Random Info

I finally discovered an explanation for METs, which shows up on most cardio equipment dashboards and has always baffled me. And of course, now a way to quantify the benefits of that exercise. Click here for the article.

The two times I had the flu so bad it was memorable were in 1977-78 (Russian flu) and in 1986 (Taiwan flu). Both, as it turns out, were of the A H1N1 variety. I'm not sure of what flu I first contracted as a wee child though. A new study indicates that first exposure to a specific variety of flu may be protective, i.e., your body retains a semblance of immunity (contrary to current beliefs) that may prevent more severe infections. I still got the flu shot this year as a recent study shows that previous vaccinations can be protective far longer than just the year they are given.

The body's own biome can determine whether you develop certain cancers. While we are all aware of recalcitrant staph and strep infections, fungi appear to be especially dangerous, predisposing the human body to, if not actually causing, pancreatic cancer. A common yeast is the culprit!

(An aside: Grammarly software insists that I use the word "too" after "predisposing the human body..." and that makes absolutely no sense. Grammarly also insists that I change "the culprit" to "a culprit" and will harass me until I actually publish this post. Yes, I'm using the free version, but these "corrections" do not instill enough confidence in their software for me to even consider shelling out money for their premium version. But it's useful as a spellchecker.) 

On Christmas Eve, my husband and I took our son to his first Christian service not associated with a wedding or a funeral. For years my husband, who was baptized Anglican, has spoken of visiting the local Episcopalian Church. I have a fond recollection of visiting a Christmas Eve service when I was a teenager living in a Jewish neighborhood. My non-observant (secular) friends and I had no place to be so we stepped into a brightly lit, well-attended service where the congregation had imported a "fire-and-brimstone" preacher from Australia who basically told us we were all going to hell.

The service my family attended, by contrast, was mild and joyous, with an adorable Christmas pageant performed by tiny children. But it was the singing of hymns that gave me the best feeling. My grandmother, raised Lutheran, used to sing hymns as she tried to teach me to play the small electric organ she had in her bedroom. An article about the power of song and music to resuscitate memory in those suffering from Alzheimer's disease seems relevant. I have CDs for all the musicals my parents used to see, and yes, I know the lyrics and sing along when no one is listening.

Finally, to end this post, a link to an extremely informative article from a new online "newsletter" about how and why exercise benefits our bodies. It's more than the usual "it's good because you burn calories and intake more oxygen" mantra which just seems trite at this point. In short, it's "Exercise as Medicine."

Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve Workout

I didn't make it yesterday or all weekend. However, I did manage to squeeze some cardio, core and pull a few weights before the gym closed early today. It is Christmas Eve after all, and most places like the gym and grocery are closed tomorrow. And rightly so. Commerce isn't everything.

My foot is still not happy wearing closed-toe shoes but it's not practical to run around in squishy slippers everywhere, although I did try. I need a shoe with a substantial sole, otherwise, I can feel the rock salt through the skimpy slipper bottoms. The toe is still gross to look at and continues to weep a bit, but I think I can see the nail growing back. Yaaay! Next week I'm supposed to do away with the bandaging altogether. My follow-up appt with the doc is the following week when he'll have the biopsy results. I'm trying not to think about it too much, always fearing the worst.

Because I got to the gym late, I didn't have time for a normal workout, so no additional cardio after a few sets of moving heavy things. Or not so heavy things, but moving them a lot. I'm better making small 5 lb jumps in weight when the weight stack leaps by 15 lbs a plate. That might be fine for bigger folks. It's too much of a jump for a small movement like Seated Cable Rows for someone small like me.

I did notice a muscley-guy who was surprisingly limber -- the only guy I've ever seen here actually able to bend over with legs spread while seated on the floor, and mostly get his torso parallel with the ground. I admit I had to work hard to achieve that "chest flat on the floor" position.

In the women's locker room I can hear The Mayor cackling with his buddies. They're not in the locker room but he's so loud that it seems as if he is. Ugh.

