DVD/Video/At home exercisers - Week of March 19th

[engineer]

Happy Monday morning to everyone. :) Well it was a good weekend here, workout wise. Friday the vet was out and said that Pearl has some edema which pregnant horses (and women) can get late in pregnancy and that she got it earlier than normal. We are to cut back her feed a bit and the vet is sending some medication to help bring the swelling down but the vet felt she was in good shape and that this should not be a huge problem. I cleaned the barn out as DH had to return to work as he had some testing that had to get done. I figured that was functional fitness;) so I didn’t workout on Friday. Saturday I did the circuit 1 that Rita had come up with and there were a few things that I wasn’t too sure about. She has me doing pec flys that I haven’t done in a long time and they still hurt today (2 days later!:eek: ). Then I followed that up with one of the new videos – Patrick Goudeau’s Amazing Ball Choreography. OK the learning curve on this is steep. I really struggled but it is such fun that I really didn’t care:D . Then on Sunday I did the upper strength workout and followed that up with the treadmill. I did my speed interval program to mix things up and followed that with the Firm 5-day stretch day 3. I watched an old James Bond movie while I was on the treadmill and really enjoyed all the ‘state of the art’ equipment/sports :rolleyes: from that era. Tonight is what Rita calls cardio/recovery day. Not sure what I’m going to do – probably a video but I’ll let you know tomorrow.

Talked to the folks last night and it's really bad there. DF sounds weak and DM sounds completely drained. Why must this take so long?:(

Inspirational thought for the week –
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being." –Goethe

Michelle

[JoanneOR]

(((Engineer))), I'm sorry the situation with your parents is so hard. Hope Pearl does better with the new feeds and medication. Great workouts this weekend! I think I have that ABC workout. Isn't that sad? I have so many, I'm not sure which ones I have sometimes. :eek: I've never tried it, though. Sounds like fun.

I didn't get to check in last week. Work was super busy - we had a major conference and I was out of the office a few days, so I don't remember what I posted about any workouts! I took Tully for a nice long walk Saturday. Yesterday I did Cathe's Butts and Guts. I love that workout. Makes me sore in the places I need to be sore! This morning I did the upper body work from Muscle Max. I'm deciding now if I'm going to the gym to use the treadmill or if I'm going for a walk during lunch. I'm leaning towards the walk.

I went with my mom to adopt a new dog from the shelter Saturday. For her, not us! It's really sad to see so many dogs there without homes. I could have brought home 10 of them! DH warned me not to bring any home. ;) She adopted a really cute dog about a year old. Quiet weekend otherwise.

Hope everyone had good weekends! Happy Monday!!

[JuliN]

Hi All --

Sounds like a lot of us did well with our weekend workouts! I did Core Cardio 2 (the FIRM) on Saturday and a 45 minute walk with my DH yesterday.

Michelle -- So sorry for both your parents. Big, big hugs to you, and them, too.

I love Patrick! I see him on FitTV's All Star Workout show. He seems really fun. I've read a lot of reviews of his DVDs and it seems that he's always fun. Once I've paid off Uncle Sam, I'd love to treat myself with ABC.

Speaking of Uncle Sam, my DH sent the check for the Fed taxes today. The load is slowly lifting, but boy is my checking account sparse. We still have over $4,000 to pay the State. The austerity program continues ........

Joanne -- Hugs to you and your mom for adopting a shelter dog. My DH and I have been involved with PAWS, a local no-skill shelter, for many years. I want to bring them all home -- dogs and cats alike. No wonder my DH sometimes calls me Miss Ellie. You may not be old enough to remember her on the Beverly Hillbillies but she had lots of critters.

Here's to a great week for all of us --

Juli

[cniles]

Hi guys!

We're recovering from our snow storm on Friday.... I shoveled the driveway 3 times! That was my workout. Saturday I played indoor soccer with 10 7 year olds - OMG Lots of running around. Sunday I rested (cleaned house). It was a crazy weekend and I felt overwhelmed last night - I think I spent most of the time in the car - running here and there. yuck. This weekend is Jack's birthday - the craziness will continue.

I realized that we leave for Florida in exactly 2 weeks. :eek: So I upped the weights today on Cathe's premix Compound weights and abs from Cardio and WEights. :eek: I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

((Michelle)) - I remember thinking the same thing with my Grandmother. Hang in there. Glad to hear Pearl is doing fine. Great weekend workout too!

Juli - ugh sorry about the tax situation. It sounds like you guys have a plan though. Do you do any of the workouts on FitTv? I wish we got the channel - Comcast doesn't carry it!

Joanne - Do you ever feel like all you do is chauffer the kids around? That's what I was doing this weekend and it drove me crazy. Gotta get a grip on it somehow!

Well this week should be "normal" - Jack turns 10 on Friday. Double digits as he likes to say. I bought him heelies for an early birthday present - fingers crossed he doesn't break his arm :cool: (great mom huh?!)

Goal is to workout Mon/Tues/Thurs during the week and at least once this weekend.

[engineer]

OK today has started off bad here at work so I’m going to stay in my little lab area and avoid people. Sometimes being a woman in a man’s world stinks because you get tired of being treated like your diploma was issued on pink paper and doesn’t mean the same as a man’s diploma.:mad: Can you tell I’m a little steamed today?

Oh well last night was the cardio/recovery night on the new program so I had to figure out what I wanted to do. I have a few workouts that I have never done so I sorted through those and chose – G-Force2, Anna Benson’s latest. First off I haven’t been on my rebounder in quite a while and my bouncy legs weren’t there. So I struggled with just that but I did use the weighted gloves and tried my best to keep up:rolleyes: , good thing was I never stopped moving. The set was good; the cueing was OK but the editing left a lot to be desired:eek: . It seemed to jump around too much and has a disjointed feel to it. It’s just under 50 minutes so a short night. I like the rebounder I just need to use it more often to really get the feel of it.

I also tried to make a loaf of gluten free bread last night and let me tell you I have a huge learning curve on that one – but the result is edible with fiber so let’s chalk that up and a win.;)

Tonight is circuit day 2, so I’ll do that plus a short video. I hope this goes better than circuit day 1 went!

Charisse - You may have felt like you spent the weekend in the car but I bet if you'd had an HRM on for all that soccer and cleaning and shoveling you'd be amazed at the calories you burned!:D Are you sore after upping the weights? Good job on the workout and I wish I was excited about being in 'double digits':p

Julie - that is where I first saw patrick with the ball workout and it looked like such fun that I had to get it. Congrats on paying off Uncle Sam that must feel like a huge weight off your shoulders. And Core Cardio 2 is a good workout so high five to you on that.

Joanne - Wow what great workouts the last three days! Gold star for you - that is fabulous. Hope work isn't quite so crazy this week and I second the good job getting a dog from the animal shelter for your mom. Best dogs in the world come from there (at least my Jente did).

Well I’m going to continue chanting ohm and working in my little lab here and hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Michelle

[cniles]

I dragged my rear into the basement today to do some cardio. I did Cathe's Step Blast (minus the challenges!!) I persevered today b/c I sooo wanted to stop after the second workout but made myself work through it!:)

BTW I HATE swimsuit shopping. Why do swimsuits have to make you feel like a stuffed sausage?!!! I mean I'm really not in bad shape and trying on "tankini's" - forget it! Suddenly I saw rolls I didn't know I had! ugh. Thank goodness I did find a nice black/white one piece that doesn't make me look matronly.:cool:

Engineer - How's the mantra coming along? Deeeeep breaths in and out.:) I loved the pink diploma reference - sillly men. Truly silly. The rebounding sounds like fun. My sister used to take a class in NYC and LOVED it. But it was always packed and had a waiting list to get in. The joys of the city.

We have swimming tomorrow. So Thursday should be my next workout. Have a great Wednesday all!!!

[JuliN]

Yesterday was so sunny and beautiful that my DH and I did our 45 minute walk in the neighborhood for our workout. My neighborhood is hilly, and I can feel my backsid working on the climbs. DST is so great, I love the extra hour in the evenings!

Tonight I have a meeting, so no w.o. for me. Thursday will be my next one.

Today I saw my duck couple back from last year. Spring is definitely here. They come every year and eat my birdseed. My cats are afraid of them.

Michelle -- I hear ya on the pink diploma. I have a BS in Chemical Engineering and you'd think I didn't have a thought in my head. Anyway, I just try to smile things away because both sides of my brain work, even if guys don't listen.

Have a great day, Ladies!

Juli

[engineer]

Happy hump day to all the exercisers out there.:) Well today is going better because I am avoiding idiots today. Last night we were running late to get out of here so I had toyed with the idea of skipping my workout. But no, I couldn’t do that after I posted my intentions here so you all helped me to get changed and get sweating when I got home. Big round of applause for all of you. :D I did the circuit 2 that Rita had worked up for me and it only took me half an hour. Mind you she thinks it should only take 15 minutes! :rolleyes: Yeah right – I keep having to remind her that I am deficient in fast twitch muscle fiber. :p Then per Rita I am to do a short 30 to 45 minute video – so I looked at my choices and figured bite the bullet and do a BSS3 workout with Stephanie no less. I did Express Cardio and about 10 minutes into it my knee started letting me know it wasn’t happy so I completed it all low impact. But I did it so I’m smiling. I am a little disappointed that the stretch wasn’t better at the end but as it was already late and I hadn’t had dinner yet I didn’t add another one and I am hurting for that today. Tonight is training with Rita and then I’m gonna pull out a yoga workout and do that to really stretch me out.

