The Nameless Winter Storm

It's March 1st and we have snow. There's also another storm brewing out west so we might have more precipitation by the week's end. I'm not sure why this past storm (that raged across the entire country) doesn't have a name. In our neighborhood, schools got cancelled before the first drops fell, and when there was finally precip, it was frozen mist and then tiny pellets of sleet, like being pummeled with salt. Eventually, big fat flakes came down and we got several inches of white stuff. There was a lull late morning and my son and I both shoveled and salted our walkway and the driveway. 

I took the dogs to the park and had to shovel out the gates so we could enter. (I keep a snow shovel in the car during the winter, along with emergency stuff like blankets, trash bag, smaller shovel, duct tape.) Although the town did an exceptional job with the roads and the main parking lot, the dirt lot that services the dog park was left unplowed. Until today, when I called their office while I was at the park and bitched about watching a parks & rec plow truck drive by plowing nothing. Two other dogs were also at the park and only owner one was brave enough (besides me) to park in the snow and slush. The other parked alongside the plowed road. I doubt the plow truck driver will clear the sides of the road even though that's where a lot of dog owners leave their vehicles, but we'll see tomorrow.

It's March 1st and my dogs' birthdays according to their rescue, Jindo Love Rescue. Now they're both 4 years old, but of course, they can't tell time or know what a birthday is. They go to the park, play with their friends, come home and eat lunch, and the monthly Simparica Trio to keep them safe from heartworms, fleas, and ticks. Tomorrow temps are supposed to hit the mid 50s, so it's possible there are mosquitos, fleas and ticks out there. 

The gym parking lot is crowded when I arrive, but the gym doesn't look very busy. Not many people at the cardio stations and I doubt if that's because everyone is suddenly into lifting weights. But according to CNN, that's just what gym goers are doing: lifting weights or performing functional exercises instead of toiling on the treadmill. Click here for that article. Can we blame, er, credit CrossFit for that?

I'm happy to do my mix of cardio, weights, core, and stretching, although I do get nostalgic for times when I could lift a lot heavier, was a lot thinner, and had eye-catching muscles. Now, I catch a glimpse of muscle only when I'm actually moving those DBs... Cardio isn't too bad today. It's warm inside and I resist taking my hoodie off until I get to the Aerobics Room. I know there's a Boot Camp class later but nothing is set up inside the room, which means that the class will take place by the front door, in the Functional Gym area. It's so loud I can hear it while I'm showering with the water running full blast! 

After cardio and core, I set up for DB Shoulders. There's hardly anyone there and that makes me happy. Except for a regular who seems nice enough but maybe a little clueless. I've seen him around for the past half year: trim, graying hair, tat armband, nice arms but by no means a body builder or power lifter. 

He goes to great pains to swap out an inclined bench in front of the DB rack for one that's sitting at the Smith machine. (I personally have favorite inclined benches as well so I understand the effort.) But he positions himself so close to the rack that I have to pause and wait for him, mid set, to pull his bench a few feet back so I can exchange DBs. And of course, I have to mutter out loud (I'm wearing earbuds so I don't know how audible I am) "You're too close to the rack." Duh. People seem surprisingly bad at spatial awareness. 

Tomorrow I might do the stair machine, or maybe the cross-trainer (as much as I hate it, it probably is the machine that most closely resembles Nordic walking, see the NYTimes article here) in addition to the elliptical. There's another storm in the forecast for this weekend. I'm thinking it's probably going to rain...

1 March 2023
Post Snow Storm Wednesday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30+5 (5724)
Distance: 2.88
Cal: 322
Avg Hr: 147, 200-75

HGPU 20

15 Hip Bridges
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