Born Again Gym Rat: Working Out In Spite

Friday, March 4, 2016

Working Out In Spite

I wake up to several phone calls and text messages telling parents that the school will start two hours later on Monday, but just our school. Huh? What about my son's early morning gym class? Later, we are informed that a teacher at the school has passed suddenly and services will be held Monday morning. The delay is to allow staff and students alike to attend if they want. There are grief counselors on hand when my son gets to school. When he gets home, he tells me that students in another class were quite upset, crying hysterically. I think back to my grade school years and realize how insulated we were because no one ever died. I only learned of the one classmate who did pass away only several years after the fact. In the five years my son has been in grade school, we have learned of two former student deaths and now a teacher. The world seems more dangerous, and not just because we are tied closer through our electronic media devices.

My son goes to school and I go to the gym. After I sweep all the snow off my steps, walkway, car and driveway, then salt. Because I live in a cold spot on the hill and if I don't take precautions, my driveway will be a slippery mess. I definitely have a head cold and I have half a mind to curl back up in bad, but I'm already dressed in my gym clothes, so what the hell... Hi ho, hi ho, off to the gym I go. I do my 10 minutes warm up, and then 15 rounds at the Nexersys machine. I'm much more annoyed with it today because not only is it blanking the screen more often, but it's not registering some of my combinations (I'm too fast for the Beginner rounds). Ugh. There goes my Accuracy score. Oh well. I also have to blow my nose a lot today. It's annoying. But not as annoying as the horde of HS kids in the gym today. Did they cancel school in this town? I knew some of the neighboring towns had delayed school starts. By noon, all the wet, slippery snow is gone.

I also do 15 minutes of Intervals on the elliptical, but since I'm not quite 100%, I'm pedaling at less than optimal capacity. Still, I can knock out my 21 pull ups, so it's not that bad. I read online that Close or Neutral Grip (Hammer Grip) Pull Ups also do wonders to work the posterior delts. Hurray for me! My eyelids burn so I know I'm not just tired, but actually sick. Bleah. My shoulders are tired too. I look in the mirror sideways but I can't tell which part of my delts I should be concentrating on these days. At least they balance my triceps. I've started finishing my showers with a few seconds of cold water. My sciatica persists but it's mostly just annoying now. I'm reading that cold showers help to activate the body's brown fat, which is found mostly in the scalp, back of the neck and upper back. Not sure how true this is, but out of all the body parts subjected to cold water, the back of my head and neck are the least sensitive. I can stand under the cold water for at least 20 seconds...

I'm so hungry I feel like I'm burping up bile and I resort to devouring a Quest bar before I can leave the parking lot. Normally I wait until I get home to mix up a whey shake, but today I have to errands: purchase some ezekiel bread, finally, to see what that's all about. I've read a lot about it and then I see it advertised in the local supermarket flyer. Amazon wants $15 when it can be purchased locally for $5 at Trader Joe's. And apparently ShopRite! But it's in the freezer section. Of course!

I also drop off the Cub Scout program to have it printed; buy ciabatta bread (because it's the dog's favorite treat and he's all out) and bagels to toss in the freezer. Tomorrow's schedule is back-to-back and I need to pack lunches for my son and myself. I can't wait to sit down and close my eyes...

Friday Workout