Satisfaction on a Friday

Smith rack as Pull Up bar

The heat kicks on this morning before I take the dog for his walk. It's 37°F and I've got my winter parka on over a fleece hoodie, boots and gloves. I know that by noon, it'll be in the tropical 70s so I'll have to pack my gym bag accordingly. The parking lot is very crowded so I'm momentarily worried but fears are allayed by the chatter of Zumba and RPM class jockeys. If I time it right, I can usually avoid the crowds and do everything in my routine.

I don't write anything down. Perhaps I should. I've seen people enter their stats into their phones but it always seems that they spend a lot more time on their phones than on working out. Maybe that's just me. Apparently not everyone thinks it's normal to workout the way I do. But I get results and no one can argue with that.

My cardio is a tad weak this morning. I'm not on my regular ellliptical and the peddles wobble a bit on this one. I know I'm not making my quota but I'm ever hopeful in spite of developing a stitch halfway through the session. It's a nasty stitch that starts inside my lower right hip and travel up the side and across the bottom of my rib cage, ie, the diaphragm. I grit my teeth and peddle faster. Eventually I win because the stitch melts away. I'm tired and I know my workout is not going to be as good as earlier this week, but I figure I might surprise myself so I'm not throwing in the towel just yet.

Today's Pull Workout:
35 min cardio = 3.96 miles Bleah!
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 / 10 @ 105 / 8 @ 120 / 6, 5, 6 @ 135 lbs (these feel awfully hard today)
Pull Ups: 12+3 legs curled to chest / 10+2 legs straight out
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Pull Ups: 10+2 legs to chest / 8+2 legs straight out
Reverse Grip Bent-Over BB Rows: 15 @ 90 lbs / 6 x 12+3 @ 95 lbs
If I wasn't so tired I'd consider upping the weight again but maybe not today
Seated Alternating DB Curls: 3 x 12 @ 25 lbs (the last set I have to stop at rep 8 for a few seconds before finishing the set)
It gets really crowded in the DB area with The Mayor, Fish Guy, Tall Pace and a few others all jockeying for benches or spotting each other through DB flyes or pull overs.
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Lower Back Extensions: 2 x 25 @ 97.5 lbs
BB Curls: 15 @ 40 lbs / 4 x 15 @ 45 lbs
Reverse Grip BB Curls: 3 x 20 @ 40 lbs
And just for fun, but mostly to see if I can, I go do another set of pull ups, and then a set of chin ups:
Pull Ups: 10+2
Chin Ups: 8+1
Mat Stretch
Nexersys station: I do a QuickStart intro round and get the buzzer to sound at least a half dozen times that I'm either kicking or punching too hard. But I don't hurt myself today and I'm still surprised at how much more of a wallop my right cross packs compared to my left jab.

I see Mo briefly as well as a few other ladies. The scale reads 108.2 which confirms my suspicions that I've indeed put on some size/weight. I feel pretty satisfied and plan on getting some lamb chops for dinner. At the supermarket I get ambushed by V who virtually insists that I give him a ride to the gym next Monday. He wants my phone number. I tell him that R, his partner, has it because he's the social director of our Lake Association. He doesn't care that I'm taking my son to school that morning. He vaguely threatens that next time when I need a ride... and I'm thinking "well, I wouldn't want a ride from you" but I'm too polite to voice it. Luckily, after he disappears back into the store, I see R waiting in the car, and we have a rather lengthy conversation about what just transpired. Yes, there's something wrong with V, R admits, and tells me that he's under a neurologist's care, has some symptoms of Parkinson's... I apologize to R because I know how hard it is to be a caregiver, and then I tell him that I think V is developing Alzheimer's. He says he'll talk to V because there's no reason for him to force me to give him a ride. And I don't want V knocking at my door Monday morning.

Tomorrow we're going to Medieval Times in NJ, right after Chinese School and kung fu. It won't be the same as the Renaissance Fair because there's only non-alcoholic beverages. Gosh, I do enjoy a good cup of mead! I discovered absinthe at a local liquor store but haven't been brave enough to try it yet. It's the fabled drink of poets and madmen... luckily, it's been cleaned-up a bit and promises to be a lot more mellow that it's reputation. I get my final bra order from LuluLu.com and it's a lacey underwire (why a 36AAA would need an underwire beats me) with a touch of modest no-peek padding. I have a few thin-as-paper T-shirts that require such an undergarment because this summer will probably be a scorcher. I just want to be prepared!

Taking Joy in Little Things

Yesterday near dusk my son and I spotted an unusually colored bird we'd never seen before. Or at least I'd never seen a real live one scratching in the leaf litter under the privet hedges. "Is it a robin?" my son asked. "No. It's a towhee." What!? And after it flew away, I checked google images for it and sure enough, there it was. Cool! There are also a lot more purple finches this year (my son and I like to call them rose finches for their beautiful red-pink color). Global warming can't be all bad, can it?

