Damn It's Cold

There was a smattering of snow on Monday but enough ice to wreak havoc with the roadways. I stayed home except to take the dogs to the park. On Tuesday I thought about going to the gym and then seeing Wicked at the local cinema since $5 Tuesdays is a thing. Then I asked my kid if he wanted to see it, and he said Yes. So I skipped the gym and we went to the first showing at 12:40 with about a dozen other people. Well worth the $10 total.

It's been very cold this week but temps didn't fall as low as the 3F a few weeks ago. Still, I've had a fire in the wood stove almost every night. I got to the gym later than I'd planned and judging by the crowd of cars in the parking lot, I expected a horrible crowd inside. It was crowded but not horrible. Weirdly, there was a stranger on elliptical #1 and a water bottle in the holder on machine #3. Which meant I could either use #2 or #4. Unexpectedly, there was a complete bottle holder on #2 so that's the one I selected. Machine #4 is wonky and doesn't always provide a legible display on the console. I'm not thrilled with machine #2 since it gets really clunky during programmed descents. It's a noticeable grinding noise that makes people on the recumbent bikes look around.

About halfway through my program, Wind Breaker arrives and gets on machine #3. He also leaves earlier than usual. He never does anything else. Today is a Cardio Day, so three sets of hammer-grip pull-ups between three cardio programs: elliptical, stair climber, cross-trainer. And then off to the Aerobics Room to do core and some basic full-body movements. It felt okay although I'm disappointed, of course, that I can't get more reps on pull-ups. But I am happy that I am able to pull myself up to get my nose over the bar. So there's that.

I plan to hit the gym tomorrow, and Friday. But we'll see. The good news is that while I still have sciatica (I wake up with a clenching discomfort gripping my lower calf) it dissipates with activity. And by the time I get home from the gym, it's almost imperceptible. My body has also decided that 5-6 hrs of sleep is just not enough, so for the past few days I've fallen asleep in the late afternoon with the dogs on the sofa. According to my FitBit, that brings me a good 7+ hrs of sleep lately. Yaaay me. And my fancy coffee maker foamed the milk for my cappuccino in a heart shape this morning. It doesn't normally do that. A good omen.

8 January 2025 12:03-2:00

Wednesday — All Cardio

Hilarious from Bored Panda

Polar Express Cardio

Precor elliptical #2

Program 3

Time: 30 + 5 (5652)

Distance: 2.86

Cal: 318

Avg Hr: 155, 202-81

New FB: 44-135

HGPU 16

Matrix StairMaster (R)

Manual timer 8+2 cool down

Minimum 5 minutes

Speed 5 (48-50) / 2 (38-33) / 1 (29)

Steps 454

Floors 28

Cal 68

Hr 115

HGPU 15.5

Life Fitness X-Trainer #3

Program Manual L1

Time: 10 (+3 min cool down) = 13

Distance: 1.26

Cal: 101

Avg Hr: 126

HGPU 14.5

20 Hip Bridges

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

DeadBugs 20 x 5

Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Push-Ups 25

Arm rotations 20

Air Squats 25

Neck stretch / Eye yoga