Bittersweet Battle Ropes

I was really sore when I got out of bed this morning. Some folks might be inclined to do less, feeling as if they'd over done it the day before. My feelings are that I haven't done it enough, else why would I be so sore? Better go do some more! As long as I'm not doing any long term damage... my forearms get progressively worse as the morning wears on, until my grip on a coffee mug seems tenuous. Today's not a day to give myself carpal tunnel, or tennis or golfer's elbow, i.e., tendonitis of the forearms and wrist. So no pull-ups. And because my grip is a bit iffy, I have to reconsider the idea to ease back into the DB Shoulder routine, 'cuz you need to hang on to DBs to make them work.

Still, I couldn't help myself when I saw more Oriental bittersweet leaves and their unripe green berries nestled in the backside of the road hedges. I have a compulsion to rip them out of the ground, or at least, out of the privets. I manage a small armful before scolding myself for getting distracted. Dogs need their run time at the park! At home, sparrows perched on my chimney's cap make chirping and scratching noises that travel down to the wood stove, worrying one of the dogs who stares at the area intently with a cocked head. 

My forearms are really tender now and the rest of me is also sore, but not enough to impede my activities. After a good sweaty cardio session, it's the Aerobics Room, which has one person exercising in a corner. I grab a mat and do my routine in the other corner. In the 20 minutes that I'm there, a fellow comes in to do a few odd floor stretches, another fellow comes in for core movements, and a big fellow wrangles the battle ropes by the front door. My forearms feel like I've been wrestling battle ropes too, but it's just stubborn bittersweet vines that are tangled in the hedges and anchored by thick root stock.

I increase the elbow plank time by half for a full 90 seconds. Maybe by next week I can get it up to 120? Of course, this is after doing crunches and dead bugs, and my abs are actually still tender from yesterday. The wall squat goes better and worse. I'm wearing my new NB 840 sneakers and that definitely helps. So instead of my toes screaming about being squashed, it's my quads that are upset. They're burning with lactic acid. What a surprise! I barely make it to 90 seconds. Yes, this is after I've done 25 deep, butt-to-the-ground air squats, but that shouldn't matter since I did that yesterday too, and the quads were fine, or maybe I just couldn't hear them 'cuz toes squeal louder?

4 Aug 2023 11:05-12:22
Before the Storm Friday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5708)
Distance: 2.87
Cal: 320
Avg Hr: 148, 188-87?

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga
Wall Squats 90s (quads!)