Squats are coming back.

This is all about me, as it should be, but I must brag about a friend for a moment. Older even than me, and she had lost over 100 lbs which you may or may not know leaves one as weak as a kitten. She found Stronglifts (which I hate because he stole everything but whatever) and on Friday morning squatted 135 x4. Oh yeah- lets hear it for the old ladies!! So proud of her, and she does full deep squats too.

Okay, Friday morning I slept through the regular yoga guru's class and took a later one, expecting it to be easy. Wrong! Holy crap it was like she had ESP and was zeroing in on my tight hips and hamstrings from the Romanian deadlifts in the last training session. At first I couldn't even get comfortable in Child's Pose, after 40 mins or so of intense stuff I was loosened up and human again. Taking her class next week too. Sometimes, change is good.

Lifts at night. I warmed up with 1 x 12 hyperextensions, real slow. Squats, 1 x 10 x air, 1 x 10 x 45, 2 x 5 x 95- needed extra warm-ups today. 1 x 3 x 105, 2 x 3 x 115, 1 x 3 x 125, 2 x 2 x 130, 1 x 5 x 115. Clean and press 1 x 5 x 50, I put the little plates on instead of using the empty bar as I've dropped the bar on my foot a couple of times and that sucks. 1 x 3 x 60, 1 x 3 x 65, 1 x 2 x 70, failed the third, went to power cleans. 1 x 3 x 75, 1 x 2 x 80, that second one was ugly, 1 x 1 x 80, 1 x 1 x 75. Not every day is a good power clean day. Overhead squats, 2 x 5 x 45, 1 x 5 x 55, 1 x 3 x 65, 2 x 3 x 70, 2 x 4 x 70, 1 x 3 x 70 and done.

This morning I took the long yoga class and the instructor decided to help me by making everything harder, including coming over during Warrior pose and loudly saying, "Spread your legs!" which was pretty hilarious and unexpected in yoga.

Do-over heavy day

Didn't make the planned lifts last time for going for it again. Squats 3 x 5 x 135, bench 3 x 5 x 95, deads 2 x 3 x 175. Gym doesn't open until 1 on Sundays, which I HATE, its such a weird inconvienet time to open on the weekend. I did not go out late last night so should be fine. However- I'm fat and sick of it. Seriously considering doing two meals a day as protein shake (one scoop whey powder, coffee in the am, almond milk at lunch) plus green veggie shake (seperately), one regular meal at dinner-time. Love the muscle underneath, hate the belly fat/ thick midsection.

Not sure what I think about this one. Lifts did not go as planned, my brain needs an adjustment. Maybe its just PMS, anyway, I started with 2 x 12 x air squats b/c felt stiff today. 1 x 10 x 45, 1 x 8 x back extensions, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 95, 1 x 5 x 115, 1 x 5 x 125, 1 x 3 x 135, ruh-roh, 1 x 4 x 135, 8 back extensions- my nemesis came in! 1 x 5 x 135, 1 x 3 x 135. Got the reps, need to get 5 in a row consistently. Bench press 1 x 10 x 45, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 85, 1 x 1 x 95 what the hell? 3 x 3 x 95 oh whatever. 1 x 12 x 75 (amrap).
Broke it down with deads. 1 x 3 x 135, 2 x 3 x 155, lost grip on the third one of both sets, needed to mix. 5 x 1 x 175, 1 x 1 x 155, 1 x 3 x 155 so there! 1 x 3 x 135. 15 back extensions and glad to leave.

Good light day

I warmed up with 12 bodyweight squats and 10 x 45. Then did front squats alternating with push-ups, 2 x 5 x 45, front squats, 2 x 10 x push-ups. Front squats 1 x 5 x 55, 2 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 70. Next, overhead squat alternated with overhead presses, 2 x 5 x 45, 3 x 5 x 55 for each. Water break. Power cleans 2 x 5 x 45, 1 x 5 x 55, clean and press 1 x 3 x 65, 5 x 2 x 70 Nice. Light back squats 1 x 5 x 95, 5 x 5 x 115, 2 x 12 back extensions, stretching and foam rolling. Home, hungry and wiped out but in a good way.

