Thursday, August 12, 2010

Round 6: Day 82: Diamond Delts

I had some excitement riding my bike to work today: the bolt that holds my seat to my bike frame sheared in half, and my seat would have fallen off, had it not been secured to the bike by a little canvas tool bag that's strapped to the seat post. I was lucky not to have fallen off the bike, and managed to get into the office (standing up on my pedals the rest of the way). I picked up another bolt during lunchtime, and, quickly secured the seat back in place for the ride home. Good times; really good times. I will say that standing up on the pedals over a good distance will test both your arms and your core. Thankfully, both held up for the duration.

This morning's fun (prior to the seat incident) was Diamond Delts. I've been somewhat static in this workout for some time, not being able to lift heavier weights (or mentally unprepared to do so) and also stuck somewhat in the rep count. Today, I managed to squeeze out an extra rep or two on one exercise (the second round of Deep Arnold Presses) which was a major psychological victory; however, I doubt I'll be increasing weights or reps the next time around as a result. This workout is really challenging for me, and I find that at my current level, it's all I can do to match my results of the previous time. I'm managing to keep up to myself, but I'd still like to improve.

My right elbow was still a bit sore from the duffel bag lifting incident earlier this week, and I felt it when I was in the down position during pike presses. During my last pike press, my arm didn't want to respond and push me up to the start position; I had a moment of sheer terror and blind panic when I realized that I was on the verge of landing on my head. It's amazing what a little jolt of adrenalin can do for you; my right arm found a reserve of strength and pushed me back up. Mind over matter, I suppose. If only I could harness that mental energy for the rest of the exercises in the workout. That would make for some nice improvements.

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