The Vagaries of Women's Clothing Sizes and Other Observations

Yep, I'm still sore. It's tropical here in the Northeast, with temps in the 80s and high humidity. The glass storm door is fogged when I open the front door. Well, I've never seen that before. The dog is miserable in his thick fur coat so I aim a fan at him while he pants in front of the door.

Uh, just a tad big here...

I'm whacking the machine today so I put on my newest tank top, a light mesh Avia item I got from Walmart for $8. It's a size Small. In general, I take an XS but I'm not sure why, except that most women, I'm guessing, are much bigger than I am. This tank billows a bit under the arms, but I'm not all that concerned. What's funny is that my sports bra, an Everlast special, fits comfortably because it's an XL. This means it's impossible for me to buy any sports tank with built-in "support" because the XS are so tight I can't breathe, and I can swim right out of the XLs.

Which leads me to wonder if women regularly wear bras that are too tight? I see a lot of older women with the tell-tale bra lines under their T-shirts and tanks. I guess everyone thinks that's what normal is. I'm too pressure-sensitve to put up with that. I just need headlight protection for my high-beams, and material just secure enough to dampen any bouncing. I hate bouncing. That's when I know I've put on too much weight -- when I can feel my glutes and belly jiggle while I pedal furiously on the elliptical.

I warm up with 10 min on the elliptical and then proceed to the Nexersys. In general, it's fairly routine. I feel myself fading during the last set, so I suck it up (so to speak) because I'm determined to make the actual last round one of my better efforts. When I give in to feeling weak and tired, then my workout is weak and tired. Well, duh. It's sort of ignoring yourself to dig deeper and finding that you have more power and energy than you first believed, which is actually very cool. Trust me.

Looks okay from the back?

Afterwards, I do an easy 20 minutes on the elliptical while fending off hunger pangs. I hate being hungry in the middle of a workout! I see the Mayor with his boy in tow. And I see a few other regulars with kids in tow. It must be "take your kid to the gym day." Shaggy has a boy who is as tall as he is, and has probably 20 lbs on him. He's a big, dumpy kid and Shaggy looks almost petite next to him. I see another regular who's always doing furious amounts of cardio. I do see him on some of the Cybex machines, but he's got a skinny-fat kind of physique. And then I see his boy, a short chubby kid. Oh, now I get it: Skinny-fat used to be fat, too. Heck, I used to be fat. Yep, a good 20 lbs fatter than I am now. And because I never want to be fat again, I do furious amounts of cardio. Except I don't look skinny-fat. Because I'm not.

Today also seems to be a bonus day for new members. The gym staff is busy showing middle-age couples the equipment, and how to use some of the cardio machines. It's good, but annoying, because they need to not be standing right next to me while I'm punching and kicking the Nexersys. Seriously. The power goes out just as I start to stretch out. After a few minutes, everything is back to normal. When I get home, the microwave is blinking. I don't know if my generator kicked on or not. It's suppose to be fixed. And I'm suppose to be getting a $225 credit on my last bill, plus the fellow promised to knock another $200 off this bill, just for causing me so much aggravation. That's nice, but I'll believe it when I see it on my credit card statement. Yep, thunderstorms in the forecast. The swim school closes the pool if there's lightning. I wonder if I even have class tonight...

Thursday Workout

10 min elliptical
92.8 cal
0.83 mile

15 rounds Kickboxing

20 min elliptical
Prgm1
175 cal
1.59 mi

Hammer Grip Push Ups
31



Photos for actual stats:

5 rounds Beginner
(great warm up!)

5 rounds Intermediate
(this got harder because the program freaked out)

It's not often I see You Are Outpacing and Over Power on the Advance level. LOL!

5 rounds Advance
I really kicked it up in Round 5 so as not to end like a loser!