h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

gosh... kinda impressed myself today
So... this gym stuff works.... Even though I oughta not be able to do half of it as I've no thyroid pah... who needs thyroid Guess I'm just not like 'normal people' . . . . (OK stop laughing)
I couldn't have done that, today, a few months back.... don't think I could have done it a couple weeks back.... and.... then I can do it
higher weight, more reps and more sets, dead lifts, bench pressing, and squats with the barbell Instructor had to go with someone else.... I'd have been happy to carry on longer, TBH, but that probably would have overdone thing......
off ten pin bowling tonight, anyhow, so I guess I'll need to preserve some arm motion and strength for that
Might think about adding a forth gym session a week, just for extra weightlifting, so keep the two other sesssions with W, just for cardio and then the extra one, plus the one with the instucor for more on the weights gona be using my pull up bar in the house soon, I think, and thats something I've always struggled with getting the hang of, even when I was under 12 stone in weight though I think thats probably down to rubbish technique as much as anything

I'm thinking of joining a gym myself. A friend had to because of a bad back. And he's been asking me to join. It's probably a good idea

do! - afterall, if after a few months trying it, and it isn't for you... you don't have to remain a member! - the one I'm in is a pretty frill free affair; no sauna no spa stuff, no pool, just the decent stuff, a cardio room and the weight room (hence its about £14 PM, full price, compaired to most gyms near here which are over £40 PM) - Its transformed me, in a few months - and... seriously odd, I'm now looking forward to the next time I go! - and now trying to fit in a forth day a week, before then cramming in a fifth etc - just a pity this stupid anneurysm thing means I can't push too hard... err.... though I probably am, I don't think my cardiologist has ever been into a gym in her life, she seemed to have some odd ideas on what I oughta do and not do, and stuff she didn't mention as stuff not to do, is clearly higher impact and stress on teh body with more massive changes in BP than stome of the stuff she said not to do... but I guess having never been in a gym, she's just quoting bits of things she's read in pappers.... - like doing chin ups/pull ups... surely given I'm about 91 KG in weight, pulling up my own weight constitutes more than 20 KG . . . yet I'm not ment to push more than 20 KG on a bar... seems... odd to me and simularly the rowing machien which I'm ment to not do, seems a lot less effort and puff, than pullin gup my own weight, or doing lots of reps on a 20 KG bar... - mind, I've seen differn t advicce, from differnt sources, going by how many reps and sets an indivudal can do, before reaching muscle total fatigue, being a better guide to exaustion point, and over exertion, than just a plain limit on KG.... I mean, lifting a 20 KG bar to me, is still an effort... - to my personal trainer he starts on an 80 KG bar, and no doubt lifts that with as much ease as I do my 20 KG bar, so isn't using any more pressure on his body, in effect, than I am

all kinda of interesting achyness on my back in places, and thighs today and, slept like so long last night can't recall sleeping like that since last time the Dr gave me the good sleeping tabs - but this way I've not got the all day long feeling completely stoned the day after hot here today, went for a walk into town, to the bank and shops, before getting home, slicing up a pack of fresh chicken breasts, coating them in spices and grilling.... cooked spicey chicken in a tub in the fridge now, to last days - had a little bit of the spicey chicken, with mixed leaf salad, coleslaw, c cucumber and bell pepper, for lunch not bad at only less than 200 KCal

grilled bacon with two large flat mushrooms, grilled and with brie melted on them... for breakfast.....

Then went to the gym
5 sets, of 20 reps, squats, and then the same set/reps of bench presses, with stretching and suchlike between sets... with a 20 KG bar then on the exercise bike, for about fifteen minutes , but fast (24 KM/H) plus the walk there and back
would have done the cross trainer too, but I was pretty exausted by them....

that gym is so under-used.... Whilst we were there, in the weight room to start, there was one guy, doing bench presses, who then left (he was doing a substantial weight mind.... ), then later on, in the weight room, a couple girls came in, laid out some mats, and got out their IPods, arranged themselves... and did basically nothing, then left
in the cardio room, there was one other guy, doing some exercises, but he soone finished and left... - the only other person floating about was my personal trainer, (wasn't due to be with him today), but as he was there, he corrected my stance and suchlike a couple times, and was all kinda ' at waht I'm doing now - mind I did politely refuse his idea of doing some flys (the ones where you lay on your tummy, on the bench, and holding weights in each hand, 'flap your wings'.... - they kill )

home and had lunch. about 350 KCal, some more of the grilled spices chicken I cooked up yesterday, in a salad, with some mixed lettuce leafs and some cucumber, coleslaw, and half an avocado and a litle bit of feta
so... I've eaten about 650 KCal thus far today, actually maybe more like 600, and done about 700 KCal exercise - do I deserve a or two tonight? (that'll be another half an hour or more exercise too, mind, walking there and back )

plan is to go to gym again tomorrow, this time mainly for cardio; so maybe start with bike and cross trainer/ski machine, then do what weights I've energy for, after that, until exaustion basically

may need a nap soon, have showered on getting home, before lunch; and got to listen to the new fabulus neighbour!- practising singing scales.... at last!; a musical neighbour who's got real tallent!; not only singing scales, but Arabic ones!; I've absolutely no idea how one makes those quarter tone/intervial notes... so impressive

We got a thunderstorm.... but not directly overhead, seems to have started North of us, then gone off due East towards the sea, and we're below that, so missed the good stuff.... but at least the air is a bit clearer now

Rode a bicycle 54 kilometers today in the most splendid weather. Halfway we rested on the porch of an old inn overlooking a beautiful fjord with a forest on the other brink. Everything from butterflies to golden eagles were in the air and a few sailing boats passed us by while we had pickled herring, warm fish cakes, freshly roasted pork tenderloin and brie with apricot compot and washed it down with a nice bottle of chilled rosé

indeed! - I really miss cycling from when I could see... used to cycle so much, just getting about from A to B, but also long long cycle rides at the weekend, useually involving camping (and a pub), at the destination, often we'd do over 100 miles at the weekend, and not really think much of it... Mind, I kinda miss the cannoeing too, and hiking but they're so just not the same when you can't see where your going... - which is why exercise bikes are so* dull! that was a pretty good cycle by the sound of it... damn good exercise of course

Well, now that you've got W going to the gym a tandem bicycle might be suggested... and/or a kayak...


They even make tandem recumbent bicycles. You can ride all day on a recumbent.

No! - asides anything even when I could see I didn't have the balance for a tandom! - other thing, where I live, we're surrounded by total morons. just today on way back from a gym, we see a commercial van, turn the wrong way into a one way/no entry street, and then look perplexed, that, on a road, with no markings or no turning ability in the direciton he's trying to go, he gets slightly mythed looked by the cyclists he's just nearly killed, and the cars he's blocking.... there is no wher esafe here, to walk let alone cycle... and the other cyclists make it just as dangerous as the actual motorised cars etc; they ignore pavements, left/right turning, don't signal, ignore road lights, crossing lights, and paths and pavements with equal disregard for their own, and other peoples lives; plus, quite honestly, on an actual cycle on the road, is just the same as in a cycle in the gym now; either way its in a void, just in the gym its cooler, with breathable air, and minus the hurrendous noise and polution there is on the streets here; I'm getting kinda fed up with being in a city, its just so noisy and plutes, no air that is breathable, and I can't hear anymore, in the city, too much noise polution, even when it is quiet, there is constant all pervasive noise, and that now obliterates my ability to 'hear' where I am, or sense the surroundings, the pervasive noise doesn't work well with teh steroids, so I constantly feel clostrophobic and 'cut in', or boxed in, unable to move or think due to all my brain being occupied trying to filter out the unnecessary noise... err.. its hard to explain; like the other day when we walked all the way out to the village outside here; I could hear again..... which ment I could feel the streets around me, and hear the distance, and space and know where my body was, but in th ecity.... not even at night when the roads are quiet can I do that, as ther eis the constant electrical background noise, pipes, traffic in the distance, plus the air is so thick with ... I assume pollution its not like walking through real air anyhow; no wher ein the house to store a bike... still considering moving but if we did, it'd be so hard to find somewhere near a decent enough hospital, albeit this one is rubbish for me, it is a working hospital, and elsewhere, as we dont' have a car, we'd be stuck given any distance to get to appointments, were we not in a city with working buses etc... though we still keep thinking about moving, its tricky to think where too.... wher e we're located, the gym, the bus, hospital, all the shops and banks etc, are walkable basically which is rahter handy when neither of us can drive Plus, I'm still thinking, for long term, it might be worth moving sooner rather than later, to get established somewhere, before I end up in a wheelchair and have to leave this house anyhow (its all stairs and no ground floor)

that all sounds a bit negative... its no ment to be!

No worries!

Here's what I read. "Bicycles aren't a good idea for me in Cambridge, and neither is this house."

So, you need to find a nice place in a nice village on a transportation line near a city with better hospitals. And then you need a side-by-side recumbent (or semi-recumbent) tandem that doesn't require balance.

If you are a good boy, girl or whatever and do your exercises at the gym you may pamper yourself with a ride on one of those bicycle rickshaws that have become fashion in tourist traps

good idea! - actually I think I oughta deserve a spa day treat soon, after all my gym efforts! gosh... still noticing new muscles popping up in places I've never had them before... just extra definition I guess to where there was none before and I swear I've got som enew palpiable blood vessels in my arms, which is a serious bonus given how useless my other blood vessels have got the past few years

Went to the pub last night.... got pretty only had four pints at the pub, but then back to my friends, until 4 AM, and that saw a 6 pack of demolished.... felt pretty rubbish all day... but showered after dinner, and made it out this evening, to the 'party in the park' a local even put on by th e council.... not a lot there TbH.... listened to a bit of the music on the main stage, and ignored all the hundreds of food retailing oppertunitys going on... all junk food of course... met up with a bunch of friends in the local LGBT group, and went to look at the 'LGBT' tend thing.... which was truely aweful some guy on guitar who couldn't sing, and/or play, some weird girl doing .... I've no idea what then a LGBT choir that coudln't sing in tune but met a load of people... including a transitionged/ing 'girl' who I've not met before.... got some loverly compliments on my new dress I was wearing - and then bumped into my Personal trainer from the gym.... who either didn't notice I was in a dress, or failed to comment, or somehow knew already I cross dressed (which of course I don't do at the gym) left there, as it was... just not wildly exciting or our sort of thing,
popped into a quiet pub on the way home.
and, was confronted by a group of people, wearing pith helmuts
absolutely mental bunch of people, very loud, and very very drunk; so W made up a cunning plan, and we ran away from them, under the disguise of having to go home for dinner... - again the girls in that group all ed over my new dress, including a lesbian couple also wearing pith helmuts
wondered toward s home, but change dmind and went to a pub near the house, and sat in the garden there, and had another (milk choc stout, which was.... so milky and so chocy!)
had a sudden fear that the pith helmut wearing nutcases would randomly turn up at the new pub we were in; so W and me, found two alternative ways out of the pub, just in case; over the fence, and through the graveyard, or down a back passage way to the fireexit - luckily we didn't re-encounter the pith helmut wearing loons...
came home and had some and now its nearly time for my GH injection
gym tomorrow, more weights I think, plus some cardio on the bike or ski machine if I have teh energy

Other than color and support in different places, is there really much difference between male and female gymwear? Actual gymwear, not "activewear" to be worn on the couch

Probably not! The tee shirts I wear to the gym, are just plain cotton things, we get from a cheap cloting shop; I don't even think they're gendered male or female tee shirts as cuh and the tracksuit bottoms/jogging bottoms are... pretty non-descript polycotton things from a cheap sports shop which again I don't think were specifically 'male' or 'female' trousers - of course I could always wear my fancy leggings with the roses or frogs on, to the gym, though I guess they're more for yoga than weight lifting