Breakfast Dependent

Oatmeal and pomegranate

 Today is a short day so I'm mindful of the time. I see JL in the locker room. Every year she bakes mini-loaves of pumpkin bread that is quite delicious and hands them out to her friends. This is the second year she's given one to me and I wanted to reciprocate, so I have stuffed in my gym gear a small bag of Chinese "candies" based on preserved fruits. Her two children are adopted from Korea and I don't know anything about Korean food, but I can offer her these things that my son loves and my husband detests. I warn her that her kids might not like them, but she assures me that it's the thought that counts. Plus they're all "food adventurous". It's something new!

Today was also an experiment of sorts. I had so much to do this morning that I didn't leave myself enough time to eat breakfast although I managed a cup of coffee. Okay, I didn't take this loss that seriously. I've worked out fasted before, but not in a really long time. I wanted to know how much breakfast really impacted my workouts. I've progressed from a bowl of instant oatmeal to making 5-minute oatmeal with an egg and, lately, fresh pomegranate arils in place of raisins or summer blueberries.

Fifteen minutes into my first cardio session, my stomach growls and I realize that I'm hungry. Bummer. I know it'll pass. I'm really happy with yesterday's workout and plan to continue it, maybe tweaking it a bit. I'm a bit tired but not unexpectedly so. What surprises me is how I can't recover for the second cardio session. I drop the resistance from six down to four. Sometimes I'm just barely trotting. Still, I make my quotas and I don't feel all that bad afterwards. I still make over eight miles. The Cage Stretch is next although I plan to skip the Mat Stretch. The outside of my left wrist is still bothering me and that impacts my shoulder workout. It's hard to hold the DBs comfortably.

I place 10 lb DBs under my feet while I'm perched on the bench to do Bent-Over DB Flyes. With my chest in my lap, I finally feel how sore my pectorals are. Wow. I haven't experienced that since the last time I decided to press 75 reps with a bare bar. I wrap and re-wrap my wrists several times. Twenty-seven point five pounds is as far as I can get but I grind through a few sets. The Mayor, Tall Pace and Jude are alternating spotting each other. Jude is doing Squats, The Mayor doing OHP, and Tall Pace some sort of DB Press. The Lateral Raises aren't much better. I do a few DB Curls, but again, my wrist is what's bothering me. Finally, I grab a BB and do just three sets of RG Curls. I use the same weight as last week, but these feel hard today and I have to pause a few times before I can finish. ZZ's pompadour pokes up over the equipment. I see a few other regulars. When I glance at the clock, I know I'll barely have time to shower and then rush off to meet the school bus.

The gym scale reads 112.0 which is good. Still, I'd be happier if it were under 110. And I wouldn't mind being heavier if it didn't show in my actually being bigger and somewhat smoother than I've been in the past. I'm not sure if it's my menopausal metabolism or something else. But I"m due for my annual physical anyway. Tomorrow I'm definitely eating breakfast. It's Leg Day! Yay!

Today's Workout:
35 minute Interval 7 = 4.27 miles + 35 minutes Interval 8 = 4.01  Grand Total = 8.28 miles Yay!
Cage Stretch
Bent-Over DB Flyes: 3 x 12 @ 25 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 27.5 lbs
Lateral DB Raises: 12 @ 20 lbs / 12 @ 25 lbs / 3 x 12 @ 27.5 lbs
Alternating DB Curls: 12 @ 20 lbs / 2 x 12 @ 25 lbs
RGBB Curls: 3 x 20 @ 45
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs