Changing the Routine

Today I got to the gym the same as yesterday, around 8:30 and I knew that there would be a class in the Aerobics Room by 9:30, so I did my core and stretches first, before doing cardio. It's not my preferred order but at least I can do planks and bird dogs and push-ups and air squats in relative privacy. But I'm still "cold" when I'm done and climbing onto the elliptical. It takes me half the program to warm up enough to discard my hoodie.

The change adversely affects my pull-ups but at least I can get them done, just less than I've done before, probably because I'm still "cold." I have my choice of ellipticals but find my quads still a little burnt from the rapid succession air squats. I don't make it to 2.9 but I'm drenched. There's a different old guy in the Stretch Cage so I grab a mat and do the things I skipped in the Aerobics Room: one-leg hip thrusts, and band pull-aparts. I manage another set of pull-ups before hitting the shower. Whew! 

I get the pups to the park but it's late and most of their friends are leaving. Bummer. We hang around for an hour, then head home. The summer schedule sucks for them. But the weekend will be better even though it's going to be really hot.

29 June 2022
Pre-Exhaust Wednesday

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
Skip 5 one leg hip thrust
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

HGPU 20

Precor elliptical #2
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5700)
Distance: 2.88
Cal: 321
Avg Hr: 150, 192-92

5 one-leg hip thrusts x 3
Pull apart bands 25

HGPU 20

Summer

It's definitely summer because it's still light out enough to see the road when walking the pups at 9 pm. My memories are jumbled though because I had the distinct impression that nights like that happened in late July and August in my childhood. But of course, with the solstice in June, it would make sense that the days are beginning to shorten. It just doesn't feel that way though.

My grove of milkweeds is abuzz with large bumbly bees, but not actual bumblebees. Their abdomens are a solid black instead of the stripes I'm used to seeing. Maybe these are just a different species of bumblebees? They're also much larger than the ones that used to make my privet hedges hum. I call it a grove because there's close to four dozen flowering plants, and for the first time, I can actually smell milkweed flower perfume. Otherwise I'll catch whiffs of the tiny star-shaped privets or the lusciously sweet honeysuckles. 

Embedded in my hedges are tall green stalks with an explosion of tiny lacy flowers emanating from a single stem. I learned a new word today: inflorescence. And the plant is an American elder. Completely and totally toxic to humans, but the berries can be cooked into jam. But don't eat the seeds!

Today I see my first monarch butterfly and I'm ecstatic. Last week all I saw were white sulfurs aka cabbage butterflies. And lots of robins and catbirds. I actually saw a robin swoop across the milkweeds and snatch a white cabbage butterfly out of the air. That was pretty awesome!

Summer also means I'm getting to the gym later and trying to figure out where and how I can continue with my exercise routine. Because there's always a class in the Aerobics Room at 9:30, and now there are dismal few other places to stretch in the gym. I skip the elliptical and do 30 minutes on the step machine. Then manage to do half my core routine in the Aerobics Room before it fills up with chatty women waiting for the instructor. One of the Breaker Benches is free in the free weight area so I do triceps, then find a pile of mats at the other end of the gym where I can finish most of the core/stretch routine. It's not ideal, but better than not doing it at all. 

I'm going to have the same problem all summer as long as I'm dropping my kid off at summer camp at 8:15. I can't bring the dogs with me to the park because of that aggressive problem dog who arrives at 8:50. So I go to the gym and rush like hell. Still, better than sitting home... And it's keeping my sciatica at bay. 

I read an interesting article that claims taking your vitamins before you exercise might be impeding your gains. Lucky for me, I take mine after my workout. Another article claims it was easier to be skinny in the 80s. I blame all the plastics we've ingested. I think that's making us more volatile and stupid, and prone to worse cancers. But that's just me. Of course, the scariest article suggests that there's a direct link between sugar intake and Alzheimer's disease. Do I give up my donuts now? (Kidding. I don't eat donuts but maybe twice a year.)

