Counting Like A Child

Between Sets

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

22 push ups Day 9

Smith incline bench
25 X bar
12 X 50, 70, 80

DB Lat s/s Rev Incl Flye
20 lbs X 12/20 reps X 3

Torso Twist
2 X 15 X 30 lbs

HGPU 31