Thwarted by Glitches

I wear my new gym clothes today. I'm not entirely happy with it, but I only discover this as I run through my routine. Maybe because there is a LOT of twisting movement in kickboxing between Sweeps, Knee-Ups, Jab, Cross, Hooks and Elbows, I spend time between each round pulling my waistband up, and my bra band down. At one point, my iPod detaches from my waistband and is dangling by my hip by the earphone wires. Luckily, because those wires are too long, I have them coiled and tucked inside the front of my waistband. I've given up on the sports bras with the hook and eye back closures. They're too uncomfortable to lay down on the Mat. The same goes for the adjustable strap hardware. Am I too picky? My mother used to get exasperated with me as a child because I didn't like the way little girl clothes were so uncomfortable with itchy mesh and scratchy seams. Some things never change. Oh, give me boy clothes any day!

All the Precor ellipticals are occupied so I look to the LifeFitness cross-trainers. My favorite one seems to be down as the screen refuses to light. It worked yesterday. I get on a different one and pedal for 10 minutes, then wrap my hands and do 3 warm up rounds at Beginner Level for the Follow Me Avatar program on the Nexersys. For the first round, I manage to stop the machine every other blow. Literally. Every other punch or kick is too hard and/or too fast. I have to pull my punches to keep the machine happy. I'm not happy. I'm not cold, but not sweaty. That's not a warm up.

I punch in 10 rounds at Intermediate Level. That's much better. There are a few times that I stop the machine, but I don't actually blank the screen today. In analyzing the data afterwards, I realize that the program is so flaky that it's signalling "phantom blows", which I, of course, endeavor to strike. That's the only explanation for the greater than 100% Strike tally for 7 out of the 10 rounds. That messes with my Accuracy rating, but I'm not that concerned.

What bothers me is that on both Nexersys machines, the Advance Follow Me program switches to SouthPaw mode, which means it assumes you're Left-handed. So everything is backwards. A Jab is tossed by your Right hand, not the Left. The Power kicks are reversed. Your stance is Right foot forward instead of Left forward. I can't do it. So I cancel the last round. Twice. Because I had to try it on both machines. Next week I'll have to decide whether I want to add Sparring to the mix since I can't keep adding Intermediate rounds. Well, I could go all the way up to 15 actually.

After I unwrap my hands and pull all the tape and moleskin off, I see that the Step Mills are empty. That's my cue to do 15 minutes of leisurely stair-climbing. I look around and notice Shaggy doing sit ups on the ab board with sunglasses on. Maced again? Kidding. Or not. Although I did see Mouse yesterday. She seems to track me with a baleful stare as I walk by. I'm hoping she's just getting inspired. The Mayor and M are holding court in front of Cybex City, chatting obliviously with 2 or 3 other middle-aged men. I see a few other regulars in the sparsely populated gym. Blondie has cut off that awful dye-job and now has normal colored hair. Latin Baseball and friends are doing Leg Curls.

Tomorrow is Cardio and Core, and Push Ups, Pull Ups and whatever else I feel like doing. I just realized that my son has next Wednesday off. No movies though. Maybe another play date? I'm glad I'm comfortable with the abbreviated workouts.

Thursday Workout

Cross Trainer

Steady State

Calorie :   43 CAL
Distance: 1.06 mile
Speed :    6.25 mph
Duration : 00:10:10

KickBoxing

3 r Beginner

10 r Intermediate
Lap/Rep :  13 Lap/Rep
Duration : 00:52:00

Step Machine

Calorie :   111 CAL
Lap/Rep :  47 Lap/Rep
Duration : 00:15:00

Photos posted for actual stats:

3 rounds Beginner

10 rounds Intermediate

Discriminatory Fatigue

It's Friday with changeable weather, one minute overcast and rainy, the next sunny and warm. Weekend temps promise to quickly strip away all hope of another Indian summer by blasting us with arctic winds. Should feel like single-digits, somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 or 4°F. I'd finally better bring in that rosemary shrub on my front steps. I have half a mind to go back to bed after walking my son to the school bus stop, but I'm already dressed in my gym clothes, and my gym bag is already in the car. Looks like I'm going to the gym.

I've brought a few toys my son never opened and he's since aged out of them. It's for the Toys For Tots bin at the front desk that has stood completely empty for the past week. But when I get to the gym, the bin is so full that it verges on overflowing with plush toys. I gingerly stuff the Buzz Lightyear Fishing Game and a Lego Ninjago set into the box while giving F a quizzical look. "It wasn't like this yesterday," I say to him. "Yeah, some guy showed up with a big garbage bag and just dumped all this in there," he replies. I wanted to ask if he was wearing a red suit and had a big white beard, but I didn't.

The locker room is packed with half-dressed bodies, women blow-drying wet hair and gym bag contents scattered about like the remains of a sample sale. I've timed this badly. Eventually I manage to put my gear away, swap boots for Asics and head out to the cardio area. My gray hoodie has been consigned to the rag bin because I discover this morning that the zipper-pull has disappeared. The garment is too rag-tag to repair, so I dig out a hoodie I bought at Costco. It's also gray. It has wonderfully deep pockets that no cell or tissue will fall out of, but the hood itself is short and doesn't shield my eyes from the harsh lights overhead. The zipper, while study, has sharp edges and I leave it only zipped halfway in order to avoid being pricked in the neck.

I'm not sure whether it's just the fatigue of being sick, or whether my Slacker Leg Day workout really just kicked my butt. My glutes and hammies are sore enough to impede decent mileage on the elliptical. Still, I punch in Interval 7 for 35 minutes. I can't get up to my normal speed and instead lope along between 170 to 180 Strides Per Minute. Normally I'm cruising at 190 to 220. I am nicely warm and sweaty when time is up, but I don't make four miles. It's okay. I stretch at the Cage, adding another movement for hamstrings while keeping the kicks fairly brief. I'll be kicking at the Nexersys, and my knees definitely feel it the next day when I have trouble getting down the stairs.

Boxing the Nexersys
makes a good arm workout.

I sit on the floor in front of the Nexersys, wrap my hands and stuff them into those pink gloves. My hoodie, towel, water bottle and cell are neatly piled underneath the station. Twelve rounds today. Just Avatar Follow Me, and no sparring. Maybe I'll add sparring back next week when I'm not so tired. Magically, my fatigue melts away as I get into the boxing program. I've never done 12 Follow Me rounds before. Sparring is harder because you have to pace yourself or risk burning out before the round is up. Follow Me is easier in that respect, but harder in that sometimes you anticipate a move that isn't and lose accuracy points. Mostly I lose accuracy points when I whack the pad too hard, the Warning Buzzer goes off and the hit isn't registered. I find that there are certain strikes I have to hit Open Hand, or rather, with a limp fist, in order to pull the punch, otherwise I'm hitting waaaay too hard. So contrary to what we're all taught: tight fist, punch from the body, use torque from the hip. But since I'm improving in accuracy while maintaining power, I'm pretty happy.

Between rounds, I see some of the regulars moving between Cybex stations or up into the cardio area. But I'm more focused on the Nexersys than anything else. I take a moment to wipe myself down before plopping onto the Mat for my last stretch of the week. It feels good to just flop over like a rag doll. If I'm not careful, I'll find myself waking up there. The gym scale reads 110.4 lbs and I'm good with that. I need to do a few quick errands before heading back to the house where I can mix up that vaguely strawberry-flavored whey protein with milk, eat a few clementines (just came into season!) and get on with my day.

Friday Workout
35 min Interval 7 = 3.90 miles Bleah!