28 June 2022
Crisp mid-morning Tuesday

Matrix StepMill (L)
Manual 30 min
Speed 6 (52-55)
Step 1607
Floors 100
Cal 236
Hr 139

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Skull Crushers / Rip Skulls
30 lbs x 12 reps each x 2
32.5 x 12 x 4

Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Arms & shoulder stretch

Anxious Energy

The day did not start fortuitously: it was my kid's first day of work at summer camp but the forecast was rain and possible thunderstorms all day. Which meant camp was actually cancelled for the day, but no one called or sent out emails to tell the staff. And maybe some of the campers. Meanwhile, I had the dogs in the car already and we went to the park to run off some energy. No one else came, except my son who walked over from the camp and hung out until it was time to go home. The pups were due for an assessment at a new doggy daycare/spa/overnight boarding facility. 

After dropping the pups off, I barely had enough time to do some grocery shopping, unpack it all and then run back to the doggy daycare to hear if the pups were well-behaved enough. Or not. Apparently they were fine! Of course, they were fine at the other dog sitter's house too, until we tested an overnight stay and one of my pups howled all night and kept her sleepless and distraught. This place takes all their gear off so that nothing gets caught up and there are no choking hazards. I find their nakedness a bit unnerving, but they assure me that no one can escape their many indoor and outdoor play yards. My son and I slip the martingale collars and leads back on the pups when we take them home.

My anxiety was at an all-time high when I got to the gym. There were a lot of late morning regulars but I still got to an elliptical. Maybe I used my anxiety as fuel because I almost hit 3 miles. Wahoo! Or maybe I'm just better at cardio later in the morning, after having been to the park and the dog spa. I'm not sure. I cut a few exercises out of the core and stretch routine but I made sure to keep the pull-ups. The right shoulder's a bit wonky so push-ups made it unhappy. And the bug bites are making me crazy. Oddly, they're mostly on the left side...

27 June 2022
Late Monday Morning

Precor elliptical #3
Program 1
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (6016!)
Distance: 2.97
Cal: 336
Avg Hr: 146, 195-94

HGPU 23

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
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

HGPU 22

Well Worth the Sleep Deprivation

The dogs started barking at 4:30 this morning, well before the sun actually rises. I thought maybe it was a feral cat slinking in the driveway, too small to trigger the motion sensor for the outdoor light. The barking was insistent. I could hear them through my earplugs (the husband snores and sometimes has loud sleep arguments) so I got up to see what the commotion was all about. They were both looking out the window and staring at the front door. Then I heard barking, not mewing so I opened the front door and in front of the storm door was a small, very wet dog. It had been raining.

"I know you!" I said aloud because I'd read about this pup in a lost dog post last night. The dog came inside and I clipped a leash on his collar just in case. My dogs wanted to know who this visiting pup was. The number on the lost dog post wasn't for his owner. It was for the answering machine of a neighbor who made the post. Ugh. Luckily, my son was up and could read the mouse print on the tiny tags on the collar. 

The first one said, "Will you marry me?" "Oh, he's a proposal pup," my son said. The second tag had two phone numbers on it and someone answered on the second ring. They were at the house by 5:15 and had their pup safely home before sunrise. A repairman had inadvertently let their pup out. I'm thinking they need to invest in a dog gate. We reinstalled our child gate just to keep pups from rushing the front door. It works very well.

I was tired enough to have a headache, but not enough to go back to sleep even though I tried. Eventually, I got my gear together and went to the gym, again an hour later than normal. I got my cardio done, did pull-ups but cut the second half of the core and stretching because I still needed to take my pups to the park for their exercise and socialization time.

So no push-ups or air squats, no stretch bands or eye yoga or one-leg hip thrusts. But I got all the important things done. And more importantly, a lost dog is home.

22 June 2022
Fatigue Friday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5796)
Distance: 2.90
Cal: 325
Avg Hr: 147, 196-97

HGPU 24

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

HGPU 20
 

Change is Good

I had trouble getting out of the house this morning but eventually arrived at the gym an hour later than usual. Which meant I didn't have time for everything if I wanted to get the pups to the Bark Park while there was a chance to play with friends. Between 10 and 11:30 is the optimal time during the week so I have to hustle.

