Abbreviated Cardio Isn't Enough

Today was another super short cardio day. Maybe because it's been cooler than usual lately, but I didn't really bust a sweat doing my cardio warm up: 3 min Steady State, 4 min breathless Tabata, 3 min Steady State. Then some stretching at the Cage. There's a guy Sparring on the Left Nexersys so I get on the Right side, the one I used to use some months ago. I only do 11 rounds because I want a little time to stretch my shoulders afterwards, and then shower before my son and I rush off to catch the 11 am showing of Planes: Fire and Rescue.

Eleven rounds really isn't enough. I'm a bit sweaty when I'm done, but I'm not really done when it's over. I'm more annoyed. Because although the sensors seem to be working (mostly) and are sometimes overly sensitive (I stop the machine over a dozen times), again, the computer doesn't register the combination Power Kick/Jab/Cross and it lands me a big fat Zero for points.

When I review my data (in screen shot provided below, check out the first four rounds), I can see where my power is greater, my accuracy and strike scores are lower because the system actually detracts from your score, as if you'd totally missed the blow. It doesn't make sense but I guess it's meant to discourage you from really wailing on it. My knee is feeling better though so perhaps next time I'll add a few rounds of Intermediate level on Thursday. We don't have any movies to rush off to on that day although I still have a 2 hr time constraint, but it's a tad more flexible.

Tuesday Half-Ass Workout

Precor elliptical = 3 min steady state + 4 min Tabata (20 sec On / 10 sec Off) + 3 min steady state
Cage Stretch with BW calf raises & dips, kicks and hamstring stretches

Nexersys 11 rounds Beginner Level Follow Me Avatar
  Accuracy 90% / Strikes 95% / Average Power 141%

Shoulder and Upper Back Stretch at Cage

today's session:

Knees Be Complaining

Yesterday's abbreviated Leg Workout kicked my butt. I'm not sore or so tired that I can barely move. But my time to log 2 miles is considerably slower than it's been. My knees are a bit achy again as well. My time to log 3 miles after my kickboxing the machine session is totally abysmal. Okay, I did do my 4 min of Tabata at "warm up", and 5 min of Tabata at "cool down" but since I always do that, it's not a valid excuse. The ball of my right foot complains, but only during the second cardio session. 5 miles may be asking too much of my joints on a regular basis. Bummer.

I don't normally do Legs midweek either. Next week I'll switch back to doing Legs on Friday. I did make it through an entire 15 rounds of kickboxing, but my performance was better on Tuesday. Today I actually had a chance to better examine the accuracy and power readings. I'm definitely right-handed when it comes to power. My cross punch and power kick score 175-186%. I guess if it goes over 200, the warning buzzer stops the machine. In comparison, my jab and lead kick only score 89-106% power. I don't miss any punches, but stopping the machine counts as a miss. I'm not sure what the reason is for that other than to discourage you from punching as hard as you can.

Punching isn't painless either. Even with cotton wraps and padded kickboxing gloves, landing a punch makes my knuckles sting. I kick with the ball of my foot. During the 14th round, D shows up and starts boxing the machine to the right of me. She's a much bigger woman and her mass is behind her blows. I'd hate to have her mad at me. I drape my hoodie over my head as I unwrap my hands because I don't want to drip sweat all over the filthy gray gym carpet. I doubt if they really clean it. Still, I don't want to add to the gym aroma.

The 2nd round of Tabata is always hard. I toy with the idea of only doing 3 minutes instead of 5, but I never let my thoughts interfere with my intentions. It sounds funny, but you can talk yourself out of anything. I'm trying to keep my heart rate from skyrocketing. My right foot aches and both knees are intermittently sore. If this was a consistent soreness then I'd be worried. But my joints tend to complain sporadically. Excruciating bone pain in my hand, foot, arm, or rib seems like a phantom nerve ailment because it only lasts for a few seconds, and then may not reoccur for months. I'm not crazy. But I'm attuned to the quirks of my body. Well, at least it still works.

After cardio, I check to see if the Torso Twist machine is vacant. It's not. It's a very popular machine. I'll probably do it tomorrow. I haven't done them in weeks and my waist is wider than I'd like. Instead I pull my hoodie on all the way and take my ponytail out to do a few crunches. Then a few bastardized pulse-ups. Then more crunches. I'll end the week tomorrow with a full Mat Stretch. The gym scale wavers with peculiar numbers. Then I realize someone has set it to kg instead of pounds. 111.0 lbs. I'm good with that.

Thursday Double Cardio Workout

2 miles Precor elliptical with 4 min Tabata 

Nexersys 15 rounds Beginner Follow Me (60 min)
  Accuracy 97% / Strikes 99% / Average Power 135%

3 miles Precor elliptical with 5 min Tabata 

50 Crunches / 50 Pulse-Ups / 50 Crunches

photo posted for actual stats:

Abbreviated Cardio

Waking at 3 or 4 am to pee makes for a good assessment as to whether the vertigo is gone. It's not. Everyone I know is tired. I'm tired. My husband is tired. The weekend wasn't particularly physical either. Today I'm having trouble with my cardio routine. Bad enough I have to be mindful of the time so I don't miss the school bus.

I'm surprised that I can actually get on a Precor today. Usually they're all busy. The 4 minute Tabata is hard, but it's never been easy. The Cage Stretch is easy and my head doesn't feel too bad when I bend my face to my shin, my leg 90 degrees straight out. I wrap my hands to box and kick the Nexersys. After 9 rounds at Beginner Level, I realize that I'm beat. I usually do another 5 rounds at Intermediate Level but I know that I can't. Not today. Instead, I do 3 rounds. Because doing 3 rounds is better than not doing it at all.

Those three rounds are tough, perhaps due to the high humidity. The gym tends to rely on cross-ventilation via open doors early in the morning, reserving air conditioning for the heat of the afternoon. I'm also mindful of the time. Each round is 3 minutes, with a minute between rounds. I have limited time. My pink kickboxing gloves are soggy, the wraps are soaked through. I wonder if I can wash the gloves because I really hate the way they smell lately. Fabric refresher doesn't seem to last long enough and since my hands are always up by my face unless I'm striking, I get a good whiff of sweat-stink leather.

12 rounds and I'm done. I walk over to the Mats to unwrap before finishing my cardio workout. Another 20 or so minutes and I'll be done. Normally I finish with 3 more miles. Today I only do a total of 4 miles, but I make it up by adding 5 minutes of Tabata. It's painful. I'm hoping to improve my cardio vascular endurance. The gym scale reads 112.4 lbs. I'm so sodden that I'm blotting my hair with my hoodie. Is it silly to dry off before heading to shower?

Today I have a date with my son to see How To Train Your Dragon 2. But before that happens, my dog, in ill-fated youthful exuberance, tries to leap over a large package in front of the door and lands unceremoniously and painfully at the bottom of the steps. Nothing's broken but he's badly bruised. Hugs, kisses and after a gentle but firm examination, we decide to go to the movies anyway because if no one's home, he'll get bored and go to sleep. And we want him to rest instead of following us restlessly from room to room. He seems a bit better when we get home. His appetite is good. He's an old man in dog years. He just doesn't know it.

Tuesday Abbreviated Workout

 

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   168 CAL
Distance: 2 mile

Duration : 00:22:00

Boxing

Lap/Rep :  12 Lap/Rep
Duration : 00:48:00

Elliptical Training

Calorie :   166 CAL
Distance: 2 mile
Duration : 00:22:00

Photos posted for actual stats:

Abbreviated Cardio Day

My husband finally made it home last night. He was suppose to come home Tuesday but found out, after he'd checked out of his hotel room, that he needed to be at a bunch of meetings on Wednesday. So he checked back in but got assigned to a Smoking Room. Luckily he could refuse and get a clean Non-Smoking room. (If it were me, I wouldn't make it past the elevator because I get a terrible reaction to even residual smoke on people in the locker room. I'm allergic. It gives me a horrible headache and my eyes and sinuses start to water and burn.) What I noticed about my husband though, is that the waistband to his pants are too big and bunched up under his belt. He's lost weight and looks great. He claims it's the HIIT cardio that I told him about.

Today I do HIIT cardio today on the Precor for a bit over 20 minutes. I always start off telling myself I'll just do 10 minutes of HIIT and 10 of Steady State, but once I get going, I decide I can stick it out for another 5 minutes. Oh, it's just another 5 more minutes. I can do this. And then it's 21 minutes later. I cover more mileage doing Steady State, but the cardiovascular benefits are greater for HIIT. A quick Cage Stretch because dang my hamstrings feel thick and heavy today. Those Smith SLDLs must be working. My back is painfully knotty from missing two days of stretching. I'm not usually sore but I usually stretch at the end of my workout. Today is another Early Dismissal School Day but I'm determined to get a full Mat Stretch in. I'll just have to sacrifice the LISS cardio.

I stick tiny pieces of moleskin on the knuckles of both my index fingers before wrapping them. They're still bruised from last week. Again, because I'm a creature of habit, I tap in 5 rounds Beginner followed by 9 rounds Intermediate. The Nexersys is mostly working, but my accuracy suffers when I punch too hard and the machine stops with the warning screen You Are Punching Too Hard, or when I punch or kick too hard, and the screen blips, causing other parts of the avatar to light up. I'm never quite sure whether I should punch those pads in response or not. I modify my kicks and punches in a way that feels almost lazy: I drag out my punch and pull-back. The machine seems to like that better than a rabbit-quick full-force punch. Somehow it registers that drawn-out blow as a lesser force and I don't get penalized. But I don't like it. It's not the way you should throw a punch.

I see a notice on the door that the gym will be offering a special kickboxing class at 5:30 pm on Fridays. People are quite excited by the news. Safety in numbers. I'd rather punch the Nexersys. Afterwards, I plop down on the Mat, unwrap my hands and put my lifting gloves back on in preparation for a full Mat Stretch. Two dozen Dive Bomber Push Ups, a 60-second plank, splits, lower and upper back and shoulder stretches. I feel much better now. The gym scale reads 113.8 lbs. Yep, it's got to be the Phantom Period. Tomorrow is a regular school day so I don't have to worry about time: it's Arm Day, and I'm going to give 180 a try at the RG BB Row.

Thursday Cardio Workout

20 min Precor HIIT: 30 sec "run" / 90 sec "jog" = 1.90 miles

Cage Stretch

Nexersys 5 rounds Beginner Follow Me Avatar
  Accuracy 93% / Strikes 101% / Average Power 140%

Nexersys 9 rounds Intermediate Follow Me Avatar
  Accuracy 84% / Strikes 101% / Average Power 119%

Mat Stretch with 2x12 DBPUs; 60-second plank; splits, shoulder, upper & lower back stretches

photos posted for actual stats:

Another Cardio Thursday

I so don't feel like doing cardio, much less HIIT this morning when I get to the gym. I'm tired. There's one Precor available so I clamber on and brace myself for at least 10 minutes of HIIT: 30 seconds On, 90 seconds Off. I do make it through the entire 20 minute session, stretch lightly at the Cage and then wrap my hands. I'm never able to wrap my hands the same way twice, and my right index knuckle is still bruised from last week. Yep, punching too hard.

Today I do a better job making sure my knuckles are tightly covered. I can barely get my gloves on. I forgot to put my iPod on the charger this week and there's just a sliver of battery power on the indicator. Hopefully it's enough to fuel me through my entire workout. I start out with my standard 5 round Beginner warm up. Sometimes the Nexersys doesn't register the Power (right) kick. Mostly, it's buzzing me with the Warning You Are Punching Too Hard screen. At one point, the entire screen goes blank for a second and then comes back on. Oops.

The Intermediate level is better prepared for my punches and kicks, but I'm less prepared for it's slurry of odd combinations. Sometimes I get my Jab and Cross mixed-up, lowering my Accuracy score. Oh well. I still haven't really figured out how to deliver an effective UpperCut either. By the last round I start to lose focus. I'm probably tired. From the HIIT cardio. I'm much less likely to stop the machine at the Intermediate level and I enjoy the faster pace. But 14 rounds is my limit today.

I strip off my damp gloves and wraps, put my hoodie back on and look for a cardio machine to do LISS. Steps are taken so I plant my butt on the recumbent bike. It's as low intensity as you can get! 20 minutes later, I've checked email and forum postings and am starting to feel a bit stiff. Need to do a little stretching before the shower. I don't actually plan to do a full Mat stretch but that's what I wind up doing, complete with Dive Bomber Push Ups and plank. The gym scale reads 112.6 lbs. My skin's not happy with the sudden changes in temperature either, and I'm constantly slathering salves and balms into my knuckles, heels and fingers. But at least the sun is shining and it's not snowing. Because at this time of the year, you just never know what to expect.

Thursday Cardio Workout

20 min HIIT Precor elliptical 30 sec On / 90 sec Off = 1.95 miles

Cage Stretch

Nexersys 5 rounds Beginner Female Follow Me Avatar
  Accuracy 92% / Strikes 102% / Average Power 140%

Nexersys 9 rounds Intermediate Female Follow Me Avatar
  Accuracy 89% / Strikes 102% / Average Power 112%
(strikes are greater than 100% mostly because I tend to smack the pad again after it tells me I'm punching too hard)

20 min LISS LifeFitness recumbent bike = 2.24 miles

Mat Stretch with 2x12 DBPUs and 60 sec plank, upper and lower back stretches, splits, etc

Photos for actual stats:

Cardio Thursday

I'm not really sore but I'm probably tired. I'm really bad at gauging how much though, unless I'm on the verge of passing out. I get to the gym early enough to land one of the Precors that doesn't wobble and make funny noises if I exceed 200 Strides Per Minute (SPMs). My plan is to do HIIT cardio first, and then whack the Nexersys afterwards. I'm not sure how much HIIT to do, so I go by feel. I can manage 10 minutes of 45 seconds On (228-240 SPMs) / 75 seconds Off  (100-120 SPMs) okay, but don't think I can do a full 20 minutes. I only say that because it feels like someone is stepping on my sternum as I gasp for breath by the 30 second mark on the Run segment. My compromise is to do 17 minutes of HIIT, and then steady-state the remaining three minutes, from 180 SPMs up to a tad over 200 by the last minute. I'm good with it.

