Counterintuitive

I made it to the gym on the last day of 2021. It's New Year's Eve and the gym is open until 5 today, and actually open tomorrow for limited hours, just in case someone needs to get their new resolution solidified. Because I'm at the gym early, it's not too crowded. Lazy Pedals is on the treadmill (no slouching on that console) but another overweight middle-aged man is pedaling on the first elliptical. I've got the second one but it runs well without clomping so I'm not unhappy. Although I make decent mileage, I'm a little low on the steps. I'm not really sure how one can make 7,000 steps in 30 minutes (see the NYT article here) when I'm pedaling hard for 35 and never getting past 5500.

Still sweaty and breathing hard, I'm happy to make decent reps for pull-ups. Even push-ups feel easier today, which is odd considering how exhausting the Intervals program is, and the fact I got less than the optimal amount of sleep last night. Even more surprising is that I'm able to get one more rep for the second set of pull-ups, and they didn't feel all that hard until they were too hard to do at all. I've done more reps in a set but no point in dwelling on past glories. 

My delts are slightly sore today and that's reassuring. My sciatica is chronic and aches all the time, except when I'm pedaling. My middle back twinges sporadically and today the left knee and hip threaten to assail me with niggling complaints. Bird Dogs are the only "stretch" that makes the sciatic pain feel better so should I do them more often each day?

Because the pull-ups were satisfying, I only do Rip Skulls for triceps. No need to stress the elbows with questionable bicep curls. The Chatty Posse has carelessly left water bottle, towel and spray cleaner on the Breaker Bench I'd like to use for Rip Skulls. Ugh. I'm so adverse to interacting with these fools that I walk past to an unoccupied flat bench in the DB area instead. No one uses that Breaker Bench and eventually the idiot remembers to take his bottles and towel with him. Done for the year! 

It's 49F and overcast but dogs need their Bark Park time so I hurry to shower and change. Next week promises actual wintry weather with temps in the 30s. Well, at least getting up in the dark won't be such a shock when school starts again.

31 December 2021

Friday New Year's Eve & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program Intervals

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5328)

Distance: 2.87

Cal: 321

HR: n/a

HGPU 15

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 16

RipSkulls

30 lbs x 15 reps x 3 sets

Pre-Dawn Start

I finally made it to the gym before the crowd and it was nice, except that Lazy Pedals was already on the elliptical that I like. At least the 2nd one was vacant and I could do Program 3 on that, without the benefit of the unreliable and somewhat suspect heart rate monitor. Yaay me! But I'm still "fat" so not so much Yaay. It's much easier to pack on the pounds than to peel them off. Now, I'm looking at an extra 10 lbs instead of 5 and for a small person like myself, that's monumental.

The Aerobics Room isn't as empty as I thought it would be: there's a "cute" couple doing weird poses right in front of the far mirrored wall. It almost looks like they're playing Twister but I'm not really looking at them so it's hard to tell what exactly they're doing. She's giggling so loudly I can hear her through my ear buds and tunes. So I'm smack in the center of the room doing my routine and change is good, but I prefer not to be out in the open. They exit through the side door that leads directly into the free weight area and I see them again when I set up for shoulders.

It must be Leg Day because the Cute Couple move from the squat rack to the leg press. He's got some moderately nice arms. She's always totally covered: I've seen her solo before in the squat rack on previous days. Meanwhile, there are no adjustable benches in the DB area so I plant my gear on one of the Inclined Breaker Benches. Someone's taken the Olympic bar from that bench which is better for me since I don't have to worry about smacking my forehead when I lay face down to do rear delts et al. 

The other nice thing about using the Inclined Breaker Bench is that there's no huge adjustment knob on bottom of the bench where I have smushed my fingers on the down stroke of the movement (on the free-standing Adjustable Inclined Benches). The angle is set for the bench and only the seat is adjustable. 

I look around and realize that I'm not the only gym rat who does warm up cardio before smacking the weights because I recognize at least two other guys who were running on the treadmill when I was pedaling furiously. I won't lie: the workout was hard but simultaneously exhilarating, and I was glad when it was over. I think I might be sore tomorrow someplace other than that pesky sciatic glute and calf.

