Preparing for Hurricane Irene

Today I fully intended to camp out on my couch, and then I received a text message inviting me to workout and then eat lunch at Piping. Well who am I to say no to a sweat sesh and lunch with a good friend? So I changed out of my Hurricane Chic attire and got ready to get my gym on.

Since I had finished my eighteen mile long run a mere fourteen hours earlier, I couldn't spend the entire time on cardio machines. I went through my collection of Oxygen magazines and decided upon a workout from the February 2011 issue. Now the article said to choose one muscle group and do the three sets of each exercise. I was feeling creative so I decided to do one set of each exercise in each muscle group.

After fifteen minutes on the treadmill of sprints and speedwalking at different inclines, I was sweaty enough to start lifting. I proceeded to do the following with 10 lbs weights:

15 reps stability ball bench press

15 reps stability ball chest flye

15 reps standing dumbbell press

15 reps stability ball bent-over flye

15 reps (each arm) one-arm overhead triceps extension

15 reps stability ball lying dumbbell extension

20 reps dumbbell front squat

12 reps (each leg) dumbbell lunge

20 reps dumbbell stiff-legged deadlift

Then I switched to 15 lbs weights:

15 reps dumbbell deadlift

15 reps bent over two-arm row

Before switching back to 10 lbs for:

15 reps seated hammer curl

15 reps standing reverse curl

I also did ten side-plank push ups, 20 of those things when you sit on your butt and raise your legs and twist with a medicine ball (12 lbs ball, twisting to each side counts as 1), and some good, old-fashioned weighted crunches.

I moved onto the abductor/adductor machine. I can still put 200 lbs on it and easily perform the abduction exercises, i.e. the outsides of my thighs are monsters. However, I went from being able to do 200 lbs for adduction to a measily 125 lbs. What this means is that I can no longer fully support my own weight while having sex standing up. This is an issue.

I did about 5 minutes on the bike before succumbing to intense boredom. This is when I pulled my shock and awe move and performed burpee push-ups with a BOSU with a nice little lift in between each rep. This attracts attention. It's also a good workout. Then I did cardio lunges off the BOSU for 1 minute. I finished up my light workout rolling around on the foam roller praying for mercy. I hate that thing but I know it's good for me.

After a shower, I enjoyed a delicious curry chicken salad and a pretty good Bloody Mary. Now I'm back in my Hurricane Chic awaiting the Storm of the Century.

In case something happens to me during Hurricane Irene,
I want to be found wearing this.