I do a quick Cage Stretch and then spend a good 5 minutes wrapping my hands with cotton gauze before stuffing them into my gloves. The Nexersys is still out of sorts, not always registering my Power Kicks or Lead Hooks. But it is working so I tap in 5 rounds Beginner to start. Several of my punches don't register on the avatar, yet are strong enough to stop the machine with the warning buzzer and screen admonition. Go figure. Well, at least I know beforehand that my Accuracy Score is going to suck. And for as often as I stop the machine because I'm punching too hard, my average Power score is only 134%.

I'm happier with the pace of the Intermediate program, but several combinations flummox me because the kicks don't register and my temptation is to redo the kick instead of moving on to the next set of combinations. This messes with my Accuracy rating, although my average Strikes is good at over 100%, meaning that I'm landing a blow or two for every blow the system asks for. Again, I manage to stop the machine a few times, but not as often as in the Beginner mode. Still, I pull my punches for the Power and Lead Upper Cut because I don't like the way my wrists feel when I do them. The blows called Hooks and Elbows are also indistinguishable to me, but I can make the pad wobble with a good Power Hook. When I'm done, I check the cardio platform to see what's available for 20 minutes of LISS. Step Mills both taken, but the recumbent bikes are free. I pedal while reading my emails and the online forums.

When 20 minutes is up, I plop myself down on a Mat for a stretch. After two dozen Dive Bomber Push Ups, I do a few Plank Push Ups as per a video I viewed yesterday. Frankly, I'm not impressed. I think just holding the plank for 60 seconds is much harder than getting up and down on your elbows. My abs are a little tired from yesterday's crunch festival so I skip them today, but I do a full lower back stretch. The gym scale reads 111.4 lbs and I'm good with it. I didn't bring my high protein Ensure today, substituting a Quest bar instead. It's okay. I think I prefer the beverage. Tomorrow I can use my Happy Birthday from Gold's Gym postcard to get a free protein shake, and 15% off apparel. Last year I used it towards a new pair of neoprene grips. I'll probably get a new pair again.

Cardio Thursday

20 min Precor elliptical: 17 min HIIT 45 sec On / 75 sec Off + 3 min Steady-State = 1.99 miles

Cage Stretch

Nexersys 5 rounds Beginner Follow Me Avatar
  Accuracy 81% / Strikes 103% / Average Power 134%

Nexersys 9 rounds Intermediate Follow Me Avatar
  Accuracy 83% / Strikes 103% / Average Power 107%

20 min LifeFitness recumbent bike = 2.27 miles

Mat Stretch with 2 x 12 DBPUs and 10 plank push ups; lower and upper back stretch, etc

photos for actual stats:

Week Three Day Three!

I know it's Monday but I still have two more workouts to do on this Shred Program. Not that I'm getting anything close to shredded. If anything, culinary indulgences have made a mess of my diet plan and I might be just where I started. Sigh.

Today's cardio in 50 minutes

I decide to do Program A today and Program B tomorrow, save Wednesday for boxing and see what happens when the storm hits Thursday. I still hate doing the 20 minutes of HIIT as it's written but I figure it's only one more week so WTH. I'd like it to feel easier but it doesn't and when 20 minutes is over, I'm gasping for air like a fish and wondering if this is what drowning feels like. I use the yoga blocks when I bench my 20 reps at 95 lbs. It doesn't feel too bad, but I don't get to finish my workout properly because by the time I get to my 4th and final set, all the benches are in use and I resort to doing a set of push ups instead. Nothing but nothing feels easier so I don't up any of my weights. Even the 10 minutes of cardio between sets two and three feels hard. I log my mileage in order to gauge whether it's just how I feel (totally subjective and arbitrary), or whether I'm actually making progress, judged by an increase in mileage. I think my mileage is actually better today than last week!

Again, I like how my arms look when I'm curling the 40 lb BB but I can't snap a photo of it. When I'm finally done, I put my hoodie back on and go for 20 minutes of LISS, averaging about 100 Strides Per Minute. Then a quick Cage Stretch, a partial Mat Stretch with 25 Dive Bomber Push Ups and a 60 second plank and I'm done! Yay! The gym scale reads 114.6 lbs. Not yay. Water mostly. My face is puffy and a bit blotchy. Lately, I've felt my cheeks get pink and flushed suddenly for no reason. Perhaps this is a Hot Flash? Nothing a good long shower won't alleviate. Tomorrow I'll finish Program B and reward myself on Wednesday with boxing the Nexersys. Today I actually saw two large women at the boxing stations, tentatively smacking the machines. Yay! It's always good to see people using the equipment, just not when I want to use it.

When I get home, I have a phone message from the oil company telling me they're delivering oil on Wednesday. They tend to deliver sooner than I need it, so I trudge outside to the back of the house, shovel out the storm cellar doors that lead to the basement and check the fuel gauge. I got half a tank so really I can postpone this delivery for another week or two. Then I realize that there's no path to the oil fill line so I trudge to the front of the house and shovel out another path from the driveway. By the time I'm done, I'm all hot and sweaty again. Sigh. Now I need a nap.

Week Three Day Three (A) Program
20 min elliptical: 1 min walk / 1 min run = 1.69 miles
This done as a circuit twice without rest
20 reps Bench Press @ 95 lbs
20 reps each arm One-Arm DB Rows @ 35 lbs
20 reps DB Military Press @ 15 lbs (each arm)
20 reps BB Curl @ 40 lbs
20 reps each arm DB Kick Backs @ 20 lbs
10 min elliptical: 5 min walk / 5 min run = 0.82 miles
This done as a circuit twice without rest
20 reps Bench Press @ 95 lbs / last set couldn't get on Bench so did 20 push ups
20 reps each arm One-Arm DB Rows @ 35 lbs
20 reps DB Military Press @ 15 lbs (each arm)
20 reps BB Curl @ 40 lbs
20 reps each arm DB Kick Backs @ 20 lbs
20 min elliptical LISS = 1.27 miles
Cage Stretch
Mat Stretch with 25 Dive Bomber Push Ups (regular leg stance) and 60-second plank

Week Two Day Four Active Rest Hah!

My husband bought a whole box of hand-warmer packets some months ago. I've been cracking a packet open each morning to keep in my gloves while I walk the dog, and they're still hot enough to use while I stand at the bus stop waiting for my son to come home 8 hrs later. If I'm lucky, they'll continue to generate enough heat for the dog's evening walk as well. Today's an "active rest" day according to the Shred Program. Ha!

Distance / Calories / Time Elapsed

I got to the gym and hopped on the elliptical for 20 minutes, pedaling at a leisurely 180 Strides Per Minute. The mileage is nearly identical to 20 minutes of HIIT where I'm running like heck for a minute and then walking to catch my breath. Because these new ellipticals have more resistance on their glide motion, there's no way I'll be able to match the mileage I used to get, but at least they don't give me blisters. After a quick Cage Stretch, I wrap my hands and put all my gear under the Nexersys. I'm a creature of habit so I punch in 9 rounds of Beginner Follow Me. My accuracy is probably the best it's ever been so it's a good thing that I've started doing a few rounds on the Intermediate level which continues to flummox me. Eventually I'll get the hang of it. When I finally remember all the combinations and what I can use to substitute for them!

