Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day. Today not so much. While pups had a few canine friends to frolic with yesterday, today there is no one at the park. But today I have time to go to the gym. Yesterday I drove my husband to his dermatology appointment to get a suspicious mole removed. They have such covid-fright that no one else is allowed in the waiting area and since this "surgery" might take a few hours, I'm advised to go home. I do and figure there's time for the Bark Park.
We're only there for 20 minutes before I get a text telling me that everything is finished and done. Well, it's a 30-minute drive there so I give the pups a few more minutes of playtime before they have to go home because I'm not taking them to Connecticut. My husband has stitches that make his nose appear as if it's sewn onto his face. His nose is swollen but at least he's avoided the black eyes that sometimes accompany this procedure. I'm glad the surgery didn't take long as it means that there was very little spread of the basal cell carcinoma, the most common skin cancer made memorable by President Ronald Reagan.
I do a regular workout today. My sciatica still bothers me but it's not crippling. I spend a lot of time doing sciatic-relief stretches in the Aerobics Room. I sneak in a set of Hammer Grip Pull-Ups. When I return to the Free Weight area, I decide to do the one body part I've skipped for the past few weeks: shoulders. There's not a lot of people at the gym today, probably because school is out and people are on holiday. My son has reverted to the nocturnal teenage sleep cycle, so I imagine most of his friends have as well.
Next week our school district returns to full-time in-person instruction and none of us are happy about it. Students will have to wear face masks AND clear plastic face shields. While teachers and other staff might be vaccinated, students will not have been. I'd be okay with a continuation of the hybrid model until more of the population is immunized.
31 March 2021 Dreary Wednesday
Precor elliptical 30 min + 5 cool down Program 1 HR 106, 142-193 Cal 321 Distance 2.88
Crunches x 20 x 6 Piriformis Stretch Happy Baby stretch 10 Dead Bugs x 4 Plank 60s Fire Hydrants 25 x 2 Bird Dogs 60s x 2 Push-Ups 50 Mat stretch w Pigeon pose
Sneaky HGPU 17
DB raises supersets lateral standing 15 lbs x 15 x 4 reverse inclined flys 15 lbs x 20 x 1 20lbs x 20 x 3
I finally made an appointment for my son to have his annual this afternoon so I really had to rush my workout. It's Spring Break so there's no school all week, which means I don't have to get up at 6 am. Instead, I had the luxury of sleeping until 8:30 and then took the frantic pups to the park. Of course, there was no one there to play with until we were ready to leave. So we didn't leave and stayed until the big dog arrived. That leaves little time for the workout, but I still managed to get some cardio (albeit only 20 minutes), core, and sciatic stretches done before a hot shower and back to the house to retrieve the child...
I might not get to the gym tomorrow either. The hubs has a Mohs surgery scheduled for the bridge of his nose at 8 am. The doc told my hubs that this procedure could take anywhere from 2 to 6 hours. I highly doubt it will take that long! And I'm not allowed to wait because of their office covid protocols. Ugh. I'll have to drive home and then back to get him later: he's not allowed to drive himself because the local anesthesia can cause swelling around his eyes, making driving difficult. The dog park is also not looking good unless I bring them later in the day.
29 March 2021 Super Short Monday
Precor elliptical 20 min Program Intervals HR n/a Cal 195 Distance 1.72
Crunches x 20 x 6 Piriformis Stretch Happy Baby stretch 10 Dead Bugs x 4 Plank 60s Fire Hydrants 25 x 2 Bird Dogs 60s x 2 Push-Ups 25 Quick Mat stretch
The county department of health website allows you to check and see if there are any available appointments for the Covid-19 vaccine. The last few times I checked, I was given options ranging from driving out of state to New Jersey or as far away as Rochester NY. The closest sites appeared to be 40-50 miles away and I wasn't game to drive to Poughkeepsie or New Paltz. The nearest location in the county had sold out of appointments within minutes of posting 26 spots.
