Back to basics (no pun intended)

I’ve been going to the gym regularly now for a few months (especially since I sprained my ankle). Mostly I have been focusing on core and legs. Once in a while I would throw in a chest or shoulders workout. I haven’t been very consistent in my upper body training. Truthfully it’s been a gong show.

So over the last few days I researched upper body training. I’ve been a little clueless at what exercises to do at the gym. Years ago when I trained I was pretty versed on chest, back and shoulder exercises. For whatever reason, these days my mind has been completely blank.

I found a high-volume back workout on Bodybuilding.com. It incorporates rows, flys and pulldowns. I took pictures of the exercise so I could check my phone if I forgot how to set up the exercise. (The Bodybuilding has a great library of videos, which show proper technique and form for a wide range of exercises.)

Thankfully I was the only one in the women’s only section this morning. I started here because I knew I would have a bench to sort out the height and I could mess around with the cable machine. I really hate being in the open gym when I have to mess around with a machine or search for stuff. Usually it’s busy and someone is always waiting for a machine or weight.

The workout

The first few exercises were variation of the row – dumbbell incline, barbell incline and one-arm row. It’s a pretty basic back exercise. The workout calls from moving from the bench to the cable machine back to the bench. Since there is only one adjustable bench, I did the flys out of sequence.

As well I moved directly to the cable machine before I went to the one-arm assisted pull-ups. Once I figured out how to use the machine and find the appropriate handles, I was good to go. I couldn’t find the bar for the lat pulldowns and the one-arm lat so I skipped those too.

Moving on to the one-arm assisted pull-ups. Um …. no … this was not fun. I really have some work to do here. I used both arms and changed grips as she instructs in the video.

I went downstairs to the open gym area to look around for lat pulldown equipment. I knew there had to be some in the main area. The women’s section doesn’t usually have a great selection of equipment. I was in luck. I found the cable lat pulldown machine and a seated area for cable row. Upstairs I sat on the floor. I did another set of cable rows and the lat pulldown exercises.

I have no doubt I will be sore tomorrow. I am going to follow this program two times a week for six weeks.

The Running

My ankle is feeling much better. I am gaining more mobility and I feel stronger on my runs – less hesitant. I know it will take some more time to fully heal and I happy that there is some progress. A few weeks ago I was ready to chop off my foot and call it a day.

Next up is Gord’s Frozen Ass Fifty in February. I have no business signing up for 50K but I am tempted just to give it a go. Really I should be sticking to 25K since the longest run that I have done in weeks is only 16K. I haven’t signed up yet so I still have time to mull it over.

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I’ve been sticking to running at Nose Hill. I know. I know. I need to step out of my comfort zone. I just hate having to drive to run especially if it’s only 10K or such. I ran yesterday so today I am just sticking to weights and spin class.

I am keeping an eye on the weather. I would really like to get out to the mountains before I head back to work. I’ve had a few issues with my car lately and I am driving a rental. The brakes don’t seem to be as on point as my Versa so I am being a little cautious.

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