As chance would have it, elliptical #2 is occupied so I don't want to use #1 (too close) and I really don't like #3 or #4 very much. However, the stair machines are both vacant and it's been a while, so I give myself 20 minutes there. While I don't burn as many calories nor work up as big a sweat, I do get a good cardio workout and playing with my stepping routine means my hips are looser. I can definitely feel the difference when I stretch out in the Aerobics Room! I also notice that in my bid to keep my neck straight and my head up while doing push-ups, I worry about not going deep enough but inadvertently find my quads tapping the floor. (Well, at least it's not my belly.) I do have big legs and not a big chest. 

Today, the one-leg hip thrusts are felt primarily in the quad of the extended leg, quite different from the last time when all the stress was in the anchored bent leg. I credit my antics on the StepMill today. And I admit that 20 minutes wasn't all that bad so maybe I'll extend the time by another 5 or 10. But tomorrow I plan to get to gym earlier because the free weight area seemed like a circus today with everyone out of school. Too crowded for my liking. 

Crowds make the next several weeks problematic since I'll be dropping my kid off at his summer camp job at 8:15. Unlikely I'd be able to hit the gym earlier and make it home in time, and I don't want to bring the pups to the park too early when no one will be there to play with. Which means hitting the gym around 8:30 and dealing with the crowd. Ugh. I'm also wondering where I'm going to do my core exercises and stretching since there's a class in the Aerobics room at 9:30 and the instructors starts setting up around 9:15. The other spaces that were used for stretching pre-pandemic are filled with equipment now. Aarg.

I cut 15 minutes off my cardio workout so after doing core and stretches I have a choice of doing more cardio, or pushing a few weights. I opt to do some tricep exercises because it's been over a week. There are two breaker benches on the other side of the free weight area so less foot traffic, less ambient chatting. Because I'm wearing AirPods just for laying on my back with my braid unclipped, and they don't work nearly as well as my wired earbuds for keeping stray conversations out of my tunes. Skull Crushers and Rip Skulls feel okay but I won't know until tomorrow when I'm either sore or not.

23 June 2022
Rainy Late Thursday

Matrix StepMill (R)
Manual 20 min
Speed 6 (52-55)
Steps 1078
Floors 67
Cal 158
Hr 136

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
(10 one leg hip thrust)
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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

Skull Crushers / Rip Skulls
30 lbs x 12 reps each x 2
32.5 x 12 x 4

Longest Day Ever

I didn't realize yesterday was the Summer Solstice but it certainly felt like the longest day ever. I had plans to go to the gym then take the dogs to the park before dropping them off at the dog sitters for a trial-run overnight stay. Instead, my son tells me that he's got a review session at the HS at 8 AM so can I give him a ride? There's also the vote for the revised school budget, also at the same HS. 

I think I can still make it to the gym for an abbreviated workout. Until my son tells me once we pull up to the school, that he's forgotten his backpack with his calculator and books that he'll need for the review class. And that's because he was up all night, in vampire mode, and has only had an hour sleep. Teens! 

I'm a compulsive person, so I drive back home and get his pack, realize that I've lost too much time to actually go to the gym (because I'd also need to shower after exercising) so I change out of my gym clothes and decide well, I needed to shop for groceries anyway. I can't text my kid because all phones are collected during state tests (to prevent cheating) and the security at the front desk sends someone to retrieve my kid from the cafeteria where the session is being held. A boy arrives who is not my kid. Same name. Wrong kid. Eventually, one of the monitors takes the pack to the class after I show him a pix of my kid on my phone. Now I can be on my way.

I buy groceries (there's a sale on V-8 juice this week), put perishable stuff in the fridge, take dogs to the park, retrieve my son (because he's home now), take the dogs to the dog sitter, drop off an employment application for my son (he's still undecided but there's a deadline), and then, to keep him awake during daylight hours, we go to see Jurassic World Dominion because it's $5 Tuesday at the local movie house. Once we get there, I find myself unable to get past the entrance into the actual viewing room itself because I literally can't see anything in front of me. It's all blackness with 3 red lights on the floor and that's it. My son has to come back and guide me by the hand to where the seats are. Ugh. 

I'll blame the glaucoma meds because they have a negative impact on night vision. And I'll blame the movie house, because even though the previews are playing, there's nothing on the screen. There's audio but no visual. Most of the audience seem to be impaired seniors or just impaired in general, because those leaving their seats are only doing it to buy popcorn and giant soft drinks. I send my son to tell the staff to fix this and eventually they do. 

