Frosty Monday

We emerged rather unscathed by Nor'easter Kenan, unlike more northerly coastal areas like Boston (17 inches) and Cape Cod (underwater and then frozen). Still there was shoveling, and frigid temperatures. The cold is amazingly enervating. I get to the gym with the car thermometer dropping from 5 to 3.

I hate chatty people at the gym. Loud Mouth on the bike in front of the elliptical I'm on asks me to put the plug back in the socket. What? The plug he thinks I kicked out by stepping on. I glance at the floor and the plug's grounding prong has broken off in the socket. I tell him it's not grounded, never mind that I didn't kick the plug out. Middle-age regular calls out from two ellipticals over that he kicked the plug out. Oops sorry. Loud Mouth sticks the broken plug into the second outlet in the box. Seriously, whoever designed this cardio platform should be shot: outlets should be inset so that people don't step on and break the plugs. Since the outlets are inches from each machine, the chances are 100% that they're gonna get stepped on.

All in all, a good workout. And again, the Step Mill is exhausting, even for just 10 minutes. Because it remained at 52 steps per minute for several minutes, I thought it would be easier, but it suddenly sped up to 60 for the last few minutes. I have a follow-up appointment with my glaucoma doc to review my last Visual Field exam. I'm also worried about my pressures because I've been scarfing ibuprofens, acetaminophens, and gabapentins depending on how much my sciatica hurts before I go to sleep. Anti-inflammatories can raise eye pressures. 

The doc is running late so my appointment takes much longer than anticipated. Her office handles emergencies from the local hospital, and I imagine it's ocular emergencies. My IOPs are up slightly at 14 and 15, but not horrible. The exam shows I still have 20/20 vision although my right eye lags in focusing. And the VF shows that both eyes are either the same or better than the tests from 2019. But the right eye has a 20% positive error rate, which means I'm clicking as if I'm seeing flashes where there are none. So I have to take a new exam for just that eye in 3 months.

The bigger issue is trying to lose the 5 lbs that I seem to have gained in the past quarter. So now I actually need to lose 10 lbs to fit into my good clothes. Ugh. 

31 January 2021
Frigid Monday

Precor elliptical
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5702)
Distance: 2.87
Cal: 321
HR: 202-150, 83, 88

HGPU 19

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 18

Matrix StepMill
Manual 10:14 min
Speed 6 (52-60)
Step 553
Floors 34
Calories 80
HR: 125
 

Awaiting Nor'easter Kenan

We're all bracing for what is purported to be a monster storm, the first nor'easter of 2022, improbably but not surprisingly named, Kenan. It's not supposed to hit until later this evening and not end until tomorrow evening. I'll probably be doing a lot of shoveling but today, I go to the gym and do my usual routine.

No pull-ups today but I repeat everything else I did yesterday. The elliptical feels like I'm slogging through mud. Program 1 is always hard, but more rewarding than Intervals, at least in my current cardio condition. Doing 10 minutes on the Step Climber is equally as taxing but I manage to not fall on my face. Unfortunately, today the machine decides that speed setting 6 only gets me 52 steps per minute instead of closer to 60. I hate it when machines are capricious.

I'm wondering if drinking psyllium fiber (aka Metamucil) works as well as eating oatmeal for reducing cholesterol. I remember my dad pulling me aside one day and confiding that Metamucil was his great secret to life although I'm not sure if that was because he didn't like to eat vegetables, had problems with regularity, or if it helped lower blood sugar, cholesterol and/or blood pressure. I go for my annual exam next month where I'll have to report that I've packed on a few pounds. Ugh. And the doc will want to run basic blood work.

Monday I should be able to squeeze in another workout before going at long last to my glaucoma doc follow-up appt to discuss the results of the last Visual Field test, which, as I recall, I didn't see quite as many bright flashes as I'd expected. My eyes were very dry and felt sticky so those results might be somewhat abysmal...

27 January 2021
Pre-Nor’easter Kenan Friday


Precor elliptical
Program 1
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5458)
Distance: 2.80
Cal: 308
HR: 84, 140-177


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
Manual 10:10 min
Speed 6 (52)
Step 531
Floors 33
Calories 77
HR: 121

Thermometer Reads Zero

I'm glad the car starts at zero degrees Fahrenheit although it never quite feels warm until I've already arrived at my destination. The high school went remote yesterday to allow students enrolled in college courses to take in-person mid-term exams at the school for the necessary hour to two hour period. Normal class periods are only 40 minutes long. It would've really sucked for my son as it was also his birthday, but one of his teachers has been out sick and that exam has been postponed. The other teachers have opted to spread their midterms throughout several days. Which meant no school yesterday for my son. Which also meant there was no need to get in the car while it was still dark. It was just too cold and while I did make it to the dog park, I didn't feel very compelled to hit the gym.

