Gym -- Week 3 Recap

Monday -- I rode the recumbent bike for 30 minutes before my scheduled training time.  I worked with Erin today, as Julie is on vacation.  Erin is fabulous, too.  I feel stronger today.  We are doing the same exercises as last week.  The great news is that on the exercise where Julie had to pick me up every time we've done it in the past, I was able to pick myself up to the bench myself today!  It was by no means graceful, but I did it!  Also, on the ones that I wasn't able to finish before, I finished them.  It felt amazing.  After the workout, I walked on the treadmill for an hour.  I walked at a slow 2.0mph pace, and it felt great.  I kept my hands on the side rails so that I wouldn't lose my balance.  I finished off with another 30 minutes on the recumbent bike.  I am so tired, but I feel so good!


Tuesday -- 60 minutes on the recumbent bike followed by 60 minutes on the treadmill.  #winning!

Wednesday -- 60 minutes on the recumbent bike followed by training.  Modified push-ups (using a bench), modified sit-ups (using a ball), pole squats, walk the line (no stumbling!), bicep curls, pull downs (not sure if that's what it's called).  On the pull down machine, the weight was upped from 25 to 30 pounds.  I'm really surprised that I can do that much, with not using my arms for the past four years.  After training, I managed 60 minutes on the treadmill.  I may have overdone it a bit.  I upped my speed from 2.0 to 2.2 then 2.4.  I don't think I'm ready to let go of the handrails just yet.  I was ready to give up about thirty minutes in, then this song came up on my playlist.

I listened to it at least three times, and was able to push through to 60 minutes.  This is me brushing off the dust and dancing through the fire.  😊  I did an additional 20 minutes on the recumbent bike before leaving feeling worn out but fabulous.

Thursday -- Yeah, so I definitely overdid it yesterday.  I did feel fabulous when I left the gym, then I went home, ate lunch, and rested.  I had a headache and a bit of nausea, so Advil and Zofran joined me in a nap, which lasted the rest of the day.  I didn't do anything at all productive yesterday afternoon.  So when I went to the gym today, I did 60 minutes on the recumbent bike, and 60 minutes on the treadmill.  I kept the pace at a sedate 2.0mph.  With Pandora's Classic Goes Pop music in my ears and the industrial fan blowing on my back, I could close my eyes and almost feel like I was floating through the air.  I eyed the elliptical on my way out, and thought for a half a second to give it a try -- only for half a second, though.  I don't think I'm ready for that yet.

Friday -- I decided to make this a rest day.  I stayed active in the morning sorting items for this weekend's flea market, and general housecleaning.  True to form, though, as lunchtime approached, exhaustion set in.  So, I had a little rest after lunch, only about a half hour.  Then it was back to being active, though I was a little slower than this morning.  I'm afraid the honeymoon phase of going to the gym is starting to end, and I really need it to keep going.  Hopefully taking this day of rest will do it, and I'll be eager to be back at the gym tomorrow morning.


Saturday -- I got back in to the routine this morning.  I went to the gym and managed 60 minutes on the recumbent bike, followed by 60 minutes on the treadmill, followed by 25 more minutes on the bike. As I looked around, I saw a woman (I know her, but won't call her out) who had been running on another treadmill was now running backwards on the treadmill.  My jaw hit the floor.  When she was done I told her how impressed I was.  That was just amazing to see.  I said, "I would say 'goals' but that's never going to happen ... and here I am walking at a measly 2.0mph."  She said, "No.  Everybody's goals are different, and you have been through in the past few years more than I ever have."  You know, she's right.  Everyone has their own goal, and everyone goes at a different pace.  It's all relative.  For other people, what I'm doing is probably a walk in the park, but for me, well, I'm pretty darn proud of myself for what I'm doing.  This is the same woman who, the other day was driving off while I was crossing to my car.  She said to me then, "Look at you!  You go!"  Coming from her, after what I saw her do today ... nice.

Sunday -- Today was another rest day, though unintentional.  My plan was to get on the recumbent bike at home and do work around the house.  I woke up at 5:30am (why can't I do that on work days?!), took care of the dogs, had breakfast, did a little bit around the house then had to rest.  That turned into a nap.  Since I woke up a few hours later, I've been alternating knitting and reading and closing my eyes.  Tomorrow starts a new week.




I have been doing better on the nutrition side.  I'm still logging everything in to MyFitnessPal.  It's eye opening when you start to log your food as to how much more you're eating than you think, at least in my case.  I've made some adjustments, nothing drastic.  (I need to do this gradually; if I go whole hog right away I'll get frustrated and quit.)  The sandwiches I have for lunch no longer have mayonnaise, just mustard, or the top piece of bread.  Instead of chips, I transitioned from regular chips to Baked Lays to carrots and ranch dip or an apple.  I realized last night that I haven't had a soda in two and a half weeks, nor the milk that I had been having with meals.  I don't miss coffee either, though it was decaf anyway.  Water all the way.  The next change will be gradually eating more chicken than beef.


Monday morning weigh-in shows a 3 pound loss for the week, and a 2 pound loss overall.  Yay!

Non-scale victories
I was able to pick myself up onto the bench by myself during Monday's training session.
I did not bring my walker to the gym all week.  I think it's safe to say that I will not be using it anymore unless I really feel that I need it.  It's liberating!
Not needing to park in the handicapped spaces anymore, as I don't need the access aisle to load my walker in and out of the van.
Saturday -- no resting; no nap


Read next:  Gym -- Week 4 Recap