I liked the movie and it didn't really seem like 2.5 hours, mostly because it was non-stop action with a lot of references to the original Jurassic Park films, including most of the main characters. Sam Neill has aged really well! Anyway, my son stayed awake for the entire flick although he fell asleep and stayed asleep once we got home. The house is very quiet without the dogs and I stay up much later than I wanted probably because while I only had one cup of coffee, I was sipping it all day. It was a very long day.

Today, my son is up before I am, which is good because he needed to be awake for his last exam. I get to the gym a tad earlier than usual, do my routine and am done in time to get my dogs from the sitter. One has considerable anxiety so we go to the park for a few minutes to let them run out their zoomies even though it's raining. I didn't have time to push around weights so it was just cardio, core and stretches, and pull-ups. (Pull-ups are good today but I still feel they'd be better if I weighed less!) I increased the one-leg hip thrusts to 10 only because I can feel the tension from the glute into the thigh bicep of the bent leg but I don't know if that's good or bad. I guess I'll find out.

22 June 2022
Rainy Post-Solstice Wednesday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5824)
Distance: 2.91
Cal: 327
Avg Hr: 150, 186-95

HGPU 24

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
(10 one leg hip thrust)
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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

HGPU 22

Post-Father's Day

I woke to the surprising sound of the heat kicking on. I had set the thermostat to 52 and apparently temps dropped down to 48F. Good sleeping weather! It's a holiday so I get to sleep in a tiny bit later than usual and I get to the gym 30 minutes later. The gym seems empty, but that's because I'm between "shifts." I get my pick of ellipticals, which is #1, and actually manage to hit 2.9 today. Wahoo! Of course, I'm still breathless when I reach the Stretch Cage to do pull-ups. And luckily, happily, I'm able to squeeze out 23 reps. That last rep is always a challenge, with me struggling to inch my face up past the bar.

I'm only here to do cardio, pull-ups, core and most importantly, stretches that help relieve any impending sciatica. We're gone for a week next month to visit colleges and none of the hotels we've booked have gyms. I'll be bringing a yoga mat just to do some stretching and core in the room because sitting in a car for hours at a time is going to suck. (That's another reason I'm not willing to attempt Seated Cable Rows for now. It's preceded every really bad sciatic attack I've had.) I might do Triceps tomorrow...

Over the weekend I read about gut health affecting mood, and yogurt appears to be the hero. I should start eating it regularly again, in spite of being lactose intolerant. That doesn't stop me from enjoying milk in my cold cereal or having a small bowl of ice cream. I haven't assessed the dietary damage from eating out for Father's Day. 

We went to our favorite restaurant and I had the chef's special, a big hunk of delicate sea bass encased in thin slices of potato on a bed of couscous and shredded red peppers and zukes. Unfortunately, the fish could've used a tad more seasoning. The oysters were large and meaty and my husband enjoyed a nice strip steak with a side of king crab legs. And cheesecake for dessert. Glad we don't eat out very often!

20 June 2022
Juneteenth Monday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5808)
Distance: 2.90
Cal: 325
Avg Hr: 144, 196-82

HGPU 23

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
(5 one leg hip thrust)
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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

HGPU 23

Good and Bad

The newest itch creams don't contain antihistamines. Instead, the active ingredients are topical analgesics: menthol and pramoxine HCl. And they seem to work much better than the topical lidocaine cream I applied yesterday. And loads better than the nearly useless hydrocortisone cream one gets from the grocery. Still, my bug bites are distracting and my head is as foggy as the weather this morning. 

I'm happy just to get decent cardio done, whip through the core routine, and tried a few reps of one-leg hip thrusts just to see if it helps or hurts the lower back stiffness. I definitely feel it so the movement is doing something although I don't know if that's good or bad. 

Everything is good so far as I snag one of the Inclined Breaker Benches in the free weight area. It's getting crowded with regulars and HS kids. But something is amiss in my Inclined DB Press execution because with just the 10 lb warmup set, I manage to develop a knot under the left shoulder blade. Ugh. I stretch my back as best as I can but proceed with the DB Lateral Raises, followed by the Reverse Inclined Flys. The knot doesn't get any worse so that's a win. Of course, it doesn't go away either. So that's bad.