Wow, I can't believe how tired and draggy I have been all day. It is just after 9pm and my eyes are having a hard time staying open. I should just give up and go to bed. Goodnight all!

next goals for light day

Got a nap in and feel closer to human. As stressful as this summer has been so far with injuries, the hospital and now lightning its still better than last yaer when I lost five people close to me. Front squats and clean and jerk 70 lbs, ovrhead squats 55 lbs. Will update with details after lifting.
Back from the gym, back to staring at the laptop wondering how to pay for this month. At least there is lifting. If I went by Dan John's red light, yellow light, green light to lift theory I wouldn't have made it in the gym very much this year. Good thing I prefer to retreat to the gym when life is sucking. Today was a light day. Warm-up, air squats, 12, 1 x 10 x 45 back squats. Front squats 2 x 5 x 45 alternated with 2 x 10 x push-ups. Front squats 1 x 5 x 55, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 70. Overhead squat 1 x 5 x 45, overhead press 1 x 5 x 45, OHS 1 x 5 x 45, OHP 1 x 5 x 45. Overhead squat 3 x 5 x 55, alternated with overhead press 3 x 5 x 55.
Power cleans 1 x 5x 45, 2 x 5 x 55, 1 x 3 x 65. Clean and jerk 2 x 3 x 65, 5 x 1 x 70, 1 x 5 x 65. Whew!
Light squats 1 x 5 x 95, 5 x 5 x 115, 15 hyperextensions and foam rolling.

Heavy/ Volume Day

Tonight, squats 3 x 5 x 135, bench press 5 x 5 x 95, deads 2 x 3 x 175. Pounding protein today. last night did Spin and my friends class, tomorrow climbing with the little one. Will update after training.

Bench press was a crash and burn but squats and deads were fine. Squats, 1 x 12 x air, 1 x 10 x 45, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 95, 1 x 5 x 115, 1 x 5 x 125, 3 x 5 x 135, 1 x 4 x 135, 1 x 1 x 135. I made the three sets of five, was going to go down via 4,3,2,1 but tired out. It wasn't like I was exhausted, just over squatting at the time and had done what I planned to do.
Bench pess, 1 x 10 x 45, 1 x 5 x 70, 1 x 5 x 85, 1 x 1 x 95. Deads, 1 x 3 x 135, 1 x 2 x 155, 2 x 3 x 175, 2 x 3 x 155. These felt good, would have been better if I had long pants on as my legs got sweaty towards the end. I did not do any extra assistance work after this, just had a long shower and came home.

The plan

Last night, post workout I had roast beef and, upon the discovery that someone ate all the ice cream(!) some oatmeal. Those deadlifts must have taken a lot out of me as in spite of being starving during the night, sleep was more important, so I had an internal pep-talk which involved those feelings of hunger meaning that the body was burning fat and the feelings eventually subsided and I slept again. Intending to work until 12 last night, my eyes refused to remain open past 11pm. Up this am at 7:30, I hope to get a nap today. A rousing game of Boot Throw followed by relaxing Chopin is not having the desired effect of lulling the dog to sleep yet. Crazy-ass animals.
I've been reading alot about people having good results lifting every day, or at least sometimes a couple of days in a row. I'm going to try it as long as sleep and food are in order. That means a light day today, front squats, power cleans, overhead squats- I am determined to master these and a 5 x 5 x 120# back squats. I'm also going to lift later today, that was annoying yesterday.

Honestly I am too tired to get my log out of my gym bag so here is what I remember from training tonight. I'll fix it tomorrow if necessary. Warm-up with 12 air squats, then front squats 5 x 45, 10 push-ups, front squats 5 x 45, 10 push-ups, front squats 5 x 55, 10 push-ups, front squats 5 x 65. Overhead squats 5 x 5 x 45 alternated with overhead presses 5 x 8 x 45. Power cleans, 1 x 5 x 45, 1 x 5 x 65, 3 x 3 x 75. Clean and jerk 1 x 2 x 65, 4 x 3 x 65.

