Halloween Workout

The only indication that today is different from all other days this week is that my son puts on his knight costume to wear to school. It's dark and raining when the school bus finally arrives. I'm also wearing a costume of sorts. I have a few items that I would never wear otherwise: skeleton tights and an oversized black tank with an aerated back (slits cut horizontally across) with skulls and roses on the front. I bought it the day after Halloween last year when there were a lot of pop-up Spirit Halloween stores. Now there aren't any. I got the skeleton tights from Kmart several years ago. There are no Kmarts anymore either.

Both the tights and the shirt are sized Medium. I can wear the shirt like a tunic. The tights fit but don't have much give to them in spite of claiming to be made of lycra and nylon. They have seams that leave red marks on my skin afterward. They also have a tag right on the back seam which eventually chafes when I do abdominal exercises. It's a good thing I only wear this once a year.

It's a Shoulders Plus workout day, which just means cardio, core, and deltoids. At first, I'm cold and I have my hoodie zipped all the way up. I appear to be the only person celebrating Halloween. Perhaps it's because the day is so dreary, rainy and dark. Or because it's a Thursday. I don't really care. I get my 30 plus minutes of cardio done, stretch, do my core workout and come back into the free weight area to work shoulders.

I use the regular 10 lb DBs instead of the chrome beauty bells and am surprised by how much easier doing Shoulder Presses feel. Perhaps because I actually did those mid- and high-band pulls at the Stretch Cage? However, I'm so spacey that I can't remember whether I did 2 or 3 sets. Ugh. Time to move on. The DB Lateral Raises superset with Reverse Inclined Flys are still heavy. At least until I warm up. By the 4th set, they feel pretty good. Done!

All I really need to do is a bit more cardio so I choose the Step Mill. The one with the working HR monitor is occupied so I use the other one. The slightly faster speed definitely makes this more exciting. And then some stretching. Well, whatever stretching my tights will actually let me do.

Halloween Thursday Shoulders

30 + 5 cd elliptical
Program 1
Miles 2.95
Calories 333
HR 152-200 (87, 98, 96, 94)

Cage Stretch
Mid-Band Pull 15
Hi-Band Pull 15

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

DB Shoulder Press s/s Front Raises
10 lbs x 12 reps x 2

DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flys
20lbs x 12/20 reps x 4 sets

20 Step Mill
Level 4
Calories 128
Total steps 842
Floors 52
HR n/a

Stretch

Listening to Your Body

My anxiety is getting the best of me and ruining my sleep. Last night I only got five and a half hours. I averaged six over the weekend, which isn't even close to optimal. I wake up with my heart pounding and a sense of dread and doom that has nothing to do with any dreams I've had. It makes me appreciate the morning bird calls as a wakeup alarm because that's not jarring like most of the melodies I have access to. So it's not as if I can't sleep through the night. It's just that I never seem to get to bed on time. Last night I listened to thumping and banging for an hour. It turns out my son couldn't sleep and decided to rearrange his room at midnight.

I really want to go back to bed after my son gets on the school bus, but I drive to the gym instead. It's a Pull Day and of course, I'm starting with cardio. I beat Snow Bird to the Stretch Cage and get my pull-ups done before going to the aerobic room for core exercises. Everything is going fine until I get to the Smith for RDLs. I momentarily lose focus during the warm-up at 80 lbs and immediately know something isn't right. It's as if something shifted in my lower back, chiclets have fallen out of alignment and it's more than uncomfortable. However, it's not horribly painful, but it's not right either.

I do the smart thing: I stop doing RDLs. With 80 lbs on the bar, I can still do RG BB Rows without any discomfort. I can still do Seated Cable Rows and even the same 95 lbs I rowed last week. I can still do RG BB Curls. I'm just moving cautiously and deliberately. And, I can still pedal like a fiend on the elliptical for 20 plus minutes afterward. I actually feel really good now and knock out another set of pull-ups before a Mat Stretch and then a shower.