My accuracy and strikes are lower than last week which is a bummer, but the program isn't predictable. I missed a few punches and kicks for the first two rounds because the program is much quicker in calling the combinations. I'm also leery of doing the Upper Cut punch because there's a danger of crunching your wrist. Elbow jabs are safely replaced with lead and power hooks. When I'm done I notice an odd screw among my things. It seems to have fallen out of the machine. Uh oh. Punching and kicking too hard? I hand it off to a gal at the front desk before I drop onto the Mat for a quick stretch. Then I clamber back onto the elliptical for a slow 15 minutes of LISS.

The gym scale reads 112.4 lbs. I've been trying to watch my salt intake. Today my home scale reads 110.2 lbs and a Body Fat of 20.6%. Yesterday it was 21.1% and I'm going to attribute it to water weight which can really mess with muscle and fat readings. What I can't deny is that I'm still softer than I was last spring and summer when it averaged 19%. I can see it in the mirror, in photos and my BF was lower according to my home scale. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to reach my goal of 16% BF and if I ever get there, how long will I be able to sustain it? I know I'm not a naturally lean person. But it'll be interesting to try.

Active Rest Day

20 min moderate cardio = 1.69 miles
Cage Stretch
Nexersys: 9 rounds Follow Me Beginner
  Accuracy 95% / Strikes 105% / Average Power 131% 
Nexersys: 3 rounds Follow Me Intermediate
  Accuracy 48% / Strikes 86% / Average Power 91% 

15 min LISS cardio = 0.91 miles

photos posted for actual stats:

Follow Me Beginner Female

Follow Me Intermediate Female

Day Three and I'm Over the Hump. Not.

The fog was so thick as I drove to the gym, I began to wonder if I'd been transported to a chilly version of Venus. Zero visibility apparently shut down several airports this morning. I admit I was a bit worried that I would fail miserably at HIIT today, wondering if I was still recovering from yesterday's cardio exertions. I'm not sore. I'm not tired. But I could tell once I got on the elliptical, that the lungs and legs weren't really happy with me. At least I didn't have a wicked stitch in my side like yesterday. Felt like I'd been gripped by a giant lobster claw just off the right side center of my abs. Usually a stitch hits me under the rib cage so this was different. But instead of pausing or slowing down, I just try to "run" faster, hoping it'll go away on its own. It did, eventually.

I toyed with the idea of only doing 7 or 8 minutes of the 1-minute On/Off intervals today instead of 10, but once I got to 8, well, it's only 2 more minutes. The first two minutes were okay, with peaks at 260-275 Strides Per Minute. Troughs are a leisurely 70 SPMs while I'm trying frantically to catch my breath. But the next several minutes had my peaks drop dramatically from 255 to barely making 240 SPM. Wow, that was hard. Then I dropped to 30 seconds On/Off and I was able to recover enough to up my speed back to the 250-275 SPM range. Yay! Not sure how I'm going to fare doing 20 minutes of this if I start that new 21-Day shred program on Monday. Yikes!

The Cage Stretch feels good and I'm pleased that neither hammies or lower back seem inordinately stiff. I plop myself on the floor in front of the Nexersys and proceed to wrap my hands. Today I cut a patch of moleskin and stuck it to my scabbed knuckle for additional protection. Again I punch in 9 rounds for the Follow Me Avatar. The first round is a bust because the machine doesn't register several kicks and my accuracy rating falls abysmally. But I improve and figure out just where the sweet spot is that I need to whack with my foot in order to register a good power kick. Afterwards, even though I know I'm a little tired, I punch in 3 rounds of Sparring. I love it because you can punch and kick in any combination you like, as fast and pretty much as hard as you want. It's rare that the machine stops you with a Warning Buzzer, and then the next blow will reset it most of the time. I wail on the machine, landing twice as many blows and kicks as called for (hence why my Strike stats are over 200%). But I am tired and I conserve my energy by pulling a lot of my punches. I'm not completely sure, but I think today might be a high score for points for me. Again! Yay!

Ignore the last two rows:
only the first three rows show
stats from the Spar Round

Tomorrow I'll do my basic cardio workout, some push ups, sit ups, maybe check out the ab wheel again, and end it with another boring 20 minutes of LISS. The gym scale pops back up to 113 lbs but since I've sucked down everything except two mouthfuls of the entire water bottle, I'm not surprised. And it doesn't bother me because in the mirror I feel like I look better. Maybe it's in my head, but I feel leaner and lighter. And I'm much happier.

Wednesday Cardio Week Day Three

Precor elliptical: 5 min warm up (180 Strides Per Minute); 10 min HIIT (1 min On/ 1 min Off); 5 min HIIT (30 sec On / 30 sec Off) = 2.07 miles  Glad I survived that! Whew!

Cage Stretch with BW heel dips, calf raises and side kicks

Nexersys Boxing machine, Beginner Female
Follow Me Avatar, 9 rounds
  Accuracy 87%  /  Strikes 105%  / Avg Power 129% 
Increases in accuracy, strikes and power! Yay!

Sparring Avatar, 3 rounds
  Strikes 219%  / Avg Power 87%  / Poinsts 964
Increases in number of strikes, power and total points! Yay!

Cardio Friday

Although my lower torso appears to be ringed with an odd soreness, I still went to the gym today, but later than I had planned. Because I hadn't planned on the school district announcing a two-hour delay due to weather. Okay, it was snowing this morning. Not a lot. And it's warm enough for the road salts to work the way they're suppose to. There's a thick sheet of slippery ice under the soft wet melting snow on my lawn. I debate whether to salt or not because tomorrow's suppose to be near 50°F with rain which would be a waste. On the other hand, our property is a cold spot pocket on the side of a very steep hill. I decide not to salt. If it's icy tomorrow, I can salt then.

Today is a Cardio Day, pure and simple. I manage my 5 minutes warm up and then go full gallop for a minute, drop to a crawl for the next minute and repeat this for another three minutes. Then I change the intervals to 30 seconds because that's all I can manage by this point.

Sweat is running down my face when I'm done and I blot the elliptical clean with a paper towel spritzed with bleach water. I want to work up to doing a full ten minutes of 1 minute on and 1 minute off. Then I can attempt doing 90 second intervals and work up to 2 minute intervals. It's nice having a plan.

My lower back and abdominals are still oddly sore. My right hip is tight and that does impact my cardio slightly, slowing me a tad. I barely feel my glutes and hamstrings, but the base of my neck and traps are sore as well. I guess DOMS takes a full two days because I did the Back Workout on Wednesday. Part of me wonders if the Ab Wheel is to blame for some of this, but I don't know. There are too many variables to know.

I do as complete a Cage Stretch as I can manage. Bending over to touch my face to my knee is more difficult than it should be but I take it very slowly, easing into the stretch. This is lower back. But tossing out a side kick is fine. As is stretching my legs out to either side, putting my foot up over my head is fine. I sit down in front of the more popular Nexersys machine, strip off my hoodie, wrap my hands and stuff them into my stupid pink gloves. I've got to learn to wrap them better: I'm not sure why, but my knuckles are pink and raw when I'm done boxing. They aren't usually but today I'm pummeling the pads during the last 3 rounds of Sparring.