Dave Draper passed away last week at age 79. Not ancient but old for a body builder. Most of them develop cancer or heart conditions well before they hit their 60s. I subscribed to Dave Draper's newsletter, IronOnline, for a time. He was fanatical about lifting and pushing his special protein powder mix but he was really nice and very sincere. I just realized that Lynn Conkwright passed away in 2017 at age 63. Or maybe I knew then and forgot? (I'm in my 60s and I worry about mortality: I have a teenager after all.)

Women's bodybuilding was so exciting back in the 80s, before it got dominated by steroids and a sense that women couldn't win titles unless they looked like men. Women like Claire Furr, Janice Ragain and Cory Everson were lauded in the 80s. And who could forget Juliette Bergman or Sharon Bruneau? After Lenda Murray, I lost interest... because seriously, the "female Haney"? No one wants a female Arnold. Maybe Zane... 

Finally, I reading some cautiously optimistic news about the Omicron variant: those infected with it while previously vaccinated show increased resistance to the more lethal Delta variant. It's not official yet but word has been circulating...

30 December 2021

Early Thursday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 3

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5720)

Distance: 2.87

Cal: 3.21

HR: n/a

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

DB Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incl Flys

10 lbs x 15/20 reps x 1

15 lbs x 15/20 reps, 15/25

15/20 lbs x 15/25 reps x 3

Cloudy and Cold

I got to the gym today although not as early as I had hoped. It's hard to get up when it's still dark out. Sunrise isn't until 7:20. I had hoped that with the passing of the Winter Solstice, it would get light earlier, but that's not been my experience. I get to the gym a little after 8 and luckily I can get on an elliptical. Both my mileage and pull-ups are better today. But I don't have time to do anything more than the basics: cardio, stretch, core, push-ups, air squats and 2 sets of pull-ups. 

Dogs aren't happy that they're not at the park until 10:30 and we have to leave a bit past 11 because a less social dog comes at that time. He doesn't come every day and his owner is very nice, but he's had scrapes with several pups lately. She should keep him on his lead, but she's elderly and not really able to control him once he gets riled. Not a good mix. I'll try to get to the gym earlier tomorrow so that the dogs will have more time at the park. 

I can't really sleep in as much as I'd like to: sciatic discomfort wakes me up and makes laying on my back unpleasant. I can lay on one side for a few but my glaucoma prefers me to lay on my back. I wake with the dull throbbing in my glute and a tightness in my calf that persists all day and is worse when I'm sitting or laying down. Taking ibuprofen and/or acetaminophen doesn't really help much and I've run through all the prednisone and refuse to take the cyclobenzeprine (muscle relaxant). There's much more contraindications suggested for that med than anything else I'm taking.

I've also developed a nasty palm-size rash on the outside of my thighs since the temperature has dropped. It happened this time last year as well, but not quite as extensive. This year it's a bigger rash although it hasn't been all that cold. I wonder if it's cold urticaria (a sensitivity to the cold) but the symptoms don't match up and I don't really fit the profile. It's possible that I'm having a food sensitivity issue although I'm not sure what foods I'm eating only during the winter months that could have this effect. I'm not going to make an appointment with the dermatologist unless the rash gets a lot worse. Winter still has several months to go!

29 December 2021

Cloudy Tuesday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 2

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5700)

Distance: 2.88

Cal: 3.21

HR: 149-183, 86, 95

HGPU 14

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 13

Post Christmas

New year and new rules. Just got notified that I need to let European readers know if I have added third party cookies to my blog. The notification then asks me to tell them my web address, etc. I canceled the link because "What the?!" I have very few viewers so that's never been a concern. 

When the readership peaked some time ago, I discovered that it was due to viewers on another continent whose "effusive but not quite intelligible" comments had me ban them because these fellows tend to try and sneak spam links into the comments section. Spam selling penis enhancements and hot girls. Uh, no thanks. Basically, I write this blog for myself and maybe a few interested friends...

