Mid-Week Workout

At the park

I am unfortunately one of those people who once awake has a hard time going back to sleep. Which means that Monday, after I got up at 4:30 AM to drive my kid to the train station to make it back to the unpaid internship on Long Island, I went back to bed and didn't catch any additional Zs. Dogs went to the park. I met up with friends to watch Disclosure Day, the new Spielberg sci-fi movie. Checked out the new ice cream shop and was pleased with their version of vanilla matcha ice cream (so much better than the Haagen Dazs version). And then I fell asleep on the sofa with the dogs until it was time to walk them later that evening. 

Common Milkweed

Tuesday I did all the errands I was too tired to do on Monday. Like trim back the flowering elderberry bush that overhangs the mailbox. There was a danger of the box disappearing into the overgrowth, as every time it rains, the hedges appear to sprout several inches of new growth. I also dispatched several exceptionally large broad leaf burdock plants. I was pleasantly surprised to see new leaves growing out of the nubby stalk of a milkweed plant that had been stripped of all it's foliage. Not sure if it was the groundhog or a confused deer. Meanwhile, there are fragrant flowers. They smell different from the honeysuckles in the hedges. 

It's been 58F at dawn and peaking in the 70s. I would love the entire summer to be this temperate, but this isn't going to last. The gym is not as crowded as I expected although the movie theater has reopened so the parking lot has more cars than usual. I pedal the elliptical and it's not terrible. Pull-ups are better than expected, but again, it's the searing sciatic pain that makes me quit at rep 16. 

I've quit the step machine for now and added back pushing weights. Since the last two sessions I did triceps etc, I decided today should be DB shoulders. I found the narrow Nautilus bench and did my regular routine. Again, my sciatic leg is upset with straddling the bench for Inclined Reverse Flys. I added the last set back because I cut 5 reps from the DB Inclined Press due to my wonky right shoulder. Later, I have the chiropractor look at it and he says the anterior deltoid and bicep insert are inflamed and strained. When I get home I have to ice it and my lower back. I'm giving the chiropractor a few weeks to make this all feel better. Otherwise, I'll be making an appointment with the acupuncturist... 

The Aerobics Room isn't quite steamy, but it's nowhere the bone-chilling cold it was on Saturday. Today, there was a Senior class and they don't generate any heat, nor can they tolerate much cold. I continue to bail on movements that aggravate the sciatic nerve bundle so no Dead Bugs. Instead, I increased the reps for crunches. No Bird Dog planks. My triceps were pre-exhausted so push-ups were actually a bit difficult. Air Squats were not. 

This is another jam-packed holiday weekend: Juneteenth on Friday, the Summer Solstice on Saturday, Father's Day on Sunday. Good grief. The husband is in Australia and I saw something I think he'd get a kick out of, so I might just order one of those prints with my spouse as a Viking on a longship, and hang it up across from his desk at home. Wonder how long it'd take for him to notice.  

17 June 2026 1:03-3:03

Sciatic Wednesday

Still hurts & now the shoulder too

Precor elliptical #1 (1:41)

Program 1

Time: 30 + 5 (5334)

Distance: 2.76

Cal: 301

Precor HR: 147, 184-78

Fitbit: 43-138

(Foot numb / ankle calf glute)

HGPU 16

(Sciatica makes this really painful)

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys (foot numb!)

10 lbs x 25/15/25 (2:00)

15 lbs x 25/15/30 (2:08)

20/15/20 x 20/15/25 reps

Set 1 (2:17); Set 2 (2:28); Set 3 (2:36)

Steamy Aerobic Room due to Sr class

What if I skip every exercise that aggravates my sciatica?

20 Piriformis/Hip flex

12 Hamstring stretches

Flat hip rotations 12 (numb foot calf!)

   Skip DeadBugs 20 x 5 (!!!)

50 crunches knees bent feet flat

25 crunches knees to chest

12 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

   Skip Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Arm rotations 20

Push-Ups 30 (sciatic not happy)

Air Squats 25

   Skip Standing X Body Knee Elbow

Neck Stretch / eye yoga