Tuesday Pull Workout

30 min recumbent bike

Manual Level 1

Miles 4.42

Calories 133

HR 128

Cage Stretch

HGPU 25

Crunches 60/60

Bicycles 60

Horizontal Scissors 60

Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Seated Cable Rows

70 x 12

77.5 x 12

85 x 12

90 x 12

95 x 12

100 x 10

Smith RG BB Rows

Bar (30) x 15

80 lbs x 25 reps x 3 sets

Quick Mat Stretch

Do Over Workout

Today's workout was actually better although I've had substantially less sleep. My husband is on vacation and forgets that school isn't over yet and I have to get up at 6 am just to get ready. At the last minute, my hubby awakens and tosses his clothes on to take my son to the school bus stop, and then we're off to the gym.

I'm pedaling with a little more focus today so I actually come close to 5 miles in 30 minutes. Much better than yesterday. But I'm surprised when the bike program suggests a 5-minute cooldown so I skip that. I'm not sweating. Not even a little. But the ball of my right foot is tingly and numb. Ugh. I can stretch awkwardly in the Stretch Cage and then hobble off to the Aerobics Room to do crunches and the like. I'm wearing the softest sneakers two days in a row, something I'd never normally do, but I can't bear to put my foot in anything with a less forgiving fabric.

The little tag inside my lifting gloves is irritating my palms and I pull them out. I'll try to remember to snip them off when I get home. Most of my clothes have their tags cut off for just that reason. (I know I'm not the only one, or why else would manufacturers proudly advertise their tag-free garments?) I manage to get my sets in on the Smith for Inclined Presses and half of the DB supersets before my hubby texts me that he's done and sitting in the coffee bar area. I'm surprised and disappointed. He's run out of juice early doing a new circuit training routine. Probably that lack of sleep and coffee isn't helping him any either. Oh well. This is why I don't work out with a partner. Seriously. It'd be hard if not damn near impossible to find someone who works out the way I do.

Meanwhile, the toe is throbbing a bit but doesn't look any different when I peel off the bandaids and gauze. I'm curious to see how, when and if (because sometimes although rarely, it doesn't) the toenail grows back. But that's just me.

Do Over Friday Pull

30 min recumbent bike

Manual Level 1

Miles 4.91

Calories 138

HR 110-120

Cage Stretch

Crunches 60/60

Bicycles 60

Horizontal Scissors 60

Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Smith Inclined Press

Bar (30) x 15

50 x 15 (bar wobbly)

70 x 25, 25, 25

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys

20 lbs x 12/20 reps x 3 sets

Back At It Mildly

I was able to put my super soft Skecher Go-Walk sneakers on this morning and went to the gym with my hubs. While he pedaled on the elliptical, I tried to get warm on the recumbent bike. It took a lot of effort, mostly because this is supremely boring so I spent the entirety of it staring at my phone checking email. You have a tendency to dawdle when your focus is elsewhere! I did manage to pedal over 3 miles but this was after 30 minutes. And I still wasn't warm enough to take my hoodie off.

Pullups seemed daunting. They were fine. It was dismounting that had me off balance because I don't want to put undue pressure on my big toe. Then I went to the aerobics room to do crunches and the like. All fine and well until I attempted Bird Dogs, which don't really affect your toes, except you really need the anchor foot to be securely flat on the floor. So that was a little hard.

I figured that was enough for today. I'll do more tomorrow. My biggest challenge was changing the dressing on my foot after showering. Triple antibiotic ointment truly squishes out everywhere. The non-stick gauze pads have hard, rough edges (or I'm a lot more sensitive than normal people) and after applying one, I found it to be too painful to even attempt stuffing my foot back into my soft, squishy, formless winter boots. The non-stick surface is plasticized which might not affect most people. I'm the one person who gets a paper cut from the product label stitched inside clothing. Luckily I have a lot of bandaids in my bag. And we're headed to the store after this anyway so I can buy actual super soft, sterile gauze pads.

Tomorrow I'll attempt another cardio warmup and then see if I can knock out some Inclined Benching or Seated Cable Rows. It depends on how crowded the gym is for a winter Friday. And we're still waiting for the ice to melt off all the tree branches. The lawn looks like a fairytale illustration, gleaming crystals in the bitter cold sunlight. Temps peaked at 19 from this morning's 9F. Good thing we have firewood next to the woodstove!

