I Love the Internet

Yesterday I bought some new cream (after reading about it in a fashion/beauty mag while waiting at the eye doc). I have unreasonably dry skin so anything that has new ingredients and promises to help skin retain moisture is of interest to me. Especially since, as we age our skin gets dryer, thinner and more delicate. And more susceptible to wrinkles! My local CVS had only one jar of the cream, but I had a 30% off coupon, which made it cheaper than the store-brand generic version. But when I got home, I found the lid suspiciously loose, and no safety seal. I'm accustomed to safety seals in this post-Tylenol-tampering era.

What to do? I went to the company website but it was useless. In order to contact them, you had to prove you weren't spam and type in a code. A code which was invisible because all I got was a gray rectangle. So I resorted to FaceBook and sent a message. Then I did a Google search of the product and safety seals. Not only did I get an answer from the company via FB, I also found several discussions about CeraVé's lack of a safety seal on their jars. No safety seal. Take your chances. Well, at least I know now.

I also emailed EatRight regarding their digital body fat scale and the two settings. I got a nice email back telling me to call a particular person (Bill, no last name) in their company because he "is very informative and can answer all your questions." Well, alright now. Yes, I love the Internet. I can find almost anything. Almost. I'm still looking for good cross-trainer sneakers that are as comfortable as my old Asics. But tapping in Asics Gel GT-2160 doesn't actually lead me to those shoes. Just whatever Asics is currently offering. And I'm not fond of the day-glo colors that are all the rage lately. Just give me plain black trainers, please. I used to wear Ryka's and recall that they're made for women's feet: wide at the ball and narrow in the heel. Yep, that's me. But hardly anyone online carries the Ryka brand so I may have to resort to old-fashion shopping at a few brick and mortar stores. Sigh.

Today is Arm Day and I feel sluggish. It's probably because I'm experimenting with my diet to see if I can't tweak my body fat lower just a tad. I'm having a lot of trouble trying to get enough protein based on the MyFitnessPal app, and that's just for a normal person who's trying to lose a meager 3 lbs. Last night I slurped a protein shake before bed and that's not normal for me. I don't want to buy a lot of supplements. Having to take calcium citrate, Vitamin D and fish oil just to maintain a reasonable middle age seems bad enough.

After 30 minutes on the cross-trainer, I stretch a bit and then head to the free weights. Lately I've been warming up with Close-Grip Bench Presses, using high reps and very light weight. After knocking out 25 quick reps with just the bar, I toss on a pair of 10s. That's 65 lbs and I do 20 reps. Then I realize that I can probably do more so for set three, I do 25 reps. Next week I'll add a little more weight and so how many reps I can get. A few guys stand near the cable station, staring. I think one fellow, Scruffy Beard, is quite amused. I'm not sure why but I suspect it's the high reps. That, and 65 lbs is more than half my body weight. But a lot of people just don't have any endurance. I've done high (25) reps with 95 lbs, but not Close Grip. This is still relatively new.

Then I do my Standard Arm routine, super-setting One-Arm DB Tricep Extensions with Alternating DB Curls, Rip Skulls with BB Curls. I always get a massive pump from this. I see Chatty Guy and Venus. She's doing Smith Squats, and then the Hack Squat machine. She's wearing a clingy, long sleeve T-shirt and leggings, but she doesn't seem very muscular today. Maybe it's her sports bra, but her profile is noticeably bustier than usual, as if she's stuffed laundry into a push-up bra because it looks sorta lumpy. She's very flirty today as well, at one point grabbing Chatty Guy's arm and butting him with her head, knocking his water bottle out of his hand and onto the ground. He seems much more reticent lately. I've caught glances of him staring.

I see a lot of regulars like Jude, Sunshine, PJ Pants, Ollie, Scabbards,  B, M, Tattoo Tank and Soccer Boy. Tattoo Tank has dropped a lot of weight and is working hard today. He's at the Preacher bench with a pair of 45 lb plates on an EZ bar. I watch him curl at least 3 reps. Never seen that before. But the most entertaining people are a pair of young women. The shorter one has slightly more shape to her arms than her taller, slimmer friend. Clearly, Shorty is teaching Slim how to use weights in an odd dance of movements. She smiles a lot while offering encouragement. You gotta start somewhere, right? Slim is laying on her back on the Seated Cable Row, pulling the bar up the length of her body to her chin. Okay, that's a new one. No one says anything.

Venus has a 40 lb BB across her shoulders and lunge walks down the aisle past all the Cybex machines while I'm doing sit ups. I'm actually waiting for either the Cable machine to open up or the 40 lb bar to come back. I expect her to lunge walk back, but she doesn't. Instead she just walks the BB back and then leans on the rack while chatting. I'm so non-interactive that I'll just walk away and do something else instead of asking how long it'll be. Luckily, she's out of the way when I grab the BB. Most people at my gym are okay though, and fairly pleasant, creepy old men aside. Except for the four Doofus Brothers on all four elliptical machines today. They look like post-grad Goonies all grown up. And with no sense of gym etiquette, because none of them bother to wipe the sweat off the machines when they're done. Instead, they travel like one organism to a Cybex station and stand around chatting, while one of them attempts to do something.

Creepy PJ Pants stares the entire time I'm at the Cable station for Tricep Press Downs, and I put my hoodie back on. I don't usually work out with my hoodie on, but he's just too creepy. During Mat Stretch, I choose the Mat that's tucked away along the wall, out of view of most of the Cybex machines. When I'm changing in the locker room, the older Korean lady asks me how long I work out. Uh, about two to two and a half hours. I don't bother to break it down into an hour of cardio, an hour or more for weights and a good 15 to 20 minutes of stretching. She's clearly impressed because she gestures to her chest and arms and comments that I'm so built up. What doesn't make sense is her comment that it's good for the brain. Uh, no, that would be cardio. But again, I don't explain anything. Because I don't really want to get into a conversation. Nope, I'm just not a people-person.

Thursday Cardio and Arm Day Workout
(6.73 miles; 14,840 lbs moved)

Cross Trainer

Calorie :   147 CAL
Distance: 3.78 mile
Speed :    7.52 mph
Duration : 00:30:10

Barbell Close Grip Press 

Set 1 : 45x25
Set 2 : 65x20
Set 3 : 65x25 Yay!

Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl

28

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12 SuperSet with

Dumbbell One Arm Triceps Extension

28

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12

Barbell Reverse Grip Skullcrusher

52.5

Set 1 : 17.5x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12
Set 5 : 37.5x12 SuperSet w

Barbell Curl

52.5

Set 1 : 17.5x12
Set 2 : 37.5x12
Set 3 : 37.5x12
Set 4 : 37.5x12
Set 5 : 37.5x12

Sit Up

105

Set 1 : 105 Lap/Rep

Barbell Reverse Grip Curl

75

Set 1 : 45x20
Set 2 : 45x20
Set 3 : 45x20
Set 4 : 45x20

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   259 CAL
Distance: 2.95 mile
Duration : 00:30:10

Cable Triceps Pushdown

66.67

Set 1 : 40x12
Set 2 : 50x10
Set 3 : 50x8
Set 4 : 50x7

Plank

Set 1 : 00:01:30