The daily teaspoon of chia seeds I've been adding to my yogurt has a very regulatory effect on the digestive tract, even more so than coffee! Just 3 tablespoons of seed fulfill the daily adult fiber requirement! I like the fact that there's no need to grind it to release all the nutritional benefits, unlike flax seed. So much more useful than smearing it on terra cotta figurines. (Who remembers those Chia Pet commercials?) If I was smart, I'd take a nap when I get home. But I've lost the ability to nap these days.

And I can't actually get home because some idiot driving a carting truck crashed into the utility pole on my road. And my road is now closed while 4 power company trucks try to avert disaster and replace the broken pole while wires snake through the trees. I park down the street and weave through the bucket trucks while carrying the groceries I didn't want to leave in my car. Like meat, and $5 sushi for my son. Tonight, the best I can hope for is getting to bed a little earlier, and not having my son rearrange his room in the middle of the night.

Another Rainy Sleep-Deprived Wednesday
(5 miles)

30 elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.89
Calories 323
HR 150-192 (95, 91)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 23

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

Smith RDLs
Bar (30) x 15
80 x 12
Lost focus — weird lower back

Smith RG BB Rows
80 x 25 x 3

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

RG BB Curls
40 x 25 x 3

20 elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.11
Calories 238
HR 143-193 (84, 98, 86)

HGPU 23

Mat Stretch

Anticipating the Worst

I only had time for one exercise so I decided to make it count. Not that everything else I do is inconsequential. But I fully anticipated being mildly incapacitated this afternoon if not greatly inconvenienced due to the appointment I had with the doctor who is supposed to do my nail bed biopsy. I even enlisted a friend to drive me to and from the appointment!

So what machine and program do I choose? Intervals on the Precor! Except, contrary to popular usage, I go as fast as I can in the troughs and slow down when the elevation peaks. I also had to make a few adjustments to the program and I'm glad it lets me, to a point. The default Interval setting shows an elevation of 4 and resistance = 1 in the troughs, and an elevation of 10 with a resistance of 8 for the hills. I raise the elevation to 5 because lower than that is harder on my knees. Elevation 1 is akin to running on a flat surface and my joints really hate it. (I like 7 for my cooldowns.)

I also have to drop the resistance from 8 to 5 because my knees are not happy with that much pressure. I would've raised the peak elevation to 11 or 12 but the program does have limits in place. I get as fast as 260 SPM (strides per minute) for a few seconds during the next to last cycle. My heart rate ping pongs from highs of 189 to lows of 97 without any change to how hard I'm pedaling. I can't explain it. I'm drenched when I'm done but I have to skip the Stretch Cage. Snow Bird is doing his weird calisthenics in it and he'll be there a while.

At my doctor's appointment, I'm told that the biopsy required to determine the cause of that weird streak on my toenail will actually be quite painful. Ugh. Unless I'm the type who can run around on rocky beaches barefoot? Nope. I'm the princess who has to turn her socks inside out because the seams chafe. The princess who cannot walk around barefoot because that's just too painful.

The surgeon can do it with just local anesthetic but the injections themselves will be painful and he will have to peel back the actual toenail. The wound dressing will make it extremely difficult to wear normal shoes. Open-toed sandals or something like that would be best. The toe may throb for several hours, or even a few days. OMG! That'd rule out going to the gym, and even driving!

The doc recommends using the ambulatory surgical unit at an affiliated hospital several miles away. (I was really hoping to avoid another ridiculous deductible as well, but I'm sure the health insurance company will insist I cough up those bucks.) I can have it done next week, or scheduled in December. I choose December because, done with anesthesia the way my cataract/glaucoma surgery was handled (relaxed, anesthetized but awake), I will need to have bloodwork and an EKG done by my primary care physician not more than two weeks prior. It's impossible to get an appointment with her that quickly. Plus, in December there's the remote possibility that I can get my husband to drive me. He's really squeamish so it's best not to give him too many details.

