Winter's Still Coming

I wasn't expecting snow when I woke this morning. At least it wasn't heavy and I could quickly defrost the windshield. Temps rose into the mid 30s so only the grass and shrubs kept a light dusting of the white stuff. This is just the prequel to the arctic weather that's approaching from the west. That chill should arrive by Friday. But until then, the weather looks okay. However, it's overcast so very little chance we'll be able to see that Green Comet that's been in the news...

To change things up a tiny bit, I use elliptical #2. It actually runs a bit smoother but the TV doesn't work as well so I can't watch Bloomberg for business news (both domestic and international). The gym must've put the heat on because I'm drenched after cardio, but I don't want to catch a chill so I keep my hoodie on until I return to the free weight area for triceps.

The amount of reps I can do with 35 lbs makes me think I should consider increasing the weight to 40 lbs. Of course I'd have to drop the reps back down to the 8-12 range and keep careful watch on elbows and wrists. The dogs and I get to the park late and can't stay any longer than 30 minutes. My son's schedule has changed for the 3rd and 4th quarter and now he's done with classes before noon! Most seniors (like his friends) who also have short schedules either walk home (a long 1.5 hr walk) or have secured a parking permit and a vehicle to drive themselves to and from school. It's not a big school and permits are limited. 

Granted, I didn't learn to drive until I was out of college, but I lived in NYC and navigating public transportation is its own skill set. I am considering getting pedal blocks though just so I can sit further from the damn steering wheel... I also think I need to enroll my son in a driving school just so he'll have the skills.

31 January 2023
Wintry Mix Tuesday

Precor elliptical #2
Program 1
Time: 30+5 (5636)
Distance: 2.85
Cal: 317
Avg Hr: 140, 189-83

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

Skull Crushers
30 lbs x 25 reps
35 lbs x 20, 21, 25
 

Could've Been Worse

looking at green light
at the upper right

Monday and although the sun finally poked through overcast skies, it's a might bit chilly. Of course, it is still January! Yesterday my son had a few friends over to celebrate his birthday. No one teaches etiquette anymore so it's quite common for Gen Zs not to respond to an invite. I find it maddening and horribly rude. Out of a group of seven or eight, only three responded and actually showed up, and only after I had contacted two of the parents for other reasons. 

The third actually RSVPed on his own and I suspect it's because his parents are immigrants who maintain old world values. But at least the three who showed up are the ones my son has known since primary school and Cub Scouts. Two are currently in his Scout Troop (the other boy in a competing Troop but only because his older brother was a Scout there) so there's something to be said for Scout values like friendship and loyalty.

This means I stayed up too late and ate poorly over the weekend. Lots of chips, pizza (olives, garlic, mushrooms and meatball topping), mini donuts and birthday cake. Of course, I felt like a slug when I got to the gym this morning. But I got my cardio done and then stomped off to the Aerobics Room because a tall geriatric was draped over the Stretch Cage. 

It's chilly inside and out, so I keep my hoodie on even though cardio warmed me enough to break a pleasant sweat. I've cooled down enough to know that doing pull-ups will kind of suck if I don't get warm again. The solution is to get on the step machine for 10 minutes. My pinky toe is still a bit tender and I can feel the sciatica on my right side. It's not bad, but it reminds me to be cautious. I need to be warm to perform properly and 10 minutes is enough to make pull-ups suck less. 

still looking
at the green light

I do an experiment with the camera in my phone: selfie staring at the tiny green light in the upper right corner with head angled in that direction; selfie with head angled toward the left but still looking toward the green light in the upper right; selfie with head "straight ahead" not looking at the light. The middle photo is weird because it seems as if the camera has switched the position of its lens. Is it tracking my eye position? Ugh. Most of the time I have to look below the phone for a photo that appears to have me looking straight at it. Soooo weird and complicated.

Temps hit the mid-40s today but I'm still wearing multiple layers at the Bark Park. Mostly because my hair is damp under my hat and hood, and even though the sun feels great, I'll still get cold standing around, yelling at my dogs to stop eating the rich loamy dirt they've dug up from under all the leaves.