It's still April but temperatures hit 72°F this afternoon. And while I enjoy sun on my face just as much as the next northern-clime inhabitant, I'm not partial to biting insects. But they do love me. That's one of the perks of exercising inside a gym: being inside! Away from all the biting insects and flies that want to buzz your ears, climb up your nose and zoom straight into your eyes. Happens to me all the time. Every summer.

Great sound, comfy
but funky wiring

Don't buy these!
Muffled sound,
uncomfortable earbuds

Last night I was unusually tired by dinner time so today I skipped playing on the Nexersys. Three times a week after full workouts is probably enough for now. I have my iPod and the new JVC headphones, but even though I've switched to smaller earbud cushions, the music still sounds tinny and distant. Ambient noise still filters in even at higher volume settings. Disgusted, I go back into the locker room and switch out the headphones, but not until after I've finished a less than stellar cardio set. Lesson learned here is that pricier headsets do not always meet expectations regarding comfort and sound quality. To recap: cheap Maxells are a complete waste of money, cheap Sony's sound great and are reasonably comfortable but have a weird wire design, moderately priced JVCs sound only moderately ok. I still miss my old Phillips headphones. Sigh.

Today's Total Workout:
35 min cardio = 3.98 miles Bleah!
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 90 lbs / 10 @ 105 lbs / 8 @ 120 lbs / 4, 6, 8 @ 135 lbs
Keeping in mind something I read online yesterday, I drop my reps on the heavy set and concentrate on improving my form. Surprisingly, I wind up increasing my reps as well.
Pull Ups: 12+2 / 11+1
Cage Stretch & Kicks
Twice guys come over to use the cable station adjacent to the Cage but both times they leave before they get any momentum going. Not sure if it's me or something else: is what I'm doing too distracting or just plain annoying. Or maybe even intimidating?
Pull Ups: 10+2 / 8+3
Reverse Grip BB Rows: 6 x 15 @ 90 lbs
Standing Alternating DB Curls: 3 x 12 @ 25 lbs (these are really hard today)
Pull Ups: 10+2
Chin Ups (oh, what the hell!): 12
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Flat Benching Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Lower Ab Kick Outs: 100
Lower Back Extensions: 2 x 25 @ 97.5 lbs
BB Curls: 6 x 15 @ 40 lbs
Mat Stretch: I don't know the names for all the moves I do but there are several and this takes about 10-15 minutes. One of these days I ought to have someone video this but since I'm fairly solitary, it's hard to imagine who would want to do this for me.

I gather all my gear and head to the lockers to change and shower. En route I notice Eagle Eye stealing a glance at me. I haven't seen him in some time. He looks different though, thinner and his face looks splotchy and sunburned. Then I remind myself that he's probably a kid in his 20s, albeit, a very handsome kid in his 20s, and I've got 30 years on him. Still, it's good for a woman's ego to have the attention of young men.

The scale reads 108.6 lbs which is a tad heavy for the end of the week, but I'm lifting heavier and working out harder. It's not unreasonable to assume I'm also putting on size/weight. B tells me that she squatted 175 lbs for two reps today. I congratulate her with a big grin. (Unsurprisingly, she never grins or smiles when I tell her that I've lifted a new personal best.) Then I asked her if this would put size on her thighs and butt. "Of course," she replied. She says her lower back arthritis is acting up. I'd be more worried about my knees, but I have bad knees. Actually, I'd worry more about my butt and thighs making all my new pants unwearable. I don't need to be big, I just want to be strong, flexible and have mega-endurance. I want practical strength, and I want to look good too. I don't think I'm being unreasonable.

I've got on my least favorite of the 36AAA bras I purchased from LulaLu.com. It fits reasonably well but seems a scratchy under the arms. However, it expands my summer wardrobe by making it possible for me to wear otherwise paper-thin cotton T-shirts. Now, what to do with all the bras I've purchased over the years that really don't fit at all. Some are still in their wrappers.... Hmmm.

Later as I sit in my car, gulping down my vanilla Ensure, I see R crossing the parking lot on his way into the gym. That, in itself, makes me smile. Interacting with him has gotten weird. I suspect the feelings are mutual so mostly we avoid each other. Other gym regulars have departed by now. M, the Mayor, skinny J, MacGyver, Loud Mouth were all in earlier. And earlier, a nice Irish (by her brogue) woman asked me if I lifted a lot of weights. "Uh yeah," I replied, looking up from the iPod I was trying to affix to my waistband. "You're so strong. You make it look so easy!" she said brightly. I thanked her and mumbled about how if you keep lifting weights, it does get easier, and you do get stronger. I'm sooo NOT a good sales person first thing in the morning! But it's the little things that make me smile.