The Follow Me Avatar program is a lot of fun so I do 9 rounds at the Beginner Female level. Afterwards, I try to check out the Intermediate Level. It suggests punches and kicks that I'm familiar with, but when the program starts, it asks for combinations I don't know and am unsure how to execute. There's just no way I can knee the center pad because the center pad is about neck height for me. I'm just not tall enough. And there's no way to run the tutorial on just the Intermediate Avatar program. Instead the machine wants to run you through the entire litany of cardio, core, etc exercises and I don't have the patience for that. I ask one of the trainers at the front desk and he confesses to being baffled by it as well. Oh well... I punch in 3 rounds of Sparring Beginner Level Female and take out my frustrations on the machine. It's very satisfying. My lower back and right hip only seem to hinder me slightly when I use a right-side power move but the torquing hip action doesn't hurt. It's just stiff, and not quite as fast as I normally am.

Instead of heading immediately to the showers, I put my hoodie back on and drop myself onto a Mat. I want to stretch out my lower back, but I also want to assess just how limited my mobility is. It's definitely impeding my ability to drop my face on my shin, but otherwise, the rest of me is okay. My traps and shoulders are feeling a little stiff as well, but that's understandable. The gym scale again reads 114.0 lbs and that's oddly consistent. I know I don't weigh quite that much, but I do know I'm fatter. Definitely fatter. I can see the fat under my belly skin, pooling around my navel. Didn't used to have that. My upper arms look huge too. I'm so not happy about this, but I've also not made an appointment with my GP either. I know I'll have to submit fasting blood work beforehand and I hate doing anything without a cup of coffee. Next week I'll call. Next week I'm just going to do cardio anyway.

Cardio Friday

HIIT: 5 min warm up at 189 Strides Per Min, 5 min of 1 min on (220-260 SPM) / 1 min off (70-80 SPM), 5 min of 30 sec on / 30 sec off = 1.50 miles

Nexersys: 9 rounds Follow Me, Beginner Female
  Accuracy 84% / Strikes 107% / Avg Power 128%
accuracy decreased because the machine didn't register several power kicks

Nexersys: 3 rounds Sparring, Beginner Female
  Strikes 209% / Avg Power 95% / Points 937  
this might be a high score for points!

photos provided for actual stats:

9 rounds Follow Me Avatar, beginner female 

3 rounds Sparring Avatar, beginner female

A Galaxy Quest Friday

The Cub Scouts Halloween pack meeting ran late although it was a lot of fun. I only got 6 hrs of sleep last night and again had half a mind to just bag the gym. That's the intelligent part of me talking. The rest of me is on auto-pilot, so after ferrying my son to the school bus stop, I headed to the gym. En route, it dawned on me that I hadn't packed shoes. Yeah, I had my trainers on my feet, but normally I pack shoes to change into afterwards. Okay, I'll just change back into my trainers after I shower.

When I turn my iPod on, the battery icon ominously drains from a quarter charge to nothing. WTH? I remember charging it sometime mid-week, but maybe that was last week? My new phone doesn't have any tunes on it because it's incompatible with the version of iTunes on my laptop (which is on borrowed time) where all my music is stored. Uh oh. Well, the iPod hasn't displayed the Red Low Battery Warning yet, so I figure it's like the gas tank: when it's on E, there's probably still a gallon or two you can use to get to a station. I figure I might have enough to get me through my workout. I'm feeling lucky.

There's a gal on my favorite elliptical so I trudge over to #3. I'm so tired that I seriously consider doing only one cardio session. Interval 7 seems much harder than it should even though I've dropped the resistance down. I don't even make 4 miles and that's disappointing. I've been preoccupied with last night's Cub Scout meeting. A boy there will be undergoing brain surgery yet again to remove a recurring tumor. He's barely taller than my son but he's two years older, thin and pale with wisps of what's left of his red hair. He had surgery this summer but it's grown back. I read in the local paper that he was born with a benign tumor in his lung that necessitated partial removal of the organ. This child is genetically predisposed to cancer. He's the eldest of five and they are all at the Halloween party/meeting. What touches me most is the blonde boy who accompanied him to every game and table. Taller, thicker, healthier, I watch him watching his friend. No doubt this is his best friend. I feel as if I'm already grieving for him and that's not fair so we all smile and applaud when he's given a special Hero award for bravery. What do you do when you absolutely know the light at the end of the tunnel is a freakin' freight train 'cuz you can hear it coming, feel the roar of its engine as it barrels down the track? You soldier on.

I hang on the elliptical for a minute and then resolutely punch in another 30 minute session, Interval 8. This one's going to kick my butt. I hate Interval 8, but it's what I do on Fridays. I can barely keep my pace at the 190+ Strides Per Minute at the peaks, and the troughs have me just making over 170. I've done better, but at least I'm here doing it. 26 minutes into it and the toes on my right foot have gone numb, and the fingers on my left hand are throbbing. I keep flexing my hands, changing my grip, adjusting my stride just to finish. And when I'm done, I'm surprised to find that I've made my 4 mile quota with just enough extra to make my 8-mile quota total. Yay!

The Cage Stretches feel a bit stiff today but I'm not concerned. I'm already eyeing the Nexersys stations. I strip off my hoodie, wrap my hands and wrestle on the pink kickboxing gloves. My knuckles are still bruised afterwards, but at least there's no blood and no blisters. I decide to take it easy and only do 7 rounds of Follow Me, and no sparring. By round 3, a guy I've seen at this station earlier this week has taken a position at the adjacent Nexersys. Thank goodness there's two. I'm getting better at this, although I'm still frustrated at having the warning buzzer sound at every other cross punch I throw. When I'm done, my clothes are plastered to my body and I have to wipe my face to see clearly. I grab all my gear and head to the Mat to do my final stretches. I like doing the plank after the Dive Bomber Push Ups. I just wish it wasn't so boring. When I'm done with the Mat Stretch, I click on my iPod to lower the volume and the Low Battery warning comes on. Wow, that's timing!

The gym scale hovers between 108.8 and 109, then settles on the lower number. It's never done that before. Hmmmm. While I'm in the locker room, peeling my clothes off so I can go shower, the gal I saw at the benches yesterday, waves at me. I say Hi to her. Then she gushes, "You are absolutely amazing. You're so inspiring!" I thank her and tell her that I figure most people are just intimidated but that they shouldn't be. "Oh yeah, that too," she admits. I tell her there's no reason to be, I'm just plugged in and doing my routine so I don't really see or hear anyone else. "Oh, I know that! That's what I figure but I didn't want to bother you when you were working out!" I tell her I've notice her too, mostly because she's using real weights and not those plastic DBs. "Oh, I use those too for some things. I joined a year ago." I tell her I've seen her working out. She leaves gushing. I'm amused.

When I'm just about finished dressing, a small Latina woman comes in and stares briefly. I nod Hi at her and finish buttoning my flannel shirt. "You exercise a lot today," she says. "Uh, not a lot today," I answer, because I didn't lift any weights. "Other days I exercise more." "You got muscles," she says. "Uh, well, yeah," I answer, not knowing exactly what she wants. Then she points to her arms and says she'd like bigger muscles too. I'm not sure but she might've been staring at me while I punched the Nexersys. (I lose track of all the people who stare while they're on the cardio machines.) I try to think of something encouraging to tell her. "Well, you just got to keep at it. If you get sore, that's okay. If it's not horribly painful, just a little sore, you should still work out. Then you'll get stronger." It's the only thing I can think to say without asking her about a training plan, and knowing that most women give up too soon because of soreness. She actually thanks me as if I've given her something useful. Whoa. Today's turning out to be much better than it started. That's a nice way to end the week.

