It didn't help that we were up late due to another Scout function, this time helping the Cub Pack with their very first Pack meeting for the school year. Nothing like giving hyperactive little kids lots of candy corn, mini marshmallows, pretzels, and chocolate chips to make edible faux campfires and then sending them home to bed.
It's a Cardio Plus workout day for me. I sit in the parking lot reading my emails before I head into the gym. If I close my eyes, I'm sure I'd wake up drooling on myself some two hours later. I have a vague headache over my left eye and I hope I'm not developing sinusitis. My knees and hips are intermittently twingey. My right forearm is still sore. But I don't have any actual injuries so these fleeting phantom discomforts are just that. I just need to work through them.
I get on the elliptical and select Program 3. It has the greatest amount of pedaling at high elevation (levels 11-13), whereas Program 1 feels harder because half the course is at elevation level 1 which is basically flat. Somehow, I can go faster when my knees have to rise higher. Weird, right? My favorite level to pedal for cool-downs is 7, somewhat in-between. It's my "Goldilocks level" when I'm on the ellipticals. For every other cardio machine (except the Step Mill and the Octane), I'm content to use Manual Program Level 1.
Pull-ups actually feel okay in spite of my sore forearms. Of course, that might change later on as sore muscles and tendons will fatigue much sooner. I don't want to court injury, but I do want to complete my workout. I'm either too tired to remember how unpleasant elbow planks are, or they're getting easier. The Aerobic Room has the a/c blasting and I've stopped sweating. When I'm cold I'm not limber. It makes me worry about injuries.
I get on the cross-trainer, mostly for the mileage. It's a different feel and involves arm motion if I want to get a heart rate (HR) reading on the monitor. This machine probably gives a truer HR reading because 130-143 seems perfectly reasonable unlike the elliptical. I'm warm and sweaty again and I feel better. My intermittent aches and twinges have disappeared as well.
I knock out another set of pull-ups before doing the dreaded Walking Lunges. I'm careful not to hit the ground with my knees because I don't want bruises. (I get fingermark bruises from hitting my knees with my elbows when I do alternating bicycles.) After 29 steps forward and another 29 back, I gasp for a second because my quads are on fire. But that only lasts for a half-second and then I'm recovered enough to get on the elliptical again. I did the Step Mill and the recumbent bike yesterday so I didn't want to do them today. The Octane is hard on the knees. The Expresso bike is hard on the quads. I want something that warms up the hamstrings and leg biceps before I do Seated Leg Curls.
I bring the padded arm back with a little too much force and the sleeve loosens several inches. I have short legs and this won't do at all. I have to get up and re-adjust for my height. Of course, I start my count over again. When I'm done I've cooled down substantially. But I can still do my last set of pull-ups. That's reassuring. I'm exhausted, but not fatigued if that makes any sense. I can recover from exhaustion rather quickly. The fatigue is gone for the rest of the day. I like to believe it's all the cardio exercise.
In fact, there are articles suggesting the exact same thing. In 2008, the NYTimes titled an article The Cure for Exhaustion? More Exercise. Sometimes people exhaust before they've actually finished. I confess that hasn't happened to me in an extremely long time. I've seen folks drinking brightly colored water or chowing down on energy bars between sets. Water is all I drink while I'm working out. I've read that the body depletes its glycogen stores in up to 120 minutes during intense exercise. I might get an occasional hunger pang, but I'm good to go for a few hours. I'd like to think I'm burning a little fat while I'm getting my cardio. Of course, there's always the chance that I'm not exercising as intensely as I think.
When I get home, I'm happy to see a package from Land's End has arrived. Some new sports pants for my son, and a hoodie for me. Being small means I don't fit into a lot of things, can't reach high shelves, have hands barely big to pop a lid off a can of spray paint, thwarted by child-proof caps. But it also means I can buy cool kid clothes and I've been eyeing this hoodie with a constellation pattern on it. Not quite as cool as my Tigger hoodie, a hand-me-down from my son, but still pretty awesome.
Sore Forearm Cardio Friday
(Total 7.46)
30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.91
Calories 327
HR 155-196 (112, 88, 95)
Cage Stretch
HGPU 20
Elbow Plank 60s
Crunches 60/60
Leg horizontal scissors 60
Bicycles 60
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
20 X-trainer + 5 cd
Level 1 Manual
Calories 199
Miles 2.88
HR 130-143
HGPU 20
Walking Lunges
29+29=58
15 elliptical + 5 cd
Program 1
Calories 187
Miles 1.67
HR 151-189 (140)
2:1 Seated Leg Curls
15lbs x 15
30 x 12, 12, 15 (loose rod)
HGPU 20
Mat Stretch
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