Go For Reps...

I didn't get to the gym yesterday because my eye doc appt ran long. My doc wants to put me to swap out the latanoprost generic eye drop for Travatan® which is in the same family of medication. I've been on those and recall being told that I'm allergic to it, but my eye doc insists that a name brand medication is more reliable than a generic that can be produced by up to three different pharma houses to lax standards. Well, at least she gave me some free sample bottles. I'm back in 6 weeks to see if taking Travatan along with Azopt and pilocarpine will lower my IOPs down to the targeted 11-10. Right now my eyes are hovering at 13-14 which is the most consistently low they've ever been, but it's not good enough. Sigh... I'm fairly sure my health insurance company will give me a hard time about it as well because they really want you to use generics if they are available.

My "shoulder" feels better but is by no means 100%. It's not heavy pushing that hurts, but the odd angle when I reach or pour. I'm tentatively testing the joint today, and right off the bat, hammer grip pull ups don't feel great. The shoulder aches on the initial pull, but it doesn't get any worse so damage is done, but no point to making it worse. I do my set, and that's enough pull ups for today.

I'm losing strength, and push ups remind me that I need consistency. I'm having a hard time getting to 80, and that sucks. Since push ups don't hurt, there's really no reason not to do them in my workouts. I also do my basic core work with crunches and planks. The Smith is already set up with the Adjustable Inclined Bench. Just warming up with the bar starts off a bit painful, but feels better as I warm up. I'm afraid not to do basic movements because I don't want to lose mobility in this joint. But because there is discomfort, I resolve to keep the weights light, but up the reps. Lots and lots of reps. 

The DB Laterals feel much better than last week. So much so that I up the reps for both the laterals and the heavier Reverse Inclined Flyes. I'm still in the Smith rack because the Mayor and a cluster of guys have hogged all the benches by the DB racks. No matter. I can improvise. I don't even bother with the flat benches near them when I set up for Rip Skulls. I actually prefer to lay backwards on the breaker bench because I can hook my feet under the platform that holds the uprights. Then back to cardio. I stretch at the Cage but skip the pull ups. However, I'm happy with most of my Mat Stretch. Tomorrow is a Pull Day. I hop the pull ups will feel better, but I won't know until the first set.

Tuesday
6.28 miles

30 x-trainer
Calories 141
Miles 3.75
Average Speed 7.49
Average Pace 8:00

HGPU 35
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 60+10+5+5
Crunches 3 x 60
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

Smith Inclined Bench
15 x Bar (30)
12 x 50, 70
20 x 60, 50
25 x 40

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flyes
20/25 lbs x 12/15 reps
20/25 x 15/15
20/25 x 15/20

Rip Skulls
40 lbs x 12 x 3

30 elliptical
Program 1
Calories 285
Miles 2.53

Other Consolations

I got another 6 plus miles today so I can count this week as one where I've tallied more than 30 miles. For someone who disdains running, that's pretty impressive. Of course, I'm not running or jogging these miles. I'm pedaling them on a cross-trainer or elliptical. It's nothing compared to what an avid cyclist might log, but you cover a lot more ground with wheels. Still, that's my consolation for this week. I wish I could say with absolute certainty that my "shoulder" is healing nicely, but I don't actually know. It doesn't hurt most of the time, but when it does, wowza. Because I've refrained from doing any movement I think might re-injure it, I'm always surprised when I do something benign, like rotate my arm to pour milk into my shaker bottle, and yikes, boy does THAT hurt!

I skipped pull ups and push ups today. I did do crunches and knee-ins, but nixed the planks. And I did a few reps of barely inclined Smith presses. Then bench was maybe 30° so it was virtually a military press. I just wanted to do a big movement to get some blood moving in the upper body. Kidding. I didn't push too hard and skipped everything else. With 10 minutes left on the Intervals program for the elliptical, I hear the dreaded Battery Low warning. WTF? I put everything on the charger yesterday! Especially since I used the A8s yesterday! I have the U8s in my gym bag in the locker room, but I'm not motivated enough to swap out earbuds. Actually, I want to see how much battery life is left after the warning comes on. There's a second warning 5 minutes after the first. Three minutes later, the earbuds are dead. So that's 8 minutes. And I wind up pedaling the remaining two minutes in silence. 

I've only sucked down half my water bottle today. I got to the gym late but managed to see a bunch of regulars on their way out. It's so nice today only crazy people would spend their lunch hour indoors. With temps hovering near 70°F, I don't even need a jacket or hat. In February. In New York. The gym scale reads 108.8 lbs. It's been better. But it's definitely been much worse. I actually feel smaller even though I'm popping out of one of my workout tanks. Ugh.

Monday I have a follow-up appt with the glaucoma doc in the morning. I'm sure she'll tell me my vision is worse based on the last Visual Field tests I took. But I have to wonder if my right eye peripheral vision is so bad, then how is it that I'm so distracted by the tiny square of light behind my right side whenever the tech peeks into the room via 2x3" sliding window to see if I'm done? How am I able to see that while I'm facing forward staring at the little orange dot? You can be certain I'm going to ask her.

Friday
6.35 miles 
(total weekly mileage 31.3)

30 min x-trainer
Calories 149
Miles 3.71

Knee-Ins 50
Crunches 3 x 60

Smith 30 Inclined Press
12 x Bar (30), 50, 70

30 min elliptical
Intervals
Calories 300
Miles 2.64

Guilty

Before the gym got crowded

My problem is that I can work through a lot of discomfort. Whether I should or not is another matter. My "shoulder" complains when I move the wrong way and clicks loudly. Well, that's new and supremely unpleasant. Once I get past that, the shoulder feels a bit more malleable. But not well. I need to really baby this baby or it'll develop into a chronic condition. Today I decide I can manage a Pull Day, but to be safe, I'm skipping all the iffy movements like push ups and pull ups. Because like I said, I can muscle through just about anything, but it's probably not helping me recover.

I'm in luck and get my 30 minutes on the cross-trainer. My toes get tingly 6 minutes into it which is awfully quick. But it doesn't really progress to the whole foot so that's good. I feel guilty not doing pull ups at the Stretch Cage, but I figure if I'm better next week, I can see how many reps I've lost then. Instead, I do a high-rep set at the Cybex Torso Twist. 30 lbs is the lowest weight on the stack so I do that for 25 reps each side. I'm leery of putting too much pressure on the delicate lower back and spine, especially since I'm going to do RDLs in a bit. I do knee-ins but skip the planks because they stress the bad shoulder. I also skip crunches. Yes, go for broke!

The Smith is empty and I'm happy. As I work through my sets, the gym starts to fill up with the lunch crowd. The RDLs don't feel too bad although I've got to adjust my stance. My right inside knee gets sore so I suspect my footing isn't quite right. Things go better with the RG BB Rows, but they always do. It's obvious because I do 25 reps with the latter, instead of the bare minimum 12. The Mayor makes an appearance in a faded salmon-colored pocket T-shirt. He's not loud today but does spend an inordinate amount of time chatting. I still don't understand people who don't warm up before working out. I see a few other regulars. Some have found new lifting buddies which is nice.

Seated one-arm cable rows feel horrible the first set. Well, actually it's the first right hand set, but the second total set because I start with my weaker side, the left. The "shoulder" isn't happy but I suspect it's really the humerus because of the extended bicep and lat movement forward and back. I rotate my hand as I pull back until the handle hits me in the side. The next go-round I make a point of arcing my extension forward, as if I'm tossing my arm out in a freestyle swim stroke. That solves the shoulder issue and I can finish my reps without any further issues. Normally I'd do a set of pull ups afterwards, but I amble off to the elliptical instead.

I've already done all three Performance Programs this week, so either I do Intervals or repeat a program. I opt for Program 1 because I'd rather do Intervals tomorrow on Friday. It'll be a true Cardio Day, with maybe some Pistol Squats or Smith Split Squats. I still stretch at the Stretch Cage, and again I feel guilty for not attempting any pull ups. But I really want this shoulder/upper arm injury to heal properly and not become a nagging pain. I've sucked down 3/4 of my bottle and the gym scale reads 109.4 lbs. I'm good with that. I feel like I'm making some slight progress on reducing some of this bulk without losing too much proper muscle. Or I could be delusional.

Thursday
6.41 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 142
Miles 3.82
Average Speed 7.64
Average Pace 7:51

Torso Twist
2 x 25 x 30 lbs
Knee-Ins 50

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

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

Seated OneArm Cable Rows
52.5 lbs x 12 x 3
(Right shoulder, wrist, thumb
Compensate arch overhand)

30 min elliptical
Program 1
Calories 294
Miles 2.59

With Nothing Else to Do

The "shoulder" is not at all happy. It's easier to call it a shoulder issue even though it's most likely an upper arm and pectoral injury, but that's quite a mouthful. Shoulder is easier even if it's not at all accurate. It's not my shoulder but any off movement of my upper arm causes a lot of discomfort so it might as well be my shoulder. I should probably wear a sling to hug my arm close to my body and restrict its movements, but I don't have one readily available. I suppose I could make one out of a scarf or a long belt. I certainly don't want to buy one. It's certainly going to make typing and driving extremely difficult. As it is now, this wonky "shoulder" is causing me problems trying to back my car into the driveway. Sigh.

The gym is crowded when I get there, but virtually deserted by noon. I get on my favorite cross-trainer for 30 minutes but don't use my arms for the first 5. My right is stiff and painful when I start pumping the handles, but eventually everything warms up. I do one set of pull ups and skip the push ups today. It never hurts to do more core so crunches, knee-ins and planks are still a go. Because it's a Cardio Day Workout, I'm back on the elliptical for another 30 minutes. Afterwards, the Step Mills become available and I spend 20 minutes doing that.

After a quick but gentle shoulder and back stretch, I'm ready to stand under a hot shower. The gym scale reads 109.0 so I'm happy even though I know it's because I only drank half my water today. I drink more when I'm pushing weights because I swig water after every set. I hate having a dry mouth! I notice today that I almost forget to swallow when I'm on the cross-trainer, and that can lead to trouble because I'll inadvertently inhale something I should've swallowed! Hello uncontrollable coughing fit! Very embarrassing...

Not sure if I'll do a Cardio Day tomorrow, or a Pull Day. Either way, I'll still do an hours worth of cardio so it's actually silly for me to label today a Cardio Day. Except that it's not a Push or Pull Day. Oh well...

Wednesday
6.11 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 139
Miles 3.60
Average Speed 7.15
Average Pace 8:23

HGPU 36
Knee-Ins 50
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

30 min elliptical
Program 3
Calories 282
Miles 2.51

20 min StepMill
Level 5
Calories 143
Floors 60
963 steps

Boredom Begets Trouble

I got to the gym a bit later than usual but still managed to get on my favorite cross-trainer for 30 minutes of pedaling. Coming off a long weekend, I stayed up too late and didn't get quite enough sleep so I was a bit unfocused. Still, I did manage to get my reps in for pull ups. The shoulder is still bothersome, especially when I need to cross my arm over my body and reach for something. I'm predominantly right-handed although fine motor coordination resides with my left hand. So, that's something like "cross-dominance". I used to call it asymmetrical ambidexterity, but I'm not equally dexterous in both hands. Each side has its specialties.

I see a few regulars including The Mayor. But he's got his skinny blonde teenage son with him, so he's noticeably quieter. I ignore B and pretend I don't see her. She's giving me weird looks when I do wave Hi at her so I've stopped even doing that. My guess is that she's upset that I don't pull out my earbud and stop to chat with her anymore. But she's never been one to stop by and say Hi to me, and I still can't get over her abruptly walking away from me in mid-conversation, as if I didn't even exist, to go tell another woman her tale of woe. It's always a tale of woe. I'm also tired of her making recommendations for clothes and shops, but then adding at the last minute that she'd never go shop or buy there. Because it's okay for you and me. But not her. I'm done. Others have dropped her too. She once remarked to me that her "best friend" suddenly stopped talking to her and wouldn't explain why. Makes me think of that statement, "Well, if you don't know then I'm not going to tell you." Seriously.

I feel good enough to knock out a few push ups, crunches and planks. The Smith machine is vacant and I'm very happy to do a few sets of Inclined Bench Pressing. Again, the first lighter sets are more painful than the later heavier sets. I'm not sure why. My right shoulder also doesn't like DB Lateral Raises, but again, the discomfort subsides as I progress with reps. I'm okay with using a lighter weight for the Lateral movements because it also spares my elbows and forearms. I don't need anymore tendonitis. The heavier DBs I use for Reverse Inclined Flyes don't bother my shoulder at all. Rip Skulls start off a bit tight and worrisome, but eventually I can relax into the movement. Not painful. I am bored though. And I've been toying with the idea of doing a few sets of V-bar tricep cable push downs. It's my last movement before heading back for more cardio so I'm comfortable going light.

30 lbs seems okay although my right arm gets a bit twingey. Even 40 lbs is okay. I know that my chest and triceps pop when I'm doing this movement. I just wish I could see what it looks like, but I'm too short to see my reflection in the far mirror wall. 45 lbs is heavy, and although I get all my reps for the set, my right shoulder isn't very happy with me. It starts to ache deep inside the pectoral insert on the humerus. Not good. Ugh. I really need to baby this side of my body a lot more! Pedaling the elliptical is all legs and lungs so the rest of me is good with that. I do worry when I hit the Stretch Cage. Hey, no battle ropes lying on the floor today! I make my reps for hammer grip pull ups, but again, the shoulder feels achey. Ugh.

I think I need to blow off whacking the kickboxing machine this week and maybe next week too, until this arm-shoulder-pec thing is recovered. I saw the old guy boxing the machine again today, but he was only there for maybe one round. The clock said about 3-4 minutes. It's one of the few things I really look forward to, but not worth doing permanent damage. Online, I find charts of deltoid and pectoral anatomy to pinpoint the area of distress. If I've torn or strained the pectoral insert into the humerus, it's going to take longer than a week for it to heal up. Without me doing stupid things like bench pressing and V-press downs. And I can't imagine that whacking the machine is going to help. I suspect the tendon is just bruised and not actually torn because nothing turned black and blue, nothing felt hot or inflamed. I guess I'll just have to be happy and patient with cardio and Pull Days.

Tuesday
6.29 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 141
Miles 3.73
Average Speed 7.46
Average Pace 8:02

HGPU 36
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 80
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

Smith Inclined Bench
Bar x 15
12 x 50, 70, 80
60 x 25 reps

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inc Flyes
20/25 x 12/15 x 3

Rip Skulls
40 lbs x 12 x 3

V-bar Press Down
30 lbs x 12
40 x 12
45 x 12 Right Shoulder! Ugh!

30 min elliptical
Program 2
Calories 289
Miles 2.56

HGPU 36

Prez Day

There's no school today and a lot of people are off from work. Including my hubs. But he's not quite ready to hit the gym at 9 am so I drive off without him. He's actually got some work to sort out before he can make it, and I'm worried about getting done in time to take our son to his dental checkup. Eventually my hubs makes it to the gym. It's packed and I'm lucky enough to slip into my favorite cross-trainer while the entire row of treadmills is occupied. There are signs posted everywhere alerting cardio enthusiasts that brand new state-of-the-art treadmills will be installed soon! I'm not quite sure what's going to be different about them though...

