Pump You Up: The Fitness Thread

[k-prime]

JustSkipIt: Thanks for the concern, it's hard to convey tone over the Internet. Yes, I was just overexaggerating when I used the word "pain". I was in a pretty bad accident a couple of years ago, and after spending a year getting my right arm back to almost-normal, I'm pretty good at paying attention to the messages my body sends me.
After two days of rest, today was back at the gym! 45 minutes of cardio, 40 minutes of weight training on my upper body, and five minutes of ab exercises. It's amazing what having a good workout buddy can do for motivation. Everyone else I've tried to go with before I've had to drag out of their house. The girl I go with now is just as motivated as I am, and we feel free to guilt, harass, and yell at each other when we're feeling lazy to get going. It's great!

[FineyMcFine]

Hey, is it really my fault if Sally isn't back from her run (or maybe is in Denver)?

Alas, poor Yorick, Sally did not run today. The neck/left shoulder muscle spasm I had in late August seems to have returned due to (I guess) a stressful day yesterday, and I did not feel up to running this morning. I thought about working out at my hotel when I got here, running on the treadmill or something, but wasn't feeling great. Am feeling better now, but still have v. achy shoulder. Must take drugs. (Muscle relaxants, that is.)

Tomorrow morning if I wake up early I will possibly go to the workout center before my meetings start at 9am, otherwise I guess I'll JustSkip the Friday run and resume on Monday.

k-prime: way to go listening to your body! Man, 1 hr 30 min at the gym is a ton of time. woot!

[Foomatic]

MemsMapper: Thanks for the link to the pedometer! I see now that my run is 1.9 miles . . . yay!

SallyMcFine: I'm going to try that six minute ab workout tonight, thanks for the info!

It finally has stopped raining somewhat where I live, so I was able to go out and run for the first time in two weeks. Didn't make it quite as far as usual, but hopefully the weather will hold up and I can go more often.

And I started my non-contact boxing class today. It rocked! Having your hands all wrapped up and being in a boxing stance really makes you feel like a bad ass, let me tell ya! We just learned basic footwork and punches today, but man, it's a workout, because you're constantly on your toes and moving around. We got to work a little on the bags too, with gloves, which was the best part. It felt really great smacking the bag around, even if I looked really stupid doing it. All in all, it was really fun, and I'm looking forward to the next class.

Kudos to all the kittens keeping up with their workout!!!

[russ]

Sally - no fun with the muscle spasm; you're smart not to try running until it's calmed down. I used to get them frequently in the neck & shoulder. About the only thing that helped was heat and gentle stretching, plus time.

Had Thurs. & Friday off work, so you'd think there was lots of time to work out, right? One yoga class & about a hundred trips to the basement with Christmas decorations is all I managed.

Ah well, today was gym day, and a good sweat was had. My usual 10 min. on the bike to warm up, then half an hour of lower body (Smith machine lunges, deadlifts, leg extensions, adductions, toe press), followed by a 2 km. row. Felt great after.

No one has mentioned rowing machine here yet, but it's a great overall workout (look at the physique of Olympic rowers). It works pretty much every muscle group except chest & triceps, and provides as much cardio as running.

Russ

[FineyMcFine]

I'm happy to report that two hot showers and a bunch of muscle relaxants and hopped-up aspirin have loosened the spasm for today, so I went running at the hotel's fitness center. 1.3 miles on the treadmill, it seems I run a 13 minute mile. My friend Jay runs about a 7 minute mile, about twice as fast as me! Heh. Oh well, slow and steady and I won't get discouraged.

Then I did my 6-minute abs, which were okay but are v. challenging as always. Exercise feels so good - I feel so much better now than I did earlier.

[JustSkipIt]

k-prime – I didn’t really think you meant pain and I guess I really meant it as a general warning. I mean we don’t know how many lurkers this thread may have (post!) but I wanted to send a warning to them too. Wow, 45 min cardio & 40 weight is a serious workout. That’s so awesome that you found a good workout buddy!

Sallypants – I’m sending you a small box of “aww poor babys”. Hope they arrive soon. Take it easy and don’t hurt yourself worse.

Foo – boxing? How cool.

Russ –you got your Christmas decorations put up (down)? I’m so jealous. That’s scheduled for this afternoon. Arggghhh! Still, Yoga and then a good workout? Not bad for a few days.

Sally – yay for the shower and aspirin. 1.3 miles doesn’t suck at all. Thanks for keeping posting.


I didn’t do anything yesterday. I was in a tax training for volunteering all day and when I got out, we had dinner and then I just wanted to play with the baby. I woke up about an hour ago and couldn’t sleep so I figured I’d workout until either the family awoke or I finished the current episode in the DVD. 55 minutes on the Nordic Track (5.34—I rock) later, I’m still all alone in the house and considering cleaning the bathrooms. Not fun but necessary.

