Friday, July 19, 2024

Sleep Deficit Impacts My Exercise Routine

I didn't get enough sleep last night (again!) and that made going to the gym all the more difficult this morning. It's been weeks of short sleep and I'm dozing in the afternoon but that doesn't really make up for the deficit. I didn't even want to get up to take the dogs to the park, but I did. And we stayed for an hour because temps were cooler with less humidity, although one of my pups is always too hot unless it's closer to 50F. 

If I didn't have this dog park obligation, I'd be sleeping until 10 AM because my natural sleep cycle is from roughly 1 AM to 9 AM. That's 8 hours that I'm not getting. I'm not a morning person, and I'm never going to be. If I could get enough sleep, I'd probably be a lot happier though. There's something to be said for Night Owls though, as long as they get enough sleep. Click here to read that article.

My two-day experiment with generic timolol couldn't have ended soon enough as my eyes seem so much drier and itchier than before. There's definitely a difference between the generic version and the branded drug, Timoptic. Now the only question is whether I should give my eyes a break and not take either for a week, just to reset and allow all the itchiness to dissipate. It's tempting, especially since using a beta blocker really impedes feeling good about exercise. I never correlated a higher HR while exercising with that endorphin rush until I started taking this. I can understand why people don't want to take meds even if they're "life saving" but I'm going to struggle through this; I know that when I stick with the routine, I can push through and my HR gets to where it should be and the mileage gets better.

There are two people on ellipticals when I arrive at the gym, and I don't have the energy to fuss with the problematic machines #3 and/or #4. So, I get on a cross-trainer and do 25 minutes there instead. I don't like the cross-trainer as much since anything more than straight low-level pedaling leads to shin splits or foot-numbing toe tingling. It's something to do with the way the pedal rotates on its track. My fatigue catches up with me on the pull-ups, and I'm barely able to do a dozen. That was uncharacteristically hard today: sleep deficit exacerbating the beta blocker effects.

Usually, when I'm sleep-deprived I skip the gym and take a nap instead. But it's Friday and I won't be hitting the gym again until Monday, and I already took Wednesday and Thursday off to taxi my kid to all his appointments. The good news is that his mouth is healing nicely from all the extractions. But he still needs several more aligners to fix his underbite. Maybe by next year he'll have a smile he likes.

There is something seriously wrong with the FitBit. Sometimes I get that annoying white poltergeist screen, sometimes I get a screen I can actually read, and sometimes there's absolutely nothing. When I check the app on my phone, it tells me that the bracelet's battery is too low for a system upgrade to install. What?! It was 64% this morning, and now it's 17%. Anything under 20% and it starts freaking out. Ugh. And in order to upgrade the system, I have to charge the battery and then leave it next to my phone so they can commune. Now I'm regretting not getting a cheap Apple watch instead of this. Eventually, the FitBit tells me I've only managed to get my HR up to 114 bpm. Well, no wonder I feel like crap...

After my dismal pull-ups, I have no problems completing sets at the Seated Cable and then the triceps routine with Skull Crushers and Rip Skulls. The gym is full of kids, and then it's not. Some are wearing crocs and I'm surprised, but I shouldn't be. At least they're not barefoot. The Senior class ends and I see a woman carrying a net bag of plastic balls while someone else wheels out a handcart of chairs. By the time I get to the Aerobics Room there is only one guy there who I've never seen before. 

He's doing a weird half-squat motion, then stalking halfway across the room to stop and do another dozen half-squats. He does this all over the Aerobics Room and I find it annoying because I'm looking for a single spot to place a mat and do my own routine. I noticeably exhale WTF when he gets too close as I'm doing hip stretches. Seriously dude, you've got the entire Aerobics Room. Stop crowding me! Ugh. It's better once he leaves and no one else comes in. Wall Sits are easier than last time, but that's probably because I had cut my cardio down by 10 minutes. And I'm too tired to make it up with the Step Machine.

19 July 11:50-1:30
Crisp Friday Inertia

Life Fitness X-Trainer
Program Manual L1
Time: 20+5 (rev)
Distance: 2.48
Cal: 194
Avg Hr: 111-151
?? Fitbit: 54-114?

HGPU 14 (sleepless tired)

Seated Cable Rows (12:26)
50 lbs x 15
60 x 15
70 x 15 x 3 sets

BB Rip / Skulls Crusher combo 30 lbs
(Each set = 24 reps)
12/12 reps x 3 sets

20 Hip Bridges
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch (1:10)
DeadBugs 20 x 5
10 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 150 sec

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