Shoulders, Quads, and Cheap Protein!

The "upside down" leg press which presumably has another name beyond that which I've made up ;)

Day 3 Ironman Prep

I’m feeling good about being back on the diet. It takes about three days to get in the swing of it and I’m there now. I had 30 minutes on my elliptical and 10 minutes of abs (3 sets of dumbbell side bends (30 lbs) superset with 45, 45, and a 60 second plank) behind me by 7 am. That is the best feeling to start the day with. It makes me energetic and can do vs. sluggish and wondering when I’m going to get my sweat on.

Today I trained my quads and shoulders. I again found myself doing things completely differently than I would on my own. I am quite liking it actually. It almost feels like it’s making the gym new again. One of my tasks today was four sets on the leg press, but the reps per set were 18, 20, 30, and 40 for the last. Unfortunately the traditional leg press at The Rec was out of order so I used the sort of upside down one upstairs and managed 130 lbs for the 18 and 20 rep sets, 115 for the 30, and 100 for the 40. The rest between sets was only 40 seconds. I’d like to know what weight I’ll manage when I do it again next week on the traditional leg press machine (translation: I’ll plan ahead and go to Gold’s).

I have honestly hated lateral and front raises for shoulders for months. They strain me easily and you have to use the weeny (10-12 lb) dumbbells for them so some twists on the standard versions were very welcome. I was to do my laterals leaning which I found I really actually liked a lot. Yay! The front raises were with a barbell instead of the usual dumbbells, also an improvement.



I popped by GNC after my workout to acquire some pure Casein powder. I’m a longstanding MyoFusion lover as it has the best texture / taste hands down amongst protein powders, but it’s a mix of whey, casein, and egg albumin. I also have some Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey that I’m happy with. When it comes to dairy derived protein you have whey and casein. The whey digests quickly and thus is good for before and/or after workouts when you’re seeking to feed your muscles promptly. Casein is a slow digesting protein and thus ideal as a last mini meal before bedtime as it will feed your muscles through the night as it slowly digests.

As anyone with a bodybuilding habit knows protein powders and other supplements can start to add up quickly. That is why I always comparison shop before buying. I have the Amazon mobile app on my phone so if I see a product I want while at GNC I pull it up on Amazon on my phone to compare the price and also so if reviews are positive or negative. I was looking at a 2 pounder of Optimum Nutrition 100% Casein Chocolate Supreme for $44.99 at GNC and Amazon had that exact one for $25.52 and a 4 pounder of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Chocolate Crème for $46.29. The 4 pounder will be here Friday to the tune of saving almost $20 or 48% of the sale price. That being said GNC had a lower price by about $12 on another product I eyeballed while there. It pays to shop around! The only flaw being that I can’t start on Casein until then.