Nexersys: 12 rounds Avatar Follow Me, beginner female
  Accuracy 88% / Strikes 102% / Power 123%

Yes, the recommendation is to add rounds because I'm over-power and over-striking for my level. I could move up to the Intermediate Level but I'm leery of the elbow and knee strikes required for that. But I suppose I could give it a 3-round try next week. Oooh, something to look forward to.

photo posted for actual stats:

Maybe It's that Egg?

Well, Halloween last night was cancelled yet again due to wind, rain and the fact that we have enough candy in the house already to power a small army. Yay! I still hit the snooze three times before getting up because something about it still being dark outside strikes me as wrong. The sun hits me in the face and I'm up, otherwise I'm sleep walking toward the kitchen to get the kettle on, the oatmeal measured out, the dog fed and if it's chilly, I toss my son's clothes into the dryer to warm them up. Today it's ridiculously warm (70°F) but the wind is whipping all the leaves off the trees and the wet ground. I half expect it to form some ancient angry ghost spirit... guess I've been watching too many bad Syfy flicks lately.

For the past two days I've reverted back to tossing an egg into my oatmeal. I've also gone back to drinking my post workout high protein Ensure. And I feel loads better. Yeah, my glutes are still sore. But they're always sore. It's probably the cardio. Because I only work legs once a week and I don't really feel sore from that. But I have big legs. Appearances are deceiving. In pants I don't look like I have big legs, but I've done the before and after shots of me in long pants and me wearing the same clothes, just with zip-off pants legs. It's weird. Now I understand why that woman last year stood in the locker room staring at me, or rather my legs as I got dressed. I'm pretty sure she couldn't believe that my big legs fit into size 0 jeans. But they do. Comfortably.

Another things I've just figured out is that I'm waaay asymmetrical. Not just handedness (yes, I'm asymmetrically ambidextrous which means I can do things with both hands but not usually the same things) but in fact, something more obvious and yet subtle. I've been struggling to understand why my left arm, which is weaker, is bigger with better definition. Its the same with my left pectoral muscle. And then, suddenly I had the answer from a question I had as a child, why is the left side of my rib cage bigger and rounder than the right? I'd always thought that people were born symmetrical and that somehow I'd become misshapened as a baby. My left profile is very different from my right, from the shape of my eye to the height of my cheek bone. My asymmetry isn't as pronounced as Stephen Fry's weirdly bent nose, but it's evident to me. I've read that models aren't chosen necessarily for their beauty, but for their pleasing symmetry, because humans in general are not born that way. Our hearts are placed on the left, livers on the right, so internally we're not quite symmetrical either.

Today is Double Cardio Friday and I'm not able to get on my favorite Precor. When I barely make 4 miles on the first leg, I'm completely discouraged. Still, I punch in program Interval 8 for 30 minutes and close my eyes while I peddle. Lately I'm always pleasantly surprised when the mileage reads more than 4 miles. Yay! I'm really happy. Cage Stretch is next. I'm eyeing the Nexersys as I peel off my hoodie and wrap my hands. It's hard to stuff my hands into the gloves at this point so I'm glad I cut the wraps in half. I take great care to wrap my knuckles because I don't like the dark bruises that form when I punch too hard.

I'm feeling ambitious today so I go for 7 rounds of the Nexersys Avatar Follow Me program. My accuracy has improved, and my power is the best it's been in a long time. The sign on the Nexersys says 7 rounds maximum or 30 minutes. There's no one using the station next to me so I'm comfortable with additional rounds. I haven't done the Sparring program in a while so I decide to do the minimum 3 rounds. Because I'm concentrating on blocking punches and landing a lot of blows, my power is less. I'm also starting to tire. Afterwards, instead of heading to the locker room, I wander to the Mat area to do my stretches. N, who is competing in a Fashion & Fitness show in a few weeks, has noticed. I'd greeted her earlier in the day, remarking that I didn't normally see her at this time. "Class got cancelled," she said brightly. I think she saw me boxing earlier as well, and when I see her in the locker room later, she seems a bit uncomfortable. Maybe I am intimidating. Yep, scary scary me. LOL!


Double Cardio Friday Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.01 miles + 35 min Interval 8 = 4.30 miles  Grand Total = 8.31 miles Yay!

Cage Stretch with BW heel dips & calf raises and side kicks

Nexersys 7 rounds Avatar Follow Me, beginner female
accuracy 82% / strikes 101% / power 126%

Nexersys 3 rounds Avatar Sparring, beginner female
strikes 200% / avg power 89% / points 928

photos with stats posted:

my power comes back with a vengeance for the last round but my accuracy's not so good then...

 I get a lot of strikes in which pleases me.

Again, my power comes back at the last round.

Friday The 13th is Still A Friday

Interval 7 and Interval 8 today 13Sep2013

I keep having to remind myself that today is Friday the 13th. Because otherwise it's just Friday, and that means Double Cardio, and boxing. Yay! And truly, I hate cardio. You'd never catch me in a Zumba class, or running on a track, and certainly not stationery biking. Nope. But put me on an elliptical that doesn't hurt my knees or ankles, is structured so I don't get a back ache because I can't quite reach the handles, and pump up some great tunes on my iPod and well... I've become addicted to something I don't really like to do. Addicted as in I don't feel good unless I've managed to get a few Double Sessions in during the week. Maybe it's the adrenaline rush, or the endorphins that kick in during the last few minutes of the 2nd session.

Whatever it is, it's enough to keep me coming back each week even though I berate myself during the first 5 minutes of every 2nd session. Why am I doing this? I feel like such a slug. And then 10 more minutes have passed and my speed is up, and the ache is gone from my glutes. It's apparently not enough for me just to do 35 minute cardio warm ups during the rest of the week. I need to have at least one and optimally two Double Cardio sessions. Preferably back to back. None of this "do some cardio warm up, lift weights, stretch and then do some more cardio". I'd be too bloody tired to do cardio at that point. And because I hate doing cardio, it'd be easy for me to walk away. Which is why I do it first. Can't get around it -- just go through it.

In the locker room yesterday, I accosted the gal I've seen boxing the Nexersys. She's doing the Intermediate Level and is annoyed that the machine isn't reading her Power Kicks and Knee-Ins. She's taller and bigger than I am, but says she's too short to properly knee the correct pads. Uh oh. I'm going to have troubles once I advance to the Intermediate Level. I ask her about the Follow Me jab and cross because I know I'm doing something wrong because my accuracy isn't improving much. She tells me that the instructional video on the Training Segment (which I can barely hear unless I'm standing tip-toe with my head up against the screen) says that the jab and cross are for the opposite arms. Seems counter-intuitive. She's also a black belt in TKD (tae kwon do) from the same school my son and husband are enrolled in. Seems like she'd know how to knee-in and elbow jab, but I don't put much stock in TKD black belts.

I also saw a gal who works in the Child Care Room out on the gym floor so I stopped to say Hi to her before showering. She hasn't worked out all summer and she's bemoaning how hard it is to start again. "You make it looks so easy," she says to me. I'm a bit perplexed by this comment because I'm not exactly sure what looks easy. "You're here every day!" I reassure her that it's because I don't think about it. I just do. If I thought about it, I'd never get out of bed. This reminds me of a PDF booklet I'm reading by James Clear called Foundations of Strength that has a chapter entitled "The Difference Between Professionals and Amateurs". He quotes Chuck Close, "Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work." It's not really telling me anything I don't already know, but it's nice to have one's beliefs expressed in a more formal way.

After cardio, I do a few stretches in the Cage, and then a few Mat stretches because yes, I'm wearing those day-glo running shorts with the wide leg openings. Today, I put a band-aid on my finger and one on my knuckle before wrapping my whole fist in half the orange boxing wrap I bought last weekend. I'm glad I cut it in half because it's a tight fit into the bubble-gum pink sparring gloves. But it's only my right hand, because I punch harder with it. My left hand has just the glove to protect it, and it's enough. I speak briefly to VR, one of the ladies who works the front desk. She tells me that a lot of people have trouble with the Follow Me program because when the avatar lights up, you naturally use that side of your body to punch or kick it. And that's not always what it wants you to do. I make a mental note to look up the Nexersys online to see if there's any better information available.