It isn't bad enough to prevent me from doing the rest of my shoulder routine, and in the mirror, the shoulders look pretty good in spite of me having packed on several extra pounds. (It's definitely the lighting that makes muscles more visible.) Not only am I too shy to shoot a selfie with half a dozen folks milling about, but I'd need another pair of hands to level the phone and hit the button. (My small hands have a lot of trouble taking a pix single-handed even with the newer, smaller iPhone 13.) I'm a knotty person and really miss getting a good deep-tissue sports massage. Yep, that's on my wish list...

17 June 2022
Hazy Friday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5658)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 318
Avg Hr: 132, 196-87

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
(5 one-leg hip thrust)
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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

DB Incline Press s/s Lat Raise s/s Rev Inc Fly
10 lbs x 25/15/20 warm-up
15 x 20/15/25 reps x 1
20/15/20 lbs x 20/15/25 reps x 3 sets

Itching to Distraction

I've got so many insect bites, mostly on my left side, that it's distracting. My ankle doesn't want to wear socks and is red and swollen from all the scratching. More bites through my pants, on my neck, face, fingers, and worst, just under a boob. Which makes me worry about chafing from sports bras. Mosquitos have been able to bite through most summer weight pants so at the dog park, I've taken to wearing a pair of heavier knit joggers that the bugs don't like, probably because of it's marled stripey white and gray pattern. Biting insects have been shown to avoid stripey things.

I avoid taking any drugs I don't absolutely need. But the bugs have been so bad this summer that I might resort to second generation antihistamines like Claritin or Zyrtec because those are considered safe for glaucoma sufferers. This might also clear up my perpetually runny nose and itchy eyes, but mostly my eyes hurt because they're dry no matter how many times a day I apply moisturizing drops.

It's a weird rainy morning, and I watch my son's school bus roll past the next stop. Oops! The student there isn't able to board because the bus doesn't back up to her road but stops several yards down the road just where there's literally no line-of-sight for oncoming cars. I don't know why the vehicle can't just backup since I've left several car lengths between my car and it. I guess the kid will get on the bus on the way back?

There's not a lot of folks at the gym except Lazy Pedals is draped over elliptical #1. But no MAGuy next to him. And I know that the next two machines clunk a lot so I settle on the last one in the row, #4. My ankles isn't happy with all the pedaling and the rebellious hammertoes threaten to spasm. At least my shoulders hold up well enough for me to achieve a bunch of pull-ups.

I read an article written by a cyclist about the usefulness of pull-ups. I'm a bit envious that she can do them every day without suffering from tendonitis in her forearms, but she is doing fewer reps. Maybe if I only did 10 every day I wouldn't have elbow issues, but I suspect that's not the case. I remember figuring out that I could do hammer grips but not normal pull-ups or chin-ups, and only on the Stretch Cage because all the other bars and handles are much too thick for my tiny hands. There's a lot more strain on the forearms if you can't close your hands around the bar, hence those "fat grips" that lifters use to make their exercises harder. No thanks! 

16 June 2022
Thundering Thursday

Precor elliptical #4
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5660)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 318
Avg Hr: n/a

HGPU 23

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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

HGPU 23

Day Two

Today is the last full day of school in our district as the rest of the week has scheduled NYS Regents exams and therefore a completely screwed up schedule since once the exam is over, the student goes home. Via school bus. Which means that students coming in for late morning exams get on the bus as students exit them to return home. Crazy. But there are not enough buses or drivers in the district.

I get to the gym a tad early and it's ridiculously crowded. Lazy Pedals and MAGuy are chatting loudly on ellipticals #1 and #2, so I get on #4. I can still hear all the old guys who need hearing aids on the treadmills several yards away. My right shoulder and lat are a little sore. Well, let me do triceps today instead.

