My NROL Experience

[stingo]

Originally Posted by Biskit

That's great! You're going to see a difference in how things feel. Depending on the variety of equipment they have. My Y has a pretty good setup. I really like the barbells alot. Good luck.

Deb

Yeah I think they have a power cage or two. And barbells of course, so it should be interesting. I don't think I'll have the grip problems simply because I'll only be grabbing the weight for the deadlifts, the squats of course will be done with the weight on the back.

[Biskit]

Originally Posted by stingo

Yeah I think they have a power cage or two. And barbells of course, so it should be interesting. I don't think I'll have the grip problems simply because I'll only be grabbing the weight for the deadlifts, the squats of course will be done with the weight on the back.

Great! Sounds good. Give us a full report on Monday.

Deb

[stingo]

Originally Posted by Biskit

Great! Sounds good. Give us a full report on Monday.

Deb

Will do, though the appt's on Tuesday. And actually, if I used my spinning shoes and the socks I have on I actually do have clothes to work out in today. But I think a rest day will be a better call.

[mel]

Woo! New gym is always fun.

mel

[lance02]

Have fun at the Y! A mixture of more equipment will be a good thing.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by stingo

All terrain ride last night - it was tough but fun. When the question came up as to when Linda (spinning instructor) would be leaving and who would take over the class, she said that she had a replacement through May, and that I should get certified as an instructor myself. She's told me that before, but this time she said it in front of the class. So yeah, that was cool.

Go for it! If that doesn't get you in shape, nothing will!

Good luck with the Y!

[stingo]

Another culture filled day on Saturday, as I went to the Museum of Art to see the Renoir Landscapes exhibition. It featured many of his early works with a just a coda of three late works for contrast. I always enjoy the major exhibitions when they come to Philadelphia, since Philly knows how to run the show pretty well. Still, it was pretty crowded, but with a bit of patience and good will, I got to see everything. And there was much to view - each room took a different subject to illustrate points of Renoir's style. One for example was cityscapes - scenes he'd painted while living in Paris, which stood in marked contrast to those which he painted while traveling - St. Mark's in Venice, and some botanical gardens in Algiers. Also included were everyday scenes of people, relaxing, exercising, going about their day. While impressionism doesn't generally well... make an impression on me, I couldn't help but see what a mastery of light and shadow Renoir displayed. All this was supported by an excellent audio tour - certain paintings had a small symbol with a number by them - you punched in the number on the file player they provide you with and you hear the curator's description of the painting and some interesting facts about it. Not only that they have a "Family Tour" version too which, to be honest, is far more entertaining as they have the "artist" speaking to you about the artwork. Some paintings had both symbols, some one or the other and some had none at all, but all had a placard which gave more information. From these I actually did learn a lot - I didn't realize Renoir painted with Cezanne and Monet from time to time. It kind of explains two paintings from the first room of the exhibition. One features two artists, one standing behind the other who is working at an easel. The second self-deprecatingly shows two artists sound asleep at the beach. It's these human moments I found fascinating in his work, along as I said, with his tonal palette.

After the exhibition and accompanying gift shop, I found out there was to be a Music in the Galleries presentation, but after looking around for Gallery 206, I was kind of stumped as to where it might be. Fortunately, I saw a girl carrying a cello case, so I figured this was my best bet yet, and I followed her. When she was joined by the violist and violinist, I was sure I was on the right track. Gallery 206 is in the medieval section of the museum, hung with tapestries and religious triptychs. It was in this setting the trio played excerpts from Handel's trio sonatas. All were students at Curtis and they all played quite well - it was very enjoyable. (Curtis Institute is a great music school in Philadelphia, training young musicians, many of whom have been accepted into the Philadelphia Orchestra and the like.)

As a side note, I got to see out the front of the museum where they had this gigantic tree. I wish I had a camera because it looked awesome against the backdrop of the Ben Franklin Parkway (and of course the "Rocky" steps leading up to it).

A cab ride across the city brought me to City Tavern where I had an excellent lunch of beef pie, with red cabbage and a very fine George Washington Porter (brewed for them by Yards Brewing Co, also a fine Philadelphia business). I've talked about it before, but City Tavern is one of my all time favorite restaurants - not only because of the window dressing (staff dresses in period costume, and they periodically have actors playing famous people of the period in their lounge, with whom you can talk about the events of the day - the "day" being the 1770's, and when I was there it was General Washington) but because the food is historically authentic, and flat out fantastic. I've yet to have a bad meal there - also, the portions have always been just right. I also got up the gumption to purchase the cook book, which, if they actually do cook their meals this way, explains why it's so good. It's definitely not for those short on time, but for those who love being in the kitchen it's well worth it. I'll talk more about it once I start making the recipes.

