Born Again Gym Rat: Cardio, Core and Minions

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Cardio, Core and Minions

I make oatmeal but don't have time to eat it this morning. I do manage to gulp down a quick cup of instant espresso before dashing off to the gym with my son in tow. I want to get an hour of cardio done and some core exercises before the 11:20 showing of The Minion Movie. My son wonders if Universal Theme Park in Orlando, FL will add a new attraction. Maybe even a Jurassic World ride too?

Again, my mileage isn't stellar but I do manage a decent performance. My chest is actually sore right under the arm pits, where the pectorals attach. Cool! Maybe I'm doing it right? At first Tattoo Tank is doing cable curls but now Scruffy is there. The cable station in front of the CF space is just a few feet from the cross-trainers. He paces really close to my machine between sets of whatever it is he's doing. Is he hoping to catch my eye? And then what?

I always do a quick hamstring/hip stretch because I've had issues with stiffness in the hip joint. My stretch is like a long slow lunge, except that I can put my nose to the forward shin when I pull my hip back over the back leg. My standard routine for core exercises start out with reps on the Torso Twist Machine, the Sit Ups at the Nexersys station, followed by Planks on one of the big foam mats. Most people grab a barbell to anchor their feet and do sit ups on the foam mat but it gets crowded there, and I'm not entirely sure that the BB is a proper anchor. I'd rather use the foot bar on the Nexersys. After all, that's what it's made for. I like the Stiff-Back Sit Ups because they don't hurt my neck, but they're so easy that I easily lose count and do a lot more than 50 reps per set. Don't get me wrong: I definitely feel my abs working, but it's still easy.

Planks on the other hand, are hard. But they're hard on the shoulders (especially the right one) and not my abs. I may try alternating my arms and legs to take the pressure off. I guess they work the core okay, but perhaps there are better movements to do? Finally, I'm back on the elliptical for 30 minutes of Performance Program #1. It makes me happy and sweaty to sing along (silently) to my tunes while pedaling furiously through various inclines. Every seven and a half minutes you need to change directions from Forward to Backward and vice versa. It's exhilarating. Another quick quad and hamstring stretch and I'm dashing off to the showers. Scruffy is staring from a Cybex machine. I think a lot of guys here have what my sister calls "Yellow Fever". Except there's no way they can possibly think that I'm like those fantasy mail-order brides, right? Especially since they see me whacking the kickboxing machine at least once a week!

When I get to the Child Care Room, my son has a red tissue against his nose. Apparently, he had a nose-bleed earlier that started up again the moment he sneezed. (Yesterday his friend at camp had a bloody nose while on the Bounce Pillow and that was a big mess!) But we're still able to make it to see The Minion Movie. It's very cute, and there are several moments where we burst out laughing. The soundtrack is all familiar 60s songs so parents and grandparents are humming along. Of course, my son doesn't get a lot of the sight-gags because he's not familiar with The Beatles and Abbey Road, or Donovan's Mellow Yellow. But he likes the songs anyway. We'll probably see this flick again! Not as good as Guardians of the Galaxy or Jurassic World, but definitely a good time.

Tuesday Cardio and Core Workout
(6.53 total miles)