Home Exercise Enthusiasts - week of Jan 5, 2009

[cniles]

I hope this post finds everyone on the mend!!!

I did nada on Saturday but today went out and bought myself a new FIRM DVD! I LOVE IT!! It's called Pump, Jab and Jump (?!!) Kickboxing segments with weight work in between. It's more advance kickboxing than the FIRM has done in the past (I actually got to do some jumping kicks - what ARE they called?!) Lots of room for improvement so I'm excited!:)

School starts tomorrow (sorry Stacy good luck on the 5am workouts! - I gotta go with the 4:30pm ones!) So back to our routine.

4 workouts this week and LOTS and LOTS of water!! Healthy snacking!:)

Have a great Monday everyone!

[Valerie226]

I agree, charisse, hope everyone is back to healthy. It's time for the annual January diet/exercise media rush. I almost hate to see how many people will show up at yoga on tuesday... The later in the day workout has advantages.. it keeps me from snacking in the hour before dinner.

DH & I did our Manning park trip saturday. It's a 3 hr drive, roads were slick. another guy arrived while we were getting ready and started out just ahead of us. It was -6 degrees with clear blue sky and sunny and untracked show. It was gorgeous.
the first minutes are unpleasant... sitting/driving in a warm car and then jumping into -6 is a shock to the system! Hands and feet get cold no matter how much stuff you have on. but after about 15 min of going uphill suddenly everything thaws and you can shed layers. the road goes away from the highway quickly so it's very quiet and loads of interesting animal tracks. we were leapfrogging with the other guy for a mile or so. there was an existing ski track with some fresh snow on it so it was easy travel. after around an hour the track ended and it was all bottomless fresh snow. DH and I alternate breaking trail and went for a couple more miles. the third guy never caught up.. it would have been nice to have some help breaking trail. the deeper the snow the tougher it is. We've done this trail before and were surprised no one had gone very far, so trail breaking was tough. We got up to a sunny spot where deer had triggered some snow sloughs ( avalanche conditions were considerable) and decided to stop there. the trip down started nicely.. nothing better than a nice clean ski track you've made yourself. unfortunately after we got further down, a large group of snowshoers had tromped up the ski track. they aren't supposed to do that. It's a road with tons of space.. they were just thoughtless. a ski track does not make snowshoeing easier but it does destroy the ski track for skiers. It's especially rude when there was only one tiny little 8 inch track and an entire road for them to use. sometimes there are dozens of ski tracks all over and then it's understandable. not the case here. so we didn't get to "zip" down the track but had to "work" down. Whatever. It was still a beautiful day and loads of exercise. approximately 5 hours round trip. Manning park is further east and higher elevation than we usually get to ski so the snow is drier and nicer.

Suek, suddenly there's a lot of noise about kettlebells. our paper just did an article on them as a newly popular exercise. the forums on Cathe's web site (www.cathe.com )has people talking about them too. let us know if you investigate them further. congrats on the jeans... the most reliable indicator of progress.

Josie.. 4 hours of dancing definitely counts!

[SueK]

Suek, suddenly there's a lot of noise about kettlebells. our paper just did an article on them as a newly popular exercise. the forums on Cathe's web site (www.cathe.com )has people talking about them too. let us know if you investigate them further.

Thanks for pointing out those forums to me. I searched and read a lot of posts on them. I will be trying it out this week so I will post my experience with it.

I had every intention of working out today...then the dog got me up during the night to go out (which he never does!) and it took me 1.5 hours to fall back asleep. Knowing it was going to be an early morning anyway, with school starting back, I just skipped it today. Oh well, back to it tomorrow!

[cniles]

Sue - I've heard good stuff about kettleball workouts. Let us know how it goes!!

Valerie - I remember when I belong to a gym what a crazy time January was!!!

I made myself workout to Cardio Overdrive today - I really wanted to quit about 3/4 of the way through but made myself finish it!:) First day of school went well so I might as well do a good workout!!

We're supposed to hit with a major ice storm tomorrow into Wed am - I'm sure we'll at least have a delay.. I'm still going to try to get in a weight workout tomorrow after school. And if a delay on Wed, maybe a quick cardio!!

Valerie - boo to those who messed up the ski tracks! How frustrating!

Josie - are you feeling any better?

Maureen - did you find a workout to try?

Hope everyone is doing well!!:)

[SueK]

We're supposed to hit with a major ice storm tomorrow into Wed am - I'm sure we'll at least have a delay.. I'm still going to try to get in a weight workout tomorrow after school. And if a delay on Wed, maybe a quick cardio!!

Hey Charisse- I'm planning for at least a delay on Wed as well. Jerry's supposed to fly to Vegas that day, so we'll see if he gets out of town!

I've already set the alarm for tomorrow and if we *do* have a delay on Wed, then I'm going to delve into the kettleball workout! :)

[avariell]

Yay I think I am totally better!! woo!!

Valerie- holy cow that sounds like quite a work out. I keep seeing avalanche survivors on the morning news - be careful.