Testing the Waters Warm-Up Thursday

30 min recumbent bike

Manual Level 1

Miles 3.90

Calories 127

Cage Stretch

HGPU 25

Crunches 60/60

Horizontal Scissors 60

Bicycles 60

Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Don't Get Fat When You Get Old

Yeah, as if we didn't already know that having more body fat than muscle isn't good for our heart health, joints, immune responses, and organ viability, there's this news now about how it might also impair cognitive functions.

Click here to view the article from Futurity.

Oh, and the toe is healing nicely. I might even venture to the gym tomorrow...

What They Don't Tell You

Every hospital seems to have different protocols and I'm always surprised by how they differ. Yesterday, I went to have a toe biopsy done. The procedure itself requires anesthesia, so the hospital requires the patient to undergo an ECG and blood work to make sure there's no underlying issues. I'm good to go. My blood pressure has been elevated lately due to my anxiety although my pulse rate is remarkably good and comes in at an athletic 50 bpm. My blood pressure before the procedure is an alarming (to me) 145/88, but drops down to 117/80 afterward.

This hospital, while taking my vitals, has me swab my nostrils with iodine. That's a new protocol to prevent cross-contamination of wounds from patients rubbing their noses! Then they measure my neck circumference because people with fat necks are usually obese (and are usually men) and at risk for sleep apnea. I guess that's another risk when undergoing anesthesia. They make sure I don't have any metal implants because I'll be laying on a metal ground in case they need to cauterize something. Uh, okay. We are told before arriving not to bring any weapons. Really? That's something you have to tell people?!

I'm such a flyweight that the mild sedative they give me so they can administer local anesthetic to my big toe actually puts me out until I wake up, not in the operating room, but in recovery with my husband sitting by the bedside. It's been almost two hours. I get a light snack and a wheelchair ride to the curb. Printed instructions tell me to take my meds, call with any questions, and to leave the dressing on my wound for 24 hours before applying Neosporin and a new bandage. I have antibiotics and pain meds at home. I find that taking 3 ibuprofen tablets is enough and I absolutely don't need the oxycodone they've prescribed. I also marvel at how easily docs prescribe this narcotic!

I do have to keep the foot elevated at first because the toe is so tender. Once I take my super soft alpaca wool sock off, I can't put it back because my foot feels swollen and really sensitive. Also super glad to have purchased velcro-closing memory foam slippers because I can't slip my foot into anything. This morning, my foot feels better although still tender. I take my antibiotics as prescribed. Finally, I can pull on a pair of super warm arctic weight alpaca socks and limp around the house on the heel of the foot. That makes the quad of my left leg really work! Thank goodness schools are all closed due to the ice storm, and my husband is home on vacation days. I have him refill the bird feeder and I swear I hear the tiny birds all cheer in the surrounding hedges.

After 24 hours, I unwrap the self-sticking elastic gauze. Then the blood-soaked padding. The blood has dried and hardened. There is a yellow pad stuck to the surface of my toe where the nail used to be. Ugh. It's too painful to yank off and I resort to trying to roll it off a bit at a time. Nowhere in any of the follow-up packets is this problem addressed, as if it never happens. Right? This sort of thing only happens to me? I don't think so! It looks like there might be a stitch or two as well. The marker is mostly washed off so those black lines look like sutures to me.

My husband suggests soaking it in sterile saline and proffers his new unopened bottle of contact lens solution. I don't see any other options so that's what I do. It takes a really long time for the pad to come loose enough for me to peel off without further damaging the surface of my toe. There's a thread or two that I'm unable to remove. Ugh. I'll try again tomorrow. Meanwhile I put a generous gob of triple antibiotic ointment on a fresh new gauze pad and affix it with several bandages, finally securing the whole bundle with the original self-sticking elastic gauze. We'll have to buy more.

