Going Out Like a Lion

It's the last day of the month and it's definitely not going out like a lamb. Unless the lamb likes a wintry mix of snow and sleet falling from dreary gray skies. It's been warm enough for me to walk my son to the school bus stop and then walk back to the house, giving me enough time to scarf down my oatmeal, egg and 1/2 cup of blueberries. I put several pints of washed and bagged blueberries in the freezer last summer. Now I can add them to the oatmeal after everything's cooked (otherwise it gets too watery). Today is Back Day. But I still do my two cardio sessions: before and after. Today I'm again just shy of 7 miles. It's pretty exciting! Of course, doing a lot of cardio is probably bad for the bones. Some days I just have to willfully ignore everything I've ever read, otherwise I'd be paralyzed by information-overload.

I've been logging all my food into the MyFitnessPal app on my phone. Apparently I'm having a hard time taking in enough protein. Jeeze. Abbott Labs seems to have taken the high protein Ensure off the market, which really bites. It was one of the few palatable, lactose-free, high-protein Ready To Drink shakes with additional vitamins and calcium at a reasonable price. Everything else they offer either has less protein (9-15 gms vs 25 gms) or contains lactose. My hubs and I have ordered several boxes of Quest bars to keep on hand for protein snacks. So far only the Wild Berry, Coconut Cashew, Banana Nut Muffin and Vanilla Almond flavors meet with both our approval. But there's a lot of sodium in them and I'm sodium-sensitive. (My hubs tried the new White Chocolate Raspberry and thought he was going to die of diabetic shock.)

I do worry that a high protein diet will adversely affect my kidneys as I get older. My maternal grandfather died from kidney failure and there's usually a genetic component to ailments regarding susceptibility. Gout also runs in my family. My brother has it, and I know my maternal grandmother suffered from it, especially when she enjoyed seafood.

There's someone on the Smith but no one at the mirrored wall where I can use the Oly bars. But there's a thick chalk residue all over the bar on the floor. And I'm wearing mostly black. So I grab the Oly off the Breaker Inclined Bench and use that instead. There's no sign that says you can't use chalk or powder, but I've never seen the equipment covered in it like this morning. It's fairly quiet so far, probably because all the kids on Spring break are still in bed. They'll be arriving after 11.

I'm not sure how well I'll be able to do RG BB Rows because of my injured left index finger. I've been cupping my hand to protect it, with the pointer and ring finger bearing more weight than usual. And if it weren't for my VGs, I wouldn't be able to hang onto the bar at all. There are three Latina girls working out. I've not seen them before but they run the gamut from short and chubby to just short and tiny. Latin Baseball and his homeboys are also lifting. When I slap a pair of 10s on the bar that's already loaded with a pair of 45s, I see the girls smiling at me. There are a few other regular women lifting at the gym. Most of them are solo and seem to be making good progress because I see shape in their arms. When I move to the Seated Cable Rows, the Latinas stare and giggle. Whatever.

I feel kind of tired by the time I get to Lower Back Extensions but I still get three sets. As I head back to the cardio platform, I see Venus. She's been on the Step Mill. Now she's doing Intervals on the treadmill. When she's not doing cardio, I don't actually see her working out. She seems much smaller today. No pump, no obvious muscles, but I can see she's got nice triceps. I see the Daniel Bryan fanboy working out solo today. He's probably actually getting something done since he doesn't have to babysit. And Sunshine is back, albeit with a big cast on his big furry right arm. There's lots of chatting. I'm glad I have my headphones on.

I've been skipping One-Arm DB Rows for two reasons: the heavy weight bothers my elbows, and oddly, muscles over my right hip, and lately, I can't grip the big DBs, even using VGs. The injured finger is just too sensitive for that movement. My elbows threaten to cause trouble but so far I've managed to heed their warnings, pulling back on weight and reps where necessary. Once I'm on the elliptical, I see the gym suddenly fill. Yep, it's after 11 and there are a lot of kids here now. I do an abbreviated Mat Stretch (no Dive Bomber Push Ups) and head to the shower.

My old workout towels are all threadbare from daily wash and wear. Really it's the dryer that's killing them. I bought myself thick new towels and I swear they feel heavy, even when dry. Today I weigh myself with and without my new bath towel. And the scale drops a pound when I drop the towel. I didn't actually think it was THAT heavy! Tomorrow's an abbreviated workout, probably just whacking the kickboxing machine because I have to be across the county for an eye test at 11:30. Yep, love those annual Visual Field tests to tell my docs whether I'm going to need additional treatment for my glaucoma.