I checked again several hours later and there was one opening if I acted right away. Someone must've canceled! So instead of waiting weeks to get a shot, I got one yesterday. I'll have to go back in 3 weeks for the 2nd dose although I won't get an actual time slot until a few days prior. My arm is a bit sore but I am otherwise fine.
The nurses like to give the injection deep into the medial delt of the non-dominant arm. I'm surprised to find a smear of blood on the requisite bandaid when I peel it off this morning. The soreness is more than I get with the flu shot but definitely less than from an intense exercise routine. Which means I'm good to take the dogs to the park this morning in the fog and drizzle. And later, when the sun comes out and temps rise to a ridiculously pleasant 74F (in March in New York!), I manage to get to the gym. It's empty because most people are outdoors going for a run or a jog or a bike ride. Not me!
The Intervals program feels particularly grueling today. It could be that I stayed up too late and didn't get enough sleep. (Or it could be a side effect from the vaccine.) I read an article last night that made me feel justified in not doing HIIT cardio every day. (Yes, I've felt guilty about not pushing myself harder, but that's just the "competitive voice" that a lot of us have.) The article suggests that doing too much HIIT cardio has a detrimental effect on cellular metabolism and health. Going hard all the time will break down your body until it can't function properly.
The reality is that my body's immune system seems to depress with too much exercise, even though my mind is ready to put in the work. And the body appears to adapt which is rewarding. But just as I'm making "progress," I'll get sick. So there's a disconnect between body and brain. And there's a disconnect between the cardio & muscular body, and the body's other functions. Ugh. I just don't want to become weak and frail as I enter those twilight years.
My mask is soaked from sweat and hot exhalations so I'm happy to swap it out for one freshly laundered. The Aerobic Room is comfortably air-conditioned and there's no one in it. I'm still finishing with the Pigeon Pose even though I can feel my glutes develop soreness right as I sit. Before heading into the locker room, I stop at the Stretch Cage and sneak a few pull-ups. That makes me feel better about myself. Can't do those too often though: I'll develop elbow and/or forearm tendinitis.
I had every intention of doing a delt/shoulder workout this week, but that's because I had no expectations of being able to snag a vaccine appointment. I'm not the type to jump the line by making up a pre-existing condition (like some people I know). But it's comforting to get the vaccination before younger, healthier people since the age requirement has been dropped to 50 in NYS. It's different for every state. The sore delt doesn't really preclude the exercises, but should I have a reaction, I'd like to know it's the vaccine and not the workout (although I haven't gotten sore from this shoulder routine in a ghastly long time).
24 March 2021 Sunshine Post Shot 1 Friday
Precor elliptical 30 min + 5 cool down Program Intervals HR 90, 184-136 Cal 328 Distance 2.92
Crunches x 20 x 6 Piriformis Stretch Happy Baby stretch 10 Dead Bugs x 4 Plank 60s Fire Hydrants 25 x 2 Bird Dogs 60s x 2 Push-Ups 50 Mat stretch w Pigeon pose
I've resigned myself to not being able to lift heavy weights not just because it will raise my eye pressures (bad for glaucoma) but also because of that pesky arthritic lower spine which is probably the cause of my sciatica. Or I could have an injured disc. Movement is good for arthritis: I always feel better after trudging through the dog park and especially after doing cardio at the gym. It's all the other things I do or try to do that aren't so helpful and it takes a bit of time to figure out what's good and what's not so good.
The sciatica, always present but not screamingly so, doesn't interfere with doing Program 2 (the hardest of the 3 fitness programs on the Precor). Thirty minutes is broken into quarter periods with 7.5 minutes forward, the next 7.5 minutes backward, then forward, then backward. Finally, the last 5 minutes is forward. I'm wearing my new white NB sneakers with the old gray insoles. I still haven't figured out what to replace the older pink insoles: wearing the same insoles in both shoes defeats the purpose of having two pairs of shoes.
I've modified my approach to the Dead Bug exercise by replacing two feet down/arms up with another set of alternating arm/foot. There's too much stress on the lower back with the two feet down movement and anything that stresses that area seems to aggravate the sciatic nerves. Out of all the core exercises and stretches I do in the Aerobics Room, Bird Dogs are the ones that offer the best relief. The Pigeon pose is definitely the one that causes my glutes to ache.
