Twofer Friday

Thursday I was too busy to post anything. I went to the gym and did my 14 rounds of whacking the kickboxing machine. Then some grocery shopping because if I wait until Friday, a lot of items are sold out before the weekend rush. Barely had time to put stuff away, walk the dog and shovel the alternate parking spot out past our hedges before I had to run off and pick my son up from his Archery class. Luckily, I'd also made and packed "turkey, swiss and spicy guac sandwiches" since I wouldn't have any time to make dinner. From Archery we went to Kung Fu where my son finished up his HW in the car before class. We always get there too early if we leave directly from school, but it doesn't make any sense to go home since we'd only have 10 minutes before having to leave for Kung Fu. So we sit on the parking lot and my son either does HW, or takes a nap. I'd like to take a nap, but I'm too paranoid to sleep in my car. Probably comes from being born and raised in NYC.

Back from kung fu and I had all of 15 minutes to drop my son off, wolf down the remainder of my sandwich, and rush off to the middle school for the annual Curriculum Night. We have a new principal so this was the shortest presentation yet, explaining what choices our 7th graders will have to make upon entering 8th grade. Some choices need to be made this year though, as they require qualifying entrance exams, like Advance Science. Ugh.

Well, at least I enjoyed my workout. Those 3 rounds of Sparring between the 4 rounds of Beginner Follow Me are quite intense! I admit that by the 3rd Sparring round, I'm not quite as feisty, but I'm still scoring fairly well with multiple hits and combinations. I don't even bother trying to "block" the punches because it just stops the action. And I punch and jab through all the blank screens, figuring what's the worst that could happen? I accidentally score? Win-win! Between rounds I note the presence of regulars, and newbies taking the requisite tour of all the equipment. I see The Mayor and then I don't so I think he's left. But I'm wrong. He's just moved over to a new station to chat with someone else. I don't think I've ever seen The Mayor not talking. Ever. He probably even talks in his sleep. Seriously. But at least I haven't seen the creepier guys lately, like PJ Pants and Frankenstein.

Pull ups were fine, and I probably could've done more, but I didn't. I just wanted to stretch and shower. I seriously spend too much time at the gym.

Thursday

10 min warm up elliptical
Calories 94
Miles 0.83

T, Y & I DB Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15
Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys
7r Beginner 4FM / 3Sp
7r Intermediate FM

HGPU 26

Most of the newbies are really, really old. Today, I saw an elderly couple examining the cardio machines with a staffer while I was on the Step Mill. He looked patiently disinterested, but she had such a look of puckered disdain that I almost burst out laughing. Of course I didn't. The fellow on the Step Mill next to me spent more time fiddling with his phone than he actually did climbing. Well, at least he wasn't talking. I've seen him before. Maybe a college kid? He's athletic, but losing his hair. Which means I really have no idea how old he is... No real eye-candy at my gym. Oh well...

I started out my workout with Intervals, which always worries me. Because I'm not really warmed up. But you don't get better at something unless you tackle it head on. And I suck at Cardio. So not a bunny. I did manage to do pull ups okay, and then push ups (where I spaced and lost count) and the core workout of planks and more planks. They feel more effective than the crunch and bicycle variations I'd been doing. And I don't have to take my hair clip out so that's even better!

While I'm on the elliptical, I see a kid in a hoodie and shorts with a weighted belt doing chin ups in the Stretch Cage. I smile to myself because I like it when other people use the Cage to do chin ups and pull ups, and it's not just me. I have yet to see any other women doing pull ups or chin ups. I absolutely don't count the Assisted Pull Up machine. No one who uses that has ever graduated to doing real full-body pull ups.

I decide to finish with a short ride on the Expresso. The new bike used to face the backs of the 3 older bikes, but now sits perpendicular to them, facing the back of the Cable station in the Cross-Fit area. It's okay, except that I try to do the "ride of the week", which is a night ride. And the glare from the overhead lights and front windows means I can't actually see the darkened course, only the reflection of my face staring back. I have to switch to a "daytime" ride instead. I'm getting better at this as I pass my pacer! Of course, I'm only pedaling for 11 minutes, but I've started sweating again, so there was some effort here! Here's a YouTube video (commercial) for the Expresso bike if you're curious...



I do a full Mat Stretch but I'm still undecided about the Pistol Squats. The last thing I need is for my legs and butt to get bigger. My weight is at the mercy of the sodium gods. Yesterday I sucked down my entire 1.5 liter bottle and weighed in at 112.0 lbs. Today I drank half my water, and the gym scale said: 110.4 lbs. I'm still logging my meals into the MyFitnessPal app, and still managing to squeak over my calorie limit. Of course, I'm not logging any exercise whatsoever, so I think I'm still on track to lose some of this body fat. I'd really like my clothes to be a tad looser... I guess I should be a tad more zealous with the calories?

Friday

30 elliptical
Intervals
Calories 305
Miles 2.67
Average Heart Rate 133 (max 196)

HGPU 26
Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15
Push Ups 60

Elbow Plank 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Elbow Plank 60s

20 StepMill
Calories 139
Flights 58
934 total steps
Level 5

Expresso Bike
Mini Mayhem
2 miles
55 calories
11:13 min