Today there's school, and today I make it to the gym. Lazy Pedals and the other overweight middle-aged man are both pedaling on ellipticals right next to each other. I'm shocked and pleased because that leaves the fourth elliptical vacant. The third one still has a Closed For Your Safety sign on it to allow for "social distancing" even though most people aren't masked. I'm not sure if they just decided themselves to pull the sign off elliptical number one, or if gym management did it. The gym isn't enforcing masks and doesn't care if you're vaxxed. None of their employees wear masks. I still wear my ineffective two-layer cloth mask though because it does keep people from getting in my face to chat. And people love to chat.

Yesterday's inactivity wasn't great for the sciatica but it's not crippling me, just annoying. I continue to do the moderate cardio routine to see how everything feels by week's end when there is the threat of a major nor'easter. Or it could veer off to the South and we get a few flurries. If we get snow, there might be 8-12" to shovel. I'm hoping it's a false alarm. Next week, I have the glaucoma doc appointment I've put off twice, and a dermatology appointment to check on that "cold rash," which seems vaguely better on the left side where it started but progressively worse on the right side where it is spreading. Ugh. I got bored with push-ups and did more than I was supposed to. Not great for eye pressures. Tomorrow I'll go back to 25. But at least I got two sets of pull-ups in before Snow Bird arrived. Yaaay for the little things.

27 January 2021
Arctic Thursday

Precor elliptical
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5608)
Distance: 2.84
Cal: 315
HR: n/a

HGPU 17

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 30
Air Squats 25
Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 17

Matrix StepMill
Manual 10:10 min
Speed 6 (52-57)
Step 548
Floors 34
Calories 80
HR: 134

Cautiously Optimistic

I got up this morning and put my gym clothes on even though there was snow on the car. I got to the gym but took forever to get out to the floor. Lazy Pedals was on the first elliptical, chatting with one of the other big middle-aged men. He tries to tell me that the second elliptical isn't working because the plug adjacent to the machine, plugged into an outlet on the floor (but not recessed so prone to being kicked and stomped on), is now missing a prong. 

The plug actually has nothing to do with the elliptical and it's hard to tell what cord is tethered to which machine or TV console. I get on the machine and blithely pedal to Program 2, getting nicely warmed up and sweaty.

I know better than to do pull-ups two days in a row (and risk tendonitis in my elbows) so those get skipped today. The core exercises are routine so I do add the Step Mill again. It's harder today! But my sciatica isn't bothering me at all and I don't want to jinx it by trying something new, or rather, something old, like Seated Cable Rows...

The test will be this evening when I'm going to try not to spend over an hour in the car while waiting for my son at his kung fu class. It's a small class so maybe I can just hang out in the waiting area: standing or kneeling will be fine. Anything except sitting in a car seat.

25 January 2021
Flurry Tuesday (but my sciatica is good this morning)

Precor elliptical
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5662)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 316
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

Matrix StepMill
Manual 10:10 min
Speed 6 (52-55)
Step 556
Floors 34
Calories 81
HR: 130

Brisk Monday

I was surprised to see snow on my car last night and grumbled about needing extra time to clear the driveway and clean the car off before heading to the school bus stop. I didn't even bother to put my workout clothes on; instead, I packed them into my gym bag and figured I'd change once I got there. I really didn't want to be covered in wet snow before I had a chance to warm up on the cardio machine!

There was a different middle-age man on the elliptical this morning but at least the second machine was available. Later, Lazy Pedals drapes himself over the first elliptical while crowing loudly to another fellow on one of the exercise bikes. No matter how high I turn up my earbuds, I can't drown them out. And he's two stations down from me so you know they're being extra loud even though there's no background music to compete with.

I feel slow and ponderous so I'm not surprised to only get 17 pull-ups today instead of the 19 I got last week. But if I'm quick, I'll be able to get a second round in before I leave. My routine is routine in the Aerobics Room and I get back to the Stretch Cage just in time to beat Snow Bird to it. I'm only there for a minute or two anyway. I still have time before I need to leave so I look around and see that the Step Mills are vacant. It's been a while since I did that! Luckily, ten minutes is more than enough time to get hot and sweaty all over again. 

