Home exercise enthusiasts- week of dec 8

[Valerie226]

Valerie, 25 pounds on squats sounds absolutely punishing to me! I'm impressed. Ditto the 30 minutes on the treadmill: are you jogging the whole time? My favorite piece of equipment is the stairmaster-esque one, and I'd like to slip in a little extra time on it if I could without messing anyone up or being scandalously out of protocol. BTW, back when I used to swim (and I was a LOUSY swimmer, so didn't work that hard) I was insanely ravenous afterward - nothing could compare to how hungry swimming made me. I would definitely have to have some healthy snacks waiting for me in the car or I'd end up stopping at In-and-Out Burger __________________

I wanted to quote you, canice, to transition to this weeks thread, but I don't know how to do that when starting a new thread so I just pasted and copied.

The machine is likely an elliptical trainer. I like it cause it's zero impact but I don't find it gets my heart rate up as well as a treadmill. We have a precor one with movable arms. I try to get an hour of cardio split between the treadmill and elliptical usually with a 10 min warm on the stationary bike....
Ha! another person who gets ravenous from swimming! I read it's because on land based exercise you heat up, and that suppresses your appetite, while swimming, although it's plenty of work, does not increase your body temp. I'm a crummy swimmer too, plus I was ready to eat cardboard by the time I got out of the pool. I'm usually somewhat hungry after working out, but swimming was just beyond normal hunger for me.

Anyway, friday I did Cathe's Power Hour. I WILL get those squats and lunges! 25 lbs is all I can manage for squats although I get thru all of the reps now. (Cathe uses 40 lbs...I'm not there yet...) Lunges with 15. I find those worse than squats. I will do them at least twice a week because I've promised myself this time to stick with it.

I'm happy to report I didn't get sick. if I take a day off when I feel a cold coming, take vitamin c and zinc and get plenty of sleep, I'm sometimes able to shed the cold without getting it. Not always but it worked this time.

Saturday we did a bunch of heavy yard work so no formal exercise. Sunday I did 30 min on the stationary bike, 30 on the treadmill( yep, run the whole time) and 30 on the elliptical. That was a good session. when I go that long I don't push hard on speed or resistance. I watched Meet the Press, and an episode of Mad Men.

I don't want to sound preachy :o... but DH and I have been home exercising for 30 years... Most people quit exercise because they get bored... the key is to set up a way to engage your brain while you work out. Sometimes I use exercise DVD's like Charisse & Stacy. sometimes watch TV or DVD's. I've never been able to read while working out although I know some people do. We made a velcro backed board we attached the remotes to, so we can move them around the room easily for volume, channels etc. A TV for the exercise room is a priority.
At one time we belonged to a gym but after about 6 months the things I thought were great about the gym became the things that annoyed me... so we changed to home exercise and kept working. Ok, sermon over...

[Kahlico]

Inviting myself in!

DH and I decided to get serious about exercise and eating, although I've had to hide the Frango Mints a few times over the weekend.

Last Wednesday, the two of us joined our park facility's workout center, and though I worked out both Wednesday and Thursday, the weekend proved so busy that I wasn't able to go in all weekend. I did, however, walk about 6 miles on Saturday, running errands and whatnot, and yesterday I walked a bit around downtown, so I count every little bit.

Tonight we'll get back on track. My main focus is cardiovascular with a good climb and power walk on the treadmill followed by a go on the rowing machine. Eventually i would like to through some variation into my routine with weights and maybe the elliptical machine, but honestly, I don't know if it's my heart condition or if I'm just a weakling, but I cannot last more than a few minutes on the elliptical (or the stair climber for that matter).

My goal: to make my tightest jeans and my black pencil skirt to fit comfortably. Oh yes, and I would like to feel less sluggish and that overall health thing. ;)

[avariell]

checking in...

Valerie- you are very lucky to have such a nice work out area at home. I am the exact opposite of you. I have some stuff at home, and I hang clothes on it ;) I go to the gym. It is weird how that works, eh? I am sure having the personal trainer is a big factor in my motivations...