Friday's Workout:
35 min elliptical Interval 7 = 3.94 miles + 35 min Interval 8 = 4.12  Grand Total = 8.06 miles Yay!

Cage Stretch with BW heel dips & calf raises and Side Kicks

Nexersys Station: 7 rounds Follow Me Avatar, beginner female:
accuracy 75% / strikes 105% / average power 123%
recommendation: add rounds and amp it up a little to go to the next level

photo for stats:

How Can I Give Up Something That Feels So Good?

I was just about to leave for the gym this morning when I glanced over at the fish bowl and realized that my son's Betta was an unnatural whitish color (uh oh) and was wedged head down along the tank heater. He seemed fine yesterday but last night, when my son wished him a good night, I noticed the fish's off color. Sigh. I'm not sure why it died. He's the 3rd fish we've had but at least I know why the other one's died: the first one sustained a terrible fish concussion when I was cleaning the tank, and the second one was accidentally overfed. Fish number three was only fed every two or three days, and he'd survived the last two tank cleanings without incident. So now I have the unpleasant task of telling my son that the fish died, and cleaning the tank. I'm sure he'll want another one.

This is par for the course when you have pets: life and then, death, and all its messiness. But we soldier on, accepting unpleasant tasks because in the end, it's worth it. Doing Double Cardio days isn't quite as messy as burying dead possums and cleaning out dead fish, but it sure is unpleasant. My quads and hamstrings are stiff when I start cardio session one. Again, I'm on Precor #3 so I'll be happy just to make four miles. My routine is to do Interval 7 first, take a quick breather and a swig of water, then run Interval 8. I really hate Interval 8 because it's so hard. Today, I actually drop the level down from 6 to 5 because my ankles are complaining about the resistance. I try to pick up my speed at the end of the program but I can't sustain it more than a minute or two. Still, I'm happy to make my quota. Today I get to whack the Nexersys and it makes me giddy.

Yes, that's me in the mirror!

First I get my Cage Stretch out of the way. Then the Nexersys. I wrap both hands today before donning my gloves because my left knuckles got stung last week. Hey, that means my left is getting stronger, right? I do 5 rounds of Follow Me and am pleased that my accuracy is improving. The buzzer goes off a lot though, but not as much as during the three sparring rounds. Power is great during Follow Me, but less during Sparring because I'm concentrating so hard on blocking all the punches, and making the avatar image glow red. When I'm done my hair and clothes are completely soaked through, but I feel lighter than air. I love this feeling.

By the time I get to the Mat, I'm so drenched that I've decided to skip doing Abs. My right hamstring has been twitching oddly and before I sink into a split, it cramps. Not a full blown contraction, but enough to have me sit down on my butt and stretch my leg out, heel pointed out. The rest of the stretch is uneventful. As I put retie my shoelaces, I notice R and RR in the bench area. R is grimacing as he places himself under the bar and I know it's his back. It makes me shudder a little. What I really want is a hot shower so I don't bother to interact with anyone. The gym scale reads 108.4 lbs. That's reasonable. And I'm looking forward to being a slug for the next two days.

Friday Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.32 miles + 35 min Interval 8 = 4.24  Grand Total = 8.56 miles Yay!
Cage Stretch with BW heel dips & calf raises and side kicks
Nexersys: 5 rounds Follow Me (beginner female)
73% accuracy / 105% strikes / 122% power
Nexersys: 3 rounds Sparring (beginner female)
209% strikes / 83% power / 942  points 
Mat Stretch with 12 wide legged DBPUs, 3 rolling, 12 regular stance DBPUs, splits, stretches, etc...

photos posted for actual stats:

 Follow Me

Follow Me

 Sparring

Sparring

First Leg Day Back

I had half a mind to turn around, go home and hop into bed after being detoured a mere three blocks from the gym. The road was closed for the next three hours due to a police funeral. Our county takes these events very seriously and there were uniforms and flashing patrol cars everywhere. But the detour added 30 minutes to what is normally a fifteen minute drive. Never mind the town mower that takes up a whole lane, forcing us to drive into oncoming traffic, when possible, in order to proceed. By the time I get to the gym, I'm ready to leave. But I don't. Instead I zip up my hoodie, plug in my iPod and trudge off to the cardio area. A large bald man is marching on my favorite elliptical. Sigh. I mount Precor #3, knowing that it'll be harder to attain decent mileage.

After the first cardio session, the large bald man exits and I'm half tempted to mount that elliptical. But I stay put, stubbornly pedaling through the hill program. I'll be lucky to actually make eight miles. Sweat has soaked through my hoodie, my nose is running and my lips feel wind-burnt. I'm not panting but trying to control my breath with deep long inhalations, and quick short exhalations. If I don't do anything today, at least I got my cardio in.

Today is Leg Day but I'm unsure as to how much weight, how many sets or even how many reps to do today. I'm playing it by feel. The Smith machine is free which is great because I can't squat with a free standing bar. Short arms and weird elbows makes it extremely painful to hold the bar across the back of my shoulders unless I'm standing inside the Smith. First I do speed squats, butt to heels, as fast as I can go with just the bar. With the counter-weight, it's about 30 lbs. My knees feel odd and then I remember that I have to stand more forward and sit back, pressing up from my glutes instead of the front of my quads. I add weight after each set, but drop the reps, only doing 6 reps at my maximum weight (bar + 2x25 + 2x3x10) but I'm able to just about parallel without hearing or feeling any lower back crunchiness. So far so good. I drop the weights and add reps until I'm left with just the bar, and then another set of speed squats. These are so much harder now.

I'm determined to do real Stiff Legged Dead Lifts so I leave the security of the Smith (like a domestic bird tentatively exploring the world outside the cage). I know I can do at least a few SLDLs at 90 lbs based on my experience with Reverse Grip BB Rows. But I don't know if I can sustain it in an actual set. Instead of wrestling with the BBs, I find a stray Olympic bar and bravely, or foolishly (depending on your point of view) put a pair of plates on the bar. My hands are too small to utilize the spring clip collars and I'm not about to ask anyone to help me either. I hadn't noticed until I put the plates on that the edges weren't round but had flat edges to keep them from rolling. What I do notice is The Mayor and some of his chatting cronies periodically staring over at me.

I do three sets of six reps and after each set, I can honestly say that I felt a little like vomiting. Which is odd because half an hour ago on the elliptical, I was having hunger pangs. I'm pretty sure those were only 25 lb plates but now I have to go back and double check because again, I've never seen flat edged plates like a Susan B Anthony coin.