Although I'm fairly certain that my shoulder is healing, it bothers me a lot in my daily routines. Today I skip push ups altogether. Pull ups seem a bit hard on my shoulder and elbow as well, but at least I'm not truly regressing. I even skip crunches. Instead, I race over to the Smith to secure my spot. Since I did two Push Days last week, I figure I'd start this week with a Pull Day. Smith RDLs and RG BB Rows go fine. I finally see my hubs dressed in his hoodie, cap and cushiony headphones. We rarely speak to each other when we're at the gym simultaneously because we have different routines. When I sit down at the Seated Cable Station for One-Arm Rows, guys materialize at all the peripheral stations. I know it's crowded today, but this is ridiculous.

I have the U8 earbuds on today. They sound really good, and today my ears don't bother me too much. Even though the A8s are smaller and slightly more comfortable, they still tend to sound hissy on certain songs. It's a tradeoff: comfort due to the tiny components vs. lesser sound quality and difficulty recharging (due to the tiny micro-USB port). My hubs wears actual headphones over his cap, but my head is too sensitive and tender to wear any sort of band or bar like that. Yes, I'll admit it: I'm a princess.

I can see a stocky middle-age guy wailing on the kickboxing machine all the way across the gym. I guess it's starting to get popular! The battle ropes are now a semi-permanent fixture on the gym floor. I suspect that P, the gym owner who has unexpectedly started training a lone older dude, decided that this was his next new gym toy. Normally JF would train guys, but he quit over the winter and all the daytime trainers are women here. Mostly they teach classes like Spin, BodyPump, Zumba or provide customized programs that involve a mix of machines and isometric movements.

In the locker room I hear a very short but busty woman tell V, the lady who teaches BodyPump, that she wants more muscle. V dissuades the woman from taking two classes in the same day, and instead advises her to use slightly heavier weights to get better definition. All I keep thinking is "Do you want bigger muscles, or just want to see the muscles you already have?" It's two different goals, but that question isn't asked, and I keep my mouth shut because I'm not going to undermine the staff here.

I haven't upped any of my weights except for the One-Arm Seated Cable rows, and reps for pull ups. Otherwise, I'm stagnant but I have faith that consistency is making a difference. I have big arms and a wide back, and decent pecs and biceps. I just need to drop some body fat, and that's the hard part. It's a fine balance between pushing enough weight and doing enough reps to maintain muscles, and maybe even foster some growth without damaging tendons and joints. Especially since I'm not a kid anymore. I heal a lot slower, but at least I heal. 

Monday
6.14 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 139
Miles 3.63
Average Speed 7.25
Average Pace 8:16

Knee-Ins 50
HGPU 35

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

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

Seated OneArm Cable Rows
52.5 lbs x 12 x 3

30 min elliptical
Program 3
Calories 282
Miles 2.51

HGPU 36

Contagion

I get to the gym later than I want to. It's ridiculously crowded even though the sun is bright in the sky. All the cardio stations on the platform are occupied so I take a spot on the cross-trainer by the front door. Brrrr... But it affords me a good view of the kickboxing machines. There's an old guy punching and jabbing, upper cut, cross, another jab. He's slow and steady but working up a good lather. I don't know if the default is 5 rounds, but he walks away with 2 more rounds to go. He is the only other regular user of the Nexersys machine I've seen in the past several months.

A few minutes later, I look up and see a different old guy at the other machine. He's a regular with an ever-expanding waistline. The most I've ever seen him do is pedal lazily on one of the recumbent bikes. Usually he's chatting with the Senior coffee klatch near the front door. He's tossing a jab and a punch, but the screen has a large touch bar that says START which he doesn't notice. I'm sure he's tapped the QuickStart button, but it also requires you to tap START. He goes a round while yet another old guy looks on. Finally, the onlooker taps the START button. I look up again and the machines have been abandoned while the onscreen clock ticks off time remaining in the round. Ugh. It's nice that other people have finally discovered these machines, but I hope I won't have to wait in line the next time I want to use them.

I had thought to do a LeftOvers workout, but I'm tired and have time constraints. So, it's a Push Day workout... especially since I'm still freaked out about upper arm crepey skin. I looked it up online and discovered that hordes of women have suddenly discovered what appears to be sudden muscle loss and irreparable damage to their upper arms. It might be genetic and menopause-related, which means it doesn't affect everyone, but it scares me just the same. Menopause has also been linked to high blood pressure and other ailments. It's been a few years since I missed my last menstrual period. Well, I don't miss it at all. But I do note the onset of fine lines and wrinkles, crepey throat skin, a hint of mummy mouth around the lips... Ugh.

I'm also fighting a cold sore virus. I've had them before. I've had shingles before. I've had chickpox as a child. Oddly, I think the virus lives in a bump at the edge of my nostril. I'm sure I'm the only one who's noticed this, but my right nostril has been slightly smaller because of a thickening at the edge. I started to dab some tea-tree oil on it and it reduced, then I got the beginnings of a pimple just under my nose, and then I felt a tingling in my upper lip line which is consistent with the onset of a cold sore. Ugh. I have a tiny tube of Abreva and dab what I think are all the afflicted areas at least twice a day. I don't actually have any cold sores, but I'm taking lysine with all my vitamins just as a preventative. It's always something! cue Roseanne Roseannadanna via Gilda Radner.

I also just read online that B vitamins appear to help with glaucoma. I check my Optic Nerve vitamins and see that they don't supply all the Bs. Well, I guess I can put that Mega-B Complex to use. The only B vitamin I have to be cautious about is niacin, because niacin poisoning is real. From an online site which may or may not be over reactive:

Niacin is famous for causing flushing. Rapid absorption of as little as 35 mg of niacin (think 35 mg of niacin with a hot coffee on an empty stomach first thing in the morning) can cause flushing. The duration and severity of flushing is proportional to the dose. A severe flush can be fearfully painful – an unforgettable experience. A mild flush could possibly be described as a pleasant experience by an unusual person – a feeling of warmth accompanied by tingling. Here is a fairly comprehensive list of other side effects listed by authorities:

Itchy feeling spots on the skin (skin looks perfectly normal upon inspection)
Dry feeling spots on the skin (skin looks perfectly normal upon inspection)
Fainting
Rapid heartbeat
Low blood pressure
Nausea
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Ulcers
Liver malfunction
Nervousness
Panic
Anxiety
Headache
Tooth pain
Gum pain
Decreased Thyroid function
Blurred vision
Lazy eye

My mileage isn't quite up to speed because I slowed down to chat with the woman I lent my son's book to. Well, it's almost 6 miles... I still have a lot of other things to work on since I signed up for a class on how to write a proper query letter. I'm the type of person who needs to know what the rules are before I even attempt a project. I ask a lot of questions and pose a lot of different scenarios. Sometimes though, this leads to me talking myself out of things. Like becoming a personal trainer. Because, honestly, I'm not a "people person". And I'm not comfortable selling products or packages. Like myself. Sigh.

Friday
5.98 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 147
Miles 3.46

HGPU 38
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 80
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

Smith Inclined Bench
Bar x 13
12 x 50, 70, 80
25 x 60

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flyes
20/25 x 12/15 x 3

Rip Skulls
40 lbs x 12 x 3

30 min elliptical
Program 1
Calories 284
Miles 2.52

HGPU 40 Yaaay!

Don't Pause

In the locker room I see a woman who once complained that her inner upper arms had suddenly developed deep wrinkles. I see now that it's spread all around her upper arms, as if she'd lost all her muscle mass. Somewhere I read a dubious article entitled Warning Signs of Wrinkles In Odd Places. I'm not sure how reliable the article was, but it stated that the sudden appearance of upper arm wrinkles meant a sudden onset of high blood pressure and should be checked. I'm actually so shocked by how bad her upper arms look that I don't say anything to her at all. She's also rushing in and out, gabbing with her friends from Body Pump Class and I didn't want to interrupt her, or worse, scare her with unsubstantiated malarkey.

Today was Whack the Machine Day and while I love doing that, I hate the fact that I have to wear more protective footwear than my pliable trainers. In fact, I'm really starting to dread having to don my raspberry and grey Asics because eventually they make my feet hurt even though I have a big square of moleskin on my bunion. All the ellipticals were filled with chatty women today so I warmed up on the cross-trainer. It's still cold enough where I'm not even close to busting a sweat after 10 minutes, even wearing a hoodie.

At first, my right shoulder complains a bit during the Beginner rounds, but once I'm warmed up and that's after all 5 rounds, my shoulder feels okay. I blank the machine a few times and lose Accuracy Points. The 2nd round at the Advance Level is designed so that no one can score properly as it flits from one combination to another without pause. Which means you'd have to have foreknowledge of the blow to strike properly. Not possible. And I don't really care.

Occasionally between rounds I catch a glimpse of regulars on the treadmills, or at one of the Cybex machines. But normally I'm too focused on the machine immediately in front of me to notice much of anything. Afterwards, I pedal 20 minutes on the elliptical and then stretch at the Cage. I get to rep 35, then 36, 37, 38. And then I stop as I wonder if I can make two more reps. That pause is the kiss of death. I should've just kept going instead of wondering if I could. As the Nike slogan goes, "Just Do It". Don't think about it.

I hear loud voices and it's The Mayor on the treadmill, chatting with LoudMouth, the old guy who desperately needs a hearing aid. On the other side of the gym, I see TowelGuy using the assisted pull up machine to do just that. I've seriously never seen anyone graduate from that machine to do actual pull ups. I have seen that machine used for other things unexpectedly. Tattoo Braid uses it as a stepping device for his legs. It's probably a lot easier than climbing the Step Mill, something I've never seen him on. Most male gym users are divided between weight lifters (who sometimes use machines), and overall fitness guys who do both cardio and weights. There are also a very few guys who only do cardio, and you'd think they'd be wispy creatures, but in fact, they are usually fairly stocky dudes trying to manage their weight.

I suck down virtually all my water and the gym scale proclaims 110.0 lbs. Well, that's fair. Tomorrow I'll do cardio, and maybe a LeftOver Day, picking movements that don't aggravate my joints. My son doesn't have school so I'm letting him sleep in, but then we have a lunch date with an old friend at the local Indian restaurant. One of her cats has cancer and the chemo is making him worse than the actual illness. I sent her a Valentines Card (from her cats) and she loved it. My son will probably just plug himself into his headphones and watch silly YouTube cat videos. My hubs will be in Boston for the day, but plans to be home for supper. I wonder what I'll make...

Thursday

10 min x-trainer
Calories 47
Miles 1.24

Nexersys
5r Beginner
5r Intermediate
5r Advance

20 min elliptical
Program 3
Calories 157
Miles 1.81

HGPU 38

Photos for actual stats:

Progress In Spite Of

The gym scale totally surprised me today as it bounced between 108.8 and 109 lbs. I settled on 109 lbs. I'm sure part of it is that I only drank 2/3 of my water. Today was a body weight and cardio day, because I'm tired, but I'm too anxious to sit home in front of my computer all day. I read about Imposter Syndrome and sometimes that's how I feel, like an imposter because I'm not actually great at anything, and part of me feels that I should be a zillion times more successful than being a stay at home mom who writes a little-read blog, shows photography and writes an occasional weird story. Truthfully, I'd be really uncomfortable if more than 15 people ever read my blog. I think it's because my mother instilled a traumatic fear of calling attention to myself. But she's long dead so I don't really have any excuses except for what's going on in my head.

I get on the only available cardio machine which happens to be a cross-trainer by the front door. 30 minutes later and barely over 3 miles, I'm trying to muster enough energy to do pull ups. They feel incredibly hard and I only make it to 34. Knee-Ins are always okay. The Mayor is back, gabbing with Shazam at an ab machine that faces the sit up board I use for Knee-Ins. Most of my workout is going to be on the Mats, and cardio. I do my push ups, and then planks. I don't really want to mess with my hair clip today so I only do one set of crunches.

I have the bigger U8 earbuds in, and they sound great, but my right ear is tender. I think I have some sort of bump inside my ear canal that shrinks its diameter. We all have weird bumps. Sometimes they're benign cysts, or warts. Or skin tags. The older we get, the more lumps and bumps we discover on our bodies. I'm not sure when I should become concerned and have anything checked out, because going to the doctor is almost as expensive as not having any health insurance at all.

I take time out to show a gym-friend my son's book. I've been carrying a copy of it around in my purse for weeks now, hoping that if I show it to the right person, I'll make a contact for a job prospect. As much as I miss working for a big corporation, I can't see how I can continue to support my son's activities and home work efforts if I'm commuting to a Big City job. (I'm still tempted to ask people I know if the local pharma giant is hiring down in Tarrytown.) But really, I need to figure out how to get clients for what I love doing: graphic layouts for print publications, and writing.

When she leaves, I spend 30 minutes on the elliptical, torturing myself with the Intervals program. Then more pull ups. This time they're easier and I make my 40. Yaaay me! As an after thought, I check out the Zumba class room which is now empty. Perfect for doing a few, very few pistol squats.

Wednesday
6.16 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 148
Miles 3.57

HGPU 34
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 80
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Crunches 50

30 min elliptical
Intervals
Calories 294
Miles 2.59

HGPU 40

Pistol Squats 6 ea leg

Start Again

It goes without saying that my hubs is a terrible influence on my diet. When he's home, I snack and drink too much because I worry that he'll feel I'm judging him and his lack of self-control. Since his mom passed away last April, he's been indulging in a variety of craft beers. It's not unusual for him to drink a six-pack during dinner. His dad is declining rapidly (we don't think he entirely recognizes people, and he seems unable to use his cell phone) and my hubs, like many American men, doesn't have the tools to deal with such emotional distress. He works a lot, exercises occasionally, binge watches historical dramas and rants about politics.

Today the gym scale read 110.4 lbs which is better than yesterday. I'm sure I'll be fine until the end of the week when I'll have to start again. I haven't figured out how to fix this yet. I'm trying to exercise smarter, especially with my shoulder still feeling so wonky. We're suppose to get another light dusting of snow tomorrow, about an inch. That might be sweepable, but it'll still use the same motion and the same muscles. Well, at least my shoulder doesn't hurt anymore when I'm laying in bed.

I get to the gym and am excited that the cross-trainer is free. All goes well until the last 5 minutes when pedaling suddenly feels extremely arduous, as if the machine had increased to resistance 10 while maintaining the facade of zero. Afterwards, I find that ChattyGuy is using 15 foot long battle ropes that he's affixed to the base of the Stretch Cage. Maybe I'm a bitch, but he's not actually using the Cage itself so I step into it and start stretching. He walks away, leaving the ropes on the floor for everyone to trip over. I'm only there for 5 minutes. He could come back. But I think he was done anyway. I hate it when people don't put the equipment back in place. When I leave the gym some hours later, the ropes are still on the floor. Oh well...

Today is a Pull Day and everything else is routine, including core warm up. I see a few regulars, but not The Mayor, Shaggy, Frankenstein or creepy PJPants. Last time I saw PJPants, it looked as if he was totally disgusted standing at the cable station. I was probably doing RDLs, and taking in the view from the mirrored wall. He suddenly turned his back in an odd way, making me think that he was done with whatever he was trying to achieve. Let's refresh: this is a beer-gut, middle-age man who sits at the same station doing the same exercise two or three days in a row. This is the creepy guy who mouthed "I love you" at me while I was at one of the exercise stations. Yuck! We all know he has no idea what the hell he's doing, and I'm glad he's gone.

One of the trainers has an elderly couple at the DBs. They might be the same age because they both have curly gray hair, spotty complexions and an overweight lumpy physique. But the woman is clearly enthralled with the exercises, while her husband trails behind ploddingly. He's not really interested in doing any of this. For that generation, the wives are usually younger than the husbands, but in this case it's hard to say. But she'll outlast him for sure if only because she has a better attitude.

Tuesday
6.3 miles

30 minx-trainer
Calories 142
Miles 3.79
Average Speed 7.58
Average Pace 7:55

HGPU 36
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 80
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

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

Smith RGBB Rows
25 x 80, 100, 120, 130

OneArm Seated Cable Rows
52.5 lbs x 12 x 3

30 min elliptical
Program 2
Calories 282
Miles 2.51

HGPU 36

Post Orson

Winter Storm Orson was actually worse than Storm Niko, if only because the light fluffy snow was capped with a layer of heavy frozen rain. They call that sleet and it left a hard candy shell on everything including cars, trees and garbage bins. After the snow and rain had come and gone, alerts went out for a High Wind advisory, which in some ways is scarier because you never know which tree will drop a limb or fall over across the road. I shoveled my car out this morning, making good use of the two-hour school delay. My hubs had to go to his office, and then to Boston overnight for an early morning meeting tomorrow. So much for Valentine's Day. I have a red Old Navy T-shirt that says Heartbreaker on it. Maybe I'll wear that tomorrow?

My right shoulder and hip definitely don't like shoveling these days. But I get done what needs to be done. I drive my son to the school bus stop because all the slush and ice make walking down the hill a bit precarious, especially since he's carrying his viola and his backpack. The gym parking lot is virtually totally free of snow and I'm impressed. Management must've contracted with a better snow removal company because usually the lot is icy and only partially plowed. I've forgotten to pack my Bluetooth earbuds today although I have several pairs of wired headphones. But the case on my new iPod makes it difficult to manually adjust the volume so I opt to use my old square iPod with the unevenly wired Sony MDR-J20s.

I can't get on the cross-trainers at first so I do Program 1 on the elliptical for 30 minutes. I'm a space case today, having left my gear bag with my gloves inside my locker. Ugh. I can't do pull ups without gloves to protect my hands, especially the crease where fingers adjoin the palms. My arms are already tired from shoveling so I'm not surprised that pull ups are strenuous. All I'm asking for is more than 31, and I get it so I'm happy enough. Regular push ups don't bother me but I don't want to test my luck by pushing past 80 reps. Crunches and planks are fine too.

I drag the small flat bench over to the Smith, but it's a waste of time. I can bench the bar okay, but add a little weight and my shoulder complains vociferously. It's only 80 lbs and barely more than a dozen reps. So that's a no-go for high reps, low weight flat benching today. I swap out the flat bench for the bigger adjustable inclined bench. At first the warm up feels painful and I wonder how far I'm going to get. But as I add weight, my shoulder seems to settle down. Of course, I'm not pushing my luck here either and let it go with just a single set at 80 lbs. I already know that the DB Raises aren't going to be fun, so like last week, I use both a pair of 20s and 25s to get my delt work done.

Frankenstein is at the DB rack and I stop a good dozen feet behind him to let him put his weights back. At first he's about to drop the 25 pounders in the nearest slot, which is actually where the 15s go, but he pauses a moment and slides the DBs into the correct slot. Good boy! Maybe this Jedhi mind control thing works? Afterwards, he lumbers back to Machine City to finish his workout. I'm glad he's not lingering and staring.

There's a couple of new faces here today. One is wearing a form-fitting spandex long sleeve shirt and leggings. He's got quite the V-taper, like he's wearing a Superman suit. Because he's also wearing a watch cap low over his brow, I'm not sure if he's the blonde bodybuilder dude who usually comes in the evenings, and who I've seen at the local beach occasionally during the summer. There are other guys I recognize from the past few months... no one creepy though, so that's reassuring.

The power goes out and all the machines stop. Well, all the treadmills stop. You can still pedal the cross-trainer and the elliptical even without power, but you lose all your data. A few emergency lights come on. It's enough for the muscle heads to keep pushing weights. After Rip Skulls, I find the cross-trainer I like best and punch in 30 minutes. 7 minutes into it and the power goes out. So there goes my data, but I'm still pedaling... the power comes back on after 5 minutes and I try to adjust by tapping in 26 minutes. 7 minutes into it and that's 0.75 miles to add to my cross-trainer mileage. The treadmill people start running or walking again.

The lady who seems to have had a stroke is in the Stretch Cage. I know she won't be there too long but I don't want to rush her. I sit in the adjacent Torso Twist machine and do a set of 25 reps for each side with minimal weight. That happens to be 30 lbs. My shoulder is tired although not horribly achy by the time I get to my second set of pull ups. I catch myself miscounting and make up for it. Still, I manage to make it to 36 reps, although again, the last 4 are definitely not pretty. I see the Latin Lovebirds in a corner of the gym. He's coaching her on Preacher curls and her long skinny arms look like they need all the help they can get.

I do a quick modified Mat stretch routine to get the kinks out of my shoulders. A tall slender guy drops onto the end of my mat to do some flexibility moves. He's not bad. It's unusual to see younger guys doing that. Usually it's old guys who can barely bend over. I'm hoping the power stays on long enough for me to take a nice hot shower. The gym scale reflects this weekend's over-indulgences: 111.4 lbs. Ugh. It's hard for me to eat proper when my hubs is around because I want to make meals that the entire family enjoys, and he's a meat at every meal kind of guy. Oh well...

Monday
6.75 miles est

30 min elliptical
Program 1
Calories 289
Miles 2.56

HGPU 35
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 80
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

Smith Flat Bench
Bar x 15
80 x 15 right shoulder
Smith Inclined Bench
Bar x 16 hands placed shoulder width
50 x 13 slight discomfort
60 x 13 less discomfort
70 x 12 okay / gym lights go out
80 x 13 shoulder ok

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys
20/25 lbs x 12/15 reps x 3 sets

Rip Skulls
40 lbs x 12 x 3

30 min x-trainer + 7 min
Calories 125 +
Miles 3.46 + .73 = 4.19 miles
Average Speed 7.97
Average Pace 7:31

Torso Twist
2 x 30 lbs x 25

HGPU 36

Post Niko

Winter Storm Niko brought arctic temps along with the bonanza of fluffy snow. It's not hard to shovel, but there's a lot of it. It's so cold though that after shoveling a good 8 x 10 spot for our secondary parking, I haven't busted a sweat even though I'm wearing a fleece hat and winter parka. Temps should rise into the 40s tomorrow, but only areas with patches of visible ground will absorb any heat. Everything else will stay frozen and white. Tonight's suppose to be a lunar eclipse, but true to form, the sky is overcast and gray. It had been blazingly sunny all day! Now, not a star, planet or the moon in sight anywhere! The news states there's more snow and/or rain and/or sleet on the way. Oh yaaay. Kidding.

My right shoulder and hips don't appreciate shoveling. The lungs are getting a good workout though. I drove my son to the school bus stop because our road is slippery with slush this morning. And then I went to the gym. It's only partially full, probably because not only is it Friday, but lots of folks are still shoveling their way out of their driveways. We've had worse snow. And more frequently. Before my hubs and I were married, we spent quite a few winters shoveling snow out of the driveway until the side banks were too high to see over. This isn't even remotely as bad.

The gym is also really cold today so I don't feel very warm after 10 minutes on the elliptical. There's an old guy boxing at the good Nexersys and I'm not going to bother with the other machine because it reverts to SouthPaw unless you log in, and it's impossible to log in because the keyboard is funky. Funky as in you press the W key once and it shows up as WWWWW. Then you hit Backspace and maybe you lose 2 or 3 Ws, or maybe all of them. Ugh. So not worth it. Only by logging in can you turn off all the alarms that stop the machine and tell you that you're hitting too hard. And only by logging in can you prevent the machine from reverting to southpaw stance. The gym owner doesn't care because he doesn't actually log in. He just runs the Spar program in Default mode.

I only do a mild stretch at the Cage because I'm not really warmed up. And then I suck it up and do some pull ups. I'm always so relieved when I make it past 31 reps. The old guy is done, resting at the coffee bar. No one else is waiting. I take my time and affix the moleskin, tape, wraps and finally stuff my hands into my gloves. I'm cold. The machine is near the front door and even though it's a double door system, there's a chill from everyone entering and leaving. I go through all 5 Beginner rounds and never bust a sweat. It's only at the end of the Intermediate rounds that I feel warm. Finally! Temps have also risen outside. It was 17°F when I got to the gym, and closer to 28F by the time I leave. One of the Advance rounds goes a bit haywire, and I catch myself mumbling "Oh, fuckit" when I miss a complete 3-blow combination. None of the combinations are the ones listed beforehand. I don't even know why I bother prepping for each round.

I have to force myself to focus because I'm distracted by how moody I feel. I suspect it's a vitamin imbalance. I've been taking vitamin 250 mg of B-12 along with just 2 capsules of the Optic Nerve vitamin formula. Instructions are to take 4 capsules daily (no consideration given for how big you are so I'm taking the same dose as a 250 lb guy), but because the ON already contains B12, my urine starts to smell noticeably bad. So I skip my 250 mg tablet of B12, my pee smells normal but I don't feel as good. If anything, I feel sort of depressed and anxious, in spite of exercise. Ugh. I should probably take my own B12s again, but maybe cut back on the ON to 3 capsules?

I spend 20 minutes on the elliptical but I don't have the energy to pedal very fast. I'm barely sweating at the 15 min mark. Ugh. Not a great workout. I go to the Stretch Cage. WTH... I stretch and then pump myself up for pull ups. And I actually make it to 40. Yaaaay me! The last 5 aren't pretty, but I'm pretty sure I'm not kipping them either. Whew! I do a quick Mat stretch, note that my left inside quad still feels tight from an inflamed tendon. That's going to take a few weeks to heal up. Sigh. My shoulder's not better. Not worse either. Ugh.

Friday

10 min elliptical
Calories 89
Miles 0.80

HGPU 36

Nexersys
5r Beginner
5r Intermediate
5r Advance

20 min elliptical
Program 3
Calories 180
Miles 1.63

HGPU 40 Yaaay!

Photos for actual stats:

When Something Works Too Well

Post workout

My son and I walked through heavy fog to get to the school bus stop. I was worried that my old blue parka didn't provide enough visibility for the occasional car streaking down our road. By the time I got home, the sun was ablaze in the sky and temps crested at 57°F. Crazy! Of course, there was still ice on the lake and snow dotting the road like haphazard molars in an ornery mouth.

The gym was crowded with seniors this morning. All the ellipticals (there's only 4) were occupied. Most of the cross-trainers were too. But I manage to snag one next to my favorite one. Well, better than nothing. I'm tired today. My shoulder still aches weirdly, sometimes down the inside of the bone just under the bicep. But it's not horrible pain, just discomfort. I smeared myself with coconut oil this morning before dressing to alleviate dry skin itchiness. I can't cook with it because it doesn't agree with my gastrointestinal system, but it smells nice when I apply it to my shins and belly.

Because I'll probably be shoveling tomorrow, and there's a good chance school will be cancelled, I figure I'd better get a decent work out in today. But something that's not shoulder-intensive. I'm too tired to whack the machine. Better save that for Friday. Instead, I opt for a "Cardio Day" which is all my basic core stuff, and two sets of cardio. Not much different from my regular routine, except I don't touch a BB or DB today. I have trouble slogging through the cross-trainer. My feet go numb sooner than I expect. The pull ups always start out easy and increase in difficulty quite quickly.

Knee-Ins are always easy, but I think I'm developing a rough patch just over my tail bone. My skin is dry and scaly, and extremely sensitive, especially to irritants. Callouses build easily with little provocation. It's a good thing I'm not consumed with mani-pedis because I could quickly spend a small fortune weekly just to have civilized nails and cuticles. Sshhh. I file the callouses on my palms.

I haven't pushed myself to go past 80 reps for push ups because of the wonky shoulder. My crunches are better when I take my hair clip out so I do that, but put it back in for planks, and the final set of push ups. I see the young Latin Lovebirds again, cooing encouragement at each other. Well, mostly him cooing at her. They're cute and I smile to myself. I do a few Pistol Squats in the hallway. I'm happy that I can actually still do them, but unhappy at how stiff I am when I do them. These used to be easier. But of course, I used to be younger.

I'm drenched and strip off my hoodie before returning to the cardio platform. Hmmmm. Step Mill or elliptical? I decide to do Intervals on the elliptical because I, most likely, won't get the chance on Friday. 17 minutes into the program, my headphone announces "battery low" but I'm not sure if that means the headphones or the iPod is out of juice. I'd forgotten to charge my iPod and noted that it had about a 1/3 charge left on its battery. It turns out to be the A8 earbuds. Hmmm. Not quite the 8 hrs it advertises. I end the program, leave all my stuff in place because there are 3 other ellipticals available and the gym's not all that busy at the moment, dash into the locker room and swap my useless gear for the back up in my purse: old wired Sony MDR-J20s and my ancient square iPod nano. Then I restart the Intervals program for just 15 minutes. Ugh.

Still dripping, I stretch out and then do my final set of pull ups. The last rep takes me a moment to get my face to the bar. Ugh. It was hard. I'm tired. But I want to do one more set of Pistols and the class room is empty. While I walk across the room I note how my arm hangs bent at a 20° angle. Yep, those are big-ass triceps. Catching a photo of them is another matter. My hands are small and the phone is too big for me to manage it well. After another set of Pistols, I retreat to the locker room. Well, at least I didn't fall on my butt. I take a few more photos because I want to see if my efforts to lose this bulk are making any noticeable progress. My face looks a little better. I don't like it when my face is full and round like the moon.

Looking billowy

I'm really surprised when the gym scale bounces between 107.8 and 108 lbs. I'll take the latter. The only things that I've done differently this week is replace lunch with a protein shake mixed with 8 ounces of fat-free, lactose-free milk. I use the Optimum Nutrition vanilla because it tastes like vanilla ice cream. Yum! It seems to keep me full for the rest of the day, and I'm not horribly eager to wolf down dinner later on. Today I added a half teaspoon of cocoa powder, but I think I'll need to add more to actually taste it.

I'm worried I'm going to sabotage myself because this weight loss happened so quickly. I should be more concerned with fat loss, but fitting into my clothes is always a good thing. I'm thinking I can drop further because I need to shed fat. I don't think building muscle is in the cards for me right now. I'm just happy at maintaining what I've already got. Except I know my quads and glutes will bloom with even just a few pistol squats a week. I might have to add split squats sooner than I planned. Just for some hamstring balance, of course.

Tomorrow, Winter Storm Niko is suppose to dump 6-10 inches of heavy wet snow on us. Lovely. Then it'll raise temps at the North Pole a good 30 to 50°F. Seriously? On Friday, we can witness the full moon, which has been rechristened the Snow Moon. Doesn't that sound lovely and benign? It used to be called the Hunger Moon by Native Americans, because February is usually a bad time to search for food or game. We're also suppose to be privy to a penumbral lunar eclipse, and potentially a passing comet (Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková). The latter will require binoculars in the pre-dawn Saturday sky. Yep. I'll be we don't see any of it.

Wednesday
6.05 cardio miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 131
Miles 3.32

HGPU 36
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 80
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Push Ups 60
Pistol Squats 6 ea leg

17 min elliptical
Intervals
Calories 159
Miles 1.43
Change iPod & earbuds
15 min elliptical
Intervals
Calories 148
Miles 1.30

HGPU 34

Pistol Squats 5 ea leg

Doing What Works

Local school districts initiated a 2-hr delay as a precaution to potentially hazardous road conditions due to Winter Storm Maya. It has apparently already wreaked havoc on the northern western and midwest states. Montana has declared a state of emergency, and they're used to snow and ice. We're warned of freezing rain so I salted my steps, walkway and driveway last night. This morning the ground looked okay. It wasn't even raining. My son got on the school bus at 9:13 instead of 7:13. I went to the gym, thankful that I'd already done my grocery shopping yesterday.

It's raining mostly. My hubs sends me videos of snow in Boston. Today's their ticker-tape parade to celebrate their Super Bowl win. Temps go from a high of 37°F at 1 pm, down to 33 when I get home. That's not good. There's a second storm out in the Atlantic that's suppose to hit tomorrow or Thursday. Hmmmm. Well, at least my son's after-school chess club wasn't cancelled today, and I'm assuming we're on for Boy Scouts tonight. Next term, my son wants to take Archery. He'll have to take the Intro Class even though he's been bow shooting for years, because that's how these courses are set up. But there are several new classes. He's not interested in most of them. Nope, no Lego Robotics or coding for him. However, Animal Dissection caught his interest. It caught mine! Sign up is next week, so in March I'll have to pick him up from school twice a week.

Today the gym isn't as crowded as I thought it should be, but still, all the cross-trainers are busy. I guess my new routine is to pedal the elliptical first, and finish with the cross-trainer later. I like doing the cross-trainer first because the angle of the pedals means the zipper bottom of my hoodie doesn't bang against my thighs, which is what happens on the elliptical. After the core stuff, I take my hoodie off and drape in on the benches like a towel. But switching up the cardio is probably a good thing to keep from getting stale.

Today is a Pull Day, so after pull ups, push ups, crunches, planks, and more push ups, I wander over to  the racks. There's a regular in the Smith so I prepare to use the (hated) MaxRack. But just as I'm about to do a warm up set with the bar, he's done. Yaaaay me! So I have my Smith RDLs, and Smith RG BB Rows. I strip my gloves off when I put the VGs on because the seam burn from last week is still fresh in my mind. I can grip the bar fine without gloves, but I know the callouses will grow twice as fast now. Oh well...

The Mayor shows up for lat pull downs just as I'm setting up to do Seated One-Arm Cable Rows. I've upped the weight a tiny bit, using the 7.5 lb brick instead of the 5 lb. I'm not sure if I can do three sets so I'm mentally prepared to do drop sets if it comes to that. It's hard, but not impossible. Today, I can't actually hear the Mayor at all, but I can see his ginormous faded pink polo shirt in my peripheral vision. (I don't think my glaucoma is as bad as my doc suggests, but I could be just blind to the reality of it. Yes, bad pun intended.) He seems to be getting even fatter as his face recedes into what used to be a chin and neck. The polo shirt protrudes at the belly. He looks pregnant, but I'm sure it's middle-age health issues. And probably poor eating habits. I'm not interested enough to ask.

I get on the cross-trainer to give my arms a break. I like my old Asic Gel trainers and wish they still made them properly, in the correct width instead of getting cheap with materials and making everything narrower. My newer Asics never feel this good at the end of a workout. But by 16:35 (time elapsed) the ball of my right foot is starting to tingle. It progresses down to my toes. And then my left foot starts to tingle. Ugh. By the time 30 minutes has elapsed, both my feet are pins and needles prickly. The Stretch Cage is good for flexing my feet and stretching the hammies. My arms are still tired. I find myself hyperventilating a little before pull ups just to get oxygenated. I'm not sure I actually breathe very much while I'm pulling up. It'd be distracting and I'm sure I'd completely lose count if I had to focus on breathing as well! (Remember, I'm the one who can't change the car radio channel while driving.)

I do most of my Mat Stretch. There's a cute couple on the other mat. He's been coaching and encouraging her. At any minute I think they're going to kiss because he's so into her. I might've seen them before so they've probably got memberships now. Nice.

The gym scale reads 109.4 lbs, which surprises me in a good way. I must be doing something right! Okay, gotta get my son from school...

Tuesday
6.46 miles

30 min elliptical
Program 2
Calories 284
Miles 2.53

HGPU 37
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 80
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side planks 2 x 60s
Push Ups 50

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

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

Seated OneArm Cable Rows
52.5 lbs x 12 x 3

30 min x-trainer
Calories 144
Miles 3.93
Average Speed 7.84
Average Pace 7:39

HGPU 36

When Did They Change the Rules?

I watched the Super Bowl with my son yesterday after the Puppy Bowl was over. For the most part I was able to follow most of the plays. And I wondered if the Patriots were going to do the unthinkable and lose? Or even more unlikely, score enough points in the second half of the game to actually win. The half-time show was awesome. I knew most of the songs, and of course, the show finale, Bad Romance is on my cardio playlist. After the Patriots score another touch down (TD), I see scramble for the 2-point conversion. And the ball never makes it into the End Zone. The player gets shoved out and a flag gets thrown. There is cheering and I'm confused, because apparently all the Patriots needed was for the ball to float over the goal line. But from where I'm sitting, the ball doesn't even do that, cradled in an elbow that's not directly over the white painted line. I have vivid memories of players making a big show of kneeling in the end zone and smacking the ball down onto the turf. I must be old. When did a touch down not actually require the ball to touch down?


I get to the gym feeling a bit out of sorts. Not enough sleep. Most of the cross-trainers are in use so I pedal 30 minutes on the elliptical. There's a guy looking at his phone while "stretching" in the Stretch Cage. He's there so long that I give up and just move on to knee-ins and push ups. I only do 80 push ups, and skip the crunches because honestly, I don't feel like taking the clip out of my hair. I do a set of Bird Dogs though. There's a flat bench in the Smith so that's good, but the weights have been reracked haphazardly. Ugh. I hate that. My shoulder is still iffy today. I don't push too hard.

Because I know my shoulder didn't like the Inclined BB Press last time I did it, I do a few light sets of DB presses with just 25 lb DBs. Then, I drop the DB laterals to 20 lbs, but keep the 25s for Reverse Inclined Flyes. The 20s are light, but the 25s cause pain in my shoulder and forearms lately. Next time I'll grab the magnetic discs to make the 20s into 22.5s, a happy median. The gym is crowded today and I recognize a few regulars like Maroon, Shaggy, Little R and BigMustache. But no Mayor today. Creepy Frankenstein lumbers through Machine City. I make a point of avoiding him.

Rip Skulls don't hurt too much so I'll keep them at 40 lbs for now. A girl does squats with the 20 lb BB a few feet away. I'm not quite sure why she takes her sweat shirt off to do them. If I were her, I'd leave the shirt on just for cushioning against the back of my neck. Personally, I don't like squats because they hurt my elbows. I can't seem to get my arms in the proper position to secure the bar properly on my shoulders which is why I've resorted to Smith Squats in the past. Less issues with my arms being at the proper angles to keep the bar in place. Plus, my knees complain a lot if I use more than a modicum of weight. Worst, I don't need bigger glutes. I have a hard enough time finding pants that fit as it is. But, at some point, when I drop a few pounds so I don't have to worry about having clothes that fit, I will do Smith Split Squats again. And probably Pistol Squats.

The cross-trainer that I favor is free so I pedal on it for 30 minutes. I glance at the timer to see "19:29 time elapsed" just as my right foot starts to tingle painfully. By the time I get off, the whole front of my foot is pins and needles numb. Ugh. I'm glad I can walk it off! The Stretch Cage is finally free so I stretch a bit before doing pull ups. I've found that doing a prolonged side-bend has been extremely helpful in alleviating the lower back discomfort I've felt from RDLs. Pull Ups are almost a head trip. The first 20 are easy. The next 10 are slightly harder. The last 9 are much harder. I'd like to make it to 10, but I can't. What is that? 39? It's only one set, but it'll do. The old guy who likes to put his feet on other people's mats when he does sit ups is sitting on equipment directly behind me. I'm not sure if he's waiting or resting. I'm sort of creeped out because he follows me to the Mats where I do an abbreviated stretch routine. I half expect him to drop onto the end of my Mat and do sit ups, but he just stands there and stares. Ugh. Creepy old guys.

The gym scale reads 111.0 lbs. Not horrible. Not great. I ate a lot of cheese and crackers watching the Super Bowl. I'll have to do better if I want to drop these 3-4 lbs! Ugh.

Monday
6.52 miles

30 min elliptical
Program 1
Miles 2.51
Calories 283

Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 80
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Smith Bench
Bar x 15
80 x 15
100 x 15
120 x 8
90 x 25

DB Inclined Press 30*
25 lbs x 12 x 1
@45*
25 x 12 x 2

DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flyes
20/25 x 12/15 x 3

Rip Skulls
40 lbs x 12 x 3

30 min x-trainer
Calories 145
Miles 4.01
Average Speed 7.99
Average Pace 7:30

HGPU 39

Ever So Slowly

My hubs found out this morning that he had to be in Boston this weekend. Not just this weekend, but clear through until next week. This will be the first time in 20 years that we will not be watching the Super Bowl together. I'm not a big football fan. Neither is he, but he at least played football in HS. Which means he can explain all the plays and rules, because it's never quite made much sense to me. I know the basics, but certain things still confuse me, like first downs... My son has no interest whatsoever and will be watching the Puppy Bowl instead. Because who doesn't love puppies?

I don't make it to the gym until just before noon, just after my hubs leaves for work. It's eerily empty although there are a few stalwart seniors gabbing at the coffee tables. After 10 minutes on the elliptical, I'm barely warmed up. It's a good thing I like to do 5 rounds of Beginner. The right Cross Pad gets a tad floppy after just a few rounds. The Power Dig doesn't register for half the combinations, and the screen goes blank a few times for more than a few seconds. Which means I can't see what blow is called for, and miss. This impacts my Accuracy score negatively, but I don't care. I just enjoy smacking the machine.

The Intermediate level is the hardest today because of the errant programming in one of the rounds. The machine literally vomits combos in a blinding succession that's impossible to react to. I fair better in the Advance level, but the machine doesn't record my blows with any accuracy. Oh well... I don't have time to jump on the elliptical, and I go straight to pull ups before washing up. Dang! I can only get 35 today, but that's not so horrible. I do stretch out a bit because my shoulders are tight from yesterday's workout although I'm not quite sure why. It was just a body weight routine.

Tomorrow is my son's Boy Scout Court of Honor where he'll be awarded his Tenderfoot rank. It's a breakfast assembly so we have to get there at 8:30 am. Ugh. No sleeping in. And I hear there's snow and sleet in the forecast for next Tuesday. Again. Not sure why Tuesdays seem so blessed. Well, it IS winter...


Friday Workout

10 min elliptical
Calories 93
Miles 0.83

Nexersys
5r Beginner
5r Intermediate
5r Advance

HGPU 35

Happy GroundHog Day! 6 More Weeks of Winter!

It's remarkably warm for February although I still wear my beat up, old down coat outside. And a fleece hat, and gloves. There's still large swathes of snow covering unpaved areas in spite of the 35+°F temps. I wake up to a gray sky and I'm happy that mornings will come sooner and brighter. The half moon window in the bedroom faces east and during the late Spring, the sun pokes you in eye as you lay in bed. But not yet. At least it's not dark as night when I take the dog out.

My shoulder still hurts when I get up, but not as badly as yesterday. I rethink my desire to whack the machine and reschedule that workout for tomorrow. Another day might be better for the joints. But I'm still headed to the gym. Normally I'd do a light Push Day, or a LeftOvers workout but I'm shying away from things that hurt, like Pressing. Even the DB Laterals were causing some unexpected distress in my upper arms. And because I really want to smack the Nexersys at some point this week, I'm okay with resting. And by resting, I mean doing just a cardio day, with body weight exercises.

My favorite cross-trainer is occupied so I slip into the one next to it. It's a bit rougher on the knees and feet, but I can manage to do 30 minutes. When I get off, my toes are numb and tingly. Then pull ups. I feel weak today. My glutes and thighs are a teensy sore. I only make it to 34 reps. Ugh. That's a bit disappointing, but still better than 31! The Stretch Cage faces the cardio platform where the treadmills are all lined up. A fellow looks surprised when my face pops up past the top of the Stretch Cage, and Maroon, who is on the adjacent treadmill, laughs. I can clear the bar to get my chin up past the roof for a good 20 reps. The next 12 have me pulling to my nose. The last two have me struggling to get my eyes past the bar. Ugh! But I'm still counting them!

There is a new regular young woman in the gym. She watches with doleful eyes and I wonder if she's trying to figure out how to do pull ups. I see her on the various machines, always by herself. SadEyes seems relatively thin and athletic so I hope at some point she breaks away from Machine City and plays with the free weights. There's a lot of new faces. I don't know how many of them will last the year. Many regulars don't seem to make any progress...

The local HS must have Thursdays off because suddenly a swarm of boys crowds the gym. I'm glad I've already knocked out my push ups, crunches and knee-ins. Because regular push ups didn't hurt, or not until the very last set when I cut it short, I do the Bird Dog and Side Planks. They don't bother my shoulder either. I can hear The Mayor long before I spy his orange polo shirt. He always works out in a polo shirt. And for a time, he did a few minutes of cardio after pushing weights. But not lately. Someone calls out to him something about not hurting himself again. But why can I hear all this when I'm plugged in? I'm wearing the A8 Bluetooth earbuds today.

I'm alternating between the U8s (which sound fantastic and are easy to use) and the A8s, which sound better than the first pair I bought, but are still difficult to charge and control. They are a tad more comfortable, but the wire between the two earbuds is so long that I wind up wrapping it around my hairbun after I clip the braid to my head. If only they had made that wire shorter, and the charging wire longer. I still haven't written my revised review for Amazon yet. It's a bit finicky and I don't quite trust it... will it charge this time? will it turn on this time? And while it sounds better, I still detect a slight hissing with certain songs. Maybe it's the song? I'll have to listen with my wired Sonys to know for certain. Ugh...

Wil Wheaton

I see a new guy who looks like Wil Wheaton's younger, thinner-faced brother, only with a full sleeve of tats on his right arm, and half a sleeve on the left. Tats on his legs too. He's the only fellow I've ever seen wear bike pants that crop to the knees. Okay, he WAS just on the Espresso Bike for 15 minutes, but usually he's in the free weight area. And I'm impressed because he's the only guy I've seen so far who, after wiping down the equipment, actually applied hand sanitizer from the bottle at the front desk. Heck, even I didn't know that was there!

Just for fun, I decide to do 15 min on the Step Mill. It wasn't hard so I probably should've done 20 minutes. But it IS boring... even when I'm mixing things up by side-stepping or cross-stepping every 3 minutes or so...  The gym scale reads 110.4 lbs. Well, that's better but not great. So much work to do, but at least there's time to do it. 

Thursday
6.18 miles

30 min x-trainer
Calories 132
Miles 3.59

HGPU 34
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups 100
Crunches 3 x 50

30 min elliptical
Program 2
Calories 295
Miles 2.59

HGPU 36
Push Ups 80
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Push Ups 50

15 min StepMill
Total steps 639
Calories 97
39 flights climbed