it's just the light weights, like, 170lbs tops, including the rack
it's just awkward, that's all
so you just
move it
...and it's fine.
because of course it is. you lift more than this, like, every workout.
but somehow...
...this is different.
I started lifting again on August 4th, 2017; I posted an update on August 3rd, 2018; it seems like time for a second update. I'll use weights from the August 4th workout.
As with last time, this includes the delta that happened when they replaced all the machines; some of them had different gearing and I ended up going down in weights on four. I've posted a column for "adjusted start weight," which takes the original weight down by the delta. I'm not sure that's really the most accurate way to do it, but it's what I've got.
Let's look at the numbers, shall we? All weights are in pounds.
start | machine delta | adjusted start | 2018 | current | |
Chest press | 50 | -15 | 35 | 90 | 120 |
Fly | 50 | -20 | 30 | 120 | 145 |
Wide grip pulldown | 50 | 0 | 50 | 110 | 150 |
Row | 50 combined | 0 | 50 combined 25 per hand | 60 per hand | 120 per hand |
Overhead Press | 30 | 0 | 30 | 60 | 80 |
Arm Curl | 40 | 0 | 40 | 95 | 110 |
Tricep Press | 55 | 0 | 55 | 120 | 165 |
Leg Press | 85 | 0 | 85 | 245 | 285 |
Leg Extension | 25 | 0 | 25 | 105 | 150 |
Leg Curl | 65 | 0 | 65 | 115 | 150 |
Hip Abductor | 100 | -50 | 50 | 180/260 | 225/260 |
Hip Adductor | 95 | -50 | 45 | 180 | 225 |
Ab Crunch | 50 | 0 | 50 | 140 | +75 new machine |
Lower Back Extension | 70 | 0 | 70 | 240 | 260 (maxxed) |
added later | |||||
Shoulder shrug per hand (2017/9/20) | 25 | 0 | 25 | 65 | 75 (maxxed) |
Straight bar pulldown (2017/9/20) | 30 | 0 | 30 | 120 | 145 |
Calf Extension (2017/12/17) | 100 | 0 | 100 | 160 | 210 |
I think the thing I'm most pleased with is finally having 1/7th tonne on leg press. It's nice to have larger fractions of a tonne in your weights. And I've maxxed out another machine, which is nice too. Vertical things (overhead press, particularly) continue to be the most difficult part of the workout, other than simple heat dissipation, which is always a weakness I have. (I've found that just swallowing ice whole really helps.)
I've gone back and separated out the "row" exercise numbers to the per-hand basis of the actual workout. This is a little jinky because it started out as an exercise where I used both hands at once, then I switched to alternating hands. Combining the two weights wasn't really legitimate, so I've gone with the per-hand number, since that's how I usually do it.
Also, the ab crunch number is kind of discontinous because, again, a change in machines, but not in the previously-mentioned way. I topped out the old machine at 165, then discovered that one of the new machines worked all four abdominal pairs more directly, and moved to it. It uses some fraction of your own body weight (at least half) and additional weights you select, which is where the +75 comes from. I also found out that the bottom pair of abs had been taking the entire previous year and a half off, and had been doing fuck all, so on the new machine my lowest set is all "WHAT FUCKERY IS THIS?!" and my upper six are all "...are we... doing something?" So I've had to spend a lot of time evening that out.
Since I've been maxxed out on both shoulder shrug and lower back extension for a while, I've been slowly upping the number of reps. Started 15/15, now at 20/20.
And that's all I've got to say, I think. So, yeah! I've got a seventh, I've got a couple of eighths, I've got a ninth, and hopefully by next year I'll have collected more small fractions. Wish me luck!
I started lifting again on August 4th, 2017; this is August 3rd, 2018, so it seems like a good time for a progress summary.
This includes the delta that happened when they replaced all the machines; some of them had different gearing and I ended up going down in weights on four. I've posted a column for "adjusted start weight," which takes the original weight down by the delta. I'm not sure that's really the most accurate way to do it, but it's what I've got.
start | machine delta | adjusted start | current | |
Chest press | 50 | -15 | 35 | 90 |
Fly | 50 | -20 | 30 | 120 |
Wide grip pulldown | 50 | 0 | 50 | 110 |
Row | 50 | 0 | 50 | 170 (combined) |
Overhead Press | 30 | 0 | 30 | 60 |
Arm Curl | 40 | 0 | 40 | 95 |
Tricep Press | 55 | 0 | 55 | 120 |
Leg Press | 85 | 0 | 85 | 245 |
Leg Extension | 25 | 0 | 25 | 105 |
Leg Curl | 65 | 0 | 65 | 115 |
Hip Abductor | 100 | -50 | 50 | 180/260 |
Hip Adductor | 95 | -50 | 45 | 180 |
Ab Crunch | 50 | 0 | 50 | 140 |
Lower Back Extension | 70 | 0 | 70 | 240 |
added later | ||||
Shoulder shrug (2017/9/20) | 25 | 0 | 25 | 65 |
Straight bar pulldown (2017/9/20) | 30 | 0 | 30 | 120 |
Calf Extenion (2017/12/17) | 100 | 0 | 100 | 160 |
Some of the start weights really were a little low, and a couple of them have really rapid climbs on the first page of daily workout data. And some was definitely re-limbering. But a lot of this is straight-up strength gain.
The row exercise is a little weird, because it went from a single weight tied to a fixed two-hand yolk (both arms working the weight) to one where I alternated hands (one hand working the weight), so I combined the two individual hands for the current weight equivalent. The chest press did the same thing, but I use both arms at once rather than alternating (unlike row, where I alternate) and that's also the combined weight. That's also where I learned that my left side was really carrying my right side, and it took a couple of months for the right to catch back up.
Also, the second number on the hip abductor is a variation on the exercise (where you half-stand, like you're sitting on an invisible chair), and is the machine maximum. I'd maxed out the old machine too. It's now very easy but I'm still doing it.
I think I'm most surprised that the lowest (adjusted) full-year gain percentage is the leg curl, at 77% gain. I'd've thought it was overhead press (100% gain) or chest press (at... 157% gain) but I guess not. But it is now a lot more even with its opposite (leg extension) so that's good.