I haven't been to the gym in 3 days and there was a lot of snacking and holiday gnoshing. So not only have I put on even more weight (ugh) but I'm also feeling out of shape. I slept in a bit so I got to the gym late, and the gym was crowded. I barely made mileage and my pull-ups were appalling. Worst, I could tell that it was the biceps that were failing. Since I stopped doing Seated Cable Rows, I've wondered if I should do more biceps work. I guess the answer is a resounding Yes.

Waking at 7 am isn't going to give me enough time so now I've moved my next wake-up time to 6:30. It still beats getting up at 5:45 when school is in session. That won't happen until after the New Year though. Meanwhile, I've got to get this holiday eating under control. My weight isn't creeping up: it's at a full gallop and there's nothing more unpleasant than having outgrown your workout clothes...

27 December 2021

Monday After & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 1

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5432)

Distance: 2.79

Cal: 307

HR: 137-176, 130

HGPU 11.5

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 11

Sore For No Reason

My hips are stiff, my right glute feels like I got kicked and I'm generally sore all over. For no reason that I can think of except that I had a great cardio workout yesterday and I also didn't take any anti-inflammatories. No prednisone. No ibuprofen. No acetaminophen.

I have a less than stellar Intervals cardio workout this morning but I'm warm enough. Today I wore joggers instead of my usual gym pants. I like the fact that joggers don't require me to constantly pull the bottom of my pants out of the back of my sneakers. I have small wide feet with tiny heels and wide shoes are usually wide all over. What I don't like about all the latest pants are the way the big wide waistbands bunch up in front. They are more comfortable than older styles though. But my new joggers (unlike the Kmart brand I bought in the boys department years ago) are all dog fur magnets. Sigh.

Because I did a set of pull-ups yesterday, I don't do any today. But I'm game for a simple tricep workout and that's just what I do. The gym is quieter than I expect with several regulars MIA for the holidays. Even the kids are mostly a No Show. Rip Skulls feel easy today, even with 15 reps for every set. Maybe I should add a 2.5 lb magnetic disc to each side and try it at 35 lbs for reps? I haven't attempted Seated Cable Rows or anything remotely related to back exercises. I'd really like my sciatica to heal up before I inch back to a more inclusive routine.

23 December 2021

Arctic Thursday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program Intervals

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5454)

Distance: 2.92

Cal: 327

HR: n/a

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

RipSkulls

  30 lbs x 15, 15, 15

Better Living Through Drugs

I still have some prednisone (from a few weeks ago) and have cut the prescribed dosage (20 mg x 2) in half to one pill a day for the past two days. That and a handful of ibuprofen (200 mg x 3) before sitting in a car for an hour and a half helps to mitigate the sciatic discomfort. I take an extra-strength acetaminophen before bed and wake up feeling okay. Not cured, but okay. I feel much better leaving the gym than driving to the gym! Even cardio was better than it's been for the past two weeks. That suggests to me that taking the anti-inflammatory meds is really helping. I just have to weigh that carefully against side effects that raise IOPs (internal eyeball pressure).

Precor elliptical Program 3 is normally a great warm-up and today didn't disappoint. I feel good when step off the machine. I couldn't get to the Stretch Cage in time to beat a large bearded young man to it and I'm not one to wait around. I head to the Aerobics Room. In spite of the nearly empty parking lot, there are still a few regulars and there's one in the room when I enter. It's a middle-age fellow in pretty good shape who's been coming a few times a week for the past month or so. He leaves after doing his own core workout involving side planks, mountain climbers and runner stretches.

I hadn't had a chance to really look at how the new workout tops fit (on sale from The GAP). The dryer is eating holes into the old ones I have. I like the color of this one but am a bit aghast at how high the side slits go up. That's because I'm self-conscious about the weight I've gained and where it's accumulating: hips and belly. On a bone-thin model the tank looks cute. On the plus-size model, the tank looks okay. I'm guessing I'm somewhere in-between. At least the bright coral color is distracting enough so that my lumpy hips aren't quite so noticeable. 

