Yesterday I only did 22 push ups. Okay, they were T-push ups and counting aloud actually made me a bit breathless. Boy did that make me feel out of shape! Today, I managed to get 30 minutes of cardio in, some pull ups, and then my last 22 push ups for the 22 Push Ups for 22 Days Challenge to raise awareness of Veteran suicides due to PTSD. And as promised, I did 22 Dand or Hindu push ups. And even though I haven't done them in months, they were actually a lot easier than I expected. Yaaay for me! The pull ups sucked. But the cardio was okay too. I have that love-hate relationship with Intervals, but ultimately it's more love than hate.
Tomorrow I have to have another round of laser surgery on one of my eyes to try and stave off blindness due to glaucoma. I doubt if I'll be in the mood to go work out afterwards. I do plan to visit a workshop on Saturday specific to raising backyard chickens. Our town might actually lift the ban against poultry and I want to be prepared. My husband and son are stuck doing service work for the Boy Scouts by marching in the local Columbus Day parade, an event I've never participated in in all the years I've been a resident of Putnam County. I have more Lakota Sioux cousins than Italian relatives, so perhaps I'm a bit biased.
I have so many things to take care of this morning that I don't actually leave the house until after 10 am. The gym is ridiculously crowded when I get there. Today I have time to do two full rounds of cardio since I don't have to pick my son up until 4 pm. I signed him up for After School Chess. Next term he wants to do Archery instead. I'm good with that. Good with whatever keeps him off his phone, his laptop, and the Xbox/Playstation in the living room.
Supernatural Eye-Candy
Six plus hours is not enough sleep for me, but it's my own fault for wanting to watch a few episodes of Supernatural (season 10) before bed. I'm almost all caught up, but that'll probably be kind of a bummer. Still, it's not often I get to watch a show with a lot of gorgeous male eye-candy. Never mind that these boys are in their late 30s and early 40s. That's when guys get interesting-looking. I might be in my mid-50s, but I'm not dead. And I wish junk mailers would stop assuming that I'm game for hearing aids, knee-replacements and burial plots. AARP still tries to "trick" me by sending me membership cards I never asked for. Do they think I'm already senile and forgot that I never signed up with them?
I don't miss the cross-trainer, just the mileage I could get from 30 minutes. But my right foot feels better. Now, of course, my left foot is acting weird, with the 5th metatarsal feeling as if it protrudes oddly. Ugh. That's my good foot! The toe-spreaders feel good for a few minutes at night. But since my feet are small, I can only bear to use these squishy gel cut-outs sporadically. The stiffer raspberry Asics provide stability and support for SLDLs, but are a bit uncomfortable during cardio. But I am NOT going to bring two different pairs of trainers to work out at the gym!
I actually wimp out on push ups today, and opt to only do the 22 required for the 22 Push Ups in 22 Days Challenge. 22 Push ups is easy. 100 push ups is hard. Today is a Pull Day. I can get away with slacking on the push ups. But that won't fly with the pull ups, so I do 3 sets of those. They don't get easier, which is how I know I'm tired, and still not 100%. I'm still coughing up colorless phlegm in the mornings. Yuck. But better than coughing up something more colorful and viscous.
Because I'm slacking on the push ups, I do One-Leg Push Ups, which, truthfully, isn't any harder than doing regular push ups. Tomorrow I'll do T-push ups. And then I'll give Day 22 a go at either Dand (Hindu) push ups, or Dive Bombers. I have to refresh my memory as to what the differences are though because they look very similar. Luckily you can find anything on the Internet and so I've embedded a YouTube video showing the difference between the two push ups:
I tell myself that Smith SLDLs are going to suck. But they don't. It's all in my mind because I'm tired. The same holds true for Smith RG BB Rows. Although I'm not doing the amount of reps and sets I used to, I still feel that I'm getting an adequate workout. One-Arm Seated Cable Rows offer no surprises. I just wish old guys would stop staring so much. I'm not sure what the issue is since I've been coming to this gym for over 5 years, and these old farts aren't newbies. Well, they lift like newbies... I see Flirty Girl leaving the cardio platform. She used to have nice arms. Now they look deflated, as if her skin got too much sun.
My husband tells me I have good genetics because I seem to retain muscle mass and strength easier than most people. I'm not sure if it's genetics, or the way I like to train, which is moderately heavy weight but lots and lots of reps. If I just do a few reps at a hugely heavy weight, I get fat and puffy. I'm looking for muscle density, and I believe that takes time and lots of repetition, but with a weight that actually challenges you. Creepy Scruffy dude also has deflated arms. Has everyone run out of supplements? I don't think I've lost any mass, it's just harder to see with this protective layer of fat.
I'm working tomorrow and Thursday so I don't have time for the gym unless I don't need to go in until 10. But I don't know if I'm suppose to be there at 9 am or 10 am. If it's 10, I can squeeze in some cardio and take a quick shower. Hopefully the showers will work. Today was an unpleasant surprise after my workout, when all 3 showers were shut down due to a problem with the hot water. Ugh. I had to go the grocery store with my sweaty gym clothes sticking to me, and me wondering if everyone could smell the stinky ocean as I walked by. But it wasn't as unpleasant as this morning when a tiny bug launched itself into my eye as I waited with my son at the school bus stop. It took me 10 minutes of eye drops to flush the critter out! It's a good thing I have a bottle of moisturizing eye drops at the ready!
Tomorrow is Day 21. T-push ups? We'll see...
Tuesday Pull Day 5.15 total cardio miles
30 min elliptical
Prgm 3
2.54 miles
286 cal
HGPU 31
Knee-Ins 50
Crunches 3 X 50
Elbow Planks 2 X 45 sec
Bird Dogs 2 X 60 sec
My son was busy with Boy Scout activities all weekend, which thankfully, didn't involve me. I was having trouble getting motivated enough to do basic chores around the house. Suspecting that my allergy was in fact an actual cold in the making, I brewed a pot of chicken-pork-carrot-garlic soup for supper, and tossed in a cup of farro just for texture. Farro is a type of wheat but much chewier with a nutty flavor, and looks a lot like unpressed oats. It's pricey though, with a small 16 oz bag running about $4. But it's delicious. I tossed in a cup of taro-flavored tapioca pearls as well.
Finally heeding my own advice, I also started taking chelated zinc once a day. The next morning was the first morning I didn't wake with a sore throat from post-nasal drip. Hurray! A large nasty clot of blood and phlegm, however, soon exited my sinus cavity. And I still have a weird dry feathery cough. I'm also tired all the time. These are all key indicators of having a cold, even though I'm not sneezing and blowing my nose. I'm hoping I caught this early enough to actually prevent it from developing into a full-blown head and chest cold. I'm hoping it just goes away and doesn't linger for weeks until I finally give up and give in, and allow the cold to peak just so I can get over it. Sad, isn't it?