My husband and I agree that we need to update our household emergency kit. This was a good opportunity to see what we really need. A trip to the local CVS is on the agenda for tomorrow! I'm suppose to repeat this procedure for 6 days, and then next week leave the toe unbandaged but slathered in Aquaphor. That's going to make for messy socks.

The nail should grow back eventually. Depending on how sensitive my foot is, I'll test my options for a gym workout in a few days. Because, you know... gym rats.

Trepidation Week

It's no secret that I haven't been sleeping well. My anxiety levels are really high right now, mostly because the toenail biopsy should occur a week from today. I'm awaiting a call from the nurse to give me important details, like what time to show up! Everything I've read suggests that I'm not going to be able to do much cardio (if any) in the days that follow.

Depending on how fast I heal and what my pain threshold is, I might hobble to the gym and do other things. I hope I can drive! Planks will wait until I'm recovered. Nothing that puts inordinate pressure on my feet/toes will be on the list! Then I'll have to wait to get the results and I don't know if they give them to me, or if I have to schedule an appointment with my dermatologist! Ugh. Best case scenario? It's nothing, a subungual lentigo or a longitudinal melanonychia. Worst? Not going there just yet. At least amputation isn't recommended anymore.

I think we're finally approved to get our two 9-mos old rescue dogs from Korea. However, I'm not sure what the actual date of arrival will be. There's some prep involved with this! Like I have to buy slipcovers for our leather sofa because I know they'll want to look out the window and sleep on the couch. Damn, I'd better be able to walk these teenage pups!

Today is a Push Day. It's also raining with heavy fog so it's a perfectly dreary winter day. The Precor elliptical that I like to use has the attached TV stuck in the On position. Normally, I turn the TV off. Worse, I can't change the channel and ESPN glows in my face as I pedal. Once I warm up, I pull off my hoodie and drape it over the monitor. Problem solved! Core and pushups are routine. I've given up trying to do sets of 20 because I constantly lose my place. When I revert back to straight counting (1-60), everything goes much faster, leading me to believe that when I lose my place I just add another set of 20 to the routine. I'm my own worse enemy.

I'm ecstatic that the Smith machine is free. The bar wobbles until I add more weight. Probably because of all the dust and dirt in the cable track. I spend the most time on the oversized Inclined Bench doing my DB supersets. I really dislike this bench but I have no choice. The gym is really crowded today and there are few free benches as it is. And the painters are still at it. This time, I look up and see a fellow on the roof of the bump-out room that houses the Spin Class. Rip Skulls are routine. Damn, there's a lot of people here. Then back to the elliptical where I immediately toss my hoodie over yammering sports figures.

Because the washing machine repairman is coming on Wednesday, I'm thinking I'll do a Pull Day workout tomorrow and just some cardio the next day. It really sucks not having a working washer. Actually, I ran the washer today and hand-wrung out the few clothes I had in it. Some of my gym stuff isn't as fresh as it should be, but I think I can last for another two days.

Monday Push

30 elliptical + 5cd
Program 1
Miles 2.87
Calories 319
HR 153-195 (105, 90)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 26

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 (bar wobbly)
70 x 25, 25, 25

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys
20 lbs x 12/20 reps x 1
20/25 lbs x 12/20 reps x 3 sets

Rev Inclined Flys
25lbs x 20 reps x 3 sets

Rip Skulls
40 x 12, 12, 12

20 elliptical + 5 cd
Program 1
Calories 235
Miles 2.09
HR 151-198 (130)

Mat Stretch

***********************************************************************************************************

Hurrah! We've been approved to adopt our two teenage rescue pups. But they won't arrive until mid-January so now I have to figure out how to retrieve them because I'm not sure my husband will be able to take off from work, and I don't drive distance at night. Especially not to JFK airport. Hell, driving at night even on roads I know is a bit daunting since all oncoming headlights look like giant dripping starbursts. That's not cataracts. I have "newish" fake lenses so that's just my night vision.

Temperatures are a bit crazy with highs today in the 50s, but promising to plummet low enough to grace us with snow and sleet by tomorrow. Ugh. There's a rumor that schools might cancel. The appliance repairman is coming tomorrow. I might not get to the gym at all. It's a good thing I decided to do the Pull routine today.