30 January 2023
Post Pizza Monday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30+5 (5476)
Distance: 2.80
Cal: 309
Avg Hr: 137, 176-72

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

StepMill (R)
Manual 10 min
Speed 6 (52-55)
Steps 539
Floors 33
Cal 79
Hr 125

HGPU 23

I Guess I Could Do More

Yaay for the end of the week. Tomorrow I can sleep in, or at least until 8 instead of getting up at 6 when it's still dark out. I'm really tired. Every morning I toy with the idea of skipping the gym and going back to sleep, but I find it impossible to nap when the sun is up. I am getting a wee bit bored with my workout though so I'm figuring out what I can change in the routine that I'm not going to regret, i.e., that isn't going to aggravate my lower back and sciatica, that isn't dependent on sensitive joints and won't raise my IOPs. 

These limitations are certainly frustrating, and sadly, I'm still much bigger than I'm comfortable being. Yep, a good 10 lbs of too much! But I'm at a loss as how to drop this excess size other than skipping meals... how much will my cholesterol and blood pressure rise if I don't eat oatmeal and vegetable/tomato juice everyday? Gone are the days when I could subsist on a single meal of protein and salad. Also, I don't think that's particularly healthy. 

Exercising more isn't the answer either since increasing one aspect means detracting from another. More cardio means less time for weights, or an abbreviated core session. Personally, I think I exercise enough. I'm still tempted to add some sort of rows back into my routine, but I'll have to research more to see which form is the safest for someone with sporadic sciatica. The lat-pull down machine can be hard on my elbows if I don't have the right handle and I'm not big on balancing on the seat just to reach that anyway. Yeah, short people problems... Maybe I'll test out Reverse Grip BB Rows on the Smith next week. Or super light Seated Cable Rows...

The gym parking lot is ridiculously crowded this morning but not so much inside. Weird. It's cold though, especially since half the big ceiling fans are rotating briskly. My routine is routine, even the DB Shoulders. I just wish the old disheveled "newbies" would understand that re-racking your weights does not mean dropping your BB into any available slot, but rather, putting it back in the proper slot you got it from. Ugh.

27 January 2023
Frosty Friday"

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30+5 (5658)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 318
Avg Hr: 153, 196-92

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys
10 lbs x 25/15/25 warm up
15 lbs x 25/15/25
20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 3 sets

Grown Up Thursday

I skipped the gym yesterday just so I could bring the dogs to the park early and then get errands done before the storm. Storm? The storm that had schools north of us cancel and our district schedule early dismissal. Flurries become snow becomes driving rain. Today, no rain but everything is sodden. 

Today is also my son's birthday and I planned to get some mini-cupcakes for his kung fu class. But in the car this morning, he tells me that he stayed up all night working on a project that's due tomorrow and he's so tired all he wants to do is sleep. As we discuss his project, he realizes that he's not actually done and needs to stay late to finish. I'm glad he's a hard worker but I worry how he'll handle college life...

The gym isn't crowded and the sun is out. I do my routine even though I feel vaguely sore all over. My pinky toe is better but not completely. Glutes are sore but I'm not sure if it's sciatica or not. After cardio and core, I'm mildly tempted to do a light set of seated cable rows but think better of it. My lower back and sciatica has me paranoid. Instead I do Skull Crushers: first a warm up set of 25 reps and then 3 sets at 35 lbs. It feels okay and I still have time to get my son a slice of strawberry shortcake cheesecake for his birthday. Meanwhile, I read something that makes me consider giving up the occasional sangria at dinner. Bummer.

26 January 2023
Birthday Thursday Post Storm

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30+5 (5604)
Distance: 2.84
Cal: 315
Avg Hr: 148, 180-76

HGPU 23

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

Skull Crushers
30 lbs x 25 reps
35 lbs x 15 reps x 3 sets

Little Things Make A Good Day

There was a bit of snow on the car but generally, the day was sunny and cold. I got to the gym and did my standard routine. But instead of doing DB Shoulders today, because I didn't have the time, I did three light sets of Skull Crushers. It's true that the human brain can't really focus on more than one painful area at a time. So, my pinky toe is still swollen and bothered, but my sciatica hasn't bothered me in a few days. Because I'm only wielding 30 lbs, I increase each set by 5 reps. My last set is 25 reps. Yeah, I can do 32.5 lbs next time. But I'll hold off on the Rip Skulls until I'm braver.

I'm tired, as usual, and because I told my son we could have spicy Jamaican Beef Patties before we went to kung fun and then Scouts, I had to do a bit of grocery shopping before taking pups to the park. Once home, I started fiddling with the fluorescent light tubes, trying to figure out what sort of ballast I needed to buy at the Home Depot. I had replaced these two bulbs some years ago and the lights flickered but never came on fully. Since the fixture was 30 years old, replacing the ballasts made sense. 