Charisse- I am crossing my fingers for a school delay for you - maybe even a cancellation?? :)

Sue- I am curious about this kettleball thing too... be sure to report back

I made it to the gym today but I only lifted. I was meeting friends to watch the Fiesta Bowl (could the Big Ten have stunk it up a little more this year?!?!?! ugh.) and I needed to rush from one place to another. I am also having a cat scan done of my sinuses in 2 weeks to see if I am a good candidate for a septoplasty and sinus surgery, so I had to pick up some antibiotics for that. Basically I just didn't want to overdo it at the gym, so it was only lifting for me, with an intense ab work out mixed in for fun.

Tomorrow night it is back to ballet. I am sad to think about how sore I will be all over again ;)

Tomorrow is also my roommate/personal trainer's big operation to remove a tumor from her hard palate/sinuses. Send good wishes her way that everything goes well and she gets to leave the hospital in a couple days.

[cniles]

Well we got out at 2pm to get a jump start on the weather and 2 hours later it's only spritzing. It does look really nasty for tomorrow so I'm hoping for only a 2 hour delay!! I don't want to make it up on Martin Luther King Day:)

So I did get in a quick weight workout. I did Super Body Sculpt (FIRM) the upper body and ab workout. Cardio tomorrow;)

Josie - I'm so glad you're feeling better!! I bleed blue and white so I hear ya on the big 10 disappointment!! I'll be thinking good thoughts tomorrow for your roommate!

Sue - I think you can safely count on a delay - let us know how the kettleball works out!!:D Hope Jerry gets out ok!

[cniles]

I imagine Sue is doing her kettleball routine as I write!!;) We just have a 2 hour delay but I heard things are completely shut down in SC!!

I did an express workout from Time Crunch (FIRM) - just enough to let me know I've done something for the day.

Off to school - have a great day everyone!:)

[avariell]

Charisse- that ice storm came through yesterday. It was a total pain in the butt. At least it all melted relatively quickly.

I took my ballet class last night. Holy. Cow. Am I sore!!!! I don't think ballet did me in, it is just getting back into working out. My trainer kicked my butt Monday night (I think she was working off her anxiety over her operation by taking it out on me :)). I have never done such a hard ab workout as I did on Monday. I did Stability Ball planks, hanging leg lifts, crunches, supermans, you name it. Ugh. Stretching at ballet about killed me.

My trainer/roomie is doing well after her surgery; although they are currently indicating she will have to be in the hospital for a full week. I don't think she was prepared for how serious an operation this would be (ie: she only took one week off of work :eek:).

[Valerie226]

Josie, hope it works out well for your roomate. sometimes things are more difficult than expected with surgeries like that. I have a cousin contemplating something similar (his is elective due to recurrent infections) and it's a hard choice to make.

Did a treadmill workout monday for 35 minutes, faster than usual. tuesday 10 bike, 15 treadmill, 15 elliptical, and ( as promised) GS legs about one half. this time I used weights ( 25 barbell for squats, 5's for lunges) and did all the bonus moves. I quit when I thought I'd be getting too sore, and it was a good choice. I'm quite aware of my butt and glutes today. but my thighs are good. no pain at all.

Ice storms are the worst! When we came back from our ski we barely missed freezing rain... we were accidentally an hour or two before it started. Now we are getting major rain and on top of the snow it is making for avalanche conditions that close down the passes. and flooding. no skiing anywhere until things stabilize. isn't winter wonderful?

[SueK]

I imagine Sue is doing her kettleball routine as I write!!;)

Uh, that would be a negative...:rolleyes: I woke up this morning feeling quite crappy due to female issues, then got the autocall at 5:45 that school was cancelled. So....popped some ibuprofen, crawled back into bed and decided to be a sloth for the day.

I did spend some time trying to chip the ice off our deck and stairs, so I'll count that as something... :p

[Valerie226]

We couldn't do our usual ski or snowshoe, weather and DH's dental appointment. but I worked hard. I did 10 bike, 20 hard on the treadmill, and then Cathe's KPC. I've been reading about how "interval" training is more effective for weight loss than "steady state" exercise. I don't know if it's true, but cathe's circuit workouts seem to have peak levels of activity followed by an "active recovery" ( her words) phase, and then more intense again, and I'm trying to do that more than just getting on the treadmill and cranking for 40 minutes at the same speed.

I bought a Cathe calendar for over my desk. recording my exercise on it each day. Her picture for January is Cathe with a 60 lb dumbbell and a weight vest doing a lunge. probably impossible, but a better motivator than the food calendar I had last year!

Suek, ice chipping is probably right up there with wood chopping for calorie burn!

[LakeMartinGal]

Wow! to all of you! I'm awed by your workouts!

My water aerobics class has been cancelled for the last 2 times, because the pool heater isn't working, and the water was cold, cold, cold!:eek: They're supposed to get it working Tuesday...