Back squats 1 x 5 x 95, 5 x 5 x 120. Also, ggod news- there was a girl squatting 135# today in the power rack, not the Smith machine. I spoke to her and she wasn't particularly friendly, but that doesn't matter. When I have someone to compete against, even if its in my mind, I do much better. Looking at 140# back squats next heavy day (Thurs).

Pretty good night

The gym was crowded but I got a squat rack. 1 x 10 x air, 1 x 10 x bar, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 95, 1 x 3 x 115, 1 x 3 x 125, 5 x 3 x 135. Watching some good bench press videoes, I noticed that some women had their legs further apart while benching. Now, it is hard to let go of 'lady-like' attempts to keep the legs together while on the bench but I let that go, spread em and planted my whole foot on the floor on either side and got comfortable. That made a HUGE difference. Warm-up 1 x 10 x 45, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 85, then 5 x 5 x 90 good powerful benches. I am doing them that way from now on. Deads 1 x 3 x 135, 1 x 1 x 155, 2 x 3 x 170, good deads in spite of a lot of traffic where I was. Two sets of 15 back extensions and out.
Tomorrow having a light day with front and overhead squats and power cleans.

Skipping light day was a bad idea.

Squats 1 x 12 x air, 1 x 10 x 45, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 95, 1 x 3 x 115, 1 x 3 x 125, 1 x 3 x 135, 2 x 1 x 145, dumped the second rep on the rack, helped replacing it while loaded and tweaked my left lat hard. Unloaded the bar, did 5 reps or so, didn't keep track, with the empty bar to see how my back was. It wasn't too bad, so I did 5 x 5 x 115. Hyperextensions 15.
Overhead press 1 x 8 x 45 while I decided what to do next, still paying attention to my back, moved on the bench press. 1 x 10 x 45, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 90, 1 x 3 x 90, was going fine here until I hit the rack. 1 x 4 x 90, 1 x 4 x 90, 1 x 3 x 90, 3 x 5 x 85.

15 hyperextensions, deads; 1 x 3 x 135, 1 x 1 x 160, 1 x 1 x 170, 2 x 1 x 180 YAY ME! They may have been ugly, I don't know having not brought my camera, but they went up. 2 x 3 x 160, had to switch to mixed grip on the third rep of each set. 15 hyperextensions and out.

I'm aiming for both Spin and yoga tomorrow, then doing a light day for real on Monday.

Saturday lifts

Heavy day, I don't have my log on hand at the moment and the cat is sitting on my lap, so will go from memory. Squats, 1 x 10 x air, 1 x 8 x bar, these warm-up bar squats are often the toughest until the work sets, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 95, 1 x 5 x 105, I don't remember if I did five or three at 115, went up to 1 x 2 x 135, yet another 'helper' came over to spot me because I was leaning over. I am seriously going to take the SS book to the library and copy the pictures of a low-bar squat, staple the pages together and carry it in my gym bag to give to these fools.

Topped out squats at either 3 x 3 x 135 or 4 x 3 x 135- it felt good.

Overhead press 3 x 3 x 70. Bench press topped at 1 x 5 x 90 with a good spotter, 1 x 2 x 90,couldn't find the good spotter and ended up with a crap spotter, personal trainer at the gym OF COURSE, pulled the fucking bar up for me as soon as it started slowing down. I will never ask that guy for a spot again. Racks were full and I was annoyed by the benching incident so I skipped deadlifts.

Now I'm having fun.

So there I was at the gym, the only woman among the barbells. Men of various ages were bench pressing, curling and doing calf raises, nothing unusual. A cross-fit looking guy on the incline bench behind me complimented my squat and said he wanted to tell me some things, for my health. Wide eyed, I nodded to encourage the passing of his wisdom.

He proceeded to explain to me that I was leaning over too far, and needed to be a lot more vertical on the way up. In fact, it would help if I found a spot on the ceiling to look at instead of looking ahead. If I continued to squat the way I was, it would ruin my back and knees. Gratefully, I gestured to my loaded bar and asked if he would demonstrate the correct way to squat.

"I don't squat" he said, "I have a bad back!" Moment of silence. Everyone else was doing that thing where you are watching and trying not to act like you are.
"I was born with back issues." My helper explained then noticed the attention we were getting.
"Okay" he said and got under the bar which, incidentally was loaded with about 20lbs less than he was just incline benching directly behind me.

