Hawkwind faces life with Hashimoto's...

[Hawkwind]

Week 3 delts - rack pulls - some leg/calf work

Smith incline press
3s x 6/6/5r x 75/80/80#
DB front raises
2s x 12/12r x 12/15#
Cable front raises
1s x 15r x pin @ 4.50/light

Smith upright rows
3s x 6/6/5r x 80/80/85#
DB side raises
2s x 12/12r x 15#
Cable side raises
1s x 12r x pin @ 2/light

DB rows (Chest to incline)
3s x 8r x 35#
Cable face-pulls
1s x 15r x 6.50/heavy

Rack Pulls
3s x 8r x 125#

Lower body work:
Leg (ham) curls and leg extension (toes out) Superset:
3s x 8r x 60/65/70#

Hip adductions
3s x 8r x 70/75/80#
Hip abductions
3s x 8r x 170/175/180#

Seated calf press (on the seated leg press machine)
3s x 15/15/12r x 275#

Okay...so you know your legs (quads) must be growing when you go to pull on your favorite jeans and have to pull hard to get them over your quads! I'm sooo not happy. If this keeps up I'll be out of three of my favorite Levi's 501's! I wanted definition...I wasn't expecting growth...oy!

They don't make my favorite jeans in stretch...

[Hawkwind]

Thursday and Friday ma training:

Thursday
Plyos and core training. Punch technique work. I have my 1rst and 2nd animal forms now, 5 Choy Lay Fut, and my 3 Hokdown forms. We also did more kick work. My hips certainly felt it. Only myself and 1 black sash were in class. I rather enjoyed that as our other black sash is a chatter box and drives us all nuts...

Friday:
Weapons class
Worked on our Wu Shu fan form. I love the elegance of this form, but let's just say that it is a dayum good thing that our competition fans are not fighting fans with steel tips...

I would have cut open my right arm pit at least once tonight and sheered off the top of a dad's noggin (He sat behind the half wall reading, until he realized that my fan kept coming over the wall due to my position in the room. He moved his seat!)...and my calves would have been sliced by my class mates fan that went sailing during a missed toss...

I managed most of my tosses until we learned a 'behind the back' toss tonight. Oy! You should have heard the fans dropping on the floor on that one!

I was rather happy to move on to knife work. (No more flying objects to dodge!) Evades and disarms. I love working with the kids. Two of the younger kids paired with me as the line rotated...the look on their face at my height was priceless. I whispered, "Don't worry, I'll kneel down and let you take me down."

The grins on their faces was worth going through everything in slow-motion and helping them perfect their technique.

Forgot to mention. Eric and I were training around the same time at the gym yesterday. A guy we see quite often asked Eric for his card. He's thinking of joining so he can improve his flexibility. I hope he does. We really could use more adult students.

[Hawkwind]

Week 4 - Back Day
One arm DB rows
3s x 6r x 85# *OMGosh! I really did three sets! I almost fainted when I finished the last set with only one accidental re-set.

Seated Cable rows
2s x 12r x 90#

WG lat pull downs
2s x 15/12r x pin @ 6

CG lat pull downs
1s x 20r x pin @ 4
*Wholey smokes Batman...wicked pump after these. My stretch afterwards was very painful!

Pull throughs
2s x 10r x pin @ 10/heavy

Hyper extensions
1s x 20r x BW
*Youch! Even the low back pumped up today...painful!

Notes:
I have to say that the set up for rowing so heavy is the toughest part for me. As I mentioned before, I have to use hooks and straps. But today I noticed I have to really 'dig in' and watch my balance so I literally do not fall over! I noticed today that I feel that row right down to my hams I am 'digging in' so hard to keep my balance!

Gym musings:
Only one delightful older gent seems to be brave enough to approach me and say hello when I do the one-arm rows
...everyone else puts distance between us. Yeesh! I don't bite!

Today I noticed an absolutely gorgeous lady training back as well. (I've seen her train before.) This lady has phenomenal genetics. Then I noticed where she was setting the pin on the stacks and wanted to shake her! She was going so light again! This lady works her ass off at the gym...yet every time I notice her training she's often doing less than half the weight I am. She is at least 10 years my junior...and lordy, this women would be even hotter with a little bit more muscle.