Keeping to the 32.5 lbs I set last week, I add a set but drop the reps because the elbows are a bit wonky. It's not quite as crowded when I leave and it's bright and sunny outside. I had a reasonable eye doc followup appointment yesterday afternoon and my pressures are stable at 13/14. The latest Visual Field exam concentrated on central vision and that looks fine. Whew! But I have lost a substantial amount of upper quadrant peripheral vision and that's worrisome. 

I just ordered a wedge pillow from Amazon because it's hard to sleep on an incline with a stack of individual, compressible pillows. Sleeping on my back with my head elevated is one of the most important lifestyle adjustments to lower IOPs and hopefully prevent further vision loss. After all, I'm not that old yet!

14 June 2022
Early Start Tuesday

Precor elliptical #4
Program 1
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5776)
Distance: 2.89
Cal: 322
Avg 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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

Skull Crushers followed by Rip Skulls
30 lbs x 12 reps each x 2 sets total
32.5 x 12, 11, 10 x 2 (basically 6 total sets)

Late Start Monday

When you get up in the morning and see that the project your kid has spent all weekend on actually takes two shopping bags and a big box for all the components of a Rube Goldberg project that comprises one quarter of his final grade, plus his oversized school backpack, you realize that he's not making it onto the bus and you're going to have to drive him to school. He gets to his class and his project scores him an impressive 95%. Yaaaay!

Meanwhile, I'm at least a half hour late to the gym which cuts down my exercise time. I don't want to give up the important things like cardio and pull-ups, or planks and bird dogs. I had been concerned about not being able to do pull-ups because I discovered a tender bruise just under the second metacarpal (pointer finger) palm-side, which made gripping a bit painful. Best I can figure, I got it when the dogs were dragging me from the car to the dog park gate because it's me versus a hundred pounds of panting pups. But the bruise is mostly healed up today so the pull-ups were fine, except that I weigh too much. 

But I do skip push-ups and air squats because I have a follow-up appointment with my glaucoma doc this afternoon. I'm hoping my IOPs are good and that the VF test I took a few weeks ago show that the vision in my left eye hasn't really deteriorated. Fingers crossed.

13 June 2022
Late Start Monday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5754)
Distance: 2.89
Cal: 323
Avg Hr: 150, 182-87

HGPU 23

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
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

HGPU 23

Just a Skosh More

It's a brilliantly sunny day but my head's still cloudy inside. Maybe allergies or maybe something else but the outcome is the same: feeling lethargic but still making my way to the gym. The cardio is mediocre and the core routine is just that. Routine. I'm torn between spending 10 minutes on the step climber or pushing some weights. I opt for the latter, of course.

After a set of standard 30 lbs, I find two of the smaller magnet disc weights, which are 1.25 lbs each, and affix them to either side of the solid barbell. That makes the BB about 32.5 lbs, which I'm not certain is really noticeable. Except that it is. By the 5th set, my arms feel a little tired! Is this what getting old is about? 

Mind you, it's not true super-setting in that I rest for a few seconds between the first set (Skull Crushers) and the second set (Rip Skulls). Followed by a longer rest of up to a minute. Repeat another two times for a total of six sets. And I'm done! I'm going to stick to this until it feels too easy, and maybe I'll increase by another 2.5 lbs to hit 35 lbs, which is what I was doing before, but that was six sets of Rip Skulls and it was admittedly hard on my sciatica, wonky shoulder, and delicate elbows.

I'm toying with the idea of a few reps at the Seated Cable Row on pull-up days (more bicep involvement), but limiting myself to under 70 lbs, since every time I move the weight up my sciatica flares up for weeks and weeks, and it's just not worth it. Which is crushing to my ego since I can move so much more weight. Except for the painful consequences. But I'm bored, and it's going to be hard to keep the momentum going once school goes on summer hiatus and there's no actual reason to get up at 5:45... I need something to excite me!

10 June 2022
Bright Friday but my head’s foggy

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5682)
Distance: 2.87
Cal: 320
Avg Hr: 132, 186-80

Crunches 60 (!!! Vertigo)
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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

Skull Crushers / Rip Skulls
30 lbs x 12 reps each x 2
32.5 x 12 x 4

Mutable Weather

Torrents of rain this morning. Blistering sun this afternoon. Summer in the northeast! I do pull-ups today and save the weights for tomorrow. At least I can get the reps in although I'm still not able to ramp up during cardio to get up to 2.9. That streak is over! 