I, on the other hand, have to know all the gory details, even if they include graphic photos of each procedure. I've narrowed this down to a term called longitudinal melanonychia, or a pigmented band of melanin in the nail. It can be benign. Or not. If not, melanoma most often affects thumbs, index fingers and big toes. Ugh. (I need my thumbs!) I'm pretty sure it's not a splinter hemorrhage. At least I'll have a few more weeks that I can work out so I'd better make the most of it!

from: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Just Cardio Tuesday

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program Intervals (adjusted)
Miles 2.99
Calories 339
HR 138-202 (96, 86, 97)

Skip Stretch Cage (occupied!)

Unexpected Benefits

I like to front-load things I hate to do just to get them out of the way. If I wait until I'm done with everything else, I reason I might feel justified in skipping out because I'm too tired, or I've run out of time. That's my original reason for doing 30 minutes of cardio first, then core exercises. But I've discovered that my body responds well to a 30-minute cardio warmup, and it turns out that doing core before all my other weight-lifting exercises is exactly the right thing to do. Personally, I do it because I'm lazy and would rather not.

I just read an article, which granted is a few years old, but still makes a valid point: warming up your core preps your body for the hard work to come. I'd actually never thought of it that way. Duh. Learn that you're doing something right all along even if your reasons are rather dubious!

My left arm is slightly sore, but I only noticed it when I leaned up against something. Otherwise, like the flu shot itself, I don't actually feel any discomfort. I was really surprised that I didn't discern even the slightest needle pinch. It made me doubt whether I'd actually gotten vaccinated at all, except for the bandaid with a spot of blood on the gauze. And being a little sore without any bruising or even a pinprick. At least not one that I can see from the disadvantage point of staring at your own lateral deltoid.

A personal trainer is coaching a young woman, using the Smith machine to perform Inverted Rows. I would have her straighten her legs (would that might make it too hard for her?), but I'm not a trainer. After I do one warmup set in the breaker inclined bench, I see that the Smith is vacated and I'm there super quick to get my inclined presses done. Afterward, I look around the DB area but there are only flat benches there. A fellow has dragged the other inclined bench to the cable station to use while doing some sort of reverse inclined rows with a wide lat bar. I stay put in the Smith machine and do my DB supersets there. I'm able to get 20 reps for the reverse portion and that makes me think next time I should increase my DBs by 5 lbs, but just for the reverse portion.

After I knock out Rip Skulls, I hop back on the elliptical for 20 plus more minutes of cardio. It's not a cool down. The Mat Stretch is a cool down. This is actually to warm me up again so I can stretch and not pull any ligaments. Tomorrow I'm thinking about a quick cardio session before I get that toenail biopsy done on my right foot. I just hope I can drive afterward because my son has after school activities later in the day.

Sleepless Monday Push

30 elliptical + 5cd
Program 2
Miles 2.98
Calories 337
HR 147-205 (92, 86, 97)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 22

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

Breaker Inclined Bench
Bar (45) x 15

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30) x 15 x 2 (30, 60 degrees)
50 x 12
70 x 25 reps x 3 sets

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys
20 lbs x 12/20 reps x 4 sets

Rip Skulls
40 x 12, 10, 8

20 elliptical + 5 cd
Program 3
Calories 236
Miles 2.10
HR 142-171 (90, 88)

Mat Stretch

Cardio Friday Again

Today is Cardio Friday but I'm never one hundred percent certain which machines I'll be doing until I'm standing right in front of them. You have to be flexible! I can usually access the ellipticals so that's easily the first cardio session. When I do my first set of pull-ups, I feel the slightest twinge in my forearms and worry that perhaps I've jinxed today's efforts by doing two sets of pull-ups on Wednesday, never mind that I only did shoulders yesterday.

