Balmy Friday

Temps peaked at 77F today. Yesterday it might've hit 80 but I wasn't really paying attention. After doing a bunch of chores, including watching on-demand videos about purchasing bonds, CDs, and Treasury bills, and the potential of genetic testing for glaucoma varietals. At one point, I did fall asleep and napped for a few minutes during one of the videos. I also had my windows open and was perpetually annoyed by the incessant whine of leaf blowers. First one neighbor, then another. Ugh.

It's warm again today and after taking dogs to the park to play with pup pals, I head to the gym. It's more crowded than I expected, probably because the overcast skies threaten rain although the forecast says no precipitation until Sunday. Sunday we plan to drive down to White Plains for a historic battle re-enactment: The Battle of White Plains at the Jacob Purdy National Historic Site. Temps are also supposed to drop down to the more seasonably appropriate 50s.

The cardio section is unduly crowded around the one elliptical I like to use: two guys on the upright bikes (the rest are recumbent) and a guy on the rower immediately to the left. It's like being boxed in on the highway! But I like this one elliptical better than the other 3 so that's the one I use. And with my tunes and earbuds volume up, I happily pedal for 35 minutes and pleasantly surprised with the mileage considering Program 1 has always been less productive than 2 or 3. It's a matter of how much of the course is hills and valleys and how much is just boring flat plateaus. 

The pull-ups feel less daunting and I'm not kipping until the last 2-3 reps. There are a lot of craggy, old guys in the gym today. There's one on the Assisted Pull-Up machine and I'm surprised because usually I see women on that, not dudes. Of course, if you're an old, out-of-shape guy I guess that machine is quite tempting. But as I've written before (from personal experience), that machine does nothing to help your body learn how to do pull-ups. It doesn't adequately work the right muscles, and it messes with your mind-body connection. It's not your arms pulling you up, it's your back. Specifically, your lats. 

I'm happy that the Aerobics Room is cool and empty. The additional 20 reps I added to Dead Bugs is less challenging now although I'm still flummoxed for a rep when I switch from same-side to alternating sides. Push-ups and air squats are routine. The Wall Squat still kicks my butt even when I distract myself by trying to take selfies from across the room. 

Today I've decided to do some tricep work and head to a flat bench. It's not hard but I feel a twinge in my left armpit where the bicep inserts under the pectoral muscle. Slower reps mean less chance of injury. The twinge is disconcerting but doesn't feel like an actual injury, so I finish the sets and decide against another go at pull-ups. Let's not push my luck! 

Tiny tick on paper towel

I'm already feeling lucky having pulled a tiny tick nymph out of my hair right at the scalp line. Later, I feel a small bump and aim my phone at the back of my head to snap a pix. I probably ripped the tick right out of my scalp just as it was biting me. Lucky me. I'm not sure I need a prophylactic dose of doxy. There's still a bump because that's how my body reacts to any insect bite, but I doubt if I've contracted Lyme.

You don't usually get Lyme or other tick-borne diseases until the tick has been there for several hours. I tend to feel all the insects that bite me because my super dry skin is also super sensitive. I can only recount one other tick bite when I felt severe pain as a tick nymph bit the underside of my nipple. Which meant I couldn't see it until I looked in the mirror. I went to the ER and a shot of anesthesia (so the doc could remove the tick) actually caused the nasty little creature to disengage. My dogs, on the other hand, have ticks bite them and die because they're on Simparico Trio. Nothing like finding dead baby ticks on the dog. Much better than finding live ones. 

27 October 2023 11:14-12:54
Crowded Cloudy Friday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30+5 (5666)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 318
Avg Hr: 141, 191-81

HGPU 17

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
DeadBugs 20/20/20/20 alt/ss = 80
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
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

Skull Crushers / Rip Skulls
30 lbs x 12/12 reps x 3 sets