In past years, I did two exercises per delt on my Shoulders day for a total of 6. But those days also feature a 4x12 approach. Today's 5x15 is a time suck! Thus, just one exercise for each:

• DB Side Lying Rear Delt Raises
• DB Upright Rows
• DB Arnold Press

That 45-minute window blew by. At BRC, I did...

• 25 minutes walking on a 7-7.5% incline treadmill
• 17 minutes climbing on an arc trainer
• 26 minutes walking on the indoor track
• 28 minutes walking with outdoor walking

In the cardio room, not only did I go crashing on the ground but I also left my phone behind. But, as all I do is win now, even those are notched on my belt. In cleaning the treadmill, the metal leg that holds up the cleansing rag snagged my foot. As I fell, I had the athletic presence of mind, to turn 180°, land on my right glute (the same side I got snagged on) and then flow into the fall, even pushing with my arms at one point.

Now the phone thing came after my time on the arc trainer. I climbed up the stairs and began striding when my bluetooth cut out. Hurriedly I returned, again facing those stairs picked it up and climbed 'em for a second time. You know what I noticed? They are markedly easier than a couple of Sundays ago. I am still training going down as it is not as smooth as 2021. That said, the progress is remarkable.

I left the BRC and walked to the adjoining neighborhood...MY neighborhood...well, was. I walked to my childhood home, a place I knew for more than 18 years. I always planned on walking by that place. I even had that 5K planned in 2021:

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But, I never did...until today. It was...a moving experience. It felt so very familiar, as if I was a high school kid again...or expecting to go out on another Saturday night in college—time for a Memphian Club, Kentucky Pie and a Sweet Tea from McAlister's! I could write at length about everything I felt and remembered...and everything I know and everyone I knew are...well...truthfully, I am so far away. And this is a good thing. I only wish people who saw me then could see me now.

Yes, today is my Legs & Abs day—well, in practice, it was a quads day. Healing up from my Back day on Monday made me call an audible. I mean, I just do not want an incline crunch on the bench when my lower back remains tight from Monday's deadlifts.

It gives me the opportunity to further rebuild this right quad, so I did squats, step-ups and leg extensions. I burned up all 45 minutes and it was off to the gym for an hour on an elliptical followed by only 10 minutes on an arc trainer. While I feel more "social" on the elliptical, I starting to prefer the arc trainer because that side of the gym has been playing The Walking Dead.

And yes, today was supposed to be a stationary bike day, but I do not know if it is the tiny stirrups or these shoes, but these 4E-something feet get all rattled the rest of the day when I ride that thing.

I like my groove of going to the gym. I will say hi to folks and wave at the regulars—well, I cannot include myself into that bunch: I have only signed up to the place 10 days ago. But, I have recorded 6 morning workouts during that span with my Garmin. And I had a Sunday thrown into the mix where I shut things down and a morning workout is not possible anyway there.

As I have been lifting these mornings, I reflected on how I now approach it as something in the past that brings me joy, whereas in the past, it was just a means to an end, hopefully a means I could quickly get through! But, now I see that space and find clarity.

Sidebar: Now, I do not get as excited as Arnold does about weightlifting. I finally got around to watching Pumping Iron (1977) for free on YouTube. I did not know he is as charismatic as he is or as versed in gamesmanship.

And this attitude of mine extends to the gym I visit. I take a step back and smile. It was just a little over a month when I could not even walk across the house unaided and once I did, there was no rhythm. Just a clump-a-clump. And look where I am today: 70 minutes of cardio today, 80 minutes yesterday and 80 minutes the day before that. Sure, I want more, but when I survey, I smile. I like the progression.

And that is the power of The Carnivore.

@Home

Since I stripped out the VR warmup at ~3:30 AM in the pursuit of morning optimization, I was ready to utilize the weights I referenced yesterday, that NordicTrack Select-a-Weight 55lb set right at 4AM. Yes, Amazon failed me (again); and I'm reminded to source things locally or if I must, go to a different online vendor. And now I'm tangentially reminded to shop at Sanabul!.

I had a good resistance workout this morning, though I was stymied initally as I switched to the 5lb increment with my weights. Oh, but I do love my weights! A 10, 12.5, 15, 20 pattern ALL the way up to 55! I have such a simple home gym in comparison to that stellar space I had out in the country, but this is really all I need for resistance:

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In time, I'll upgrade with a vertical climber and a heavy bag.

I pulled together a PDF of a weekly template that is useful: (media content yanked to optimize site) . While my intent is to do a 5x15 approach, the document has room to fill in something else, and space to not only mark off sets, but to update actual values. I don't intend to do EVERY exercise on the list because I don't have enough time. It does give me a list to choose from.

@theGym

I forgot my earplugs this morning that I couple with my Aftershokz bone conduction headphones. Nevertheless, I had a stellar playlist! There was a swarm of folks early on, but me and the old man, that 85-90 who cannot be stopped. It was down to the two of us again. I finished my first hour of cardio on the elliptical and moved on to the arc trainer when I finally overtook him. And yes, for a brief ten minutes, I was alone:

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As I left the gym, I found myself dancing to this Star Lord's tune:

YouTube Link