Weight Lifting & Math.

Keeping my late streak alive, I woke up a little late again this morning, but with enough time to do a workout.  I know it was supposed to be a rest day today, but I usually interpret that to mean "rest from running."  I know I shouldn't be working out on these days, but I just drag around all day if I don't work out before heading off to work; I actually feel more tired if I don't get up and get the ol' blood pumping in some way shape or form.

Speaking of pumping, I decided to pump some iron with Cathe's Upper Body Pyramid Workout, which involves a giant heap o'dumbbells along with a step that has the largest risers I've ever seen in my life.  Since I don't own that kind of step (like I've said before, I am always missing some piece of equipment needed for a home workout DVD), I use my stability ball (all you end up doing is lying down/sitting down on it anyway). I use dumbbells ranging from 3 to 20 pounds simply because I don't have any dumbbells larger than 20 pounds, a situation I hope to rectify in the near future.

Now, I have done this workout many, many times, and each time it has me breathing like a pregnant woman in labor and swearing like a sailor by the end of it.  This is because you do pyramids (duh) of two exercises: 12 reps at a light(er) weight, 10 reps at a medium(er) weight, and then 8 reps at a heavy (your muscle fibers might implode by the end of 8 reps) weight.  You then go down the pyramid, using your medium(er) and light(er) weights.

NOW IT IS MATH TIME.

Cathe has a track for each of the upper body regions, as it were: chest, back (the back track is my favorite because it rhymes and I get to do dumbbell pullovers, my current fave exercise in the known universe), shoulders, triceps, and biceps.  If you do the full workout, going up and down the pyramid, that makes a grand total of FIFTY-TWO REPS in a pyramid.  And remember, you're doing two (three in the shoulder track) exercises per track--so that's 52 reps per exercise, making that 104 reps total per track.

MATH TIME IS OVER.

This Cathe woman is insane.  But I am insane(er) for doing this workout over and over again.  However, I must say that it has developed my arms from flabby and puny to having some sort of guns:

I know, I know--looks like I need 104 times a bajillion more reps to get these guns beyond the "water pistol" stage.  But it's going to have to wait until after my 14 mile run slated for tomorrow.