Channeling Roseanne

It's always something. I had plans to work out on Wednesday and even on Thursday, but just had too many things to do. I did make it today although it was past noon and filling with regulars and teens. My sciatica isn't bothering me too much, which is great. But I've been experiencing a different type of discomfort that is even more socially unacceptable to discuss in polite company. Not drugs, not sexual deviance. Nope. Those are follower-inducing social media topics du jour. No, I'm talking about hemorrhoids. 

Unfortunately, there's a lot of misinformation about the causes: being overweight, not eating enough roughage (vegetables), straining from constipation, stress-induced constipation. No one ever mentions genetics. There is a familial susceptibility. Both my parents suffered from it and upon occasion, so do I. Usually, though, it doesn't sneak up on me with internal pain. I've always thought of it as the inside bits get caught outside where they're not supposed to be. Once they're tucked inside with a little inflammation-reducing medication, everything is back to normal. 

But not this time. This time there is no external tell-tale bundle of tiny grapes. There's pain in odd positions, like lying in bed (especially on the side). My mind races with improbable thoughts of anal cancer so I'm relieved when I find the hard pea lump just inside the sphincter. A day later and the traditional symptoms are present. Searching appropriate medications, I read the ingredient lists and discover that at least no one uses shark liver oil anymore. Whew. Instead, the active ingredient that will shrink the tissue is a vasoconstrictor called Phenylephrine Hcl. (It's the same thing in fake Sudafed.) The advanced formulas include a mild anesthetic and a lubricant. 

None of this matters though since it doesn't impede my workout. I'm not thrilled about all the chatty young people in the gym though, especially when I overhear them discussing whether to drink or not at tomorrow's Friendsgiving Party because they're still kind of hung over from yesterday. Great. Just who I want to share airspace with. Thank goodness we're all masked and I'm nowhere near them. 

Pushups aren't too hard. The ClimbMill surprised me by hitting 60 steps per minute for several seconds and then bounced between 55 and 57 for the rest of the time. Sometimes it dropped to 52 and all without any reason. I have no plans to go to the gym over the weekend but that's not set in stone. 

27Nov2020
Post-Turkey Friday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program 3
HR 142, 194, 79
Cal 319
Distance 2.86

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 50
Quick Mat Stretch

Matrix Step
Speed 6
Min 15
HR 118
Cal 119
Steps 814
Floors 50

 

Bare Minimums

It's sunny and cold. Dogs went to the park but there weren't a lot of friends there. Still, they got to run around like loonies. It's Thanksgiving week and although we're not traveling to visit family, we're still planning a sumptuous meal. This means I got to the gym around noon and after getting all the basics done, showered, and then went grocery shopping. 

I actually thought about doing 15 minutes on the ClimbMill but decided it was going to take too long. As much as parts of me want to spend hours at the gym doing the endless sets and reps of just a few years ago, another part of me realizes that the body is older and not as resilient as it wishes. The sciatica is still there but mostly when I'm standing in line. And no, I haven't made an appointment with the physical therapist or the chiropractor yet. 

24Nov2020 Sunny Cold Tuesday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program 2
HR n/a
Cal 323
Distance 2.89

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 41
Piriformis Stretches
Quick Mat Stretch

Seated Cable Row
70 lbs x 15 reps
85 x 12
92.5 x 10, 10, 10

Another Quickie

I have the boiler repair fellow coming over this morning so today's workout was necessarily quick. I got my cardio and core done with push-ups to boot. I had time for the ClimbMill but it was occupied and I wasn't really sure if the repairman wasn't going to come early, although, with this driving rain, I sort of doubted it. 

Tomorrow will be better: sunny but cold. The dogs will get to go run off their zoomies. Today, they got toweled off after their walk, and they're spending their time sleeping in dog nests in the window while keeping half an eye open for feral cats stalking the bird feeder. 

23Nov2020
Drenching Quick Monday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program 1
HR 91, 145, 189
Cal 323
Distance 2.89

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 50
Piriformis Stretches
Quick Mat Stretch

Just a Floater

It's warmer and sunny, but by no means is it actually warm. After the pups were walked and my son set up for his online classes, I tried to feed the dogs their breakfast. I don't want to take them to the park hungry. But they'd rather play than eat. At least there's actual water in the metal bowls at the park, instead of ice floes. I always bring a liter of water just in case. I don't know when the Park Department will shut all the fountains off if they haven't already. The dogs are deliriously happy but perplexed that there's no one else to play with. 

The regulars come later and my pups aren't the best behaved. The shy one is an absolute terror because he doesn't understand that other pups don't want him jumping on them in play, especially the bigger, older ones who already have established friendships with other pups in the park. Yes, as in HS, there are doggie cliques, popular dogs, and outcasts. We leave before the crowd shows up. I have things to do. Dogs are satisfied with their 45 minutes of zoomies. 

