Another Beautiful Spring Day

Leaves and flowers have popped up overnight after a weekend of lightning and sporadic rainstorms. We did go to the park both days, but one of my dogs is more reactive and has issues with dogs who are bigger than he is, especially if they're male, even if the pup is literally a puppy. But an 8-month old well-bred German Shepherd can be bigger than my 64 lb problem child, and although they were friendly at first, after 20 minutes I had to grab my boy by the tail and then the throat just as he got into that "deep throat growl" that signals he's about to go beserk. 

Normally, I can shake him hard and knock the rage out of him. Then he's on the leash until danger of dog fights have passed. The other dog left the park quite quickly, and then my pup relaxed with the remaining dog friends. A bit too much excitement and I'm glad that I'm able to overpower the dog when I need to. I guess when I become old and frail, I'll have to reconsider what kind of dog(s) I'll have.

There's a Senior Class three times a week, so I'm surprised that there aren't a lot of cars in the parking lot when I get there. Of course, school is back in session so the local cinema isn't open today. It was open last Monday when kids were home, and bored. I get on the Precor elliptical and pedal away. It's been 3 days and I'm horribly tired. Lately, I haven't been able to drop off to sleep until 2 AM even if I'm in bed by midnight! But I'm still up at 8, and that's just not enough sleep. It's distressing to read that sleep disturbances could be a sign of cognitive decline! Short sleep (less than 7 hrs) could lead to a build-up of those nasty beta-amyloid and tau proteins. I have to quit watching YouTube videos if I want to sleep...

My cardio is actually good for a Monday. Not quite as good as last Thursday, but better than last Monday. I do okay with pull-ups. I have little control over the speed of the step machine once I set the timer and a rough approximation for the range of the speed. Speed 5 means the machine might be moving at 40 to 50 steps per minute and/or anything in between for however long... so today I get slightly less steps. I also get less mileage on the cross-trainer but that's because I am moving slower, but since I'm happy with the pull-ups, I'm good overall with my exercises for today.

The Aerobics Room is icy cold and refreshing. The routine is routine, although as I started my second set of 20 reps for push-ups, I did momentarily think, "wait, what am I doing?" And then I finish, do air squats, and then side lunges... So happy to be done for today. 

Watched a Ben Affleck movie last night: The Accountant. I'd watched it years ago but barely remembered it. And a sequel will be available soon! Someone at the dog park mentioned how much they like the flick, so I decided to rewatch it. Yeah, it's pretty entertaining. Lately, I've been watching the old series NCIS (as I've mentioned previously) and a newer show, Leverage: Redemption. That show is pretty entertaining, especially Christian Kane, who apparently does a lot of his own stunts and has a martial arts background.

28 April 2025 12:36-2:36

Monday — All Cardio

Beautiful Spring 67°F

Precor elliptical #1

Program 3

Time: 30 + 5 (5582)

Distance: 2.83

Cal: 314

Avg Hr: 159, 188-?

New FB: 44-142

HGPU 19.5

Matrix StairMaster (R)

Manual timer 8+2 cool down

Minimum 5 minutes

Speed 5 (50-45) / 2 (33-36) / 1 (29)

Steps 439

Floors 27

Cal 66

Hr 121

HGPU 19

Life Fitness X-Trainer #3

Program Manual L1

Time: 12 (+3 min cool down) = 15

Distance: 1.27

Cal: 112

Avg Hr: 127-134

HGPU 15.5

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 25 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Push-Ups 40 (counted to 20 twice)

Arm rotations 20

Air Squats 25

Side Lunges 10 each side (better)

Neck stretch / Eye yoga