Day Two

Day Two is the name of a classic Pilobolus dance. Not the sun-loving fungi Pilobolus, often found in cow dung, but the dance troupe. My husband and I used to visit the Joyce Theater in NYC annually to see them perform their fantastic acrobatic maneuvers. Founding member, Moses Pendleton then left to collaborate with another founder to create the world-acclaimed Momix Troupe. We've also enjoyed their antics as well. 

Today is the second day the gym has been open since it was forced to close in mid-March. There are a few more people working out, different from the ones I saw yesterday. Except for Little R. He was there yesterday, as were we. 

I'm happy to get on the only other Precor elliptical. It starts off clunking as I pedal but eventually the noise stops. Maybe because I'm pedaling a lot faster? This machine also reads HR through the handle. The other machine does not probably because the sensor is broken. They're the same machines, yet they're not. I do 25 minutes and switch directions every 5. I'm breathing so hard that fibers from the inside lining of the mask stick to my mouth and lips. It's distracting but there's nothing I can do. 

I glance around the gym and catch the guilty eye of a woman on the Leg Press. Her mask is around her neck. She sees me see her and pulls the mask back up to her nose. 

In the aerobic classroom, I grab two mats, spritz them with sanitizing spray, and then drop my hoodie on the section I place my head. Actual classes won't resume until September so I'm "safe." New evidence proposes that the virus is transmitted through aerosols which is lung vapor much tinier than the droplets expelled by coughing or sneezing. Aerosols can linger in the air for much longer than droplets (tiny amounts of saliva or other bodily fluids). That would explain infections transmitted by a room full of singers or loud talkers. Thank goodness I haven't seen or heard The Mayor these past two days. 

While I do my core exercises, people wander in to do a plank or some situps before leaving. It's 86F outside, the a/c is on, and I'm drenched with so much sweat that my mask is damp if not downright soggy. I'm not sure how effective a wet mask is but I'm assuming it's still better than no mask at all. 

I'm still sweating when I exit the classroom and check the Smith machine. I pass an empty room that used to be a closet of sorts. Now it houses something called a Styku and I have no idea what it is so I snap a quick photo to remind me to look it up when I get home. It turns out to be an expensive 3D-scanning machine that compares itself to a Dexa-scan for bodyfat analysis. There are a lot of Gold's Gym testimonials on the website so I wonder if the parent company has a deal with the company. List price is a ridiculous $10K so I hope the gym got a discount. 

At the Smith machine, I opt to do just a few Smith Deadlifts, starting first with just the bar. Then I add a 25 lb plate to either side and do three sets. Although this is far from heavy, I'm still sweating profusely. The mask is blotting everything running off my nose, but I have to push the mask to my chin in order to blow my nose. Getting hot and sweaty always makes my nose drippy on the inside as well. 

I glance over to the dumbbell area where my husband is doing single-leg lunges with his back foot on a bench. I do Walking Lunges halfway down the side of the gym and back. If there was a convenient space to stretch out I would use it, but I don't really favor the classroom and its slippery wooden floors. In the locker room, I peel off all my soggy gym clothes and replace them with clean dry shorts and shirt. Then I get on the scale. It tells me 118.6 lbs, which means getting on the scale with sweat-laden clothes costs almost a pound and a half. I'm relieved that I'm not actually 120 lbs, but 118.6 isn't much better. I really need to lose 10 lbs even though I've really only put on 6 lbs in the last year or so. Clothes will fit so much better at 108 than they do at 118 or 112. After all, I'm 60 and it's not like I'm going to grow any taller. 

My husband doesn't think that 10 lbs should concern me so much because he's got a lot more than 10 to lose. I tell him it's a matter of percentages. Ten out of 120 is a greater percentage than 10 out of 235. It's math! And you know there's a problem when you spend half your time adjusting your clothes every few minutes: sports bra band keeps rolling up and the sport-pants waistband keeps rolling down. My husband has decided to follow a new, somewhat stricter eating plan that eliminates a lot of the foods he's used to. He's very happy to have already lost 6-7 lbs in the first few weeks. I'd be ecstatic but that's me. 

Interesting detail

It's hard being on an eating plan with my husband because our natural inclination is to share. But I can't eat the same foods, and certainly not the same amounts that he does. The one good thing about the new plan is that it has eliminated most of the fats he frequently snacked on, like cheeses and deli meats. The most difficult aspect is that he's not allowed to eat any pork products, so no fried pork rinds or prosciutto or bacon. Or stir-fried pork rib ends, or spicy ground pork with the Ma Po Tofu. But I can always substitute ground turkey. 

Day 2

Precor elliptical
Manual
HR high 204 / av 156 / low 86
Min 25
Cal 228
Distance 2.04

Crunches x 2 x 50
50 scissors
50 Bicycles
Plank 60s
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Pushups 25
Quick stretch

Smith Deadlifts
Bar (30) x 25
+50 x 12 reps x 3 sets

Walking Lunges
30 x 2