Born Again Gym Rat: Going Out Like a Lion

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Going Out Like a Lion

It's the last day of the month and it's definitely not going out like a lamb. Unless the lamb likes a wintry mix of snow and sleet falling from dreary gray skies. It's been warm enough for me to walk my son to the school bus stop and then walk back to the house, giving me enough time to scarf down my oatmeal, egg and 1/2 cup of blueberries. I put several pints of washed and bagged blueberries in the freezer last summer. Now I can add them to the oatmeal after everything's cooked (otherwise it gets too watery). Today is Back Day. But I still do my two cardio sessions: before and after. Today I'm again just shy of 7 miles. It's pretty exciting! Of course, doing a lot of cardio is probably bad for the bones. Some days I just have to willfully ignore everything I've ever read, otherwise I'd be paralyzed by information-overload.

I've been logging all my food into the MyFitnessPal app on my phone. Apparently I'm having a hard time taking in enough protein. Jeeze. Abbott Labs seems to have taken the high protein Ensure off the market, which really bites. It was one of the few palatable, lactose-free, high-protein Ready To Drink shakes with additional vitamins and calcium at a reasonable price. Everything else they offer either has less protein (9-15 gms vs 25 gms) or contains lactose. My hubs and I have ordered several boxes of Quest bars to keep on hand for protein snacks. So far only the Wild Berry, Coconut Cashew, Banana Nut Muffin and Vanilla Almond flavors meet with both our approval. But there's a lot of sodium in them and I'm sodium-sensitive. (My hubs tried the new White Chocolate Raspberry and thought he was going to die of diabetic shock.)

I do worry that a high protein diet will adversely affect my kidneys as I get older. My maternal grandfather died from kidney failure and there's usually a genetic component to ailments regarding susceptibility. Gout also runs in my family. My brother has it, and I know my maternal grandmother suffered from it, especially when she enjoyed seafood.

There's someone on the Smith but no one at the mirrored wall where I can use the Oly bars. But there's a thick chalk residue all over the bar on the floor. And I'm wearing mostly black. So I grab the Oly off the Breaker Inclined Bench and use that instead. There's no sign that says you can't use chalk or powder, but I've never seen the equipment covered in it like this morning. It's fairly quiet so far, probably because all the kids on Spring break are still in bed. They'll be arriving after 11.

I'm not sure how well I'll be able to do RG BB Rows because of my injured left index finger. I've been cupping my hand to protect it, with the pointer and ring finger bearing more weight than usual. And if it weren't for my VGs, I wouldn't be able to hang onto the bar at all. There are three Latina girls working out. I've not seen them before but they run the gamut from short and chubby to just short and tiny. Latin Baseball and his homeboys are also lifting. When I slap a pair of 10s on the bar that's already loaded with a pair of 45s, I see the girls smiling at me. There are a few other regular women lifting at the gym. Most of them are solo and seem to be making good progress because I see shape in their arms. When I move to the Seated Cable Rows, the Latinas stare and giggle. Whatever.

I feel kind of tired by the time I get to Lower Back Extensions but I still get three sets. As I head back to the cardio platform, I see Venus. She's been on the Step Mill. Now she's doing Intervals on the treadmill. When she's not doing cardio, I don't actually see her working out. She seems much smaller today. No pump, no obvious muscles, but I can see she's got nice triceps. I see the Daniel Bryan fanboy working out solo today. He's probably actually getting something done since he doesn't have to babysit. And Sunshine is back, albeit with a big cast on his big furry right arm. There's lots of chatting. I'm glad I have my headphones on.

I've been skipping One-Arm DB Rows for two reasons: the heavy weight bothers my elbows, and oddly, muscles over my right hip, and lately, I can't grip the big DBs, even using VGs. The injured finger is just too sensitive for that movement. My elbows threaten to cause trouble but so far I've managed to heed their warnings, pulling back on weight and reps where necessary. Once I'm on the elliptical, I see the gym suddenly fill. Yep, it's after 11 and there are a lot of kids here now. I do an abbreviated Mat Stretch (no Dive Bomber Push Ups) and head to the shower.

My old workout towels are all threadbare from daily wash and wear. Really it's the dryer that's killing them. I bought myself thick new towels and I swear they feel heavy, even when dry. Today I weigh myself with and without my new bath towel. And the scale drops a pound when I drop the towel. I didn't actually think it was THAT heavy! Tomorrow's an abbreviated workout, probably just whacking the kickboxing machine because I have to be across the county for an eye test at 11:30. Yep, love those annual Visual Field tests to tell my docs whether I'm going to need additional treatment for my glaucoma.

Tuesday Cardio and Back Workout
(6.94 miles and 30,019 lbs moved)