Summer Solstice Friday

It's rained four out of five days this week and this morning was no exception. With cool temperatures in the 60s, weirdly bright yet overcast skies, and intermittent rain, I'd completely forgotten it was the Summer Solstice, the official first day of summer. I drop my son off at school at 7:35, normal time even though he has a final exam. School contracts insist that the last three days of school be half days, so today is a half day, as will be next Monday and Tuesday. Never mind that most of this week 8th graders needed to be dropped off at 10:40 for an 11:30 final exam. Except for Friday. When I was a kid, we didn't have separate days for each subject's final.

I'm at the gym at my regular time and it's crowded. Especially for a Friday. It's the rainy weather that brings people indoors. I'm early enough to get on a decent elliptical for Program 3. My hammer grip pull-ups feel strong, except for a slight twinge in my right elbow. The air is so humid I still feel like I'm drowning, not helped at all by the sweat I'm inhaling. At least the a/c is on full blast in the classroom. Still, I can't help the sweat rolling off my nose and onto my phone when I finish with planks. 

Today is a regular Cardio Plus workout, complete with stair-climbing, three sets of pull-ups, two sets of pushups, walking lunges, seated leg curls, and even the Expresso Bike. The programming for the Dragon Island game must've been updated and not for the better. It loads differently and I'm disoriented when the game starts. Once I finally figure out where the portal is, I find the treasure box but it doesn't renew, meaning you can only collect that bonus 5,000 points once. In the past, you could collect treasure boxes several times, dramatically upping your point score. Oh well, it was still a great workout even if my score is a mere fraction of what it once was. 

Since I'm not pressed for time, I do a set of Walking Lunges and then sit myself down at the Seated Leg Curls. I'm more comfortable with the setup now so after a warmup set at 15 lbs, I jump right to 30 lbs. Today I can actually feel my leg biceps contracting as I push the bar down. I've never felt that before! Of course, in the past, I've only done Leg Curls with both legs simultaneously. It's a much different exercise when you use only one leg at a time. 

Yesterday I had a checkup and my blood pressure was 110/70, which is awesome because that's what it was in HS. I'd like to credit my exercise routine, but I've been doing that a long time and I'm actually exercising less. Could less weightlifting and more cardio lower blood pressure? That's a definite maybe.

Then I remember that I've been taking a dose of SuperBeets every day for the past month. And I actually can't remember the last time my toes and feet went numb while I pedaled on the elliptical. Perhaps I have selective amnesia? Or maybe the nitrates (nitric oxide) are working to keep my capillaries dilated. And while I'm happy to have blood pressure lower than my formerly borderline high (138/100), low blood pressure is considered a "non-traditional risk factor" for glaucoma. Low perfusion or blood supply to the optic nerve might be just as bad as high pressure in the vision loss it can cause. It only comes to mind as something to be aware of after that low pulse reading (47) I got last September while prepping for eye surgery. 

Watching a Netflix original movie with some favorite Asian actors: Randall Park, Ali Wong, and nice guy, Keanu Reeves. Actually looking forward to seeing some flicks with my son this summer, i.e., MIB International (with Chris Hemsworth and Liam Neeson) and SpiderMan: Far From Home. 

Summer Solstice Cardio Friday

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.92
Calories 329
HR 157-198 (87, 97)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 23

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

20 Step Mill
Level 3
Calories 114
Total steps 725
Floors 45
HR n/a

HGPU 23

15 Expresso Bike
Dragon Island
Points 69,340
Calories 61
Miles 2.71
BPM 127 average (140)

HGPU 23

Walking Lunges
31+31=62

2:1 Seated Leg Curls
15lbs x 12
30 x 12, 12, 12

Push-ups 50
Mat Stretch