What I discover is that the Follow Me Avatar program is bizarre in asking you to first jab with the right hand, then cross punch with the same right hand. In past kickboxing classes, you jab with your left and then cross with your right (the power hand). Or vice versa, using both hands to deliver blows to the face. Again, my accuracy is best in the 2nd round although my power is way up. I've probably not paced myself too well, because in the Sparring program afterwards, my power is down although I still cannot figure out why since the station repeatedly buzzes me for Hitting Too Hard. Maybe it detracts points for that?

The gym scale reads an odd 107.6 lbs. Something must be wrong with it. I've sucked down most of my water and sweat is literally dripping off my nose. My home scale reads 107.0 lbs. Okay, that seems right. But even though I drank my 25 gms of protein as soon as I hit the car, I'm ravenous when I get home. There's not a lot of stats to put into this blog entry on Fridays but here's what I've got, plus a few pics I snapped of the Nexersys screens:

Friday the 13th Work Out:
35 min Interval7 = 4.52 miles + 35 min Interval8 = 4.47 miles  Grand Total = 8.99 miles Wahoo!
Cage Stretch with Heel Dips and Calf Raises
Mat Stretch with 10 DBPUs and splits, etc
Nexersys Avatar programs: 3 rounds Beginner Follow Me
3 rounds Beginner Sparring

Coping with Future Shock

The world is moving at an alarming pace and sometimes it's all we can do to stay sane and focused on daily practicalities. Technology promises solutions to problems we didn't know we had, then we find out that we didn't really have a problem, but we have to pay for the innovative improvement anyway. Like our computer and cell phone Operating Systems. Some of us stubbornly drag our heels (yep, still got an iPhone 3G), hoping to slow things down just enough to catch our breaths. Sometimes it's as simple as my son jumping in sneaker size from 3 to 5. "What happened to 4?" I wonder. I'm an orderly, methodical person. Shouldn't the next size be 4? Too tight. Too small. As we exit the store, my son asks me when he can have his first car. "When you learn to drive." "When is that?" "When you're 16." He's 8 but ponders this seriously. "Okay. That's not that far away. Can it be a Subaru?" "Uh, sure..." I say, knowing he'll hold me to promises I don't remember making.

When I get to the gym, it's as if all time stops. The outside world disappears and all I'm concerned with is making mileage on the elliptical while singing along to MeatLoaf's I'm Still Alive and I'd Do Anything for Love. But what really gets my speed up is You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth. I don't really care for the live versions that I've linked to here, the studio versions are much better on the CDs. I know my mileage isn't going to be as good as Wednesday because I'm tired. After a decent Interval session, I punch in Manual mode and play with the other settings. The default setting is Level1, Incline 10. I drop the Incline setting to 7 to see how this affects the outcome. When the numbers come in, I discover that the lower incline reduces the mileage associated with the number of total strides, so even though I've logged in over 6800 steps, it translates to only 4 miles. Well, at least I've still done over 8 miles and I'm happy with that.

There are a lot of younger men here today, some I recognize from months ago, and some who I've never seen before. College classes have already started in most places. I don't know why these guys aren't in school or something. I do a brief Cage Stretch (yep, wearing those dayglo running shorts again and don't need to show off my undies), strip off my drenched hoodie and do a modest Mat Stretch. When I finish and gather up my gear, I see Meadowlands at the cable station so I go over just to say, "It's good to see you here again." She's a bit surprised but smiles and says, "Thanks!" I can't help but notice (although I pretend not to) that literally all the guys standing several feet away are just staring. I'm not even sure that they're not holding their breaths. It might be all the splits, or the Dive Bomber Push Ups, or one or all of the sundry assortment of stretches. Or it might just be the dayglo shorts. It's Friday and that means time to don a few band-aids and kickboxing gloves. I still hate the fact that they're pink.

