Just Squeaking By

My son was quite disappointed in the new action spy flick The Man From UNCLE, but he doesn't have the benefit of historical memory, nor has he ever watched the original TV shows. Still, although I enjoyed this movie, it wasn't as exciting as Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, or even Jurassic World. If Antman is still playing next week, perhaps I'll convince my son to revisit that or Shaun The Sheep again. What was a bit disturbing was how similar the latest Napoleon Solo (played dashingly by Henry Cavill) was to Neal Caffrey of White Collar. Yes, a lot less Robert Vaughn and more Matt Bomer. Of course, I liked the new Ilya Kuryakin, played by Armie Hammer as I was never much of a Beatles fan (yes, a reference to David McCallum's popularity at the time).

In order to see the 11:00 show, we had to get to the gym at 9 am. We got there at 9:10 which was plenty early. Still, it was a mad rush for me to get everything done: an hour of cardio on two different machines, and some core/ab work. The new A/C has not been installed yet. But the gym is certainly cool enough when I start. Today, I am uncharacteristically not wearing my blue hoodie, so it takes me a good 20 minutes before I feel even vaguely warm. Perhaps that is a good thing because I do make great mileage.

The Torso Twist is a boring machine, but it's either that or doing side-bends with a plate. And I don't really want to be wrestling plates. Crunches and scissors go fast enough. Even the planks go awfully fast. I do variations for each set and end with the bird dog, but on a bent knee. Next time I'll try doing it with a straight lower leg. (Set 1: 30 sec full; 30 sec elbow; 30 s full. Set 2: 30 sec full; 30 sec full left leg up; 30 sec full right leg up. Set 3: 30 sec full; 30 sec left arm & right leg up; 30 sec right arm and left leg up.)

I do admit to wasting a few minutes catching up with R. His wife was scheduled to have a C-section over a week ago and I wanted to ask how everything was. He shows me photos of his new daughter, and one of his 18 month old son cuddling her. His son is big, like a 4 year old, but of course, height runs in R's family. I tell him that I'm rushing through my workout because, "11 o'clock movie with my son".

Everything is good today, although I was hoping to do a bit more mileage on the Precor elliptical. Pedaling as fast as I can and I only log in 2.71 miles. That's a bit disappointing. I realize that part of it is determined by what program I'm actually running: today is Performance Program #1. Usually I do Program #3. These programs have you move forward through various inclines for exactly one quarter of the program. Halfway through you pedal backwards. Then forward. For the final leg you're pedaling backwards. There are three performance programs, with three different "courses". The online Precor manual calls them cross-training programs. I think #3 is the hardest, but perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps it's #1!

Core and Cardio Workout
(7.04 miles total)

Cross-Trainer

Steady State

Calorie :   145 CAL
Distance: 4.33 mile
Speed :    8.65 mph
Duration : 00:30:03

TorsoTwistMachine

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25

Plank

Set 1 : 00:01:30
Set 2 : 00:01:30
Set 3 : 00:01:31

Abs

Crunches : 25 Lap/Rep
Scissors : 50 Lap/Rep
Crunches: 25 Lap/Rep

Elliptical Training

Perf Prgm #1

Calorie :   313 CAL
Distance: 2.71 mile
Duration : 00:30:03

Ending the Week on a High Note

Again the parking lot is so full it looks as if perhaps the cinema is giving away free tickets. But I don't think so. It's unnervingly warm at 60°F and temps promise to soar into the 80s. That's unnatural for October in the northeast. Luckily, I brought shorts and a tank top to change into later. Wooly bear caterpillars are underfoot everywhere. My son believes this forebodes a harsh winter and he's worried that Halloween will yet again be canceled as it has been for the past two years.

Because I have errands to do beforehand, I get to the gym a little later than usual. A big old man is on my favorite elliptical. I don't want to use the "tractor". Precor #3 has a blank screen so I kick the power plug and it magically springs to life. Number 3 glides better than any of the other Precors but the resistance setting seems harder. For the past two weeks I've left the default settings alone figuring my knees would adapt to the harder Level 6. Is this why I'm so tired? I doubt it. Interval 7 is hard today but I manage to salvage my dignity by logging in a bit over four miles. After blotting my face, blowing my nose and retying my shoelaces which have come undone during the first session, I punch in another 30 minutes of Intervals. I must be nuts. And I punch in grueling #8. I try to pace myself, allowing myself to drop to as slow as 165 SPM. Halfway through the workout, I drop the Level from 6 to 5 because my kneecap hurts a little and there's an ache in the right ITB. It doesn't make that much of a difference. I'm really surprised when my mileage comes in a tad better than the first session. Yay!

I have on a pair of featherweight running pants that I've had in the drawer for some time. I realize today that they're perfect for my double cardio days because they don't chafe my thighs the way most shorts do, and they don't stick to me when I'm completely sodden. The Cage Stretch feels really good. Actually, I feel really good, not tired, not stiff. It's as if I'm finally fully awake. The Mats are empty and I know I'm bouncing through my routine. I feel like dancing. I do the entire routine and then head off to the locker room. I don't do abs today because my clothes and hair are so wet, I'd have to mop the ab stations afterwards.

Using half a wrap under the pink kickboxing gloves seems to work well. No more bloody knuckles. Yay! After a 3 round session with the Follow Me Avatar where I scored big zeros for the Lead Kick and Power Kick portion, I ask P, the gym owner, to explain what I'm doing wrong. I tell him that in Sparring I can register kicks, but not in the Follow Me training program. He sets the program up for Intermediate and proceeds to show me how the program needs you to hit the opposite pad of what you think you're suppose to be kicking. It's a bit retarded. "It took me over a month to figure this out," he says when I tell him I can't hear the training portions. "Yeah, no one can hear them," he admits.

Arms look pretty good!

I do better on the second session of Follow Me, but by the 2nd round, I'm befuddled and confused as to which pad I'm suppose to kick with which leg. I regain my composure by the last round though. Then I punch in 3 rounds of Sparring because I really enjoy this program. But I've never done 9 rounds total before and I start to tire. I'm pleased that I'm able to score well, but I see how my power has dropped from the Follow Me rounds. I've sucked down most of my water by now and sweat is again pouring off my face. I feel good although my right hand is stinging a bit. When I unwrap it, nothing is scabbed or bruised. I'm good! The gym scale reads 108.4 lbs. My gym bag is ridiculously heavy when I leave, because all my gym clothes are sopping wet.

Okay, I'm taking next week off. Well, not totally off. I'm going to try doing mild cardio although I'm not really sure what that means. What if I do cardio and I feel like crap? I always feel really good when I do a lot of cardio. Now I'm going to do less. And I won't lift weights. Maybe I'll try to figure out the Nexersys instead.

End of the Week Workout:
35 min Interval7 = 4.29 miles + 35 Interval8 = 4.30 miles  Grand Total = 8.59 miles Yay!
Cage Stretch with BW Heel Dips & Calf Raises and Side Kicks
Mat Stretch with 10 wide legged DBPUs, 5 rolling PUs, 10 regular stance DBPUs, splits, lower back and hip stretches, etc.
Nexersys Follow Me 3 rounds Beginner Female (accuracy 44%, strikes 108%, power 104%)
Follow Me 3 rounds Beginner Female (accuracy 60%, strikes 115%, power 103%)
Sparring 3 rounds Beginner Female (strikes 207%, power 75%, 899 points)

attached photos with stat breakdown:

Follow Me 3 rounds

Follow Me 3 rounds

Sparring 3 rounds