Outgrowing My Workout

I have a full day planned for my son since he's off from school again. We get to the gym and there are actually a few kids in the Child Care room. Yaaay! We had to stop off at Kmart beforehand to buy some new tennis balls because we have a play date later at the local park, and I discovered this morning that all our tennis balls are dead. Still good for tossing into the dryer with down coats and sleeping bags, but no good for whacking with a racket. Which means I don't get to apply my moleskin patches until I'm actually in the locker room.

Today

I do my usual 10 minute warm up on the elliptical, then tape and wrap my hands before stuffing them into my gloves. They still smell awful even though I air them out and spritz them with "fabric refresher" as soon as I get home. I think I'm outgrowing my "warm up" Beginner rounds. They're good for reminding me how to kick and punch, but they're not much of a warm up anymore. I can tell because not only do I not bust a sweat after 4 rounds, but I'm impatient enough to cut the 1 minute rest period short between rounds. For every round.

Maybe I should try something else for a warm up. Like the Sparring program? It's a thought. Otherwise I'll cut the Beginner rounds down to 3 and add it back to the Intermediate, bringing that to 11. The little paper sign taped to the bottom of the screen says Users must use gloves, must be 18 yrs old, and should not spend more than 30 minutes or 7 rounds on the machine. Of course, I think that if no one else is waiting around to use the machine, then it's perfectly acceptable to go past 7 rounds.

I actually hit the machine hard enough to blank the screen for a moment during the Intermediate program. It was probably a Power Hook. The machine is flaky, like usual, not always registering kicks and too sensitive to my Cross and Power Dig. Yes, those are both right-handed blows, power blows, so those sensors are most likely damaged by people bigger and stronger than me. I'm a bit sweaty and breathless when I finish, but I feel good. I don't have time to do a good full stretch and settle for a few quick knees to chest and pelvic bridges to stretch the lower back. Combinations that involve Sweeps, Kicks and Knee-ins, and torquing movements like Cross and Power Hook actually take a toll on my back and hips. I know I'm going to be a bit stiff tomorrow. I should probably add GHRs back into my routine. Oddly, I'm putting on size by not lifting weights. My jeans are snugger than I remember. I can't really rely on the scale since body weight fluctuates with water weight on a daily basis. Today the scale says 111.4 lbs.

After the gym, my son and I go to the Alley Cafe Creperie which serves great coffee, okay sandwiches and a choice of sweet or savory crepes. They've also started serving Dominican food like chicken over yellow rice. My son has the dessert-like "strawberry, banana, chocolate, berry-blast crepe", and a glass of mildly sweetened mint ice tea while I have a chicken-bacon-ranch crepe. Mine comes with a tiny salad and dressing on the side. The ice coffee is delicious. Then we meet friends at the local cinema to catch the 2nd run of Inside Out because it's $5 Tuesday. After that we head to Sycamore Park where the boys hit tennis balls at each other. It's a full day.

Tuesday Workout
10 minute elliptical warm up = 0.83 miles

Nexersys kickboxing
4 rounds Beginner
10 rounds Intermediate

photos posted for actual stats:

4 rounds Beginner

10 rounds Intermediate