Counter-intuitive Energy

Southpaw combos!

I got much less than the optimal 8 hours of sleep last night. In fact, I rarely ever make it to 7, unless it's a lazy weekend. Which meant my "intelligent mind" was dreading the gym session today because working out when you're really tired isn't very enjoyable. But I was wrong yet again. This is probably the millionth time (yes, I'm exaggerating as I truly only remember one other time in recent memory) I've worried over sleeplessness ruining a gym workout (and short-term memory retention), only to be proven wrong by the actual experience.

Warming up on the elliptical, my pulse rate is racing and never drops down to a resting pace. Not too weird. I've got an extra layer on today because it's colder than normal. The gym is never "tropical" no matter what the weather outside. My right elbow is still sporadically tender, but only during certain movements. Mostly I forget that it's borderline injured. (When I'm home, I apply a bit of Penetrex® cream because it contains arnica and DMSO2, both known to reduce muscle and tendon inflammation. Click here to view the product website.) 

7 rounds Beginner 

The Nexersys is looking really beat-up, especially the pad facing my left, AKA the traditional-stance Cross. It hangs lower at an odd angle and I'm worried I'll hit it too hard and break the screws holding the pad to the extended arm. (I've done it before.) However, when I prod the arm, it seems sturdy and stable enough. I do my 7 rounds Beginner level just to warm up. As usual, I don't start to perspire until the 5th round. I'm dreading the Intermediate rounds, and because the machine looks like it might not last much longer, I decide to add a few Advance level rounds. But I'm not a masochist, so I cut 2 rounds from Intermediate. 

The Intermediate program is erratic and flaky enough to be so frustrating that I'm planning to cut rounds down to 3 next time. The screen goes black over a dozen times, and more often than not, the combinations flash the screen haphazardly. This program level is probably the most popular among whoever else uses this machine. Maybe some of the evening, after-work crowd? No doubt it's overused and abused. 

It's been a long time since I last did rounds at the Advance level. At first, I forget that the machine defaults to South Paw (left-hand stance) when I go to select my program choice. I have to deselect everything I don't want to do such as Spar, Cardio, and Core. All I want to do is Follow Me. Then I remember that if I change it to Traditional stance, the first round shows up as South Paw. If I leave it as South Paw, the first round appears as Traditional. Ugh. Worst, the second round defaults back to South Paw, which I don't notice at first until I wonder why none of the combinations line up with the avatar. Once I realize I should ignore the commands (listed as words along the side of the avatar) and just strike where the avatar lights up, I score better. I'm happy when the third round reverts back to Traditional Stance. 

Not only does the Advance level have better combination strikes, but the programming is less erratic. Blows are called for at a much more rhythmic pace which I enjoyed. My lungs aren't burning (a good thing!) and I don't feel tired. Bonus: the screen didn't go black either! Next week I'm going to swap the number of rounds so that I'm only frustrated with 3 Intermediates and 5 Advance level rounds. But I don't know if the program will alternate between South Paw and Traditional as it did today. Hopefully, I'll still get a few more weeks of whacking the Nexersys before it becomes irreparably damaged. 

After I strip off my gloves and all the protective padding underneath, I see how many hammer grip pull-ups I can do. I get to 23 and my right elbow is really starting to hurt. Ugh. This is going to be supremely inconvenient tomorrow when I have to clear the snow out of the driveway from Winter Storm Evan. I hear chatter in the locker room with women betting on whether there'll be a two-hour school delay or not. Probably. 

So happy to sleep in my own bed!

I'm hungry even before I make it back to my car. But I'm awake. There are many theories about why getting less than the optimal amount of sleep might make you more energetic, the most popular one being that your body is overcompensating by releasing a flood of stress hormones. (Click here to read about that.) It is also suggested that waking during a less deep phase of sleep will make you less groggy. I know that if the alarm goes off and I'm in the middle of a dream, I'm very unhappy and fuzzy-brained for hours no matter how much caffeine I imbibe. I find it impossible to know when I'm going to fall into REM or deep sleep, which makes it difficult to "plan" when to wake up. 

Feel pretty rested

I have an app on my phone to track my sleep, but I haven't been able to use the data effectively to know when I'll fall into REM. REM or Rapid Eye Movement is when you dream and is considered Stage 4 in the sleep cycle. Deep Sleep precedes that at Stage 3. There are only 4 stages that repeat and cycle throughout the night. Without enough Stage 3 and 4 sleep, the body doesn't recover properly physically and mentally. If you don't get enough sleep, you also get sick. Ugh. 

Not enough sleep! 

I already know my immune system isn't the best -- why else would I have gotten shingles two years ago? So, on top of taking my vitamins, and getting reasonable amounts of sleep, I'm also back to eating smashed raw garlic a few times a week. I think it's working, if only because I keep hearing about people lately ill with the flu or bronchitis, and so far I'm okay. Well enough to shovel snow tomorrow. 

Pre-Evan Wednesday

10 min elliptical
Calories 90
Miles 0.81
HR 165-192

T, Y & I Raises
5lbs x 15 x 2

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15
Cage Stretch

Nexersys FM
Beginner 7r
Intermediate 5r
Advance 3r (trad/southpaw/trad)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 23
Quick Mat Stretch

Hit Or Miss

I wake up before my alarm goes off but wait in bed, under my covers just to make sure the alarm will actually sound. It does so I'm relieved. I don't know why appliances and electronics in my house have been sporadically malfunctioning. I've yet to check the toaster to see if all 4 slots will toast. The last time the toaster acted up, it was only toasting one side of the bread. Then it fixed itself. Now only 2 slots toast. Ugh. Maybe tomorrow the toaster fairy will visit and whack it with an invisible magic toaster wand, and it'll mysteriously work again. Maybe.

There's some sort of electromagnetic interference between the bedrooms, which means the automatic clock in my room runs 2 minutes slower than the one in my son's room just a few feet down the hall. I don't understand it at all. This only affects my phone in that sometimes the phone says it has a great wi-fi signal and cell bars, but actually doesn't, and so is slow to load mail, news, weather data. For accuracy, it's best to stand in the living room.

I wake up wondering if depression and anxiety are heritable. That's silly. I know they are, but I wonder if perhaps I'm suffering from a lesser form of what my mother had. I've been comforted by the fact that her craziness could be attributed to PTSD from surviving the bombing of Canton and watching people burn to death as a young child, as well as untreated strep which developed into rheumatic fever. There's evidence that this can lead to OCD-like personality issues. I didn't flee World War II, and I've never had rheumatic fever. Yet, I'm filled with anxiety which is devolving into depression. I've spent my whole life trying to figure it out. The only thing I know for sure is that vigorous exercise gives me relief, and makes me feel sane.

The only problem with my personal course of treatment is that not only does it take a bit of time (a few hours a day), but it consumes a lot of energy as well. I'm tired, sometimes by late afternoon, and I don't always sleep all that well. I go to the gym out of habit, not with any hope of feeling better. Of course, I always feel better after my workout, although I wouldn't say I was actually cheerful. But it also means that lesser workouts don't do much for me. I've adapted to the more strenuous pace, and like any addiction, I have to keep upping the dose. Eventually I'll catch a cold, and be forced to slow down. I think my anxiety is getting worse. Financial worries and the craziness of the world have us all on edge these days.

I copy and paste my routine from last week into my phone and make minor adjustments. Snow Bird is in the Stretch Cage again so I do my mid and high band pulls on the railing next to the heavy bag. It's just as effective. There's only one working Nexersys, and I'm glad it's the one I like to use. I don't know why the other one has the screen turned off, but I'm worried that the beasts who come in the evening will totally wreck the last remaining machine. Ugh.

The gym is cold today. We got a dusting of snow this morning, and the wind makes the temp feel lower than it really is. I'm barely warm halfway through the Beginner rounds, and there's a knot under my left shoulder blade. I keep trying to extend my arm to stretch out the knot, but I might have to resort to using my trusty old wooden "doorknob roller" at home later. For Intermediate level, I tap in 5 rounds without any hesitation. I did 3 last week and it kicked my butt. This isn't going to be any easier, but I feel like it's time to move on. You don't know what you can do until you do it.

I will freely admit that my lungs were burning the entire 5 rounds. And when I was done, the sweat was dripping off my nose like rain. The screen went dark 4 times, once even before I hit the pad. When it goes dark, the program still runs but you can't see what combos are called, and you lose points. Oh well. I only got the Hitting Too Hard message once. I guess that's an improvement. The glare on the screen is crazy distracting, and makes it hard to see anything useful. I like it better when the gym pulls the shades down, but the sun is finally out so the shades are up. Hopefully, the machine will last long enough for me to graduate back to 7 rounds Intermediate, and then perhaps drop down to 4, and add 3 rounds Advance. I have my fingers crossed. I actually don't know what I'd replace this routine with should the Nexersys die. This is definitely a much more intense form of HIIT cardio (3 min on, 1 min off per round), and hitting the heavy bag just doesn't do that for me.

Afterwards, I only manage to squeeze out 23 pull ups. My arms are definitely tired. But I'm happy that my gym pants are extremely comfortable. My old Nike sport pants feel a tad tight, and they're about 15 years old. I got some boys XL sport pants at Kmart the other day for about $10 but I was worried they'd be too long. However, since I'm not actually stepping on them, they're not worth the trouble of hemming. I'm not built like a boy so the fit was a bit odd, but they have pockets (big bonus) and they're loose enough for me to move comfortably without constantly having to pull the pants legs down my thighs. Snug pants creep up and I hate leggings for the same reason.

I get home in time to start a load of laundry. I'll need a test run for the new dryer that's coming today. My old dryer ran fine last night, but I liken its use to gambling. You can never tell if it's going to run or not. Hit or miss. We bought an Anderson storm door from Home Depot a few years ago and had them deliver and install it. It was quite seamless, so with that prior experience in mind, I ordered a new dryer with Home Depot to deliver and install. (I've read terrible reviews about Amazon's installers so staying away from that.)

The delivery guys called 15 minutes before arrival, well within the 4-hour installation time agreed upon, and were total pros. They came inside and were skeptical at first that my old dryer would fit coming out of the laundry area, but since I'd had the repair guy pull the dryer out twice before, I knew it would. They were surprised, but duly carted off the old dryer, unloaded the new dryer in the driveway and cut it out of its box, then carted it inside and installed it. This took a mere 15 minutes! They took the box and wrapping with them so nothing for me to wrestle with. Awesome!

The senior guy turned the dryer on and had me sign the delivery paperwork. I asked him about the brand new, still-wrapped-in-plastic vent tube that HD had me buy as part of the installation process. He said, "Oh, you don't need it because your old vent is fine since it's in good shape and goes directly outside. You can just take this back to the store." That's contrary to every installation horror story I've read in the online reviews where installers refuse to finish because they're not allowed to use existing vent pipes, platforms, plugs, etc. I'm not sure if HD will accept it, but I'm taking it with my receipt to the local HD tomorrow. Because it cost me $25 that I didn't need to spend, and I'd like that back please.

The dryer fits where the old one used to be, and the door opens without any issues. I especially like the light that comes on when the dryer door is open, like a refrigerator! Also, the dryer has a "sanitize" setting which means it can get super hot. I'd like this appliance to have a long, long life. It's a Maytag, so I'm hopeful.

Humpday

10 min elliptical
Calories 87
Miles 0.79
HR 145-182

T, Y & I Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys FM
Beginner 7r
Intermediate 5r !!!

