End of the Week

I had a few errands to do before I got to the gym so I was a bit later than I'd like. Consequently, the first two elliptical machines were already occupied. I decided to do 20+ minutes on the Life Fitness cross-trainer instead. I don't like this machine because eventually my toes go numb. Also, I find it nearly impossible to pedal backward, which is a big negative. Pedaling backward works different muscles and it works them differently. It's a bit like walking backward on a treadmill. Twenty-five minutes is my limit although it is nice using the handles to exercise the arms.

My pull-ups aren't feeling any easier these days. Worse, they actually feel harder, or I'm losing my strength and stamina. I console myself with the fact that I'm still making it past a dozen. There's a lot of kids in the free weight area and both cable stations are very popular today. I kill time with a 30 lb barbel on a flat bench, doing triceps two-ways. I like the breaker bench for this because it has a platform I can rest my feet on. I'm short with short legs and most benches are too tall for me to plant my feet flat on the floor. Halfway through the second set, my left inner elbow develops a painful clicking. Ugh. I angle my arm out as much as possible to relieve the joint, but it's not very effective. Still, I manage to finish my three super-sets okay.

One of the stations has freed up so I can do Seated Cable Rows. Between sets, I scan the cardio platform to see what's available. (There's still a class in the Aerobics room.) Both Step machines are empty so I get 10 minutes on one. This is the first time I've been back since losing an AirPod down the the inside of the stepper. Now that I have tethers on my earbuds, I'm confident I won't be losing them. Thirty-five minutes of cardio seems good for the day. I'm never quite right if I do less, and years ago I used to do more: 45 minutes as fast as I could pedal.

By the time I get to the Aerobics Room, there are a few other people already there. One is a gal who comes on her lunch hour. This is the first time I've ever seen her with a trainer, and he's not someone who works for the gym. Maybe a friend? They do a lot of DB movements, especially a sweeping arc across the body. And one where she's lying down but moving plates from a stack on her right to a stack on her left. In general, she's fairly regular and very efficient, especially in the locker room where her short hair makes her showering and changing routine a scant 10 minutes. She slips into business casual attire and is off. I'm super high maintenance by comparison, what with toweling the long hair, and all the creams and lotions my skin requires. 

I might do multiple sets of Wall Squats... I got engrossed in a news article so when I looked at the timer, it had gone past the 2 minute mark. And it didn't feel bad at all. Now if only my BP and IOPs would cooperate...

24 May 2024 11:48-1:49
Sunny Friday before a holiday weekend

LF X-trainer #3
Program Manual L1
Time: 20+5
Distance: 2.63
Cal: 199
Avg Hr: n/a 119~131
Fitbit: 52-146

HGPU 13+2 halfs

Skull Crushers / Rip Skulls
30 lbs x 12/12 x 3 (left elbow)

Seated Cable Rows
50 lbs x 15
60 x 15
70 x 15, 15, 15

StepMill (L)
Manual 10 min
Speed 6 (52-55)
Steps 541
Floors 33
Cal 79
Hr 106

20 Hip Bridges
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
DeadBugs 20 x 5
10 x 2 Hip Bridges & 10 one-leg ea
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Fire Hydrants 20 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Arm rotations 20
Neck stretch / Eye yoga
Wall Squat 120s -- 2 min 16 sec actually