 events in 9 days for my other business, requiring 5-6 hours per. So I worked about 80 hours give or take in the last week. On top, my previous cold executed a weak, if not real, victory lap. No excuses, but shit didn't get done. So be it. My nutrition was on point, which accounts for the current week's weight loss. Should have been more. Ole JT, on the other hand, seemed baffled by the loss. Salt, to be sure...devil sodium. The advent of a new triceps exercise will surely add angst to his existence. There are no words to express the depravity of a fat boy in the midst of a weight loss binge. That plank mini challenge sucked my will the first time around. It wasn't easy second time around, but doable. For our Eastern Euro faithful, this may not be obvious, but this is leading to a gnarly plank challenge. Stay tuned...
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