Blue inspite of the sun

It's 11°F when I take the dog out this morning. There is a potential blizzard in the forecast for the weekend. I look at the stack of unsplit logs at the end of my driveway and wonder if I can split them myself. Not today, but maybe before the blizzard hits I'll be tempted to try whacking a few of the smaller logs. The snow may blow out to sea, which would be great since my son not only has a Cub Scout Pinewood Derby to attend, but a kung fu belt test to get his orange sash.

I get to the gym fairly early so I'm surprised when I leave nearly 4 hours later. Where does the time go? I spend an hour doing cardio, time stretching, pull ups, push ups, planks and then some weights. My elbows are twingey and the sciatic pain in my right leg is only slightly abated. Maybe it's because I'm also spending a bit of time doing stretches for what I assume is piriformis syndrome. When I get home, I'll try to remember to do some foam roller movements as well.

The JeFit app requires a body weight number for movements like pull ups and pistol squats. I've been eating terribly all weekend, mostly just snacking. I punch 112 lbs into the app because that's how I feel, but the gym scale tells me 110.2 lbs. Well, that's actually a pleasant surprise. I don't put much stock in apps or sites that have you rate your enthusiasm level. There doesn't seem to be any point to it. For me at least. Because I'll do the same workout regardless of how I feel. Unless I'm sick. No, that's not true. Even if I'm sick.



Because my elbows and other joints sound and feel a bit iffy, I cut back on my reps for T-push ups. I don't do Diamond push ups at all, and instead write Rip Skulls back into my program. It's been such a long time though, that I don't know what weight to start with, so I start light. 30 lbs. And I grab 4 small (1.25 lbs) magnetic discs from the front desk. By the time I get to 45 lbs, my arms are pretty tired. Perfect. Time to go for another set of pull ups. I see a bunch of regulars, and some new ancient faces. Those old guys just can't help but stare. I guess it's been decades since they were last in a gym, before they let women have the vote, and driver's licenses. They've probably never seen a small woman with muscles before. Welcome to the 21st century fellas.

My second cardio set in on the elliptical, and it makes my leg feel better. Oddly, the pull ups tend to exacerbate the sciatica just slightly, probably because of the angle I have to pull myself up to the edge of the roof of the stretch cage. I do a full Mat Stretch and none of that bothers my leg. I have a lot of errands to run so it's good that the sun is bright in spite of the polar vortex. Because I still feel sad and gray inside. Regardless, tomorrow I get to whack the machine. Yaaaay!

Tuesday Workout
(6.54 miles total cardio)

 Cross-Trainer

Steady State

Calorie :   141 CAL
Distance: 3.97 mile
Speed :    7.93 mph
Duration : 00:30:00

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

Wide Hand Pushup

50

Set 1 : 50 Lap/Rep

Plank

Straight/Elbow

Set 1 : 00:00:30
Set 2 : 00:00:30
Set 3 : 00:00:30
Set 4 : 00:00:30

T-Push Up

30

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Plank

Bird Dog

Set 1 : 00:00:30
Set 2 : 00:00:30
Set 3 : 00:00:30
Set 4 : 00:00:30

T-Push Up

30

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Plank

Side

Set 1 : 00:00:30
Set 2 : 00:00:30
Set 3 : 00:00:30
Set 4 : 00:00:30

T-Push Up

30

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Plank

Knee to opposite elbow

Set 1 : 00:02:00

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

35

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12
Set 4 : 25x8
Set 5 : 25x10
Set 6 : 25x12 SuperSet with

Dumbbell Reverse Flyes

37.5

Set 1 : 20x15
Set 2 : 20x15
Set 3 : 20x15
Set 4 : 25x12
Set 5 : 25x15
Set 6 : 25x15

Barbell Reverse Grip Skullcrusher

63

Set 1 : 30x15
Set 2 : 32.5x12
Set 3 : 35x12
Set 4 : 40x12
Set 5 : 42.5x12
Set 6 : 45x12

Hammer Grip Pull Up

186.67

Set 1 : 112x20

Elliptical Training

Prgm#1

Calorie :   292 CAL
Distance: 2.57 mile
Duration : 00:30:00

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

Bridge

Set 1 : 00:00:30

Hammer Grip Pull Up

186.67

Set 1 : 112x20

New Year, Same Goals

I vegged out for more than an entire week so I'm curious to see the effects. Weight gain is unsurprising (gym scale today shows 111.8 lbs) but I suspect a lot of that is water since my face seems kind of puffy. Loss of cardio endurance is sad but also not unexpected. Strength is my best, most enduring feature. Luckily, I should be able to recoup my losses fairly quickly although age is against me. I'm trying to prepare myself for the inevitable, when I look in the mirror and the skin seems a little loose where it shouldn't be. I'm sure that'll be happening more and more...

Cardio is hard today. No surprise. Pull ups are hard. Again, no surprise. I've decided to cut back on reps and change my routine a little. Wide hand push ups are okay but T-push ups are harder than they should be. Do a push up, then rotate one side up with an arm facing the ceiling. Then back down, do another push up and rotate the other side up. They seem a lot like Side Planks except your feet stay in the push up position. In total, I could only do 50 but I'm not sure exactly what part of me got tired!

I'm easing back into some light weights and do a few sets of RG BB Rows at the Max Rack, and then some Inclined Bench Presses on the Smith. Those actually felt pretty good. Maybe I've missed benching after all? The DB Laterals are hard, and harder when I up the weight. I know my form isn't great but I'm looking for endurance, not necessarily pretty muscles. Pretty muscles are always welcomed, but I'm not a bodybuilder, not looking to compete. I just want to be the envy of all my friends, and strangers alike. Kidding. Or not.

Dang those Hammer Grip Pull Ups. Take a week off and the last 3 are really hard. For every set. There's no place to do them in my house. There is a pull up bar in the garage, with a hammer grip no less, but I can't reach it because of all the wood beams and 20' ladders lying on the floor there and there's literally no other place to put those items. So my husband can work out there, but I'm limited to the elliptical and push ups. Which was the perfect excuse for me to not do anything at all.

Winter is here, but hopefully not for too long. Tomorrow temps should be in the mid-teens so I'll be driving my son to the school bus stop. He has a class trip to the Stone Barns Farm where the kids will be gathering eggs from the hen house (good luck with that!) and vegetables from a winter greenhouse. He also has orchestra later, so he'll have to bring his viola. At least I'll get to the gym early. And then I'll be able to drag some clothes off to the Good Will, and maybe hit a few more stores for Cub Scouts booster sales for the Blue & Gold Banquet program. Bleah! At least I get to whack the machine tomorrow.

Back to the Grind Workout
(6.25 total miles cardio)

Cross Train

Steady State

Calorie :   133 CAL
Distance: 3.66 mile
Speed :    7.31 mph
Duration : 00:30:00

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

Wide Hand Pushup

50

Set 1 : 50 Lap/Rep

Plank

Elbow : 00:00:30
Straight : 00:00:30
Elbow : 00:00:30

T-Push Up

20

Set 1 : 20 Lap/Rep

Bird Dog Plank

Set 1 : 00:00:30
Set 2 : 00:00:30
Set 3 : 00:00:30
Set 4 : 00:00:30

T-Push Up

30

Set 1 : 30 Lap/Rep

Side Plank

Set 1 : 00:00:30
Set 2 : 00:00:30
Set 3 : 00:00:30
Set 4 : 00:00:30

Barbell Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

125

Set 1 : 55x25
Set 2 : 65x20
Set 3 : 75x20

Smith Machine Incline Bench Press

126

Set 1 : 30x15
Set 2 : 50x12
Set 3 : 70x12
Set 4 : 80x12
Set 5 : 90x12

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

35

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12
Set 4 : 25x8
Set 5 : 25x10
Set 6 : 25x12 SuperSet with

Dumbbell Reverse Flyes

37.5

Set 1 : 20x15
Set 2 : 20x15
Set 3 : 20x15
Set 4 : 25x12
Set 5 : 25x15
Set 6 : 25x15

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15

Elliptical Training

Prgm#1

Calorie :   295 CAL
Distance: 2.59 mile
Duration : 00:30:00

Hammer Grip Pull Up

168

Set 1 : 112x15