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I have also noticed that my second set is usually much better than my first set as far as perceived strength. This occurs in my squat as well. It's kind of weird. During that first set it just feels like the weight of the world in on that bar and I can't imagine doing more than one set. But the second set feels much more controlled even if I am fatiguing by the last two reps
That seems to be pretty true universally. I usually do warm-up movements- not necessarily the exercise, but moving the same muscles and particularly, the same joints. For example, if I'm doing legs, I'll start with a body weight matrix of squats, lunges and "high knees" or mountain climbers. The idea is to get blood flowing into the muscles, but more importantly, get synovial fluid into the joints. As we age, there is progressively less synovial fluid and it acts like oil in an engine- gotta have it flowing!
Sportsfreak- I love spinning classes but without bike shorts I suspect you can expect a sore...butt! Try to find a pair of padded bike shorts. They cost a small fortune in bike shops, but I found that Marshalls and TJ MAxx have them if you are lucky, for 10-15 dollars. Worth every penny!
I'm spending the weekend cooking, cleaning, and have a chest and back workout planned for today, and legs tomorrow.
I found a great site bikely.com that allows you to map your bike rides and see the elevation changes. Im going to try and paste in the elevation profile: ShOOT! can't copy a flash player fusion chart!
Anyway, it's cool. You could certainly also use it for runs or walks.