Talk about your exercise experience today

[alexri]

Originally Posted by Mopsie

Am I doing the math correctly?

Does that mean you will be doing 5 half marathons each month for all of 2014?!?

WOW.

(I mean wow in the that's amazing & I can't believe you're going to do it way.)

Depends on the month. Some will have 8-10 because of scheduling. Others 1-4 because it's freggin cold and it's the northeast.

Now to just win the Powerball...

Eff all apart from walk to town and back (mile and half possibly)

Recent adventures in plumbing, decorating and bicycle fettlin' is taking it's toll on my poor achey, lung-power lacking bod.

I think there maybe a chest infection starting. It's been awesome having a 3 month break since the last one...which is twice as long as it takes in winter.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Kelt

Gemme: I'm signing up for the morning gloriers (which also sounds vaguely nasty) Maybe it's just you.

I have that effect on people.



Today was a frigging GREAT workout!!!

I was at the gym for maybe two hours total. 60 minutes on the treadmill walking at a decent clip (1.9 at warm up to 3.2 mph) with running intervals. My runs were awesome. 2 and 3 minute intervals, switching it up between each one for a pattern of 3 then 2 then 3 then 2, etc. I got 5 or 6 of those in before I switched to the incline work.

I initially planned to only be on the treadmill for an hour but things were going so well in my old shoes....no twinges or soreness whatsoever....I decided to up my time. The machines allow for 90 minutes of continuous work so I opted for 85 minutes of working out and it tacked on the usual 5 minute cooldown.

This is where things got a little hairy. I was working my way up the incline pretty well but got stuck around 3.0. As I progressed with each incline level (starting with .5, then 1.0, then 1.5, etc), I reduced my speed. I didn't want to aggravate my legs and stopped when I started to feel a bit of a tug in them, so I plateaued at 3.0 incline which was still okay. I monitored how I felt and it never became uncomfortable. I just felt a little pressure at my shin. I did that for the remaining 25 minutes and the cooldown.

T5, my new favorite treadmill, said that I burned 541 calories and went 5.06 miles in 90 minutes. I then proceeded to do some light ab work and stretching, so that combats Kelt's findings on discrepancies in machine stats (meaning that whatever I burned there matched the treadmill's discrepancy so I'm keeping my 541 no matter what!).

Alex is a horrible influence. He just MADE me go with him to the ice cream shop. I thought I'd be okay cuz they have an 'only 8' option (8 calories per serving) so I was going to get that. Except they are switching brands and don't have everything up for the new brand yet. Darnitall! Well, I took 2 instead of my usual 3 scoops and I took frozen yogurt instead of the heavy stuff. So, I'm celebrating my lowest weight check and my best workout day. With yogurt. It could be worse, I guess. Funny thing is, I'm not sure I'm going to finish it. I'm looking at the last third and really don't feel super hungry. Now's the time to toss it before I cave later.

[Mopsie]

Glad you had a great workout Gemme!

For me the workout didn't happen at all.

Between asthma troubles and my second job I decided to let myself off the hook today.

But I'm planning to go to the gym tomorrow because I signed up for a new virtual 5k race that starts tomorrow.

Asthma may have won this battle but I shall win the war!

[Gemme]

Excellent, Mopsie!!!

[nycfem]

I did two hours and fifteen minutes on the Arc Trainer, Interval, Level 7. I watched "Catfish" and the second half of the Real Housewives trip to Canada.

While I was on the Arc Trainer, I saw a woman running on a treadmill (fast pace, very fit woman). Then the unthinkable happened. She slipped and fell on the treadmill! It was quite horrifying to watch. She was on her knees and the treadmill was still going full speed, kind of like watching a factory accident. The people by her stopped their machines right away and helped her. She kept assuring people she was fine and just needed to go (what we all do in an accident when we're shocked and embarrassed and probably are not fine physically or mentally!). I thought about how important it is to use that "stop" clip when running on a treadmill.

Then I did 45 minutes of weight lifting, stretching, yoga, and abs. It's great to feel all the tension leave my body during these exercises that involve a lot of prolonged flexing and bending.

[Soon]

30 mins elliptical

30 mins bike

15 mins upper body strength on weight machine thingie (at almost the LOWEST weight for every single exercise--i have ZERO upper body strength)

[Mopsie]

Good morning Planeteers!

I just got done at the gym! This is a record for me - I never go in the morning.

I don't have any interesting stories for you ... it was a pretty calm morning at the gym.

I did check all the people running near me to see if they had that safety thingy on after reading Jennifer's story. None of them did.

Asthma was better today so I was able to walk a little faster.

It took me 42 minutes and 20 seconds to walk 1.1 miles. Faster than last time but not as fast as during my first 5k. Onward and upward!

Have a great Sunday everyone!

[Kelt]

Good morning exercisers,

Yesterday was great! I had my second swimming lesson in the morning and definitely learned some new things. For now I have switched away from the kickboard to this weird thing it looks like an exaggerated circus dumbbell. I just hook my arms over it and it changes where my center of gravity falls. It's more fun when you get to arrive at the other side. This also has my face a lot closer to the water.

We also started learning a bit about coordinating breathing in the water. This brought up in minor problem. For the last decade or so I have used a fairly specific breathing technique before going to bed and first thing when I wake up. It involves breathing in rapidly through the nose and then slowly exhaling through the mouth. Great, exactly the opposite of what I need to do in the pool, and it is an ingrained habit. Lots of humming.

The thing that seems most distracting to me right now is getting the water in my eyes. A couple of days ago I ordered some cool goggles. They showed up yesterday afternoon and so I will get to try them either today or tomorrow. I am thinking, (hoping), that this will make a huge difference.