My shoulders are slightly sore from yesterday and I promised myself time to exfoliate in the shower. Winter air is much drier and my skin has been flaking and cracking in spite of the intermittently balmy temperatures. I've already had the skin split on two fingers and fingers are hard to keep bandaged while they heal. The icy rain stops, the sun comes out and more people arrive at the gym. The gym is only closed two days a year: Christmas and Easter. Which means they've already posted the abbreviated holiday hours for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

There's no school next week so I'm not sure if I have the willpower to get myself to the gym in the predawn hours before taking pups to the park. Later will be too late as everyone else, as in all the kids from HS and college, will be there...

22 December 2021
Cardio Only Wednesday

Precor elliptical
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5794)
Distance: 2.90
Cal: 326
HR: 151-200, 91

   Skip HGPU due to "College Bear"

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 14

 

Happy Winter Solstice Tuesday

It's still cold out but that's winter in the northeast. It's also the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. 19F becomes mid-30s and the day is sunny and sometimes warm if you stand in the sun. Cardio is better today. Core feels routine and again I'm putting my hoodie back on to do push-ups and air squats. I also have the Aerobics Room to myself, unlike all the other mornings when either Floppy Girl or others are usually at the other end of the room.

Since I did pull-ups yesterday I skip them today. But it's apparently okay to do push-ups every day as long as the shoulders, elbow and wrist hold up. My joints are shallow and delicate. The right rotator feels okay today so I move ahead with the shoulder program. There are a lot of new faces in the free weight area. Ugh. I add another set to the last round and then I'm done. 

Daily oatmeal has gotten boring (so I eat less desirable foods, like a fried egg over brown rice yesterday, or egads, a liverwurst sandwich) and I'm sure my cholesterol levels will show this come my next annual physical. Maybe there's time to repair the damage? Normally, I flavor my oatmeal with walnuts and dried tart cherries. Sometimes I just add raisins and maple syrup, and usually an egg for body. But I just found an article that suggests a lot of alternative ways to spice up the grain. 

I actually might try substituting half the water with orange juice and sprinkle pomegranate arils on it. Or adding a teaspoon of turmeric. I hadn't actually thought to add cocoa powder but since I do that to coffee sometimes, I could be convinced to try this at least once. Chocolate oatmeal? All of these additions are also supposed to help lower cholesterol, but not as much as oatmeal itself due to the soluble fiber beta-glucan. Barley comes in second but I can't see eating barley for breakfast. Maybe lunch...

21 December 2021
Happy Winter Solstice Tuesday

Precor elliptical
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5660)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 319
HR: 145-222, 84

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

DB Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incl Flys
   10 lbs x 15/20 reps x 1
   15 lbs x 15/20 reps, 15/25
   15/20 lbs x 15/25 reps x 3

Winter Solstice Eve

It was 17F when I got up and it hasn't warmed up much since. I've gotten into the habit of putting my hoodie back on during the core and stretch portion of my routine. I fared better today during cardio compared to all of last week. Maybe doubling up on my B12 dose is helping (from 250 to 500 mcg), or the fact I actually got closer to seven and a half hours of sleep.

I get decent pull-up reps (yaaay me) and briefly wonder if I should do triceps or shoulders. It is Monday after all, the start of a brand new week and all routines are valid. It is also crowded with regulars and kids, and people I haven't seen in the past two years. I decide to spare my rotator cuffs and stress the elbows. I'm not sure if I'll go past 30 lbs even though I'm doing more than a dozen reps per set. My usual alternate exercise is V-bar Press Downs but I'm not sure how or if this might impact my sciatica which is still annoyingly present. 

My chiropractor hasn't been very helpful when I ask about what I should or shouldn't do exercise-wise. I'm leaning toward scheduling an appointment with a spine specialist but I'm leery of surgeons, because all they know and recommend is surgery. However, I would like to know exactly what and where the problem is. I might resort to taking the rest of the prednisone and more ibuprofen, but I'll skip the cyclobenzaprine (contraindicated for glaucoma more than prednisone). Getting an MRI is probably the first step.

Tomorrow will be the shortest day of the year: the Winter Solstice. I feel as if it merits some special treatment. Hopefully it won't be quite as cold... 

