Stubbornly AMA

More than 1/2 size longer!

New boots flanked by originals

I skipped the gym yesterday and attempted to get some reading done, but actually just took my son shopping for pants. He's at that hard-to-fit age/size: too big for boys XL, but too small to wear men's Sm. Ugh. I had also ordered some black short boots for him (for school next term) from Zappos, but they arrived too narrow and too long. The description of the Rockports said 8.5 EE but a side-by-side comparison of those shoes with his current (beat-to-hell and probably won't survive the summer) LL Bean 8W boots shows the older boots are wider. The same happened with the shiny new black Ariat Fatbaby boots I ordered. I sent both pairs of boots back via UPS yesterday morning. Hours later, I got an email from Zapppos telling me they'd received my returns and had credited me the total amount. Wow, I'm impressed! That was so fast, it was almost instantaneous! I can get used to instant gratification, but I probably shouldn't.

AMA is an acronym for Against Medical Advice. I'm good at following rules, but only so I can figure out how to get around them. (My parents were right; I should've been a lawyer.) I'm always really grumpy when I go to the gym. I can feel myself growling inside, like I want to bit the head off of someone. While I pedal the recumbent bike, I decide to google the recovery time for cataract and glaucoma surgeries, specifically, when I can return to my normal exercise routine. Contrary to what my doc's been telling me, online resources state that mild exercise like stationery bikes, stairs, treadmills and ellipticals should be encouraged. More strenuous exercises like weight lifting and jumping can occur after one week. Huh?!

I know my surgery took longer than normal because I have such small eyeballs. I know that my doc is just being cautious to get a good outcome from the surgery. And I hate arguing with my doctors, but I have been known to do just that. I can be a difficult patient because I do my own research, and docs usually hate that. Because it questions their authority as medical professionals. But a good doctor will address patient concerns, no matter where they originated, especially if they're valid. Most of my doc's patients (that I see in the waiting room) are elderly, and not in great physical condition. It's nothing for them to not do anything strenuous because I don't think it's something they normally do. I'm different. Yes, I'm guilty of that "the rules don't apply to me" sort of thinking. But I'm not impulsive or rash either.

So, AMA, I'm doing more than just walking on the treadmill. Because I don't see the point. My shoulders and back have started to develop knots from sitting at the computer and reading all day. Ugh. I'm missing getting hot and sweaty, and limber. I'm having trouble sleeping. All these things are solved with vigorous exercise. I figure I'd add the kickboxing back in last since that involves impact. I don't mind not lifting if I can get the body weight exercises done, specifically pull ups, push ups and core work, if I can do Intervals and other HIIT routines. (I tried on some of my old shorts and the waist is feeling uncomfortably tight! Aaarg!)

I feel my dour mood melt away the harder I pedal the recumbent bike. I get on the treadmill, and against the doctor's orders, I raise the incline to 5%. I'm still just walking fast at speed 3, but not so fast that I can't sing along (just barely) to my tunes. Little beads of perspiration well up on my forehead. I feel better. The screen, which I capture with my phone, gives me stats. For the last 5 minutes I hold the handles where the heart rate monitors are embedded. The stats include a heart rate of 128, which, according to all the heart rate gurus, is 79% of my max heart rate. That seems suspiciously low. I'm not even vaguely winded. Apparently, I'm suppose to take the number 220 (I'm not sure what this number is suppose to mean) and minus my age to get my max heart rate. So no matter who you are, the older you get, the lower your max heart rate. Mine calculates to be 162.

Am I killing myself by "running" on the elliptical and my heart rate jumps up to 155-159? Websites affiliated with The Mayor Clinic and LiveStrong state that studies show people die from cardiac problems when sustaining max heart rates for long periods of time. However, at least LiveStrong presents an alternative formula for max heart rate: 208 minus 70% age, which gives me 208 minus (0.7 x 58 = 40.6) equals 167.4. It's a few points higher. That give me 30 minutes on the treadmill at 76% of my max heart rate. It still doesn't feel like much of a workout. Seriously.

I get on the Step Mill for 15 minutes. Level 3 feels like riding a department store escalator. I keep boredom at bay by changing my footwork a minute at a time. Side step. Other side. Rock up at the edge of the step. Step across with each ascending leg. The only thing I don't do is walk backwards up the stairs because I don't feel coordinated enough. And I'm too short to hold the handles in that position. My heart rate registers 135 which is 80% of 167.4. This feels closer to a real workout. I'm actually sweating doing this slow-motion Chaplin routine!

front of a Life Is Good T-shirt

I stretch out at the Cage. To prevent me from giving in to the temptation to do a pull up, I've consciously left my lifting gloves back in my gym bag, in the locker. I do all of the Mat Stretch today. And I'm so tempted to do Bird Dogs and Side Planks that I actually type them into my phone before thinking the better of it. I can start doing them tomorrow. Yes, I plan to ease back into my routine with the least stressful moves. I might hold off on push ups and pull ups until next Wednesday, when it'll have been 3 weeks. I'll also have my son with me because school is over tomorrow, and he's told me I can be his personal trainer. There's no one else I'd rather help anyway.

Grumpy Thursday Summer Solstice

15 Recumbent Bike + 3cd
Level 1 Manual
Calories 81
Miles 2.76

30 Treadmill
5% Incline
Speed 3
Ft Climbed 385
Miles 1.47
Calories 188

15 StepMill
Speed 3
Total steps 542
Floors 33
Calories 85
Heart Rate 135