Solo Humpday Workout

I went to bed late and got up late. That's how it is when I'm left to my own devices. At least I'm getting close to 8 hours sleep! The weather is unsettled, sunny one moment and raining the next. I never know whether to don raingear or not. Mostly I don't. The gym is sparsely populated when I arrive so I'm able to get on my favorite elliptical to do HIIT cardio. It's easier doing this every other day: my body hasn't slipped into total inertia by taking yesterday off. I glance at the dashboard and my pulse rate is an uncharacteristically low 78 bpm. Weird. It never stays that low though and skyrockets a hundred points within a minute or two. That behavior is normal, for me at least.

My right elbow is still a little sore. I get 22 hammer grip pullups but almost smack my face on the bar going up. My core exercises are becoming dull so I'll have to intersperse some new ones. I'm skipping Smith RDLs and RG BB Rows in lieu of Close Grip Lat Pull Downs and Seated Cable Rows. Then finish with a few sets of RG BB Curls. I haven't done those in ages. None of this feels particularly hard or easy. It's a bit surprising but it shouldn't be. Muscles don't really lose their strength unless you've been in a coma for a few months. And the fitter you are, the easier it is to return to that state after a brief layoff.

I see a lot of regulars and some new faces. Because I'm coming later in the day, I'm catching the post-lunch crowd and a lot of kids on summer break. Shiny Shoes is working out before his shift. I have not seen WannaBe in some weeks though. There's always a new face at the front desk by the time I leave -- I'm not sure who's choice that is. I know the gym staff has been interviewing kids for that position.

I get myself warmed up for the second time by hitting Program 3 on the elliptical. I wonder what Gym Owner will replace the two dead Nexersys machines with. Right now they're just taking up space. In the classroom, I do my mat stretch but start out with a quick (prohibited for glaucoma patients) downward dog and lean into asymmetrical pushups, but just four. I place one hand at shoulder level, the other hand by my hip and press down, then switch hands while in the up position. It's not enough to make my head feel full, but I'm reassured that I can still do slow, deliberate pushups. (Surprisingly, I couldn't find any images online but I did find a YouTube video of a fellow performing this so I pulled a screengrab of him.) I'm going to totally cut out the downward dogs. Right now, I only do them once a week for a few seconds. But even in people without glaucoma, that movement temporarily increases IOPs by 10+ mmHg, which is a lot.

I'm very pleased to note that the subconjunctival hemorrhage in my left eye seems to have completely cleared. Maybe it wasn't the Rhopressa after all.

Overcast Wednesday Pull

Norwegian 4x4
5 min w/u (4 min on / 3 min off) x 4
5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30, 33
Calories 292
Miles 2.66
HR 142-183 (78, 87, 97)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 22

Crunches Legs Up 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches knees bent 50
Horizontal Scissors 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Lat Pull Downs
85 x 12
100 x 12
115 x 12, 10, 10

Seated Cable Rows
70 x 12
77.5 x 12
85 x 12

RG BB Curls
40 lbs x 25 reps x 3 sets

20 elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Calories 232
Miles 2.07
HR 154-188 (87)

Mat Stretch