After Core (with side-planks), I get on the StepMill and kick it up a notch, meaning I increase the speed from 3 to 4. That means I reach 700 steps by16:43 instead of 19:53. It also leaves me a bit more breathless. Change is good if done incrementally. Then another set of pull-ups. This time I let the rhythm carry me and surprise myself by getting 2 more than before. Nice! The cross-trainers are all occupied so I get back on the elliptical. I'm a little bored with programs 1, 2 and 3 so I select Intervals. I don't even remember the last time I did this. But I do remember that I move quickly in the troughs and trudge slower during the peaks. Maybe after my toe biopsy next week I'll give those Norwegian 4 x 4s a go again. 

The Seated Leg Curls are harder than I remember. The last set of pull-ups is easier. Progress is hard. Then it gets easier.


Cardio Friday

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.96
Calories 334
HR 142-200 (97, 87, 93)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 22

Elbow Plank 60s
Crunches 60/60
Leg horizontal scissors 60
Bicycles 60
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

20 Step Mill
Level 4
Calories 129
Total steps 844
Floors 54
HR 131

HGPU 24

15 Elliptical
Program Intervals
Calories 123
Miles 1.39
HR 144-182

2:1 Seated Leg Curls
15lbs x 15
30 x 12
35 x 12
40 x 12
45 x 8+2+2

HGPU 24

Mat Stretch

Super Quick And Done

I had a super quick workout today because the chimney sweep was due to arrive at my house anywhere between 10 am and noon. It's been several years since we last had the chimney cleaned and inspected. Firewood burns every year in our old wood stove. Our thermostat is set to 63F and the heat kicks on regardless of the season if temps fall low enough. No, we're not one of those households that keeps the heat turned off until October 31. (Only cheapass landlords do that in my book.) As it is, the fuel oil company wanted to send a delivery tomorrow but I still have half a tank so we can wait a few weeks.

I'm cold when I start, but always happily (and thoroughly) warmed by the end of 30 plus minutes. My legs are slightly sore. They feel heavy on the elliptical, and my hamstrings are tender when I'm in the Stretch Cage. It must be yesterday's Smith RDLs because nothing else would've stressed those muscles. Hard to imagine that increasing the weight by 10 lbs would have such an effect! I skip pull-ups (did two sets yesterday) and side planks. My hips feel out of sorts and there's no reason to exacerbate minor discomfort.

There are no inclined benches in the DB area so I use one of the breaker inclined benches. It's a bit more cumbersome, and in the middle of it all, Shiny Shoes wanders through putting weights and plates away, straightening up equipment and realigning the benches. Which is fine, except I'm using that particular one and if he'd just get out of the way, I'd be able to finish my set. Ugh. And that's all I have time for if I want to shower and get home with a few minutes to spare.

The chimney guy shows up a half-hour later and tells me that my chimneys are pretty clean. He pulls apart the metal chimney jutting out of my wood stove and shows me a slight amount of creosote lining it. We go into the basement to check on the oil burner and its flue pipe. Looks good. He spots a large dark green frog in my sump pit. Oh jeeze! There's no way the critter can get out and neither of us wants it to die in there. I retrieve my son's butterfly net and he captures the lucky amphibian to release outside the basement.

My firewood is old and well-seasoned. He's not exactly sure how much better or worse the kiln-dried supermarket firewood is. All of it is better than burning green, newly cut wood. Neither of us knows if seasoned wood has a different chemical breakdown from kiln-dried wood.

Then he tells me that he'll just charge me for the trip out there since he doesn't have to clamber up the roof to look at the chimney. That's $100 instead of $235. And perhaps, to justify the fee, he pulls apart the top of the woodstove because it makes a weird noise when the flue is closed. "That's not aligned right," and then he shoves his hand into the top of the stove and fidgets with it until the flap seats where it's supposed to be.

"Do you have the owner's manual?"
"Somewhere."

It's true. I have all my owner's manuals, but this stove is over 20 years old so the manual is most likely buried behind 20 years of manuals and warranties to newer appliances. He looks online although neither of us is certain as to who the manufacturer is. Meanwhile, we are being dive-bombed by brazen chickadees and tufted titmouse birds on their way to the feeder newly filled with black-oil sunflower seeds. The nutty suet is okay. The sunflower seeds make them crazy happy.