I get to the gym late because I have things to do in the morning, and the gym is eerily quiet. I've hit that magic period between the morning people and the lunch people. But it doesn't last. After 30 min on the elliptical, I grind through my pull ups, push ups and core work. I have to pause again at rep 80 for push ups, then at rep 90, rep 95. 100! Done! I feel weaker than I have in a long time. I hope it's the cold and not that I'm losing my strength! A lot of things happen to your body in your 50s, and most of it isn't pretty. I see much more obvious signs of aging in my face. My feet are behaving weirdly for no apparent reason, like trauma or ill-fitting shoes. Sigh.
I haven't even thought about trying to bench 130 lbs lately. I'm happy I can get a full set at 120 lbs. Really I should be pushing harder. But to what end? I absolutely don't want to risk injury. Maybe next week I'll look for those 2.25 lb plates and see how 125 lbs feels. Doing Inclined Bench Presses does seem to be working at promoting the illusion that I have a bigger chest than I really do. Well, at least I'm entertained by it. I take a break and glide into the class room to do my 22 push ups. Then back to the free weight area to knock out the DB lateral raises super set with Reverse Flyes. I feel done already, but I have time for some more cardio, and that last set of pull ups. Ugh.
I cut the cardio to 20 minutes but Program #2. I can't seem to commit to a pace, arguing with myself between going all out and doing LISS. It shows in my mileage. In total, I only make 4.24 miles today. I do my pull ups, a quick hamstring stretch and then it's off to shower and change. The gym scale reads 111.2 lbs. Not great, but not the worst it's been lately.
Monday Push Day
30 min elliptical Prgm 1 2.56 miles 289 cal
Knee-Ins 50 HGPU 31 Push Ups 100 Crunches 3 X 50 Elbow Planks 2 X 45s Bird Dogs 2 X 60s
Smith flat bench Bar X 15 12 X 80, 100, 120 25 X 90
Smith incline bench 12 X bar 12 X 50, 70 12 X 80 X 3
My swim class probably takes more out of me than I anticipate. I'm not sore the next day, but I am tired in a very non-descript fashion, best described as "empty". I can deal with muscle fatigue which is easily recognizable from the burning inside your muscles. Lack of sleep gives me a headache, and my eyes will burn at the rims. I hope I'm not getting sick, because I'm attributing the morning sore throat to post-nasal drip due to allergies. I'm starting to develop some hoarseness, the irritating sensation of dust or feathers in my throat, and a weird cough. Ugh!
Once I have my morning coffee, I'm off to the gym. Next week I'll most likely only be able to work out on Monday and Tuesday, unless I can get to the gym super early on the two days I'm working. Friday is out because I'm doing a repeat SLT for my right eye. I'll also just be finishing up the 22 day Challenge, although I'm quickly running out of suitable candidates to tag.
I feel really cold this morning and 10 min on the elliptical doesn't do much to warm me up. I don't really get warm until the end of the first 5 rounds of Beginner at the Nexersys. The right top pad is loose from last week. The lower pads arbitrarily register my kicks. The Beginner rounds are good. The machine even behaves itself during the Intermediate rounds. It's only during the Advanced Rounds that the machine loses its mind, and starts flashing random combinations in quick succession. It's impossible to score this way. I'm not that concerned. It's only wonky for 2 rounds, and even though the screen blanks for a second or two, the machine doesn't stop and reboot. So that's good.
My left pointer feels fragile today, like I've taped it too tight. My nails are short, but not short enough and I find my pointer getting irritated by the slice of my own fingernails. Ugh. Afterwards, I knock out my 22 push ups, and then do 30 minutes on the elliptical. I had every intention of going slow and doing LISS, but once I recover, the beat of tunes on my iPod carry me away and I'm back to moving as quickly as I can. Pull ups seem really hard today. Even my partial Mat Stretch seems hard. Jeeze, take a day off and all hell breaks loose.
Friday Workout
10 min elliptical 0.82 miles 91.4 cal
5 r Bgn 5r Intmd 5rAdv
Day 16 22 push ups
30 min elliptical Program 3 2.44 miles 270 cal
HGPU 31
Photos posted for actual stats:
5 Rounds Beginner
Good warm up!
5 Rounds Intermediate
No weird combinations today!
5 Rounds Advanced
Rounds 1, 2 and 5 were almost pointless
screen shot from the 22 days 22 push ups challenge
My eye doctor visit did not fill me with optimism. The latest Visual Field test showed marked deterioration of my vision. The doctor starts off the consultation talking about surgery. The good news is that what remaining vision I have is perfect. Yep, I have 20/20 vision in that 5-10% of my optic nerves that haven't been destroyed. Oh joy! But it seems almost inevitable that I will lose my vision, no matter what I do. Thankfully, I haven't noticed any vision loss, but that's how glaucoma works. You don't actually notice it happening. I'm scheduled to have another round of SLTs in the coming weeks. I still take my eye drops twice daily. On a lark, I ask the doc if there's anything else, I can do, like take vitamins?
She brightens and pulls out an order form for ScienceBased Health, a company that professes to manufacture and sell vitamins to aid in various eye ailments. She tells me to order the Optic Nerve Formula. It can only be purchased with the blessings of an ophthalmologist. I review the list of ingredients online. It contains the usual anti-oxidants, and then a few surprises, like ginkgo biloba. What the heck. If it actually works and saves my frayed optic nerves, then it'll be well-worth it. It's not like it'll hurt me if it doesn't work. Each bottle only contains a month's worth so I order 3 months to get the free shipping. I don't know if I'll be able to notice any difference, but it's not going to hurt.
Because I told a friend I'd help her during her busy season, which is apparently now, I have to skip a few days at the gym. Which has me rearranging what I'm going to do today, and still have time to run errands before my son gets off the bus. I hate giving up whacking the machine, so I plan to do that on Friday. Today, I decide to double up my cardio and do some body basics: benching and SLDLs. And the basic warm up stuff. I drop my push ups to just 80 for the first set. I feel weak today. Ugh! Well, there's still the remainder 22 for the Push Up Challenge. And two sets of pull ups.
Benching feels okay. SLDLs has me a little worried about my right lower back until I adjust my stance. I see some old faces that have been MIA all summer. I make DB Lateral Raises superset with Reverse Flyes my last iron exercise. The inclined bench is stuck at 90 degrees, and I'm about to whack it loose. Instead Skinny John comes rushing over to try and adjust it for me. He can't make it budge. The Mayor pushes SJ aside and tells him that since it's jammed, you need to lift the front seat before pulling the back adjustment knob. And the bench relaxes into an incline. Then they both walk away. Cool. I'm not sure if I was suppose to say something, but I didn't. And that felt right. Gym etiquette is weird like that.