Emilie- good luck!! I have gotten into my skinniest skinny jeans finally!! yay! In fact I was noticing today that the jeans I have on are getting quite droopy and loose (they were my cute jeans this summer). I am a far better judge of my body when it comes to clothes than anything else (like I would rather set a goal pair of pants instead of a goal weight).

I did cardio this weekend but that was it. I am headed over to the gym this afternoon. I will probably do chest and back tonight since my schedule got all flipped around last week. I cannot decide which is worse - to have my shoulders sore or my legs sore before ballet and tap dance. I would have thought shoulders hurting was better, but then I had to hold my arms up for an hour of ballet and I thought I was going to die... who knows. I cannot decide if the dance classes are worth it anyway. They are super expensive :(

[cniles]

Hi all! Emilie - welcome aboard!!!

I got in a quick weight workout on Sat am - BSS4 with Pam. Yesterday was running errands all day.... I am so trying to get myself upstairs to fit in another one and thought I'd check in here to get some motivation!!!:D

Josie - how long have you been taking dance? I used to take modern dance as a girl and loved it. I watch dancing with the stars and think "I could do that" - yeah right!!!:cool:

Emilie - getting into your "skinny" clothes works as a goal;) Are you and your DH both working out together? That's nice if you both can go at the same time.

Valerie - hooray for not getting sick!!! My throat has been a bit achey recently and I've been making sure I'm taking my vitamins!!

OK - enough procrastinating!! I'm starving so I should go workout!:)

[Kahlico]

Hi all! Emilie - welcome aboard!!!

Emilie - getting into your "skinny" clothes works as a goal;) Are you and your DH both working out together? That's nice if you both can go at the same time.

We do work out together as much as possible. It's a healthy comeptition between us, especially when we're both on a treadmill with one asking the other how far/fast they've gone. What's really helping DH is seeing how many calories he's burned in a session and how little it takes for him to eat those calories (and more) back. It's a huge psychological tool.

Josie how cool you're taking dance as part of your routine. I've thought about taking salsa dancing lessons. I would love to work on my coordination and balance not to mention salsa dancing sounds like so much fun.

Tonight's pre-workout goal: no need to nibble on the cheese as I put it on the pizza.

[SueK]

I would rather set a goal pair of pants instead of a goal weight.
(

Well, I'm sticking my toes in the water here and wanted to agree with Josie's comment above. When I unpacked my fall/winter clothes in October, I was very chagrined to find that at least 3 pairs of jeans from just last year no longer fit. :( Now that I'm headed toward my mid-40s, the weight is going right to the midsection. My goal is to fit back into those jeans from last year!

So...I've been getting back into working out. I know myself too well to know that if I don't get it done first thing in the AM, it's not going to happen. Therefore, I get up at 5:30 and do it before I have to get my oldest moving along for school.

I'm mainly doing the treadmill and free weights, but I have a few aerobic tapes and just bought a few more. One of which is Kathy Smith's Lift Weights to Lose Weight and I am going to do that for the first time tomorrow. I also got Jillian Michaels' workouts for the front and back and a cardio thing as well. I'll start with those and maybe someday work up to those Crunch DVDs that you hardbodies do! :)

We have a great workout room downstairs, with a treadmill, weight bench, DVD player for the aerobics stuff, TV, etc. With my DH's travel schedule so intense, it's always just me working out, which has made it hard to push myself sometimes. Also, the workout room is in the lower back part of the house where I can hear nothing from the rest of the house. I'm always paranoid DD2 (5 yo) will wake up freakishly early for some reason and think she's been abandoned since DH is hardly ever home to be in our bedroom. :p I told her if she wakes up and can't find me, come downstairs or else just wake up her sister for company .

Well, that's my short story made much too long. I'm hoping that by joining in, I will have more accountability and will get inspiration from all of you!

[Canice]

Hi Valerie,
I've heard of the eliptical, of course, but wasn't sure what it is: sort of two flat pedals? You're right about the zero impact and not much for cardio (in fact, it's a "recovery station" at Curves - meant to slow you down). Lol, that's probably why I like it! And I feel like it's good for my posture.