I got one bulb out but not it's brother. After 10 minutes of fidgeting while perched on a stool over the kitchen sink, I gave up and put the bulb back in. And just for fun, I flicked the light switch. And wondrously, there was light! Wow. I'm not sure why it didn't work when I originally replaced the tubes, but I'm damn happy the lights work now!

There's a new storm headed our way by tomorrow afternoon. Not sure if I'll get to the gym or not. My son's birthday is Thursday and I'm planning to buy a good dozen mini cupcakes for his kung fu class, and maybe a special little solo cake just for him.

24 January 2023
Fatigue Tuesday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30+5 (5586)
Distance: 2.83
Cal: 314
Avg Hr: 150, 198-77

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

Skull Crushers (ease back in)
30 lbs x 15, 20, 25

First Snowfall of the Year

One of the dogs was acting weird this morning. He sat by the window by the stairs on the second floor and cried. He did it last night as well after my son had already walked him in the rain. The other pup had no issues and isn't vocal at all in the house. I got my son to the school bus in time and then had to turn around to retrieve the pups for a quick morning walk before going to the gym. They seemed fine when I left the house. I come back less than three hours later (from the gym) and again one dog is wailing by the second floor window. He actually won't come down until I put a leash on him and drag him out. 

I take both of them to the park but because I've been rushed out the door, I neglected to put dog treats in my pockets. Oh well. They run about like lunatics and eventually stop as if to ask if anyone else is coming. Uh, nope. We only stay for 30 minutes and the light rain has become snow that's not supposed to stick. Except that it does. On the grass, shrubs, trees, in my driveway, on my walkway... Temps hover at 31F and big fat snowflakes flurry through the air. I'm glad that yesterday I refilled the feeders with suet and sunflower seeds, and brought in a half load of firewood. 

Yesterday we celebrated the Lunar New Year by going out for gyoza and tonkatsu ramen at a local eatery and then streaming Puss And Boots 2. As long as we have dumplings and long noodles, the New Year is blessed. (Dumplings symbolize wealth because they resemble coin purses, and long noodles signify a long life.) My son wanted to see the animated flick because all his friends already have. It was very entertaining with a hodge-podge medley of references to assorted fairy tale characters. While it's playing at the local cinema, it's cheaper to pay for early streaming (and pause whenever we need to) rather than drive to the next town, find parking, pay for overpriced snacks & beverages, and then deal with unruly other theater patrons and their kids. Seriously. 

 

So, I'm at the gym a half hour later than normal. But I can still access the elliptical, do some pull-ups, and then core and stretches in the Aerobics Room before the 9:30 class starts. There are mostly regulars scattered throughout. My foot/toe still hurts but it somehow feels worse when I wrap it so really I just need to remember not to put weight on that side of my foot.

23 January 2023
Wintry Mix Monday & a Late Start

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30+5 (5718)
Distance: 2.88
Cal: 321
Avg Hr: 155, 198-94

HGPU 22

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

Bruised Not Broken

I had x-rays done yesterday and confirmed that the little toe is merely bruised, not broken. Whew! The doc recommended splinting the toe with the self-sticking gauze, but it's hard to hold four toes wrapped together like that when they aren't all the same size. He uses a bit of tape to hold everything together and my foot feels pretty good for the rest of the day. By bedtime though, I need to pull it all off. My foot needs to stretch and breathe at night.

It's impossible to re-wrap the toes in the morning. I do try with just sticky gauze but a few minutes on the elliptical and I have to stop to remove it because it's sliding under my foot inside my sock. I do my workout without any wrapping and the foot is okay, but does ache when I walk or step up or down. My pull-ups are back to normal though so that's a relief. Everything else feels normal too, except for push-ups because I briefly forget to put all my weight on my big toe instead of across all the toes. 

I even get through my DB Shoulder routine without any issues except for an occasional twinge when I flex my foot too much. Once I get home, I find a new roll of self-sticking gauze and wrap four of my toes and then secure it by wrapping the entire foot. It's not quite as comfortable as when the doc did it, but it's better support for the bruised digit.

I was told at the doc's that I was the third patient they'd seen this month with a wood stacking injury. Another woman had the same issue with a log bouncing out of the bin and onto her foot. She broke her index toe. A fellow had a cord of wood drop and he broke his foot. I feel very lucky indeed.