20 December 2021

Arctic Monday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 1

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5578)

Distance: 2.83

Cal: 313

HR: n/a

HGPU 15

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 13

RipSkulls

30 lbs x 15, 13, 15

 

Pushing Through

I finally made it through an entire 5-day week of workouts. Yaay me, but it didn't get any easier. Normally, after two or three straight days my cardio endurance improves. Not this week. I also decided, perhaps not wisely, to pedal hard on the high inclines and slow down for the valleys. The course felt much harder than I remember. Again, I think it's because I'm not getting enough sleep and maybe this is a booster shot side effect. I still manage to get a decent number of pull-ups. I still manage to increase the weight for two sets of shoulder work. But damn I'm tired.

The gym is crowded. I had thought college kids were home on break. Now I read that the local HS where my gym is located has declared themselves "remote only" until after the New Year due to the high number of coronavirus cases in the past week. Which means a lot of them are at the gym when I'm working out, not at 2 pm like on a regular school day. Very few are wearing masks and presumably everyone's vaccinated. I continue to wear my mask while indoors, especially when surrounded by people I don't know.

My kid's HS has not gone to remote learning and says that it will not do so. Our school has had several dozen Covid cases but not as many as the next town over. We're all hoping that between the vaccines and the booster shot, the new variant will become as common and mild as a cold, just annoying and not lethal.

17 December 2021

Balmy Friday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program Intervals

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5130)

Distance: 2.85

Cal: 314

HR: 237-188, 100

HGPU 15

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

DB Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incl Flys

(Rt shoulder wonky)

   10 lbs x 15/20 reps x 1

   15 lbs x 15/20 reps, 15/25

   15/20 lbs x 15/20 reps x 2

HGPU 12

Rest Day

I'm too tired to make my usual mileage but at least I made it to the gym. I warm up and feel better but cool down quickly while still in the Aerobics Room so I put my hoodie back on to do push-ups and air squats. So far I've made it 4 days in a row because I don't actually feel better when I take the time off to go back to sleep. Very often I can't go back to sleep. 

This fatigue and persistent sciatica still might be due to an average of less than 6 hours nightly. Or it could be a side effect of last week's booster that might be lingering due to all the anti-inflammatories I've scarfed down in an effort to mitigate my sciatic pain. Or, it could be omicron. Because this variant has symptoms akin to a cold with no fever, no loss of smell or taste, no drop in O2 levels. 

 
After cardio, I do my regular core exercises and then call it done. It's nearly 60F today but it won't last. Temps will drop, rain and sleet in the forecast, and then it'll be winter again. Tomorrow maybe I'll do another round of shoulders. I'm cautious because the right shoulder has an old labral injury and if I get too exuberant then it aches.

14 December 2021

Balmy Thursday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 3

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5436)

Distance: 2.79

Cal: 308

HR: 143-198

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

Limping Along

I've been limping along without anti-inflammatory meds; no ibuprofen, no acetaminophen, no prednisone. Well, at least my sciatica isn't worse although I can't say that it's better. Again, cardio sucks immensely. And still I do it. The pull-ups are better. Core and push-ups etc are routine. The gym is crowded. It must be "winter break" for colleges because the high school kids don't show up until 2 pm.

I planned to do the second set of pull-ups before Rip Skulls but a woman is stretching in the Cage. I plop my gear on an unoccupied bench, glance up and realize that the woman has gone and the Stretch Cage is vacant. I get to do my pull-ups before Rip Skulls after all! My hands and tiny fingers are sensitive to weight/pressure and they tire easily. Doing pull-ups needs strong hands, but less critical for skull crushers. 

Alarm over the new coronavirus variant has caused the governor and the NYS Dept of Health to issue a new mask mandate. A handful of counties though have declared that they will not enforce or prosecute the requirement that masks be worn indoors regardless of vax status. I overhear the gym owner tell a new senior member that she doesn't need to wear a mask or show her vax card unless she wants to. 

Which is why I wear a mask and keep my distance from a lot of folks at the gym where there is endless gabbing and heavy breathing. It's bad enough that people still don't always wash their hands after using the restrooms. I certainly don't trust them to stay home if feeling poorly or running a fever. Wearing a mask doesn't interfere with my workout, and it makes me feel a tiny tad safer indoors.

