Sunday Workout

I meant to work out yesterday but errands got in the way. Today, as my husband tends to a pork shoulder in the smoker for Easter supper, I decide to spend an hour (or two) in the garage. The sky is clouding up after a ridiculously bright sunny morning where I watched large birds circle high overhead. One, with a creamy breast and dark banded wings, makes a cry I've never heard before, sounding a lot like "cribbage! cribbage!"

Even though the thermometer reads 60F outdoors, it's considerably cooler inside the garage and I'm bundled up with a hat, fleece jacket, fleece vest, fleece pullover and a long-sleeve T. I'm wearing my gym pants and sneakers though because I don't want to ruin the plaid flannel cargo pants I had on earlier. Yes, those are hand-me-downs from my son and were his favorite type of pants for most of grade school. No one carries them anymore so they are a precious commodity. Because I'm not out in public, I don't care that my plaids clash!

Again, my lungs hurt as I push myself through 35 minutes and 3 miles. Today I promise myself that I'll start drinking my powdered beet again. And do cardio on a more regular basis. Again, I don't think I'll make it past 2.5 miles, but I do. I'm always surprised. My HR bounces from 64 to 134 but stays mostly in the 110 range. Twenty minutes in and I'm warm enough to strip off the jacket, gloves, vest, and hat. I'm panting hard when I finally finish. So not looking forward to doing this again anytime soon. But I will.

Core isn't hard. Pushups are fine. Pull-ups are slightly better as I squeeze one more rep out. I have on different sneakers today so I don't slide as much on the floor mats. It takes me a while to get my phone set up at an angle where I can see myself as I attempt Inverted Rows on the Power Straps. It's obvious by rep 7 that I need to relax my shoulders and back fully before pulling up for the next 5 reps. At least I can just sit down when I'm done.

Bodyweight squats and lunges tax my knees a bit but I pace myself. I look at the EZ Curl Bar and add a slight 2.5 lb plate to each side to bring the total up to 30 lbs. The additional weight creates a slight problem with my flimsy bench: with a heavier bar, I really need to anchor my feet as I bring my arms over my head but I'm too short for anything but my tiptoes to touch the actual floor.

The bench does not lay flat and has an unanchored inclined section with padded footrests. I'm not really sure what that's for: it's my husband's bench from a million years ago. Finally, I settle on placing one foot over the foam roller and one foot under as a way to lock myself in place. I'll stick to 30 lbs on the bar for a while.

Five pounds doesn't sound like a lot but the bar was definitely heavier when I picked it up for curls. I still knocked out 25 reps for regular curls and RG curls. If anything, the RGs were a tad easier. I always feel better after I work out so I really should do it more often. But of course, motivation has been lacking in these trying times...

Easter Sunday workout

Vision elliptical

Program: manual

35 min

Miles: 3.12

Calories: 288

HR 64-136 (106-117)

Crunches 60/60

Elbow Plank 60s

Bench Knee-Ins 30

Bicycles 60

Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Pushups 25 (elbows flared)

HGPU 17

Bodyweight squats 25

Strap Inverted Row 4, 13, 12

Lunges 25

EZ Bar Rip Skulls 30 lbs x 12 x 3

EZ Bar BB Curl 30 x 25 reps

EZ Bar RG Curl 30 x 25

Quick stretch