Clueless at the Gym

Looking fat and puffy today

There seems to be no optimal time to go to the gym if I want to have access to the cross-trainers AND ellipticals I favor. If I go early, there's a big crowd because everyone wants to squeeze their workout in before spending the rest of the day doing more fun things. The lull between the morning and lunch crowd lasts less than an hour. After lunch there are kids from the local high school.

My knuckles are still a bit sore and pink from yesterday's Whack the Machine Day. I may just go back to using the broken machine. (At least until the Cross Arm actually breaks off.) Today's a Cardio Day. I need to kickstart my metabolism and new meal "plan." I've also started tracking my food again just to keep calories in check. Yes, back to using MyFitnessPal (by UnderArmour). Because I cut my cardio down to just 35 minutes per workout, I've labeled myself as only moderately active. It's not like I have a crazy physical job like ditch digger. If I'm not at the computer or driving someplace, then I'm on the computer or reading. Or reading on the computer. This gives me 1350 calories to play with.

Today I've already spent more than half of that (716 to be exact) on breakfast and lunch. One ounce of walnuts is great for the fiber and omega-3s, but a whopping 190 calories. I like to toss them into my oatmeal, along with a scoop of protein powder and a 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries. BTW, walnuts are toxic to dogs. Sorry pups.

I can get on the cross-trainer I like for the first 35 minutes. My plan is to follow up with pull ups, push ups and abs. Then another 35 minutes, preferably on the elliptical. Everything goes to plan until I get on the elliptical. Stinky Butt is pedaling on one of the reclining bikes a few stations ahead of the ellipticals. Ugh. I figure it's okay because I can't smell him from where I'm pedaling. Uh oh. He dismounts, and then stands right behind the machine next to me. I don't panic at first because he could just be checking his phone. There are 4 ellipticals. I pick the 2nd in the row because it has the best glide to it. The 3rd one had issues with the display console, but a smooth glide. Not really sure about the first and last machines. Stinky Butt gets on the machine right next to me and I find myself getting extremely upset. Ugh, I don't want to wait until I can smell him. He's also huge, well over 6 feet and 300 plus pounds, so he looms over me like a mountain.

I've already started Program 1 but I'm only 3 or 4 minutes into it. It's too much of a coincidence that Stinky Butt has decided to hop on the same machines as I am. There are treadmills, Step Mills, Octagons, rowers, stationery bikes, Espresso bikes. Why is he right next to me? As soon as he starts setting up, I shut down and grab all my gear, probably muttering and cursing under my breath. Because damn it, WTF!? The whole gym is virtually empty. Is he really that clueless, or does he think this is endearing behavior? I was born and raised in NYC, so I'm not as charitable as most people. I vote for him being a stinky creep. Others might say that he's merely a clueless oaf at the gym.

56 min of Not Me snoring

There's a skinny kid on the good cross-trainer so I get on the one I've used earlier in the week. My legs are a bit tired, and I didn't get great sleep last night. My husband's snoring makes me want to invest in a set of earplugs just for sleeping. Or a white noise machine. So I'm fairly certain I'm not going to get anywhere near 4 miles. Except that I do, in spite of my feet going numb just 15 minutes into it, and clearly not getting enough sleep. Well, that's shocking. Stinky Butt is nowhere to be seen. Maybe he left right after I vacated my elliptical? That supports my contention that he's a creep.

I do just 3 pistol squats in the next room before an abbreviated stretch to loosen my upper back. I'm attempting to work up to a reasonable 6-8 rep set. But I'm not in any hurry. My left shoulder feels twingey today and I wonder if it's from whacking the machine with the new but misaligned strike pads. It's looking more and more that I'm better off whacking the broken machine. At least until I break it. Kidding. Or not.

Next week I'm one of the chaperones for my son's 7th grade class trip to Bear Mountain where they'll visit the ruins of Ft. Montgomery, the Bear Mountain zoo (which I hear is pathetic) and some playing fields. I'm not sure what the point is, except maybe to use up an "educational trip" day. Skipping the gym that day!

Friday Cardio Day
8.81 miles

35 xtrainer
Calories 167
Miles 4.55
Average Heart Rate 143

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycle 50
Crunches 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

Interrupted elliptical Ugh

35 xtrainer
Calories 155
Miles 4.26

Pistol Squats 3

This Time I Really Mean It

Because my bedroom window faces east and has a half moon set high in the wall, I tend to wake when the sun rises, in spite of all the trees that surrounds our property. This means that I'm awake before the alarm goes off at 6:30. Well, technically, the clock says 6:28 but there's a weird two-minute lag in this corner of the bedroom. I suspect there's a magnetic anomaly in the bedrock under the house, but it's hard to say. Of course, I wonder now if I should be worried about radon, but since the bedroom is actually cantilevered several feet over big empty concrete foundation walls that are open to circulating air, I think the risk is minimal.

I'm awake before sunrise at 6:26 today because the sky is light well before the sun actually peeks over the treeline. My right shoulder aches. I also have a headache but that's due to dehydration. I'd had a Red's Wicked Black Cherry Ale with supper and it was such a large can that I didn't actually finish it. Usually I chase a Red's Apple Ale with a glass of water, but last night I completely forgot. And as a consequence, I woke up with a headache. Coffee soon fixed that. But not my shoulder. By the time I get to the gym, it's nearly 11 am and there are chatty seniors everywhere. I don't begrudge them the socializing. It's just that most of them seem in need of hearing aids and in spite of my earbuds and tunes, I can still hear them cackling. And I don't just mean the old women.

The cross-trainers are busy so I start with 30 minutes on the elliptical. Today I'm wearing a hand-me-down hoodie from my son. It's a tad smaller than my usual royal blue zip up so it doesn't hit me in the thigh when I'm on the Precor. It's my belief that stretching is only useful after a workout, so I don't want to jeopardize myself by using the Stretch Cage before or between all my cardio sessions today. Stretching has been shown to actually weaken muscles. Of course, I don't do the "slow walk warm up' either. (Heck, I walk the dog at a faster trot than that.) Today is truly Just Cardio. Once I wipe down the elliptical, I climb up on the Step Mill. Afterwards, I can finally get on the cross-trainer I favor. My right foot starts to get numb and tingly halfway through, and by the last 5 minutes, my other foot has tingly toes as well. Once I'm completely done I can use the Stretch Cage. But no pull ups today. No core, no push ups. Boy do I feel naughty!

I'm fairly satisfied with my workout since I wasn't sure what to expect moving from cardio machine to cardio machine without taking any real rest in between. Not too many regulars today. I see Sad Eyes and I wonder what the strategy is behind her routine. Some people just work out on whatever machine is available without any obvious purpose or goal. I think that's a mistake. I'm a firm believer in doing Big Compound movements first, followed by smaller more specialized exercises. In the locker room, I snap a few selfies and I'm pleased that I still have "arms" even though today was only a Cardio Day. I'm sorely tempted to whack the machine tomorrow. I probably shouldn't, but I haven't seen anyone young or old at the Nexersys all week. I guess I'll see if my shoulder wakes me up tomorrow and decide from there.

Thursday
Cardio Day 6.67 miles

30 min elliptical
Program 3
Calories 295
Miles 2.60

20 min Step Mill
Level 6
Calories 156
Floors climbed 66

30 x-trainer
Calories 146
Miles 4.07
Average Speed 8.14
Average Pace 7:22