That's v interesting about land-based exercise vs water: I've been discussing eating before working out with my best friend, who's Mister Fit and works with a trainer three days a week. I told him that if I eat anything at all less than an hour before exercising I feel woozy, and if I'm hungry when I get to the "gym" I'm not hungry at all when I leave. Four laps in the pool would have me "eating cardboard" (funny!) too.

Interesting about people giving up on exercise because they're bored: for me, I've always hated it because it felt bad and made me almost ill. DBF prefers the Harvard lectures while he works out, but I need more energy than that. So far (again, only month two) I like the escapism: a place to be, the repetitive, silly music and repetitive movements let me focus either on the exercise (best case) or let my mind go to Issues in life. Either way: huff, puff, inhale, exhale - it's worked out pretty well.

I haven't had my second weigh/measure yet but I'm with Josie: I would rather just know that I do or do not fit into those jeans. (Currently I do not.)
Josie, do you enjoy the ballet and tap or are they more of a discipline?

Sue, I can see being concerned about being cut off from the rest of the house - sounds like good instructions to DD if she should be worried, though. Wish I had some basic equipment at home, but for now it's no problem to push myself out for the 30 minute (plus stretches) routine.

[avariell]

ahhh dance classes :) I am still in the "feeling it out" stage with these classes. Basically my friend Allison (kyra on this board) has been taking the classes for a few years. She convinced me to come take classes with her now that volleyball is over (I play sand volleyball in the summer). So I have only been to one night of classes. The fee is a little outrageous (like $100/month for both classes). So instead I think I am going to back it down to ballet only ($50/month). I danced for a long long time as a child, and I loved it. Going back to class was weird - I felt incredibly uncoordinated and irritated at what a challenge it was for me. Like I thought it should be like riding a bike without a fresh learning curve. I have noticed that the left side of my body is far less coordinated than the right :D Based on pure enjoyment factor, I think I would prefer the tap dance classes, but I think the ballet classes are more beneficial at this point in my life. I need the stretching and balance. It felt so good to force myself to do slow, controlled movements instead of rapid cardio/weight lifting movements. Does that make sense? I suppose it is similar to the benefits of yoga or pilates (which I have not been able to get into - I can't get my head in the right place).

I did 35 minutes on the stair mill last night and I am so proud of myself! (After some heavy chest/back lifting!) I have discovered I can read a book on the stair mill and it makes it so much easier (for those of you who are unfamiliar - the stair mill is just like a treadmill but with steps. So it isn't like a stairclimbed because you physically must lift your foot from one step to the next, exactly like jogging up stairs... it is he!! :))

[Valerie226]

I haven't shopped for ellipticals in years but most have very large steps that go up, around, and down in an oval pattern. some have stationary arm pieces, and some you can pump the arm pieces forward and back too. Ours has the movable arms. If it's too easy, set the resistance higher and go faster. I like it but it works best if I do treadmill first, then jump to the elliptical. I like to do an hour of cardio at a time.
I don't like to exercise if I've eaten. I need at least an hour wait ... I hate the sensation of my stomach sloshing around and I get a side stitch right away.

SueK, we have the same thing, a workout room in the basement. It's always cool down there and the noise doesn't carry through the whole house either. It was definitely worth the time and money to build it.

We used to run outside, DH and I together. But his work hours got earlier and a good part of the year it's too dark in the morning and in the evening. So we got a treadmill. boredom wasn't an issue running outside but inside it was.... you can't just look at the wall and go for 30 minutes. I like music but just listening isn't enough, I need some visual stuff going on or the time seems like an eternity. Whatever works for you is the answer.
I just read most of the Body for Life for women by Dr. Peeke and got reminded of some basics. I'm on a serious diet for a while now. I've come to recognize I can't exercise enough to lose weight without serious adjustment of my diet. (I think I'm older than most of you, and the calories get more restricted with age) I eat healthy food, just too much of it. She refers to the jeans fitting test as the "clothes-o-meter" and says that often it's a better check of progress than the scale anyway. I knew that, but sometimes it helps to be reminded of things that need to be pounded into my one obstinate malfunctioning brain cell. So I'm spreading out my food over more small meals and cutting back my beloved carbs.

