Was It Really Exercise?

I thought about skipping the gym entirely today. My right forearm is mildly sore and I have a lot of things I'd like to get done. Because I drive my son down to the school bus stop at 6:45 am, I schedule my errands based on when specific stores open. Home Depot is the obvious winner with a 6 am start time so I head there first. The RiteAid, with milk a dollar cheaper than anywhere else, doesn't open until 8 so I go to the gym to kill time.

I have an odd sensation in the soles of my heels that I associate with sciatic nerve tenderness. Ugh. Both feet! Perhaps the elliptical isn't the best course today? I sit at the far end of the row of recumbent bikes, away from the loud chatty old men. I'm trying to pedal briskly but my hubs, who is working nights in Boston, is texting about current events. He's awake for the free breakfast at the hotel. My forehead is a tad damp after 20 plus minutes of pedaling. My heart rate never goes above 110 and often dips down to 90. I'm not sure I can actually call this exercise.

The Mayo Clinic has an online site that walks you through heart rates and what it should be for mild to vigorous exercise. The calculations are a bit complicated so I've just taken a screengrab and imbedded that below this paragraph. Click here if you want to access the site itself. When I do the math, I get a ridiculous range: 133.7 to 147.35. That's never going to happen, not just because my heart rate seems to exceed that when I'm on the elliptical (but I don't trust the elliptical's accuracy since its readings are vastly higher and lower than any of the other cardio machines), but because my heart rate also seems to change regardless of whether I'm speeding up or slowing down. That could be cardiac lag, but how long do I wait for measurements to catch up?

I'm cold and I keep my hoodie on throughout pedaling, stretching and ab exercises. The classroom has a sign on it calling it the "Aerobic Room." When there's no Zumba or Body Pump class, then it's just a few people stretching or doing isometrics. I finally take my hoodie off when I mount the Step Mill, but I don't actually start to sweat until halfway through my 20-minute session. And that's only because I'm singing (silently) to my tunes and changing footwork every 60 seconds. None of that "trudging to hell" for me. The machine tells me my heart rate is 120. Even that's kind of low for cardio work. I stretch and then shower in spite of not feeling like I got sweaty enough. I'll bet my clothes will stink anyway if I don't launder them!

Never mind. I don't have time. I need to buy milk, stop off at a friend's house because she left me a bag of cherry tomatoes (from her garden) hanging off her door, and then home to start waterproofing my storm cellar doors. Of course, in the full sun, it feels like 80F when it's actually only 65F. Better than the 42F it was this morning!

Super Mild Cardio Thursday
20 min recumbent bike + 5 cd
Manual 1
Miles 3.33
Calories 107
HR 92-110

Cage Stretch

Elbow Plank 60s
Crunches 60/60
Bicycles 60
Horizontal Scissors 60
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

20 Step Mill
Level 3
Calories 113
Total steps 712
Floors 44
HR 120

Quick Mat Stretch