I add another 30 minutes of cardio back into my routine because I won't be doing anything tomorrow except those 22 push ups. And I like doing Intervals. I know. Crazy...
Wednesday 5.21 total miles
30 min elliptical Program 2 282 cal 2.51 miles
HGPU 31 Knee-Ins 50 Push Ups 80 Crunches 3 X 50 Bird Dogs 2 X 60 sec Elbow Planks 2 X 45 sec
Day 14 22 push ups
Smith flat bench 15 X Bar, 80 12 X 100, 120 25 X 80
I had an eye doc appt at 11 am today so I got to the gym earlier just to get something in today. Yesterday, I crashed and slept 4 hours after I put my son on the bus. I just don't do well with sleep deprivation. Because I'm at the gym earlier, it's got a whole 'nother crowd... the morning crowd. There's a Zumba class in session, and lots of people I don't recognize milling about the gym. I get my 30 min of cardio in, knock out the pull ups and core stuff, and then my 22 push ups. 22 is easy when you're used to muscling through 100 in one set.
We were very busy over the weekend... hiking with my son's Boy Scout troop up Breakneck Ridge on Saturday, and going to the New York Renaissance Faire on Sunday. I've learned some valuable lessons from Saturday's hike though:
It's not really a hike, but actual rock climbing for at least the first quarter of it.
I now know what it feels like to run out of calories. This is different from being tired, or muscle fatigue where you can feel the lactic acid burn. This is just a weird feeling of empty. Because I didn't have time to eat breakfast, and truthfully, my stomach's not awake at 8 am. Coffee, even with cream and sugar, just isn't enough.
Blue jeans do not make good climbing pants. I saw many hikers wearing gym clothes and yoga pants. In truth, I was worried about ripping big holes in my gym pants because while they are stretchy and elastic, they don't resist rockface very well, especially if you wind up scooting down a rock on your butt, or need to kneel onto a rock just to get up it. I didn't want to wear my "good" jeans because I only have 3 pairs that fit really well. So I put on a pair of jeans that I didn't care about. And they were slightly too big in the waist, which meant that my day pack kept pushing the back of my jeans down, especially after I got really sweaty. Also, I kept having to hike my jean legs up a bit to be able to get my legs up high enough to climb certain rock ledges. Jeans are too restrictive. But they wear well, and even though my legs are a bit bruised, the jeans don't look at all worn.
Leather fingerless lifting gloves work well to protect hands when rock climbing. My son was complaining that his hands hurt and were filthy to boot.
My knees weren't definitely not happy on the descent, but at least it wasn't as steep as the first part of the climb. My husband took lots of photos, and we're both glad we managed to finish the hike. Tomorrow I plan to get to the gym early again, and get a Push Day routine done. I'm not quite sure about only doing 30 minutes of cardio though. The scale smacked me with 112.6 lbs this morning. Not a good way to begin the week.
Tuesday Workout
30 min elliptical Program 1 286 cal 2.53 miles
HGPU 31 Knee-Ins 50 Crunches 3 X 50 Bird Dogs 2 X 60 sec Elbow Planks 2 X 45 sec
My son swears by warm milk at bedtime now. I guess I'll have to try it myself. My swim class wasn't too arduous last night, but I did several laps across the short width of the pool, trying to get my stroke right. It's easier to concentrate on the rock'n roll motion of your body as you move your arms if you're not distracted by things like breathing. Luckily, I can swim across the short width on one breath. The other student, a chubby middle-aged woman, was having some difficulty with that. I think doing cardio work helps a lot in this case...
I feel so tired this morning that after I put my son on the bus, I go back to bed. But I don't actually feel as if I slept. I wasn't lying awake staring at the clock for an hour and a half, either. So I must've slept. Then I went to the gym. I'm making peace with cutting my cardio in half, to just 30 minutes on the elliptical. I shouldn't feel guilty giving up the cross-trainer, but I do, even though it makes my right foot (and sometimes both feet) go numb. Maybe I'll just save that machine for "cardio only" days. I've started to develop fissures on my heels, which is a major bummer. Usually this occurs during the drier winter months, not the end of summer. It makes each footfall painful. I'll have to grit my teeth and apply liquid skin to the razor thin splits. The only thing I can liken them to is major paper cuts on your feet. But no paper involved.
I do a set of pull ups while sweat drips off my nose. I'm nothing if not consistent. It's the key to progress. I wanted today to be a LeftOvers Workout Day, but I'm too tired for more than a few sets of anything. Besides, I don't have time to spend hours here... I need to buy groceries and make it home before the school bus. My son is old enough to come home by himself, but it's a gradual process. Today I have him come off the bus and up the hill by himself. He'd be upset if he came back to an empty house, even though the dog is always there.
My set of hundred push ups is really hard today. I have to pause at rep 80, then rep 90, then rep 95, then rep 98... Ugh. Done! My upper body is unusually sore and tired. Was it last night's swim class? Core is easier. It's always easier. I might increase Elbow Planks to a full 60 seconds from 30. The class room is empty except for some guy poking at the equipment closet. I do my 22 push ups by counting in 5s. That seems to work. I must have the attention span of a child!
After 22 Push Up Challenge
Back in the free weight area, I do a few sets of Smith Incline Benching. The weight racks are a total mess and it bothers me, but I'm not going to rearrange all the plates because some moron can't figure out how to put all the 45 pounders on the same pin. Then I move to the DB area to do a few sets of DB Laterals superset with Reverse Incline Flyes. There are dweebs on both sides of my bench, too stupid to inch their benches away. Sadly, I have nicer arms than either of them. Eventually they leave. I just have one more set of pull ups and then I'm done. But I have to kill time in the adjacent Torso Twist machine because there's someone stretching in the Cage. Maybe it'll make my waist smaller?
The 2nd set of pull ups is actually a tad easier than the first set. Go figure. I tell myself that it makes up for not doing RG BB Rows today. It's totally not the same thing, but it's back and biceps. I've only drunk half my water, and that shows on the scale: 109.4 lbs. I'm okay with that. I'd like it to be 108 but I can work on it.
Friday Workout
30 min elliptical Intervals 2.62 miles 299 cal
HGPU 31 Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 100 Crunches 3 X 50 Planks 2 X 30 sec Bird Dogs 2 X 60 sec
I went to bed at a reasonably hour but was awoken by massive discomfort in my back and stomach. Uh oh. I know that feeling. It's something I ate that is just sitting in my stomach, causing my back to spasm, and a terrible burning feeling to spread through my diaphragm. There's only one way to get relief, and that means a trip to the bathroom to barf up the offending and apparently indigestible food. I'm back in bed by 2:20 but I can't sleep until my muscles calm down. By 6:20, I've hit the snooze button twice because I'm still exhausted. And it's chilly outside.