The gym isn't too crowded. The in-person aerobic class is over and there are only two or three people on the entire cardio platform. Because I have an eye doc appointment later, I don't want to spend any time doing anything at all that will raise my IOPs. I just do cardio and the core exercises in the now-vacant Aerobic Room. I skipped the gym yesterday because I didn't get enough sleep. I've learned that if I ignore how I feel and work out instead, my workout doesn't suffer, but my body rebels in not so subtle ways: cold sores, canker sores, burning lower eyelids like I'm about to get sick. However, my sciatica is noticeably absent today! Hmmmm.  

I have enough time to do the ClimbMill, which of course, doesn't actually progress at 60 steps per minute. Instead, the speed varies between 52 and 57 and occasionally hits 60 although I don't understand why. I have enough time to shower and drive to my doctor's office during lunch hour traffic. Although I'm 15 minutes early, I wind up waiting a half hour past my appointment to see her. There are brand new people manning the front desk and administering the eye drops and doing the pressure check. 

I'm advised to fill out the online registration form that pops up on my phone. The first four pages ask about my history and medications, but the next several pages ask for consent and signatures repeatedly. I decide not to allow them to send me texts, emails, or otherwise contact me for marketing purposes. This feels like such a scam, gathering health information in order to sell you other goods and services they might deem appropriate. I don't finish before I'm ushered out of the waiting room. The tech sympathizes and says those forms are too long and not really relevant either. Until today, my doctor hadn't used phreesia patient intake software. Ultimately, the goal is to make sure you pay. 

The doc tells me that the floater is most likely permanent, but it's on the top layer of the retina where a lot of debris tends to settle in the viscous gel inside the eyeball. It's not a retinal tear. The tiny flashes of light can be any sort of stress that the retina is reacting to. I'm good to go. Except the bright light she used to visualize the internal workings of my eye have left me with less than stellar vision. I feel partially blind. It'll clear up in a few hours. Meanwhile, I still have to drive home in rush hour traffic. But at least my workouts haven't raised my eye pressures. 

20Nov2020
Finally Friday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program Intervals
low = 4 elevation /1 resistance, high = 10/4
HR 146, 194, 119
Cal 331
Distance 2.94

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 25
Quick Mat Stretch

Matrix Step
Speed 6
Min 15
HR 132
Cal 119
Steps 813
Floors 50

I still have that pesky floater in my right eye. I've heard that once you get them, they're more or less permanent residents. But I'm not seeing that annoying glint of light zoom up the edge of my peripheral vision anymore. That only lasted a few hours. It wasn't random enough to be red blood cells. What? Apparently, sometimes you can see inside your own head, or rather, inside your own eye. Yes, I'm just as shocked as you are. 

I get to the gym at a few minutes past 7 and it's quiet again. By the time I leave though, regulars from pre-pandemic times have filtered into the locker room. They chat about taking aerobic classes online and how they prefer to come to an actual in-person event, about how much more they're snacking and drinking. There are regulars I haven't seen at all and it might be that they've quit the gym altogether, prefer to do online classes only, or they got sick. This is a time of uncertainty. I'm also just not that curious. 

It's a stressful time, especially since we're under threat of a new lockdown as infection numbers inch upward. A gym on the other side of the next town has closed for a few days due to an infected person. Mostly it's supermarkets and restaurants with indoor dining that have been named as potential vectors. HS winter sports has been postponed until January although I haven't figured out how high-risk and low-risk is determined. Hockey is high risk but track is not? 

Temps are mostly in the high 20s with a bitter wind chill that makes me hesitate to take the dogs to the park later. I do eventually take them, just as everyone else is leaving. Pups get to greet canine pals and then watch them drive away. We have the park to ourselves. Barking alerts me to a few wild turkeys in the woods across the park road. I wouldn't even have noticed them except for the rapt attention of dogs who are looking for playmates. We stay 45 minutes and then I'm too cold to stand outside any longer. Meanwhile, dogs exhibit play behavior I've not seen before: one digs up a tennis ball buried in the leaf litter and chases it when it rolls away. He's never shown any interest in balls at home. 

Today, I cut back my number of pushups to just 25. It's not even vaguely strenuous. The sciatic pain is mostly intermittently annoying now with no intervention other than a lot of cardio exercise and some stretching. The ClimbMill is set to Speed 6 but hovers between 55 and 57 steps per minute. I'm drenched after 15 minutes. I should probably still look up physical therapists in my healthcare plan and make an appointment... 

