Work, workout, and rain

[redbird]

In today's editorial episode, no, we are not going to tell the eighth graders to hit liquid nitrogen with a hammer.

This gym renovation stuff is getting old: everything is crowded, and I have to waste time walking the long way around to get from the stairs to the locker room, and then from the locker room to the areas where I can actually exercise.

Nonetheless, I saw Emilie. I was grumpy at the beginning, because I was already stressed from work. and then Emilie kept me waiting, for an indeterminate (and longer than expected) period when I couldn't really go off and find something else to do except wait, and I'm not good at doing that calmly without a book. (If I'd known, I might have done a bit more cardio, or lifted something.) But we did good balance stuff, and some other good stuff, and one (lat pulldown) that I hope doesn't prove bad for my shoulder in a day or three. She says I am getting toned. Some of what she's noticing is stuff I had a year ago, before the knees got awkward and I wasn't exercising much for a bit. Specifically, I have visible back muscles again, and my legs, including hamstrings, were looking good. Details at the end of the post.

The problem isn't that it rained today. The problem is that my raincoat is too big, so I was dry but not warm. I think it fit better last year; there are disadvantages to a shifting body weight or shape, even when it involves being more toned. And this coat doesn't have a belt, or even belt loops. It does have really good pockets and a zip-in lining, both of which I am glad of.

My left shoe also leaked a bit, but I've been planning to retire this pair of shoes; I already have the replacement, I've just been wearing them alternately while I break the new ones in. (Alternating is supposed to make the shoes last longer.) These might still do for dry days; I'm not going to throw them away immediately.


Cardio, 11:00, top 133
Row on physio ball, 35 pounds, 3 sets of 15
Lat pulldown, I didn't note the weight, I think two sets, one 15 or so, the second 12
Quite a few of the abdominal bridge with my feet on the roller (a dozen or 15, in three groups: that's a lot of these)
Standing on the foam roller, starting with holding on and rolling it back and forth, including holding with one hand; then hold, and standing on one foot; and then standing with holding on. This is easier than it seems like it should be, but I get up there confidently; Emilie is impressed. She said this afternoon that last week, she'd been thinking she needed to spot me and be ready to catch me, and then the moment I actually did it, she relaxed, because I clearly wasn't having difficulty.
Calf raise leaning on ball, 2 sets of 15
Squats leaning on ball, 3 sets of 15
Some ab work (a variant on crunches, with a block behind my head and a squishy ball propping my back up a bit; this is one we do a lot)
Some leg stretches
Standing, pulling on a handle with one arm at a time, and twisting as I did so (related to a rowing thing we did a few weeks ago). The trick is to hold the pelvis still and turn the body above that; I found it easier to keep the pelvis still while pulling with the right arm and twisting to the right than pulling with/twisting to the left. Then, standing on one foot and pulling, no twist.
I did well today at keeping my right shoulder still/relaxed on exercises that aren't supposed to use the shoulder; it tends to get involved when it shouldn't, when I'm trying (for example) to exercise my abs or back.

The problem isn't that it rained today. The problem is that my raincoat is too big, so I was dry but not warm. I think it fit better last year; there are disadvantages to a shifting body weight or shape, even when it involves being more toned. And this coat doesn't have a belt, or even belt loops. It does have really good pockets and a zip-in lining, both of which I am glad of.

My left shoe also leaked a bit, but I've been planning to retire this pair of shoes; I already have the replacement, I've just been wearing them alternately while I break the new ones in. (Alternating is supposed to make the shoes last longer.) These might still do for dry days; I'm not going to throw them away immediately.

Comments

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

I have very little knowledge of chemistry, but... ummm... yup, hitting liquid Nitrogen with a hammer (or perhaps anything else) does not seem to be a good idea. Now, using it to make maple ice-cream....