One of the reasons I take selfies is to have a record of how my body is changing. It's not always for the better, though, especially as I'm well past my physical peak. That would've been in my 30s... such a long time ago! I can see my arms are getting softer, so it's not a far reach to assume that this is also happening to rest of me. It's a toss-up between whether I've just increased my fat layer, or I'm actually losing muscle. The scale doesn't tell me anything useful other than I weight more than I used to. I guess I'll have to dig out the bodyfat scale, but I'm actually a little scared of what that'll say... I know, more silliness. 
I'm also not recuperating as quickly. I've never had hip soreness from walking through Manhattan, until now. I'm still sore! Rubbing Penetrex cream into the joint helps a little, and surprisingly, pedaling on the elliptical and cross-trainer don't hurt at all. Working out doesn't hurt. But walking the dog hurts as I hunch over and duck walk down the ramp, and I can't not walk the dog. I look at hip anatomy online and believe that this is a TFL injury (tensor fasciae latae) apparently common to runners. It's as good a
guess as any... I'm just matching pain with a point on the anatomy chart, but it makes sense. This tiny muscle controls flexing and mild medial rotation of the thigh, something that happens as I walk and support the dog's weight. When I pedal on the elliptical, my thighs and feet are held straight and there is no pain. Apparently squats (with or without weight) are good for this. And a stretch known as sidelying clam shell. I'll have to try these and see if it brings some relief. 
Still, I've cut down my cross-trainer time to just 15 minutes, and I'm worried that this alone will make me fat. Silly? Well, all fears are silly to someone else. I'm a good 3-4 lbs over the what I want to weigh. I suppose if I cut out snacks, and hard ciders, I'd be able to drop that weight in a week or two. I hope. Assuming that it's fat weight and not water weight. It's hard to tell just by looking. I feel tired today, probably because once again I'm going to sleep much too late. But unlike my son, I don't sleep in on the "off" days. The cooler temps have certainly helped me stay asleep at night so I'm not relishing the thought of a hotter, more humid weekend to come. My joints have also been achy so perhaps the constant threat of rain is affecting me? My right hand and wrist are slightly pressure-sensitive, and that affects my pull ups and push ups more than I'd like to admit. Eventually, as I warm up, the discomfort disappears. Exercise cures all!
It's a Pull Day so after my warm ups, I get to hog the Smith for SLDLs and RG BB Rows. I'm having mixed feelings about upping the weight on the latter movement. My lower back hurts if I keep my form "proper", that is with my body only slightly angled above perpendicular. It feels much better if I open the angle up. Now I can concentrate on my lats and other muscles. I think it's because I have a long body and short legs. Body proportion plays a surprisingly important role in exercise form, and safety. I've seen it detailed in photos illustrating proper squat forms so I assume the same holds true with other whole body movements. At least I got my pull ups done. At some point I'll add those 7 stray pull ups to make the count an even 100 for the day. That'll be cool.
I see a few regulars and some newbies. No one particularly interesting lately. Tomorrow I'll whack the machine because it's a shorter workout. I have to be home for the septic tank fellow to inspect and pump the tank. Yesterday, two of his compatriots came by to show me how to reset and/or turn off the alarm to the peat moss septic pump system. The ear-piercing air-raid siren kept going off during Sunday's torrential rainstorm and there was nothing we could do about it in spite of hitting the "reset" button a gazillion times. It turns out that the float that triggers the pump is too close to the float that triggers the alarm so they fixed that. Whew!
Wednesday Workout
(4.21 miles cardio)
15 min Xtrainer
1.67 miles
72 cal
6.59 av spd
HGPU 31
Knee ins 50
PU 100
CR 3 X 50.
Bird dog plank
2 X 60 sec
Smith SLDL
15 X 30 lbs
12 X 80, 100, 120
10 X 130
Smith RG BB row
15 X 30 lbs
12 X 80
15 X 100, 110, 120
HGPU 31
One-Arm Seated Cable Rows
12 X 37.5 lbs
12 X 45 X 3
Elliptical
30 min
Prgm 1
287 cal
2.54 miles
HGPU 31
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