Synopsis for Avatar Follow Me program

I always do 3 rounds of Beginner Follow Me and then 3 rounds of Beginner Sparring. By the end of 20 minutes, sweat is dripping off my nose again. I'm learning a few things about myself while playing with the Nexersys. As I tire in the Follow Me, my accuracy (ability to follow direction) declines dramatically, but my punching power increases. However, that's not quite true of Sparring. I'm better able to block punches in the later rounds, but in both Follow Me and Sparring, I land the most punches in Round 2. I'm better at pacing myself again so I'm not breathless by the middle of Round 3 anymore. I'm sure doing lots of cardio helps.

Sparring stats for today

A few vaguely familiar guys pass by behind me as they exit the Cage Stretch and Cagle area to the rest of the gym. One is the Latino I growled at once for crowding me while I did reverse grip barbell curls. There's a whole empty room with mirrored walls everywhere and he has to stand two feet away from me with a barbell that I CAN curl (50 lbs). Like I'm going to be impressed? Anyway, guys tend to pass the Nexersys area very quietly, and looking very solemn. Or at least when I'm there.

I remember to snap a few photos but the glare from the big plate windows behind me make some of the readings difficult to decipher. And for fun, once I'm in the locker room, I take another photo of myself standing atop a bench. I don't look very intimidating at all. The scale reads 108.4 lbs (it was 109.4 yesterday but I forgot to mention it) and I'm starving. When I leave the gym, RR and some of the staff are gawking at SnowBird's hideously veiny old man legs so I slip out the door without saying a word. It's a bright sunny day and now I'm calm enough to deal with it. I won't be at the gym Monday because we'll be in Philly for a consultation with the glaucoma specialist. I'll let you know how it goes, good or bad.

Friday's Future Shock Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.32 miles + 35 min Manual = 4.00  Grand Total = 8.32 miles Hurrah!
Cage Stretch with Heel Dips
Mat Stretch with 10 Dive Bomber Push Ups (hands under shoulders) and 3 with hands under hips
Nexersys Boxing Station: 3 rounds Follow Me, Beginner Female
3 rounds Sparring, Beginner Female

Post-Nexersys Me

Making Laziness Work

Dayglo shorts

I thought I was off to a good start, having gotten my son to his TKD camp just as they were heading outdoors to play. Then I called a local department store to make sure they were open and accepted credit card payments because I'd forgotten to mail the bill in time and didn't want to be saddled with a $35 late fee. So I was pretty upset when I got to the gym, fished through all my gear and discovered to my horror that the iPod was still on the charger at home. I'd spent a few minutes revising the short playlist to include a few more songs, and I was really anticipating having a great Double Cardio day because of it. And I didn't have any good headphones with me, except for the new pair of Phillips I bought at CVS yesterday. They promised a better quality ("Enhanced Bass") of music than the "last resort" JVC pair that sound tinny and leak background noise no matter how high you've got the volume setting. Unfortunately, they also tend to hurt my rather tender ear canals. They are truly last resort headphones.