The pool has fairly short hours today, and so far it is cloudy and cool, but I will see how the afternoon shapes up.

On the beach walking front yesterday went well also. I took my new mid-high shoes for a test drive and completed one "lap" on the beach which equals 3 miles.

So far, this business of shaking out my schedule is working well, and doing as intended. Working different aspects of my body, and incorporating variety. I am finding that the swimming part is making me crazy hungry though, I am adding some more food and for now my weight is holding stable.

If I tried to get on a treadmill, I would've been that woman that came off the backend. This is why I avoid them like the plague. I'm just not coordinated enough. Hope she is alright.

Mopsie - You are winning the fight! Keep up the good work.

Gemme - You seem to be missing the point, ice cream is why we workout!
Super glad your legs are improving.

[Soon]

30 bike

15 elliptical

maybe some horseback riding later...and definitely some swimming

Thanks for this thread, Jen. I like writing down what I accomplished exercise-wise!

[nycfem]

85 minutes arc trainer, Interval program, level 7, watched "Sister Wives" and "Snapped"
Confession: I sat around reading a magazine waiting for my favorite machine to be open because I saw the guy only had 10 minutes left

65 minutes weight lifting, core, stretching, and yoga

It was a quiet summer sunday at the gym, very relaxing and invigorating.

[Mopsie]

Originally Posted by Soon

30 bike

15 elliptical

maybe some horseback riding later...and definitely some swimming

Thanks for this thread, Jen. I like writing down what I accomplished exercise-wise!

I want to go horseback riding!!

Is it your horse or is there somewhere that you go to go horseback riding??

[Gemme]

Oh, Jennifer! That poor woman.

I don't use that clip either, but I always make sure to know where the STOP button is.

Even so, that could happen to anyone.

Originally Posted by Soon

30 mins elliptical

30 mins bike

15 mins upper body strength on weight machine thingie (at almost the LOWEST weight for every single exercise--i have ZERO upper body strength)

Hey, it's more than you did before and more than you would have done without the machines, no?

Keep it up!

Originally Posted by Kelt

Gemme - You seem to be missing the point, ice cream is why we workout!
Super glad your legs are improving.

Not for me. I mean, I love ice cream but it's candy that siren calls my name at night.

Not eating the whole thing means this whole exercise, taking better care of myself thing is working. And that's the sweetest treat of all.

Originally Posted by Mopsie

I want to go horseback riding!!

Is it your horse or is there somewhere that you go to go horseback riding??

Miss Soon is a lucky duck at a resort. Of course, if she buys the resort maybe we'll all get to go horseback riding.

[Gemme]

Okie dokie! Hello, howdy and how do you all do?

Alex and I got up a little late for us but we still made it to the gym this morning. I spent half an hour on the treadmill in the new shoes again, trying to see if time off and switching to my old shoes did anything. Everything seems okay but then, I wasn't truly pushing myself. A couple of light, quick runs but still at the end, my calves were hurting.

So, I moved on to weight training. Abs, back and the lower body plus some stretching ecked out the next hour and change.

Then, Alex and I took a short jog in the back of the parking lot of the gym. Turns out, the shoes are better on rough roading/outside than on the treadmill but most of the time I'll be on the treadmill so they had to go back.

I switched them with a pair of Brooks. We'll see how these go. Rhode Runner is great. As long as I still have the receipt and it's less than 30 days from date of purchase, they'll take it back no matter the condition. Best return policy EVER!

I also nabbed some fancy sport socks and Alex jumped on the back of my credit (new new shoes were less than older new shoes) and got some kind of band for his leg. So, I got out of the store with brand new shoes, new socks and Alex's band for a hair over $20. Not bad!

By the end of the day, I'd added two more pairs of shoes to my repertoire after stopping into Bob's. One way or another, I'm going to get my run on!

[o222Good]

Back on vacation and back to the gym for a couple of days now.
I have tried switching up my cardio routine, because I read that
if you always do the same thing, you can sort of get carpal
tunnel of the body! So I did 25 minutes on the elliptical and 15
on the bike. I notice my heart rate is staying low and I am able
to work harder to stay in the zone. I am taking this as a very
good sign!

[batennisboy]

Read this thread from the beginning. Thanks to all who've posted.

Didn't do anything today but did finally complete my workouts this week after many weeks of partial success. Was physically and mentally drained from work and came up with all sorts of excuses, some legit and some not so much. Took 4 weeks off to regroup, as well as some time off work and it worked! The gym is no longer my worse enemy.

My workout consists of stretching, strengthening, weights and cardio. Takes about 2-2.5 hours. I also play tennis.

Was lovely to have the whole weekend to switch off mind and body, watch movies, read and eat marshmallows.

Back to it today although I don't hold out much hope of any proper exercise other than being busy fettlin' bikes at the workshop for the day.

[Chancie]

I went to stretch and to Group Power.

A few hours later, I did a very little bit of weeding and I spread one bag of mulch.

I have one more bag of mulch to spread, and I promised Pete I'd water the window boxes.

Pete is going to edge one of the flower beds for me tonight, and I'll weed that bed tomorrow and I'll probably need two more bags of mulch.

I am so thrilled about how much more comfortable I am working in the garden because I've been treating my body so kindly.

PS I added more weight today, and after some feedback from a trainer, I adjusted my stance for one muscle group and whoa, am I sore and tired.

[Gemme]

Off day!

My legs need it.

[nycfem]

40 minutes Arc Trainer, Interval Level 5, television sucked because of that damn "Royal Baby"

20 minutes weights and yoga