Home exercise enthusiasts- week of aug 3

[Valerie226]

I'll get us going before the week is up! Charisse hope your vacation is great and that you have good weather.

I did my standby bike, treadmill and elliptical on monday. tuesday I took off. Wed we hiked. not as tough as usual but my doc didn't want me hiking at all so I compromised with a fairly easy 3 hour hike. Yeah, I usually do what he says but this is extremely low risk.... not doing anything where I'm more likely to fall than my own yard. we've had a difficult couple weeks of hot dry weather and the biting bug level is prohibitive anyway. Yesterday was cooler and breezier so a good chance to do something outdoors. we'll probably do another this weekend. I'm not doing anything that crosses steep snow slopes or rock climbing, just dirt/rock trails that aren't risky. we actually wanted to do more but there were so blasted many people on the trail...vacation season... that we bailed earlier than planned. DH couldn't stand it!

Stacy.. I envy all the stuff you're doing. I had no idea I'd miss upper body work and just variety so much! Have you any plans to redo STS? I'm plotting my return but I think I'll need to start with the GS series for a week or two to see what level I'm starting over at. I miss yoga too, even though it was only once a week. Even core work has been off limit.
tuesday I had another doctor visit and they turned down many of the settings on my pacer so my heart rate is closer to what's normal for me. I'm now able to get some sleep and am getting off the sleep meds that I've needed for a couple weeks.

[srahndennis]

Valerie -- Thanks for getting us started! We're a little slow at the gate this week, huh???? I've had a crazy week at work and have put in more hours than usual. I promised myself that I would check in this afternoon! I've stayed busy, though. Monday did Imax 2, Wednesday was Supersets and this morning was Amy Bento's In the Ring. I'm off work tomorrow - yea! - so it will be some type of full body workout.

Sounds like you're on the upswing with your pacer. Sleep is so important -- glad yours is starting to return to normal. I understand what you mean about missing your workouts and the variety. I felt that way when I hurt my knee. It seemed like there was so much that I couldn't do. But -- you're doing a great job doing what you CAN do...and soon enough, you'll be back in full swing.

Yes, I'm planning do STS again but I'm waiting until the tower gets here. And it would be great to have STS cardio, too, but I'm not sure how long that will take. Maybe we could do it together when the time comes??? I'm sort of doing Cathe's August rotation now. It's one week of endurance, then two weeks of muscle building, then the last week is strength. I'm subbing in some of the new cardio workouts I got along the way.

Are your temperatures starting to cool off a bit?

Charisse -- Hope you're having a grand time!

[Valerie226]

Yeah, temps normal, even below normal. high of 69 today and cloudy. everything is dry... we're probably going to get showers/ rain soon and it sounds great! forest fire risk is way up .

I'm 3 weeks out now so should be able to increase my activities (some) after week 4. some things will be 6 weeks. Groan... nothing makes you want to do something more than NOT being able to.

I check in with a nurse in the pacer clinic and she knows exactly what I'm talking about, and can coach me what upper body things I can add in and when. she was a big help in getting pacer settings turned down cause she works with people after the surgery and hears the details of what works and what doesn't. Yeah, I don't want fainting spells but having my rate jump and keep me awake is unpleasant too. It's much better but I'm taking notes for some more small changes to help normalize things.

I haven't even looked at cathe's new cardio program.... it's hard to look at the web site without getting annoyed that I can't do anything! the first thing I want to add back in will be core if OK, like crunches with arms up/ behind my head, planks, ball exchanges. before weights, I want to be sure. If I were to dislodge the pacer, I'd have to have the surgery repeated and start all over. so I'm being careful. I have an appt on the 17th.

Stacy your program sounds really varied and fun. I wish I were doing it too. do you feel you retained ther gains you made with STS and are building on them?

[srahndennis]

I think you are very smart to have the nurse work with you. You definately don't want to do anything that will prolong your recovery. To have to go through all of that over again would be horrible!

I'm surprised but I do think I'm maintaining my gains from STS so far. I'm matching Cathe's weight with her endurance workouts (except for legs), which I couldn't do before. Shoulders are still my weak area but it's better. I'm still taking it very easy on legs. I usually do one or two sets of squats with 10 lbs, then do wall squats for the rest. I'm doing some lunges but not too many. Usually do quad sets during some of them. It will be interesting to see how I do with Slow & Heavy and Gym Styles the next two weeks. I haven't done either series for a long time so looking forward to it.

Glad things are cooling down for you!

