Variations

One foot up Push Ups

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

Smith SLDL
15 X bar
12 X 80, 100, 120, 130

Smith RG BB Row
15 X bar
15 X 80, 100, 120, 130

Day 20  22 push ups

HGPU 31

Seated one-arm cable
12 X 45 lbs X 3

30 min elliptical
Intervals
2.61 miles
299 cal

HGPU 31