HGPU 23

Stretch

Alarms Awry

I had already decided last night that I was going to go a few rounds with the Nexersys at my gym today. What I hadn't expected was to be awoken by the sound of boulders hitting the inside of a huge dump truck across from my driveway at 7:35 am. 7:35?! My alarm should've woken me an hour earlier but was strangely silent. I check my phone. Yes, everything is set properly but yesterday the phone kept losing battery power unexpectedly, draining down to 46% with little usage. Ugh. I suspect that the issue is that I've been putting off updating the phone's IOS. I have an older 6+ model so the bells and whistles for the 7 and up don't apply. I habitually put off updating software as long as possible, usually until some of my apps refuse to work properly. I hadn't expected the phone itself to lose basic functionality! Ugh.

I wake my son and hurriedly drive him to school while I'm still in pajamas. Fortunately, he only misses a minute of the first class. Today's a half day anyway, as is always the case before a major holiday. When I return home, I put my phone back on the charger and reluctantly update the operating system. The battery is behaving normally now. I'm happy for such a simple fix, but annoyed that I'm being forced to update. It's one of the things I don't like about Apple products, as much as I love their phones, tablets and workstations. And the ill-fated Zune just couldn't compete with the iPod Nanos, which sadly, Apple has discontinued. Ugh.

The parking lot is crowded when I finally arrive at the strip mall where my gym is located. But I suspect the gym itself isn't very crowded. I did my grocery shopping yesterday. Everyone else has waited until today. I'm determined to whack the machine and proceed with my warm up routine. I am, however, unexpectedly sore from the past few days. Even my knuckles are sore, which puzzles me. The shoulders, back and chest make themselves known, but not enough to dissuade me from proceeding. And I'm skeptical if being sore is going to make any difference whatsoever.

I do the same Follow Me program as last week: 7 rounds Beginner and 3 rounds Intermediate. At some point I'll feel fit enough to increase the Intermediate rounds to 5, and then to 7. Then, I'll drop back to 4 and add 2-3 Advanced rounds, just for combo variations. Yes, I've thought about this a lot. I just wish the glare wasn't so bad from the big plate glass windows behind me. Ugh.

Again, I only feel really warmed up 3 rounds into the Beginner level. But I'm more tired than usual, and feel my lungs burn intermittently. The machine itself is alarmingly shaky, with an odd wobble, as if something's not quite bolted securely. Uh oh. However, I don't blank the screen or get any Hitting Too Hard warnings. Either I'm really tired (and slipping) or the machine is a little different today. I don't know who whacks it in the evenings. I never see anyone on it during the day. After a few minutes rest, I return to tap in 3 rounds Intermediate level. These rounds all make my lungs burn! I'll have to build up better cardiac endurance! But I can't really say that my arms are spent from punching, even with sore delts.

Not that my arms aren't tired. I squeeze out my hammer grip pull ups but can't make it past 24. And the 24th rep was just me getting my mouth to the bar, but I'm still counting it. I do a quick stretch before leaving because I still have to pick up pies from the farm shop at Salinger's Orchards. And my friend who hurt her back shoveling, has asked me to pick up a Carvel ice cream cake for her cousin who is coming up to visit her for Thanksgiving. It's the cousin's birthday. And, because I'm going to the farm to get my pre-ordered pies, my friend asks if I can pick up a pie for her as well. Luckily, the bakery is pumping out pies very quickly, so I don't have to wait long before they restock the shelves with freshly baked straight from the ovens. I also get a cheddar and chive scone for my friend so she can taste what a good one is. Sorry but those scones at the British tea shop don't have any flavor compared to these farm ones!

Once I get home, I have to wrap presents for my cousins' kids since tomorrow is the only time we'll see them. It'll be fun. But it's a long drive, and it'll be bitterly cold. Thank goodness for car heaters and warm coats... Happy Thanksgiving!

Wacky Humpday

10 min elliptical
Calories 96
Miles 0.85
HR 160-194

T, Y & I Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys Follow Me
Beginner 7r
Intermediate 3r

HGPU 24

Stretch