Julie - Sun! How wonderful, it's been a few days since I've seen that mysterious object. Sounds like a great walk (no hills here:mad: ) - wish I could enjoy that workout. Hope the meeting goes well. Thanks - it's nice to know I'm not the only one with pink diploma syndrome. Reminds me of a NASA PhD physist who was a gorgous blond I saw interviewed. She has a shirt that says 'speak slowly, natural blonde' and they do!:eek: She just laughs.

Charisse - for braving the whole swimsuit shopping thing you get a huge gold star and pat on the back and round of applause and anything else I can think of. Glad you found something you feel comfortable in so you can enjoy the waves. And let's not forget getting through that workout, even when you wanted to stop.

It’s all down hill from here!

Michelle

[JoanneOR]

Engineer, good job on avoiding those idiots! I guess I have it opposite here at work, there are 16 of us women and one poor man! Great workouts! I've had the same experience several times - not feeling like working out and then remembering about posting it here and doing it! We are a great support to each other! :D

Juli, that walk sounds wonderful!! We've had some sun, but not too much warmth to go with it. Today it's supposed to be 60, but lots of rain. :(

Charisse, good for you for perserving through Step Blast! I hear you about the swimsuits. What is it about fitting rooms? Those mirrors make you look so lumpy! I had a horrible experience in one last week. Was trying on some pants and just looked horrible! Like a sausage. :eek: I was so depressed, thinking why am I working out so much and I still look like this! I swear I don't look that bad at home!

Yesterday I did a premix of Step Blast and Step Jump Pump. It was supposed to be stepping from SB and the hi/lo from SJP. Well, the stupid DVD kept freezing! Very frustrating! I bought this on ebay over a year ago and I think it's a copy. I remember having problems with it before. This morning I did Taebo and I'm off to the gym in a few minutes for the sculpting class.

[engineer]

Happy Thursday. So last night was training with Rita. We spent most of the time going over questions I had on exercise and form. We also went through the first cycle of the lower body strength rotation that was on tap for yesterday. I got lots of good information – many things I was doing wrong but not so wrong that I was getting hurt or not getting some benefit. Just not as much benefit as I could get from it.:rolleyes: I followed that up with Sara Ivanhoe’s 20 minute yoga makeover – Total body tone with weights. That was odd but in a way I liked it because you keep moving. But that one twisting eagle pose without weights is bad enough but with is nearly impossible.

This morning I did my weekly weigh in and I’m feeling good …. I didn’t gain any weight! :D I didn’t lose but I didn’t gain, perhaps I’m reversing the trend? I certainly hope so. Tonight I’m debating on doing the rest of the lower body strength and video or to do cardio/recovery day….hmmm.

Joanne - We are good support for each other. Don't you get frustrated when the DVD's freeze up like that! That's my problem with the TLP's which is why I'm glad I have them on video. Only problem is they never made three of them on VHS so I'm up a creek there. Good job on Tae Bo and how did the sculpting class go?

Tomorrow’s Friday – so anyone have big plans for the weekend?

Michelle

[JoanneOR]

Engineer, that's great that Rita corrected you on your form. You want to get the most bang for your buck, so to speak!! I'm sure I'm doing lots of things wrong in my workouts at home. I bought some yoga DVD's but haven't tried any yet. I think Sara Ivanhoe does the Yoga for Dummies DVD, which is what I have. The sculpting class was good. The instructor does different things every class, which is good, since you don't get bored.

I was planning to get up and do Christi's Totally Cool Step this morning, but a storm in the middle of the night and 60 lbs of dog plastered against me shivering conspired against my waking up! I feel like I'm fighting something off, so if figured the extra hour of sleep would be better for me. I may go to the gym at lunch and use the treadmill.

No big plans for the weekend. Two soccer games and an unplanned trip to the dentist. :mad: My son lost his retainer after only two weeks. :eek:

[engineer]

Happy Friday everyone. :) Last night I decided to go ahead and finish up the lower body strength work and then do some cardio. I did one set of dead lifts bosu dome down with DH’s help and one with the dome up because he was out taking care of critters by that point. I am going to have to work on getting on the flat side while holding the barbell. :o That was the most challenging but Rita really has me starting to work more on the Bosu which I love and can feel. We’d backed off when I hurt my back but it’s all ahead full right now. Then I got on the treadmill and tried to do what Rita wanted but I had to modify a bit but I was only up there for 49 minutes. Much shorter than the 78 I had been doing! I followed that up with the Firm 5-day stretch Day 4.

