My lower back and legs seem fine today although my knees are occasionally twingey. 59°F is almost balmy when I take the dog for a walk. He's feeling very frisky for 11 years old and he wants to romp in the yard and roll in, what I can only guess is, deer and/or bunny poo. My hubs is off to Boston for a few days again, but last night he parked at the other end of our property so I can get out of the driveway. He doesn't actually have to be in Boston until 8 pm but he needs to check into his hotel which isn't as near the airport as he'd like. He'll get home on Friday and then Saturday, he and I are taking a bow seminar (designed to increase accuracy skills) at Practical Primitive in New Jersey. It's going to be another exhausting weekend. On the other hand, I put a few gooseberries in my oatmeal this morning. I like the way they taste, but I love the way they look in their papery leafy wrappers. Makes me want to put them into a collage of some sort. 10 min cardio warm up with 4 min Tabata gets me a tad warm. I stretch my hamstrings at the Cage before proceeding to the Nexersys kickboxing machine. My right shoulder has been a little twingey since last night so I wonder how I can get my workout done and not aggravate anything. Instead of 15 rounds Beginner Level Follow Me, I enter 12. If my shoulder holds up, I'll do 3 rounds at Intermediate Level because I miss it. And I feel as if I've been slacking.
Through "trial and error" I discover that if I keep my Cross low, my shoulder doesn't hurt. I can't quite figure out the Accuracy rating for the early rounds because I know I've hit all my targets properly, but I tend to Hit Too Hard and that always lowers the score. The one round I manage to make 100% is the one round where my power is the lowest, probably because I'm concentrating so hard on not stopping the machine. The 3 rounds at Intermediate Level move quicker so I'm actually working harder. It feels good once I get used to the new tempo.
My first round sucks, but I get progressively better. The 2nd round is quite telling though: I register 105% for Strikes because I'm hitting the pads every time they light up. Some of them aren't actually suppose to be lit, but the impact of my blows is causing a ripple effect in the sensors. I still hate the awkward cross-body combinations like Jab-Power Kick, Cross-Lead Sweep, and Cross-Power Kick. Those tend to throw me off balance for a moment as I change my footing for each blow. Once I get a rhythm going, however, it feels as effortless and graceful as dancing. I notice this especially when the U2 song The Miracle comes on. It has the perfect beat for stepping forward to Jab, pull back, Cross punch, pull back. Sessions like that make the entire 15 rounds worth it.
All the Precor's are taken so I resort to using the LifeFitness Cross-trainer for my last 10 min of cardio (and 5 min tabata). I actually do 6 min of Tabata because I'm a tad uncomfortable with doing 20 seconds of "move as fast as you can" followed by 10 seconds of "catch my breath but don't stop moving" on this machine. It's much harder to switch gears in such a short period of time, especially when the machine admonishes you to pick up the pace.
Afterwards, I do some abs (Torso Twist machine) and change my crunches to add a variation: alternate knee bicycling, crunches, pulse-ups. I'm so pre-occupied with remembering to go to the store after the gym that I completely forget to weigh myself. The kindergartner apparently has been home sick with pneumonia, or at least that's what the school bus drive told me this morning. I want to get a get well card and a small plush for me and my son to walk up to her house later today.
Tomorrow is suppose to rain buckets, but my son and I plan to go to the gym anyway. I'll do my abbreviated workout (push ups and pull ups and cardio) and then we'll check out the new creperie that opened next to the gym. My son has been dying to try a crepe. I see that they have Cuban sandwiches, which is one of my husband's favorite. If it's good, I'll have to snap a photo and send him some food porn to make up for all the photos of sushi boats and heavenly ramen bowls that he sends me. Yeah, it's that kind of relationship.
Wednesday Workout
10 min elliptical = 3 min steady state + 4 min Tabata + 3 min steady state = 0.81 miles
Nexersys 12 rounds Beginner Follow Me (48 min)
Accuracy 96% / Strikes 99% / Average Power 141%
Nexersys 3 rounds Intermediate Follow Me (12 min)
Accuracy 87% / Strikes 100% / Average Power 109%
10 min cross-trainer = 2 min steady state + 6 min Tabata + 2 min steady state = 1.13 miles
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
50 alternating bicycles / 50 crunches / 50 pulse ups
photos posted for actual stats:
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