My Shoulders Are Properly Destroyed

Today I lifted and it was time to do back & shoulders. I thought I hated back & shoulders day, but surprisingly, I do not. I enjoy it. I only hate *some* of the back & shoulders exercises and I managed to avoid most of them. :)

There is something to note before I get into specifics though. Ever since last Thursday, I have been BOTE (for the newbies, it's Back On Track Erin--nicknamed by my wonderful mother and immortalized in tshirt form by Awesome Lyn Lyn). I had emailed Liz a plan for the next two weeks (ending at Tom & Amanda's wedding where I plan to eat yumminess). I told her that failing to plan is planning to fail and that's what I had been doing. So far, planning = winning! I worked out 6 days this week--3 cardio and 3 lifting. I have also been on track with my eating since last Thursday. It feels really good (physically and psychologically) to have a successful week when it has been so long since that has happened. :) One small change in attitude I noticed was that a few weeks ago I thought that I would work out on Saturday if I could fit it in, then as the day progressed I just did not make time for it. This week, I set my alarm (I know, right? On a SATURDAY!) and planned ahead to get ready, make & eat breakfast, go to the post office, go to BJs, workout, shower, eat snack and get to my 12:30 haircut appointment. Everything went to plan (even the added 10 minutes from my leaving my packed lunchbox on the kitchen counter and having to retrieve it). I am now home, laundry is in the washer and I have sometime before my evening festivities. Success! :)

The Back & Shoulders lifting:

LATS:
Assisted Pull-Ups: 100/15, 95/15, 90/12
Lying DB Pull-Overs: 25/15, 35/10, 25/15

RHOMBOIDS/REAR DELTS:
Seated Machine Row: 40/15, 50/15, 60/15
Seated Cable Row: 40/15, 50/15, 55/15

SHOULDERS:
Seated DB Shoulder Press w/ Rot.: 12.5/15, 15/15, 17.5/15
Machine Shoulder Press: 30/15, 35/15, 40/12
DB Front/Side Raise Combo: 5/15, 7.5/15, 7.5/12
Rear Delt Flyes: 40/15, (50/6:40/9), 40/12

You may have noticed the title of this post and the reference to my shoulders being destroyed. This is evidenced by my pitiful performance on the rear delt flyes. I can typically do like 50 or 60 lbs with ease. At least I could before the surgery, maybe I am trying too much too fast. In any event, the 40 seemed reasonable. So, on set 2 I naturally increased to 50 lbs. I could not do it! After 6 reps I couldn't move the weights! So I dropped the weight (shamefully) to 40 and finished the set. Boooooo. Then for set 3 I could only muster 12 reps at 40 lbs. I have to remember that I am used to do full body workouts where I do only one or two shoulder exercises. When I do more (like today), my muscles are fatigued more when I get to the end and I cannot do as much. Ok....I feel a little better about it all. :)

I also like the Front/Side Raise Combo. It's hard--to be clear--but it's a nice, challenging workout. You stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold the dumbbells directly in front of you against your upper thighs. You raise them up to be parallel with the floor (the front raise), then rotate them out to the sides (like the Virtuvian Man). Next you lower the weights to your sides and immediately reverse the process (doing the side raise on the way up!). That's one rep. You see how doing 3 sets of 12-15 reps of these with even lightweight dumbbells can destroy your shoulders!!! But in a good way. ;)

For the rest of today I will be relaxing, having coffee with my IronGirl Tri Relay team and seeing the Green Lantern!!! Tomorrow is a well-deserved rest day!