I'm not really sure what's next as I leave the Aerobics Room, but when I see that the Smith machine is available, Inclined Press pops into my head. It's nearly 2 pm and teenage boys are wandering in with their friends. I haven't done Presses in several weeks so I'm not sure what to expect, but push-ups have always been a decent warmup. Still, just to be safe, I do a set with just the bar even though the bar alone barely weighs anything with the counterweight in the track.
I feel pretty good and there's an empty bench across from the solid BB rack. Okay, Rip Skulls are back on the menu, but only 30 lbs. With each movement, I'm careful to use the left leg to stabilize even though my natural inclination is to use the stronger right leg. That always aggravates sciatica in that leg. The left leg isn't quite as sensitive although, when it flares up, it's akin to having shingles (which, by the way, was also in my left leg).
I leave the gym feeling good even though it's been raining and dreary all day. On a plus note, I did see a lot of robins flitting about this morning. It's hard to remember that it's still March when temps are in the low 60s. I hope this summer's not going to be scorching...
24 March 2021 Rainy Wednesday
Precor elliptical 30 min + 5 cool down Program 2 HR n/a Cal 323 Distance 2.89
Crunches x 20 x 6 Piriformis Stretch Happy Baby stretch 10 Dead Bugs x 4 Plank 60s Fire Hydrants 25 x 2 Bird Dogs 60s x 2 Push-Ups 50 Mat stretch w Pigeon pose
Smith Inclined Press Bar (30 lbs) x 20 +20 x 20 +30 x 20 +40 x 20 +50 x 15
I got on the elliptical and warily selected Program 1. If my lower back twinges, then I'll stop the backward pedaling and only move forward. At least that was my plan. The gym is sparsely attended but that's no surprise since it's a warm, sunny day with little to no wind. People would rather be outdoors! I was outside for part of the morning with the dogs.
When it's nice out, it doesn't matter that you're spending most of your time poop hunting (and bagging). It doesn't matter if it's fossilized either, but fresh is better because fresh means it belongs to your dog(s). Older specimens could be theirs, or other errant canines from earlier in the year, now that all the snow and ice have melted away. Not too buggy either, which is always a plus, although I've heard that people are pulling loads of ticks off their pups. (I'm waiting for the cicada plague!) I've got my fingers crossed that the Simparica Trio remains effective at dissuading fleas and ticks from finding my dogs attractive. I haven't found any creepy crawlers so far!
The sciatica is better for both legs but not totally gone: I could put my socks and pants on without groaning aloud! When I do sit on the bench at the dog park, I have my legs crossed with one ankle over the opposite knee, forming a sort of figure four: it's a rudimentary piriformis stretch.
Pedaling backward doesn't cause my lower back to spasm and my only concern is that I haven't pedaled hard enough to do at least 2.8 miles. Whew! My left foot has a tingle in the pinky toe and mild soreness in the arch. Weird. Yesterday while laying in bed, my right foot developed a cramp in the arch, which has never happened before! Pointing my heel was the best I could do to stretch the cramp away. Thank goodness that worked. In the back of my mind, I'm worrying about all sorts of degenerative nerve and muscle disorders that occur in old age...
I have my gray trainers on with the pink and white insoles from the new New Balance sneakers I got a few weeks ago. My feet aren't nearly as happy. It's definitely the insoles that are letting me down! When I check the tongue tags inside the sneakers, I discover that NB actually includes a manufacturing date and that my two-year-old gray sneakers are newer (2019) than the white ones (2018) I just got. Hmmm, that would explain the discrepancy in foam insole technology. Bummer. It's not like online stores will let you examine the tongue tags either.
Apparently, you can buy NB insoles solo from the company if that's all you need. Of course, they run between $60-80, which is a lot for just the padding inside. I still haven't decided what to do with the memory foam insoles I bought last week that make my sneakers feel too tight, but I'm not tossing them. They'll be great in a shoe or boot that's actually too big.