[Kahlico]

Went to the workout facility Monday night -- no cardio machines free all evening :rolleyes:, so I worked on the rowing maching and another maching I don't quite know what it is. It's like a sit-down stepper that works both my legs and my arms plus a bit of abs. I've looked for it online, and I can't find anything that resembles it.

Was able to do the treadmill for 35 minutes yesterday evening. Threw in 10 on the rowing machine and would like to work my way up to 30ish on the treadmill and about 20 on the rowing machine. Just need to talk DH into leaving the house earlier.

Feeling good! Every little bit helps, especially when we're able to walk to and from the facility. That puts an extra 20 minutes of walking in (our warm-up and cool-down).

[cniles]

Hi Sue:) Good to see you here!!

Ahhh slacker checking in - I've had so much going on this week after school - I did workout on Monday - Cardio Overdrive... however nothing yesterday (our school's holiday concert) and nothing tonight (Bunco)

I'm struggling with my oldest and the change in him since we've hit 6th grade. We're working on taking responsiblity, becoming more independent and tempering the attitude. This is taking a lot of my time after school (not to mention my patience!!) I need to exercise right after this to blowoff some steam:(

So... tomorrow is free. I want a good long cardio/weight workout.

Emilee - your sit down stepper machine sounds interesting!! I haven't seen anything like that!

Josie - I can totally relate to your description of the slow controlled movements!! A long time ago I had a class with a woman who every now and then would do a dance focused class with us - ballet oriented. It was wonderful. She mixed it up with kick boxing!!;)

Valerie - DH and I have talked about a treadmill vs elliptical machine. He likes to walk at 6am and it's pitch dark. Not sure if we're going to take the plunge - we'll see.

Canice - do you ever have a problem with crowded facilities? ie do you have to weight for your next circuit? I've heard a couple of people talk about that here as an issue...

Sue - DH is almost done with the basement!!!!!! I can't wait to move all my stuff back downstairs and get it out of my bedroom~ His weight room is to have a Steeler and PSU fathead:D

Gotta run!! Keep on sweating!!

[SueK]

Just checking in here. I did do the Lift Weights to Lose Weight DVD yesterday and it was a good workout. I can definitely feel it in my upper body today! That's a good thing, because I really need to tone and strengthen my upper body.

This morning I did about 40 minutes on the treadmill. Tomorrow I plan to do the DVD again.

We are due to get hit with crappy weather tomorrow and into Friday, so I am definitely going to exercise both mornings. I'll need to blow off steam in case school is cancelled and I'm cooped up inside with the kids all day. :D

Charisse - what is Bill doing to the basement? Did he turn an existing space into a weight room? We call our workout room the "Man Room" for some reason. :p It has all Jerry's workshop stuff, plus the treadmill, weight bench and all the free weights, etc. Plus we use it for poker games when it's our turn to host poker night with the neighbors. It's kind of an all purpose room and I use it as much as he does, but somehow the term "Man Room" stuck!

[avariell]

I had a great workout last night. I totally got my butt kicked by my trainer. We did legs, and I really feel it today. I think I was a little sore from ballet which probably doesn't help either :)

Oh lunges and squats... I have such a love/hate relationship with you ;)

[Kahlico]

Rowed a good 15-20 minutes last night after a powerwalk on the treadmill. I can't recall if I rowed a 2000m or a 5000m. I couldn't believe it, the gym was empty last night!

[Valerie226]

Kahlico, you're Emilee if I'm reading this thread right?

Anyway, sounds like a recumbent bike. there are indoor versions and you will see people riding outside versions just like a street bike. they can go amazingly fast. there's a group of people with them that ride an outdoor trail I ride. I've used them before when traveling (at hotel gyms) and thought they worked much like an upright stationary bike, just a different position. working pretty much the same muscles from a different angle. I thought they'd make a good workout.

