Shoulder Thursday

The thermometer in my car read 16F this morning as my son and I waited for the school bus. In two days, temps are forecast to reach into the low 60s. January in the Northeast! I have alpaca wool socks on inside my boots. Of course, I won't be wearing that when I work out at the gym. I'm giving the NB sneakers one last chance before I officially retire them. Unfortunately, my right foot continues to hurt as I pedal the elliptical with the pinky toe on the verge of numbness. It's not just my warped foot. I know it's this sneaker because I don't have as bad a reaction with my other shoes. Too bad though since my left foot is perfectly comfortable. Ugh.

I'm tired, as usual. The gym seems very empty with only a half dozen members scattered throughout. It's not peak time yet when all the treadmills become occupied. I'm tired and I'm never social in the morning, pulling my hoodie over my eyes and clicking the volume up on my earbuds. I don't want to hear the old guys screaming their conversations across empty stationery bikes.

After 28 minutes all I can think about is how hungry I am. Ugh. But at least I'm warm. And in a much better mood. My heart rate never dips though, and I suspect that it's not really that my heart rate drops, but rather that the HR monitor loses my pulse and only records every other beat. This sounds like a much more reasonable explanation as to why the HR might show 88 bpm and then 180 within a few seconds of each other.

Today is Shoulder Day and I've decided to skip Side Planks and replace them with a few pushups. The problem with Side Planks is that they put a lot of stress on body parts that aren't meant to be stressed, like feet and knees. The closest I've gotten to actual pushups in a long while are the four "staggered arm" pushups I do at the beginning of my "end of the workout Mat Stretch." Today, after crunches and other ab exercises, I do a set of pushups, only to find my left wrist clicking. It's very distracting since I don't remember it ever doing that before. Of course, I'm trying to use "perfect form" with my elbows tucked in. Like a lot of people, my joints don't want to comply with "perfect form." (Elbows are much happier splayed out 45 degrees from the body.) A few pushups don't make my head feel like it's going to explode unlike doing 50 or 60.

In the free weight area, I only have access to the big adjustable bench since the smaller one is in the Smith machine. I don't want to navigate through the maze of equipment to swap one bench out for another. The gym is getting more crowded with many people making good on New Year's resolutions, especially folks who have been MIA for most of the year. I do my T, Y & I on an incline. Then I do my DB supersets. The free weight area gets really crowded. Like the tide, there is ebb and flow. Eventually, people leave to do other exercises.

I do another round of cardio before a quick mat stretch. After showering, I massage and stretch my foot. When I run my fingers down the first metatarsal, there's a vaguely painful sensation akin to a small knot in my foot. I'm able to bend my smaller toes back a bit more than before but the big toe, still bruised, is too tender to attempt to manipulate that way. I know it should because the other foot has no problems doing that. Still, there's movement so that's encouraging!

When I get home, I wear the toe-spreader sock for a few 30-minute sessions. Sometimes I try and point my foot while wearing this sock. A slight cramping in the sole of the foot tells me that the stretch is working, or at least that's what Dr. McClanahan says. The right foot has trouble bending at its "knuckle" but there's progress. I just need to be patient and persistent. However, proper footwear appears to be critical because no matter how much I massage and stretch, spending all day in the wrong shoes will be counterproductive.

Tomorrow is Cardio Friday. I might add Walking Lunges back into the routine. Because I'm bored. And being bored always leads to trouble. A little variety goes a long way to alleviate boredom which is the ultimate motivation killer. My motivation though is purely narcissistic: I'd like to look fabulous for my 60th birthday.

Thursday Shoulders Plus

30 + 5 cd elliptical
Program 3
Miles 2.88
Calories 322
HR 162-197 (135)

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

Elbow Plank 60s
Crunches 60/60
Horizontal Scissors 60
Bicycles 60
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
12 Pushups (left wrist clicking)

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 2.09
Calories 236
HR 165-196 (85)

Quick Stretch