22 March 2021 Balmy Sunny Monday
Precor elliptical 30 + 5 cool down Program 1 HR 178-136, 116 Cal 309 Distance 2.80
Crunches x 20 x 6 Piriformis Stretch Happy Baby stretch 10 Dead Bugs x 4 Plank 60s Fire Hydrants 25 x 2 Bird Dogs 60s x 2 Push-Ups 50 Basic Mat stretch
Smith Machine RG BB Row Bar (30 lbs) x 20 reps (rt glute) +20 x 20 +40 x 20 +50 x 20
It was so cold this morning that two of the regular dog park regulars bailed. Polar winds whipped through the area all night and there was black ice along the roads. The dogs still had a blast running around and chasing a new squeaky tennis ball. We were only there for an hour so I had time this morning to make appointments for doctors we didn't see all of last year, like an annual exam for my son and the dentist for me. I've broken a few crowns over the past year, but at least my teeth don't hurt.
Afterward, I spend an hour trying to fix the drooping sun visor in my car. There are a lot of YouTube videos with "simple but effective" tricks to make the visor behave, but none of the three I tried did anything. I haven't tried removing the two mounting screws in the roof yet, but apparently wrapping an elastic band (scrunchy) or zip tie should fix the issue. We'll see. But I can't have the stupid visor fall down in my face while I'm driving because that's downright dangerous. And I don't want to spend $80 to buy a whole new visor when the visor itself is perfectly fine.
It's nearly 1:30 pm by the time I talk myself into going to the gym. Late but better than not going. Again, I do Intervals on the elliptical and then stretches and core exercises in the Aerobics Room. I swapped the insoles from my good NB sneakers (gray) with the new NB shoes (white & pink). I want to know if the white ones have bad insoles or if it's something else about the shoes. I even wear the same socks to limit the variables. My feet feel fine in the white sneakers with the old gray insoles. Hmmm. The next step is to wear the gray sneakers with the white sneaker's pink insoles.
My glutes have been sore since I woke up this morning, and I'm not sure if it was the Pigeon Pose I attempted or the relatively light-weight Smith RG BB Rows. Today I attempt the Pigeon Pose again, but no weight work, except for the hammer-grip pull-ups I sneak in on the way to the locker room. I feel much better, probably because I'm making the conscious effort to get more sleep. In two weeks, my son will be returning to in-person school a full five days a week. Neither of us is looking forward to it since it means getting up at 6 instead of 6:45. Losing those extra 45 minutes really hurts.
19 March 2021 Arctic Sunny Friday
Precor elliptical 30 forward 5 cool down backward Program Intervals HR 148-195, 81, 113 Cal 337 Distance 2.98
Crunches x 60 x 2 Piriformis Stretch Happy Baby stretch 10 Dead Bugs x 4 Plank 60s Fire Hydrants 25 x 2 Bird Dogs 60s x 2 3 Cobra 5 sec hold Push-Ups 25 Mat stretch w Pigeon Pose
Pedaling on the elliptical took great effort today and I began to wonder if I hadn't inadvertently gotten infected with the dreaded Covid-19 virus. I've had an odd headache the past two days and a stubborn fatigue. I tried to nap on Tuesday when I skipped the gym but was spectacularly ineffective. I did manage to squeeze in a nap after the dog park yesterday and before my glaucoma doc appointment.
While my IOPs didn't measure great numbers (15) they also weren't horrible. Still got 20/20 vision and perhaps some relief from the dry eye syndrome that plagues me. It's the eery sensation that your eyeballs are fogging up which makes it not only hard to see but also hard to focus your thoughts. Yes, eyes are the windows to the soul and when there's a problem, it can mess with your head.
Because it started to rain and there were no other dogs at the park, I cut today's romp short. Dogs only got 40 minutes of run time but that's better than just a walk up the road and back. Which meant I got to the gym earlier than usual but I couldn't access the elliptical with the working heart monitor. My sciatica is chronic but less painful: I could put my pants and socks on this morning without too much grimacing!