At the Bark Park every day

I've considered going longer on the elliptical but there's a limit to how much pedaling I can do without my sciatica crippling me. Lately, I've felt pretty decent, meaning that I ignore it most of the time because it doesn't really truly bother me EXCEPT when I'm sitting in a car for more than 45 minutes, or sleeping (laying on my bacj). If I remember to take ibuprofen and gabapentin before bed, I can get a good six hours without the glute and leg waking me up. Of course, that isn't really enough sleep and I'm always tempted to go back to bed after the drive to the school bus stop. Unless I've got all my gym gear already in the car.

24 January 2021
Surprise Flurry Monday

Precor elliptical
Program 1
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5612)
Distance: 2.84
Cal: 315
HR: n/a

HGPU 17

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 17

Matrix StepMill
Manual 10 min
Speed 6
Step 547
Floors 34
Calories 80
HR 125

I Heard the News This Morning

Meat Loaf has passed away and I'm shocked (he wasn't that old at 74) and flooded with sadness and a longing to hear all his old songs, starting with "Bat Out of Hell" and "Hot Patootie" (Rocky Horror Picture Show)... (Read more about the incomparable Meat Loaf here.) Jim Steinman passed away last year and together they formed an amazing partnership: lyrics and vocal strength, and the willingness to put on a fantastic operatic production. I only have a few of his songs on my workout mix but I own all three Bat Out of Hell albums in CD format, so I'll be ripping a few tracks this afternoon to add to my tune list. Thank goodness I still have iTunes on my old Mac (Apple discontinued that service a few years ago). Meanwhile, I have a "boom box" that I can play CDs on (because laptops don't come with CD drives anymore) and I don't feel like paying to download MP3s or whatever the latest format is since I already "own" the songs. 

The thermometer reads a single digit this morning. But it's the first morning I didn't feel sick since my son tested positive for Covid the first week of January. So I went to the gym after my son got on the school bus. While cardio wasn't amazing, it was decent and I did a full course (35 min). What was amazing was getting 19 pull-ups: totally unexpected! I was looking forward to seeing what round two would bring, but Snow Bird was hanging all over the Stretch Cage when I exited the Aerobics Room and I'm too impatient to sit around waiting for him to be done. 

I go to change and shower, where the shower rod falls down on me as I move the curtain because it's one of those temporary bars that's affixed with a twist and pressure like those removable doorway pull-up bars. Ugh. I managed to stand on tip-toes to balance the shower rod atop the lip of the shower walls so I can finish showering and not flood the floors. But one brisk pull of the shower curtain and it's down on the ground again. I did let the front desk know when I left. Someone taller than me will have to fix it.

It's finally double digits but just barely when I take the dogs to the park. I limit them to 25 minutes because not only is no one else coming to play, but these pups aren't thickly coated with fluffy feet like huskies or malamutes and they could get frostbite. They don't act cold but I'm not going to wait until they start shivering. At least the thermometer is on the positive side: last week I caught a reading of 1- and that's not something I want to be out in for any length of time. There's three portable heaters (donated by other members) in the shed at the dog park, and I periodically stand inside to warm my fingers when I check my phone. 

I have yet to find really warm gloves that have the dexterity to allow one to pull a phone out of the inner chest pocket to a down parka. I've got kid's Thinsulate snow-gloves on, and they're warm, but they're also thick and clunky... But the YakTrax grippers work really well for the frozen and icy snow, especially trudging up the 30 degree inclined to get to the shed on top. I've turned a few fellow dog park folks on to this product (available at Amazon, and a lesser version at Dick's Sporting Goods).

21 January 2021
Arctic Friday

Precor elliptical
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5418)
Distance: 2.79
Cal: 307
HR: 86, 140-182

HGPU 19

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

Creeping Back to Normal

Didn't make it to the gym yesterday although once the walkway, driveway and car were cleared of heavy wet snow and ice, I did take the dogs to the park for a romp. It was only then that I remembered that I had a box of YaxTrax at home and hadn't gotten around to affixing them to the bottom of my boots. (Today I attach them to my Bogs and they work very well trudging up the frozen hill at the Bark Park!) Shoveling frozen wet snow is both cardio and weight lifting in one fell swoop. (My kid did help me a lot though with shoveling and  clearing the roof of my car.) Very efficient exercise and it certainly gets you warm!

Today there's black ice on the road and I creep the car down to the corner in the predawn hour so my kid can catch the school bus. The gym parking lot is well salted and that's reassuring. It's Tuesday so I don't see Lazy Pedals. Instead, there's another large middle-age man on elliptical number one. I get on number two and punch in 25 minutes, program 2. I'm moving a bit faster today than I was last week although I still seem to have either a head cold or sinusitis. Still, I can do pull-ups, push-ups, air squats and core exercises without any issues, although this sciatica is getting really old...

I'm rushing a bit because I have too many creams to administer after showering: Triamcinolone Acetonide for the cold rash; heel balm (with urea) for the cracks in my feet; unscented SPF-15 face cream for the face; glycerin mixed with lactic acid lotion for the body. I forget the last cream and later wonder why my skin feels so dry and hard. Ugh. And I read that there's another storm brewing, with potentially another Nor'easter. Because Winter! I was happy to see the huge moon to the west before dawn today: the Wolf Moon, first full moon of 2022.

18 January 2021
Post Izzy Tuesday

Precor elliptical
Program 2
Time: 25 min + 5 min cd (4640)
Distance: 2.38
Cal: 262
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 15.5

Partially Recovered

I went to the gym this morning and had another abbreviated workout. Workouts always feel okay; it's the aftermath that makes me reconsider the rest of my day. Again, I only do 20 minutes plus "cool down" at a moderate pace (148 strides per minute or less) and I'm not warmed up enough to take my hoodie off. Again, the only aspect of my workout that I'm happy with are my pull-ups. Even recuperating from what I assume is omicron, I can knock out basic body weight movements without any difficulty. Core is a yawn. I should try something else just for variety. But the back doesn't like twisting motions. I'm not a big fan of the side plank either: too much stress on my bony little feet!

If I was 100% recovered, I wouldn't be sneezing several times a day because the inside of my nose and back of my throat is irritated due to "dryness." It feels like I have lint trapped in there somewhere! Sneezing makes the nose runny so I'm constantly blowing it, making it pink and raw. Slathering cream on my philtrum is soothing but not much of a preventative for chafed skin. The "cold rash" on my legs flares up like cystic acne in spite of the ointment the dermatologist has prescribed. And now, one of my heels has cracked so it's painful to walk on even slathered with medicated cream. My heels and fingers always develop fissures in the cold dry weather of winter in the northeast so I'm not surprised. I've been using O'Keeffe's Healthy Feet but it's no match for Flexitol, a balm containing 25% urea, for softening and moisturizing tough, dry skin. I'll need to buy more.

There's no point to getting Covid tested at this point, even if tests were available. The Department of Health testing site has been closed for the past 3 days due to cold weather. They might've been open today. Or not. There are no rapid tests on the store shelves and ordering online shows a delivery date more than a week away. I'll be fully recovered by then. I might be considered recovered right now, but it still feels like I have a lingering head cold.

Monday is looking like a "get your exercise by shoveling" kind of day with Winter Storm Izzy slated to arrive late Sunday night into Monday. It's a Federal holiday, so I'm not worried about getting my son to the school bus, just shoveling out and if the roads aren't icy due to sleeting rain, then getting the puppers to the park. Because dogs don't care about weather.

14 January 2021
Easing Back Friday

Precor elliptical
Program 1
Time: 20 min + 5 min cd (3656)
Distance: 1.92
Cal: 208
HR: 123-151, 109

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

All the Symptoms

Woke up this morning and immediately wanted to go back to bed. I didn't feel great when I went to bed either, with a phlegmy head and runny nose. But I always have a runny nose only it seems runnier in the winter. I got my son to the school bus stop and actually did return home and slept until 10 am. It's not quite as cold today and I take the pups to the park where just two other intrepid dogs and their owners join us. 

Today's local online news contains a new list of Omicron symptoms and I seem to have all of them. Yep. My kid has given me breakthrough Covid. He's recovered and back at school. I'm not going to bounce back as quickly though, else it would've happened already. If I'm counting from last Thursday when I took him for testing, I should be okay by today, but I'm not. I feel like I have a bad head cold that has caused me to lose my voice, made me extremely tired, with a sporadic headache and a lot of yellow phlegm. Kind of like the flu, but without the fever and body aches.

I've rescheduled my doctor's appointments for next week because I hope to be well by then. I haven't taken any confirming tests though. I don't think I need to. If I feel better tomorrow I'll go to the gym, otherwise I'll skip it for another day. I think I'd be a lot worse if I hadn't had my shots because I tend to get sick with even mild flu. My immune system isn't as robust as some folks; I'm blaming that sticky AB blood.