The gym isn't as crowded as I expected it to be after Tuesday. Maybe the rain? But there are more unfamiliar women present. I took yesterday off and dropped the dogs off at a pet sitter to get them acclimatized to staying somewhere other than home. This sitter comes highly recommended by friends at the Bark Park. 

In past years with past pups, I've had dog sitters come to the house, but those folks have relocated out of the county and I don't know anyone else. Plus my pups are a mite bit finicky and difficult... There are several doggy daycares in town that do overnight boarding, but the one I had considered quickly got dismissed once I heard that no human stays overnight with the dogs, and a few dogs have gotten bitten. 

My left fifth metatarsal seems bruised and sore, distracting me while I pedal. (Yep, that's my excuse today.) And that's my "good" foot since it's not afflicted by bunions, wonky nerves and ligaments, hammertoes that sporadically spasm, recalcitrant callouses. Yesterday, I wore old "comfortable" shoes, Clarkes, and I still developed a sore spot just off the pinky toe. WTF?

9 June 2022
Mutable Thursday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5660)
Distance: 2.85
Cal: 317
Avg Hr: 143, 192-87

HGPU 23

Crunches 60 (!!! Vertigo)
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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

HGPU 22

Still Slightly Off

I'm not about to let a little vertigo ruin a perfectly good workout. Besides, it's not quite so bad today and I don't get motion sick doing crunches. I'm also able to push past the burning in my legs during the last 5 minutes of the 30 minute elliptical program in order to keep the speed up for the "cool down" when I push past 2.9 miles. I'm able to maintain speed until the program is over and then I can cool down while trotting off to the Aerobics Room.

The gym is ridiculously crowded today but I knew that pulling into the unusually crowded parking lot. Luckily, most of the cardio is happening on the treadmills and there's no one else on the ellipticals or cross-trainers. I watch amused as a girl with Airpods gets annoyed by the fact that she's three treadmills away from one of the senior regulars, who then invites two of his hard-of-hearing buds to use the machines between them. There are at least 6 machines on the other side of this guy, and these chatty old men are so loud that even I can hear them across an aisle and another row of machines, and I have my earbuds on with tunes. But they're oblivious and this is a daily social event.

The free weight area isn't too crowded when I exit the Aerobics Room, and I can use one of the Inclined Breaker Benches for two out of three of my shoulder exercises. There's a new chubby guy working out between the regulars. I'm very happy not making eye contact or even acknowledging the other folks, because I honestly don't want to interrupt my routine to chat. And it's Tank and B, and B does nothing but chat when she's not trying to talk a big muscle guy into spotting her. Chat about useless things like getting hair and nails done... 

I am excited to discover a "new" flavor of Ensure Max High Protein: peach. I went to a supermarket I don't usually visit but is located across from a senior center. It had every flavor, including the actual "new" Cherry Cheesecake, which sounds so gross that I don't want to spend the money on a 4-pack to try just one. Personally, I find these protein beverages to more palatable and cost-effective than the ultra-hyped gym rat post-workout shakes. Those are often too sweet with horrible flavor profiles (everything chocolate or cookie dough!), and many aren't suitable for lactose-intolerant folks like me. My favorite is still vanilla because it tastes like vanilla ice cream...

7 June 2022
Brisk Tuesday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5916)
Distance: 2.94
Cal: 331
Avg Hr: 144, 190-84

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
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 20/15/20 warm up
15 x 20/15/25 reps x 1
20/15/20 lbs x 20/15/25 reps x 3 sets

Allergic Vertigo

I've never experienced motion sickness while doing crunches before today. It's not an experience I want to replicate. Maybe I rolled over and dislodged a canalith inside my ear? Or it's an allergic reaction to the high pollen count because it's lush and green everywhere, and more than the multiflora rose are in bloom.

I'm happy I got to the gym and didn't fall off the elliptical while pedaling. My pull-ups felt okay while doing them, but not before or after. Luckily, no one noticed my hesitant footsteps off the Stretch Cage. Most movements don't affect me but laying on the floor and curling upward was definitely the worst. It's not a good day to be bending over and stacking firewood either, with temps in the 80s. Nope.

