Down For The Count

Both Nexersys machines have been dark for the past several days. I didn't think the one on the left would ever return. It's truly broken somewhere deep inside. The machine on the right, the one with the broken Cross pad and dead Lead Dig sensor, however, occasionally sparks to life. But not lately. Too bad. I'm not one to smack the body bag. There's no give to it and I don't want to break my hand or foot. Plus, I tend to fall into boring routines and it'd be impossible to execute combos. I'm not sure how a Cross would differ from an Elbow or a Hook on a massive body bag.

I managed to average 8 hours sleep over the weekend, but fell short this morning, only remembering my purse as I sat in the car with my son waiting for the school bus. Ugh. A new study details that for post-menopausal women, getting less than 5 hours of sleep might lead to an increased rate of osteoporosis. Sleep is not only critical for having your brain flush toxins out of its system, it's also the witching hour when bones are remade.

I follow the parade of cars trailing the school bus so I can turn around and head home without having to hit reverse. I'm actually too short to see over my right shoulder to back the car up the hill. The headrest is in the way, just as the side mirror also provides another blind spot for that part of the road when I'm making left turns. Only short people will understand this predicament.

Footprints on the wall!

The gym appears deserted until nearly 8 am, then suddenly all the treadmills are occupied. It's wet and cold outside although it's not actually raining. More like a nasty, wet wind whipping through the trees. Again, it takes me a long time to warm up on the elliptical. It's also hard for me to stay warm. I'm cold in the Aerobic Room doing core exercises. I get the tiniest bit flushed doing high reps at the Smith machine. I'm not quite cold by the DB racks doing Lateral Raises and Reverse Inclined Flys. Elbows are my weak link so it's easier for me to do reps of the flys than it is for me to handle lateral raises. I don't actually start to sweat again until I'm halfway through my second cardio session.

I see a lot of regulars including Big Tank, Lazy Pedals, M, Nice Beard, and a few others. I don't see B probably because she won't drive if there is even the suggestion of bad weather. She usually parks her brand new fancy Alfa Romeo way across the parking lot so it won't get dinged by careless Jeep drivers like her last car did.

I like the mix of women and men in the free weight area today. One woman seems to be trying to replicate my routine. I only notice this because as I'm doing Rip Skulls with a 40 lb solid BB, she's doing it with the 30 on a flat bench a few yards away. Secretly, I smile to myself. Normally, everyone does Skull Crushers. (The only other person I've ever seen do Rip Skulls is The Mayor, and he plants himself on a flat bench in front of the Preacher Station so that his bar has a landing spot. Go ahead and take up two pieces of equipment!) 

The gym is still not done being painted. Oddly, the painter is focused on the overhead beams and ventilation pipes. He's laid a dropcloth on the back half of the cardio machines. Meanwhile, the wall behind the squat rack is still the original orange. Freshly painted gray walls are already marred with footprints! Who the hell puts their feet up on the wall when they bench on the Smith!?

Dreary Monday Push

30 elliptical + 5cd
Program 1
Miles 2.86
Calories 318
HR 144-195 (85)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 25

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

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30) x 15
50 x 15
70 x 25, 25, 25

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys
20 lbs x 12/20 reps
20/25 lbs x 12/20 reps x 3 sets

Rev Inclined Flys
25lbs x 20 reps x 3 sets

DB Laterals
25 lbs x 8, 8, 8

Rip Skulls
40 x 12, 12, 11

20 elliptical + 5 cd
Program 1
Calories 231
Miles 2.06
HR 145-170

Mat Stretch