Yesterday was Chinese New Year of the Fire Horse. It's suppose to portend a wild, unstable and temperamental time. Traditionally, birthrates decline during this period because no one wants to raise a baby under this omen. This past weekend was also Valentines Day, and Presidents Day weekend. And NY schools are closed for the week for mid-winter break, something we did not have when I was a child. Today is also Ash Wednesday. Seems like a lot of events all smushed together in a very tight week.
The husband and I did eat at a new local Chinese eatery over the weekend and had some tasty tonkatsu ramen with added duck, bamboo shoots, fish balls. Long noodles and dumplings are recommended during New Year sine they signify long life and wealth. But of course, they also taste good.
Today is the first day I've been to the gym all week, and the week is half over. It's been raining all day and there's still plenty of snow everywhere. I'm later than I'd like and expect the gym to be crowded. It's not. But I can't use the elliptical because a girl I've never seen before says she's going to use it as she adjusts her earbuds and water bottle. Whatever. I don't think she's on there very long but I've already moved on to the Stair machine. Unfortunately, even 15 minutes isn't really enough for an adequate warmup. This means that pull-ups are rather abysmal. Yes, I can get 15 reps but they are rather ugly. My sciatica is not appeased.
Because the free weight area was unexpectedly quiet, I saw my opportunity to finally do a DB Shoulder routine. It's been months! I'm nursing a sore right shoulder but that's can be adjusted for. The shoulder is most likely due to my dogs on a walk constantly switching back and forth, left to right, right to left and me having to loop the leash overhead to untangle them. It's less likely to trip me up than having to step over and between leashes.
Once I got the weights done, I went back to the cardio platform and got on elliptical #1. Wind Breaker was still pedaling. I think he pedals for 3-4 hours every day, but I'm not sure what the point is. He doesn't seem to do anything else at the gym. Elliptical #1 is behaving a bit differently: not making the grinding noise on a descent, probably because the machine doesn't seem to be able to make a descent regardless of what the console displays. I chose to do a different program: Intervals for 20 minutes and I didn't feel or see the pedaling platform adjust from level 10 down to level 4 and back up again. I wonder if the other programs are similarly impacted; I'll find out next time.
In the Aerobics Room, a woman has laid out several pieces of equipment: ropes, plates, DBs, step up platform, a jump rope and a mat. I asked her if there's a class cuz maybe I stumbled into an afternoon class I didn't know about, and she said, No, it's just her. Cool. I take a mat to the corner and do my usual routine. My sciatica is still kicking my butt during Bird Dogs, push-ups, and even Dead Bugs. But it's not a surprise, just a resigned disappointment. I'll be so happy when one day I wake up and suddenly realize that there is an absence of pain. It'll indeed be something to celebrate.
18 February 2026 1:12-3:21
Late Wednesday Cold Rain
Mid Winter Break so HS kids
Easing back Matrix StairMaster (L)
(1:15-1:31)
Manual timer 13 + 3 cool down
Speed 4 (40-49) / 2 (33-29) / 1 (21-24)
Steps 630
Floors 39
Cal 97
Hr 153
HGPU 15 (ugly since I'm not very warmed up)
Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys (slow & EZ)
10 lbs x 25/15/25 (1:44)
15 lbs x 30/15/30 (1:52)
20/15/20 x 25/15/25 reps
Set 1 (2:00); Set 2 (2:09); Set 3 (2:20)
Precor elliptical #1 (2:53)
Program Intervals 8/3
Time: 20 + 5 (3564)
Distance: 1.94
Cal: 208
Precor HR: 137, 182max 87 min
Fitbit: 46-147
20 Piriformis/Hip flex
10 Hamstring stretches
DeadBugs 20 x 5 (sciatica!!!)
10 Piriformis stretches
Child’s Pose
Cat/Cow stretch 12
Child’s Pose
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Arm rotations 20
Push-Ups 25 (legs shoulder width)
Air Squats 25
Skip Neck Stretch / eye yoga
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