Anyway, feeling like a blimp, I did 30 minutes on the wii fit. Mostly balance, with some aerobic exercise thrown in -- twice on hula hoop, once the short run, and once the step aerobics. Now, at least, I don't feel guilty...:o

[Kahlico]

Bad Emilie, bad Emilie! :o

After 6 straight days of snowshoeing for 2-3 hours at a time (some days more than once) and burning major calories, I am wiped this week! Shane and I got back from our winter adventure on Saturday evening. We even trekked out our last day before driving back. Sunday we did take a long, chilly walk, but I've only hit the gym once this week (Tuesday) and we're going out tonight to watch the OU/Florida game, so no workout tonight.

However, there is a light! We loved our adventure so much that we're going back for a jaunt this weekend, so we'll have 2full days of winter sporting, and yes, next week, we hit the gym or else we won't be able to keep up with our winter sporting!

Shane is going back the weekend after that for a long weekend and I'm going again in February for a long weekend, so at least we getting some fresh air and exercise!

[srahndennis]

Wow!!! I logged in on the first attempt today! What's up with that??? :D

I'm very slow to the party this week. Obviously, the 5 am workouts have been very tough to make so far! But today.....success! Finally.....I did The Firm Total Body Time-Crunch. I had put it on our Netflicks list eons ago and it just came so I gave it a whirl. Charisse - I added the new one you mentioned, too - Pump, Jump & Jab. It's nice to mix things up.

Boy, y'all have had some not so fun weather lately! We've had some cold days but alternated with some warm days. It's nice to have the warm days but it makes the cold days seem so much colder than they really are.

Saturday we did a "Valerie-style" hike with the Cub Scouts. It was so much fun. It's a two-hour timed race at a ranch about ninety minutes out of town. We climbed up & down hills, dry streams, followed pipelines, etc. in search of flags worth various points. The kids were supposed to be using their map & compass but really it was the adults using the map. Anyway, it was a blast! I though I would be sore but I was pleasantly surprised.

Glad everyone seems to be healthy. Josie - I hope your roommate's recovery goes well.

On a very, very sad note, one of my co-workers took ill on Monday morning. They think she had a heart attack and aren't sure how long she was without oxygen. Her DH couldn't wake her up. The ambulance took twenty minutes to get to her house (she lives out) and her husband attempted to do CPR. She's been in the hospital since then but they haven't been able to do much for her. She's on life support and it doesn't appear that her body is functioning on it's own in any way. It's just so sad. She is 58 with a DH, three grown daughters, six grandkids and two more (twins) on the way. Her DM and DFIL are still alive, too. She's very much the caretaker in her family. She's the sweetest person and one of the healthiest people I know. I know we never know but it's so hard when it happens like this. Just remember to hug your family today. :(

[cniles]

(((Stacy))) - how sad. I hope things turn out. BIG hugs to my family and friends.

I needed to go pick up my youngest at school today - low grade fever and head cold. So I got in a good workout after I got him situated! I did Jump, Pump and Jab again. Great, great workout. She's uses heavier weights (med to heavy) on the weight section so it's been really working my arms! I probably won't workout tomorrow so I'll shoot for Saturday. 5 days in a row - not too shabby!;)

Stacy - Great idea to use netflix to preview exercise dvd's!! Hope you like this one when you get it! And your hike sounds like so much fun!:)

Emilie - you're doing fine!! What a cool vacation - I wish DH and I could do something like that. I'll have to investigate!!

Kay - Ohhhhh cold water! yuck! I've heard some good stuff about the wii fit. The teacher I work with loves it! Good job!

Valerie - 60lbs?!!!!:eek: Holy toledo! If that doesn't motivate I don't know what will!! Did you get it online? I have to check this out!:)

Sue - You crack me up. Did the ice melt? Dad said he was out for 3 hours yesterday chipping away at the driveway - yuck.

Happy Thursday all - we're almost there!!

[Valerie226]

I'm going to make this a short post... not my usual long winded thing....;) I'm having computer issues. I'd typed up something before and the blasted thing locked up for no reason and I lost it. this has been happening with increasing frequency. I ordered a new system more than a week ago but I don't expect it until next week. Acck!. I'm so tired of dealing with this system and it's sudden lock ups. I would love to put my foot right thru the screen. anyway, if I'm MIA that's the reason.

[Valerie226]

For unexplained reasons the computer seem to work today.

yesterday I did GS biceps and Coremax 2. I ended up getting fairly sore from GS legs on tues in odd places and decided to let my butt & knees recover instead of blasting them on the treadmill.
Stacy, so sorry about your coworker. bad things happen to good people for no reason. hope those cub scouts enjoyed their "valerie style" workout. was this a geocaching thing?

Emilee.. snowshoeing will keep you in good shape. It's such a fun thing and anyone can do it, plus you get extra points for the extra weight you need to carry in back up stuff. My pack always weighs at least 20 lbs. If you don't have poles, consider them. It gives your arms a good workout & helps with balance.