Cold or Covid?

I'm feeling a little run-down, the way you feel when you're battling an annoying cold: runny nose alternating with slight congestion, fatigue, scratchy throat that can lead to a dry cough, but no fever, no body aches, nothing alarming. I suspect my son has given me Omicron but I'm not about to stand in line to find out. Although the county has set up testing and vaccination sites, there's debate as to how well they are staffed and if tests are actually available. 

Home tests for Covid are hard to find in actual stores: there's a lot of empty shelves these days what with weather tying up transportation and the virus taking out personnel involved in manufacturing and shipping. I'm hoping the newly discovered Deltacron stays in Cypress but we all know it won't...if it's real because there is, of course, doubts that it isn't the result of contaminated specimens. It happens.

I got my tires checked (the pressure light popped on this morning) and the oil changed at the local Valvoline. There's only a few guys working there today because more than half have either called in sick or quit. Whoa. Literally everyone seems to be short-staffed. Very few registers are open at the various supermarkets. The local CVS can't vaccinate people in spite of signage telling people that it's available. Why? Because half the staff is out sick and there's no one to administer the shots. It doesn't help that CVS (among other stores) has announced plans to shutter several hundred of its brick-and-mortar stores in an effort to feed online sales.

However, the sun is out and I'm not going to let arctic temps keep me inside. I do a mild workout because it makes my sciatica feel better. It's so mild that I'm barely warm after 25 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and I never take my hoodie off. Nor do I need to change my mask (normally it's drenched and I swap it for a clean, dry one in the Aerobics Room). After cardio, core and stretching and a not embarrassing amount of pull-ups and push-ups, I'm ready to shower and change. The gym is sparsely populated and a lot of the regulars are unexpectedly MIA. Hmmm...

It's 12F at the Bark Park but there's no wind so the frantic warnings about frostbite seem a bit overblown. My fingers and toes do get cold after 25 minutes, and since no other dogs and their humans have ventured out to the park, we leave. Dogs are disappointed. Later, I drag in a handcart of old, old firewood that was probably much more burnable 5 years ago, but it'll do if I get a store bundle of kiln-dried wood to start the wood stove. It'll get progressively warmer through the week, only to see the temps plunge to 3F by Saturday evening. Oh well... it is Winter after all.

11 January 2021

Post Covid Polar Tuesday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 3

Time: 20 min + 5 min cd (3620)

Distance: 1.92

Cal: 207

HR: 112, 129-165

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 15

Two Outta Five

I finally made it back to the gym after two weird days: Tuesday our school district canceled classes due to 150 bus drivers and staff out due to either illness or quarantine; Wednesday we got the call that classes were canceled after a two-hour delay but that announcement came well after the school bus was supposed to pick my son up. If my friend, a school bus driver, hadn't texted me that morning that he had just been told that there was a delay, we would've been sitting on the icy road waiting for a bus that wasn't coming.

The bus was on time today and I made it to the gym. But it was a different driver who didn't know the route and my son said he thought a few kids got missed on the way to school! Tonight there's supposed to be snow and more snow. The first bomb cyclone of the year might dump several inches of the white stuff before noon tomorrow, which probably means school is canceled again. And I'm going to be shoveling. Which means no gym  (but dogs will still want Bark Park so maybe shoveling there too). Unless the weather patterns change and it totally misses us. Stranger things have happened. 

Meanwhile, my son came home with a sore throat and I took him to the doc to get him tested for strep, flu and Covid. Negative for strep (bummer), negative for flu, but positive for Covid. Ugh. He has no other symptoms other than a sore throat. Now I think I have it because my throat's been scratchy and I drive my son to the school bus stop, to and from his kung fu class, etc. Ugh. Because my son's tested positive at the pediatrician's office, he has to quarantine for a minimum of 5 days after his symptoms subside. Not sure how long it'll take for the sore throat to go away. He's more concerned about missing school because he's got honors and AP classes. I'm concerned about going to the gym... 

I guess I'll see how we all feel on Monday. I'm glad I wear a mask and don't feel comfortable chatting up close and personal, because there's a lot of elderly folks at the gym and what if I have Covid and didn't realize it and gave it to them?! Fully immunized and boosted folks with underlying health issues can still succumb to this virus. No one knows whose health might be compromised. It's just not neighborly to put people at risk like that.

