Born Again Gym Rat: Ooops!

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Ooops!

I'm not quite sure what's going on with my 12-yr old dog but he spent all night pacing from the bedroom to the kitchen where he peed on the newspaper under his water bowl. I got up and put down new newspaper. And he peed again. And again. Then there was a bit of blood. Then more blood in the pee. I'm not one to panic. Instead, I research It's rare for a male neutered dog to have a urinary tract infection, but dogs can develop kidney and/or bladder stones. I call my vet as soon as I get my son on the school bus.

They can see me and my dog first thing this morning. After taking urine and blood, all the while poking and prodding, the doc tells me that they'll have partial test results tomorrow and sends us home with half a course of antibiotics on the off-chance that this is indeed some sort of infection. If nothing changes, we'll have to come back for X-rays, which will involve sedation, always a danger for an older dog. This is my morning. I still make it to the gym although I"m not used to walking in wearing street cloths. I don't wear my gym clothes out to do errands. Ever. I often see women blow-drying their hair after working out, but not showering. Reminds me of the Jeff Foxworthy quip about redneck men using the dryer to refresh their clothes, because dry and hot equals clean. Not!

The gym is moderately busy because it's late morning. I do my 10 min cardio warm up on the elliptical and spy Shaggy at the cable station in the CF area near the mountain bike simulators. His eyes look squinty today. I haven't seen Mouse in quite a long time. I wrap my hands and start my routine, beginning with 3 rounds Beginner. I must be punching too hard. By round 3 of the Intermediate session, my right Cross knocks the Padded Arm off-kilter and it falls forward an inch, slightly limp. I can't get it to retract or reposition. Ooops! I pause the machine and ask one of the trainers if he can fix the machine.

He can't. But he tells me that a technician is coming in a few days to fix and adjust both machines. The other machine doesn't register any blows at all on the Right Cross Pad. I take this opportunity to tell him about the software glitches in the Intermediate program. Maybe it'll all get fixed? I can only hope! Meanwhile, I have no choice but to restart the program and continue with the wonky Right Cross Pad. It's better than quitting! But it's hard to see the screen and I have to stand a bit closer to peer between the two red pads. I also try not to hit so hard.

I see R, and his tiny little wife at the cable machines near the CF area. I know he's extremely happy with two adorable tykes now, and happy is making him fat. He seems to have put on 20 lbs, his face is full and I barely recognize him from the back! I wave a quick greeting at him as he passes and he smiles. I reset the Nexersys and do 6 more rounds at the Intermediate Level. I've lost the data for the two rounds I did before I paused the machine, but it doesn't really matter. I'm determined to do 5 rounds at Advanced Level, just so I can get a feel for all the different combinations.

There are still a lot of combos that totally flummox me, and my accuracy scores reflect my inability to process and react to the new series of blows and kicks. Plus the stupid Right Cross Pad is in the way half the time, making it hard to see the screen. So, I'm totally bemused by the machine's recommendation that I am "outpacing and over power for my level" and I should add rounds. My accuracy is abysmal since I completely blew a whole series of combinations. But that didn't seem to affect my Strike number, or my Average Power. Well, yippee for me!

I do 10 minutes on the Step Mill and then head into the locker room. The gym is mostly empty now. The gym scale continues to puzzle me. It tells me I'm 109.8 lbs soaking wet. When I get home, I pull out my own scale. I'm thoroughly convinced that if I'm losing weight, it's because I'm losing muscle mass. I don't look any leaner. If anything, I think I look soft and round. My scale reads 107.6 lbs and 14.9% BF. Whoa! What? I guess dropping half a percent body fat isn't really noticeable. I take my measurements. My waist and hips aren't any smaller. But my back is bigger. How am I lighter?!

I'm so scary! LOL!

My abs do look flatter though since I stopped doing crunches and sit ups. Is it really the Apple Cider Vinegar? I've been taking 1 tablespoon each morning, chased with a cup of water. And again before bed. I've been sipping mashed limes in water with a spoon of honey as well. Today I bought more limes, and two bags of lemons. Lemons are suppose to work better so I buy regular lemons, and a bag of Meyers Lemons. I'd buy key limes too if I saw them, but I just have regular little green limes. Maybe it's because I'm not drinking any hard cider these days. I miss that, but I don't miss the heartburn that might accompany it. I'm even eating bananas and Greek yogurt on a regular basis. I've got this awful craving for liverwurst, but I'm worried it might be too spicy. Plus, deli meats are truly bad for your health, so it'd be quite a wicked indulgence. Oh well...

Tuesday Workout