The weather this week has been unseasonably warm, and dry. Red flag warnings enacted a burn ban, and we still had a raging "bush fire" that took out a few acres of woodlands to the north of us. I'm guessing Canada is still on fire as well. Well, at least the "red maple" finally turned orange this week after being green all summer.
I had a follow-up appointment with my GP yesterday where blood was drawn to check my cholesterol, and we discussed my blood pressure, which I freely admit has been on the high end of normal. It still falls into the Hypertension 1 category, so the doc and I agreed to double the med dose to 100 mg. If that doesn't work, she'll be forced to add a "water pill" (diuretic) and we don't want that! I'm already sipping water all day due to chronic dry mouth, which means not wandering far from the bathroom anyway. Lipid panels are not back yet. I don't want to take statins, so really, I should drink less fancy coffees (can't filter a cappuccino) and stick with filtered coffee, less meat, more oats and apples, more onions and garlic. Not like I don't do that already. Mostly.
I decided to do my errands after the gym instead of beforehand, which meant I got there earlier. I had my pick of elliptical machines and got on #1. Nearly 20 minutes later, Wind Breaker slinks in to climb on #3. He's still pedaling when I leave the gym nearly an hour and a half later. Today is the Mix Day, so Cardio warm up and then DBs. I had tested out a Side Lunge on Monday, just one rep on either side, and the sciatic nerve definitely did not appreciate that. It wasn't immediate discomfort, just old symptoms that had been absent for the past few weeks suddenly reappearing. I guess I'm not doing those. I mean, I can do them, but I shouldn't. There is a difference.
There's a lot of things I can still do; but I just shouldn't because I'm going to regret it the next day. And I don't mean DOMS. I can handle soreness. Soreness isn't going to degenerate my optic nerves and make me blind sooner. Soreness usually doesn't mean sciatic pain that makes it impossible to sit or lay down without resorting to drugs (looking at you, ibuprofen & gabapentin). I can do cardio, much as I hate it. I can do pull-ups, even if I'm not picture perfect at it. I can push lighter weights for lots and lots of reps. I did just read an article extolling the virtues of a "dead hang." Or, as I see it, what happens when you can't pull yourself up during a pull-up. Maybe I'll try just hanging there on my non-pull-up days?
The drier air is making my skin itch and this seems to be a seasonal affliction. In the Autumn and Winter, my neck itches yet nothing I do or wear has changed. It's the weather. Since it's been warmer, the hives on the sides of my thighs have disappeared. They'll re-emerge once temps drop again, like next week. Fissures in my finger tips have finally healed thanks to slathering them with Aquaphor and Bag Balm. Plus I wear gloves almost all year round. I know, I'm weird. My favorite gloves are a thin leather lined with thin cashmere and I order them from Land's End. They're one of the few pairs that actually fit my small hands so I own several pairs in various colors. Eventually they wear out and I sew up the seams but there's only so much repairing with thin leather gloves once the skin wears through.
I get to try out a new gym towel today: it's the dreaded microfiber, but honestly, cotton towels are big and bulky and godawful heavy when wet, when carrying my bag back to the car in the parking lot. They stay damp and tend to get mildew unless absolutely bone dry in my moist house over wetlands.
Microfiber towels are light and dry quickly, but they are going to shed micro particles in the wash water, which will eventually wind up in my drinking water, because the peat moss septic system is but yards uphill from my well. Yep. So I'm going to use this towel sparingly. I also wash all my fleece very infrequently because I know it's going to wind up in the water.
I find one of the Nautilus benches and drag it out from a squat cage (some dork left 45s on the bar in the rack and walked away). I don't care that it's in the middle of the area. People can walk around me, I'm not blocking any equipment, and I'm not constrained by the rack, which I don't need for what I'm doing. I start a bit past noon, and by 12:15 there's a half dozen HS boys at various stations. At least they're not in my way.
I'm trying to be mindful of my time, hence the time notations next to my set notes. I get everything done on the list for the Aerobics Room, including Walking Lunges, and Wall Sits. Actually, the Wall Sits aren't as bad as last time, probably because I was distracted by the pain of my toes squished against the front of my sneakers!
Tomorrow I'm planning on a Cardio Day, mostly because I know I can do it without injuring myself. I've been toying with the idea of adding a rowing exercise back but again, I'm worried about aggravating that delicate sciatic bundle. Maybe I should start with seeing how a few Skull Crushers feel afterward? Or maybe do a few BB Rows with just the bar? Are BB Rows a safer movement than Seated Cable Rows? The real problem is that I can do all of it and it won't actually hurt until the morning after. Looking at you, aggravated sciatica.
Next week I have an appointment with my glaucoma doc at the ungodly hour of 8:45. It's not the 8:45 that's the problem. It's the rush hour traffic to get there, so the 1/2 hr commute will more likely be 45 minutes. Which means taking puppers to the park around 7. We usually go at 8, but then they'll want to go at 7 all the time. At least it'll be daylight...
7 Nov 2024 11:21-1:10
Thursday — Mix
Another Unseasonably Warm Day
Brilliant Day — Timolol / sciatica
Losartan dose increased to 100 mg
Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5408)
Distance: 2.78
Cal: 306
Avg Hr: 145, 184-72
New FB: 53-125
(12:05)
Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s (12:47) Rev Incline Flys
10 lbs x 25/15/25
15 lbs x 25/15/25 (12:15)
20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 1 (12:21); 2 (12:28); 3 (12:35)
20 Hip Bridges (12:41)
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
DeadBugs 20 x 5
Piriformis stretches
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
Child’s Pose
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Push-Ups 25
Arm rotations 20
Walking Lunges 19/19
Air Squats 25
Neck stretch / Eye yoga (1:07)
Wall Squat 120 sec!!