The first elliptical still has the TV stuck on ESPN. This machine glides smoother than the other 3 so it's the preferred machine. I toss my hoodie over the screen. When I look down, I realize that the tiny plastic water cup from yesterday is still there, under the foot pedal. People are so damn lazy. And the cleaning crew sucks.

In the Aerobic Room, I catch myself yawning. Ugh. Crunches go really quickly though. Side planks are an issue two days in a row. Especially since my sneaker is on a particularly slippery spot on the floor and I keep sliding. Bird dogs are fine. And once again, the Smith machine is free so I can do a few sets of RDLs followed by RG BB Rows. Yaaay me! The gym is really crowded for a Tuesday. Maybe because it's warm out (but raining) and there's another snow threat for the week. I click the volume higher to drown everyone out.

My right forearm twinges a bit and I worry about tendonitis. It's that extra HGPU rep. Maybe I should stick to 25. (I hear Oswald's friend Henry say, "No more and no less" in my head.) Even if I make it to the gym tomorrow (highly unlikely), I'd only be doing cardio. Maybe the Intervals program.

I tend to go all out when I'm on the elliptical. None of this leisurely strolling. Research suggests that if you want the best benefits of aerobic exercise, as in HIIT cardio (which is technically anaerobic), you can't leave something in the tank for later. You have to go all out. Sweat. Be breathless. It gets better.

Tuesday Pull

30 elliptical + 5cd
Program 2
Miles 2.91
Calories 326
HR 155-192 (81, 85)

Cage Stretch

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

Smith RDL
Bar (30) x 15
80 x 12
100 x 12
120 x 12

Smith RG BB Rows
80 x 25 x 3

Seated Cable Rows
70 x 12
77.5 x 12
85 x 12
92.5 x 12
100 x 12

RG BB Curls
40 lbs x 25 reps x 3 sets

20 elliptical + 5cd
Program 2
Miles 2.06
Calories 230
HR 140-194 (91, 84)

Quick Mat Stretch


**************************************************************
Wednesday it snowed enough to warrant a 3-hour delay for area schools. That doesn't happen very often. While I enjoyed the luxury of sleeping for a full 8 hours, I still had to get up and shovel the walkway, car, and driveway. And clip unruly snow-laden branches that were dipping from the weight. After the school bus came, I drove to the pet supply store to buy another 50 lb bag of black oil sunflower seeds and a sleeve of nutty suet.

While I was wrestling the unwieldy bag of seed out of the cart and into my car, I noticed that an older woman was having trouble getting her bag of seed into her sedan. Her bag was a lot lighter so it was easy for me to hoist it into the back seat. Followed by 30 lbs of ice melt. She was impressed. And very happy to have the help. She said that it seemed as if losing her strength came about all of a sudden. Well, that's an unpleasant surprise! I hope that never happens to me, but I guess that depends on how old I get to be. Real-life benefits of strength training!

The repairman came and replaced the coupling on my old Whirlpool. The axle is stripped and he said replacing that would entail buying a brand new motor which is ill-advised, considering that's just about the cost of the entire machine and no one makes the timing mechanism anymore. So the washer works, but he cautioned me to use it gently. Fingers-crossed, it should last until the new Maytag washer arrives sometime after Christmas. And he was nice enough to only charge me for the service call, not for parts or labor. It is totally awesome to have a working washer again! Yaaay clean clothes!

***************************************************************

Temps dropped down to 16F so it took some time to warm up the car this morning. Went to the gym, did grocery shopping, hauled in firewood for this weekend. Now I'm tired, but I still have to take my son to his martial arts class later.

The gym was crowded with regulars. And noisy. But at least the elliptical got fixed so I could turn off the TV, and the water cup is gone. For fun, I did the Intervals program. It's not really fun. I hate cardio. But I did go all out and pedal as fast as I could for each two-minute interval, then drop to an easy jog. Today I focused on shoulders and warmed up appropriately. I think the warm-ups actually feel worse than the actual exercises. Or at least my shoulders complain more during three sets of the T, Y & I on an inclined bench than for any other movement.