20 January 2023

Tape Splint Fail Friday

Precor elliptical #1

Program 1

Time: 30+5 (5502)

Distance: 2.80

Cal: 310

Avg Hr: 133, 184-83

HGPU 23

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

15 Hip Bridge/Thrusts

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Upper body stretch

Eye yoga

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys

10 lbs x 25/15/25 warm up

15 lbs x 25/15/25

20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 3 sets

 

For Better or Worse

My foot was sore when I woke up this morning and that surprised me. But then again, I probably should've expected some repercussions from a full day of being on my feet. Being short means my legs don't reach the ground when I sit in a chair and that's hard on my sciatica. 

Well, I did get warm on the elliptical because I did the entire 35 minutes although I didn't pedal as fast as usual, and that shows in the steps/mileage displayed. I also consciously put weight on the ball of my foot and the big toe instead of having it evenly distributed across all the metatarsals. Anything that requires landing on the forefoot is a big painful No. I might resort to the recumbent bike at some point...

My forearms are still a little sore from using the hedge trimmers to clear thorny wineberry vines from the wood racks days ago. My damaged foot is numb at the toes. Pedaling backwards, once my favorite thing to do, puts a lot of stress on my feet and hamstrings. In the Aerobics Room, I'm good with doing all my core and stretching. I've swapped a piriformis stretch for a gluteal stretch because it's basically the same movement but less stressful on the knees and arms. I also find that as the supporting leg is lowered and the foot taps the ground, the lower abs become involved. Well, that's a pleasant surprise. 

 
As I read more articles on mitigating lower back issues, I see a variation on the Bird Dog. It's not a static plank but an alternating sides exercise. Well, I guess I'll have to try it to see how I do, but maybe not just yet. I've also read an article that makes me wish I wanted an Apple Watch because it has an awesome HR monitor in a wearable format. Apparently HRV (heart rate variability) is a good thing although I'm still concerned about my own... but not enough to consult a cardiologist.

The gym is virtually empty today. I don't mind. I do my DB Shoulder routine because that has little impact on my feet. The locker room has better lighting and I snap a few pix of my feet side-by-side for comparison. Maybe the toe isn't broken, but it's still very unhappy. Dr Google did provide me with one very useful bit of advice in dealing with a possible broken toe: wear wide but stiffer shoes with support. Looser, softer shoes have too much flex in them and put more pressure on the metatarsal base.

18 January 2023

Sore Foot Wednesday

Woke up with Foot/toes sore 

Precor elliptical #1

Program 3

Time: 30+5 (5372)

Distance: 2.77

Cal: 304

Avg Hr: 144, 180-83

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

15 Hip Thrusts

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Upper body stretch

Eye yoga

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys

10 lbs x 25/15/25 warm up

15 lbs x 25/15/25

20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 3 sets

Ugly Feet Uglier

My right foot is a mess: bunion, hammer toes,
maybe broken pinky toe

I had a relatively productive long weekend. Except I might've broken a toe. I'm not sure because I've never broken anything, and toes, especially pinky toes are hard to self-diagnose. Hearsay is that nothing can be done anyway. Dr Google says go to the doc just in case to prevent osteoarthritis and possible bone infections. Yikes! 

It's not like I stubbed it, or dropped something on it. Rather, I was tossing wood into the wheelbarrow to move it to the racks for stacking when a "log" bounced off other pieces in the wheelbarrow and propelled itself out and right onto my foot. Now, I don't have steel-toed boots and doubt if I could ever find any in my hard-to-fit-size. I had on my wool socks and BOGs boots, which are thick rubber and neoprene. But not steel-toed.

So, the toe is swollen but only hurts when I'm walking the dog, or rather, being dragged by the dog down the road. The smaller dog. Because he's frantic to sniff out feral cats and raccoons. Or if I step up or down (like on stairs!) and anything that requires flexing at the ball of the foot. Otherwise, there's no pain. The toe did discolor after the dog walk, but doesn't hurt when I touch it. And I can wiggle it gently. But that doesn't mean it isn't broken. So I have an appointment with a foot specialist on Thursday. Basically because what would my primary tell me anyway, right? And besides, my primary is booked until April!

I did go to the gym today but decided to take it really easy. Slow pedaling on the elliptical. Backwards hurt and forward didn't. Pull-ups were difficult because I wasn't warmed-up after 25 minutes where I never broke a sweat. And I worried about dropping down from the top of the Stretch Cage and landing hard on my feet. 