Tuesday Cardio and Back Workout
(6.94 miles and 30,019 lbs moved)

  CrossTrainer

Calorie :   146 CAL
Distance: 4.03 mile
Speed :    8.03 mph
Duration : 00:30:08

Barbell Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

232.5

Set 1 : 45x15
Set 2 : 135x15
Set 3 : 155x15
Set 4 : 155x15
Set 5 : 155x15
Set 6 : 135x20

Cable Seated Row

152

Set 1 : 90x12
Set 2 : 105x10
Set 3 : 120x8
Set 4 : 120x8
Set 5 : 120x8

Back Extension Machine

315

Set 1 : 210x15
Set 2 : 210x15
Set 3 : 210x15

TorsoTwistMachine

Set 1 : 50x25
Set 2 : 50x25

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   258 CAL
Distance: 2.91 mile
Duration : 00:30:08

Seated Flat Bench Leg Pull In

100

Set 1 : 100 Lap/Rep

Plank

Set 1 : 00:01:30

One Leg Bodyweight Squat

136.8

Set 1 : 114x6

Accountability

Today I remembered to pack my gloves but forgot the scissors. Ugh. Luckily I have a small pocket knife that I use to score the moleskin so I can affix it to my knuckles. My left index finger still hurts when I grab heavy things, like the frying pan. Ugh. I wrap my hands in white tape and put my weight-lifting gloves on while I warm up on the elliptical for 10 minutes. A quick stretch and then I use cotton wraps before stuffing them back into my old pink Everlast kickboxing gloves. My neck and left shoulder are still stiff but feel better when I work out and everything loosens up. I tap in 7 Rounds Beginner, and then 5 Rounds Intermediate to get 12 rounds total.

I'm wearing my new Saucony walkers and they are a tad too big for kickboxing the machine. There's just a bit too much room in the toe box so my (left) Lead kick doesn't always land correctly and the machine counts it as a missed strike. Ugh. But my hands feel okay and my shoulder doesn't really bother me when I throw jabs and cross punches. Uppercuts are a bit more troubling and I have to be extremely cognizant of my hand and wrist placement so that I don't hit with a bent wrist. That'd really hurt. The machine is still flaky and the Intermediate program glitches more than once. Of course, I'm still hitting too hard. Of course.

When I'm done, I climb onto the elliptical for anther 10 minutes, but do 5 minutes of HIIT instead of a full 10 minutes of steady-state. I haven't done HIIT in months, and it's just as painful as I remember it. But oddly, I'm able to hit close to my max speeds (272 SPM) for each peak so perhaps time away from this was a good thing.

I've installed a new app on my phone called MyFitnessPal. It's helping me track my calories, and nutritional breakdown. It's less helpful when I have to punch in my exercises since it only seems to take cardio seriously. This app tells me that I'm not eating enough protein, and ingesting too much fat and sugar. Figures. So today I don't eat oatmeal with an egg in it for breakfast. Instead I toss a scoop of mocha flavored whey protein into my instant coffee. It does NOT mix well, and I wind up sort of eating my coffee this morning. At least I'm not hungry during my workout.

However, I'm ravenous by the time I get home, and I make myself a tiny sandwich (3 oz Boars Head Honey Turkey deli meat) on 2 oz of baguette bread with a tsp of hot and spicy mustard. Dessert is a whole ruby red grapefruit with a scant spoon of sugar on it. I still have 1490 calories left for dinner and snacks, according to the app. Since I've been tracking my food, I'm finding subtle changes to my behavior, because now someone, even though it's just me, is "watching". Being accountable for my food makes snacking much harder. I'm not overweight by any means these days, although I was taken aback by an old photo I found of me and my husband, shot a year after we got married. My face is round like the moon although you can't really see the rest of me.

I'm much more aware that the older we get, the harder it is to maintain an athletic build. At odds with my quest for lower body fat and a leaner look, is the idea that high amounts of protein can lead to bone loss. The studies seem mixed but the latest one I found online suggests that with adequate calcium supplementation, higher protein intake (from food) and the alkalizing effects of fruits and vegetables, bone density can be improved. Sure, I'll bite.

Thursday Workout

10 min steady state elliptical = 0.86 miles

7 rounds Nexersys Beginner Follow Me
  Accuracy 88% / Strikes 95% / Avg Power 134%
5 rounds Nexersys Intermediate Follow Me
  Accuracy 85% / Strikes 96% / Avg Power 116%

2 min steady state / 6 min HIIT (15 sec On / 45 sec Off) /2 min steady state = 0.76 miles

Crunches: 3 x 35


photos for actual stats: