If at First You Don't Succeed, Whack and Whack Again

Once temps hit 90F, I dragged the fans out of the garage and flipped the switch on the A/C unit. (Later, it'll rain and temps will drop 20 degrees in a few minutes. One dog bed was a bit damp still and I left it outside to dry. Too late now... it's soaked.) After wasting most of the morning trying to get the dog to eat his Proin tablet, and failing miserably, I set up a nice cross-breeze in the house and went to the gym. I had been tempted to buy a sale case of Weruva low-fat canned dog food from Chewy.com, but I hadn't realized just how picky my pup was. No mackerel or tuna for him! I bought single cans from the local feed store to test out different flavors on him. He does love the chickeny flavors though, and I can get a case of 12 Amazon Liver with Chicken and Chicken Liver 14-oz cans for just over $38. It's still a tad over $3 a can, which is awfully pricey, but other places sell single cans for $3.50 to $4.25.

This week my grocer has chicken breasts on sale for $1.99/lb. We don't normally buy this item, except it makes great low-fat dog food when diced and boiled with white rice and some tasty bits like gizzards and hearts. Having learned my lesson, I mashed the Proin into powder, mixed it with low-fat chicken broth and swirled it into the chicken and rice stew. The pup ate it up without any hesitation. Whew!

I get to the gym and Gym Owner and his two helpers have the center of the gym floor stripped down. The Stretch Cage is against a wall next to the water fountain. The free weight area is unscathed. I hop on an elliptical to warm up, then grab beauty bells for the shoulder movements. I don't have to skip Band Pulls since the Stretch Cage is accessible. And the new flooring will end just where the Nexersys and Expresso bikes live. What's disconcerting is that the Arm Bikes are now just a few feet behind me so I have to be cognizant of how far I step back from the kickboxing machine.

I still haven't quite figured out what a tap is in the Sparring program, so I'm not doing a great job of blocking the Avatar's punches. I do take my time though and see a steady progression in my scoring today. Which means I'm not burning myself out with a flurry of unsustainable blows. Not that I mind. I figure it'll build stamina, right? It's really hot, and feels very humid. The doors are open but the A/C is on as well. I'm sweating profusely. But I'm not hungry. Because not only did I eat some cottage cheese this morning, because I like to smear a bit on the dog's toast, I also sucked down a 25 gm protein Muscle Milk RTD. (The dog doesn't really care for cottage cheese, but I want to give him a bit of non-fat dairy protein and calcium. He really just likes little 1x2" pieces of toast, the crunchier the better.)

7 rounds Beginner

I'm not getting any thinner or leaner though, so I've got to rethink my dietary issues. My weight seems to have stabilized at 113 lbs, which is seriously 5 lbs too much, especially since I don't want to buy new summer clothes. Ugh. Still, I have a great time whacking the machine. I get a call on my cell which I ignore. The voicemail is from the park department telling me that they think they might offer the Jeet Kune Do class after all, if I'm still interested. Oh jeeze, make up your damn mind! Later, I see that a new Krav Maga school is having a grand opening in town, offering free demos. I'm soooo tempted to check out the Muy Thai or Krav Maga. I glanced at the Cardio Kickboxing and immediately panned it once I saw jumping rope, 'cuz me and jumping or running ain't gonna work with these knees of mine.

7 rounds Intermediate

After I strip off my gloves and everything underneath, I put my thin workout gloves on and stretch a bit at the Cage. If I don't stretch afterwards, I'm a lot more sore. Then I take a deep breath and knock out my pull ups. And because I didn't do them yesterday, I get to 30. I have time for a Mat Stretch as well. My body is cooling down and I'm starting to stiffen up, which makes me so much less flexible. Ugh. It's almost painful. Tomorrow I'm shooting for Cardio and Legs, before I have to drive across county to the eye doc. To get measured for lenses to replace my own during cataract surgery. Even though I don't have bad cataracts. Because it's the next step in my glaucoma treatment since my body isn't as responsive to the three different eye drops as it used to be. Ugh.

Having these surgeries in June will downright suck. Because I won't be able to lift. Or really exercise. Maybe sit in the sauna like a friend of ours does? Ugh. I worry that I'll get really comfortable not exercising. And then my health and body will go to complete shit. Seriously.

Whacking Thursday

10 elliptical
Calories 95
Miles 0.84
Average Heart Rate 159/188

T, Y & I Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

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

HGPU 30