But I ran errands yesterday and today. Took puppers to the park. Even hauled 3/4 of a wheelbarrow of firewood into the house. But slowly. Ever sooooo slowly. I might push myself a little harder tomorrow because Thursday I'll see the doc and he'll tell me it's probably just bruised. Except that it does hurt when I put weight on it. Not a bone hurt, but a weird sharp, tearing pain, like I've cut my skin on something. Except I haven't. Ugh. Well, at least there's no blood, cuz wearing a bandage on your toe sucks. Done that one already...

17 January 2023

Broken Pinky Toe Tuesday

Precor elliptical #1

Program 2

Time: 20+5? (3438)

Distance: 1.87

Cal: 197

Avg Hr: 130, 159-112

HGPU 20 (worried about landing)

Foot/toes throbbing a bit

Crunches 60

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

60 Dead Bugs

15 Gentle Hip Bridge/Thrusts

Elbow Plank 60s

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12x

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dogs 60s x 2

Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose

Push-Ups 25

Air Squats 25

Upper body stretch

Eye yoga

 

That Kind of Week

It never fails: a once-in-a-lifetime event and skies are too overcast, nah, downright pouring to see anything. So, we miss the rare green comet that comes round every 50,000 years or so. Figures. It's been that kind of week. It is, after all, Friday the 13th and skies are still gray although temps have risen to an unseasonable 54F. Of course, my car's in the shop and I have no way to bring pups to the park once the sun peeks through.

I did get to the gym yesterday although I missed Wednesday because I had brought my car to a local shop, and they said there's nothing wrong with your car. Bring it to the dealership because they'll have to take it apart to find out what's wrong with it. So I'm at that repair shop the next town over and now they're much more stringent about the no dogs in a loaner car rule. So no loaner car. After 1.5 hours, they tell me there's nothing wrong with the transmission or the shifter or the transmission chain. I'm beginning to wonder if I imagined this whole car shifter thing. But I know I didn't. 

However, the faint high-pitched whine I sporadically heard coming from the rear is due to the muffler rotting out. Figures. They can replace that, and by-the-way, you're probably due for an oil change. Well, the car is barely past the 3k mark but that oil change  happened back in July of last year. So, yeah. It's due. This is going to be expensive. But cheaper than buying a new car. Or even a new used car (good luck finding one). The shop gave me a ride home but I have no car and the dogs are confused. I did take them for a walk but once we got to the driveway, they were perplexed. Where's the car?

I didn't sleep well last night. It might've been because it's the first night I didn't take any ibuprofen or gabapentin before bed. Or it might've been the Mandarin Orange tea I drank while waiting during my son's Eagle Board of Review (Yaay, he's an Eagle Scout now). However, I specifically chose an herbal tea that was caffeine-free so I wouldn't be up all night! It must be the gabapentin, or rather the lack thereof. After laying in bed for an hour, I took a 3 mg melatonin pill. I don't feel as if it helped: I did fall asleep although I don't feel at all rested. I'm a little sore this morning--nothing horrible. I'm not able to get to the gym today to loosen up. And there's a cord of fresh firewood tarped in the driveway that needs stacking this weekend, once it stops raining!

I wish I could nap but taking a "coffee nap" has never worked for me, although it apparently can be very refreshing. If you can actually fall asleep after imbibing. Which I can never do. And 15 minutes isn't a nap in my book; it's a painful tease. Which means I'm sleep-deprived and need more than a nap... 

12 January 2023
No Green Comet Thursday

Precor elliptical #3
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5730)
Distance: 2.88
Cal: 322
Avg Hr: 143, 203-83

Skip HGPU 23
(geezer in stretch cage)

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Gentle Hip Bridge/Thrusts
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

HGPU 23

Busiest Day of the Week

10 January 2023
Packed Schedule Tuesday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5678)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 319
Avg Hr: 139, 182-78


Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Gentle Hip Bridge/Thrusts
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys
10 lbs x 25/15/25 warm up
15 lbs x 25/15/25
20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 3 sets

Push vs Pull

It occurs to me that my sciatic flare-up occurred after I had lugged a wheelbarrow full of fire wood to the house. And then, I continued to pull a load to the house once weekly for most of December. Those movements don't make my back hurt. Rather, my body reacts long after the activity is over. Ugh. 