He did four shaky high-bar squats, going 1/4 of the way down. I thanked him (genuinely, I was having a great time) and he retreated to the cable machines on the other side of the gym.

Oh yeah, I also worked out. Squats 1 x 12 x air, 1 x 10 x bar, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 95, 1 x 5 x 105, (8 push-ups, those are strangely empowering) 1 x 5 x 115, 3 x 3 x 125, (8 push-ups) 3 x 5 x 115.

Overhead press 1 x 8 x 45, 1 x 5 x 55, 2 x 4 x 65, 1 x 3 x 65. Easy deadlifts 3 x 3 x 135, bbc 1 x 8 x 45.

In a very low place

Even after extra recovery time from Weds night to Saturday morning, this session sucked. I stalled during a reset. This is crap. Squats were supposed to be work sets of 3 x 5 x 125. Instead I did 2 x 12 x air, 1 x 10 x bar, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 95, 1 x 5 x 105, (set of 8 push-ups, trying to get my back muscles to work, hard to explain but sometimes they don't want to) 1 x 5 x 115, 1 x 2 x 120, 1 x 3 x 125, 1 x 1 x 125, 1 x 2 x 125, (8 push-ups) 1 x 2/3 x 125, failed to the rails on the third one, 1 x 1 x 125.

Took weight off, continued squatting 1 x 3 x 120, completely demoralized by this point, 1 x 3 x 115, (push-ups 8)1 x 5 x 95, ended my agony there. I'm pretty sure I had a hot flash at the start of the work-sets, went to the locker room for a mini time out and sweat was pouring out. Where am I going to find info on hot flashes and lifting weights? Then I read about all these women squatting 200 lbs no problem. I seriously wonder what the issue is here.

Overhead press 1 x 8 x 45, 1 x 5 x 50, 1 x 5 x 55, 1 x 4 x 60, 2 x 5 x 60. Deadlift 1 x 3 x 135, 2 x 3 x 145. On the last set of these I made a point to channel rage from this shitty workout and they came up nicely, so there is that. BBC 2 x 8 x 45, push-ups 10.

Lifts today

Going for squats 3 x 3 x 130, overhead press 3 x 5 x 65, bench press 3 x 5 x 85, power cleans 5 x 3 x 80. Previous maxes all over the place, wish me luck!

Crazy day at the gym. It started out ok, my squats were going well and after setting up for works sets at 130lbs I went to get some water. When I returned a PT was setting up a 7 foot tall frail elderly man to do something on the Bosu ball directly behind my squat rack. I flat out told them to move. Stupid Bosu ball stuff is one thing but making it dangerous for me is another. Then, a challenged guy was abandoned by his nurse to wander around the gym taking people's collars of of their barbells and attempting to lift unevenly loaded bars.

As if this wasn't enough, while I was benching I had an encounter with a 'helpful but clueless'. First he enquired what I was working on, to which I replied, "Full body." He said, "Okay but what is your weakest point?" I said, "Shoulders." Then he started talking about grip (why? I do not know.), and showed me the grip he recommended for bench pressing. Suicide grip. All along I was doing the smile and nod thing, but at this I just laughed and said I was not going to bench with a suicide grip. He went to the Smith machine (Of Course) to do incline bench presses.

Funny forum discussion about suicide grip.

So how did I do during all of this?
Squats 1 x 12 x air, 1 x 10 x bar, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 85, 1 x 3 x 105, 1 x 3 x 115, 2 x 3 x 130, 2 x 2 x 130, 2 x 5 x 115, 1 x 5 x 95. I like to throw those 95lb squats at the end as it was such a milestone for me to get those plates on there. Makes me feel good.

Overhead press: 1 x 8 x bar, 1 x 5 x 55, 2 x 4 x 65, 1 x 3 x 65. So a do-over here too. Bench press 1 x 8 x bar, 1 x 5 x 65, 1 x 5 x 75, 2 x 3 x 85, 2 x 2 x 85.

Power cleans were the worst, couldn't seem to get my body working right for these. 1 x 5 x bar, 3 x 3 x 65, 3 x 3 x 75, 1 x 2 x 75.

Believe it or not I ran tonight too, a slow easy run 5k, eight hours after the lifting session.

Monday lifting

Based on a recent comment that squats warm-up the whole body, I decided to ditch any cardio warm-up and see what happened. I had a great lifting session, progression after my last reset of volume day was better then expected, allowing me to add an extra set of five at the work weight to squats and bench press. Sometimes I do things just because I can, you know?
Here are the details, squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x5x 115, 4x5x 120, Yay me! Bench press 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 4x5x 80. Deadlift, 1x2x 135, 5x1x 150. Active recovery for overhead press 3x10x bar and done.
Tomorrow is LSD day, although at this point my long distance intervals are .5 mile. Aiming for 4.0 .25, 5.2/ .5 to three miles. Wednesday will be intensity squat day, looking for doubles at 130 lbs. Overhead press still looking for 3x5x 65. Romanian deadlifts 3x5x 115.

The gym didn't make me sick, it was my man!

But the throat thing seems to have gone away, which is good. Yesterday for the run I added some longer intervals at the slow jog pace (5.2 mph). So it went .25 mile warmup at 4.0, .25 mile at 5.2, .25 mile 4.0, .5 mile at 5.2, .25 mile at 4.0, .5 mile at 5.2, .25 mile at 4.0, .25 mile at 6.0, .25 mile at 4.0, cooldown. Now that I now I can jog for half a mile without keeling over dead, I will alternate LSD training with half-miles at 5.2 for the whole session, with fast quarter miles at 6.0 for the next session. Next time (Sunday) 4.0/ 6.0 for 3 miles.

I took a little break and went on to lifting, heavy day for squats. 1x 10x air, 1x 8x bar, 1x 5x 65, 1x 5x 85, 1x 3x 105, 1x 3x 115, 4x2x 125 (heavy sets, felt good) 2x 5x 115. For next time I haven't decided if I want to do as much as I can at 120, or just stay with the 125 and go for more reps there.

Overhead press still shitty 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 1x4x 65, 2x3x 65. Maybe I should do these first before squats. Romanian deadlifts, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 95, 1x5x 105. So here's the thing, do I work my upper body first because it is so weak and lagging, or do I continue to focus on lower body because those are the biggest muscle groups?

Is the gym making me sick?

How did you like that Carrie Bradshaw opening? It is strange, I had a great workout but now at home my throat is bothering me again. Ah well, it isn't bad. I did the run/walk intervals at 4.0, 5.2, 4.0, 6.0 and so on for three miles.
Squats were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 3x5x 115, good work sets, 3x5x 95, easy back offs. Happy with those will have an intensity day next time, going up until failure.
Benchpress 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 3x3x 85 (was supposed to be 5x3 but hasn't happened yet), 3x5x 75. Deadlifts 1x2x 135, 2x2x 145, fucked up form and hitched the fifth one, so did it over. 20 back extensions mostly for the stretch and home for food.

Catching up

Wednesday night I took Body Combat and then Coralette's sculpting class. Thursday took a rest day, Friday B.C. class again. Today I took Stefanie's quick Spin class and lifted, heavy day.
Squats went 1x 10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 1x3x 115, 1x2x 125, 3x1x 135, going for two reps on these next week, gotta get my mind in it. 4x3x 115, 1x5x 95.
Bench was interesting, 1x12x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x1x 95, (that was a two rep set but the second rep was assisted, 1x1x 100 (also assisted I think, John Ta said he didn't help but if I'm not sure I won't consider it a real rep). But hey, got 100 lbs on the bar for the first time, and one of those 95 lb reps was actually good.

There was no way I was deadlifting after that, so I hit the lat pulldown machine to get a pull in the session, 1x6x 80, 3x5x 90lbs. Tomorrow is a rest day, I'll figure out Monday when it comes.

Harper's Bazaar cover image fail

I love getting a new fashion mag in the mail, and this one had the added bonus of cracking me up on sight. Beyonce is on the cover sporting legs so skinny I'm sure she hasn't looked down on that since she was 14 years old. I understand fashion, but did someone really think that we won't notice when one of the most over-exposed celebrities in the world has been air-brushed down to half her size? Her big thighs are the main reason she became famous in the first place.