Still, I felt sluggish and was thoroughly convinced that today would be the day I didn't make it past 300 calories or 2.8 miles in 35 minutes. I didn't actually warmup until minute 25; only during the last 5 minutes was I able to push for a consistently high speed. Because I could pedal backward during the cooldown.
During the Mat Stretch, I remembered to try the Pigeon Pose but I still had to look it up on my phone to see which leg does what. If I was more committed, I would've taken my sneakers off. Maybe next time. I managed to wrangle myself into a passable pose, but need to work on sitting my torso upright. You'd think the hard part would be flopping on the floor over the bent leg, but that's the easy part. I swap legs and find my left glute sore from the exercise.
I was toying with the idea of doing some hammer-grip pull-ups, but then I saw that the Smith machine was empty. And missing its bench. Which was a sign to do Smith BB RG Rows, but very light ones. It's a tad easier on the lower back since I can control my hip-back angle better this way whereas on a Seated Cable Row, there's only the 90 degree upright position. The Smith needs cleaning or oiling, or whatever it is that helps it glide down its track. I let the bar go and it takes several seconds for it to hit the bottom.
I do lots of reps at light weights. I can't go heavier anyway: I left my Versa Grips at home and my tiny hands and fingers won't hold a bar with more than 90 lbs for very long. I only go to 80 lbs (bar plus 50 lbs) for 20 reps and nothing hurts afterward. Awesome.
My husband has discovered some cool music on the world stage. No, not EuroVision, but Mongolian Goth Folk Music in a band called The HU. Although my husband and I have differing tastes in what we like to listen to (he's more metal and electronic trance, while I spent my childhood listening to Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, and Simon & Garfunkel [yes, they started out as folk singers]), we think that Tibetan throat singing and Japanese Kodo drums are awesome. So here's a video to show you what I mean...
18 March 2021 Post St Pat Thursday
Precor elliptical 30 forward 5 cool down backward Program Intervals HR n/a Cal 315 Distance 2.85
Crunches x 60 x 2 Piriformis Stretch Happy Baby stretch 10 Dead Bugs x 4 Plank 60s Fire Hydrants 25 x 2 Bird Dogs 60s x 2 3 Cobra 5 sec hold Push-Ups 40 Mat stretch w/ Pigeon pose (left glute sore)
Smith Machine RG BB Row Very light Bar (30 lbs) x 20 reps +20 x 20 +30 x 20 +40 x 20 +50 x 20
Daylight savings really messes with a lot of people, especially if you have to manually change your clocks. Having a device that automatically syncs the clock is so much easier! But losing an hour of sleep, even if it means waking up to the sun rising, is painful. It's the Ides of March, made famous by Shakespeare and Roman history. So while ruminating about the death of Caesar, we can bemoan a loss of sleep and the temperate weather of last week. It's not Spring yet.
The polar vortex has meant bright sunny days are bone-chilling cold and arctic winds whip through your winter clothes, especially at the park which borders a small lake. Ah, the lake effect. Once I'm home, I have a hard time getting motivated to leave for the gym. But I do get there eventually. I'll get to test out the memory foam insoles I bought to replace the ones in my new NB sneakers. I'll also get to see if the AirPods (my husband got me for my birthday) will stay in my head. He also got me "tethers" just in case, a silicon string with magnetic ends (so they can close into a loop) and slots to insert an AirPod on either end. I decide not to use them since I'm certain that I'd notice if one of them falls out. If I was running outdoors, that might not be the case.
The AirPods have very good sound quality and a noise reduction mode to lessen ambient distractions. They don't sound better than my wired MPow Flames though. And actually, the MPows have a volume control on the earbuds themselves which the AirPods lack. I max out the volume on my iPod and it's just loud enough. The wired earbuds give me better volume control, and the ability to go louder. So, it's a trade-off. Go completely wireless and lose louder music and the ability to lower and raise the volume without touching the iPod (which is usually kept safely in my gear bag).