15 December 2021
Chilly Wednesday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5524)
Distance: 2.82
Cal: 313
HR: 140-194, 83

HGPU 14

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
Dead Bugs 60
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 13

Rip Skulls
30 lbs x 15, 13, 15

Tuesday

The left leg sciatica is a persistent nagging presence from when I first awaken, even while lying in bed, or especially when laying in bed. It's there when I brush my teeth, dress, pull on my shoes and socks, and especially annoying when I drive. Something about the contour of the driver's seat, with the rise just under the thigh behind the knee that puts an incredible amount of pressure on the sciatic nerve. At least my toes don't go numb while I'm in transit.

It's 30F and dark when I start the car this morning. Frost on the windshield means I'm wishing I was back in bed. I won't lie: cardio on the elliptical sucked today. Burning thighs, aching lungs, fatigue as if I had been "out of commission" for months instead of a few days. Not that I'd been totally sedentary all weekend either. Of course, I wonder (as I'm struggling to keep up my pace) whether someone at last week's cocktail party infected me with a coronavirus variant. No, I don't have a fever or cough but damn am I tired! It's probably a delayed reaction to the booster...

I'm warm and sweaty after the elliptical but cool down so quickly in the Aerobics Room that I put my hoodie back on as soon as I'm ready for push-ups and air squats. That usually doesn't happen! But the dumbbell area is empty so I'm happy. As I noted last week, once I'm warmed up again, I can knock out 25 reps of Reverse Incline Flys. Twice. Which probably means it's time to increase the DBs just for that exercise. That'd be 15 reps at 15 lbs for Lateral Raises and 20 reps at 20 lbs for the Reverse Flys. I'll still keep the 10 lb warm up set though, just to be safe. If the shoulder joints hold up, I'm good with that.

14 December 2021

Chilly Tuesday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 1

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5510)

Distance: 2.81

Cal: 311

HR: 144-205, 85

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

DB Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incl Flys

  10 lbs x 15/20 reps x 1

  15 lbs x 15/20 reps x 1, 15/25 x 2

Side Effects

I've been unusually tired for the past few days, possibly since I got my Covid booster shot last Wednesday. When I stop taking the anti-inflammatory meds, my sciatica flares up. It's a balancing act. I ran out of B12 so I decided to increase the new dosage to 500 mcg from 250. I feel like I'm always tired and then I thought, well, let's see if this helps. It could also be from a shortage of good sleep hours. Over the weekend, I found myself nodding off in front of my laptop, my eyes burning like hot coals. But I rouse myself to lug firewood all afternoon while temps are moderate and I feel fine. I'm not weak or tired. Until I sit down. 

It takes me a long time to get into the gym from the parking lot and I miss my opportunity to do cardio on the ellipticals. The lumbar support worked well in my husband's passenger seat but not so good for me as the driver. It pushes me too far forward so I have to pull the seat back, which while fine for arm extension, puts me in awkward position with the pedals. Ugh.

I'm so tired that I give myself a break and only do 25 minutes on the cross-trainer. Pull-ups are hard afterward. Core and push-ups start to feel better but I never really warmed up. Or at least, warmed up adequately. Just for fun, I get on the stair climber for 10 minutes and then give pull-ups another go. So relieved that I'm able to get a few more the second time around!

13 December 2021

Exhaust Monday

LifeFitness cross trainer

Program Manual

Time: 20 min + 5 min cd

Distance: 2.56

Cal: 196

HR: 125-135

HGPU 12

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

Matrix StepMill

Speed 6

Time 10

Total steps 542

Cal 79

Floors 33

HR 136

HGPU 14.5

Better Maybe

I had another quick workout. Although I got my steps up a little, I wasn't sweating profusely and that always feels disappointing. Maybe the fact that it was icy cold this morning had something to do with it. Or that I didn't make it to the gym until past noon and then skedaddled out of there as soon as high schoolers starting gathering in twos and threes.

The only thing that makes me happy is doing two sets of pull-ups. I remember when I used to get past 20 and now can barely reach 14. By doing two sets, I feel closer to my past performance.