My Cage Stretch feels good and the music has picked up so my kicks are very energetic. I see D at the Nexersys and we chat briefly between rounds. She's scoring 100% for most of her hits but some of the kicks still aren't registering. I'll take a swing at it on Friday. Instead, I look to the Leg Curl station. There are two elderly women fussing over it. Sigh. But the Leg Extension is free, with a haphazard setting, as if the last user didn't quite know how to make the proper seat adjustments. I only do six sets total, with three sets at 120. I could probably go heavier. But mentally, I'm not prepared to move the weight up so it doesn't stick in my mind. The Leg Curl is still busy so I kill time by doing abs, first the Torso Twist, then Ab Crunches, and finally Twisting Sit Ups.

The Leg Curl is free and before another elderly woman can plop her boney butt in it, I've draped my towel over the seat and planted myself. It's only six sets but I don't like to rest too long. I tend to stay at the station I'm working instead of moving back and forth because there's always the chance that you'll lose your place to a slow-moving gym virgin who's most likely as brittle as spun sugar. 120 lbs is easy on the Leg Extension, but hard on the Leg Curl. The Mat Stretch is a relief and I thoroughly enjoy moving through my routine.

The locker room is blissfully empty when I go shower. The gym scale reads 109.2 lbs. My stomach is growling again but it's way past noon now. The funeral service should be over and traffic restored to the main road but I'm not leaving the area anytime soon. I have grocery shopping now.

Leg Day Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.35 miles + 35 min Hill 6 = 3.83 miles  Grand Total = 8.18 miles Yay!
Smith Squats: 25 @ bar (30 lbs) speed squats heel to butt / 12 @ bar + 50 lbs / 10 @ bar + 70 lbs / 8 @ bar + 90 lbs / 3 x 6 @ bar + 110 lbs / 12 @ bar + 70 lbs / 12 @ bar + 50 lbs / 25 @ bar speed squats butt to heels as fast as I can go
Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts: 3 x 95 lbs (Olympic bar + pair of 25? lb plates)
Cage Stretch with BW heel dips & calf raises and Side Kicks
Seated Leg Extensions: 12 @ 75 lbs / 10 @ 90 lbs / 8 @ 105 lbs / 3 x 6 @ 120 lbs
Torso Twist Machine: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Ups: 125
Seated Leg Curls: 12 @ 75 lbs / 10 @ 90 lbs / 8 @ 105 lbs / 3 x 6 @ 120 lbs
Mat Stretch with 12 wide legged DBPUs, 3 rolling, 12 regular stance DBPUs, splits, yoga stretches, lower back and hamstring stretches, etc.

Confessions of a Gym Rat Junkie

This is my "de-load" week and I find that unless I tie myself to the house, I gravitate towards the gym, and once I'm at the gym, well... I didn't lift any weights today. Nope. Not a one. And I only did one 35 minute session on the elliptical. Not even my favorite #1, but #3, the one with harder resistance settings. I need to warm up otherwise I'm all stiff and achy. I know this from walking the dog in the morning, wearing two fleece hoodies and gloves. I know it's 45°F, not really cold out, but I'm not really wearing winter clothes yet either. I actually don't know how anyone can lift weights or do whatever without first warming up, but I see people do it all the time. I also see people leave without stretching afterwards. Truthfully, I don't see a lot of people making gains, although there are a few women I've noticed trimming down over the past few weeks.

Well, I only did one set of abs today. Okay, it was 100 crunches on the AbStation but that's not a lot for me. And then I did my Cage Stretch and saw a young guy boxing the Nexersys. For a moment I felt like passing, but then that feeling passed. Luckily there's two stations. And I actually had my stupid pink gloves with me, with the orange wrap tucked inside, so I didn't have to go back to the lockers. After I got done stretching, I stripped off my hoodie, wrapped my hand and donned my gloves. I wanted a change of pace so I punched in 5 rounds instead of my usual 3. It makes a difference! And apparently, not lifting all week has given me a lot of energy because at the end of it, the system advised me to add more rounds because I was overpowered and overstriking, i.e., punching too hard and too much. LOL!

Do I look like a drowned rat?

After 5 rounds of Follow Me, I punched in 3 rounds of Sparring because I like to end the session beating the crap out of the avatar. I was a bit tired by now so my points were lower than usual, as was my power, but that's normal for me. The only thing I'm pondering is whether to do this again tomorrow, because as I'm doing Mat Stretch (and yay! there was absolutely no one on the Mats today) I'm feeling really really good, flying on that endorphin high. I'll probably be sore tomorrow. I should probably just do some cardio and stretch. Boring, boring, boring. I could just stay home and actually get some work done around the house. Boring. But productive. Monday there's no school and I've promised my son I'd take him to the gym with me because he loves interacting with other kids in the child care room. It'll probably be crowded. I probably won't get much done there. Already talking myself into going to the gym tomorrow!

Thursdays Non-Weightlifting Workout:
35 min Interval8 = 4.31 miles Yay
Ab Crunch Station: 100
Cage Stretch with BW Heel Dips and Calf Raises (about 2-3 sets of 20) and Side Kicks (high, middle & low, about 15-20)
Nexersys:
5 rounds Follow Me Avatar, Beginner Female
3 rounds Sparring Avatar, Beginner Female

Photos to show stats:

Follow Me: Note Recommendations at bottom of this image: You are outpacing and over power for your level. Add rounds.

My accuracy still sucks but part of me doesn't really care because I know I'm kicking the pads, but the kicks don't always register even though the station beeps and tells me I'm using too much power.

Sparring: this is just for fun, and I did keep my power up better than usual although my point tally is a bit lower today.

Perseverance Gets Rewarded

Still got tape on my knuckles

Because I'm a stickler for rules and details, I can be an annoying geek about just about anything. Sometimes it pays off though. After taking my son to his last day of tae kwon do summer camp (he'll spend next week with me at the gym since school is still a week off due to Rosh Hashana coming early this year), I double back to the auto repair shop figuring that mornings are the better time to get my Safety Inspection. If my car has enough highway miles on it. Which it does! Yay! And thirty minutes later my car gets a new sticker in the windshield. I'm pretty sure the repair guys were tired of seeing me there in their waiting room all week.

I still need to take the car to the dealership repair shop for the exhaust system, but this buys me a year. When I ask about the weather strip gasket falling out of the rear passenger door, the guys point me to a body work shop down the road. Okay, it's only a few minutes to ask them what kind of glue I can use. Except that glue won't really solve the problem unless I methodically clean both the gasket and the car frame, and then apply Crazy Glue with a brush. And keep my fingers crossed. Otherwise, because the clips that hold the gasket are broken and the gasket itself is torn, I'd have to bring it in and have the gasket replaced. Which means taking the door off. That's $150 in labor minimum plus the cost of the gasket (about $60). Or I could use rubbing alcohol, Crazy Glue and a rabbit's foot. Hhmmm. It's been unsuccessfully glued before and the body work guy shows me remnants of dried yellow glue. "You have to get all this old stuff off." Must've been the previous owner. Perhaps I'll have better luck.

The gym is relatively quiet except for the 70s station blasting disco tunes for one of the classes in back. My butt is sore as I start peddling but I'm stubborn and punch in Interval 7. My lats are a tad sore which is a pleasant surprise, but my legs feel heavy and lethargic. Four and a half miles later, I'm sweaty and happy. Since I plan to box the Nexersys later, I punch in another cardio session. Instead of taking the easy route, I punch in Interval 8. I must be crazy. Ten minutes into it and I'm wondering why I'm doing it. I can't keep the same pace from the first cardio session, but I can try to maintain a decent stride. In the last two minutes, I've kicked up my speed to 240 SPM just so I can finish with acceptable mileage. It's not as good as session 1, but very satisfying.

