Summer Solstice Friday

It's rained four out of five days this week and this morning was no exception. With cool temperatures in the 60s, weirdly bright yet overcast skies, and intermittent rain, I'd completely forgotten it was the Summer Solstice, the official first day of summer. I drop my son off at school at 7:35, normal time even though he has a final exam. School contracts insist that the last three days of school be half days, so today is a half day, as will be next Monday and Tuesday. Never mind that most of this week 8th graders needed to be dropped off at 10:40 for an 11:30 final exam. Except for Friday. When I was a kid, we didn't have separate days for each subject's final.

I'm at the gym at my regular time and it's crowded. Especially for a Friday. It's the rainy weather that brings people indoors. I'm early enough to get on a decent elliptical for Program 3. My hammer grip pull-ups feel strong, except for a slight twinge in my right elbow. The air is so humid I still feel like I'm drowning, not helped at all by the sweat I'm inhaling. At least the a/c is on full blast in the classroom. Still, I can't help the sweat rolling off my nose and onto my phone when I finish with planks. 

Today is a regular Cardio Plus workout, complete with stair-climbing, three sets of pull-ups, two sets of pushups, walking lunges, seated leg curls, and even the Expresso Bike. The programming for the Dragon Island game must've been updated and not for the better. It loads differently and I'm disoriented when the game starts. Once I finally figure out where the portal is, I find the treasure box but it doesn't renew, meaning you can only collect that bonus 5,000 points once. In the past, you could collect treasure boxes several times, dramatically upping your point score. Oh well, it was still a great workout even if my score is a mere fraction of what it once was. 

Since I'm not pressed for time, I do a set of Walking Lunges and then sit myself down at the Seated Leg Curls. I'm more comfortable with the setup now so after a warmup set at 15 lbs, I jump right to 30 lbs. Today I can actually feel my leg biceps contracting as I push the bar down. I've never felt that before! Of course, in the past, I've only done Leg Curls with both legs simultaneously. It's a much different exercise when you use only one leg at a time. 

Yesterday I had a checkup and my blood pressure was 110/70, which is awesome because that's what it was in HS. I'd like to credit my exercise routine, but I've been doing that a long time and I'm actually exercising less. Could less weightlifting and more cardio lower blood pressure? That's a definite maybe.

Then I remember that I've been taking a dose of SuperBeets every day for the past month. And I actually can't remember the last time my toes and feet went numb while I pedaled on the elliptical. Perhaps I have selective amnesia? Or maybe the nitrates (nitric oxide) are working to keep my capillaries dilated. And while I'm happy to have blood pressure lower than my formerly borderline high (138/100), low blood pressure is considered a "non-traditional risk factor" for glaucoma. Low perfusion or blood supply to the optic nerve might be just as bad as high pressure in the vision loss it can cause. It only comes to mind as something to be aware of after that low pulse reading (47) I got last September while prepping for eye surgery. 

Watching a Netflix original movie with some favorite Asian actors: Randall Park, Ali Wong, and nice guy, Keanu Reeves. Actually looking forward to seeing some flicks with my son this summer, i.e., MIB International (with Chris Hemsworth and Liam Neeson) and SpiderMan: Far From Home. 

Summer Solstice Cardio Friday

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.92
Calories 329
HR 157-198 (87, 97)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 23

Push Ups 60
Crunches 30/50
Leg horizontal scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

20 Step Mill
Level 3
Calories 114
Total steps 725
Floors 45
HR n/a

HGPU 23

15 Expresso Bike
Dragon Island
Points 69,340
Calories 61
Miles 2.71
BPM 127 average (140)

HGPU 23

Walking Lunges
31+31=62

2:1 Seated Leg Curls
15lbs x 12
30 x 12, 12, 12

Push-ups 50
Mat Stretch

Making Minor Changes

I felt too tired to do HIIT cardio for the third time this week, so instead, I selected Program 3 for 30 minutes, plus a 5-minute cooldown. Getting the blood moving briskly gives me the energy to do pull-ups, pushups, and core. I feel much more awake and find myself singing along to my tunes on the Step Mill. More pull-ups, and back to... the elliptical, because the cross-trainers are all occupied, the Expresso bike is super quad intensive and the Octane puts too much lateral stress on my knees. However, I use the Interval program for 15 minutes (plus a 5-minute cooldown). 

I haven't done Intervals in a long time so it feels a bit unfamiliar. It's much less intense than the Norwegian 4 x 4 program I do, so it's perfect for how I feel. It can also be modified so that the peaks, which default to a rise level of 10 and resistance level of 8, instead has a resistance of 5. The default rest phase is level 4, resistance 1. (With HIIT cardio, I set the elliptical to level 7 and resistance 1.)

I've promised to help another Scout mom with her son's Eagle fundraiser dinner this evening. There's a lot of prep work to ready the hall where the event will be held. Which means I can't be so spent that I'm useless. I skip Walking Lunges. I also decide that doing 2:1 Laying Leg Curls isn't worth the risk of increased IOPs. In its stead, I replace those with Seated Leg Curls. While the seated version isn't as efficient in working the hamstring muscles because the machine fixes the hip in a bent position, it at least targets most of the back of the thighs. 

Also, the seated machine jumps from 15 lbs to 30, with 15 lb increments. (The prone machine has 5 lb rings to add between stack weights.) Luckily, there are 5 lb blocks that fit on top of the stack. I start light and realize how much easier being seated is compared to lying prone. My head and eyes definitely feel better. I increase the weight after each set until I hit 30 lbs. I don't need to do more than a few sets before the hamstrings feel a little sore. It's enough for today.

Once a week, I like to sample a new meatless meal, usually a variety of veggie burger. This week I pan-fried the new Beyond Meat Burger and was pleasantly surprised not only by its meaty texture and color but also its flavor. There's a nice, vaguely mushroomy aftertaste. Pan-frying gave the patties a slightly crispy edge, yet it was moist and chewy inside. It's a tad expensive as there are only 2 patties per package, which on sale, costs about four bucks. Two dollars a burger, with 20 gms of protein, isn't a bad deal, especially for something tasty. I'll probably buy it again. 

Sunny Cardio Friday

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.97
Calories 335
HR 155-198 (97, 87, 95)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 23

Push Ups 60
Crunches 30/50
Leg horizontal scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

20 Step Mill
Level 3
Calories 112
Total steps 707
Floors 44
HR 140

HGPU 23

15 Elliptical + 5cd
Intervals
Calories 187
Miles 1.67
HR 149-200 (97)

HGPU 24.5

2:1 Seated Leg Curls
15lbs x 12
20 x 12
25 x 12
30 x 12

Push-ups 50
Mat Stretch