I got to the gym later than I'd like, but still with plenty of time to get my routine done before the place got too crowded. A nice day like today and most people have better things to do, preferably outdoors in the sunshine. I honestly think that the two big snowstorms we just had helped me recover from this last bout of sciatica. Perhaps a combination of forced rest (no gym for almost a week at a time for at least two weeks) and the physiological stress of shoveling and traversing deep snow (you can't actually walk normally) seems to have reset whatever had been ailing me since last September. Go figure.
I'm not totally cured and there's still tingling and numb toes, but I can walk my dogs and not need to rush them back to the house because my leg and glute ache horribly. Anyway, the gym unfortunately, like a lot of places in March, aren't about to turn their a/c on in the main rooms. So doing cardio was kind of miserable because the ceiling fans aren't enough. It means I get warmed up quite quickly and my face goes beet red. I wasn't focused during the first set of pull-ups and felt quite disappointed in myself.
Being really spacey today also meant I forgot my water bottle in my car and rather than trek back outside with keys to retrieve it, I bought a bottle from the coolers by the front desk. But I've discovered that I really dislike those sport top squeeze bottles. The cap is conveniently attached to the bottle so you can't lose it, but when flipped open, it stabs you in the face as you drink. And it's hard to know whether you should suck the water out, squeeze the water into your mouth, or just try to pour it. I prefer my old water bottle, a regular bottle with a screw off lid, the plastic stiff enough to hold without collapsing in your grip.
I got brave enough to set the Stair Master to speed 5 today, but only for 8 minutes plus 2 for cool down. It wasn't too bad, although again, my face turned beet red and sweat literally dripped off my nose. I went back to the Stretch Cage for a second set of pull-ups, determined to do a little better. I didn't get any more reps, but at least I felt my form was better, and that's what counts, right?
The Aerobics Room was wonderfully cold. No Senior Class on Tuesdays or Thursdays, so the a/c stays on all day! I'm able to do all of my routine and exchange Walking Lunges for Air Squats today. My sciatica does numb my toes during Bird Dogs planks and Dead Bugs, but it's not persistent.
I definitely feel like I'm finally recovering. Now I wonder if that errant vertebra has slipped back into position, but I guess I'll never know since there's no reason to get another X-ray. I'm tempted to hit the gym tomorrow and Thursday since I have a glaucoma follow-up appointment on Friday. I just wish the gym didn't take up so much time. Cuz exercising also means showering and a lot of skin care cuz I have high maintenance skin, especially in the winter.
Right now I'm nursing a fissure on my thumb (from the cold dry of this season) that has split twice and makes holding things kind of dicey. It doesn't matter how often I slather it with cream, oils, lotion, petrolatum. It's not in a place where band-aids stay put either. It's no wonder that even on a hot day like today, I wore thin leather gloves to the grocery to handle everyday items. When I get old, people are gonna call me eccentric. I can see it already.
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