18Nov2020
Frigid Wednesday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program 3
HR 91, 157, 202
Cal 318
Distance 2.86

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 25
Quick Mat Stretch

DB raises supersets
lateral standing 15 lbs x 15 x 4
reverse inclined flys 15 lbs x 20 w/u
20lbs x 20 x 3

Matrix Step
Speed 6
Min 15
HR 122
Cal 121
Steps 830
Floors 51

Early and Cold

There was still frost on most of the windshield by the time I drove my son to the school bus stop. Thank goodness I had packed my gym gear the night before so I could go straight to the gym afterward. I was surprised that the gym was so empty with just a few members working out. Of course, the back door was open and it was chilly, but that's what hoodies are for. 

I planned a short workout because the dogs are expecting time with friends between 10 and noon. I'm at the gym by 7:15 and on my way back home by 9:30. This means that today is just a Cardio & Core workout. As long as I get the heart racing a bit, work up a decent sweat, and stretch the lower back and hamstrings, I'll feel okay. I pushed weights yesterday, no need to do it today. Besides, I'm experiencing a peculiar visual anomaly: a new oddly shaped floater in my right eye. It looks like a crudely drawn ring, irregularly circular with a thickness at the top. Yesterday, I experienced bizarre tiny flashes of light that I mistook for a gnat flitting up the right side of my right eye's peripheral vision. But gnats aren't luminous. 

This repetitive but singular distraction lasted from late afternoon until I fell asleep. I'm not experiencing it today, just the annoying floater. The floater itself could be a sign of retinal damage. That happened to my brother. He also has glaucoma, but only in one eye. He had emergency laser surgery to fix the retina but he's still got the monster floater. I've got an appointment to see my glaucoma doc this Friday afternoon. Last time, that flash of light was me catching the edge of the new lens in my eye. It still amazes me that I can see perfectly well with a non-specialized artificial lens, with the exception of night driving because headlamp halos make me a bit crazy. People will say that the halos mean you have cataracts. Uh, not necessarily. I've had cataract surgery in both eyes so I don't technically have cataracts, and yes, oncoming traffic headlamps have halos.

My brother wants me to sit home and do nothing but watch TV until my next eye doc appointment. Uh, nooooo. Unlike those "staying safe by staying home" people, I'm not going to sit under a rock waiting for the world to end. I take precautions and avoid crowds and closed spaces, but just going to the doctor's office is taking a risk. I haven't been pushing heavy weights but I'll be upset if I have to give up pushing any weights whatsoever. 

17Nov2020
Frosty Early Tuesday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program 2
HR 149, 188, 123
Cal 313
Distance 2.83

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 40
Piriformis Stretches
Quick Mat Stretch

LF x-trainer
15 min + 3 cd
Manual Level 1
Cal 143
Distance 1.99
HR? 135-137

 

Social Graces

It's official. The dogs have more friends than I do. Kidding. But now that they've discovered the Bark Park and a regular group of friendly canines, they are loathed to leave even when they're too tired to do anything other than chew on some errant twigs. Well, that's true of one of them. The dogs seem to switch personalities once they're in the park: the shy one is bold and the bold one is more reserved. After nearly two hours, I can finally leash them and take them home so I can take myself to the gym. It's well past noon by the time I get to work out but all the cardio machines are unoccupied so I choose the elliptical. 

It's freezing inside, mostly because the back door is open. Temps dropped into the 30s last night, after torrential rain, high winds, and a tornado warning. Even with the sun ablaze this morning, there's a frosty breeze that makes the 50F deceiving. Plus, my sciatica has been bothering me all weekend. I need to find a physical therapist and make an appointment if only to learn what exercises and movements they recommend. I didn't work out this weekend but I consider walking both dogs simultaneously twice good enough exercise. Combined weight of eighty pounds of hyper puppers is a lot of dog. It's good that they don't know to coordinate with each other--then I'd be in trouble! (The Y-shaped split lead attachment has more than paid for itself.) 

Everything is fairly routine today, except I skip the last 15 minutes of cardio because I really don't want to spend all afternoon in the gym. It's filling up with teenage boys and I'm happy to have the women's locker room to myself. However, I plan to change the routine tomorrow by heading to the gym directly after driving my son to the school bus stop. I'll get back to the house by mid-morning, just in time to take puppers to the park to meet their friends. They'd rather play than eat breakfast anyway. 

16Nov2020
Frigid Monday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program 1
HR 75, 89, 141, 182
Cal 313
Distance 2.82

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 40, 5, 3, 2
Piriformis Stretches
Quick Mat Stretch

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30) x 15
+20 x 20
+40 x 20
+50 x 15

Seated Cable Row
70 lbs x 15 reps
85 x 12
92.5 x 10, 10, 10

Wicked Friday

Temps have dropped and it's been raining for two days now. No park for the puppers. I didn't feel rested enough to even attempt to go to the gym yesterday... my eyes were burning from fatigue and I wound up taking a nap in the afternoon just so I'd be refreshed enough to drive my son to his kung fu class. In-person classes have resumed but students have the option to stay home and attend via Zoom. My son says that in-person is always much better, at least where martial arts are concerned. 

