Happy New Year!

from healthylivingislife.tumblr.com

Well, the gym's open today from 7 am to 6 pm. I was happy that it was relatively empty when I got there although I couldn't get on my favorite elliptical, so I hopped on the 2nd best. Fighting my urge to slack, I punched in 45 minutes and challenged myself to hill #5 which is a bit steeper than hill #6. I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I felt really out of shape, and every time my head bounced, I got a wave of vertigo. But I did finish, and logged in 5.04 miles, which made me relatively happy.

I found this image (above) on a blog site I wandered into and found it amusing enough to steal and post here. My legs don't often hurt, but I confess that most days my glutes are sore. Sore when I walk, sore when I sit, sore when I lay down. But it doesn't stop me because if anything, working out warms me up and gets my muscles limber enough to NOT feel sore. At least for a few hours. Until I cool down.

Seated cable rows also gave me vertigo every time I pulled back on the handles. It was very distracting and I didn't feel very satisfied. Luckily, Cage Stretch & Kicks felt relatively normal, except when I bent down to put my head to my shin. Eventually the vertigo went away, and by the time I did my Mat stretch, it was all gone. I'm suspecting latent sinus infection even though I don't really have any symptoms except for this. I'm also suspecting a genetic component as my brother suffers from Meniere's (extreme vertigo associated with his extreme chemical and scent sensitivity) which he controls with an antihistamine. Both my parents also suffered from lifelong sinus problems. Gee thanks mom & dad! But of course, genetics also explains my small muscular stature, great eyesight (and glaucoma), alligator skin (and oddly youthful hair and skin), so I really can't complain too much.

from goldenmuscle.com

My New Year's resolution (because we've all made them out of habit) is to do Pull Ups whenever possible, in place of Lat(isimus dorsi) Pull Downs. Except that I do them with my legs held straight out in front of me to utilize abdominals. I've seen R do them this way and figure what the heck. I like a challenge. And all the sites I've visited say Pull Ups are better than the Pull Down machine so I'm willing to give it a go.

I'm pleasantly surprised that I can do pull ups at the Smith machine by draping my hands over the bar at the top rung (yes, I'm standing on my tiptoes). Then I just pull myself up. There's a little stress on my forearms (I wear my elbow braces religiously) but it isn't as painful as doing the pull ups with a neutral grip at the Cage. I'm not familiar enough with forearm physiology to know why, just that I can't use a neutral grip (hands facing each other) without pain. Pain like that is to be avoided instead of muscling through. Pain means damage, which is best avoided.

Yes, I find all these illustrations by googling images for the exercise I want to illustrate. A lot of times I wander into other blogs or websites and find useful information. I can't even imagine life without the internet... or actually I can. I remember when I was a kid, how difficult it was to get information. You'd have to go to the library, if it was open, and maybe they had the book you were looking for, or maybe not. It was mostly an exercise in frustration.

Today's Total Workout:
45 min cardio = 5.04 miles
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 / 12 @ 105 / 3 x 10 @ 120 lbs (I have to start eating breakfast again because I think not eating oatmeal with my coffee is having an adverse effect on my workout)
Lower Back Extension: 2 x 25 @ 90 lbs
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Smith Rack Pull Ups: 12 (I had to rest to get the last 2 reps) / 10 / 8
Reverse Grip Barbell Rows: 15 @ 65 / 6 x 15 @ 70 lbs (I think I'm going to add 5 lbs next time)
DB curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Concentration Curls: 3 x 12 @ 20 lbs
Torso Twists: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Reverse Grip Barbell Curls: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs (maybe I should add another set to this because I don't want to up the weight just yet)
Mat Stretch

I have the mat to myself and that makes me happy. I've seen a few regulars today and we all mouth each other Happy New Year without unplugging our headphones or stopping what we're doing. I also see R but we never cross paths and I don't want to interrupt my workout just to say Hi. The scale reads 110.6 lbs and I'm okay with that.

Once I get home, I check my calendar and see that next week looks ripe for the menstrual cycle. Feels about right because my lower abdomen definitely seems bloated (my pants seem a tad snug). I guess better to have it than not. And I confess that knowing that I'm of the age where these hormonal changes occur makes me work harder because I want to take advantage of the dipping estrogen cycles by building muscle and burning body fat. I think it's working.