Home exercise enthusiasts week of 5/10

[Valerie226]

hope everyone had a great weekend. we tried to xc ski saturday but were thwarted by unexpected road problems. gave up after trying 3 places and not being able to get anywhere near the snow.
Sunday we mountain biked. A road that was washed out ( to cars)by flooding in 2003 and not yet fixed by the forest service. made a great ride. not too steep but still a good workout, all to ourselves except for birds and bees. It's be kind of boring to walk but it was perfect for riding. some fresh piles of bear poop. no bears, though. plenty of blow down trees. rode over, climbed over, or pulled out of the way. about 20 miles, about 5 hours. It's hard to find good mt bike roads. I'm not skilled enough for skinny single track but it sure is fun.

I re-did #STS 4 from the begining on friday, along with some bike and treadmill time. Wow, that's a lot of pushups. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I like drop sets the best. Today will be STS 5.

Good to hear from you Josie. Did the surgery have a good outcome? I think jogging in spain would be wonderful, as long as it's not too hot! I'm a total heat wimp.

[SueK]

Good morning! I got in a good workout yesterday. I was going to sleep in but at 7:30 my little one woke me up by asking me why I wasn't on the treadmill yet. I told her I wanted to sleep in on Mother's Day, but then I couldn't go back to sleep. So, I figured I should get up and do something. I did about 2 1/2 miles on the treadmill and did 3/4 mile straight running. I am trying to get into the running groove in preparation for the 5K I'm doing in July.

DH had to leave for Vegas on a 6:30 AM flight this morning, so I heard him get up and couldn't go back to sleep. So, I got up and did a Cathe step DVD. Wore some wrist weights for a better workout.

Valerie- if I saw fresh bear poop I think I'd bike faster than I ever have!

Josie- your trip sounds exciting!

[cniles]

Hey guys - up early this morning (4am) - Can't sleep so I thought I'd get caught up on the boards!;)

Friday I walked/ran 4 miles - but haven't done anything formal since!! Saturday was a zoo - soccer and baseball all day. And Sunday I spent time running errands and buying plants and doing some yardwork. Yesterday was another zoo after school - home at 8pm. ugh.

Hoping to get something in this afternoon (If I'm awake!)

Sue - good for you!! I'm sure you'll do fine in the 5k:)

Valerie - the bike ride sounds like an adventure!

Stacy - I'm going to copy your post and bring you over here!!:)

[cniles]

This if from Stacy yesterday.... (sounds like we're both having sleeping issues!!)

I'll start us off even though I was a slacker this morning!!! I didn't sleep well last night and just didn't want to get up.....so I didn't! As DH said, don't focus on the negative -- you have 5 more opportunities this week to get it done

[Valerie226]

Stacy and I must have been posting at the same time....

supposed to do STS #5 yesterday but ended up doing an hour of cardio instead. I waited too late in the day and then got phone calls I had to take, so it worked better to do bike, treadmill, and elliptical. My fault, didn't plan right. today I have yoga and then will get #5 done. I bought a giant rubber band to help me do pull ups and it works! you tie it onto a high bar, put your foot or knee into the band and it supports some of your weight so you can move yourself upward.

SueK, we're new mountain bikers. last year we discovered riding in trees on low trails near the mountains you sneak up on bears very easily.... not that we really WANT that. I like seeing them but not up close and personal. bear poop will do nicely, thank you very much. they're just black bears and run away but too close is upsetting for everyone.

Wow, charisse you guys get to sleep late:rolleyes:..... DH and I get up at 4 all the time. of course, the downside is we need to get to bed at 8 pm or it's a real thrash :eek: the next morning. I've been there with sleep problems too but seem to have it worked out lately. I used to be a better sleeper but these days I stay on a regular schedule and then I do OK.

[srahndennis]

Thanks for copying my post, Charisse! Guess Valerie and I were both determined that we needed to have a tread on Monday, LOL!

Finally a good night's sleep last night!! Charisse & Sue, I hope the sleep gods bless you tonight! I think you're overdue.

Got up and did STS Disc 31 Chest & Back this morning. Heavy weights but only 6 reps per exercise (per round). Interesting --- my heart rate really stayed up this morning, much more so than usual. Really proud of myself -- I did 59 lbs bench presses, flat and incline!!! No chance of going any heavier until I get the tower and more weights (which I don't know that I'm going to do anytime soon).

Having my MRI done tomorrow so we'll see what comes of that. And it's my 16th wedding anniversary today! We'll celebrate with DS's tennis class and Cub Scouts! Yea!! Kidding of course, we celebrated in Austin last weekend.

Valerie - Glad the band is working for your pull ups!!

[Valerie226]

just finished disk STS#5. Not bad. I can do 7 "sort of" pull ups with the band assist, although it's not perfect. my knee tends to come out, but my foot is hard to disentangle so it's a toss up. certainly better than just hanging from the bar like a dead animal..... Congrats Stacy on #31. and also on 59 lbs bench press!. That is a LOT! What are you doing to come up with such an odd number, 59? I am pretty much going by what weight I think I can do 15 reps of, I never really did the 1 RM for many exercises. my judgement is pretty good, and I don't have that many to pick from. 5,8,10,12,15,20. mine are mostly coated so I can't do those add on magnetic weights. guess I need to look for weighted gloves soon.

sleep, such an interesting thing..... sure messes up your life when you can't, and there are so many reasons that it can get screwed up. I feel so much better when I'm getting in regular hours of sleep.