I really wish the Hashimotos did not leave my upper body looking so heavy. I want so badly to tell some of the ladies that they really, really should go heavier. But I know dayumed well most of them would look at me and say, "I don't want my arms to look as heavy as yours..."

[Hawkwind]

Mondays ma class:
Oy! "Round circle" work. It's not that bad if it's "K", "J" and I...but we had our youngest black sash into tonight. He's a talented kid...but he constantly screws off. To top it off he is on the small side for his age...

So in spite of our best efforts "K" and I sent the little bugger sailing and knocked him to the mats continually because he was off in space somewhere. I literally had in him land in my arms during spin kicks that I was supposed to be evading a couple times due to his lack of attention.

I admit. I dropped his butt on the last one. I could have held him off the mats until he had his balance back. But I was getting royally fed up. He was a little more careful after that. "J" warned him. "You're irritating her and she doesn't normally get irritated with anyone!"

Even Eric was getting towards his limit with him tonight. Other than that and having the little guy swing wild and catch me across the chest and shoulders when I was turning to advance on my partner...I, no make that we, managed to get through the whole class without killing the kid!

[Hawkwind]

Week 4 - Chest/arms and hips/abs
Smith incline bench
3s x 6r x 50/55/60#
*I left my ego at the door and dropped back down. It just had to be done since I'm struggling with anything beyond 65#.

Incline DB flyes
3s x 10/8/8r x 30#

Cable cross-overs
1s x 15r x pin @ 4/heavy

Biceps superset:
OH/cable curls (arms out to sides at shoulder level)
2s x 6r x pin @3/pin @ 4
Preacher curls
2s x 12r x 20#

EZ bar curls
2s x 12r x 35#

Triceps supersets:
Straight bar Tri-press
2s x 8r/6r x 9/heavy
DB kickbacks
2s x 15r x 25#

Alt. Triceps pull-downs
2s x 15r/10r x pin @ 3.50/light-pin @ 4/light

Hip adductions
3s x 8r/8r/6r x 80/85/85#
Hip abductions
3s x 8r x 180/185/190#

Abs
Decline bench crunches
3s x 15r x BW
Supported leg raises (on pull-up/dip station)
3s x 15r x BW

*Kept thinking I was forgetting something...drove most of the way home when it hit me! Dayum! I forgot my accessory bench work this week! I'm so ticked off at myself. I forgot to write it in my journal and I didn't think to look back at last weeks notes! Duh!

[Hawkwind]

Week 4 - Legs

Squats
Warm up set x 8r x 85#
Set 1 x 20r x 125#
Set 2 x 20r x 125#

Zerchers - from the top
3s x 8r x 125#

Zerchers - Bottom - pins @ 4
3s x 8r x 125#

45 degree leg press (foot high)/calf press
Set 1 x 6r x 360# - No calves this set
*Note to self: You do not have enough 'oomph' left after 2 sets of 20 rep squats to go this heavy!
2s x 8r (legs)/15r (calves) x 270#

Seated Leg Press - calves only
3s x 15r/15r/12r x 275#

Leg extension/leg (ham) curl superset:
3s x 8r x 60#

Okay...that's it for today! Abs are still sore from Monday night and Tuesday...glutes were fried after the 45 degree press...so no machine glute press today. I walked away 'shaky'...legs are 'well done'.

BTW...I need to get a T-shirt made that says: They are called Zerchers...ask me about them.

[Hawkwind]

Week 4 - Delts and Rack pulls
Smith incline press
3s x 6r x 60/65/70#
*I backed down a bit on the weight. Just not feeling very secure going above 70 today.
DB front raises
2s x 13r x 12#
*Left elbow was very ouchy today!
Cable front raises
1s x 8r x pin @ 3/Light
*today was a struggle with the cable raises.

Smith upright rows
3s x 6r x 80/85/85#
DB lateral raises
2s x 12r x 12#
Cable lateral raises
1s x 8r/pin @ 2 and 8r/pin @ 1
*My elbow was just biatching up a storm today.

DB rear delt rows (Chest to incline)
3s x 8r x 35#
*OW!
Face pulls
1s x 15r x pin @ 6.50/heavy

Rack pulls
3s x 8r x 125/145/165#

I'm not sure what I did to my elbow this time...could just be the onset of cold weather. But man it was freakin' cranky today.

