Three Big Cons

My hands didn't hurt this morning so I went to the gym to whack the machine. I did manage to get the Parasom A8 BlueTooth headphones to turn on and sync with my iPod while I was home. Because I didn't want to risk losing my luck, I kept the headphones on while I drove to the gym. So far so good. These are definitely smaller and thus more comfortable to wear, but the controls are inconsistent. Sometimes raising and lowering the volume gives you an audible beep, sometimes not. That's not a good sign. They stayed on the entire length of my workout, but the hissing noise caused by a lack of bass was kind of distracting and the music sounded tinny. The U8 are definitely better headphones.

When I got home, I put the A8 on the charger but no charging light came on. I could not get them to turn on no matter what I did. Okay, these are definitely going back for a refund. That's the wonderful thing about Amazon purchases — it's so easy to get a prepaid return label! Not getting prepaid return labels is one reason I've stopped shopping at various online stores like Ryka.com. As much as I like the idea of training shoes for women made by women, the fact that neither pair of shoes fit correctly (one seemed completely mislabeled) and then had to be returned at my expense, was a big wake-up call. I'm not spending money just to try on things that won't fit because they're lacking a quality control measure!

I had to give the A8 a one-star rating on Amazon, noting that while the earbuds were 1) very comfortable and had 2) pretty packaging, the lack of bass (and subsequent hissing), difficulty getting the charger cord in position, and the fact that the earbuds only worked intermittently were THREE very big Cons for buying this item. (The U8 got a four out of five. Five if they were totally comfortable, but I'm going to try different earbud cushions to see if that helps.)

The gym was crowded but not at the Nexersys. Although one women seemed a bit perturbed by my smacking the machine because she was on the Expresso closest to the Nexersys. Ideally, the kickboxing machines wouldn't be next to anything, but this gym just isn't that big. She kept looking back over her shoulder every time I whacked a pad really hard. Probably a good reason to wear headphones? The machine only blanked once but didn't count a few of my front kicks in the beginning. Then I was a little too fast for it during one particular combination (Jab Jab Cross PowerDig) and it wouldn't count the dig unless I slowed down, or hit it a second time. Sigh...

Afterwards, I did 20 minutes on the elliptical while the Presidential Inauguration was broadcast on all the TVs throughout the gym. I didn't kill myself trying to pedal so the mileage was moderate. I'm just trying to forestall issues with my right leg because Sweep Kicks on the Nexersys somehow mess that leg up a bit, and pedaling forward and backward seems to help. I get to the Stretch Cage and I'm so tired that I actually lose count of my reps. Which sucks. It's not that I stopped counting, but that I stopped paying attention. By the time I've refocused myself I find myself counting 8, 9... but is it 29 or 39? I have no idea! So I either made my reps and more so, or I didn't. Ugh!

There's a Nor'easter scheduled to hit us some time next week... forecast originally said Sunday night into Monday morning. Now it's looking like Monday into Tuesday... maybe it'll just bypass us altogether? That'd be good!

Friday Workout

Warm Up 10 min x-trainer
Miles 1.01
Calories 44

Nexersys
Follow Me program
5r Beginner
5r Intermediate
5r Advance

20 min elliptical
Program 3
Miles 1.61
Calories 177

HGPU 39!??

Photos posted for actual stats: