This Time I Really Mean It

Because my bedroom window faces east and has a half moon set high in the wall, I tend to wake when the sun rises, in spite of all the trees that surrounds our property. This means that I'm awake before the alarm goes off at 6:30. Well, technically, the clock says 6:28 but there's a weird two-minute lag in this corner of the bedroom. I suspect there's a magnetic anomaly in the bedrock under the house, but it's hard to say. Of course, I wonder now if I should be worried about radon, but since the bedroom is actually cantilevered several feet over big empty concrete foundation walls that are open to circulating air, I think the risk is minimal.

I'm awake before sunrise at 6:26 today because the sky is light well before the sun actually peeks over the treeline. My right shoulder aches. I also have a headache but that's due to dehydration. I'd had a Red's Wicked Black Cherry Ale with supper and it was such a large can that I didn't actually finish it. Usually I chase a Red's Apple Ale with a glass of water, but last night I completely forgot. And as a consequence, I woke up with a headache. Coffee soon fixed that. But not my shoulder. By the time I get to the gym, it's nearly 11 am and there are chatty seniors everywhere. I don't begrudge them the socializing. It's just that most of them seem in need of hearing aids and in spite of my earbuds and tunes, I can still hear them cackling. And I don't just mean the old women.

The cross-trainers are busy so I start with 30 minutes on the elliptical. Today I'm wearing a hand-me-down hoodie from my son. It's a tad smaller than my usual royal blue zip up so it doesn't hit me in the thigh when I'm on the Precor. It's my belief that stretching is only useful after a workout, so I don't want to jeopardize myself by using the Stretch Cage before or between all my cardio sessions today. Stretching has been shown to actually weaken muscles. Of course, I don't do the "slow walk warm up' either. (Heck, I walk the dog at a faster trot than that.) Today is truly Just Cardio. Once I wipe down the elliptical, I climb up on the Step Mill. Afterwards, I can finally get on the cross-trainer I favor. My right foot starts to get numb and tingly halfway through, and by the last 5 minutes, my other foot has tingly toes as well. Once I'm completely done I can use the Stretch Cage. But no pull ups today. No core, no push ups. Boy do I feel naughty!

I'm fairly satisfied with my workout since I wasn't sure what to expect moving from cardio machine to cardio machine without taking any real rest in between. Not too many regulars today. I see Sad Eyes and I wonder what the strategy is behind her routine. Some people just work out on whatever machine is available without any obvious purpose or goal. I think that's a mistake. I'm a firm believer in doing Big Compound movements first, followed by smaller more specialized exercises. In the locker room, I snap a few selfies and I'm pleased that I still have "arms" even though today was only a Cardio Day. I'm sorely tempted to whack the machine tomorrow. I probably shouldn't, but I haven't seen anyone young or old at the Nexersys all week. I guess I'll see if my shoulder wakes me up tomorrow and decide from there.

Thursday
Cardio Day 6.67 miles

30 min elliptical
Program 3
Calories 295
Miles 2.60

20 min Step Mill
Level 6
Calories 156
Floors climbed 66

30 x-trainer
Calories 146
Miles 4.07
Average Speed 8.14
Average Pace 7:22