[cniles]

Valerie - you regularly get up at 4am??? Seriously?? Holy Cow. I'm a 6am gal ;)

I'm still slugging away today - I made myself do Jump, Pump and Jab after school. Felt good. We have practice tonight and then a game Wed and Thurs. Gonna try to squeeze something in!!

Stacy - another Holy Cow - 59lbs bench press. I'm such a wimp. I'm still struggling with my 10 lber's!!;) I bow down to you and Valerie :D

Tomorrow's Wed - and we only have 16 days left of school!

[Valerie226]

DH has to be at work before 8, and he exercises every morning, 5-6:30. both of us need coffee, time to wake up, can't just leap out of bed and onto the treadmill. so we get up at 4. he starts exercising at 5. I just get up because I need to make his lunch, breakfast and do chores. you really do beat the rush if you go early, but it's a kind of drawback in the evening, cause we are fading fast after 7:30. It's fine after you get used to it... . I'm gone hiking or skiing tomorrow so talk to you all on thursday.

[avariell]

Hi guys... it feels good to check in regularly and remind myself to be accountable to someone :)

Sunday was leg day- I did a solid 45 minute lifting session and then about 30 mins of cardio. I felt like I did a great job on my legs, but I wasn't very sore the next couple of days. I only used 15 lb dumbbells on my squats and lunges, and I need to up it to 2x20+ lb I think.

Monday was chest and back day plus cardio. I got my butt kicked for sure by the PT. She really pushed me hard - including some assisted pull ups which about killed me. It was a nice work out but I woke up very tight today.

This afternoon I went for a jog for some light cardio and I ended up having what I can only assume was an allergy induced asthma attack. It was dumb for me to run outside, but it was so pretty out - I seriously thought I was going to die. I couldn't breathe and was wheezing so bad. I still have a horrible, mucus-y cough nearly 8 hours later :( I called my allergist to see if there is something I can do about it... I am worried they're g onna make me carry an epi-pen.

Valerie- my surgery went great. I still have a tiny bit of soreness if you push directly on the bone in my nose, but otherwise I'd never know I had surgery in March. It has radically changed my breathing and I feel tons better. Yay for septoplasties!

[srahndennis]

Valerie, Funny you should ask about my 59 lbs! The only 1RM test I did was for bench press. The exercise came later in the program and by then I *sort of* understood the 1RM stuff, so I did it. I did 35 lbs for 10 resp, still felt good so kept going...stopped at 20. My last workout had me targeted at 65 lbs!! My barbell only goes to 55 lbs and I know I couldn't lift more without a rack (and don't have the plates anyway). So, I added 2 lb wrist weights and then 2.5 lbs ankle weights to each arm! I looked like a power ranger, cracked me up!!! But, it worked!

Josie -- Your allergy attack sounds scary! Wow! You just may need to carry a pen in case that happens again. Do you know what you're allergic to?

Charisse -- Sometimes I struggle with 10 pounders, too!! The rest of my weights are much tamer and some days are good while others - not so much! It does tell me that sometimes I'm just too much of a wimp but need to push myself a little more. I know I would NEVER have tried to bench as much as I did!!!

Today I did Cardio Coach #4 for 3.88 miles. I think that's the longest I've run!

[srahndennis]

Did abs and a stretch this morning. Would have prefered to do my leg workout but there's no way with this knee. Had the MRI yesterday, just waiting for results.....

[Valerie226]

Stacy, you knee is still uncomfortable? the MRI should show if there's an injury there. knees are funny... I exercised for YEARS missing an ACL ,with a meniscal tear. and that knee didn't even bother me except in very distinct circumstances, and then it bothered me a whole lot. so there's no predicting what will cause grief or no grief. Hope you get good news. Can you take drugs like Advil or Aleve? I am still in awe of the 59 lbs regardless of how you got it all loaded up there!. I would be squashed like a bug if I tried to press 59 lbs. Congrats on your 16th!

Josie, this is a problem for your allergist. I have allergies, I know what bothers me, and I can generally avoid it. Is this seasonal, like when certain plants are blooming? I had sensitivity testing a long time ago and once you know what it is, many times it can be avoided.... not always though. Drugs can be a good thing, or maybe just not exercising (outside) while certain plants are dumping pollen in the air.
Yes, assisted pull ups = misery! but they really do work a lot of muscles. I'm proud I can get any upward motion at all. are you using a band for an assist? this is new for me and I'm pleased with how it works.

I did STS 6 yesterday and am humbled. used mostly 10s... so many squats / lunges!! my lower body gets much more sore than my upper, the oposite of what I thought. I did everything including the bonus at the end. I'm thinking of repeating this one. I can't do the paper plate and several other moves with any weight or my form falls apart. funny how some moves are incredibly difficult and others are fairly easy.

Charisse.. only 16 days left? I 'm always amazed at how I used to think school was endless and went on forever, but as an adfult it seems like kids are off half the year.