I need coffee but don't have time to brew it before getting the dog walked, and my son on the school bus. He's been experimenting with using his phone as an alarm clock, but it'll ring for 3 full minutes before I finally say, "Get up and shut off your phone." Apparently, he needs a human voice to rouse him. Maybe I should switch his alarm to something like a quacking duck. The barking dog noise only sounds like our dog or the neighbor's dog and he'll ignore it. He's not a light sleeper like I am.
Today is an "Active Rest Day". I have things I need to get done before my son gets back from school. I also have swim class tonight. So, I go to the gym anyway, but only do 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical. I wanted to do the cross-trainer, but the easy one is occupied, and I'm too tired to wrestle with the other machines. Ellipticals don't put my feet to sleep so I'm happy about that. I do one set of Hammer Grip Pull Ups, skip the 100 push ups because I'm saving myself for the "challenge", and go straight to Core. There's a yoga class in the classroom so I have to wait a bit anyway.
I make a point of counting aloud, but somewhere between 11 and 16 I lose track of where I am. I think I've done 22 but when I review the video, I count 24. Ugh. In the locker room, I run into A who teaches BodyPump and a few other classes. She suggests that the "challenge" isn't a challenge for me, so it's easy for me to lose count. That's probably true. It's not a challenge. But I could make it one by doing T-push ups instead. When I do that variation, I usually only get to 25 reps, 30 at most. Or I could pause after each 5 push ups and then just add 2?
I'm still tired. Swim class tonight isn't going to make that any better. Oh well...
Angles make the difference
Thursday
30 min elliptical Prgm3 280 cal 2.50 miles
HGPU 31 Knee-In 50 Crunches 3 X 50 Bird Dog 2 X 60 sec Elbow Planks 2 X 30s
After a week of cool Autumn weather, higher temps have returned with a vengeance. It's in mid 80s today. Last week, I walked my dog and needed two hoodies because it was 48F. I got to bed on time, sorta. And fell asleep on time. Mostly. I do tend to wake up every few hours. Of course, I was having the most vivid and exciting dream when the alarm sounded. Of course. A mug of warm milk did the trick for my son. He was finally asleep within a few minutes after downing it.
It takes me a long time to get out of the house. I'm sorting through laundry and Boy Scout stuff. If I don't leave soon, I won't have enough time to do my routine and get back before the school bus. I'm cold even after the 10 minute warm up on the elliptical because I'm not wearing my hoodie. But 5 rounds at Beginner Level remedies that. The machine seems to be behaving itself and I move through 5 rounds of Intermediate without any problems. My luck doesn't hold though, and the machine resets itself during round 3 of Advance. Ugh! All data lost for that session. I start over but only do two more rounds. That's still 15 rounds total, more or less.
As I'm waiting to snap a quick phone pix of the screen, a solidly built, gray-headed man asks me if I like the apparatus. I tell him,"When it works. It rebooted itself in the middle of the third round, so I'm not happy about that." He wants to know if learned this elsewhere, and I say, "No, the machine gives you directions." He says he'd noticed that I was punching and kicking the crap out of it. And I tell him that I like it because it doesn't hit back. Which is true.
Before I get too tired from pull ups and a jaunt on the elliptical, I decide to knock out my 22 push ups. I think the more tired you are, the harder it is to count, even if you're counting out loud! I thought I'd done 21 and so added one last one to make 22. I'm not quite sure where I lost count. When I replay the video, I count 26. What the hell? Oh jeeze... not like I'm going to do it over again.
I do 15 minutes on the elliptical to loosen up my hamstrings. I've got a strain on an inner thigh ligament that's making some stretches iffy, so I don't do them. But I knock out my pull ups and head off to shower. Because, damn, I'm tired.
Wednesday Workout
10 min warm up Elliptical 0.83 miles 93.5 cal
5 rounds Beginner 5 r Intermediate 3 r Adv data lost 2r Adv
I went to bed at a reasonable time and still didn't get enough sleep. Because once in bed, I had trouble actually falling asleep. I might try warm milk tonight. Or chamomile tea. The downside of getting to the gym too late is that I'm hungry by the time I'm ready to go. If I leave my house earlier, my stomach is still asleep, even after coffee. Today I'm not actually hungry until 20 minutes into my 2nd set of cardio. Yaaay me!
Today is a Pull Day which means I've got to squeak out three sets of pull ups. Ugh! I also need to do sets of SLDLs and RG BB Rows. But at least I do it at the Smith machine. Otherwise I'd have to wrestle plates onto a bar that's sitting on the floor, because I'm NOT the person using the Squat Rack for THOSE things. I'm tired. I don't get great mileage, but it's over 6 miles. Another Yaaaay for me!
I see some familiar faces including Scuzzabut. He still has the same bad attitude, and bad form. I don't quite understand anyone who does sloppy BB curls (elbows swinging up) after OHPs, and then Lat Pull Downs. There doesn't seem to be any sense to his routine. He also stares in my direction a lot which makes me wonder if he wants to use the Smith machine. But since I don't have any respect for him, I totally ignore him. It turns out he's not interested in the Smith machine after all. I'm sure my pull ups make him wince. I've heard that pull ups and push ups are a macho thing. Ha!
I'm reading a lot of articles that state that men and women just can't be friends, although from the women's point of view, it's possible. But from the men's point of view, there's always that chance that it could lead to "something". Which is what I've sadly determined through experience. Which is why I don't talk to guys at the gym. I'd like to be friends, but I know that they can't be. Not that I'm going to restrict myself to a pink ladies-only gym. Those places are sad! And pointless because they don't have equipment. Besides, I like looking at guys. I just don't necessarily want to talk to them. Actually, I don't want to talk to half the women there either.
The back of my left hip feels tight when I go heavy on the SLDLs. I have to adjust my stance better. I can move the same amount of weight when I do RG BB Rows, but there's probably some trapezius involvement. Not that it concerns me. I don't have big traps. When I'm finished with my workout, I sneak into the empty class room and do my 22 push ups. Except I lose count even though I'm counting out loud. How the heck does THAT happen?! I have my elbows tucked in closer to my body and my left elbow doesn't click today. Yaaay me! I've also gotten 3 sets of 31 reps of hammer grip pull ups, so that's like over 90 pull ups. Cool.
Tomorrow I'll probably whack the machine. And maybe I'll just do cardio on Thursday because I also have swim class. I've got to plan, and pace myself because I'm just too damn tired lately.
