Momentary Relief

The weather app says we're having a heat wave. Today feels okay though. Tomorrow will probably be miserable. I was worried I'd gotten to the gym too late to claim elliptical #1 so I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was available. This most likely due to the fact that the plate duct-taped to the base had slipped down and makes a horrible grinding noise when pedaling. I'm smart enough to just remove the plate and prop it up against the wall. No more grinding noise. No issue. The staff will find it later and tape it back again. 

My sciatica is still getting in my way. I feel okay after cardio but re-aggravate the indignity with pull-ups, especially after the first dozen. It's decently nice outside so the gym isn't very crowded. I use this opportunity to push some weights as it has been several weeks and I'm worried about losing strength. At some point in the future I'll lose the ability to pull myself up, but right now I can still do it. Do it while you can!

The tricep workout with added DBs promises to be easier on my sciatica than the DB Shoulder routine where I wind up straddling the bench. (I need to rethink that posture because it exacerbates the injury, but I don't like the bent over reverse fly either.) It's nice that I can basically pick up the same weights I last used and do the routine as I had last done it. So, while not making progress and increasing my strength, also not losing strength. It's more like muscle stamina. I did cut a set a few weeks ago, but I might add it back. 

When I walk into the Aerobics Room, I realize that my sciatica isn't bothering me. I think the mild back extension that occurs during Rip Skulls and Skull Crushers might have relieved compression on my nerves. Of course, that relief is temporary because once I do Dead Bugs, my foot goes numb and electricity sizzles up the side of my calf. Lately, the backs of my thighs, where the hamstrings insert under the glutes, also ache a little. Tomorrow is Wednesday and I might give the chiropractor a call. I'll probably also see about an appointment with the acupuncturist. And check my insurance to see if the neurosurgeon is covered. Just in case. Cuz it might be getting better. Or worse. 

honeysuckles

Meanwhile, my kid is finding his way in a strange new town by himself, navigating the public bus system and the different neighborhood ethnicities. The summer room rental is in an area populated by people from the Dominican Republic. The streets are clean and well-kept. There are many stores on the main strip. The summer internship company is in a different town and the streets there are filled with Indian shops and eateries. 

We text every day because my kid is far from home in a place without friends or family. Not like college. Not like our small town. My kid complains that it's noisy and there are too many people there because we live in a relatively quiet semi-rural area, and it's quite different once you come closer to NYC. Gen Z isn't like my own impetuous Gen Jones or the spouse's Gen X. Meanwhile, here the privets are starting to flower and I can smell honeysuckles in the air. Their vines are entwined in the hedges, so I'll put off trimming the overgrown stems until the blooms fade. 

9 June 2026 1:13-3:05

Sciatica Tuesday

Still hurts

Precor elliptical #1 (1:50)

Program 2

Time: 30 + 5 (5404)

Distance: 2.78

Cal: 306

Precor HR: 145, 191-74

Fitbit: 43-140

HGPU 12+3

(Sciatica makes this really painful)

Skull Crushers/RipSkulls (2:03-2:33)

30 lbs x 24 reps x 4

S/s with

DB Laterals w/u 10 lbs x 15 reps

15 x 15 x 3

S/s wit

DB Alt Curls w/u 10 lbs x 12 ea

15 x 12 x 3

20 Piriformis/Hip flex

10 Hamstring stretches

DeadBugs 20 x 5 (!!!)

10 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 25

Air Squats 25

   Skip Standing X Body Knee Elbow

Neck Stretch / eye yoga