When I leave the gym, I notice that there are four shiny red autos in a row next to my car. Red must be the "in" color. It's so striking an image that I stop and take a picture with my phone.

6 June 2022
Dizzy Monday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5680)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 320
Avg Hr: 149, 198-82

HGPU 23

Crunches 60 (!!! Vertigo)
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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

HGPU 22

Fat is Heavy

You know the year isn't going well when halfway into it, you suddenly realize you've never changed the year on your posts. As in everything is dated 2021, until today. Because it's taken me well over 6 months to notice. WTF?

My head is still foggy as it's still foggy when I arrive at the gym. And my fingers fumble the phone during the last two minutes of cardio, which inevitably causes me to slow my pace. Another day I've missed that self-imposed, anxiety-inducing goal of 2.9 miles. The sciatica twinges occasionally, mostly in the left leg. And pull-ups are not great. It's not that my arms feel weak, it's that I feel noticeably heavier. And indeed, instead of losing 3-4 lbs, I've gained 3-4 lbs and that's not sitting well with me. Stress-eating is taking a terrible toll...

Everything else feels routine. And if I didn't need to grocery shop right afterwards but before rushing home to take the dogs to the park, I would've stayed longer to do shoulders. But this afternoon is our BSA Troop's Court of Honor where awards and rank advancements are presented, political dignitaries make quick speeches and everyone enjoys grilled burgers and hot dogs. I said I would bring pastries so I shop for stuff I wouldn't mind eating at home should there be any leftovers. Hmmm, those Guava Cheese Puffs look intriguing! 

Not bad for only a few
pull-ups for bicep work

Once home, I try on clothes I bought a few years ago when I was lighter and Kmart was still a store. I'm skeptical that they'll fit, but they do and I'm relieved. (Of course, nothing has pockets!) The palazzo pants have a thick waistband which felt tight even back then. I'm optimistically hoping that'll help me exercise some self-control at the birthday party we're attending tomorrow... my husband's co-worker's wife is throwing a 60th celebration somewhere out in Connecticut. My son and the pups will stay home of course. Because teenage boys want absolutely nothing better to do on weekends except sleep.

3 June 2022
COH Friday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5754)
Distance: 2.88
Cal: 322
Avg Hr: 139, 195-122

HGPU 21

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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

HGPU 21

Wood is Heavy

I woke up this morning feeling stiff and sore. Sciatic left leg also being troublesome. I'm blaming taking yesterday off to stack firewood as the weather was perfect for yard work: cool and dry. A lot of bending, reaching, pushing and pulling individual pieces off a haphazard pyramid of split wood, stacking it on a handcart and then maneuvering that around to the front of the house where I have pallets stacked. The shortest route is the hardest as it descends down roughly cut grass and weeds and boggy soil. 

Much better to push the cart out to the cracked paved road and down the driveway, around the grove of milkweeds sprung up on the lawn, right up to the pallets. I don't get to finish as the plumbers finally show up and fix my waste line problem. (Yaaay for having a civilized kitchen again instead of having to bail out the sink each time the faucet is run.) Then it rains and I'm not stacking wood in the rain.

My head is cloudy and today I definitely don't make my mileage. Also glad I put off pull-ups until tomorrow: arms and shoulders are tired and sore. Once I'm warmed up, I feel much better, although push-ups have my arms spread wide at an odd angle to stop the elbows from clicking painfully. Air squats make my knees unhappy. The sciatica feels better but the whole lower back resumes stiffness once I cool down. Still, the Skull Crushers and Rip Skulls are easy and done with quickly. I'm still tempted to increase the weights slightly, maybe 2.5 lbs (loose 1.25 lb and 2.5 lb magnetic discs available)... 

I read an odd article about the potential protective effects of having food allergies, protective against Covid-19. That's unexpected, and intriguing.

2 June 2021
Post Plumber Thursday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5654)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 318
Avg Hr: 149, 190

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
Pull-apart band 25
Gentle upper body stretch
Eye yoga x 3

Skull Crushers / Rip Skulls
30 lbs x 12 reps each x 6 sets