My husband managed the last load which means it's been several weeks, and my sciatica is improving. He also chided me for pulling the loaded wheelbarrow instead of pushing it. It's true that pulling works different muscles, mostly hamstrings, biceps and lats while pushing is more quads, glutes and triceps. And you can use your own body weight when pushing. So maybe I should push instead of pull? 

Of course, some online resources seem contradictory in their advice. Just look at this from an ergonomics best practices page:
"Wherever possible, choose to push loads instead of pull. Pushing is generally associated with a higher risk of injury when compared to pulling. It is easier to apply force when pushing and there is less stress on the muscles than pulling movements produce. It is also easier to see where you are going if you are pushing an object forward, rather than pulling it while walking backwards."
Don't they mean that pulling is associated with a higher injury risk than pushing? I dunno, they're the "professionals," right?

I've been avoiding exercises that punish my hamstrings because they tend to spasm. Stressed hamstrings also aggravate my sciatica which is why I've nixed the Rip Skulls from my workout. Besides, I don't need bigger arms than I already have!

I got to the gym a bit late after stopping off at a friend's house to pick up almost a dozen cans of cat food her finicky felines won't touch. She was going to toss them in the trash and I convinced her not to. A lot of folks need help feeding their pets these days but she's elderly and not willing to trek to the animal shelter. This weekend I spied a request for cat food from a woman helping out a friend who feeds strays in the TNR (trap, neuter, release) program. She's looking for anything she can donate to help, so I'm meeting her tomorrow to hand off the tins of cat food. It's not a lot of food, but every little bit helps, and at least it won't wind up in a landfill.

It's cold and dreary but it's not snowing or sleeting. I get on the elliptical and pedal, happy that my feet don't go numb. Because I'm late, I can't use the Stretch Cage for pull-ups until after my core and stretch routine. A senior gal is using it and although I've seen her regularly, I've never seen her in the Stretch Cage. Maybe Snow Bird has inspired her? Tomorrow I'll do cardio, core and then DB Shoulders... 

I might not make it to the gym on Wednesday if I decide to drop my car at a local repair shop to have them look at my car's transmission chain. The car is running fine but has twice in the past two months not had the shifter properly engage the transmission, staying stuck in first gear. The repair shop guy said all the Subies he's seen got stuck in Park, not First. So that's not reassuring... Meanwhile, I've kept my appointment for Friday at the dealership repair shop, just in case. They at least can give me a loaner should they have to keep the car.

I did read an interesting article that suggests raw honey may indeed have cardio metabolic benefits that we all thought was mythological. So maybe I start using the less expensive local raw honey in my oatmeal instead of the pricey maple syrup? Maybe...

9 January 2023
Cold Dreary Monday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5674)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 319
Avg Hr: 141, 194-78


Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Gentle Hip Bridge/Thrusts
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

HGPU 23

Cold and Wet Friday

The day started off cold and rainy. The gym was crowded. Lazy Pedals and his buddy were on elliptical 1 and 2. I got on the Life Fitness cross-trainer and cut my cardio time to 25 minutes on a manual program at level 1. The machine allows me to use my arms or not and I choose to only pedal for the first 3 minutes and the last 2. Both my feet are needles and pins numb, not just my toes. It's very disconcerting because it doesn't dissipate until I lay down in the Aerobics Room.

The room is empty and have to motivate myself to finish in a timely manner. I waffle between the step machine or free weights. As I promised myself earlier in the week, I did another round of DB shoulders. It's a bit harder just two days later. But typical of my body, I'm better as I warm up. I toy with the idea of doing a 4th set in spite of shaky arms during the 3rd set of Inclined Presses, but I have pups waiting at home for me. 

Rain or shine, dogs want time at the park to run about, sniff trees and dirt, and most importantly, poop far from the house. This breed of dog (yes, they're mixes but mostly Jindo) is notorious for hygienic catlike behaviors. There's no one at the park because rain makes a muddy, slippery mess of the grounds. Even though temps are in the mid 40s, I'm glad I'm layered in fleece and have a winter parka on: I'm still damp from the gym and there's not a lot to do at the park other than yell "don't eat that!"