[k-prime]

After a long day at work with the Hangover From Hell, I barely managed to drag myself to the gym, but boy am I glad I did! I was in an extremely cranky mood, but that changed by halfway through my workout. I know that exercise is proven to help stabilize moods and keep people happier, but I'd never expereienced anything quite so sudden. Very cool.
Did my usual twenty minutes of cardio, then half an hour of weight training, followed by ten minutes on the rowing machine and another fifteen minutes of cardio.

[JustSkipIt]

K-prime. That's so awesome. I once read a recommendation in an exercise magazine that if you don't feel like doing your workout, just commit to doing 10 minutes, then at the end of that if you feel like bagging it, bag it. I think that works pretty well, partially because you get the start of endorphins and partially because you're already dressed or driven across town or whatever so you feel like, "well, I might as well do this since I'm here." Anyway, I've applied it to other activities too. Well done.

I blew off the 8 minutes today because the exercises were lame. But I did 45 minutes on the NT (4.35).

[FineyMcFine]

Well, my tired tuckus didn't run this morning - I slept in an extra 20 minutes. I might exercise this evening, or just save it for the morning, dunno. It's nice here today - 65 degrees so I should probably take advantage of the nice weather tonight and be outside because I think a cold front is coming through.

I wanted to comment, though, on the gradual effects of exercise. I have been noticing small changes in my body and I think I'm losing weight slowly - so slowly that from day to day it doesn't seem like much at all. Today I got dressed for work and tried on a few shirts that in the past have been too tight, but today some of those shirts actually looked too big, so much so that I didn't wear them! The shirt I ended up wearing is one that I used to not wear unless I had a vest or something over it.

When I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror I can definitely tell that I look different and thinner, in the way that these pants and this shirt are fitting and how they are on my body. My wife was looking at our wedding pictures one night and then looked up and didn't say anything, but I knew she was thinking I looked thinner and asked her if that was what she was going to say and she said yes and how did I know and I said I figured she probably didn't want to say so in case I took it to mean that she thought I looked heavy in our wedding pictures, which I knew she didn't/wouldn't mean.

Okay, that was a run-on sentence. Hopefully I will match it with some actual running tonight!

[Gatito Grande]

I'm back in Michigan (i.e. away from my insane family) again: yay.

I just got back from a vigorous walk/hike in the nature area near my apartment (I'm lucky that way). I'm not sure how far (I used to have a pedometer-type watch, but it doesn't work that way anymore): maybe a mile and a half? (It was only about 40 minutes). But hey, it's something, right? (Sure felt good. I'm under a *lot* of stress today, in my job-search: Application deadline)

My (modest) goal is to get to lifting twice a week (I last lifted on Friday, and hope to again tomorrow. Very annoying muscle-pull in my glutes, of all places! ), and to doing some kind of cardio (like today's hike) an additional 2-3 times/week.

GG Good luck to all Kittens w/ their "Eat right, exercise more" resolutions! Out

[JustSkipIt]

Sally - I totally get it about the slow progress thing. I have no scale so I really use clothes as my measure. I actually should try on some "small" pants today and check my progress. I've been feeling like I'm making good progress and my wife says she thinks I look thinner but it's so hard to tell. I do know that I feel better and more sane and more energetic. So that was all about me but my point (which you probably can't tell) is Way to go.

GG - Yay for being home. I totally get how much better that can make you feel. Enjoy nature.

I did my 8 minutes--plies and some dumb thing called "pep leader" where you kick your foot to the side. Anyway did them. Then 50 minutes on the Nordic Track and I just kicked butt. 4.84 and it felt great. I told Sally the other day that I was considering lengthening my workout but that it would require me to get up at 4:45 and that seems unreasonable compared to 5:00. Now the last two days I've woken up at 4:35 and 4:30. Think my inner clock is trying to tell me something?

We're looking at 5 days of pretty high chaos through Sunday. I really hope I manage to get some workouts in.

[Foomatic]

JustSkipIt:

I once read a recommendation in an exercise magazine that if you don't feel like doing your workout, just commit to doing 10 minutes

Took the advice and ended up running the full two miles last night. It's weird cause sometimes I can do the full length and sometimes I'm dying after half of it. Topped the night of with 20 minutes of walking the dog and 15 minutes of shadow boxing. Yay me.

[FineyMcFine]

Yay Foo!

I ran this morning instead of last night, and I'm like you, Foo - sometimes I can run and feel great the whole time and at the end like I can go further, and sometimes I struggle the whole way. I think part of it is that I usually run in the mornings before I eat anything, because on the days that I'm off and run in the late morning after breakfast I feel stronger.

