Happy Friday the 13th

It's true Autumn weather with mornings in the mid 40s, hiking to a pleasant high around 70 mid-day. I haven't been able to find any signs of the white caterpillars since Tropical Storm Nate blew through here, but there's been an abundance of woolly bear caterpillars. This morning I found one squished in the roadway. Not everyone survives. There's always a lot of roadkill during the transitional seasons of Spring and Autumn. Baby animals in the Spring and Fall just don't know to get out of the way. Possums, squirrels, woodchucks, frogs, and occasionally the unlucky bird, cat, snake, earthworm, caterpillar...

I still hadn't decided whether today was going to be a Pull Day or Cardio but I put on my new Saucony trainers to test them out. I had no issues wearing them on the elliptical for 35 minutes, although the roomy toe box meant my hammertoes were in danger of crossing each other. Luckily that didn't happen. Luckily, I only have hammertoes on my right foot—the foot with the bunion. There's a guy on the Smith machine so I take my time doing pull ups, push ups and some basic core moves. If he stays, I can always resort to the cross-trainer and call it a Cardio Day. But he leaves so it's a Pull Day.

I had yogurt this morning to help wash down all my vitamins. I don't really have a problem swallowing pills, not in my throat at least. It's the tori inside the bottom of my jaw that's causing issues with pills getting caught between them and my gum. The hard little B vitamins can be awfully painful! If I use yogurt or applesauce to carry the pills, they don't backwash up against my teeth. Water is my least favorite vehicle for taking pills. I'm the only one in my family who has tori mandibularis, at least as far as I know. I look it up and it's apparently more common in Asian and Inuits, and more men than women. Figures... (Click here to read more about the condition.)

The Smith has been serviced, and the tract glides smoothly. I don't have any issues doing routine sets of RDLs and RG BB Rows. At some point I'm going to cut reps and up the weight. Just not sure when. I'm quite pleased that the Sauconys are comfortable, and provide the necessary stability for doing a Pull Day. (I'll probably hang on to the Asics for a while. Maybe they'll be okay for just walking around?)

I need to change my routine, so I cut the Seated One-Arm Cable Rows. That's been bothering my elbows anyway. Instead, I go back to a movement I haven't done in over a year: DB Rows. I know how much I used to row, but that was a long time ago. So I start light just to get a feel for what I can do now. The 25 lb DB seems like a good starting point. But it's too light. Seriously. I grab the 35 lb DB and wonder if I'm letting my ego get the better of me. But, no, it seems light too. So, throwing caution to the wind, I grab the 45. Not the 40, but the 45. Because, WTH. Worst that's going to happen is I can't do 12 reps.

I do get 12 reps, but I don't feel like freaking out the few guys in the free weight area (because they're already trying not to stare), so I don't look at the 50 lb DB. Instead, I just do sets at 45 lbs. Done. Next time I might start at 45 lbs and see if I can't get 8 reps at 50 or 55 lbs. We'll see how the joints hold up. The Grande Dame is in the stretch cage so I skip that, and just do my mat routine. She's about 85 years old but in phenomenally good shape, and I don't like to rush anyone. I see a middle-aged woman at the Assisted Pullup/Dip machine. She's wearing bright pink sneakers, flaring black pants, and a strappy tank dress that falls to her knees. Okay, so she's worried about her butt but not her exposed arms and shoulders? She can barely inch herself up or down, but at least she's trying.

There is one older woman who seems to be making great progress just walking on the treadmill every day. She's gone from morbidly obese to just overweight. She's still got a good 50 lbs before she's a reasonable size for her height, but I bet being able to wear nicer clothes has been a great incentive. The fellow she sometimes shows up with, someone I secretly call the Fat Indonesian (even though I don't know if he's Southeast Asian or not) has made very little progress. He still wears a lifting belt all the time to keep his belly from flopping about. But I probably don't look like I've made any progress either. I could certainly be leaner, if I were inclined to diet rigidly. But I'm not. Not yet anyway. Of course, I do keep a watchful eye on the scale because pounds do creep up when you're not looking, especially during the Holidays.

Friday

35 elliptical
Program 2
Miles 3.48
Calories 301
Average Heart Rate 154

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50

Smith RDLs
Bar (30lbs) x 15
80 x 12
100 x 12
120 x 12
140 x 12
150 x 12

Smith RG BB Rows
80 x 25 reps
100 x 25
120 x 25

DB Rows
25lbs x 12 reps per arm
35 x 12
45 x 12 x 3 sets