Does Wishing Make It So?

Imagine my surprise this morning as I'm pulling on boots to walk the dog when I glance over at my husband's work boots and find my glove sitting inside, resting like a downed bird in an unlikely nest. Yippee! I don't have to buy new gloves! I'm so pleased that probably nothing can ruin my day. Probably. We didn't got to kickboxing or even TKD because my husband got back from a business trip not feeling too good.

"Gas station sushi?" I ask him. "Nooo, but something I shouldn't've eaten." I spend the evening completing an online course to lower the premium on our auto insurance, but I don't go to bed when I know better. Instead I watch old episodes of Bones (my new favorite show lately) and paying for it this morning by dragging myself to the gym. I don't make my 4 mile quota either but truthfully, after Wednesday, anything over 3.90 miles is good. I have to cut myself some slack because no one else will.

I see B but she's too busy chatting and once I'm in "workout mode" I rarely, if ever, acknowledge anyone at the gym. I find myself not all that pleased to speak with her these days anyway because she's always complaining about something, and odd as it may seem, I don't like the fact that she never seems very happy to see me. But she's the one coming up to me to say Hi. Perhaps it's a compulsion and she doesn't really want to but does anyway? She's such an unconscious flirt with all middle-aged male gym bodies and I watch distantly with only observational interest.

I don't think I even know how to flirt. I'd rather be intimidating, but of course, being chest-height to most people makes that quite a feat. But it can be done. As the online defensive driving course states, it's all about "attitude." I don't have a bad attitude. Heck, I'm not even mean. But I know what I'm doing, and I'm not going to stand around helplessly waiting for some guy to give me instructions. Which is what guys seem to be bred to expect.

Today's 2nd Pull Day and TGIF
35 min cardio hill #6 = 3.96 miles Yeesh...
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 lbs / 10 @ 105 / 8 @ 120 lbs / 3 x 6 @ 135 lbs
I like the 120 lb weight best for doing cable rows; it just feels really good and strong although I try to end each heavy set with negatives where I gently lower the weight so it makes barely a sound.
Pull Ups (my left elbow is really bothering me today so I only do one set at a time): 12 reps with legs curled to chest
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Pull Ups: 12 legs straight out
RG BB Rows: 6 x 15 @ 95 lbs
I'm tempted to try the 100 lb barbells but figure I'll wait until 15 reps seems easy.
Alternating DB Curls: 12 @ 25 / 8+4 @ 25 / 10+2 @ 25 lbs
My elbows aren't liking this movement either.
Pull Ups: 10+2 legs curled to chest
Lower Back Extensions: 2 x 25 @ 97.5 lbs
BB Curls: 6 x 15 @ 45 lbs
RG BB Curls: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs
Pull Ups: 8+5 legs straight out
My left elbow is really complaining now. I should probably ice it when I get home.
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Torso Twist Station: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Mat Stretch

I've drained my water before even starting Mat Stretch although I don't think I'm sweating that much. But my clothes reek and that makes me a tad self-conscious. I see R and I wave Hi to him as he's resting on a bench. I think that's all we're comfortable with these days. Later, when I leave I wave at him and he says "Have a good weekend" which is what I was going to say. Lamely I say instead, "You too." Things are weird and I don't know why. Probably because I don't really like to talk to anyone when I'm working out. I'll chat after I'm done, when I can break out of "workout" mode. Perhaps most people don't compartmentalize like that. Which would explain why they don't seem to work out very effectively either.

While I'm stretching out, Mo pops on and after I'm done, we chat for a few minutes. In the interim, I see Fish Guy (today I remembered to wave Hi to him), Ranger Rick, M, The Mayor (whose voice is so squeaky it sounds as if he'd been screaming at an all-night rave), Nixon, Hairy Shoulders, Ponytail Tattoo and a few new faces. The HS boys are back as well. I'm glad I'm done!

During my sets of Reverse Grip BB Rows, I glance into the mirror and see all the action behind me. A thin middle-aged woman, who I've seen a few times before, is struggling to bench just the bar. She changes her grip from narrow to shoulder's width, then moves from flat bench to the inclined bench. After I've finished my 6 sets, I ask her what she's doing. Or rather, what's she trying to do. She shrugs her shoulders and says "Just trying to exercise everything." I'm kind of surprised that she doesn't have a better grasp of weight-lifting fundamentals so I tell her that most people start out benching shoulders width to work chest, then later do a narrow grip to work triceps. "Otherwise you'll make your arms too tired."

I also suggest she try to lower the bar to her chest but she seems dubious. "The movement should be like you're pushing a drawer." I have no idea whether she even understood what I was talking about but perhaps next time she'll have better control of the bar. I've seen a lot of women playing with the weights (good) and unfortunately, most of them have no idea what they're doing (bad). And I resist the urge to butt my nose in and offer my two sense, but perhaps I shouldn't. Egads, I certainly don't want to be like The Mayor. Bleah! I guess I'll just see if a few instructive words will be of any help or if I'm just wasting my breath. Wishing does NOT make it so. Unless you're Jean-Luc Picard, or looking for an errant workout glove.

The scale reads 110.4 lbs today and I'm mildly surprised. Yep, I'm just going to have to accept the fact that stronger means bigger means heavier. Sigh. At least my home scale tells me that I'm a mere 107.6 lbs. True, up from 105+ but I can still think of myself as a gamine. That reminds me of something I read a long time ago that stated middle-aged Asian women tended to dress androgynously, favoring short haircuts and comfortable loose clothes. Or as we call it today, gender neutral. It's nice to have the muscles to really confuse the issue. And of course, wishing doesn't make it so. Hard work does.