Tuesday Pull Day 6.35 miles total cardio
30 min X trainer 138 cal 3.80 miles 7.58 average speed
Knee-ins 50 HGPU 31
Push ups 100 Crunches 3 X 50 Bird Dogs 2 X 60 sec Elbow Planks 2 X 30 secs
Smith SLDLs 15 X bar (30 lbs) 15 X 80, 100 12 X 120, 130
I took my son to the pool at the swim school yesterday. His friend joined him for 2 hours of pool shenanigans. When I got too hot sitting poolside (it's an indoor heated pool), I jumped in and practiced the moves I learned at swim class. Boy, am I tired today!
It took me forever to get myself in gear to get to the gym. I was having trouble with my phone so after 3 minutes on the cross-trainer, I put it into "pause" mode in order to hit the hard reboot. I think I need a hard reboot. My mileage was fairly mediocre today although I was able to notch it up toward the end of my workout. In reality, anything over 6 miles is good! I managed 6.12 today. Good enough!
You can't see it, but I'm always praying I can get at least 31 reps once I hit the Stretch Cage for pull ups. Success! Of course, even if I failed, no one would know. Except me. I have to pause at the 80th rep for push ups. These are quick and dirty push ups, more for the pump and as a warm up than for actual form or anything else. I add Elbow planks back into the mix because I like the way it engages the lower abs. I may add some of the variations to the Bird Dog planks that I viewed on the latest T-Nation newsletter. Because routine becomes complacent, becomes sloppy and ineffective.
The Smith is empty so I proceed with my Flat Bench and Inclined Bench sets. I don't go too heavy. There's that twinge in my right shoulder again that makes me not consider going past 120 lbs. I can probably get 6 reps at 130 lbs. Maybe I should see if I can get 6 reps at 125 lbs next week? (When my son was benching just the bar in the Smith on Saturday, he told me that there was no way the bar was 30 lbs. "No, mom, this is too light to be 30 lbs!" But adding a few pounds to the bar made a dramatic difference. He ended the set with 55 lbs and a sense of accomplishment.)
I do a few sets of Inclined Benching as well. Then I check the class room to make sure it's empty before knocking out my 22 push ups. It's Day 5, and I just want to get it out of the way. Of course, it's a lot harder today because I've pre-exhausted my chest already. Arms take longer to tire. Then back to the DB area to do just 3 quick sets of DB Laterals superset with Reverse Inclined Flyes. I'm still doing the latter in two directions, out to the side and forward, almost like a Superman. I try hard to maintain balance between all the muscle groups.
I had planned to only do 3 sets of Rip Skulls with 35 lbs, but the 30 lbs bar disappears as soon as I return from the front desk with the 2.5 lb magnetic discs. A gal I call Agent99 has the BB and is intermittently using it to do a weird, awkward set of what I'm guessing are suppose to be dead lifts between sets of cable leg lifts (ankle tethered to the lower cable). Never mind that she's pulling the bar with her hands between her legs like a goblet squat, but it's not a squat, and the weight is too light. She's got 6-7 inches on me, and at least 30 lbs. I do two sets of Rip Skulls with the 40 lbs BB and then ask her if I can borrow the 30 lb BB for just one set. I'm quick because I know exactly what I'm doing. I needed to drop the weight down because my arms were tiring, and I could feel strain in my left elbow. There's no point in damaging your joints in the quest to be strong!
30 minutes on the elliptical and I'm done. Almost. I do a quick stretch and then tell myself that anything more than 31 is Awesome. I get to 36 reps, but I can barely get my nose to the bar. Okay, it's 35 1/2. Done. I don't even have time to stretch because my son now gets home from school an hour and a half earlier than he used to. And I have to take him to kung fu tonight.
Monday Workout
30 min X trainer 134 cal 3.58 miles 7.15 average speed
HGPU 31 Knee-ins 50
Push ups 100 Crunches 3 X 50 Bird Dogs 2 X 60 sec Elbow Planks 2 X 30 secs
Smith flat bench 30 lbs bar X 15 80, 100, 120 X 12 90 X 25 reps
Smith inclined bench 30 lbs X 12 12 reos X 50, 70 80 lbs X 12 X 3
22 push ups Day 5: Note to self, don't do these after benching!
I took my son for a quick workout at my gym today. It's a way to unplug him and get him off the couch. The weather is unseasonably hot and humid for the northeast so there's absolutely no thought of doing anything outdoors. Of course, once we get to the gym, my son plugs into his phone in order to amuse himself while pedaling the elliptical. He even keeps the phone in his lap while using the rowing machine. Sigh.
I make him put the phone away because we're going to play in the weight area. After a few incremental sets of benching on the Smith machine, he attempts some Inverted Rows. I know they're hard because I've tried them. My elbows and forearms find them painful. He tries hanging with bent arms from the Stretch Cage as well. I do a few pull ups, but limit myself to just a dozen or less at a time because I don't want to discourage him. A few of the middle-age women glance over. A bunch of guys also stare, and my son notices but I tell him that staring is their problem, not mine.
Later, we retreat to the empty class room so I can do my 22 push ups. I'm contemplating doing T-push ups, or Hindu push ups just to make it more entertaining. And to slow myself down. I'm so used to knocking out 100 push ups, that it's really weird for me just to do 22. My left elbow clicks as I do push ups. It's on the verge of being uncomfortable. Next time I'll have to angle my arms out slightly more. At least carpal tunnel isn't bothering me today. I've forgotten my phone but my son quickly volunteers to video me with his. Done!
Afterwards, we do crunches, and elbow planks. I show him how to do the Bird Dog plank. He thinks it's funny. A middle-age lady stops me as we're about to leave. She wants to know if I have any advice for her about exercises she can do with her bad lower back. Uh, I'm not a trainer, doctor, or therapist. I tell her exercises NOT to do because I know they're bad for the lower back. But I can only suggest simple light movements, and point her to Dr Ben Kim's online newsletter and YouTube videos on improving movement and flexibility. Before I leave, another woman who has been listening from the other end of the room also asks me if I know anything. At this point, I just want to leave with my son. Nope, I'm not a people person...
Now we're both hungry, so after dropping our water bottles off in the car, we proceed to buy some groceries. And store-made fried chicken. Because it's too damn hot to cook. But also we're having a big salad with carrots, avocado, walnuts and baby romaine. Win win!
Saturday Gym Time
20 min elliptical Program#3
1.66 miles
186 calories
5 min rowing
6, 6, 12 HGPU
22 push ups
3 x 50 crunches
50 knee-ins
2 x 30 sec Bird Dog planks
2 x 30 sec Elbow planks
It was good to be in the water again. It's amazing how much you forget when you don't practice simple things like changing from an I form to the L form and laying your head on your extended arm to breathe. There's only 3 ladies in the Intermediate Swim class, which occurs simultaneously with the Adult Beginner class. There's three times as many people in that class, and surprisingly, none of them are from this past summer. We also practiced a flat backstroke, moving from I to T to X forms in the water. It was dark by the time my son and I got back to the house. Wow, I wasn't expecting daylight to fade so fast, but in a just over a week it will be the Autumnal equinox.
