Dithering Thursday

I had my annual exam yesterday. My blood pressure was a surprisingly good 110/60 although the pulse was a bit high at 69, but I attribute that to being ravenously hungry and having only had a cup of hot green tea for breakfast. The bloodwork results came in today and they are also unremarkable. My total cholesterol has dropped slightly so that's even better, and although it's technically borderline high, the ratio of HDL to LDL is good. So no need to worry, unless you're one of those who believe that LDLs need to be lower. But some studies indicate that very low levels of cholesterol are associated with a higher cancer risk. So there's that.

The doc also looked at my bruised and battered big toe. She said it was healing properly in spite of looking liked it'd been mashed under heavy equipment. A few hours later, the "dog sitter/animal control officer for the next town over" came by to meet my pups. The calmer, more adventurous one barked and growled nonstop at her. The shy runaway was torn between hiding in the bedroom and checking her out, especially since she came with dog treats. Eventually, we were able to walk both pups together up and down my neighborhood. We are making progress with these two traumatized pups.

Meanwhile, I haven't decided exactly what sort of workout I want to do when I arrive at the gym. I get on the elliptical for 35 minutes and learn how much I hate the updated version of the note app on my phone. It's too easy to trash the note with just an errant slip of the finger. I've given up on all the gym workout apps because they're either too complicated or require me to bring reading glasses to my workouts. It takes less time and seems more efficient to copy and paste portions of note entries from past workouts. Who wants to scroll through a catalog of exercises every time you want to modify the workout?!

When I'm done with the elliptical, core and hammer grip pullups, I check to see if the StepMill is free. It isn't. Although the gym has two, one of them is moderately broken. It says it's working, but the steps don't move unless you're 6'6 and over 220 lbs and can force the treads down. The gym staff knows but can't do anything until the service tech arrives. One of these days... Instead, I hop on the Expresso Bike and play around on Dragon Island. My score is relatively low for 20 minutes, and I'm not even close to busting a sweat. Probably because I spent a lot of time just chasing coins and speed multipliers instead of going immediately to the treasure chest origination spot. Oh well.

While I'm doing a second set of pullups, I see that the StepMill is unoccupied so I hop on that for another 20 minutes. Now I can work up a sweat. And stretch afterward.

Cardio Thursday

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.89
Calories 324
HR 155-198 (84, 87)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 23

Elbow Plank 60s
Sideway Scissors 60
Crunches 60/60
Bicycles 60
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

20 Dragon Island Game
Points 151510
Calories 62
Miles 3.08
HR 118 avg (126)

HGPU 23

20:10 Step Mill
Level 4
Calories 111
Total steps 887
Floors 55
HR 113

Mat Stretch

Rainy Friday Cardio

It seems to be par for the course that I'm chronically sleep-deprived, at least until I can sleep in on the weekend. It's going to be much worse next school year because HS starts a good half-hour earlier. Ugh. I sat in my car in the gym parking lot, wondering if anyone would notice if I closed my eyes and took a quick nap. My car was running with the heat on, so I was warm and cozy. But I don't think I'd want to snooze with my car on. Eventually, I got out and dragged myself inside.

Being an hour shy of a good night's sleep doesn't seem to affect my workouts very much, although it takes me a while to perk up from all the adrenaline that will eventually course through my body. Not having an actual, brewed cup of coffee seems to have a greater negative impact. Instead, I emptied a sleeve of Folger's Instant into a cup of hot water this morning. Not great, but hot and drinkable. 

Instant coffee has half the caffeine (about 73 mg depending on the brand) that brewed, drip or pressed coffee contains (123-200 mg per 8 oz). All I need is enough to get me to the gym. I'm not reliant on caffeine the way some folks are. I see people getting a cup of coffee from the front desk while they're in the middle of a workout. Or worse, carrying around gallon jug containers labeled spring water. Except that the fluid inside is an unnatural blue or pink. I'm guessing pre-workout mix, which is usually candy-flavored caffeine with maybe some sugar and electrolytes. Yuck. I'll just drink my plain ol' water. 

I'm not totally oblivious to the other members so I've noticed the newbies as well as the regulars. I'm always happy to see, although I don't give any indication, the two women who come often and work hard. One carries a jug of blue or pink mix. The other wears a weight belt all the time. But they both work out hard. I feel a little bad that they don't seem to show more visible rewards of their endeavors, i.e., muscles. Perhaps I'm just an outlier. 

I'm more amused by the two fellows who have been frequenting the gym in the past few months. The skinny older guy bears more than a passing resemblance to Billy Bob Thornton, with pale eyes and a shock of grey and black hair. When he walks by, I think of a stalking heron on the hunt for frogs. The younger one might be his brother or son. It's hard to tell relationships, just like it's hard to determine age among adults. Some people just age badly... The Stalking Heron doesn't seem to enjoy his workout. It's more something that they both do, alternating between machines because they have to. It's kind of sad. A lot of gym folk appear to just go through the motions when working out. It's not really productive, but I guess it's better than sitting in front of the TV all day. 

Rainy Cardio Friday

Norwegian 4x4
5 min w/u (4 min on / 3 min off) x 4
5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30, 33
Calories 292
Miles 2.68
HR 142-184 (123, 95, 87)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 22

Push Ups 50
Crunches 30/30
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 708
Floors 44
HR 135

15 Octane + 2cd
Default setting
Calories 115
Miles 1.65
Steps 2268
Floors 37
HR 136-159
(Numb feet & toes)

HGPU 20
Push Ups 50

Walking Lunges
29 x 2 = 58

2:1 Lying Leg Curls
20lbs x 12 each leg x 3 sets

Cage Stretch
HGPU 22

Mat Stretch