One pup is 47% Jindo and 30% Pungsan (another Korean breed) which explains why he prefers to be outside most of the time, giving little heed to rain, snow or sleet. Of course, the minute amounts of Shih Tzu, Pomeranian, and Chihuahua explain the contradictory skittish attitude. The other pup is 63% Jindo and 19% Brittany Spaniel, which might explain his love of wet, and his much more personable nature. The 5% Akita and 4% Siberian Husky make him both vocal and guarding, with a smattering of other breeds. Everyone seems to have a touch of Chihuahua as well. Weird, right?

6 January 2023
Dreary Friday

LF X-trainer #1
Program Manual L1
Time: 20+5
Distance: 2.41
Cal: 195
Avg Hr: 185-112

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Gentle Hip Bridge/Thrusts
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

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys
10 lbs x 25/15/25 warm up
15 lbs x 25/15/25
20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 3 sets

No More Cocoa in My Coffee

I used to enjoy masking the stale flavor of day-old coffee with a scant 1/4 tsp of Hershey's dark cocoa powder. Now I'm giving it a wide berth due to the continuing reports of high levels of organic heavy metals found primarily in dark chocolate and cocoa. Well, so much for dark being healthier than milk chocolate! I really enjoyed bittersweet chocolate as well, sometimes flavored with orange, cherry or sea salt. But it's not a daily indulgence. 

Coffee, on the other hand, I drink every day but only one mug and I'd like it to taste good. It's silly for me to brew a fresh pot every day when we don't necessarily consume that much. I'll drink day-old because it hasn't been left on a drip warmer/burner. And microwaving a cup the next day doesn't burn the coffee. Yes, I've been watching YouTube videos by James Hoffman, a coffee expert who is surprisingly amusing. Although he hasn't reviewed any of the coffee we drink, he has provided useful information that even non-coffee snobs can appreciate.

But back to the cocoa in my coffee. A quarter teaspoon is equal to 0.61 grams. Online articles discount levels of lead as a danger but cadmium remains a potential health risk to kidneys, liver and bones. (My grandfather, a portrait painter, died of kidney failure and might've poisoned himself with cadmium red and yellow oils. My mother told me that he constantly licked his brush tips to a fine point. Sort of like the radium girls of last century.) The disappointing amount of flavanols in cocoa powder is not a reason to dust coffee with it. ConsumerLabs found an alarming amount of cadmium (Cd) 1-1.5 mcg per gram of cocoa powder, well above the WHO limit of 0.3 mcg per gram. So, a 1/4 tsp of cocoa powder might equate to between 0.61-0.915 mcg per dose, depending on where the cocoa was harvested. (Apparently South American cocoa has greater heavy metal levels than that grown in Africa.) Yep, time to dump this habit. 

I did go to the gym for cardio (a bit slower today and a bit sore), core and a set of pull-ups. In the locker room, I chatted briefly with a woman I hadn't seen since the Fall. She just got the all-clear to start exercising again after having had a pacemaker installed, then having a wire dislodge and having that repaired. Prior to the surgery, she was having trouble getting her heart rate past the 40s and she'd fall asleep whenever she sat down. Yikes! My heart rate only behaves like that when I'm cold and tired and haven't had anything to eat or drink... otherwise it's all over the cardio machine HR monitors, but never during my annual exam.

5 January 2023
Foggy Fatigue Thursday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5644)
Distance: 2.85
Cal: 317
Avg Hr: 128, 198-74

HGPU 23

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
15 Gentle Hip Bridge/Thrusts
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

Being Sixty Is Different Now

Temps peaked at 64F today and will drop 20 degrees by tomorrow. And even at 44F, it'll be unseasonably warm for January in New York. The gym is crowded, probably because it's mid-week post-holiday season. Not sure how many New Year resolutions are present but I see a lot of regulars from the past year. Cardio isn't as good as yesterday but to be expected since I'm a little sore and a little tired as well.

The side hip bridges don't seem to be offering any benefit so I'm going to delete them from my routine. I've decided that the Inclined DB Presses are a sufficient tricep workout if I do them twice weekly, which means I can skip the Rip Skulls and Skull Crushers. Those were starting to bother my elbows even at the relatively light 35 lb weight. I can't go heavier with less reps without aggravating my sciatica or my glaucoma (no heavy lifting). So high reps it is! And the DB shoulder routine is lots of reps. 

Which means I should be doing this routine again on Friday. I just have to be mindful not to give myself another rusty splinter from handling the DBs. I wear lifting gloves but fingers are still exposed, and the cold dry air makes my sensitive dry skin even more fragile. Remember, I'm the princess who sliced her finger open so that it bled down her arm from a fragment of enamel paint peeling from the pull-down machine handle!