The sciatica is starting to let up, probably because of all the meds I'm taking: prednisone, ibuprofen, acetaminophen and the occasional gabapentin. I haven't touched the cyclobenzaprine aka Flexeril, mostly because I'm keeping it for when I might really need it: it sure would've come in handy that excruciating week in August when I couldn't sit or lay down! But sadly, the drug, as with a lot of muscle relaxants, is contraindicated for people with glaucoma because it increases eye pressure.

I'm looking at lumbar support for my car seat when my husband mentions that the gaming chair he got our son, the chair no one uses because my kid prefers to lay on the floor, has a separate lumbar pillow. I test it out in the long drive down to his office party and it seems to have helped. But it's too soon to tell. I'll know more in the next two days...

9 December 2021

Snowy Thursday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 3

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5550)

Distance: 2.83

Cal: 313

HR: 146-192

HGPU 14.5

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 14

 

Better Next Time

It takes me a long time to warm up and yesterday was no exception. By the time I got to the last set of Reverse Inclined Flys (and it was time to leave), I knew I still had more reps in me. The only solution is to swap out the last set for 25s and see how that goes next time.

The sciatica is still causing issues but I'm on 5 days of prednisone to try and get the inflammation down. Of course, that combo with the acetaminophen/ibuprofen isn't doing me any favors when I decide impulsively to get a booster shot at the local CVS. But since I might be going to a holiday cocktail party with people I don't know except for my husband (it's his company's event), I figure that with my sticky AB blood, I'd rather take as many precautions as possible. You can't eat and drink with a mask on and face-to-face conversation will be expected!

Wednesday I'm too tired and my arm is a little sore so I skip the gym. Too much to do anyway. But back on Thursday...

7 December 2021

Chilly Tuesday& Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 2

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5558)

Distance: 2.83

Cal: 314

HR: 150-192, 85

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

DB Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incl Flys

10 lbs x 15/20 reps x 1

15 lbs x 15/20 reps x 3

(Last set could’ve gone to 25 reps)

 

Foggy Warm Monday

I try not to let my sciatic pain get in the way of doing the things I want to do but I also can't be reckless. So while I'm taking the acetaminophen/ibuprofen combo and rubbing a super strong mentholated liniment onto my backside, I still have to be cautious about my movements. 

Yesterday was relatively warm and dry outside so I emptied a small rack of the well-aged 10+ year old firewood, bringing some into the house and discarding pieces that had gone soft. I was careful to only carry small armfuls of newly split wood from behind the house and down the hill to the front where the empty rack sits. No problem. It's pulling the old tarp over the rack that makes my back twinge sharply. Ugh. 

I only have time for the bare minimum today, mostly because it took me longer to get to the gym. I'm tired and sore and while pedaling makes me feel better, I don't feel all that great. My plan is to do the basics and get in two sets of pull-ups. Unfortunately, I've dawdled too long and Snow Bird is already in the Stretch Cage when I exit the Aerobics Room. Well, at least I got a few reps in...

I have a televisit with the nurse practitioner at my doctor's office and she offers to send Rx's for prednisone and a muscle relaxant because my right glute still feels as if someone's punched it. Inflammation is not my friend. I'm mobile and active, but I'm dreading the idea of shoveling the potential snowfall on Wednesday. I've never minded before, but sciatica has never been such an issue before either. 

And now, "new" studies show us what we've known all along: being active keeps you young and less likely to lose your mind. Can we all sigh "duh"?

6 December 2021

Mild Wet Monday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 1

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5432)

Distance: 2.78

Cal: 306

HR: n/a

HGPU 12

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

Wind Chill Friday

Even though I'm taking it easy, my sciatica seems to be progressing and not in a good way. It's enough to keep me from even attempting Seated Cable Rows at half the weight I'm used to pulling. But I can still try pull-ups. I get a slow start on the elliptical but I'm drenched when I'm done. My right glute is increasingly sore, the right calf tight and sometimes the toes are a bit tingly. Again, the gym is much more crowded than I'm used to. I guess I'm spoiled.