After the City Tavern, I walked back on up to the Kimmel Center, where there was apparently a Christmas choral concert going on in Verizon Hall. They broadcast the music out into the Kimmel Center, so it was nice to relax and hear the choristers do their thing. After that, they had a group of 6 or so French horns playing carols in the Center, between Verizon Hall and the Perelman Theater. A nice meal of chicken salad and a large cup of minestrone hit the spot, and I looked about the hall until the pre-concert conversation (given by a lecturer at Penn).

The work we were to hear was Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri - a large scale oratorio that isn't performed that often. It tells the story of a Peri a being born of a mortal and a fallen angel and her attempts to get into heaven. The doors to heaven would open if she brought the gift that heaven wanted most. As these things go, it takes three tries before she succeeds. The work which inspired it, Thomas' Lalla Rookh was rooted in Persian mytholgy, but apparently the story's crossed boundaries, as I listened to what I gathered was a Jewish couple discussing the finer points of the version they heard, agreeing it the same basic story.

It was a very good performance, though the soprano that sang the Peri was somewhat inaudible at times due to the orchestra/chorus. This is a bit unusual in that Schumann scored the work for orchestra, chorus, a vocal quartet and two soloists. To my ears, this enables him to shift from full choral passages to chamber passages to solo passages without as much differentiation in texture or volume. The libretto reflects the fad for orientalism then present at the time in Europe. Judging from the place names used, that term is given a very wide berth - as just about anything east of Europe - so Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, India and a few other far flung places get mentioned. Sir Simon Rattle was the conductor and apparently had enough clout that he could pick his own music. I don't see this displacing Handel's Messiah any time soon (nor even Mendelssohn's oratorios Saul and Elijah, which influenced it) but it does have its moments to be sure. I'm glad I picked up a recording of it and hope to get to know the work better.

I got out of the city quickly, and thankfully because just as I was getting home (I live about 2.5 hours away) there was enough snow on the ground to be cautious. Still, a great day, even with the freezing temperatures.

[Lost Dog]

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like an amazing day.

[L'ilJ]

I miss Philly. I lived there for three years and absolutely loved it. I would move back there in a second. Sounds like you had a great day Tom!

[UConnJulie]

Nice! I would love a quiet culture-filled day ... sigh ...

Can't wait for the report on the new gym!!

[stingo]

All exercises 3x15, 30 seconds rest except for abdominals which are 3x15, 60 seconds rest.

A1 Incline DB Bench Press 50, 50, 50 (12)
A2 Ball Seated Cable Rows 50

B1 DB Shoulder Press 40, 35, 30
B2 WG Lat Pulldown 120

C1 DB Neutral Grip Decline Bench Press 50, 50, 50 (11)
C2 High Pull 35

D1 Swiss Ball Crunch (feet against Bench)

Notes:

Incline DB Bench Press - This one went pretty well. I'm discovering that with the bum shoulder the 50lb dumbbells are about the heaviest I can go on this exercise without really ticking it off.

Ball Seated Cable Rows - Again, these went pretty well too. Was tough getting the last ones out though. (God I hate the 3x15 protocol).

DB Shoulder Press - Not entirely sure what happened here... I'm guessing the weight I should've done was 35 for each set, but I can truthfully say I used the highest weights I could in each one.

WG Lat Pulldown - These might benefit from a dropback in weight to get a fuller range of motion. Will speak with the woman who runs the gym about it.

DB Neutral Grip Decline Bench Press - These were ok. For some reason I just could not finish out the 3rd set though. Still, I was happy in that I was able to get off the bench somewhat more gracefully than in previous attempts.

High Pull - Didn't increase weight here, and I'm glad of it, because 35's were the limit of what I could handle.

Overall - Just didn't have the mojo today, but I pushed through the workout and I'm glad I did. To me this lends credence to the idea that I need some rest from the weights both mentally and physically, as working out is starting to become a chore rather than fun.

[SpacecityPaula]

How long until you are done???

[stingo]

Originally Posted by SpacecityPaula

How long until you are done???

Three more workouts - 11B, 12A, 12B. Which is to say 2 lower body workouts and 1 upper body workout. I'm planning on taking it easier though on 12A though, so as to keep the shoulder happy and allow the healing to start a little sooner.

[Espi]

It's a joy to read your weekend adventures in the morning when I get up and sort through my mail

Will be interesting to see what you've made when you try out the cook book. Are a lot of recipes low-carbish or?

[stingo]

Originally Posted by Espi

It's a joy to read your weekend adventures in the morning when I get up and sort through my mail

Will be interesting to see what you've made when you try out the cook book. Are a lot of recipes low-carbish or?

No - they're recipes derived/modernized from their historical colonial equivalents. If you follow the link to the City Tavern I provided in my weekend description it will give you an idea of what's in the cookbook. (Unlike some restaurants, this cookbook has things they actually serve at the restaurant. ) I'm hoping to make the chicken stock on Saturday so as to make the West Indian Pepper Pot soup on Sunday.