Equipment availability is one of the major things that annoyed me at the gym. I went to a local not upscale place. people were always lined up waiting for the cardio stuff. equipment was always breaking too, not hard to imagine when it gets used constantly all day. I got tired of waiting all the time or of trying to get my cardio in and having the next users glaring at me to "hurry up" and get off. It also took forever to locate the right weights and adjust everything down, since most users were guys. and although they were told too often, they never wiped down the equipment after they used it leaving it sweaty and icky. Even now when we travel and try to use hotel gyms, I'm amazed at how little of the equipment actually works. you can complain, but usually you're gone before anyone repairs anything... just another area expenses get cut.

Anyway I did my yoga class on tuesday, and then Power Hour. Wednesday we worked on a heavy outdoor home project and later did 10 bike, 30 treadmill, and 15 elliptical before pooping out cause I was too hungry to continue. I've been doing well cutting calories but it's too soon to start checking the scale.

miscellaneous factoid to encourage weight training... according to Dr. peeke, a novice weight trainer will burn about 150-200 calories in a 45 minute workout, while a better muscled person will burn 350-400.

[Kahlico]

Kahlico, you're Emilee if I'm reading this thread right?

Anyway, sounds like a recumbent bike. there are indoor versions and you will see people riding outside versions just like a street bike. they can go amazingly fast. there's a group of people with them that ride an outdoor trail I ride. I've used them before when traveling (at hotel gyms) and thought they worked much like an upright stationary bike, just a different position. working pretty much the same muscles from a different angle. I thought they'd make a good workout.


Kahlico=Emilie, that's me! :D Close enough with the spelling, it all comes out sounding the same.

Thanks for the info. It is a nice workout and something different than my same two. I've been trying to vary things a bit.

[cniles]

Grrrrr - I couldn't escape it! The crud got me. I have NO voice and am totally run down. I haven't been sleeping for 2 days b/c I'm propped up on my pillows lying on my back trying not to choke on the stuff that's draining down my throat. argh.

So.... no workout today. I'm taking Mucinex and my vitamins... pleaseplease kick in! Yucky weather expected for tomorrow am - maybe a 2 hours delay.

Sue - I heard school was cancelled today! Bill is taking our unfinished basement and finishing it. He has a room that is his dedicated weight room... and then the livingroom (ie big screen tv etc..) and half wall behind that is the "play room" - ie cards/darts and myworkout stuff;) So that I can see the tv. It will really be funny when I finally get everything hooked up. For over 5 years I've been doing my workouts off of a 12 inch tv:p I will soon be going to a 50 inch!!! I won't know what to do!!:p

Youall rock!!!!

[Valerie226]

Charisse... DH and I finished a part of the basement too. it was such a good decision! we use that room every day. we put glass paneled french doors on it so we could seal it off without making it too dark. we do a lot of sawing and sanding etc and it keeps the dust out.

I'm so sorry :( you got what I dodged. Stay warm and quiet, take your vitamins, drink lots of warm fluids and you'll live to exercise another day!

I got in a 45 min cardio session yesterday and am heading down to do weights. We're getting a storm today and it's unclear if I can finsih before the power goes out. Might get snow too, the first snow ( down low) of the season and then it will be very cold for several days. like 20 or so. It usually doesn't get that cold so it's a shock to the system.

[Canice]

Canice - do you ever have a problem with crowded facilities? ie do you have to weight for your next circuit? I've heard a couple of people talk about that here as an issue...

No problem at all with crowding, and theoretically you shouldn't have to wait since everyone changes at the same time. Some people, either because of physical or motivational issues, do seem a little slow to move along when they're supposed to, though. I watched a LOT of game shows on TV as a kid, so I seem to treat it like some kind of Beat the Clock thing, like my prize diminishes the more time I spent "in transit" vs using the equipment. 'cept the darned squat thingy - I may be a bit more leisurely battling the one they call "the beast".

Valerie, I remember reading about Body for Life some years ago: is it a diet and routine as well as a guide? What exactly is it?