A Few Months Later...

It's been more than 2 months since I last posted a workout on this site. Although I've been sporadically busy trying to gain control of our yard, mostly I've been doing all the things that depressed and anxious people do when they can't go work out: binge-watch a lot of TV, read a lot of online trash, eat a lot of junk food, drink too much wine and hard seltzer. I do have gym equipment in a detached garage but there's no a/c in there and the damp heat is oppressive. I don't do well in high temps, being prone to heat sickness. I'm lucky I kept a lot of my looser old clothes since I've put on a few pounds. I don't need a scale to tell me since I'm not under the delusion that my former clothes have suddenly shrunk.

Our state has hit Phase 4, and gyms (and bars) were excluded from the reopening. Maybe in August, they say. Malls have reopened although I'm not sure that these indoor shops have retrofitted their a/c systems with HEPA and UV-C systems to disinfect the air. When and if the gyms reopen (many have closed permanently along with several local restaurants), procedures will, out of necessity, be different. Old guys have already proven that they can't follow directions regarding basic hand washing or even wiping down their equipment. I don't miss the crowds of exercise classes or the cacophony of locker rooms. But I do miss working out in a/c during the summer. I miss the StepMill and the Precor elliptical. I miss well-lit showers with great water pressure. 

We're not even certain how our schools will reopen. After enduring the panic of catastrophic infection and death rates in NYC and New Rochelle, I think we are right to be cautious and leery of repeating mistakes seen in other areas. Today, I decided I'd actually see how much fitness I've lost in the past two months. Although I didn't test my pullups (because that would mean trudging out to the garage), I did do a bunch of bodyweight movements, including a few pushups. We have a lot of fans in the house, but a/c only in one room, the converted attic, because that room gets the hottest, and we all have computers and desks up there. The a/c trickles down the stairs if we let it run all day, but still, the house isn't exactly cool. Fans help.

My husband loaded the Hulu app on my old iPad so I can watch River Monsters with Jeremy Wade while I do air squats and crunches in the living room. Even though I'm moving fairly slowly, I still find my forehead sweaty although I'm by no means breathless. Even pushups aren't too bad. I stop at 25 because that is the number I told my glaucoma doctor I would do when I worked out. Honestly, I was expecting that to be a bit harder. I did put on sneakers to protect my toes (that toenail is still really funky ugly) and workout gloves to keep the little bones in my hands from falling out of alignment and causing a sprain. I'm totally serious. 

I have total respect for the River Monsters host, from his catch and release practices to his focused and studied approach to every aquatic creature he encounters. Although River Monsters has ended after 9 seasons, I'm heartened to hear that he's hosting a new program called Dark Waters. 

Living Room Workout
4 pm 86°F outside/ 81°F inside

4 x 25 air squats
2 x 12 side bends
6 x 10 arm circles
2 x 12 half lunges
4 x 50 crunches
2 x 50 legs up cr
Elbow Plank 60s
2 x 25 fire hydrants
25 horizontal scissors
Push-ups 25
Easy Floor Stretch