Selma (64) and Flo (63)

I've been enjoying Night Court now that it's streaming on Amazon Prime. I'd forgotten that raspy-voiced Selma died during the series. Not surprising that lung cancer did her in. And that she was replaced for a short time by Flo, who also died during the show (a stroke and then cancer). Both Selma and Flo were in their sixth decade although they both looked a lot older! My grandmother was also in her 60s when I remember being a child, and she looked kind of dumpy like that too. Being 60 is a lot different now, not that Americans are living any longer. I'll be 63 in March. Certainly, there's still a lot of 60-year olds who look like 60-year olds from last century's 60s. I'm just glad I'm not one of them yet. I'm planning on being active well into my 80s. (90s might be pushing it since we all shrink as we age and driving a vehicle isn't going to get any easier.) That's at least another 20 years so I had better stay in shape!

4 January 2023
Rainy Wednesday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5588)
Distance: 2.84
Cal: 315
Avg Hr: 139, 202-88

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
12 Gentle Hip Bridge/Thrusts
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Side bridge planks 12 each side
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys
10 lbs x 25/15/25 warm up
15 lbs x 25/15/25
20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 3 sets

New Year, Same Workout

It wasn't as hard to wake up early as I had feared, probably because I got to sleep to my natural circadian rhythm for the past week. And it was raining instead of snowing. Or worse. I didn't have to defrost my windshield! I got to the gym and pedaled furiously on the elliptical and did pretty well considering I skipped yesterday. Even pull-ups weren't horrible. I added two more reps to the hip bridge and the side bridge plank thing. It's unseasonably warm at 45F in January. I think the gnats are awake.

My feet were starting to hurt in my gym shoes even though I only wear them during workouts. Maybe they're wearing out? I bought myself a new pair of trainers from Zappos (acquired by Amazon) because they have a no-hassle free return policy, unlike FootSmart. These are once again New Balance fresh foam size 6.5 EE in a blue-violet color. This is the only brand of sneaker that has a wide enough toe box without an enormous heel space. Some brands of wide and extra-wide shoes are for fat or swollen feet so they're wide all around. I have bony little feet with no padding, tiny heels and a wide metatarsal base. 

The only problem this time is that the laces are too short to double knot. I pull out the lace from an old pair and measure 45" but that size is hard to come by locally. I know because I went to 3 different stores. And certainly none of the available laces come dyed to match the "night air" color of these athletic shoes. I buy 54" black ones and a white 45" pair as well. They'll be backup laces. I can double knot the laces to my new shoes if I pull them out of the second to last eyelet and re-thread. Luckily, the new shoes have three eyelet spaces at the end of the lace row. The older pairs only have two...

I skipped the second set of pull-ups while contemplating adding seated cable rows back to the routine. My sciatica is better, but not gone. I don't want to make it worse and apparently 70 lbs and more makes it worse. So, will I be happy doing 20 reps at 50 lbs? or 60 lbs? I guess I could take a chance and try it... but asking "What's the worse that could happen?" doesn't work in this scenario. Because worse means being in so much pain I can't even sit in the car to drive. So, there's that.

I do 10 minutes on the stairs and sing to myself. It's raining and the dogs still want to go to the park. I don't blame them. We stay for 40 minutes and only leave because it's suddenly raining a lot harder. Besides, no one else is coming to play. Probably not tomorrow either.

My son has his college applications submitted, and his Eagle Scout Board of Review will be sometime this month. He's also turning 18 in a few weeks. Neither me nor my husband know what to get him because he doesn't actually want anything. But he is bummed just realizing that he won't be able to hang out with our dogs after a day of classes. I'm already bummed knowing that I won't be chatting with him in the car every day when I drive him to the morning school bus, or later to his activities... I read horror stories in the local news about other teens (maimed or killed as passengers because of reckless drivers in other cars) and it makes me depressed and fearful. I should stop reading the news.

3 January 2023
Rainy Tuesday New Year

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5784)
Distance: 2.90
Cal: 325
Avg Hr: 137, 207-77

HGPU 23

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
12 Gentle Hip Bridge/Thrusts
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
Side bridge planks 12 each side
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga

StepMill (L)
Manual 10 min
Speed 6 (52-55)
Steps 546
Floors 34
Cal 80
Hr 144