Getting It All Done

It's 15 F this morning when I warm up the car. Yep, winter's here. My schedule is fully packed today. After my workout, I plan to meet a friend to see how she stages vacant homes for realtors. There's a chance I can pick up some work from her so I'm game. I'll also have to pick my son up after school because Fridays he and his friends go to the library to play D&D, or do homework. Then, my son has reluctantly agreed to accompany me to the jazz swing event later this evening. It starts slow and seems like a bust, but as more people arrive and the band starts to play, the mood changes and my son and I dance and are entertained by live music.

Today is a cardio plus day, which means 3 types of cardio machines interspersed with pull ups, and some core, ending with walking lunges and lying leg curls. Simple, right? And it is. It just takes stamina to perform all the movements with enthusiasm and mindfulness. Cardio is tricky. At any given moment, all the treadmills will be in use. Or all the Expresso bikes. I spend 20 minutes on the elliptical, then 20 minutes on the cross-trainer, before the final 20 minutes on the Step Mill. Pull ups don't seem too bad even though I've noticed that my lats are sore. That's unusual for me to have soreness anywhere. It's not a proven fact, but I feel, like many muscle heads, that soreness means growth, either in size or strength, or maybe even both. 

I don't think that it's the multiple sets of hammer grip pull ups. If anything, I think whatever is fueling my lat growth is making doing pull ups easier. (I get 4 sets again and I feel good about that.) It might be my habit of alternating between T-bar rows and Smith RDLs, or more likely, the neutral close grip Lat Pull Downs. Today my focus is legs, both hamstrings, and to a lesser extent, quads. All the cardio exercises utilize both muscle groups as do walking lunges. I'm quite winded after the first stroll of 28 walking lunges, but again, I'm always happy when I don't lose my balance and teeter onto my face. The 2:1 Lying Leg Curls are much harder today and I'm only able to complete sets of 10 instead of 12. I'm hoping to grow some leg biceps eventually. Not sure if that will happen, but this is the best way I know. Unfortunately, I don't have time to stretch out, but I do manage a final set of pull ups before leaving. 

My weight has kept steady at 111.6 lbs for the past several days. I drink a lot more water since I switched to a 32 oz bottle. My mouth always feels dry, sometimes even as I swish water around inside it. I suspect it's the by-product of my glaucoma medications, which are all eye drops. They appear to lower eye pressure by acting as a type of diuretic. They make my eyes dry as well and I've invested in dry eye relief drops. I find that the ones that contain glycerin seem to work better than the standard polyethylene glycol and propylene glycol. The fancier ones contain flaxseed oil, but I'm not a fan of the single use containers that don't stand up by themselves. One container is good for several applications to both eyes, so it's annoying that they can't be resealed and need to be wedged upright back inside the box. 

Another side effect of dry eyes, besides irritation, is the tendency of my eyelids to droop as my eyes get tired. My vision starts to blur and instead of squinting, my eyelids slide downward. I've discovered that if I force my eyelids open in a mock surprise expression, more light enters my pupils and my vision improves dramatically. It feels counter intuitive, but it works. Half the time I don't even need my reading glasses, but I still catch glimpses of my artificial lenses glinting inside my eyes, at the edge of my vision. 

Cardio Friday

20 min elliptical + 5 cd
Program 1
Calories 219
Miles 1.99
HR (125) 154-194 max

Cage Stretch
HGPU 20

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

20 x-trainer
Manual
Calories 163
Miles 2.43
HR 147?

HGPU 20

20 min StepMill
Level 3
Total Steps 710
Floors 44
Calories 113
HR 137

HGPU 21

Walking Lunges
28 x 2 = 56

2:1 Lying Leg Curls
20lbs x 12
25 x 10, 10

HGPU 20