Okay, back to me ;-) The cat woke me up dark and early so I went to 6am Spin, then lifted for a volume day. Squats were 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 3x5x 115, 2x3x 115, 2x5x 105, that last set was tough to make myself do. Overhead press aka the Bane of my Existence was 1x8x bar, 1x5x 55, 3x3x 65. Romanian deadlifts, 3x5x 95. Tomorrow I'm aiming for Body Combat and Coralette's sculpting class, Thursday will be a rest day or some easy cardio class, Friday Body Combat, Saturday heavy lifting day.

Heavy Day

I'll start with Friday night, Body Combat class. That was it. Today, I took a quick Spin class and then lifted. Squats were, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x3x 85, 1x3x 105, 1x3x 115, 1x2x 125, 1x1x 130, 1x2x 130, 3x1x 135!!! 1x3x 115, 3x5x 95. Huge PR day, I was aiming for 135 by Halloween and thanks to the trainer there pushing me after I told him about the 130 made the goal a week early. That was so awesome I did a girly happy dance right there.

Bench press 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 2x2x 85, 1x3x 85, 3x5x 75. Deadlifts, 1x3x 135, 1x1x 145, 1x1x 155, 3x1x 160, form breakdown, 1x3x 135, back catting up even at the lower weight. Effing deadlifts. But so what, I squatted 135 lbs today!!

Maybe I should have listened

To my body when it didn't want to lift yesterday, as I tweaked something in my back. It doesn't feel serious, just annoying and I have to move carefully like an old person to get dressed and what not.

Okay, busy weekend, so here is Saturday's workout. I started with the warm-up mile intervals, 4.0 and 5.8. This felt difficult and labored but my heartrate did not go up as much as usual and recovered down very quickly, so that was strange. Then squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x5x 115, 2x3x 125, 1x2x 125, 1x5x 115, 1x1x 115- tweaked back. This sucked and hurt and basically killed the session.

But, I kept going and did dumbbell bench presses in spite of being very uncomfortable to 3x4x 35lbs. Deadlifts weren't happening as I couldn't bend over properly, so I did lat pulldowns 1x8x 60, 1x8x 70, 1x8x 80, and the a set of twenty back extensions.

I stayed in motion through the weekend, going to an art show of a friend's and thrifting for Halloween costume stuff. I didn't find any good costumes but did find two cute and new-looking tops as well as two pretty bracelets. Another good thing that happened this weekend is that I discovered a facial cleanser that I like better then the Estee Lauder I was using and it costs half as much. It is Alba Botanical Natural Even Advanced sea mineral cleansing gel. That's a mouthful, right? I'm very pleased with it's lightweght feel and make-up and oil dissolving properties, it leaves me skin feeling clean yet soft. If you have sensitive skin I recommend giving it a shot.

Back to the gym

Sunday night I caught that awful cold, now its at the ending part when I am impatient and ready to get back to my normal activities. The hope for tonight is treadmill warm up 4.0 and 5.7 intervals for one mile. Squats, 3x3x 130, 3x5x 120, but I am giving myself a break if this doesn't pan out due to illness. Overhead press 1x8x 45, 1x8x 55, 2x5x 60, Romanian deadlift, 2x5x 95. That will be enough. I'll update after the session.

Here is what happened: warmup 1 mile, 4.0 and 5.7 intervals, went like a dream. Squats, 1x10x air, 1x8x bar, 1x5x 65, 1x5x 85, 1x5x 105, 1x3x 115, 1x3x 125, 3x3x 115. Not great but not bad for being sick. Overhead press, 1x8x bar, 3x8x 55. Romanian deadlifts, 3x5x 95. Then I decided to add a mile run/walk cooldown to the session, 4.0 and 5.7 and, while not as enjoyable as the warmup mile, it was still good.

I could seriously do all cardio all the time but the flat butts of the serious cardio women in their 40s scares me off. I'd rather be a little fluffy with a good round high ass then have abs and pancake butt.