Almost back to normal

I had a great Canada Day weekend.  Vivian and I played golf on Canada Day.  I forgot to take some pre-round ibuprofen so my back got pretty sore midway through the round.  Since the course was packed and playing very slow, my reduced mobility and the crowded course gave me the opportunity to work on some short game shots.  I played most of the back nine using a punch shot 6 iron.  Avid golfers will recognize the shot as the 9 to 3 drill.  Not only is it good impact position practice but I never know when I'll need to hit a low running shot that goes about 160 yards so might as well have that shot in the bag.  My lack-of-mobility induced practice almost resulted in my 4th hole in one.  On the 17th hole, I hit a punch 7 iron on a flat hole measuring 134 yards.  The ball rolled up on the green and tracked right to the hole, stopping only a foot from  going in.  While not a hole in one, it was my first tap-in birdie.  Vivian played very well and beat me handily but she has never gotten a hole in one before so she was prepared to kill me if I had fluked into an ace while hitting the shots I was hitting.

almost hole in one #4

Wearing red, standing in front of a maple tree

After the golf, we met Vivian's parents for a BBQ at their condo complex and then after that met up with Vivian's friends Randy and Marnie.  It was a long day with alot of activities that required most of Monday to recover.

After also taking Tuesday off, it was time to hit the gym today.  It was one of those strange days where I had no desire to exercise but each set felt good once started.  I was able to add in extra volume in each of the squat, floor press, and leg press.  My ability to work is just about back to normal and my previously weakened left leg is almost a thing of the past.

Squats:  135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5x4 sets, 315x7, getting 2 extra reps on my 5th set of 5's means I'll move the weights to 325 for my next squat workout.

Floor Press:  135x10, 185x10, 225x8, 225x5, 225x5, 225x4   These are still hard as heck.  Slowly working up to 5 work sets of these as well.

Leg Press:  450x10, 540x10, 630x5x2 sets.  10 total reps at 630 is a new volume PR.  Slowly progressing on these as well.

Incline Dumbbell Press:  75x10, 75x10, 75x8,  still using the higher incline (45*) to hit the shoulders harder.  There was some fatigue from the floor presses earlier so I kept the weight lighter today.  Still lacked the endurance to hit 3 sets of 10.

Dumbbell Curls:  40x8, 40x6, 40x7, last set was done as an alternating dumbbell curl.  I dislike doing curls but my elbows will benefit from strengthening my flexors.

These workouts are a real challenge for me having spent so little time over the past 4 and a half years actually training exercises I either dislike or have very little proficiency.