Today, my shoulders are sore. Not painfully, but enough to remind me that I have shoulders. I put on my old mesh Asics because today's going to be a cardio day. Yeah, I'll do push ups and pull ups, but those are now part of the warm up routine. Maybe I'll push a few light weights just to keep things interesting. My favorite cross-trainer is occupied so I look at the 3rd one down the row. Uh, the interface is all funky and won't let me select any programs. I could just blindly pedal, but I won't be able to record any data. Then I see that the "good" cross-trainer being vacated. Yaaay me!
Pull ups are okay. I wish I could do more than 31. I have done more than 31, but that's when I wasn't quite so tired. I really hate how my body swings. Steadying oneself saps energy from the movement. I'm not having much success going to sleep earlier. I am waking loads earlier, but at some point this is all going to catch up with me. Going to bed earlier does not mean sleeping more. Lately it means lying in bed wide wide awake. Plus, my phone is acting possessed ever since I upgraded the IOS.
The upgrade was suppose to patch several security issues that allowed malware to take over your phone if you clicked on a bad text or email link. But now my phone mysteriously turns itself on and does weird stuff. Like send data from the Sleep Cycle app to FaceBook. What? Or play a YouTube video at 2 am, like it did last night. I had all my apps shut down except for Sleep Cycle. Two nights ago, it turned on music and the flashlight app. I would completely shut the phone down if I didn't rely on it for the morning alarm. I've disabled the Sleep Cycle app, so now I get to see if that solves the issue. Or if it's something else. I also just wish stores would realize that people like me just don't want every single store app on their phone. CVS keeps trying to bribe me with $3 coupon incentives. Ugh, the last thing I want is anther app.
I do some light inclined benches on the Smith machine. Normally I have the incline set to 30 degrees, but today I try it at 45. Then I do a few sets of RG BB Rows, just to loosen up all the tightness in my back and chest. There's no class in session, so I wander into the class room to do my Day 2 video. I feel a little self-conscious even though there's no one in there. My elbows are angled out asymmetrically, but I only see that in the video afterwards. I also realize that I not only do more than 22 push ups, but that I move really fast. Well, no point in dawdling. I snap a few selfies. The difference in lighting across the room makes the photos interesting. Plus, you can angle yourself to look great, or not so great.
Looking Not So Great
Old people love hanging off the Stretch Cage. I guess it's a good thing. I like it because it's the only place where the bars are small enough to get my hands around, and close enough together so I can pull myself up. Regular chin/pull up bars are too thick, and spread too far apart. I have tiny hands. But if I can get my hands around the bars, then I'm golden. Other people don't have that excuse. I'm not even sure they know why they're at the Assisted Pull Up machine. It's certainly not helping them develop the muscles they need to perform an actual pull up. But I'm not going to tell them that...
The Day Two video is nearly 77 mB so I'm not going to post it to the Blog. It's on my FB page. I talked my first "victim" into participating. I'm not sure I can get 22 people to participate, but I'll give it a shot. The best I can do is try.
Friday Workout (thank goodness I can sleep late tomorrow!)
30 min X trainer 139 cal 3.86 miles 7.72 average speed
HGPU 31 Push Ups 100 Crunches 3 X 50
Bird Dog Planks 2 X 60 sec
Elbow Planks 2 X 30 sec
Smith 45° incline bench 15 X bar (30 lbs) 50 X 15 70 X 15 80 X 15
Smith RG BB Rows 20 X bar 80 lbs X 20 reps 100 X 20 reps 80 lbs X 20
It's suppose to take 21 days to make a new habit stick. I don't think I'll live that long if I can't get to sleep earlier than midnight. While I'm getting up around 6:30 to tend to the dog before rousing my son for the school bus, that's barely 6 hours of sleep each night. And it's not enough. The problem is that I'm a night owl by nature and always have been. Apparently my son is too, so I suppose this predisposition is genetic. At some point maybe it'll become easier to fall into bed at 10 pm, but so far this has been an exercise in torture where I lie awake for hours at a time. So does my son. I'm hoping that we'll both become so tired that falling asleep at 10 pm will become "natural" but I'm not holding my breath.
I plan to whack the machine for 15 rounds today. But there are suddenly two more "Espresso Bikes" sitting behind the row of 3 aligned with the 2 Nexersys kickboxing machines. It's really crowded in here now as Hannibal BaggyKnees dismounts his bike from the left side and nearly bumps into me. Old men can't navigate very well. The front desk tells me that those two bikes will be gone by October 6. Ugh, that's nearly an entire month away! Luckily I only whack the machine once weekly, so that means I only have to deal with this nonsense for a few sessions.
What's infinitely more aggravating is that the Nexersys freezes in mid-blow during Round 1 of the Intermediate session. There's nothing I can do but reboot the system. All data from that session is lost. Well, that was only half a round. And then the machine blanks totally and finally reboots itself at the end of Round 3 of the Intermediate session. Ugh! All data lost! I try the machine to the left but it won't let me change the parameters that tell it I'm female, and that I don't want to practice in my opposite stance. As in, No, do not pretend I'm a South Paw. It won't let me disable the Tilt Buzzer either. I'm vexed and go back to the original machine. It behaves itself for 5 rounds of Advanced, but I snap pics of each round just in case the machine gets wonky. I've cooled down quite a bit between the Intermediate and Advance rounds, but it was still a decent workout.
I skip the elliptical today because I have my first Intermediate Adult Swim class this evening, and I'm still sore from pushing weights. However, I do remember that I've been tagged by my college best friend for a Face Book challenge:
"Every
day, 22 of our veterans take their own lives due to PTSD. This is
simply unacceptable. So to raise awareness, I will do 22 push-ups every
day for 22 days". Today is Day 6. I nominate Linde W Liu, my lifting partner and bestie from the old days. ptsdusa.org22kill.comoperationwearehere.com/MilitaryServiceDogs.html Challenge Rules: - Once you are nominated, your 22 days start the following day. - Every day you record yourself doing 22 push-ups. - Every day you nominate a different person.
This is a simple way to get the word out about a matter that more
people need to be aware about. These brave men and women put their lives
on the line to protect our freedoms and it's sad that so many veterans
feel that suicide is the only way out. #FreedomIsNotFree #awarenessiskey
Which means I have to film myself doing 22 push ups for 22 days, and tag an additional person each day as well. The push ups are the easy part. The gym is dark and noisy, but the class room is brightly lit and mirrored on two sides. Luckily there's no class in it when I peek in and I can set my phone up against the wall. I've never posted my own video to Blogger before... here goes nothing.
Tomorrow I'll have to speak a bit louder though. And I'll have to film somewhere in my house over the weekend... My biggest concern is that I don't actually know 22 people who I think can do actual push ups. I know, that's sad, right? My friend tells me that it doesn't matter what kind they do (kneeling, wall, it's all good) and that they can take breathers in between. It's the message that's important. I'm not quite sure what this will actually do... maybe spread awareness a bit farther. My husband is supremely skeptical so I probably won't tag him. Besides, he's in transit at the moment, and won't be back until next week.
When I'm done, I brace myself for the hard part: pull ups. I manage to get my 31 reps and that makes me happy. Time to go shower!
Thursday Workout
10 min warm up
Elliptical
0.84 miles
95 cal
15 rounds Nexersys
22 push ups Vet Challenge
HGPU 31
Photos for actual stats
5 rounds Beginner (great warm up rounds)
5 rounds Intermediate (but the machine lost the 1st round, and then crashed during the 3 rounds, so I only managed to capture data for the last two rounds... yes, I had to start again)
My knees let me know that I got on the wrong cross-trainer this morning. Even at Level 1 (the lowest resistance), the joints to my lower body were in rebellion. Rather than move to yet another questionable machine, I just dropped my warm up time from 20 to 15 painful minutes. I felt really old at this point. Then I had to kill time waiting for the Stretch Cage. Again. This time it was an elderly man, but at least he seemed to be actually performing stretching movements. But it did take him a long time, and I don't like to lean on people so I wandered off and did flat bench knee-ins, and then played with the torso twist machine. I was about to do push ups at the mat when I saw him exit the apparatus. I always like doing my pull ups before push ups.
My chest and arms are sore from yesterday's workout so push ups were harder than I expected. I get them done, but it wasn't pretty. I think I might have to try something new for abs. Something that won't make me bulky, or hurt my lower back. So ab rollers are out, as are hanging knee raises: my lower back flexes too much. Or I could just stick with crunches, and add leg lifts or something like that.
Again, I'm really happy that the Smith machine is vacant when I get there. I plan to do Smith SLDLs and Smith RG BB Rows, although I have no set amount of sets or reps. Play it by ear and listen to the body. I'm still a bit sleep-deprived, and some of my joints are achy today. I can hear The Mayor long before I catch glimpse of him. I'm still wearing the Apple earbuds, but I'll probably use the earplug versions tomorrow. These earbuds leak a lot of peripheral sound, and some days I'm just not in the mood to hear everyone's conversation.
I'm debating whether to whack the machine tomorrow because I also have swim class that evening. My hubs is leaving for Tallahassee in the morning and will be gone the entire weekend. I told my son I can take him to the gym or to "Family Swim" for fun. I already know I'm going to miss a few of my swim classes since Middle School events like Meet Your Kid's Teachers is on a Thursday evening, as is the 6th Grade Social. Uh... what?
The scale hasn't moved much. I'm 112.4 lbs today. The tape measure is no kinder, although I've never had much of a waist. My only solace is remembering that, in HS, my measurements were a dismal 31-29-36 and I weighed about 110 lbs (which my mother thought was fat). Now I'm a bit more balanced (34.5-27-34.5), although I still feel like that awkwardly bottom-heavy teenager. Still, I'd be happier at 108 lbs especially since I own clothes that won't fit me at 112 lbs. Bummer...
I've started playing with the new Cybex Torso Twist machine, hoping that maybe it'll trim my waist a little. It's a dangerous machine if you go heavy, because the human spine is not meant to withstand torque like that. I only use 30 lbs, and only do one set per side. Bodybuilding forums suggest all sorts of peculiar exercises to trim the waist. One of the oddest I've come across is the vacuum, where you practice sucking in your abdominal muscles. Uh, seriously?
Before I resort to the Versa Grips, I find myself letting go of the bar during SLDLs in order to readjust my grip. The set still counts. Weight is still moved. It's just not pretty. Old guys stare. Young guys don't stare. They just look uncomfortable, or not. They work hard. They don't chat so much.
My left arm is weaker than my right so it's no surprise that I can only get 8 reps at the next higher weight (52.5 lbs). I use a 7.5 lb "brick" to cut the increments in half. 15 lb jumps is too much for a one-arm movement for a small person like myself. I get a full 12 reps with the right arm. So I make the left arm do an extra set. It only gets 7 reps. Done! Time for cardio!
I wish old guys would stop staring. I feel like asking them if they're having a stroke, but I'm always worried that my speaking to them will just encourage further interactions. And I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in interactions. It might be a bit Machiavellian, but I don't think they can actually do anything for me, except interrupt my workouts and slow me down. They're not going to take advice from me, and I don't want advice from them. Is that wrong?
Wednesday Workout
15 min X trainer 62 cal 1.30 miles 5.20 av spd
Knee-Ins 50 Twist 12 X 30 lbs HGPU 31 Push ups 100 Crunches 3 X 50 Bird Dog Planks 2 X 60 sec
Smith SLDLs 15 X 30 lbs (bar) 12 X 80 lbs, 100 VGs 12 X 110 120 X 12 X 3
Smith RG BB Rows 15 X 30 lbs (bar) 15 X 80, 100, 120
HGPU 31
One-Arm Seated Cable 37.5 lbs X 12 45 X 12 52.5 X 8L, 12R 52.5 X 7L
Neither my son nor I got much sleep last night. He had slept until nearly 1 pm the day before so he was having trouble feeling tired at bedtime. Plus he was worried about all the new routines that going to a new school entails. I didn't get nearly as much sleep, but still got him up in time. And then I proceeded to get chores done before heading to the gym.
I'm feeling the sleep deprivation in an ugly way so I cut my first cardio session down to 20 minutes. Which means that overall, I won't be getting any great mileage today. My first, as an it turns out, my only set of pull ups are a decent 31 reps. Push ups suck and crunches and planks are standard. The Smith is vacant when I get there and that makes me happy. My right shoulder feels twingey though so I don't push any heavier than 120 lbs. I don't think those two rounds of Cuban DB Presses did anything to help me last week so I'm okay with not doing them ever again.
I do Smith flat bench presses and then Smith inclined presses. I've developed some upper pecs, which somewhat compensates for my otherwise flat-chested profile. I've also put on weight and of course, I'm not happy about that. (112.6 lbs!) But it's to be expected after a long weekend. At least I think I'm mostly balanced physique-wise. Over the weekend, I saw a guy at poolside who had a disturbingly ape-like shape. After discrete examination, I realized that he had extremely large front delts, but no pecs to speak of. His chest actually looked a bit concave. Overall, he was moderately muscular but those front shoulders threw everything out of whack.
After a few supersets of DB laterals and reverse inclined flyes, I finish with some moderate Rip Skulls. I'm leery of going any heavier than 40 lbs because I don't want to tweak my elbows. I punch in Program 1 on the Precor elliptical and work up a decent sweat. Today is the first day I've ever used actual Apple earbuds. They're okay. I've read that Apple's new phones will now be cordless. Yes, that's convenient because I hate cords. But it means Bluetooth headphones that requiring charging as much as the phones and pods do. I still have an old non-Bluetooth Apple iPod Nano.
I normally do a quick stretch and then a final set of pull ups after the cardio. Today, there's a puffy middle-aged man in the Stretch Cage. I check out the new Cybex torso rotation machine and do a few sets. The man is barely moving because he's checking out his phone. After 15 minutes of him in a vaguely stretch position, I give up and go to shower. I could've asked him when he'd be done (ahem, hint, hint), but I'm afraid that I can't actually contain how annoyed I am if I go ask him if he's actually doing anything besides occupying space. See? I'm still annoyed!
Tuesday Workout
20 min X trainer 87 cal 2.20 miles 6.56 av spd
HGPU 31 Knee-Ins 50
Push ups 100
Crunches 3 X 50
Bird Dog Planks 2 X 60 sec
Smith Flat Bench 20 reps X 30 lbs (bar) 80 lbs X 15 100 X 12 120 X 12 90 X 22
Smith Inclined Bench 30 lbs (bar) X 15 50 X 12 70 X 12 80 X 8 X 2 80 X 10
DB Lateral Raises s/s with Rev Incl Flyes 20 lbs X 12/20 X 3
Technically, Autumn doesn't begin until mid-September, but since school starts next Tuesday, summer is pretty much over. My husband is working from home today so I can leave my son home without issue. When I got up this morning, my son had taped a note to my mirror asking if I would take him with me to the gym. I guess staying home with the dog isn't so great, even though he has more gaming time that way. Hurricane Hermine is suppose to trash part of Florida so it's fortuitous that my husband's plans got cancelled, albeit all at the last minute. He'll still have to go to Houston and Tallahassee next week though.
I'm surprisingly tired today. It doesn't help that the cross-trainer is one of the harder ones, so even Level 1 is drudgery to pedal through. SuperNatural is on the close-captioned TV attached to this machine, which makes it entertaining, but distracting at the same time. I know I'm not making 6 miles today, but I'm okay with it. I'm okay with how hard pull ups are today. Push ups are hard as well. The only things that aren't hard are the crunches and planks.
I give Cuban DB Presses one more shot. My right shoulder twinges slightly, but nothing horrible. Three sets makes my shoulders tired, but I can still do a few light sets of DB Laterals. I haven't done them in a few weeks and I'm worried that I've lost strength. But I haven't. Surprise! The Cubans are taking its toll on my shoulders because I'm experiencing unusual soreness. Well, that's different.
Intervals are sooo hard today, but they get easier as time goes on. And then I'm hungry, and the Intervals are hard again. Ugh. My arms are tired too. I'm not used to that. This does not bode well for the next round of pull ups. Sigh.
Friday
30 min X trainer 120 cal 3.26 miles 6.49 average speed
HGPU 31 Knee-Ins 50 PU 100 CR 3 X 50 Bird Dog planks 2 X 60 sec
I left my son home yesterday because I hate rushing through my workouts. Plus, he's not entirely happy with being left in the Child Care room since it's full of toddlers. Our school district doesn't start school until after Labor Day, but we're surrounded by renegade towns who have opted to start days before the long weekend. WTH?
The Nexersys is acting funky, but that's nothing new. It's not registering a lot of my kicks, and that's annoying because that lowers my Accuracy score. I'm not even wearing my leather trainers. Instead, I've decided to chance my feet with the raspberry Asics that are substantially stiffer than my "cardio" sneakers (older mesh Asics, and Rykas). The leather shoes are too uncomfortable when I'm pedaling the elliptical afterwards, and I'm not going to bring a second pair of trainers to the gym. That's just too crazy! My toes aren't happy that the Nexersys only registers front kicks when I use a pointed toe to hit the X on the lower pads. A ball of the foot strike just won't do it. In real life, I wouldn't use a pointed toe unless I was wearing boots.
Afterwards, I do 20 minutes on the elliptical just to get the kinks out of my hamstrings. It helps counter the abuse from doing Sweep and Knee movements. My arms are tired, and my shoulders even more so. Perhaps the Cuban DB Press is having this negative effect? My right elbow feels wonky and I'm barely able to get my nose to the bar for the 41st rep. Sigh. I've discovered that my hair will stay in place with a big toothy clip, although it's not pretty, or neat. But it keeps the hair out of my way when I'm punching and jabbing. Problem finally solved for the waist-length hair short of getting an actual haircut. I've trimmed my son's bangs because they were down to his nose. I warned him that it might make him look much younger, but he said it was okay. He just doesn't want a full haircut. So my son went from looking like a teenager, to looking like a little boy. Except he's still bigger than I am. But awfully cute.
In the locker room, I'm surrounded by middle-aged women who have just exited the Core X class. The instructor AM is busy telling them what they should eat, or not eat. She has a lot of rules. Women over 40 shouldn't have long hair because it doesn't look good. Women should never drink fruit juice. Only eat fruit sparingly. But she's also the person who talks about laying rice out on a sheet pan so that it doesn't clump. I'm Chinese. Rice is suppose to clump. It's how you eat it with chopsticks, or even a fork. You can't eat rice individually, unless you want to use a spoon. AM is my age but taller, and skinny. And in spite of teaching several conditioning classes like Body Pump, Core X and Cybo 45, she looks frail and worn. Maybe even undernourished.
She really doesn't appear to have any muscle tone but that could be misleading. I overhear the women talking about troubles falling asleep. One lady has resorted to sleeping pills and bourbon. And apparently that's okay with the group. I'm surprised but I keep silent. Because they're a hard-drinking group of grandmothers, and they look it. Never mind drinking chamomile tea and taking ZMA before bed. Never mind prone meditation. Another woman discusses making a watermelon punch while her friend admonishes her that it's a belly-flattening detox that she doesn't need. Good grief.
But I like watermelon, and the supermarket has seedless ones for under $4 this week. I've had a craving for watermelon salad lately, and it's a good substitute for tomatoes since they contain vast quantities of lycopene. I'm not concerned about my vitamin C levels. I am concerned about my weight creeping up, and I can see in the progression of selfies that it's probably subcutaneous fat. Ugh. Changing up my workout can't come too soon!
Thursday Workout
10 min X trainer 41 cal 1.27 miles 7.61 average speed
