My hands and forearms have mostly recovered from the all-day primitive skills course my hubs and I attended last Saturday. It involved us hunting for appropriate wood and then using knives to trim off the bark and through knots to whittle the sticks down to a useable size and shape. We attempted several different techniques from bow-drill to fire saw to hand-drill. Most participants had years of skills under their belts so it was surprising how few actually succeeded in getting an ember out of the process. Lesson learned? Always carry a lighter or fire-starter because primitive fire making is dang hard. If you're going to rub two sticks together, make sure one of them is a match.
School doesn't start until Thursday so I take my son to the gym with me, warning him that since school has started in the adjacent towns, there might not be any kids his age in the Child Care Room. Luckily there are a few. It's Tuesday too, but the cinema isn't showing any new kids flicks so we're not going to the movies today. It's also going to be over 90°F, the hottest day this summer so far.
The gym doesn't feel as cold as it should, even with the A/C blasting, probably because they have the back doors open to air the place out. It feels like Monday because I'm having trouble getting started with my 10 minute cardio warm up, and my body definitely balks at the 4 min Tabata. Still, I get it done. And then I do a quick Cage Stretch and propel myself over to the Nexersys. Shaggy is using the cable machines across from the Cage. He's trimmed down noticeably and no longer wears the baseball cap some guys seem to favor when they work out. I still wonder if the drawn and scrawny woman with the plume of purple hair atop her head is his wife. I saw her a few times last year with him, but not lately. I glance about and see Island Jerk, Ollie, M and B, Big Glasses Dude, Tall Pace, Short Pace, Snow Bird and a few other regulars.
I'm not warmed up enough when I start kickboxing the machine, but it's good enough to maintain a decent score for accuracy, strikes and power. If anything, my power is a tad better, and has been improving in 1% increments for the past several weeks. Half-way through the 15 rounds and I finally feel warmed up although I've been dripping sweat for a while. Two rounds that contain the odd combination of Jab-Lead Kick, Cross-Lead Kick continue to mess with my rhythm. In trying to increase my Power score, I also risk lowering my Accuracy Score because I'm still, upon occasion, hitting too hard and stopping the machine. I can only smile and whack the machine extra after I hit the reset button.
I still have a bit of time when I'm done, so I quickly strip off my gloves and wraps and jump onto the elliptical for another 10 minutes. 5 minutes of Tabata is harder and I'm lucky I can make the speed I do. I've even put my hoodie back on to keep my hair from whipping sweat through the air. No time for a real stretch today as I head to shower and change. The gym scale reads a surprising 111.2 lbs. I was expecting to be heavier. Oh well.
My son and I run a few errands, like dropping off a return package at the UPS store. A middle-aged customer chatting with one of the clerks turns around and says to me, "Do you work out at Gold's gym? You do, don't you?" I carefully examine his face and have absolutely no idea who he is. "Uh, yeah," I say. I must be more oblivious than I thought when I'm working out because I don't recognize him at all. He smiles but I'm always suspicious and cautious, especially of people who seem to know me. He doesn't seem too weird, but my son is creeped out. And I need to be more aware.
Tuesday Workout
10 min elliptical = 3 min steady state + 4 min Tabata + 3 min steady state = 0.80 miles
Nexersys 15 rounds (60 minutes) Beginner Follow Me Avatar Program
Accuracy 97% / Strikes 99% / Average Power 136%
10 min elliptical = 2 min steady state + 5 min Tabata + 3 min steady state = 0.78 miles
photo posted for actual stats:
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