[Hawkwind]

Week 5 - Back - legs - calves
One arm DB rows
3s x 6r x 85# *One accidental re-set.

Seated Cable rows
2s x 12r x 90#

WG lat pull downs
2s x 12/12r x pin @ 6

CG lat pull downs
1s x 20r x pin @ 4

Pull throughs
2s x 15r x pin @ 10/heavy

Hyper extensions
1s x 20r x BW

45 degree leg press
3s x 8r x 360#
45 degree calf presses
3s x 15r x 270#
*Sometimes I wish I knew that that sled weighs!

Seated leg press - leg/calf superset:
3s x 8r (legs)/12r (calves) x 275#

Not bad today.

[Hawkwind]

Week 5 - Chest/arms and hips - accessory work
Smith incline bench
3s x 6r x 55/60/60#

Incline DB flyes
3s x 10/10/8r x 30#

Cable cross-overs
1s x 20r x pin @ 4/heavy

Biceps superset:
OH/cable curls (arms out to sides at shoulder level)
2s x 10r/8r x pin @4/pin @ 5
Preacher curls
2s x 12r/12r x 20/15#
*Biceps were burning! I had to drop the pc's back a bit to do the second set

EZ bar curls
2s x 12r x 30#
*The burn was still rather intense. Dropped back 5# on these as well.

Triceps supersets:
Straight bar Tri-press
2s x 8r/6r x 9/heavy and 9.25/heavy
DB kickbacks
2s x 15r x 25#

Alt. Triceps pull-downs
2s x 15r/15r x pin @ 4/light

Speed bench off pins @ 4
3s x 8r x 55/65/70#

Pin presses (Bench and hold bar against pins for a count of 60 or failure.)
3s x 8r x 55/65/70#

Hip adductions
3s x 8r/8r/5r x 85/90/90#
Hip abductions
3s x 8r x 185/190/195#

The bicep burn was brutal today. I had to keep stretching it out and I still went into the next set with a bit of burn.

I was actually quite tickled to notice that when I went to do my Overhead cable curls I didn't have to change the pin after the guy that was doing the same exercise prior to me...and that I also went up a notch .

[Hawkwind]

Week 5 - Legs
Squats - warm up 1s x 8r x 85#
2s x 20r x 125#

Zerchers (top position)
3s x 8r x 125#

Zerchers (bottom position - pins @ 4 - wide stance)
3s x 8r x 125#

Hack sled
3s x 12r x 50#

Glute Machine
2s x 8r x 150#

Seated leg (Ham) curls
3s x 8r x 60#

Leg extensions - toes out position
3s x 8r x 60#

Seated (leg) calf press
3s x 15r/14r/ 14r x 275

Machine torso rotation
3s x 15r x 55# (each side)

Owie...I 'felt' today!

[Hawkwind]

Week 5 - Delts and rack pulls

Smith incline press
3s x 6r x 70#
DB front raises
2s x 12r x 15#
Cable front raises
1s x 10r/10r x pin @ 2/pin @ 1

Smith Upright rows
3s x 6r x 80/85/90#
DB lateral raises
2s x 12r x 15#
Cable lateral raises
1s x 8r/3r (rest/pause) x pin @ 2

DB rear delt rows (Chest to incline)
3s x 8r x 35# *My elbow hates these.
Reverse pec dec
2s x 15r/12r x 30/45#
Face pulls
1s x 20r x pin @ 6.50/heavy

***Okay...due to the elbow and after some thought on the matter I've decided that the next time I target the rear delts I'm going to do Pec dec first since I can handle going heavier on those (I place my wrist against the lever to prevent myself from 'grabbing' it and pulling back...keeping it a pressing movement.) and do the chest to incline db rear delt rows lighter so the elbow will stop making me see stars.

Rack pulls
3s x 8r x 125/145/165#

Yes. I'm happy for the most part with today's training.

I doubt I'll do more than a bit of token lifting in my sons cellar next week, and the week after I should be joining a "Y" local to his family with is wife and daughters. No idea what is going to happen to my lifting for the next 8 weeks. But...that's life!

[narcsarge]

Enjoy the trip to see your family Hawkie! Be safe! Be smart!