Got to hand it to the Spurs for an incredible defense last night. BUT it was only game one. :) The CAVs were only 8 down, so who knows what might happen next time. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Lithuanian on the team, did a great job. He comes from the same area of Lithuania that my grandparents came from...so I have to cheer him on. :) The competition is HOT and this looks like it is going to be a great series of games. Go Cavs!
I'm going to try not to get too political in my blog, but I just have to say that the media lies, people! The media leaves out a great deal of information in order to sway public opinion...to make news! If you choose to blindly Bush-bash because it is popular - with the recent media gripe being that Bush never signed the Kyoto treaty ... then READ UP ON IT. (Feel free to dislike him for anything, as long as it is backed by facts). Bush didn't sign it and Bill Clinton didn't sign it because the biggest offenders, China and India are EXEMPT. These two countries are continually increasing their usage of coal for manufacturing and project further increases, in turn increasing their emissions output by 55% and 47% respectively between 1990 - 2004. The Kyoto Protocol as written would DO NOTHING to really help reduce greenhouse gases, as long as those two countries (and other developing nations) are exempted. I respect someone (even Bill Clinton!) who knows what the heck a document says and what it will really do or not to, and stands up for what is right even if it is going to be sickeningly unpopular. (It also was not in the best interest of our national economy - we all like security as far as food, clothing, & shelter go. One can pretend to be above it and call it greed, but we whine when the unemployment rate is high and food is scarce. As written, we'd lose more jobs to Mexico & elsewhere due to the costs of implementing it...etc, etc). When China, India and Brazil are included and when more focus is placed on reducing dependence on fossil fuels, then maybe there will be something that merits a John Hancock.
BTW, pollution sucks and we need to do something about it - BUT according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "of the 160 billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere each year, only seven billion are man-made. Perhaps they are contributing to global warming, but the warming is neither very large nor very clearly related to man-made activities." We can't do much of anything about the period of high solar activity we are in WHICH increases the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere in a more measurable way. Just research it a little. :)
Okay - off that topic, hopefully, it is out of my system. Sometime I plan on addressing a pollution issue that has me worried - wave pollution. We're being bombarded by waves at an ever increasing rate and it can't be good for us. But that is for another time...
The gym was HOT again today. For two years there has been a heat issue every summer. In spite of numerous suggestions for wall-mounted fans facing down at the cardio area at an angle (outlets are already available for this), they refuse to do it. They bought a couple of stupid ankle fans. Two, in fact. These slightly, ever so slightly, cool your ankles and knees if you are in range of them - and their range is very limited. Even children learn that the hottest areas of the body are the head, armpits and groin area - so why would you purchase two cheapo fans that only cool the lower part of the lower extremities. DUH!
I have to add here. Sleevless shirts are NOT allowed, unless you are in the cycling class. If you're in the cardio area or weight areas, you must have a shirt with sleeves.
My AFI friend had to cut his workout short because he felt heat-related sickness coming on while doing his run on the treadmill. Other people were complaining and leaving early. As for me, I made it through about one hour but after 6 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical, I left. I came home and finished my cardio on my own equipment, in front of the air conditioner. During the sprints in my circuit and when I started the HIIT, my heart rate kept spiking up to 95% of my heart rate max -- all due to the uncomfortableness of the heat/humidity.
Today's workout. No Caren, she has a garage sale to run.
--10 minutes, dreadmill, 8.2% incline, 4.0 mph
dumbbell squats, 12 reps, 70 lbs, 3 sets (too hot to go higher, no spotter either)
dumbbell chest press, 12 reps, 70 lbs, 3 sets
dumbbell flye with crunch on stability ball, 12 reps, 40 lbs, 3 sets
leg press machine, 15 reps/285 lbs, 12 reps/290, 12 reps/295
--1:30 sprint on Sci-fit - 5.5% incline
Romanian deadlifts 12 reps, 80 lbs
bench dips, 20 reps
close grip pushups, 12 reps
scorpion pushups, 20 reps
REPEAT
--1:30 sprint on Sci-fit - 5.5% incline
Bulgarian split squats, 30 reps
decline pushups, 20 reps
lunge with lateral shoulder raise, 20 reps, 40 lbs.
REPEAT
--1:30 sprint on Octane - 7% incline
Sumo squat with french press, 20 reps, 25 lbs
tricep machine, 20 reps, 75 lbs
hanging abs, 15 reps
REPEAT
--1:30 sprint on Sci-fit - 5.5% incline
extended plank, hold 1 minute
side plank - extended upper leg, hold 40 seconds each side
bicycle crunches, 100 reps
--HIIT - 6 minutes on Octane, then drove home
30 minutes on elliptical at home, (20 HIIT, 10 minutes steady rate).
Thunderstorms are in the forecast for later. Big plans for the day include finishing school, bellydancing, and if the weather permits, going to the ball game.