[srahndennis]

Originally Posted by Earthkanu

The Bowflex Revolution home exercise gym from Nautilus gives ... Mark Blacker€ '²s New You: Effective 12-week home exercise plan for ... and motivation from a large community of home exercise enthusiasts. .... Part 2 out of 3 ...... exercises. He was presented to the principal, who said, "I We are interested in starting to exercise at home. .... There isn't a week that goes by that I don't see at least one very expensive treadmill for ... I have done quite a bit in fitness-3 hour marathon, century ride, bench press twice my weight. ... For Fitness Consumers, Enthusiasts,

Reported.......

[srahndennis]

Checking in with Maximum Intensity Strength. I think I'll feel it in my arms later! Starting to like that workout more and more, even though it's long.....

[Valerie226]

stacy, whose workout is MIS? I've heard the name many times but not sure.... not that I don't have enough DVD's to choose from. I like the GS workous but I don't have S&H. GS was my first try at strict weight workouts. I'm going to do GS legs today if I can. we had a plumbing fix yesterday but it leaks and needs a redo today. can't workout with the plumbing guys underfoot.

the nurse was encouraging. she says at 4 to 5 weeks I can do anything I want. I said, like pushups? heavy weights? she said I can dive right back in. don't have to ease back. "How sore" is the next question.

quick work on the spam. when you report it, where do you report it to?

[srahndennis]

MIS is a Cathe workout. And guess what????? I think you already have it! It's on the DVD with Power Hour. How cool is that??? The first time I did it was a long time ago. I thought it was going to kill me. But now it doesn't seem crazy hard. A good workout, for sure, but not impossible. I don't think it's any harder than Muscle Max. Let me know if you try it.

I think with STS that you wouldn't want Slow & Heavy for quite some time but I do like the workouts. She uses longer rests (a minute, I think) that some people don't like but I appreciate them!

Did the nurse mean 4 -5 weeks from now or from the surgery? Either way, it will be here before you know it. Good to know you'll eventually be able to do anything you want.

To report spam, all you have to do is click the triangle with the explanation point that's on the right hand side of the date/time line of the post. I assume it notifies a moderator. I had to find it myself this morning....didn't remember. It's so crazy the stuff they post. Have no clue what it accomplishes.

Hope you get the plumbing issues taken care of and that it doesn't keep you from your workout. I hate stuff like that and if I had to miss a workout because of it, I'd be double annoyed!

[Valerie226]

well...duuhhh! I never noticed MIS. Geez. I definately don't need any more DVD's if I don't even know what I already have. also, the exclamation point to report spam could not be more obvious. sometimes I don't see things right in front of me.

I got the plumbing project fixed early, and also got in to see my pacer nurse. she explained some of it much better... I understand things more clearly. I told her about Cathe since she's a fitness person too. gotta share information, right? I love turning people on to Cathe's DVD's.
She changed some settings and I understand now why one of them probably should not be changed, considering how my rare skipped beats happen. but overall my heart is in great shape. that was a relief.
I can start upper body exercising at 4-5 weeks from my surgery date which will be 17th-24th of august. I'm now thinking of starting with an overall one like Musclemax with light weights just to see what gets sore. I see my doc on the 17th.

Today, it's 3;30 so I can sneak in a workout before dinner. I haven't been doing real long ones, trying to do 45 min of cardio most days. I have not gained any weight! was not going to beat myself up if I did, but I've been less hungry with less exercise so it's not been that hard to maintain. Have a great weekend!.

[srahndennis]

I think it's deceiving the way they packaged the DVD. Power Hour is front & center but the others are an aside. The DVD also has the original Body Max, which I've never done. It's 90 minutes and I never have that much time. Try MIS when you're tired of your others.

Glad you're plumbing problem is resolved and you were able to get your workout in. Great job keeping your weight in check. Sounds like you body is cooperating -- always nice.

Fun turning others on to Cathe. We have to pass on the obsession, right? I learned about Cathe from you and Charisse -- and really it's changed my life. I've never had any idea what could be done at home!

We wend to see Bob Dylan last night. Took Kyle along, too. We all had a ball!!! Kyle had to have a Dylan t-shirt. He's probably the only 10-year-old with a shirt like that!!

Since we got home late, I tried to sleep in a bit. 7:45 was the best I could do. Did Turbo Jam Cardio Party #2. Fun workout! Fairly short -- 44 minutes so I did the warm up & part of the first combo to Amy's Advanced Step Challenge 3. I've heard her step workouts take some time to learn so this was a good start.

Enjoy your day!

[srahndennis]

This morning was Muscle Endurance and then I tacked on a 10-minute yoga stretch. My shoulders and upper back are sore! I guess I was really punching yesterday.

Today's going to be a fun day. We're going to the museum then to the park to throw ball and frisbee. Planning on a late lunch at a new burger place. Happy, happy!