Pulling Day Three

Six hours just isn't enough sleep for me. As a night owl, it's too easy for me to stay up at night tending to chores that could be done later in the week. But I'd rather get things done when I think of them instead of forgetting to put them on a list to do later. So when my son finally tried on new shoes for school that I had ordered online, I remembered that he hadn't tried on shoes I had bought him last Christmas. They're the same style but a different brand. Both are the same size, same color, both are supposed to be a D width. And both are too narrow.

He went to bed. I got a return label and credit from Zappos for the first pair of shoes. And then I had to call LLBean for the Christmas shoes. Luckily, since they'd never been worn, I could return them for full credit. I had used a lot of Bean Bucks to reduce the price from over a hundred dollars to about $25 so I was quite pleased that the store will be sending me a gift card for the total Bean Buck amount. Then I spent an hour packing the shoes and affixing the proper return labels so I could ship them back today. Yes, it could've waited until the weekend, but why would I do that? That means I don't actually crawl into bed until just past midnight, and the alarm sounds while it's cold and dark out. Ugh. Winter is going to be so much fun. Not.

The school bus is only six minutes late this morning. I get to the gym just 15 minutes later. I'm really tired but I persist in doing my routine, starting with HIIT cardio. I might not rack up as much mileage today, but at least I'm doing it. The problematic right foot is rebelling against the increased activity with the pinky toe going numb sporadically. The hammertoes also seem bent on curling into the sole of my sneaker, as if I had Dr. Scholl toe grip sandals on.

I do a Cage Stretch but skip the pull-ups since today is a Pull Day and there'll be plenty of opportunities to aggravate my elbows and forearms. I'm wearing leggings with phone pockets that I never use. I'm always a tad self-conscious when my clothes are snug, especially since I have highly impressionable skin and a slight connective-tissue issue, i.e., I can always see all where all the underwear lines, waistband lines, bra-strap lines are on my body as if my flesh had no firmness whatsoever and was just a wad of memory foam. It's not pretty. I feel downright pudgy. I'm going to take a lesson from Arnold Schwarzenegger who famously used to wear cut-off pants to work out because his calves were his weakest body part. Don't hide your weaknesses. Use them as an incentive.

There's no class yet so I'm able to do my Core workout there. I've increased my reps to 60 because it's easy to just do sets of 20 three times. At least the leggings aren't causing me any tailbone discomfort yet. Back in the gym, I see a lot of regulars from before Summer Recess. They spend way too much time chatting. I'd rather be moving. Lat Pull Downs followed by Seated Cable Rows hit back and biceps, while RG BB Curls handle forearms. I have tiny ones and nothing I do will make them grow. It's genetics. I'm forever impressed by women with great arms because they usually also have wonderfully muscular forearms. Check out IFBB pro, Dana Linn Bailey.

I finish with another session on the elliptical, and then a Mat Stretch. Tomorrow is definitely going to be a Cardio Day with some Walking Lunges and 2:1 Seated Leg Curls. Don't think that all this isn't having a potentially adverse impact on my health: I noticed a weird taut spot on my upper lip the other day and I'm not going to wait until it starts to tingle. When I increase my workouts, my immunity gets blown out, especially when I'm not sleeping enough. We all carry dormant viruses hiding inside our bodies, like the varicella-zoster which causes chickenpox and shingles. I've had shingles more than once. My immune system is not the most robust. Now I'm trying to prevent a full-blown cold sore and once a day, I'm dabbing on a little Abreva cream (docosanol) although I should probably do this more often. I'm also adding lysine to my vitamin routine.

Overcast Thursday 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 291
Miles 2.65
HR 141-186 (91, 81, 100)

Cage Stretch

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

Lat Pull Downs Close Neutral
70 x 12 (warm-up)
85 x 12
100 x 10
115 x 8

Seated Cable Rows
70 x 12
85 x 12, 12, 12

RG BB Curls
40 lbs x 20+5 reps x 3 sets

20 elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Calories 227
Miles 2.04
HR 150-180 (147)

Mat Stretch