shaved ice 7/16/05

For Friday and Saturday, I have had to skip going to the gym because I was doing Moving Sale. I woke up early to set up and started the sales around 8am. Even I had some help from a couple of friends, I did fair amount of physical work and I made 10,000 steps yesterday. We must have done it on hottest days of the year. By 2pm, the traffic slows down and you think about closing the store because you have been sitting in the sun for too long. Then you try to decide, "Do I want to get hotter sitting here longer? Or do I want to get hotter moving stuff in the back?" I ended up having a big chunk of vanilla ice cream and I was going to finish up the carton. Luckily I used my brain to stop myself and went for shaved ice. Something icy cold that takes care of my thirst is all I need. Oh, can I have one more?

Rachel on Back Row 7/13/05

I was doing Back Row with DB today then there is this somebody suddenly comes to next to me and saying "Can I show you something?" Since I never speak to anybody at the gym, I was surprised. First I thought it was my friend Jennifer from TVI and looked at her. Before I know it, she was frustrated with my no response and asked, "Do you speak English?" (OK, so I DO look like I don't speak English. Sure I read Spanish magazine on cardio machines and don't talk to anybody. So how should I look to be looking like I can speak English?!?! Sorry, this is not a language advocacy blog. Grrr.) She showed me I shouldn't drop weights like vertically, but rather keep it up so that it does simulate rowing. She claims she is a trainer although she doesn't train here. I wonder why she had to say that. It all made sense what she said, but I am going to look up some references.

Will's yoga class 7/12/05

I consider yoga to be my number one sport, but I haven't done it for so long. This semester I have no class on Monday and Wednesday (amazing!), but even so, I never made it to Will's class. Yesterday I found out he teaches Monday night in Juan Tabo and not San Mateo, so I decided to finally make it. There are many ways to spend an hour in this world, but oh, boy, what a precious hour it was! When I signed in for his class, there were already 20 names and the room was the fullest for a yoga class I have ever seen! As soon as I walked in, he looked at me and said something like "Long time no see." I told him about my move and thanked him for all the classes. There will be four more Mondays before my actual move to Dallas, so I will try my best to come.

opening chest 7/11/05

Today's routine was upper body part I, chest, shoulders and tricpes. For the last couple of weeks or so, the yoga pose I use for chest stretching has come deeper than before. I can't pinpoint the name of the pose, so that I can't find web reference, but you have hands clasped behind the back and lift it up. Eventually forward bend and try to get the arms up in the air. I used to be able to barely lift it, maybe an inch or even less. Now I feel more openings. My chest press is just about what I was doing last November. For most exercises, feels like the weight level has gone back to last fall.

pedometer battery 7/10/05

I keep my premium pedometer everywhere I go everyday. If my memory serves me right, it was between Christmas and New Year's Eve when I started to carry this. After seven months of service, it officially went out. It has scratches everywhere! Now that I am very intimate with the pedometer (who comes with me everywhere everyday?), I have a few comments. I think the best part of this expensive set is a strap and the clip that resembles alligator teeth. Without this, I will be dropping and losing the pedometer probably 10 times a day. It is also fun to see how many calories are burnt. For this, you have to program your weight. Actually it was a backup for wrist watch for a while, too. I went to Radio Shack and immediately a guy helped me get a new one. I had to program everything all over again. Let's see how long this one is going to last...