Follow Me Avatar 3 Rounds

Meanwhile, Mo flags me and mouths something about talking to me later. I can't hear her because I've got MeatLoaf singing at the top of his lungs. I do a very abbreviated Cage Stretch (got those dayglo shorts on again) and then head to the Mat. Halfway through, while I'm in a vertical split position, Mo comes over to tell me long story short about why she quit the job she just got. After she leaves, I realize that my back leg is starting to cramp in the calf. The rest of my stretch sucks. I hate being interrupted when I'm working out. But how do you tell people that pleasantly without offending them? Luckily she's gone before I head back to the locker room to tape my knuckle and don kickboxing gloves. The gal I saw at the Nexersys yesterday has apparently upgraded her gloves to white pillowy boxing gloves. They look like giant dough balls on her hands and I wonder how you can punch anything with those. But at least she's doing it. Punching, that is.

Sparring Avatar 3 Rounds

As a creature of habit, and because I'm not quite proficient, I stick to 3 rounds of Follow Me and 3 rounds of Sparring. I'm apparently improving because my Accuracy (59% vs 46%) is better this week (I'm still confused by the Cross and inadvertently use the wrong hand to cross punch), and I've scored more points (864 vs 816). I still don't know what the points mean. I'm also landing almost double the amount of blows. I like to keep track by snapping a quick cell photo. When I'm done, sweat is dripping off my nose again. I saw R earlier but RR wasn't around to keep him company. I probably should've wished him a good weekend, but he's conveniently across the gym when I turn around with all my gear. I'm so bad with this socializing stuff.

Friday Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.50  + 35 min Interval 8 = 4.46  Grand Total = 8.96 miles Wahoo!
Cage Stretch with heel dips and a few side kicks
Mat Stretch with bad splits but 10 rolling Dive Bomber Push Ups
Nexersys: 3 rounds Avatar Follow Me Beginner Female
3 rounds Avatar Sparring Beginner Female

The gym scale dances between 108.4 and 108.6 lbs before I step into the shower to wash the brine off. When I get home, my scale reads 107.2 lbs which isn't very different from yesterday (107.4). What makes me laugh is that almost everything else has changed (except for bone because it never dips below 4.6 lbs for me). Body Fat has dropped to 19.1 from 19.3%, while Total Body Water same at 52.2%, Muscle Mass increased to 38.5% from 37.9%. Overnight!

I know that if I ever want a chance to see a 6-pack on myself I'd have to drop to at least 14% BF and since I'm not competing, I don't think I could put myself through that much torture and dietary restriction. With the exception of the extra "baby belly" skin (which never quite stretched back), I think my abs look fairly decent. At least in the right light. Perseverance gets rewarded!

Week Three Day Two: Back

Mind-numbing fatigue translates into a dull monotonous cardio routine. In spite of my best efforts, I fail my quota. I'm not sweating much either even though I'm wearing my all-cotton hooded sweatshirt zipped up over standard gym gear. Again I think that it must be THAT part of my menstrual cycle, the part that makes me feel as if I'm Apoc, unceremoniously unplugged by Cipher from the Matrix. Except I'm well on my way into menopause so there's no way, short of a blood test, to tell what the heck is going on. Perhaps the heatwave is also taking its toll. I find persistent humidity and heat to be absolutely enervating. Give me back winter! Just kidding.

I do manage to finish strong in my basic exercises and knock out an ab workout as well. The Mat Stretch works out really well, but I'm usually fairly flexible on Tuesdays, but not necessarily on Wednesdays when I tend to do a double cardio session. Perhaps there's a limit as to how much work my legs can handle before being subjected to flexibility exercises? I roll forward onto my towel and land with my face between my forearms, inhaling my own breath because I've basically executed a carefully orchestrated face-plant.

I stretch my arms out towards my toes, laying most of me flat against the mat for a minute or two. It's as much as my right knee can take. It's always been finicky, ever since I injured the iliotibial band way back in college, and never had it looked at or treated. I'm sure it's the reason a side stretch feels as if my kneecap is dislocating. And probably contributes to my knee sensitivity to impact. But it's been 30 years so there's not much I'm going to do except work around it.

I haven't decided to up my weights just yet. Must not be bored enough. I see a few regulars but don't acknowledge most of them, except I wave at R because I almost walk into him as I'm returning the magnetic discs to the front desk. And Mo, because she shows up just as I'm done, and by then I'm fairly amiable. I note the Mayor, Nixon, M, Ranger Rick, Tall Skinny Blonde, Skinny J, Skinny Mustache and others. I saw B earlier but she's always chatting with large groups of men and I hate, absolutely hate, walking up to that. So I don't. She's probably mad at me for not taking time out to chat with her, but I'm not all that interested so I guess I'll just be guilty of being unsociable. In the locker room, a girl asks me if I box. I tell her only the (Nexersys) machine outside. She seems disappointed, and I wonder if I look like someone who boxes. Like I've said before, boxers have great arms so that makes me happy. 

Week Three Day Two Back Workout:
35 min hill #6 = 3.86 miles (boy did this suck today!)
Seated Cable Rows: 12 @ 60 lbs / 12 @ 90 lbs / 10 @ 105 / 8 @ 120 / 3 x 6 @ 127.5 lbs / 12 @ 112.5 lbs / 15 @ 97.5 lbs
My back feels thoroughly warmed up now!
Cage Stretch with bw heel dips, and side kicks
RGBB Rows: 6 x 13 @ 105 lbs
I can really feel my lats during the last reps of each set!
Pendlay Rows: 6 x 12 @ 65 lbs
Yep, this is still kicking my butt but not quite as bad.
I'm tempted to do arms but then I'd have little to do tomorrow beside cardio which is going to be painful at best. Instead I decide to do abs because I'll probably skip them tomorrow.
Flat Bench Twisting Sit Up: 150 (I counted but it didn't really seem like a lot)
I always find people staring at me when I get up from the bench, maybe because I'm not looking too stressed about it, or maybe they've been keeping count?
Torso Twist: 2 x 25 @ 50 lbs
Ab Crunch Bench: 100
I just realized it has a name decaled on the base, and it's called Abench. Or ABbench. 
Mat Stretch: my splits are good today and I'm very pleased. 

I catch sight of R resting on a bench between sets. Tall men don't seem very flexible, especially those with lots of sports injuries, broken shoulders, herniated discs, torn cartilage. He's still awfully cute, and I look away. He's already told me that he's broken and this is the best he's going to be. Perhaps I looked disappointed, or concerned. Later, he said that he's always in pain, but at least at the gym, he's making his own pain. I can respect that, and I do.

The gym scale reads 110.6 lbs and that makes me happy because I was really expecting it to read 112 or something ghastly like that. But I'm so hungry I feel a tad ill in the shower. When I get home, the squirrels have dislodged the bird feeder and seeds spill all over the ground, but it's easily remedied. What might not be so easy to fix is this fatigue. But we'll see tomorrow!