My hands are ice cold during weight training. I don't feel warm again until I hop up onto the elliptical and do 20 plus minutes of Program 3. Then I'm drenched but feel so much better. Tomorrow is my Cardio Plus Day. Looking forward to knocking out some pullups.

Frigid Thursday Shoulders Plus

30 + 5 cd elliptical
Program Intervals
Miles 2.91
Calories 326
HR 144-209 (81, 87)

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

Cage Stretch
Mid-Band Pulls 15
High-Band Pulls 15

T, Y & I Raises Inclined Bench
5 lbs x 15 reps x 3 sets

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

V-bar Tricep Press Down
20 lbs x 12
30 x 12
40 x 12

20 elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.05
Calories 228
HR 148-196 (86, 83)

Quick Stretch

********************************************************************************************************

Friday is my Cardio Plus day. I got all my cardio done as well as core and pullups. Yaaaay me. I even got to ride the Expresso Bike for 15 minutes and chase CG dragons to score points. Not my best game but it's been a while since I last played, and I was on one of the newer, less adjustable seats. 

In the locker room, I glance at my feet and wonder if the dark streak has always ended just shy of the half-moon at the nail base. It's called a lunula and not everyone has them. Because I keep photos in my phone of almost everything, I can look up an image of my toe from last April for comparison. 

Unfortunately, the lunula isn't visible due to irregularities on the nail surface. Oddly, those seem to have cleared up, probably because I stopped doing Norwegian 4x4s. (It sucks that doing something a tad more extreme than average exercise can have unpleasant side effects.) I look at other photos taken in May and October and can't decide whether the streak is different or not. 

Streak shorter
but wider?

My procedure is scheduled for Monday late afternoon, and at first, I'm really happy because I think I can work out that morning. But I'm not allowed to eat or drink for a minimum of 8 hours prior so that kills my gym plans. I drink a lot of water when I work out. Maybe I can just pedal lazily for 30 minutes and then shower? Once a gym rat, always a gym rat. 


Pre-Biopsy Cardio Friday

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.92
Calories 327
HR 152-196 (85, 79, 89)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 26

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

20 Step Mill
Level 4
Calories 130
Total steps 853
Floors 53
HR 130

HGPU 26

15 Expresso Bike
Dragon Island Game
Points 109740
Calories 68
Miles 2.57
HR 91/129

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

HGPU 26

Mat Stretch

First Week December 2019

I didn't work out on Monday in spite of the gluttonous 4-day long holiday weekend. Instead, we snickered at the winter storm blowing up all the online headlines, and then I went to my doctor's appointment to get a blood test and ECG as required for pre-surgical clearance for my toe biopsy later this month. My blood pressure was unsurprisingly on the high side. My pulse was actually on the low side at 62 considering how anxious I am these days.

But what really bothers me is that my doctor, an extremely pleasant South East Asian woman, also has a dark pigmented line running through her nail bed on her pointer finger. It doesn't bother her so she hasn't had it looked at. Ugh. She's had it for years. I gently remind her that if this is subungual melanoma, the fatality rate is high because people wait too long before getting it looked at. She tells me that yes, she should probably see her dermatologist to get it checked out.

Schools had a 2-hour delay on Tuesday to give everyone a chance to unbury their vehicles. Actually, snow would've been easy. Ice is hard. Hard to chip off the car so you can get the door open enough to start the ignition and get the windows defrosted! I did make it to the gym but skipped the second cardio session, thinking I'd have more shoveling and chipping to do when I got home. It was a typical Push Day session except once again, I couldn't access the Smith Machine.

This time it was Latin Dance King who kept bouncing between the Smith, barbells, cable station and dumbbells. Worse, he never reracked his weights so no one could tell when he was actually done. The painters appear to have finished, but that doesn't explain the entire lower wall of old orange paint by the Squat rack and Max Rack and tiered DB racks.


