Maintaining Normalcy

I'm still sick but much better than last Saturday. I still went to the gym today, in part, because I'm so paranoid about falling out of my routine and disappearing into Holiday Sludginess. Of course, I looked in my mirror this morning as I was dressing, and thought to myself, damn girl, you're looking a bit skinny today. Not what I was expecting. And then I thought, oh well, that's the "skinny" mirror. Everyone's looks better in THAT mirror.

The most beautiful back I've ever seen! I'm jealous.

I got to the gym and decided to take it easy by only doing 35 min on the Precor. I was glad to see a big Out of Order sign on thumping Precor #2. Finally! Someone's noticed that it's truly broken. I get myself to a respectable 3.98 miles and I'm happily warm and sweaty. My nose is also running and I blow my nose several times throughout my workout. At least I'm not coughing. Or running a fever. Then I'd really be sick.

B comes over to say Hi and Bye since she's on her way out. She has lots of holiday errands and cooking to do. She's not sure when she'll see me again. I tell her I've mailed her a holiday card and she's surprised that I remember her mailing address. I remember a lot of things about people, just not usually their names. Because I missed yesterday, today is Back and Biceps. I've put a new Skrillex remix of a Lady Gaga song on my iPod cardio mix (Bad Romance) and it comes on just as I'm about to do Lat Pull Downs. I feel my right lat spasm slightly and I wonder if that'll be a problem for the rest of my workout. I work through it, and everything feels okay. I guess I'll find out tonight when I'm laying in bed whether I've done myself injury.

Today's Total Workout:
35 min cardio hill #6 = 3.98 miles
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 / 12 @ 105 / 3 x 10 @ 120 lbs
Lower Back Extensions: 2 x 25 @ 90 lbs
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Lat Pull Downs: 12 @ 90 / 5 x 12 @ 105 lbs (I thought about doing pull ups at the Smith Machine but it was busy and I get so easily distracted that it's best to move straight from one exercise to the next without too much chit-chat)
Bent-Over Barbell Rows: 15 @ 65 / 5 x 15 @ 70 lbs
Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Concentration Curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Reverse Grip Barbell Curls: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs
Mat Stretch

A lot of the regulars like Mr. T-shirt and J don't start showing up until late, and I spy them from the mat as I stretch out. In the locker room, I run into several women I know and we chat about whether the scale is to be trusted or not. One is upset because it's told her she put on 3 lbs. It's probably water. It tells me 107.8 lbs and I'm very surprised since I didn't work out at all yesterday and actually, I was expecting to be heavier.

C tells me that A (who used to teach the Zumba classes) is now offering a "boot camp" class on Wednesday mornings. I demur, stating apologetically that I'm just not a "class" person. It's true. I'd rather do my own thing. It works for me. I'm not sure how much classes work for the other women other than to actually get them to come to the gym because it's much more social this way. I'd rather work out than chat. I guess I'm not the norm here. But everyone's really nice so that helps a lot when one isn't feeling 100%. Like me right now. I see M as I'm leaving and she talks about how hard it is for her to get here and she only lives 4 miles up the road. "But you're here now!" I tell her.

When I get home, my own scale reads 105.4 lbs. This is good, but puzzling. I'd like to think that I've changed my body composition to the point where if I don't eat like a fiend, I start losing weight because muscle burns a lot more calories than fat does. And now I have a slightly higher than average muscle percentage for a woman. But I can't be certain that my assumptions are correct. Still, I'm pretty happy with the way my clothes fit, with the way I look (naked and in clothes), with everything, except my saggy butt. But that's a completely different issue. Nothing's gonna fix that!