Warming Up to...

I know everyone is different and responds to exercise differently. So it takes me a good 30 minutes of cardio and a bunch of body weight movements before I feel "warmed up". Most would agree that at least 10 minutes of vigorous motion that causes you to break a mild sweat would fulfill the requirement. Stretching is not a warm up. Personally, I don't think sitting fully dressed in the dry sauna for 10 minutes constitutes a warm up either. But I see women do this regularly. They bring their phones in with them and spend 10 minutes texting before going out into the gym itself. I told my husband about this when he said he'd never use the men's dry sauna. (Too many creepy naked old guys in there.) And no, he doesn't think that constitutes a "warm up" either. But maybe I'm wrong?

Several online sites state that saunas serve to relax your muscles. Probably not what you want to do before you go exercise. On the other hand, some physical therapists believe that sauna heat will help alleviate muscle pain before your workout, and calls the sauna a type of "passive exercise". Personally, I think that's a lot of bunk. If you're sore, do some mild cardio to warm up and improve blood flow. Sitting on a bench in the heat is like waiting for the bus on the equator. It's not exercise. It's not a warm up. Sure, you'll get sweaty, but there's no benefit, except maybe an excuse to look at your phone while you're at the gym.

Even though I have swim class this evening, I'm resigned to doing a Pull Day. And cardio. Always cardio. Perhaps it's because I had 3 slices of pizza with meatballs, mushrooms and garlic. So I already know the scale will not be kind. But I do knock out my 100 push ups, and then go for 31 more Hindu push ups. I do get my 3 sets of Hammer Grip Pull Ups. I do planks and crunches. I get to the Smith and get all my reps for all my sets. I notice that the callouses on the palm side of my knuckles (there's got to be a name for this, right?) are starting to indent. Uh oh. What does it mean when you've got dimples in your callouses? I've tried filing them down, but until they start to peel (and I hope they don't), there's no way to remove them. The multiple sets of pull ups are hard on my hands as well and there's some soreness between my fingers. Ugh.

Big dude is behind me to the right.

There's a big dude working out with a much smaller guy. I've been seeing these guys a lot lately. The big guy always wears a watch cap and makes me wonder if he's bald. He puts some impressive plates on the bar, but his range of motion is limited to just a quarter of an actual press. The smaller guy has some impressive muscles on his frame, but they're wiry muscles and not bulky. He has much better form even though the big dude seems to be coaching him. Range of motion is important, but not always. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. I don't use full ROM for my pull ups because that's too hard on my elbows and forearms. I've already suffered from a variety of tendinitis. So I do partials where my elbow are bent and I'm pulling from my back. Doing partials for OHP or even flat benching seems a bit sketchy. Maybe good for a pump or a warm up, but strength or size? Maybe I'm wrong?

My heart rate is lower than I expect. I suspect that it's the pilocarpine. I barely make over 6 miles today. I'm not unhappy about the heart rate, but I'm a bit bummed about the mileage. On the other hand, I do have swim class this evening so best not to totally burn out just yet.

Thursday Workout
6.11 miles cardio

30 min x-trainer
Miles:3.60
Calories:139
Av Spd:7.19
Av Pace 8:20

HGPU 31

Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 100
Crunches 3 x 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Hindu Push Ups 31

Smith SLDLs
Bar x 15
12 x 80, 100, 120, 130

Smith RG BB Rows
21 x 80, 100, 120, 130

HGPU 31

Seated one arm cable
45 lbs x 12 x 3

30 min elliptical
Program 2
Miles: 2.51
Calories: 282

HGPU 31