Tag: illness

Ugh..but we’ll be ok.

I am healthy and with health insurance and employment. I have money in the bank (not a lot of it, but enough). So I have plenty to be grateful for.
But, I am just gloomy today; this quarantine stuff is getting old. Yes, the university made the right decision but it was a painful (and predictable) one. Yes, it is supposed to be for 2 weeks but…

On a personal note (see the “health insurance remark” above) I got a physical yesterday and got a flu shot in one arm and the first part of shingles shot in the other arm. That left me with two sore arms and seemingly less energy.

But I said “well, I’ll try this morning’s weight workout” and see what I can do; my goal was 2/3’rd of normal.

Less warm up.
pull ups: did “broken sets of 10” broken into singles, doubles, triples, then sets of 5, then singles again. 60 reps total. Decent height.
bench press: backed off, 10 x 134, 10 x 154, 10 x 154
trap bar deadlift (deficit; stood on 10 kg plates) 10 x 154, 10 x 184, 10 x 206. Full stop and set down between each rep; saved the last set for last
single arm rows: 10 x 60 (dumbbell)
seated shoulder: 10 x 80, 10 x 84, 10 x 84 (or 79, 83, 83..whatever)
2:30 plank
headstand

And I felt better afterward. Oh, arms are now sore again, but I swear less so.

Extending the arms overhead is just a bit painful..in a sore way.

starting the week off right …sort of

I got up and did:

Rotator cuff
pull ups: 5 sets of 10 (went ok)
incline press: 10 x 135, 3 x 155, 5 x 150
decline: 8 x 170
dumbbell shoulder: 3 sets of 10 x 45
goblet squats: 3 sets of 6 x 70 (1 to the bench, other decent depth)
Hammer rows: 3 sets of 10 x 200
clean and press: 3 x 95
back squats (numerous free sets), 6 x 45, 6 x 65 (better than before)
plank, headstand
dead: 6 x 189, 2 sets of 6 x 167 Romanian (felt it)

whew. Parts of this just about killed me; I didn’t rest that much but it seemed unusually hard.

Later, it seemed like I had just a touch of low-grade fever..not sure what is going on. I wonder if I am totally over that crud I had a week and a half ago.
I am just a touch weak, I think.

Less than optimal going in

Though my cough is gone, my weakness from last week’s cold remains and I didn’t really feel that good this morning.
So I went into my weight session thinking “ok, I’ll just do full range of motion stuff” and…well, I was able to do well. Note: Monday’s morning weight room is crowded…Friday is almost always empty.
I caught a break as I walked in and a lady let me in early.

Pull ups: 5 sets of 10 (4, then 1 after the chest presses); these went very well.
rotator cuff (full set)
bench press: 10 x 135, 3 x 185, 2 x 185
incline bench press: 10 x 135 (almost 10 singles)
decline bench press: 10 x 170 (got ’em all; last one wasn’t pretty but it went up)
shoulder press: 3 sets of 10 x 45 dumbbell (the barbell ones were making my back sore)
rows: 3 sets of 10: 120, 115, 115
goblet squats: 6 x 50, 70, 70 (focused on going UP, not forward, and that helped a great deal; touched the bench)
leg presses (6 x empty, 6 x 90 …just trying to get the full range of motion; I want to work on this.)
plank, headstand
Then at home:
hex deadlift: 6 x 133, 6 x 203 (tough but kept my form)
bar deadlift: 6 x 187 (focused on form; I was getting tired)

Bodyweight: 194.7 with shoes and shorts; this works out to about 192.2.

Snow and cold..

Well, this wasn’t snowmageddon but it is cold and there is a LOT of frozen slush around. After yoga, I elected to run 4 miles on the Riverplex track (7.3 laps to the mile); in 45:51:
12:16, 11:12, 11:02, 11:20 (tiring); this was about a 10:24 average. (1.096 miles very 8 laps; the last 3 miles were about “10 minute-ish”)

I am not quite over my cold..in terms of strength but the cough is all but gone. At full strength, I would have gone for another mile.

This followed a gentle yoga class that was sparsely attended.

Last night’s Bradley Men’s Basketball game was also sparsely attended.

The cold front was moving in at the time and there was snow.

The game itself: it was 33-29 at the half; back and forth. And with 9:30 to go: it was 51-51. But BU tightened its defense and pulled away to win 72-61, taking control with about 3 minutes to go or so.

It is a great feeling to go to a Bradley Basketball game, either the Men’s or Women’s game, and *expect* a BU victory. I’ve got a couple of BU Women’s games coming up this weekend.

Feeling bad but doing ok anyway

Yes, I have a cold; the cough is there.

So I figured I’d just do a “full motion” workout and not worry about how much weight I was using.

And..it went ok. Bodyweight: 191 so it has come down nicely.

pull ups: 4 sets of 10, one of 7, one of 5 (kind of quick)
rotator cuff
bench: 10 x 135, 4 x 185 (better than average), 7 x 165
incline: 10 x 135
decline: 5 x 175 (surprisingly hard)
shoulder presses: 2 sets of 4 x 95 (clean and press…lower it all the way down instead of just to parallel)
shoulder press: dumbbell: 10 x 45 (elbows out)
stiff legged deadlift: 2 sets of 6 x 95 (very careful)
rows: 3 sets of 10 x 115
goblet squats (spread out) 6 x 25, 6 x 60, 6 x 70 (these were ok)
plank and headstand
then hex bar deadlifts in the gym: 2 sets of 5 x 185, 5 x 205 (full reps); I was tired by then..focused on legs.

I didn’t do the deads in the basement as I figured Hostage would want to talk when I got home.

Social comment:
More and more, I tune out activists. Here is why:

“If you support candidate X, I know this about you…”

And no. Just no. People can support candidate X at this time during this circumstance for a whole host of reasons that you haven’t thought of.
But to the “activist” it appears to be plain: you *must* have arrived at this conclusion by considering the same points that I consider first.

Also: I know that I have doubts about my opinions; I am constantly wondering if I am wrong, or if I have missed something. It appears to me that introspection and activism do not go together.

Why such people have such confidence in their own opinions, I’ll never know.

But as for me: “activists” of this type end up on my “mute list” very quickly.

Dang it…got a cold…

I’ve had a throat tickle; it is now a slight cough. Doesn’t seem that bad; I feel just a bit down.
My “run” was nothing special; just my usual 5.3 mile W. Peoria course followed by a .92 spur to the local pizza place.

Time: 1:14:51 or 12:03 a mile..not so good but in line with my usual “easy run” training pace, and it felt easier than the last few, even with the minor amount of sleet, wind, etc.

Later: caught a college basketball game; with 16 minutes to go Bradley appeared to be in command, leading 44-30. But Evansville fought back to tie the game and with 3:50 or so to go, they had a 1 point lead. But BU got all of the rebounds down the stretch and shot 8 consecutive free throws. Bradley had a 38-29 advantage on rebounds and went 18-24 on free throws. The more perimeter minded Aces only had 8 free throws. Bradley shot 49 percent from the field (more inside shots and dunks); EU just under 40. But they launched 28 3 point shots, making 6, whereas BU was 1-11.

workout catch up

Busy the past few days:

Monday: weights only; usual; highlights: 3 x 185 on the bench, 10 x 135, 10 x 165 decline; 188 body weight. Usual other stuff; 4 sets of goblet squats (2 with 50), leg press.
Tuesday: took my Hostage to the dentist; ran this 5.3 mile course beforehand. 11 minute first mile; averaged 10:20 for the 5.33; was 42:08 at the 4.13. This pace was WORK, I am sorry to say.
Wednesday: 3 mile walk after weights: usual; pull ups were easy; incline: 10 x 135, 3 x 155, decline: 10 x 165, military 7 x 50 standing, 15 x 50 seated (supported), 10 x 40 standing. goblet: 6 x 25, 6 x 45, 6 x 50, then leg presses. Did my usual plank too.

Weight: 187. Note: throat not quite 100 percent; juice last night stung it a bit. Regular food doesn’t hurt it though.

Continuing

I admit that I some things about higher ed perplex me. I teach mathematics, and my professional thoughts are pretty much: “make sure I know the stuff and then attempt to convey it to students in the most coherent way possible. No one asks me to lie or to brainwash. It is true that I often simplify (e. g., in calculus, I do not discuss derivatives as a map from “tangent bundles”) and sometimes I do wave my hands a bit, though often I try to point out that we are using an assumption and, if possible, explain what could happen without the assumption.

But when it comes to social issues….oh boy. I am glad that I am in a STEM area.

Workout notes weights only: rotator cuff, goblet squats: sets of 6 with 25, 25, 50, 50, then 10 leg presses with 230
upper body: pull ups (5 sets of 10..good), bench: 10 x 135, 7 x 165, incline: 3 x 155, decline: 10 x 155, military: 10 x 50 standing, 10 x 45 standing, 15 x 40 standing, rows: 3 sets of 10 x 110 machine, planks, knee stretches.

Weight: 187. the “sore throat” diet is working..I appear to be better.

On the upswing

Later in the day: throat feels a bit better…I have an idea…gargling may have dislodged something.

Workout notes: yoga (nice class) then the following: 4 mile treadmill run: 10 minutes 5.2-5.4, then 10 at 6.7-6.8, 10 at 6.9-7.0-7.1 (20:00 for 2, 28:39 for 3, 29:35 for 3.1, walk for a few minutes, run then 6.1-6.2 over the last 5 minutes (39:40 for 4).

Then 4.6 mile walk outside on the river path; pretty.

Yoga: during “Half moon” my yoga teacher said “You are cheating on me” ..yeah, I got lazy. But the “you are cheating on me” was a nice riddle for social media.

Social media: I follow people for many reasons. Some are “celebrities of interest”, some are friends that I know from elsewhere, others are mutual follows. There are a few accounts that I really don’t care for, say, 50-80 percent of their posts, but ..really come up with insightful ideas 20-50 percent of the time. So the quality of their rare good posts makes it worth my while to scroll past the eye roll caliber stuff.

2 days late and 2 dollars short..

Dang it ..sore throat but the doctor says that it does NOT look infected..could have been acid reflux or drainage (possibly both). Time to let it calm down.
Workouts: going ok: yesterday weights: pull ups (5 sets of 10, 1 of 5), bench; 10 x 135, 3 x 185, incline: 10 x 135, decline 10 x 165, military: 7 x 50 standing, 15 x 50 seated, supported, 10 x 40 standing, rows: one arm 3 sets of 10 x 50, goblet squats: 6 x 30, 6 x 50, 6 x 50, 6 x 60, leg presses: 10 x 230, plank, side plank, head stand, knee stretches

today: yoga, then 8.83 miles very slowly (1:48) not much of an effort; a pleasant day to be out there; wound around the Gateway, goose loop, Mausoleum hill, prospect hill, no goose loop on the way back, no Gateway.

Sore throat; no infection (came on maybe Saturday?) Reflux or drainage.