Thursday in Winter

Elliptical vs cross-trainers

I'm cold and tired and there's a big storm headed our way. So I'm rushing to get everything done that needs doing. Cardio, core and push a few weights. Check. Quick grocery trip to pick up unsalted butter at a "reasonable" price, and a few other items. Check. My son wants to bake cookies for the upcoming holiday party and the recipe calls for lots of unsalted butter. $3.99 is a good price. The grocer closest to our house is notoriously more expensive ($6.49 for the same butter) than the shop by the gym, so mostly I buy groceries right after working out. 

The store is unusually crowded with senior citizens because of the impending storm. Some shelves are already empty which is unusual for a Thursday. And I see that OJ is on sale, but careful inspection reveals that two different brands of OJ both selling for $2.99 are quite different: one container lists 52 fluid ounces, the other one 59. It's rare to find an actual half gallon container anymore. Remember half gallon tubs of ice cream? How long has it been? It seems like those have been 48 oz for years now...

Already I've received text notifications that the library is closing early and after school programs have been canceled. Our town has preemptively laid down salt lines on the roadways to keep them from icing up. Although temps are above freezing, snow and sleet are predicted, which means roads, sidewalks and outdoor steps might ice up. Better to be safe. I make a mental note to myself to haul in another wheelbarrow of fire wood this afternoon, before it's too dark and bitter outside. (I actually don't mind doing this chore.)

The gym is moderately crowded for an "off" day. I do my 35 minutes of cardio, don't break a sweat but get a little warm. Curl Ups don't feel like they're doing anything for me so those will be deleted off my list. I still feel crunches and Dead Bugs so those stay. I don't really feel Bird Dogs either, but they seem to help my sciatica so that stays too. My sciatica is still troublesome. Being seated generates more pain than it's worth so again I skip the Inclined DB Presses during the DB shoulder routine. It's just DB Lateral Raises and Reverse Inclined Flyes. And then I'm done.

I get my pups to the park later than I'd like but at least we get there and they run around like loonies for a few minutes. The moisture-laden wind makes it feel so much colder than the 34F that the thermometer displays. I'm finally happy with a winter parka purchase from Lands End. Although the hood isn't detachable and has a silly faux fur ruff, the coat itself is warm, and roomy enough to layer underneath comfortably. The best part, of course, are the 6 pockets outside, and the 3 inside. And these are not skimpy, barely fit a fingertip faux pockets. These are pockets you can stuff with your gloves, hat, keys, dog poop bags, dog cookies, phone, lip balm, tissues, packets of hand warmers... The coat is physically heavy (not like the ephemeral down coats that are light, not waterproof, have limited pockets, and aren't all that warm, of which I have at least two) but it does the job well and I have no complaints. Of course, I don't really know how waterproof it is or if the seams leak. I'll find that out soon enough though.

If the morning sees just rain, I'll be at the gym. If it's ice, then school will have a delayed opening until the roads are safe, and I probably won't make it. But the pups will still go to the park later because they don't care about rain. Or snow.

15 December 2022
Frigid Fatigue Sciatic Thursday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5478)
Distance: 2.80
Cal: 308
Avg Hr: 142, 182-78

HGPU 23

Curl Ups 10 each side
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 / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga (kneeling)

Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flyes
10 lbs x 15/25 warm up
15 lbs x 15/25
15/20 x 15/25 x 3 sets