Priorities

My husband doesn't have to go back to Boston so far, so we spent the weekend binge watching, It's especially bad since we've not had the ability to stream programming for nearly two weeks, and I think we're all in a sort of withdrawal, wanting to get our fill before the next blackout period. My husband isn't as selective as I'd like about what he watches, and so crap movies like Pandemic and The Conjuring, and it's sequel, made the list. Ugh. Well, at least I got to watch The Revenant, and Bridge of Spies.

It's been hot so we haven't ventured out of the house much either, except to take the dog for his walk, and to take out the trash. It's nice not having plans. My son slept in so I tease him that he must've grown at least an inch or two. Today is his first day of camp, so I pack all my gym gear as well. I've nearly given up on finding Thinning Shears for the dog. After filling out the online form for PoshDogsKneeBrace, I get a phone call from the owner of the company. He explains that I should trim my dog's fur with Thinning Shears (he tells me that they're available at any beauty supply shop for about $12) to get better measurements, and better photos for them to use in constructing his new braces. I feel like this is yet another hurdle to jump because I'm having trouble finding any beauty supply shops in my area. They've all become nail salons. Ugh.

The gym seems a bit quiet for a Monday, but school is over so the HS kids come in later. When they wake up. Meanwhile, I get my priorities straight: cardio, then basic moves. I'm back to being able to knock out a 100 push ups straight, but I skip the 2nd set today. No small bench for the Smith machine, so I use the bigger adjustable for sets of Inclined Benching. Then a few sets of Smith SLDLs. This still knocks the wind out of me at the heavier weights. I wish I could take a selfie doing these, because I like seeing the lat flair as I straighten up. Arms look pretty good too.

I got good reps on my first set of pull ups, finally ignoring that little voice in my head that tells me how much I hate doing pull ups. I didn't get to a second set until my workout was done. A middle-age lady in a knee brace was in the Stretch Cage. She only comes to the gym with her husband, who ever so slightly reminds me of Humpty Dumpty. They seem sweetly devoted to each other. She's very tenuous and unstable on her feet. He's a bit more brave. I'm not rushing anyone, so I skip that set and figure I'll circle back after my last round of cardio.

I do a few cursory stretches, but since I'm wearing shorts, I'm not inclined to do a Mat Stretch routine. Too much sand and grit on the Mats from people's shoes. I might not even go to the gym tomorrow. There didn't seem to be too many kids in Child Care today, so maybe I'll let my son sleep in tomorrow and I'll get some work done. Because I really need to get my act together, and look for a paying job. Besides, tomorrow is $5 Tuesday and I'll probably take him to see something silly, like Central Intelligence with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart.


Monday Workout
(6.54 miles total cardio; 19,784 lbs moved; actual workout time 1:45:52 )

Cross Trainer

Steady State

Calorie :   141 CAL
Distance: 3.94 mile
Speed :    7.86 mph
Lap/Rep :  --
Duration : 00:30:05

Hammer Grip Pull Up

227.73

Set 1 : 112x31

Wide Hand Pushup

100

Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep

Crunches

50

Set 1 : 50 Lap/Rep
Set 2 : 50 Lap/Rep
Set 3 : 50 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

Smith Machine Incline Bench Press

112

Set 1 : 30x15
Set 2 : 50x15
Set 3 : 70x15
Set 4 : 80x12
Set 5 : 50x26

Smith Machine Stiff Legged Deadlift

168

Set 1 : 30x15
Set 2 : 80x12
Set 3 : 100x12
Set 4 : 120x12
Set 5 : 130x8
Set 6 : 110x12

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

28

Set 1 : 20x12
Set 2 : 20x12
Set 3 : 20x12 SuperSet with

Dumbbell Reverse Flyes

33.33

Set 1 : 20x20
Set 2 : 20x20
Set 3 : 20x20

Seated Flat Bench Leg Pull In

50

Set 1 : 50 Lap/Rep

Elliptical Training

Prgm#2

Calorie :   296 CAL
Distance: 2.6 mile
Duration : 00:30:00

Hammer Grip Pull Up

227.73

Set 1 : 112x31

In Spite of the Numbers

I let my son sleep in this morning since we were up binge-watching Once Upon A Time. Or rather, I was, and he was playing a game on his phone. But he tends to stay up as long as I'm up. Which is bad for him since he needs sleep to grow, and bad for me 'cuz it means I'm not a great parent. But it's summer vacation, and time will come soon enough for crushing responsibilities.

We got to the gym at a reasonable hour, but there weren't any boys his age in the Child Care room. Luckily, my son is fairly easy-going as long as he has his phone to play games on. I probably cut the moleskin patches a bit small this time around. Even though I taped and cotton-wrapped my hands, I still had some residual bruising from whacking the machine. It is painfully obvious that I need to practice wrapping my left hand more because doing it once a week isn't enough to acquire any sense of speed or competence.

I haven't been wearing my blue hoodie to warm up lately. It makes my gym bag lighter, but I've got goosebumps when I start my warm up. For the past few days, my right achilles tendon has felt tight immediately over the heel as I start to pedal. Eventually the discomfort goes away, but I'm careful to stretch gently but thoroughly after any cardio. Doing 5 rounds of Beginner Follow Me gets me warm enough. For some people, that might be a workout right there. But it's really just a warm up. The 9 rounds of Intermediate is a workout.

I've clipped my ponytail to my head with an assortment of barrettes. My hair is so long now that sopping wet with sweat, it makes a formidable whip. It's quite unpleasant to have your own hair smack you in the face when you're kickboxing. The barrettes hold everything in place so I'm quite pleased in spite of the girly-girl appearance. I'm not a girly-girl, but barrettes keep the stray hair out of your eyes, nose and mouth! Of course, I could just cut my hair back to the Pixie style I used to have. The problem with short hair is maintenance, and I'm big on zero maintenance. Of course, I do miss being able to stick my head under the faucet for a proper cooling off.

There's a few rounds where the program and the music are totally in sync, which makes scoring blows so much easier. I'm still befuddled by some of the weirder combinations, like "Jab, PowerSweep". It throws you off balance because at first you're reaching with your left lead, across your body upward for the Jab (right pad). Then you need to step back to use your back Right (Power) Leg to sweep the bottom left pad. The machine doesn't always register my Power Kick or Sweep. Bummer. And of course, I'm punching too hard with my right Cross, and even right Power Hook. Go figure! My numbers were better last week, but I still feel as if I'm progressing. Or maybe I'm just not sucking at this.

I have three rounds to go when D shows up. She smacks the adjacent machine next but quickly gives up. Just a few blows and the machine has rebooted. She's a lot bigger than I am, with slower but more powerful punches. Think Foreman and Ali. Between rounds we exchange greetings and I tell her I'll let her know when I'm done. She's off to use the Cybex machines until then since her son is now in the Child Care room too. But he's 5.

My knuckles sting and I'm worried about friction burns. When I peel everything off, my knuckles are a bit pink and the left hand is a tiny bit sore, but otherwise everything is intact. There's not a lot of people at the gym today, although I do catch a glimpse of The Mayor, Red, Ponytail, and Tattoo Tank. It's been hot for over a week, and the humidity hasn't abated. I've been wearing summer dresses made of swimsuit material so they're bright and cheery, and dry quickly. I catch Shaggy staring intently from a cross-trainer when my son and I first enter the gym. I don't know why guys think that staring is going to alter the universe in their favor. It's just plain ol' creepy.

Today my son and I will be visiting his classroom to meet his new teacher, and to check the class roster for potential conflicts. I'm not happy that my son is in a class with an extra teacher. The extra teacher means there are at least 5 kids who require special help, and I hope this doesn't detract from my son's 5th grade experience.

Tomorrow is Leg Day, but it's mostly Cardio Day. It will also be the last full workout I'll be able to take for the next two weeks because camp will be over, and school doesn't start until after Labor Day, Sept 8. The surrounding towns all start on Sept 2. So the next two weeks will be modified workouts, probably mostly cardio and body weight movements, but not necessarily restricted to it. If I get a chance to bench sets for reps, I will.

Thursday Workout

Elliptical Training

Warm Up

Calorie :   94 CAL
Distance: 0.83 mile
Duration : 00:10:00

KickBoxing Nexersys

5r Bgnr
9r Intmd
Lap/Rep :  14 Lap/Rep
Duration : 00:56:00

Photos posted for actual stats:

5 rounds Beginner

9 rounds Intermediate