Post Storm Tuesday Push

30 elliptical + 5cd
Program 1
Miles 2.84
Calories 315
HR 145-194 (122, 87, 84)

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

Breaker Inclined Bench
Bar (45) x 20
55 x 15
65 x 15, 15, 15

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys
20 lbs x 12/20 reps x 1
20/25 lbs x 12/20 reps x 3 sets

Rev Inclined Flys
25lbs x 20 reps x 3 sets

Rip Skulls (left elbow)
40 x 8,8, 8

Mat Stretch

Wednesday I actually made it to the gym parking lot in a few minutes but couldn't get motivated to actually enter the gym for a good 20. Might have something to do with waking up at 4:30 because hubs needed to be in Boston by 9 for a meeting. Once I'm awake, it's really hard for me to go back to sleep.

I'm dragging my butt but I do manage to finish both cardio sessions today and pull decent weight, actually increasing my Smith RDL slightly and skipping a set on Seated Cable Rows because I used the 7.5 lb block instead of inching up with 5 lb increments like the last two sessions.

Still, I'm annoyed. By whom? By Kickboxing Girl telling B in the locker room that the hat she's wearing is something she stole from a girl who actually doesn't own a car and has to walk to work in the freezing cold. She's laughing and thinks it's cute funny that she's got a nice warm car and this hatless girl doesn't. B doesn't have enough morals to say anything other than, "I don't look good in hats. I've tried but I'm not a hat person." Seriously? Or maybe my sleep deprivation is making me humorless? Is it me?

Cold Wednesday Pull

30 elliptical + 5cd
Program 2
Miles 2.91
Calories 327
HR 164-200 (97, 85)

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

Smith RDL
Bar (30) x 15
80 x 12
100 x 12
120 x 12

Smith RG BB Rows
80 x 25 x 3 sets

Seated Cable Rows
70 x 12
77.5 x 12
85 x 12
92.5 x 12
100 x 12

RG BB Curls
40 lbs x 25 reps x 3 sets

20 elliptical + 5cd
Program 2
Miles 2.06
Calories 230
HR 147-194 (87)

Cage Stretch
Quick Mat Stretch



Someone, please clean the Smith machine! There are dust spiders in the cable tracks. Ugh.




I spent a lot of time on Thursday taking phone videos and rifling through old photo albums to satisfy the rescue dog group's request: they say they want to know what kind of dog parent I'd be. The best, obviously. My first photo is of me and my best dog at a park over 30 years ago. The last one is of our last dog before he passed away. But just in case these fickle people find some other reason not to let me adopt, I've also applied to adopt locally at the new pet supply store in town. They host monthly adoption events and I promised my son that we could go check the puppies and kittens.

Friday I'm back at the gym but feeling sluggish and tired even though the most taxing thing I did on Thursday was walk through the deserted local park at 7 am shooting a video. Well, several short videos. And lots of laundry. And vacuuming. So, basically housework.

Friday is a Cardio Plus workout day and that's what I do. I'm on the elliptical, the stair climber and the Octane. The latter still makes my feet numb. I'm not going really fast or accomplishing great mileage, but I am getting it done. I even get all my reps plus one at hammer grip pull-ups. The gym has put up holiday lights but the painting is still not finished. Worse, corners are splitting apart, leaving a gaping white seam in the graphite gray paint. I also learn that there will be no gym Holiday Party this year because of "the incident" last year. Wait. What? I was there but left after two hours. All anyone can say is there was too much drama and a lot of drunk people. Well, that figures.

When I get home, with groceries to boot, I discover that the washer needs to be replaced. Because it has lost the ability to spin dry. Ugh. I pull wet towels out and hand-wring them before tossing them into the dryer. The machine is old and worn but it worked yesterday. I guess doing a load of blankets just did it in. At least next week's forecast promises temps in the 50s. In December.

Post-Snow Cardio Friday

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.84
Calories 316
HR 155-190 (87)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 26

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 126
Total steps 824
Floors 51
HR 136

HGPU 26

15 Octane + 2cd
Program manual lateral 3
Floors 33
Calories 104
Miles 1.02
HR 124-176 (80)
Numb feet!

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

HGPU 26

Mat Stretch