Feels Like Old Times

I got to the gym slightly earlier today, but first I had to write myself a list so I could remember all the things I had to do. It's 80F by mid-morning and even the dog isn't too keen on going for his walk, except that he sniffs a cat somewhere in the tall grass. Barking at cats and delivery people are his reason for living. That, and toasted bread. It's a Push Day even though there's no reason why it couldn't be a Pull Day.

The gym is starting to empty out so I can hop on an elliptical for my cardio warm up. Today I keep an eye on my heart rate instead of how fast I'm pedaling. That's one of the issues I have with heart rate monitors — how easy or awkward are they to check as you're actually exercising? I'm constantly slowing down to drop my heart rate. Admittedly, my heart rate is erratic and I can't actually tell when it starts to climb unless I'm looking at the monitor on the console in front of me. There are no physical indications like breathlessness to clue me in. I'm not sure if that's normal or not. My HR registers past the "maximum" for my age (167.4) and I drop to a slow jog. Ugh. At the end of the session, I am warm though.

I don't even want to know what my HR is when I'm doing pull ups. After the first set I'm fairly breathless because I've upped my reps since Friday. Wednesday is going to suck when I have to either match or beat today's rep count. Nothing like a little friendly self-competition! If I wait until I'm breathing normally, I'll be cold. I think waiting any more than a minute (60-90 seconds) between sets is probably too long for what I'm doing: trying to build strength and endurance. Admittedly, the last 3 reps of all my sets aren't quite with my chin up to the bar... maybe my upper lip. Still counts!

Afterwards, I'm still panting when I enter the classroom to do push ups and core. There's usually a few people in there doing stretches or other movements. One girl likes to take the solid 40 lb BB there to do squats because there are few people and lots of space, and there are lots of mirrors to check form. Some people come in to use the jump ropes. I never learned how to do that although I remember Double-Dutch competitions in the elementary school yard.

Now that I'm warmed up (some people would say "Done!" at this point and go home), it's time to push some weights. Lots of newbies around who never remember to re-rack ever. Ugh. I drag the Adjustable Bench into the Smith cage to set up for Inclined Benching. It's gentler on my shoulders. I pretend I haven't taken two months off and follow an old routine, finishing with 25 reps at 60 lbs. It feels pretty good. There's a lot of noise and chatter in the DB area. If I hadn't already seen The Mayor exiting earlier, I would've suspected him. No, it's a bunch of HS boys hogging all the benches in front of the DB rack. Since there are also a few HS girls, and they like to use the Smith for Squats, etc. I decide to do my DB Laterals and Reverse Flyes by the Overhead Press station. The seat is low enough for me to sit and bend over with my feet flat on the ground. Other benches are too high. I don't like doing the standing Bent Over as I feel it puts too much stress on my lower back.

Back in the old days, before my eye surgery, I used 20 lbs for Laterals and 25s for Reverse Flyes. Now, because my rhomboids are spent from pull ups, the 15s I'm currently using feel light during Laterals, but heavy during Bent Overs. Ugh. Next week I'll see what 20s feel like... but my son will be back from Boy Scout Camp so I'll have a modified workout. Probably.

I grab the 2.5 lbs magnetic discs from the front desk and stick them on the sides of the solid 30 lb BB. I'm not ready to test my arms with 40 lbs yet. I'm good until the last 3 reps of the last set, when I start to feel my left elbow. I don't even bother looking at triceps push downs because I'm too short to reach the clip to attach the handles unless I find a box to stand on. Ugh. The gym recently acquired two new machines, and they have Happy Birthday balloons affixed to them. Manufacturers are better now at providing a wide range of settings to accommodate different heights and weights, but I still have trouble with a lot of the equipment. Suffice it say, I've given up and don't even bother with a lot of the new stuff at all, especially weight machines. Cardio is another matter, because cardio is sooooo damn boring!

I drag 4 of the black foam mats to the mirrored wall and lay them against each other. The wall keeps the mats from sliding across the floor, but there's too much friction for me to do any splits with any grace. I even take my sneakers off, but my stocking toes also get caught in the foam. It's a good thing I'm doing this slowly! But it's not as good as when there were big blue gymnastic mats in the main area...

My car reads 95F in the parking lot as I let the a/c cool down the interior. Meanwhile I chug a strawberry-flavored Muscle Milk RTD. I even had breakfast yogurt this morning so I could wash down my vitamins, but I'm famished by the time I'm ready to leave.

I'm debating washing the "palazzo pants" I bought yesterday at Kmart. Normally I wash all newly-purchased garments, but delicate clothes make me pause. I've been looking for this style of pants for 20 years, after I first saw them in a catalogue. Now, no one carries them except weird fashion houses that want too much money for pants with bizarre patterns. This one caught my eye because it's a Hawaiian bird of paradise print. Normally I shy away from the Jaclyn Smith (yes, from the original Charlie's Angels) brand because it's for almost-dowdy, middle-age women. This one pair of pants is the exception. I try it on, and even though it doesn't have any pockets, it still looks nice. It's also cheap at $14. I look, in vain, for a shirt or blouse to complement it, but ones that are appropriate color or pattern are sized XL to XXXL. Good grief. The pants are a Small. And they don't need to be hemmed either! I guess I can wear this with a simple black tank, if it's the right material. Shoes are another matter — I'm not even going to worry about that yet.

Tomorrow I should probably do a Kickboxing Day as I told a friend I'd go with her to Mohonk Mountain House on Thursday. But I'd also like to see the Christopher Robin movie since it'll also be $5 Tuesday. Because I'm a sucker for kid flicks...



Solo Monday

30 elliptical
Program 1
Miles 2.41
Calories 266
HR 141 (84%) / 170 (!!!)

HGPU 25, 20, 15, 8 (68!)
Push-ups 50

Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Bicycles 50
Crunches 30/20

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30) x 15
50 x 12
70 x 10
80 x 8
90 x 6 x 3 sets
60 x 25

DB Laterals s/s Rev Bent Over Flyes
15lbs x 12/15reps x 3 sets

Rip Skulls
35lbs x 12 reps x 3 sets

Stretch