Thursday Shoulders Plus

30 + 5 cd elliptical
Program 1
Miles 2.89
Calories 323
HR 143-188 (79, 87, 93)

Cage Stretch

Elbow Plank 60s
Crunches 60/60
Bicycles 60
Horizontal Scissors 60
Skip (hips) Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

DB Shoulder Press s/s Front Raises
10 lbs x 12 reps x 2

DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flys
20lbs x 12/16 reps x 3 sets

Skip Stretch

Baby Steps

I skipped the gym yesterday and actually tried to get a flu shot from my local CVS. You'd think that with all the signs and voice-over recordings telling everyone how simple and easy it is to do, that there'd actually be flu shots available. But there are not. Sold out and delivery of the next shipment is uncertain. It's not the staff's fault. It's not the scheduler's fault. Or the fact that the company has switched delivery vendors. And the new guys are always late and can't stick to the schedule. I tried again today after being told that yes, delivery on Wednesday. But they're MIA. And no one at CVS can tell me when they'll have the vaccine in stock. Time to look elsewhere.

At the gym, I warm up with 30 plus minutes on the elliptical and then some pullups. Feeling much better. I skipped the black elderberry tonic I've been taking every morning only because I've been uncharacteristically light-headed. I've read that black elderberry can, in some people, lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. While lower cholesterol is always welcome, low blood sugar is not, especially before exercising. Instead, I'll take it after I've ingested something more than coffee with sugar and cream.

It's a Pull Day so I start with Smith RDLs and increase the weight a tiny bit to 110 lbs. There're huge colored patches all over the walls, and brand new sheetrock under the mirror in front of the Smith. I hope Gym Owner armors that spot with plexiglass or something because the chucklehead (that made those holes to begin with) hasn't learned anything new about not damaging his surroundings. Big white swathes of plaster and compound certainly make the gym seem brighter. Staff at the front desk believe that there'll be some metal plating protecting the walls, probably the same aluminum diamond plate that lines the bottom 3 feet of wall in the CF area. Errant kettlebells cracked a few mirrors there.

I'd like to say that everything is easier after taking yesterday off, but the Seated Cable Rows surprise me with how heavy even just 70 lbs feels. Of course, I get over that quickly and increase the weight in small, reasonable amounts. No leaping 15 lbs at a stretch for me. I'm inching my way toward 100 lbs, without risking injury to my lower back. Even the rep crazy Reverse Grip BB Curls aren't horrible. I can feel my forearms working, and I should probably do forearm movements every day if I want to see improvement, but I haven't set that as an actual goal. It's more of a passing thought.

I climb the StepMill for my second cardio leg. It's a change of pace. All the recumbent bikes are occupied by seniors. Most of the treadmills are busy as well. And then I think, well, it's a Pull Day. Maybe one more set of pullups. I'm a little worried that tired forearms will impede the count, but everything is fine. Whew! The Nexersys machines are permanently dark, and Gym Owner confirms that the pair of them are destined for the rubbish heap. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. But I'll not be whacking the heavy bag. That's not fun at all.

Tomorrow I'll do a bit of cardio and some shoulders. I have a chimney sweep coming late morning. Because it's that time of year! There's pumpkin spice everywhere. Not just in donuts, coffee, and ice cream. I manage to try a bottle of Leinenkugel's limited-edition Harvest Patch Shandy without committing to an entire 6-pack. I enjoy their Grapefruit Shandy but none of their other flavored weiss (wheat) beers. What does Harvest Patch Shandy taste like? Why pumpkin spice, naturally.

Bleary Wednesday Pull

30 elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.90
Calories 325
HR 143-202 (96, 89, 97)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 22

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

Smith RDLs
Bar (30) x 15
80 x 12
110 x 12, 12, 12

Smith RG BB Rows
80 x 25 x 3

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

RG BB Curls
40 x 25 x 3

20 Step Mill
Level 3
Calories 112
Total steps 708
Floors 44
HR 130

HGPU 22

Quick Mat Stretch