Born Again Gym Rat: Swayed By the Label

Monday, October 5, 2015

Swayed By the Label

I'm not Scarlett O'Hara the morning after, singing and feeling flush and lovely. I'm more like a dark beast lurking in the forests of where the Wild Things Are. This is of course, unexpectedly, only after a rousing good night of adult activity. My explanation is that I've got a serious O-hangover, or a serotonin deficiency that only massive amounts of exercise can remedy. It's not just me. I've read of other women who have the same dark, moody feelings the morning after. It's not disappointment. It's usually after a really exciting and blissful evening that makes the earth move and the sky roll over. It seems to be cyclical the way hormones are cyclical. We humans are all beasts under the skin, after all. Unfortunately, the better the night, the worse the morning. Oh well...

This morning I skip the instant espresso and have a cup of Greek style yogurt with maple syrup. But I picked up a new container of Cabot, a known cheddar brand. It's a big 3 lb tub promising more protein than regular Greek style yogurt as it's fortified with additional whey protein. 20 gms vs regular Greek style yogurt (15 gms). It's less expensive than the organic brands. Unfortunately, it's also got a grainy texture with an odd taste, both reminiscent of powdered milk. Probably the whey protein powder. It's also got 50% of the USDA calcium requirements. This afternoon, to soothe the heartburn, I mix another cup of it with molasses because maple syrup is too delicate a flavor. I'm glad the dog doesn't care and he's only too happy to lick the bowl.

I have a hard time getting up to speed at the gym. I can't get on my favorite cross-trainer so I get on the adjacent one. 30 minutes and my skin, already dry and flaky from the unexpected cold temps and lack of humidity, starts to itch with pin pricks. It feels like prickly heat, and only abates after I finally manage to bust a sweat. Relief! A quick stretch and then a tentative attempt at the first set of Hammer Grip Pull Ups. I'm surprised with pain that runs up the outer right rib cage, like a streak of lightning. Is it a muscle-spasm? I can do the pull ups fine, as long as I ignore the pain in my side. No problems with the fingers, hands, elbows or shoulders.

I still feel weak. Doing push ups will be interesting. I know I'm not able to knock out a 100 today. I go as far as I can without falling on my face: 75 reps. Well, at least I'll have something in reserve for the other sets. Got 3 sets of planks for 2 minutes apiece, alternating straight arm with elbow versions of plain planks, bird dog planks and side planks. In between, I do a set of diamond push ups, and then a set of dand (hindu) push ups. Since I slacked for the first set, I figure I could do some One Leg Push Ups. After doing reps with the left leg raised, I worry about matching reps with the right leg raised. Done. Well, not quite. Another set of pull ups. The pain is still there. Still do the pull ups.

30 minutes of elliptical training gets me sweaty and warm again. Another set of pull ups. Still hurts. I curl my knees to my chest and it doesn't make any difference. Back to the Mat to do Pistol Squats and then a full Mat Stretch. Okay, just one more set of pull ups. Yep, still hurts. And I don't care. I'm hoping that it's just my GI tract rebelling against the one cocktail I had at Saturday dinner. I made my husband take us out to dinner because our anniversary is tomorrow, but of course, he's already back in Boston for the week.

Do I regret having the drink? No, because it tasted great. But dang, my stomach let me know who was boss yesterday and today. Now I have to statt anew to regain it's trust. I'm not a big fan of taking apple cider vinegar twice a day. But cut up limes in water with honey gives me relief, and makes me belch. I need to buy more limes and lemons tomorrow. And bananas. But at least I get to whack the machine. Yaaaaay!

Curious point: my weight seems to have stabilized at 109-110 lbs for now with this workout program. When I was lifting weights and doing HIIT/LISS cardio, my weight fluctuated much more from Monday to Friday.

Monday Workout
(6.15 miles total cardio)