Mind Body Disconnect and Vision

I got to the gym and was glad that the Boot Camp class was over. Not a lot of members on the equipment at 11 AM. During cardio, I look down and notice that one of my shoelaces is untied. That's what I get for being cocky and not double-knotting my laces in the locker room. But I resist the compulsive urge to stop mid program and fix it. Instead, I wait until I'm done and have all my data logged. It's a bit of OCD. Actually, this whole blog thing is a bit of OCD. And OCD kicks in when I go to the DB area later and find the ones I want not in the proper sequential order on the rack.

The Aerobics Room is unpleasantly warm. The a/c is off and the ceiling fans aren't rotating. (The doors must be open because a fly zips by and now I'm paranoid that it's going to try and bite me.) The Boot Camp class was probably held in the gym proper and Gym Owner didn't see the need to air condition the unused room. Because he's cheap like that. But this is a small business, interest rates are high and everything is more expensive, including electricity. Yesterday I ran into another member I've chatted with some years previously. I tend not to take her too seriously because she complains a lot about the gym management, and I'm not actually sure she's ever held a job. (I've worked for global companies, but also mom & pop shops, and my dad owned a small business, so I have sympathy for them, but not the corporations.)

I try not to judge this woman by her shriveled arms and I truly don't know how old she is, but she can't be that old. Probably a few years more than me. So when she says she's strong because she lifts weights, I bite my tongue because I know it's the tiny blue one pound DBs, which if you're doing Pilates, well, okay that's a workout. But otherwise, uh, well no, you're not strong. Lemme see you do a push-up, a real one.

My lats tell me I'm sore but only when I curl up to do crunches. There's a slight disconnect between my body's fatigue and it's ability to perform. It takes a lot for it not to perform, but being tired makes it harder for me to focus, especially if I have to sit still at a table. Part of that might be trouble with my eyes. Although my vision is still very good, my upper eyelids are drooping slightly from the medications (as my glaucoma doc keeps telling me) and with small eyes, it means that my sparse eyelashes actually fringe my vision and give everything a distorted peripheral edge. 

Sometimes that makes me think the lights are flickering when it's actually my perception of light filtering past my lashes. So damn annoying! I'll turn and stare straight at a light to confirm that it's flickering or not. It's not. Ugh. Haven't impositions on your vision affects mood and oddly enough, concentration. (Folks in my online glaucoma support group write about being depressed about their conditions all the time, trying to parse whether it's  a reaction to medication or situation, or both.) However, if I'm actively moving about then I don't have a problem with fatigue or focus. Ugh. So cleaning and sorting a room, or yanking bittersweet vines out of the hedges (something I have to do tomorrow) is much easier than sifting through paperwork. And I'm a weenie nerd, so paperwork comes easy to me. Except lately.

I skip Wall Squats just as more people enter the Aerobics Room to stretch and do core exercises. Today is DB Shoulders and instead of waiting until the end of the week, I'm doing the routine on Day 2. I rest a little more between heavy sets and find that I'm able to complete all three without dropping reps on the Inclined DB Press. Yaaay. But I have to do this earlier in the day. Teenagers from the HS start trickling in around 12:30 and while it's not crowded, it's still more people than I like. Yes, I'd rather work out in my own private gym without having to deal with people who need to be told not to stand right up against the DB rack so that you can actually access the equipment. 

Yeah, built like a brick s@&*

 
Afterward, I drive up to the Kohl's Dept store to buy a new quick-drying gym bath towel. I bought my current one there years ago and it's getting a bit worn, so I'm getting a replacement. Also, I want to see if I can find any summer camp shirts on sale. (Success, I got one for about $6!) I bought two here over 15 years ago. My favorite one looked like a watercolor painting but the fabric wore out, and the second one was always a bit tight in the sleeves. I'm fatter now.

I've put on 5 lbs since the pandemic, and 4 lbs prior to that. I know I'll never drop down to the best weight for my clothes (that kind of exercise and dieting is too extreme for me these days), but I don't think 5 lbs is asking too much. Or maybe it is. Dropping fat is much harder once you age past 60!

13 Sept 2023 11:00-12:52
Changeable Wednesday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5548)
Distance: 2.83
Cal: 313
Avg Hr: 146, 203-74

No a/c or fans in the Aerobics Room!
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

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 reps x 3 sets