Today was a decent gym day. Cardio was okay but the pull-ups improved, even if I did feel rather bloated and puffy. I got really cold in the Aerobics Room so I kept my hoodie on even when I did my shoulder work. Wearing a hoodie meant I had to plant my bare forehead on the vinyl, but since I wear a mask, I was less concerned about the rest of my face kissing the bench. The workout raised my temps a bit but not enough for me to take the hoodie off. 

I'm getting used to my new iPhone 13 Max and all it's cool filters and settings... it takes awesome photos at night whereas my old phone shot grainy images. Facial recognition won't work with a mask on so I'm either pulling it aside or punching in the code. But I'm super happy with the battery life! Even at the frigid park I don't have to pull out a spare battery to use my cell. Awesome!

6 January 2021

Arctic Thursday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 2

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5514)

Distance: 2.81

Cal: 311

HR: n/a

HGPU 16

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 15

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 15/25 reps x 3

Fat and Fatter

Well, I'm ringing in the New Year substantially fatter than I was last year. I seem to be gaining 3 lbs over each weekend and only able to lose 2 of it during the week so most of it is probably water due to salty foods. But that leaves a net gain of 1 lb a week and give that a month or two and it's a problem! I didn't make any new resolutions but I am determined to get closer to my ideal weight which is around 110 lbs. Right now I'm almost 10 lbs over! And it shows in my face and through clothes that are just too tight to be comfortable. Ugh.

Winter is finally here and the temps are dropping fast. Predawn saw me warming the car up at 27F. Eight hours later and temps have dropped to 21 and promise to coast to 15 tonight. Tomorrow is not going to be any fun. But at least we missed the snowstorm that's dumping the white stuff further south. Dogs don't care. Even in icy weather they want to romp in the park. Today was no different although we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

And the gym was back to "normal" with very few members when I arrived at 6:50 this morning. It was substantially more crowded when I left at 9:30. I got on the first elliptical and did my cardio with a twingey inner left knee. I'm fairly certain it's the sartorius muscle so I'm not surprised when the front hip hinge on the left also twinges. However, I'm not unhappy with my mileage or with the subsequent pull-ups.

Since I'm doing pull-ups today, I figure it's best to pair that bicep and back exercise with triceps work aka Rip Skulls. The breaker bench is vacant and that makes me happy. After a warm-up set, I stick two magnetic discs to the ends of the solid barbell and do another 3 sets. The discs are 2.5 lbs apiece and the solid barbells jump in 10 lb increments. The heavier weight does bother my left elbow a bit so I cut back on reps. Done!

My husband got me a new phone for Christmas. It's been a long time since I had a latest model and not a hand-me-down (although truthfully, hand-me-downs have never bothered me). I've had to learn how to use the phone all over again because things like thumbprint ID are gone and replace with facial recognition. I'm not sure I like that but my only other choice is to leave my phone unlocked (uh, nope) or to constantly input a numeric code (which I did for a week). That gets old when you're constantly accessing your phone (like inputting data during a workout). And the battery life is much improved so I can probably stop bringing a spare with me in the gear bag (although I do use it for the ancient iPod that streams my tunes).

What I'm more interested in is the camera because there appear to be 3 lenses on the back side of the phone. The filters are now another level down from lighting which is accessed in the Portrait mode. And there's f-stop control! I'm still learning what all these functions do and it's very exciting, but time-consuming. Meanwhile, I have a dermatologist appointment in an hour to see if this rash below my hip is something to be concerned about. I got it last winter as well and it doesn't seem to respond to anything except the drop in temperature which makes it worse. 

Winter's just begun and the rash is the size of my hand, at least on the left side. On the right, it's about 2 fingers big. I don't want it to take over my entire leg as it gets blistery and painful! It also doesn't behave or look like a typical "cold temperature rash" aka cold uticaria (yes, I looked it up just to see if I was being an alarmist). It's the doctor's office that had me alarmed, moving my appointment from February to today, because it's a growing rash. Hmmmm... (My sciatica is still bothering me so that's not helping either.)

Meanwhile, more news that we all already knew but now science can say that it's true: exercise helps prolong your life even if it doesn't help you lose weight. Click here. 

3 January 2021

Arctic Monday & Sciatica

Precor elliptical

Program 1

Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5584)

Distance: 2.84

Cal: 315

HR: 130, 144-175

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 14

RipSkulls

30 lbs x 15

35 x 15, 13, 12