Push Ups as Cardio?

My son has been nagging me to drive him to school because the buses are so overcrowded that he has to perch on the edge of a seat with his backpack and violà case. The school bus driver has even complained because it's really not safe. Come winter, when students have heavy winter coats on, the situation will only get worse. The problem is that the boneheads in the transportation department want to save money by limiting buses, and claim that 3 kids can fit in each seat. I'm not a big person, and even I know that you can only fit 2 people if they are my size or bigger. And I'm the size of a 10 year old. And this is a bus being shared by Middle School and High School kids. Which means they are mostly regular adult size people. Ugh.

Anyway, my hubs had to take the train into the City today so I offered to drive him. Parking is notoriously hard to come by at the Metro North stations. I don't trust my son to take himself to the bus stop on time, especially since I need to wake him up three times this morning. He curls up, seat-belted but with a blanket, in the back seat while I drive to the train. Our schools have a specific area for parents to drop off their kids, and it means driving past the front entrance of the school and making several left turns. I'm behind at least a dozen other cars, lined up single file to deposit a single child at the back entrance of the school. My son just makes it to his class on time. Of course, if I drove him directly from our house, we'd probably have a bit more time. But it's not something I really want him to actually want. What I want is for the damn school district to provide more buses. Ugh.

Today is a Cardio Day. Yaaay me. The cross-trainer is in need of some minor adjustments as the flywheel seems wobbly. Which means it's adding friction when there shouldn't be any. It's not a smooth glide, but at least it doesn't actually thump. I'm always happy when I make over 4 miles, but lately I've been concerned about making more than 4.5. Noooo, I'm not competitive. Well, maybe just a little. I'm wearing the over-sized, cushiony NB shoes and my feet always feel good in the beginning. At the end, though, my right foot feels numb, and the pinky toe is sore. I might be rolling outward on that foot as I try to spread my forefoot during the push-off phase of the "run". I'm not a runner. I don't know running mechanics. But I need to figure out how to minimize destroying my feet when I do cardio.

The first set of pull ups is good. 26 reps is good. Wish I had it in me to do more, but I notice my left elbow getting sore while I was on the cross-trainer. Weird. There's a pushing-pulling motion, but without much resistance. It might just be the actual movement itself. Which makes this even weirder. Cardio Day means some time on the Mat. I'm wearing new sports shorts I bought from Lands End. I'm hoping to find a suitable replacement for the Danskin shorts I bought a zillion years ago. Those are super comfy, but no one makes them anymore. These LE shorts are made of a much heavier fabric. The seams of the hem feel abrasive so I fold the bottoms up a quarter inch. Since they're black, it's not noticeable. The waistband is very snug so either the shorts loosen up or I lose some belly fat. If I were smart, I would've ordered both the XS and the Small, and just returned the one that didn't fit. Too late now. Oh well...

On the Mat, I knock out 75 push ups. It didn't really start to get hard until rep 70. I'm sure I could've pushed for more. But pushing for more is what caused that nasty labral tear in my shoulder. So I'm good with 75 today. Maybe I'll work back up to 100 one of these days. Or just be content with knocking out two sets of 50? (My hubs wants my son to be able to knock out 50 push ups, but I'm not sure he can actually do that himself.) I do some cobra and camel/cat stretches. Then core stuff. I get on the elliptical and do 35 more minutes of cardio. Some of my workout songs inspire me to sing along (soundlessly) while I'm pedaling like mad. I always feel great afterwards but I have to blot myself with my hoodie. I manage another set of pull ups. Today I get 26, but I had to fight the urge to kip the last 3 reps. Sigh.

I didn't do a Mat stretch yesterday so I do most of one today. It feels great. There are certain stretches that I've stopped doing because they were causing issues with my joints. No one needs dislocated hips! The gym scale likes Cardio Day. Even though I feel like a sopping fat mess, it reads 109 lbs. Yaaay me!

Wednesday
7.67 miles

35 xtrainer
Calories 168
Miles 4.64
Average Heart Rate 153

HGPU 26
Push Ups 75
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Superman 3 x 30s

35 elliptical
Program 3
Miles 3.03
Calories 345
(Heart Rate Monitor on this machine is broken)

HGPU 26