Academically, he'd rather stay home because, on those days, we don't waste precious sleeping time getting ready to meet the school bus. Since there are no actual in-person science labs, there's no difference between being in school watching a video of a lab and staying home to watch a video of a lab. However, the gym teacher does try to get everyone outside to play tennis or soccer, at least for 40 minutes. At home, my son curls up with a blanket, works on homework assignments, and waits for the next class to start. 

I run a bunch of errands before heading to the gym. The ellipticals are occupied but I don't mind using the LifeFitness cross-trainer for 20 minutes. I still get good and sweaty. I'm not alone in the Aerobic Room as there's a young man doing planks and side-stepping. He's probably the only dude I've ever seen do Bird Dogs as well, but he only does them for 20 seconds at a time alternating sides several times. Bird Dogs aggravate my sciatica. I don't know why but I still do them. Maybe I shouldn't?

My doctor called me yesterday to discuss my X-rays. Yes, there's arthritis at L4 and 5 and S1. L for lumbar. S for sacral. That area is susceptible to all sorts of indignities like disc herniation, fractures, inflammation. I have two of three symptoms: pain and numbness. Luckily, I don't seem to suffer from muscle weakness. I'll need to do either physical therapy or see my chiropractor for at least 6 weeks before moving forward with an MRI if nothing improves. Unless, of course, this now-chronic condition resolves itself. Ugh. 

Well, at least I got some cardio in, some ab exercises, and a couple of pushups. Fifty is probably as many as I'll push myself to do in one set. The ClimbMill continues to baffle me as the first 5 minutes were paced at 52 steps per minute. Then it sped up to 57 for a few minutes and then dropped down to 55. I have no idea why. 

13Nov2020
Friday the 13th

LF x-trainer
20 min + 5 cool down
Program: Manual
HR 121-147
Cal 199
Distance 2.7

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 50
Piriformis Stretches
Quick Mat Stretch

Matrix ClimbMill
Speed 6
Min 15
HR 130
Cal 119
Steps 814
Floors 50

 

Autumn Again

The weather shifted toward the reasonable season of Autumn with heavy fog in the morning, followed by precipitation in the afternoon. Drenching rains all night into the next day. No park for pups tomorrow. They did have plenty of playtime with their new pals today. I get to the gym a bit past noon and since school is closed due to the Veterans Day holiday, there are a lot of teenagers. I'm surprised not to see any girls. 

I do a basic routine: cardio, core, weights, more cardio. Today I'm able to do 15 minutes on the ClimbMill at Speed 6 even though the console tells me I'm only averaging 52-55 steps per minute. Sometimes I get up to 57 but not often. I don't know what controls the speed of the machine because it certainly isn't me. 

Today is a basic DB shoulder day and I always feel better after the first two sets. It takes me a long time to warm up, but I don't have time to do a multitude of exercises. Not if I want to include cardio and core movements in my workout. Because of the rising Covid-19 infection rates, NYS has decided that virus "hot spots" must shut down by 10 pm. Lumped in with bars and restaurants that serve liquor are gyms and fitness centers. 

I haven't read anything lately where a gym or fitness center was a superspreader event when social distancing and mask guidelines were enforced. My gym closes at 10 pm anyway so this new guideline doesn't affect us. But still, I wonder what evidence there is that gyms and fitness centers are a concern if you're following the rules. Of course, as I've noted, a lot of people can't seem to follow basic, simple guidelines, like the mask goes over your nose, especially when you're breathing hard. Everyone's spritzing sanitizer but I'm not sure how many are washing their hands properly if at all. 

I know pandemic fatigue is real and if you don't personally know someone affected, then the dangers feel less real. I was waiting at my dermatologist's office when I overhead two staffers: "I was going to visit my friend today, but I just found out she's got Covid!" The supermarket where I shop has also announced on two separate occasions in the past 4 days that shoppers and/or workers might've been exposed to someone who tested positive. It's real. We're not visiting family for Thanksgiving because some people are susceptible and others work in healthcare. It's not worth the risk. No one wants to be the one who got everyone sick. 

11Nov2020
Weather Wednesday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program 3
HR 89, 144, 191
Cal 324
Distance 2.89

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 50
Quick Mat Stretch

DB raises supersets
lateral standing 15 lbs x 15 x 3, x 20
reverse inclined flys 15 lbs x 15 w/u
20lbs x 20 x 3

Matrix ClimbMill
Speed 6
Min 15
HR 132
Cal 119
Steps 809 (52-57 per min)
Floors 50