Precipitating Discomfort

I dragged myself to the gym and sat in the car reading my emails for a good 15 minutes. It's hard motivating myself out of the car even when I'm a mere steps away. The gym isn't horribly crowded for a Friday and I'm able to land elliptical #1 to do Program 3. Again, I think I'll be lucky to hit 2.8 but after 20 minutes I find my endurance has kicked in and I'm able to sustain a faster rate of pedaling. I'm still tired though. And insect bites are much itchier after the second day.

I might delete Side Planks from my routine after all. I do 30 seconds per side and while my feet and other joints don't go numb and tingly, I'm not happy with how my shoulders feel. Everything else in the routine is routine. There are a few regulars in the free weight area but the only adjustable bench by the DBs is occupied. There's another one in the Smith machine so I use that today. 

In the future, however, I'm probably better off using one of the Inclined Breaker Benches because their seats are adjustable for height so I'll be able to plant my feet on the ground when doing Inclined DB Presses. Otherwise, my feet are stacked atop each other on the handle under the seat and that's bad for so many reasons: no stability because feet aren't flat on the floor, added pressure to the lower back and coccyx for this same reason, sciatic aggravation as one limb presses against the other. Using this bench this way is definitely not good for my sciatica!

I can do the least reps with the lateral raises. It's also the exercise with which I use the lightest weight, while I can increase the load for inclined presses and reverse inclined flys. Tiny elbows are what keep lateral raises at 15 lbs (because, yes, I've tried to go heavier). Today, 20 reps with a pair of 20 lb DBs feels okay. Last week, it felt like I had reached a limit: too much pressure in my head and chest. And that always makes me worry I'm causing my optic nerves damage. (Weight lifting exertion can raise IOPs and I don't believe that just the Valsalva maneuver [holding your breath] is to blame.) Today, I don't feel any pressure and if it weren't for the fact that I'm running late and need to take my dogs to the park as soon as I get home, I'd probably stay and give the 25s a go just to see how it felt. 

The sciatic discomfort is persistent and nagging though. People take being of average height for granted. Those of us at the extremes of normal usually find normal things can be challenging. A very tall, slender girl says Hi to me in the locker room. A few days ago she asked me for my opinion on whether she should wear her pants legs tied or loose because the pants were too short for her and she knew it was a weird question. I guess she lacks confidence. She's probably tired of having comments made about her height and thinness. She could model or run track, or both. But I just say Hi back.

I've forgotten to file my callouses and they snag my hair in the shower as I rinse the shampoo out. Ugh. You'd think I didn't wear gloves all the time, but my skin is sensitive to humidity, temperature, friction. (I'm the only one I know who's actually sliced open a finger on the peeling chrome paint of the pull-down machine handle.) This weekend promises to be a scorching 90+F and I'm not happy about it. The pups will go to the park in the morning when it'll be 70. Still too warm for the pups to be extremely active, but dogs are social creatures and they do love meeting and hanging out with their pup friends.

20 May 2021
Foggy Friday Morn

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5934)
Distance: 2.95
Cal: 332
Avg Hr 151, 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
Side Elbow Plank 2 x 30s
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

DB Incl Press s/s Lat Raise s/s Rev Inc Fly
10 lbs x 15/20/20 warm up
15 x 20/15/25 reps
20/15/20 lbs x 15/15/25 reps
20/15/20 lbs x 20/15/25 reps