The memory foam insoles aren't as cushiony as I'd like. Certainly not as comfy as the Skechers Go Walk sneakers I have. Not as comfy as the original NB sneakers either. Pros: definitely softer and more cushioning than the original insole. Cons: the thickness makes the sneaker seem tighter and I don't appreciate the slightly raised heel. Part of the problem is my socks: seamless toe socks have been on backorder for months now and my current socks are unraveling. This means they have distracting knots and wrinkles which make me focus too much on my feet.
Again I restrict myself to the forward-only-motion of the Intervals program, except today I venture a bit and do my cooldown pedaling backward. I figure it's safe because it's at a flat, level 7 elevation instead of trekking up and down hills and valleys. My lower back doesn't knot up and the left leg remains mostly pain-free. Sitting is still a bit difficult but better than last week.
It's all good until I do a few Cobra poses: the right glute isn't happy with this movement. I've kept push-ups to a minimum because I have a glaucoma doc appointment on Wednesday, and she's asked me to restrict stressful motions like push-ups. She didn't say anything about pull-ups so on the way to the locker room, I sneak in a few hammer-grips. I only manage 15 though. Still, pretty good for a woman in her 60s, and yes, I can say that in all earnestness.
15 March 2021 Beware the Ides Monday
Precor elliptical 30 forward 5 cool down backward Program Intervals HR 135-159, 113 Cal 324 Distance 2.90
Crunches x 60 x 2 Piriformis Stretch Happy Baby stretch 10 Dead Bugs x 4 Plank 60s Fire Hydrants 25 x 2 Bird Dogs 60s x 2 3 Cobra 5 sec hold Push-Ups 25 No Lower Back Modified stretch
I'm still having trouble in the morning trying to get my socks on. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal by next week if I do what I need but no more. Being a competitive type of person makes it difficult to hold back. I've got that little voice in my head that goads me on. But doing more has gotten me into trouble. Trouble means injury and pain.
After an hour trudging through the dog park, I'm mobile enough to change my clothes (and socks!) without too much issue. Today I don't do any backward pedaling since it's apparently too hamstring-intensive. It still doesn't explain why that gives me a knot in my lower back.
I haven't done Intervals in a while and I can pedal forward for the entire program. I'm tempted to pedal backward during the last 5 minutes but I don't want to tempt fate: 30 minutes without any back spasms so why risk it to pedal another 5 backward? I've always thought of the backward pedaling as a way to balance a normally quad-heavy exercise, but perhaps I'm wrong.
Today, I pedal hard but only forward. I'm warned against doing crunches because they're bad for lower backs if you have a weak core. I don't think that's my problem. I still do crunches and I feel abs contracting and nothing else. Happy Baby is relaxing although I make the Dead Bugs progressively harder with each set: both leg flex and extend; alternating legs flex and extend; alternating arms and legs flex and extend; both arms and legs simultaneously flex and extend. There is a flutter in the abs but not much more.
The plank, push-ups, bird dogs, and fire hydrants all feel okay. I even do a few Cobra poses but without the pulling and pressing. Those directions actually make my hips and back hurt more. I completely skip downward dog and subsequent stretches that have me collapsed over my legs--too much stress on the lower back and hamstring even though I can do these moves easily. But perhaps that's the point: because I can do them, I do them, and these moves are actually quite punishing for the lower back. (It's not uncommon for former athletes like gymnasts to suffer from spinal arthritis and joint issues later in life.) Right now I have to focus on not perpetuating the damage already done.
I talk myself out of attempting a set of hammer-grip pull-ups as I leave the Aerobics Room. It's something I could probably do, but I probably shouldn't. My understanding of human anatomy doesn't explain what stressors involve the lower spine while doing this movement. Less is better. Not zero activity, just less activity at least for now. Maybe I'll add the Pigeon Pose next week. It looks similar to a stretch I used to do...
12 March 2021 Sunny Sciatic Friday
Precor elliptical 35 min Program Intervals HR 171-139, 118 Cal 324 Distance 2.90
Crunches x 60 x 2 Piriformis Stretch Happy Baby stretch 10 Dead Bugs x 4 Plank 60s Fire Hydrants 25 x 2 Bird Dogs 60s x 2 3 Cobra 5 sec hold Push-Ups 25 No Lower Back Modified stretch