Time / Calories / Miles
for Interval 7 and Manual Mode 1

I had half a mind to just go home. Or go home and retrieve my iPod and Sony headphones. But once I was home I'd surely be tempted to stretch out on my bed, or do the dishes, or the laundry. Or watch TV, or play with the dog. Or I could just trudge out to the cardio area with the songs on my cell, and the tinny JVC headphones. Which is what I did. Surprisingly, there was only one person on the Precor and she was peddling the tractor. Okay, I can at least do 35 minutes for Interval 7 and see how I feel afterwards. It was a bit of a struggle to stay at 200 Strides Per Minute, especially toward the last 10 minutes when again, I noticed an ache outside my right knee and thigh. But 35 minutes went very quickly and I wondered whether I was so tired that time seemed to speed up. Out of curiosity and sheer laziness, I decided to see what 35 minutes at the Manual setting would bring. It automatically sets the incline at 10 and for Level 1 there is little resistance. Still, I did have to pay attention and make sure that I didn't just drift down to a leisurely 170 SPM. What I really wanted to know was whether 6600 strides translated into the same mileage on Manual as it did with programs like Hill #5. Because for some reason, doing the same amount of strides in Intervals clocks more mileage. I'm not sure why. But I'll take any sort of delusion as long as it benefits me. If it encourages me to do more, to go faster, and make it more challenging (oh, let's say, by singing while doing 220 SPM), well, then I'm all for a bit of fun and head games.

I do a brief Cage Stretch afterwards because I am once again wearing running shorts and a sopping wet zip-up hoodie. I try to keep my cell in the pocket while I stretch but it keeps falling out with a soft thud. At one point I have my leg against the cage, up over my head and I briefly look around. Checking the mirror, I don't think I'm showing anything indecent but I make my stretches very quick. I'm surprised to see Nixon standing with M near the Cybex machines just a few yards away. He looks away uncomfortably, as if he's been caught peeking.

The Mat Stretch is going to be quick and abbreviated as well, not just because I'm wearing running shorts, but also because I don't really know where to put my cell. It moves from the Mat when I'm doing lunges and Dive Bomber Push Ups to being wedged into my waistband against my back. But it keeps sliding down and I keep having to fish it out while I stretch. While I'm stretching, a chubby kid clambers up the steps behind me to do wrist rolls. Then he pulls out his cell. Then I leave because I'm not entirely certain that he's not snapping photos. In the locker room, I stash my hoodie, gloves and headphones and grab tape, band-aids and my pink kickboxing gloves. I'm game to go a few rounds with the Nexersys.

The Lazy Day Workout:
35 min Interval #7 = 4.5  + 35 min Manual mode #1 = 4.13  Grand Total = 8.63 miles YeeHaw!
Cage Stretch
Mat Stretch with Dive Bomber Push Ups and splits
Nexersys Boxing System: 3 rounds Follow Me Avatar, Beginner Female
3 rounds Sparring Avatar, Beginner Female

Making the Avatar
turn from Green to Red
is completely thrilling

3rd round Sparring

I see R glide behind me to the Cable station near the Cage while I'm whacking the Nexersys. I haven't seen him in a few days and thought perhaps he'd taken some time off. He doesn't look good and I suspect he's in a lot of pain. When he leaves, I give him a quick wave but he barely acknowledges my presence. Then a large middle-aged lady steps up to the Nexersys next to mine with her fully padded boxing gloves. She's learning the moves, waiting for direction from the system. I don't know how she can hear anything but she's concentrating very hard. I'm quite pleased not to be the only woman whacking these machines, although when I throw a right cross, the pads move and the warning buzzer sounds. I like that. I'm still awful at the Follow Me program. My accuracy is abysmal (still get confused as to whether I should be throwing a right or left cross when the avatar lights up) but I do land a lot of punches. And in spite of doing 3 rounds of Follow Me first, my sparring seems to be improving. I don't really understand the point system but I've managed to block all but one blow, and again, I've landed a helluva lot of punches and kicks. And I've managed to maintain power (in spite of countless warning buzzers). So I'm guessing my pacing and my stamina is better. Yay!

The Left Side got clipped off. It reads:
Accuracy, Total Strikes, Power, Points

The gym scale reads 108.2 lbs which is surprising because one doesn't normally drop 2 lbs in a day. Unless it's water. Which it probably was. My home scale tells me 107.0 lbs and that my body fat is back to 19.3, down from that awful 19.9 on Monday. I still find it hard to believe that body fat fluctuates that much.

But there's a lot of things I don't believe. Like not having a good workout on a sunny Friday.