Two Steps Back

My hubs got back late Saturday afternoon so there wasn't enough time to go to the gym. Then we thought maybe we'd go Sunday morning, but he had too much work to catch up on, and I was busy with the book I'm trying to put together for my son's surprise birthday gift. I'm not entirely certain how he'll feel about it, but I hope he likes it. So today is the first day I'm at the gym since Friday, and of course it's a holiday so it's busier than usual. My son opts to sleep in, and I can't say that I blame him. Heck, I'd sleep in too if I could.

I was a little heavy-handed with the soy sauce last night while making dinner, so I fully expect not only weigh more than I should, but also look puffy. I'm not disappointed. My self-control isn't as good when I'm tired and my husband asks if I want a bowl of the new ramen flavor we just bought. Who can resist a package of abalone and chicken flavored ramen?! I saw new flavors of Chinese traditional fruit candies as well, so I've been eating those dried lemon-juice ginger candies as well. Most people don't like the "traditional candies" but I grew up with them, and I'm happy that my son likes them as well. Usually they're flavored dried plums with an occasional piece of lemon or ginger, triple-wrapped in paper and cellophane. Chinese New Year is two weeks away and I feel a little indulgent. It'll be Year of the Fire Rooster, and seems to portend another chaotic year that suggests moderation will be the best course.

I manage to get on the good cross-trainer just as my sister tesxts me about glaucoma docs in her area. She sends me info on one particular doc and asks me about my current health insurance. It's hard to text while pedaling, so my mileage isn't where it should be. The whole healthcare reform repeal makes me nervous because in spite of all the political rhetoric, we all know what's going to happen: health insurance premiums will go up, deductibles will go up and choice will continue to go down. That's what happened when the Affordable Care act was enacted. We pay more for less now. I don't see that reverting to the "good ol' days" when you paid an affordable premium and your insurance covered pretty much everything except a minor co-pay. Already I'm reading about the Senate voting to repeal coverage for pre-existing conditions. Hmmm.

My right knuckles throb intermittently and I'm not sure why. I'm stricken with the terrifying thought that I have some terrible bone cancer that is causing my hand to ache. My toes are numb starting with the ball of my foot. It's takes the brunt of the pressure when I roll my foot forward on the elliptical, which I guess is much better than taking a heel strike. Still, it takes a few minutes before the annoying tingle goes away and I can launch into pull ups. I can't quite get my nose to the bar at the end so I give myself a half rep. Ugh.

I have my braid clipped up and the BlueTooth earbud wire draped over the subsequent bun. It works well until I have to lay down on the Mat to do crunches. Throughout my workout, I'm clipping or unclipping my braid to my head. At least it's quick and easy to do!

There are a few regulars at the tail of their workout. I haven't seen Tall Pace or JudeLaw in quite some time until today. Truthfully, I thought maybe Tall Pace had died or something because he IS old. The Mayor is holding court, but he isn't nearly as loud. Maybe he's got his son with him? A few guys have their boys with them as they work out. Some guys look like ex-HS football or hockey jocks. And some guys look like this is the first time they've ever step foot in a gym. One guy is shaped like Looney Tune's Tasmanian Devil, wearing a sloppy tank, tats up both his arms and gold earrings. His kid is a scrawny, sullen man-child.

I like the Hindu Push Ups but I can only get as far as 40. Again, it's probably because I've already done a 100 regular push ups. While I'm timing my planks, JudeLaw plops onto the adjacent mat to do some ab movements. If I weren't so focused on not falling over I might've nodded Hi. Or probably not. Because I just don't do social. Yeah, my bad. (Personally, I think he's impressed with my pull ups and push ups.) I've seen him pull a full rack of plates so I know that in spite of his moderate physique, he can move a lot of weight.

A fellow clears the Smith just as I'm about to do a few warm up reps on the Breaker flat bench. I hate benches I don't fit into because my feet don't sit flat on the ground. So either I'm on my tippy-toes and my lower back is arched, or I have my feet on the bench with my knees bent. Neither is particularly stable. I swap out the adjustable bench for the shorter flat bench and do a few sets. Right away my right shoulder twinges. Benching is so bad for them! But because I have tiny hands and use a thumbless (deadman's) grip, I'm much safer with a Smith bench press than anything else including DB presses. I can press heavier DBs than I'm comfortable holding. Inevitably, my hands will go numb with the heavier weights. It's an effect of Raynaud's Syndrome. Sigh.

My right hand feels stressed when I do my three supersets of DB Lateral Raises and Reverse Incline Flyes. It's gotten so that my right pinky goes cold and numb after the first set, and pretty much stays that way no matter how much I shake my arms and flex my fingers between sets. I need to change my routine. A couple of women drop onto benches next to me during Rip Skulls. One is doing an entire routine with Beauty Bells that might be some sort of combination weight-cardio session, moving from curls to presses to laterals to DB deadlifts. It'd be more impressive if she were a bit breathless when she did it. I could be wrong, but if you're not breathing hard, I don't think you're exerting yourself enough for the exercise to really benefit you. But that's just my opinion.

I have a hard time doing my last set of pull ups because my hands hurt and my elbows are tired. Uh, yeah, that's right. My elbows are tired. Then I do a quick abbreviated Mat Stretch before heading in to the locker room. The gym scale reads 112.6 lbs which is way more than I want for a Monday. But I'm not surprised. Nope, not at all...  I do need to change my routine though. Something both easier and harder at the same time, know what I mean?

Monday Workout

30 min x-trainer
Calories 134
Miles 3.59
Average speed 7.17
Average Pace 8:22

HGPU 35.5 Almost!
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 100
Crunches 3 x 50
Hindu Push Ups 40
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

Smith Bench
12 x bar (30), 80, 100
10 x 120 Ugh!
25 x 90

Smith Inclined Bench
12 x bar, 50, 70, 80

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys
25 lbs x 12/15 x 3

Rip Skulls
40 lbs x 12 x 3

HGPU 31