Born Again Gym Rat: Just a Number in Your Head

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Just a Number in Your Head

It's a torrential downpour when I take the dog out this morning. He's eaten something disagreeable and I have to clean up the mess in the kitchen. At least it's tile there. The rest of the house, save the bathroom, has wood flooring. I suspect it's the "healthy' popcorn that's making him sick. Pink Himalayan sea salt and natural cheese seasoning dusted on non-GMO corn popped in coconut oil. I suspect the coconut oil. It's a given that some people find coconut milk to have a laxative effect. Some people also find this true with coconut oil.

My son has trouble with the "coconut water and juice" drinks, as they upset his stomach. And dogs, even though they'll eat their own vomit and lick their toes and butts, have extremely sensitive digestive tracts. So no more Lesser Evil® Buddha Bowl popcorn for the dog. I bought it because it was on sale at the local health food store. The dog loves crunchy things (who doesn't?) but we'll have to stick to Fritolay's Smartfood® Cheddar Popcorn. Unsurprisingly, the web is awash with links promoting coconut oil as a beneficial additive to dog food, but very little about its laxative effect, unless you're dealing with canine constipation. Then it's a great laxative. Funny how the web works like that.

We get to the Child Care room at 9:05 because our movie starts at 11:10. That is just enough time for a decent Core and Cardio Workout with a quick shower and change. I get a slow start on the cross-trainer but eventually warm up. When I break 4 miles I'm happy. I see B walk by to do a few sets on the cable machine by the CF area. I'm surprised there aren't more people here today. The gym has been promising to install a new A/C unit. I hope it helps with the humidity. Even though the gym is a decent temperature, the humidity makes me feel like I'm sucking water into my lungs instead of air. I still do a quick set at the Torso Twist machine, and then head to the Mats for planks and crunches.

Bird dog plank

I do 3 sets of 90 second planks, with variations like 30 seconds full plank, 30 seconds elbow plank, 30 seconds full plank. The hardest was 30 sec full, 15 sec right arm out, 15 sec left arm out, 15 sec right leg up, 15 sec left leg up. I do the variations while in a full plank. I'm probably doing it wrong because all the illustrations show it being done on elbows. Or bent knees. Next time I'll spread out my hoodie beneath me and use it to keep my elbows from sliding across the mat. I don't have this issue doing a full plank because I have my leather workout gloves on, but elbows are another matter. Next time I also want to try the odd-looking bird-dog plank where you stretch one arm and the opposite leg out from the body. But of course, my version of a Bird Dog has the bottom leg stretched out like the Raised Leg Plank (above left), not with a bent knee (above right).

Pulse Up

When I'm done, I flip over and adjust my ponytail so I can do crunches. I keep my hands in front of my face and just squeeze my upper body and abs to curl up. It's a very small movement, but at least I'm not hurting my neck. Next I do leg-crossing, lower-ab scissors. I do 50 but it's not very taxing. I could probably do a 100, but I don't want to waste time. Back to crunches. I've got to find something that engages lower abs more that's not a pulse-up, although those are fun on occasion.

I glance at the big wall clock. I have enough time for another 30 minutes on the elliptical and I select Performance Program #3. I just need 3 miles to break 7 today. Funny how mental quotas change. I used to be happy breaking 5, then 6. Now it's 7. But it's just a number in my head. I'm moving too fast to sing along with my tunes. Working hard! I have a minute to stretch my hamstrings at the Cage. Then a quick lower back stretch, and off to shower.

Overall, even though my weight has been fairly consistent over the past several months, I've noticed some small changes. Small enough that only I would notice them. My forearms look different: the brachioradialis are a tad bigger and more defined. My glutes and thighs look different as well. I'm not quite so quad-heavy although my thighs are thicker than I'd like. They are starting to look more balanced though. And I guess as long as XS clothes still swim on me, I'm okay with the increase in size. The scale and the tape are just numbers. It's how you look to yourself, and how you feel (feel healthy? feel strong? feel like you can kick butt?) that ultimately matters.

Shaun the Sheep is excellent! The theater is crowded with very young children. They don't quite understand what's happening and the theater is very quiet in the beginning. Until the sheep and pigs get into mischief! I'm going to have to see this movie again though. So I can enjoy all the ridiculous antics of Shaun and the flock's adventure in the Big City.

Tuesday Core and Cardio Workout
(7.23 miles total)