A Day Off Does the Body Good

I hadn't planned to take yesterday off, especially since my son had his after-school chess club which meant I didn't have to pick him up until 4 pm. But the weather absolutely sucked with threats of precipitating ice, and my right arm and hand were worrying me with intermittent pain and other peculiar sensations from the pinky and ring finger all the way up to the shoulder. It's as if a nerve had gotten twisted inside the muscle and bone and needed to work it's way straight. I'm not sure what the issue really is, but I spent the day on the computer working on the book I want to give my son for his birthday. That, and looking into setting up my photography website (finally!), and detailing an invoice for a logo design for a friend. So it was a productive day even if I'm aghast at how much time I spent on the book alone. My son is growing up so fast that if I don't do this now, I'll have missed the opportunity for it to mean something to him. Childhood only comes once in a lifetime, because a long life into senility isn't guaranteed. Kidding. Or not.

I also find that if I take a B-multivitamin instead of just B-12, I don't feel as good and my urine smells worse. Leading me to believe that I don't need to supplement with all the B vitamins, just B-12. I know when I've forgotten to take my fish oil because its anti-inflammatory effect is sorely missed every morning. There's a hereditary aspect to the baby hemorrhoids, but they are a non-issue with a daily fish oil capsule. Magnesium, selenium, zinc, Vitamin D and the Optic Nerve formulation for glaucoma patients make up the rest of my supplements. Occasionally I remember to take ZMA before bedtime. Because the doses of zinc (30-50 mg) and magnesium (250 mg) I take are relatively low, I'm not concerned about the additional amounts in ZMA. Besides I only take one capsule out of the recommended three pill dose.

I'm excited because the BlueTooth earbuds I ordered from Amazon finally showed up. Both promise battery life in excess of 7 hours, which is way more than I need. I just need the stupid headphones to last longer than my workout! After I charge each set, I sync them to my iPod so I can listen to their sound quality. The U8 are definitely the winners with a clear, rich sound and good bass. The Parasom A8 promised great bass, but that's lacking in actuality. The sound is clear, and not tinny. But I'm missing the bass! Both are sport earbuds, which means they have a little flap on the underside to protect the micro USB charging port. Both come with three different size earbud cushions, and both are soft, rubbery, over-the-ear hanger-style. The connector wire is thinner, and longer than the micro-USB charging cable. The U8 allows me to use my own 3 foot long cable to connect to a charging panel. The A8 does not and I have to resort to their extremely flat micro-USB to get past the sweat panel that covers the charging port.

Today I use the U8 purely because the music sounds better with it. The earbuds stay in place, but by the end of my workout, my right ear feels a bit tender. I'm not sure if it's because the right bud is heavier (not noticeably) because it houses the control buttons and the USB charging port, or if it's the right ear, perhaps having a smaller ear canal or shaped ever so differently? Yes, I'm as sensitive as a princess. The hangers are so soft that the buds won't actually stay in unless they're pressed into the ear canal, but I don't lose my earbuds during any of my exercises including my Mat Stretch. Tomorrow I'll give the A8 a go although I'm not sure exactly what my routine will be.

The gym is really crowded this morning. I see B briefly in the bathroom. It's awkward. I wave at her and she smiles but says nothing, perhaps waiting for me to take my earbuds out. But I'm not going to because I'm just starting. I've decided that she's just not worth the effort to have a conversation with, which is sad, but a lot less frustrating for me. The last time we talked, she stopped in mid-conversation to recount a tale of woe to another woman who'd just stepped into the locker room. As if I didn't exist. She's certainly not interested in anything I have to say. And I'm tired of her making recommendations to places or things, and then later saying that Oh no, she'd never go somewhere like that. Between the new boobs, the skin tight gym clothes that she wears to shop and do errands, and her constant hair-flicking, it's obvious that she has a pathological need to be the center of attention. And she wonders why her girl friends suddenly stop talking to her. She seriously has no clue because she's told me about them. Back when she pretended to feign interest in other people.

At the beginning, my mileage sucks even for being on the bad cross-trainer. I feel tired, but I keep pedaling. I'm happy when I get more than 31 reps at HGPUs. There are people on the Mats I've never seen before. One mat is occupied by a middle-age couple. He's showing her a plank variation where he puts one arm straight out to the side. She's having trouble staying upright. I knock out my push ups, crunches, planks and Hindu push ups. The Hindus are getting easier, but I still can't get past 40. My right hand goes a little numb in the pinky when I do them, so that's another concern.

The Smith is open and that makes me happy. I'd been hesitant about doing RDLs but I feel more confident today. Maybe because it's the first Pull Day this week? I'm really happy I get all my reps for all my sets in spite of having done push ups and Hindus earlier. I get a bit more tired with the RG BB Rows, but I figure that sets with reps over 20 are good sets. I'm good! I don't want to push my luck, so I save the second set of HGPUs for the end. I'm good with just two sets of pull ups on a Pull Day. It takes me a while to find the right handle and the 5 lb brick to put on the cable station for One-Arm Seated Cable Rows. If the handle is too thick, I have trouble gripping it because of my tiny hands. And that puts all the strain on my forearms instead of my lats and biceps. Adding 5 lbs makes it a tad more challenging, but not impossible. I'll do this weight for a few weeks before upping it to 7.5 lbs. It's the next size brick available.

The ellipticals are free. There's only three of them because the fourth one is still broken. Oh well. Program One for 30 minutes is challenging enough. Afterwards, I knock out my last set of pull ups, and then back to the Mat for a quick stretch. I don't even feel tired! That's the beauty of great earbuds and a good cardio mix! I see old guys staring from machine city. I'm not quite sure why though since I regularly do this sort of stretch at least once a week. I don't like to do more because I find it actually hurts my joints to do it too often.

The gym scale sighs at 111.4 lbs but I'm not that concerned. I feel downright great, but later I'll start to get a tad sore and stiff. Maybe I should take tomorrow off and get some work done? Or maybe I should whack the machine? I worry about whatever nerve damage is happening on my right side. Maybe I'll just do a cardio and Push Day... I'll see how I feel when I get up.

Wednesday Workout
5.96 total cardio miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 130
Miles 3.38

HGPU 35.5

Knee-Ins 70
Push Ups 100
Crunches 3 x 60
Hindu Push Ups 40
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

Smith RDLs
12 x Bar 30, 80, 100, 120, 130

Smith RG BB Rows
25 x 80, 100
23 x 120, 130

Seated OneArm Cable Rows
50 lbs x 12 x 3   (+5!)

30 min elliptical
Program 1
Calories 292
Miles 2.58

HGPU 36