My brother suggested I use a liniment on my sciatica and I remain skeptical. He texted me a link to a Chinese balm sold on Amazon and as I look it over, I realize that I recognize the gentleman on the box: we have this same brand  of Wong To Yick unopened in our bathroom closet. It was sent to my husband some years ago by language pen-pals in China. I didn't know what it was because the label is completely in Chinese without any English translation as to purpose or ingredients. It's super mentholated and the older Hong Kong version apparently also contains turpentine. Oh jeeze... 

the Amazon version has an English label

I slather it on but I don't feel any differently in the morning. My brother also suggested using an ibuprofen-acetaminophen combo as a super anti-inflammatory. I'm willing to try it once. Of course, that also means no glass of wine with dinner, because alcohol and acetaminophen is a bad mix. 

Worse case scenario, I get another Rx for prednisone until I can convince my health insurance to approve an MRI 'cuz I'd like to know just exactly what the heck is going on with my back and nerves. Meanwhile, I knock out some pull-ups, basic core exercises, push-ups, air squats and finish with triceps. Snow Bird is at the Stretch Cage when I exit the Aerobics Room so I save the second round of pull-ups for the very end. It's crowded in the free weight area and I do the Rip Skulls on a basic flat bench. Too many people today! My hands are really tired after gripping the 30 lb barbell so it's satisfying that I can get a dozen reps of pull-ups.

3 December 2021
Blustery Friday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5484)
Distance: 2.81
Cal: 310
HR: 144-194, 114

HGPU 14

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
Dead Bugs 60
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

Rip Skulls
30 lbs x 15, 13, 15

HGPU 12

Pick and Choose

The center of my back is tight and tender when pressed upon. I'm out of alignment and it's wreaking havoc on limbs. The right glute still feels like I've been kicked by a horse and the lower left side threatens to spasm if I move the wrong way, like pulling my arms overhead in a pencil stretch. I do okay on the elliptical and nothing hurts while I'm peddling furiously. 

I don't subscribe to the belief that walking and running make sciatica feel better because the body releases endorphins while moving. But I do believe that those motions somehow loosen the stressed areas in my spine. At least I get a lot of steps in.

I skip Dead Bugs today since I did them yesterday. I need some time to do shoulders after the workout in the Aerobics Room. I'm taken aback at how crowded the free weight area is today. The rain brought warmer weather and apparently a new sense of self-consciousness! 

My arms and lats are mildly sore and I'm surprised. The shoulder workout felt okay and of course, I'm already thinking about whether I should increase the Reverse Incline Flys by a pound or two, now that I know where the magnetic disc weights are.

2 December 2021
Rainy Thursday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5646)
Distance: 2.85
Cal: 317
HR: n/a

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

DB Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incl Flys
 10 lbs x 15/20 reps x 1
 15 lbs x 15/20 reps x 3

It's December!

Although my routine would have me doing Seated Cable Rows today, I've decided not to chance making my sciatica worse. I'm certain that 4 hours in a car on Thanksgiving had something to do with it. My left back hip hurts sporadically, but my right glute feels like someone punched it, and the outer right calf is tight as if my leg were swollen. Oddly, nothing hurts when I'm pedaling on the elliptical or walking about. It's standing that makes all the afflicted areas readily apparent.

I'm happy that I got on the elliptical even though it's the one without a working heart rate monitor. Lazy Pedals is draped over the other elliptical. I only use the cross-trainer as a last resort, and I won't touch the Octane until I've gotten the sciatica dealt with. To make up for bailing on the Seated Cable Rows, I do two sets of pull-ups, just not back-to-back. In total, I get 25 reps so I'm satisfied with that. I also do a few sets of Rip Skulls just for fun.

It's warmer today, peaking at 45F and the dogs are happy to romp in the park to play with canine pals. Doesn't seem like December yet, except for all the holiday candy, evergreen wreaths, fanciful light displays on the lawns... Now I have a plain wreath shedding its needles in the back of my car because I've forgotten to decorate it and hang it on my front door. Tomorrow...

1 December 2021
Frosty Wednesday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical
Program 1
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5578)
Distance: 2.83
Cal: 313
HR: n/a

HGPU 13

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 12

RipSkulls
30 lbs x 15, 12, 15