We had a nice backyard cookout for the Fourth of July. London broil, bratwurst, marinated portobello mushroom caps, and assorted grilled vegetables. We did not have any potato or macaroni salad, which is just as well – they may be traditional picnic favorites, but they also add too many calories. It was getting very hot, fortunately we were able to finish eating before things got unbearable.
I actually got in an early trip to the gym on the Fourth, going early having been a necessity because it was closing early for the holiday. I started out with T-bar rows, 6 x 6 x 165, this being a ten-pound increase over last time. Nice. In addition, I did Life Fitness seated rows, 2 x 8 x 165, and 6 x 10 on my homegrown exercise with the 20-pound medicine ball. On Friday, I decided to change things up a bit and did my bench presses with dumbbells. This does not represent any sort of compromise. Dumbbell bench presses are as good as the more familiar barbell variety, possibly even better as they allow for a greater range of motion. The only way to get a similar range of motion with barbell benches is to use a cambered bar, and I don’t believe this gym has one. The method of getting the dumbbells into position is awkward, to say the least, but I finally got used to it. I ended up doing 2 x8 x 70/70, 2 x 8 x 75/75, 8 x 80/80.
As for Saturday and Sunday, I accomplished pretty much nothing, no gym trips. When it’s so ferociously hot outside it’s hard to get motivated to do anything. The front lawn is urgently in need of mowing, but it’ll have to wait. On a better note, I’m definitely looking forward to returning to work on Monday – I hate idleness!
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