I Swear I'm Better

The sinusitis has definitely kicked in as my ears are plugged and my voice has a horrendous nasal tone to it. There's no pea soup sloshing in my head yet, but I'm hoping it doesn't get to that point. I have my annual physical exam this afternoon, so I'm going to the gym this morning. As usual. Because I'm compulsive. And, better yet, because it feels so damn good!

Thursdays are usually harder for me cardio-wise, especially after the gloriously exuberant Leg Day Wednesday. 35 minutes gets me a respectable 3.79 miles, a runny nose and a mouthful of snot. Today is a "high rep" Push Day for me so I'm looking to bench press. The Smith is busy so I go immediately to the Cage stretch & kicks. I'm pretty sweaty and breathless afterwards. The Smith is still busy so I go to one of the flat benches and decide to pyramid up and down for reps. I always like to do different things, depending on how I feel because I'm so limited in the actual exercises that I can do.

For shoulders, I skip the 15 lb dumbbells and move directly to the 20s. They're heavy but I can do complete sets for all the movements. B has asked me to show her the Smith Dead Lift again, but when the Smith is free, she's no where to be found. I do one quick set of Tricep One-Arm Dumbbell Extensions just to loosen up. A quick set of abs on the sit up board, then to Tricep Press Downs at the Cables. I do a "burn out" set and they're surprisingly easy. I haven't done them lately because that's a very popular station and I can't get on most of the time. I'm tempted to do Decline Bench Presses, but someone's using that bench to do sit ups, so nix that idea.

I find B and she tells me she's just not that motivated today. She's just going to do the "steps" (Stairmaster, while chatting of course) and perhaps I can show her the Reverse Grip Bent Over Rows tomorrow. Tomorrow's a Back & Bicep Day so I'll be doing those anyway.

Today's Total Workout:
35 min cardio = 3.79 miles
Flat Bench: 25 @ bar / 25 @ 65 / 2 x 25 @ 85 / 25 @ 65 / 25 @ bar (45 lbs)
Delts: Front Dumbbell Raises with Lateral Raises: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Rear Inclined Seated Dumbbell Raises: 6 x 12 @ 20 lbs
One Arm Tricep Dumbbell Extension: 12 @ 20 lbs
Twisting Sit Ups: about 150
Kick Outs: about 125
Tricep Press Downs: 12 @ 30 / 3 x 12 @ 40 / 15 @ 30 / 20 @ 20 lbs
Mat stretch

I had meatball and garlic pizza (sodium dump!) last night so I'm not surprised when the scale reads 108.4 lbs today. I see a lot of regulars at the gym today and that's nice because as much as I don't speak to them, they've never imposed themselves on me, and it's a bit reassuring to know that they're still alive and well enough to come work out. Even if they seem intimidated. (I'm speaking of a handful of middle-aged men.)

My checkup seems pretty good except my blood pressure's systolic reading is too high (probably due to all the coughing), although the diastolic seems relatively normal (142/82). Blood sugar, cholesterol, everything seems within normal range, except... uh oh... hmmm says the doc. Well, being sick can screw up lab readings so we'll just have to do more blood work. Bleah. Shouldn't you wait until I'm not sick to do more blood work? But she dismisses that suggestion and says that if my blood work comes back iffy again, well, I'll have to have a sonogram.

Jeez. All because I have slightly elevated liver enzymes and that's never happened before. She checks my history. How much do you drink? Well, a couple of glasses of wine over the weekend, but none during the week because it messes up my work outs. It's not a lot. She wants to rule out all sorts of things. I think it's because I'm sick, even though I don't feel sick. Except for the plugged ears, congested sinuses and occasional coughing fit.

I note that since I've lost weight, it's a lot easier to see my veins. The ones in my right arm are bigger than the ones in my left. And I've also noticed that a lot of my veins don't run in nice forking branches, but zig zag oddly under the skin. Vascular irregularities are the reason I don't do overhead presses (military press). It's almost as if the veins are too long for the body in which they reside, and they double-back on themselves. I leave the doc's with an Rx for a Z-pack called in to my pharmacy. I cheer myself up with the thought that tomorrow is Back & Bi's, and there's nothing I like more than working out. (Okay, not quite true but close enough.)