Tonight after work I have an eye exam so there will be no work out for me. But I am going to hit it again come Saturday.

No big plans for us I just hope the thaw continues – I’d like that pasture to dry up before the girls foal.

Joanne - That class ounds good it's great when you have an insturctor who can keep things interesting. I had to chuckle about the frightened dog - our ookie (big tough sled dog that he wasn't) would jump on the bed and shake so hard I thought the bed would break everytime there was a thunderstrom at night. Hope you aren't catching something and that you got on that treadmill at lunch Sounds like a busy weekend - perhaps he won't loose this retainer;)

Michelle

[cab321]

I got a pm from Charisse and it's motivated me to come slinking back to the thread. :o It's almost the beginning of April and I promised to come back at the beginning of February!

I don't have time for personals right now, and haven't been keeping up with all of your activities. But I'll give you a quick update now and then start working out again this week with an aim to start posting next week.

I'm still pregnant, thank goodness. My blood pressure is quite low and I'm having a hard time with anything approaching cardio. My healthy and fit resting heart rate is around 80-90bpm and it shoots up incredibly with almost no effort now that I'm pregnant. I have stayed moderately active, only because we don't have a car. I do a combination of bus/walking (about 30 min walking each way) to get to work and climb a killer hill with 100 steps on it at least once a day. Plus the university campus is all over the hill, so I've been taking the steps two at a time whenever I'm out and about (usually 3-4 times a day).

I'm going to get some mild strength work in next week. I promise.

See you on Monday and I look forward to catching up! :)

[JoanneOR]

Engineer, wow, that's quite a feat to get up on the Bosu dome side down!! I think I'd seriously injure myself. And, with a barbell?? :eek: That's so nice of your DH to help you out. I've used my bosu, umm :o once. I really like it, but just haven't fit it in.

Hi Carrie!! Nice to see you here. Sounds like you're getting lots of exercise in. How's the job? How are you adjusting to your new home? When's the baby due? Just full of questions, aren't I?

This morning I did Cathe's Drill Max, which was fun. I'm planning to take Tully out for a run in the morning tomorrow. I need to start running regularly if I'm going to do that 10K.

Last night I had my preliminary visit with my eye doctor before my Lasik surgery. He did all the tests and dilated my eyes. They are still dilated and I can just in the last hour or so see my computer to actual do some work (and come here!) Anyway, I'm trying out monovision contacts for a week or so to see how I like them and then probably do the surgery a week after that. Yikes! I'm nervous, but it'll be so nice to be contact/glasses free!

I found out the boys have two practices a week each for soccer for the new outdoor session. So, that's four a week! All on different days. This is going to be crazy. Poor DH is the one that has to take them since I won't be home from work in time. They are so excited, though. This is Colin's first traveling team and he just can't wait.

Hope everyone has good weekends!

[cniles]

I found out the boys have two practices a week each for soccer for the new outdoor session. So, that's four a week! All on different days. This is going to be crazy. Poor DH is the one that has to take them since I won't be home from work in time. They are so excited, though. This is Colin's first traveling team and he just can't wait.

Hope everyone has good weekends!

Sounds like us!! Just got our baseball schedules for spring - BOTH boys have a game during the week and a game on Saturdays PLUS practices. Every day of the week and sometimes games are at the same time - hmmmm how in the heck am I going to do this??!!! Creative carpooling - b/c it's me that has to do most of the transporting!! Dh rarely gets home before 6:30....

(Michelle - you have become my inspiration for my recent mantra...."making memories, making memories.." :D )

No workout for me in the past two days - whirlwind getting ready for Jack's birthday, which is today. We have both sets of families here for celebration dinners and the party tomorrow....

Carrie - Glad to see you back!!!;) :) We DID miss you!!

More personals later - sorry guys!! Gotta finish wrapping presents!!!

[Valerie226]

Can you stand another person chiming in here? I've increased my workout time and type and I could use input.
I've been doing mostly treadmill/elliptical with a few weights but I started Cathe in January, doing Coremax. I try to do chapter 1 or 3 about 4 days a week. I started Cathe's musclemax and have done it twice without it killing me, but it was close. Definitely not the suggested weight on most moves, although I surprised myself on some things. Also have tried bootcamp, and a couple other strength workouts of hers.

Is there a schedule for doing these? Musclemax seems to hit just about everything & I was thinking of shooting for 2-3 times a week with two days in between workouts. Is that too often? I know I need some rest time to allow for recovery.

If it's any comfort, there's not a person in the world who looks good in fitting room mirrors over the age of 16. you're too close to the mirror, lighting is awful etc. It's too depressing. I do mail order now & it's still awful but not quite as awful.