I felt great after the run - not only was I invigorated and endorphinized, I also have the mental boost of knowing that I exercised and did something that was good for me. So on the every other day plan, I'll be doing Thursday and Saturday. I will likely run Saturday after breakfast, so we'll see if I feel stronger then.

[JustSkipIt]

Yay foo and Sally.

Ok, so I decided to try on those pants. You know what? They fit the same. Grrrrr!

[Gatito Grande]

GG's Random Thoughts on Workin' Out---

[Written as I enjoy The Burn, and a protein shake, post work-out! ]

* The key to a good work-out are exercises and/or equipment, which provide for muscle isolation. A case in point, in the free weights I use, is the "Preacher's Bench" (attachment): nuthin' better for working the biceps!

* I really like to use visualization when I'm working out. I picture my (isolated) muscle as a garage spring: lengthening as I breathe in, snapping back (but slowly!) as I breathe out. I always begin a particular exercise w/ the muscle contracted: in a bench press, for example, w/ the weights up overhead. Then it's inhale-down, exhale-back up.

* We all know that exercise fads come and go, and most of it is CRAP (though, admittedly, always better than doing nothing). However, one "faddish" piece of equipment came along about 10 years ago, that I still really like (and use): an "ab curl" rocker (it should look the the base of a short, small, but wide, rocking-horse). The thing I like about it, is not only does it isolate the abs (and/or obliques, if I turn on my side), but it supports the back and neck (especially important as I've become an Old Fart! It's easier to hurt these parts, and they take longer to heal). I lie on the floor (on a mat), and do my crunch w/ this contraption. I visualize the "garage spring" thang, but I also picture I'm making a fist, right there in my abs, as I crunch 'em tight. I find this just a really good way to work on my abs---and w/ a lot more peace of mind, as I don't worry about hurting my neck/back (as is too easy to do w/ regular crunches and worse, the Dreaded Sit-Ups )

HTH! (somebody)

GG My goal is do a "Squat Work-Out" on Fridays, and a "Leg Extension Work-Out" on Tuesdays . . ." Out

[FineyMcFine]

Yoga (For People With Special Conditions and Injuries) started up again last night and I was smiling the whole time because I was really happy to be there. It has been about a month since the last class ended. During that time I had a muscle spasm in my shoulder, as all of you are painfully (heh!) aware, so I think that yoga helps me not have those kinds of musculoskeletal issues.

I feel great today - a little soreness in the shoulder, but my teacher said that was normal because in working out a spasm it will probably feel worse before it feels better. (I have been having some residual pain.)

So yoga's every Tuesday and I always love having it be part of my week.

[k-prime]

That's really cool, Sally! I'm a big fan of classes, interspersed with my regular workouts. My gym offers some classes, but nothing at the times I'm available. I'm going to have to look elsewhere.
Today I did thirty minutes of cardio overall, and another thirty minutes of weight training, and five minutes of ab exercises. I've been going to the gym fairly regularly for about four months now, and I'm really noticing that I'm plateauing. I've tried mixing up my routine on my own, to no avail. I have a friend who's mom runs a kickboxing club, so I think I'm going to give her a call and see about taking some kickboxing classes for a change.

[Trom DeGrey]

MemsMapper- Look for trail runners that are mid height and look into getting some of these. This link is for short ones, but you can get them all the way up to your knees if you wanted. I wear gaiters when I hike in crappy weather and have found them to be very effective in keeping rain and debris out of my shoes.

SallyMcFine- Massage, massage, massage! If you want some help finding one, PM me. Shoulders are a specialty in my office and it’s a lot better for you than drugs.

k-prime- What do you mean by plateau? If it's building muscle mass it's probably because you're doing your weights after you do cardio. You should do it in reverse order. Your body eats up more glucose (carbs, basically) when you do cardio so there's nothing left in your cells when you hit the weights. Your muscles need protein and glucose to grow. So try hitting the weights first.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to talk about me. Hit my new weights last night. Can't use the new barbell set yet though because one of the collars that holds the weight onto the bar isn't cut right and won't screw on. Still waiting to hear back from the company on a replacement. Feeling pretty good today. Not too sore, which made me happy considering it had been three weeks since I'd really done anything. Woke up in a great mood too and contributed it directly to sweating like hell the night before.

[Emms]

I walked to the store today. (don't roll your eyes....it was far away... ) Actually it was an hour there and back....so I got a pretty good workout. hehe

xoxo
Emms

[JustSkipIt]

Typing one handed so will be brief. Came home from work early because we are watching a two month old besides our son. But wife had everything under control and said I could go work out. Woo hoo. I did 51 minutes on the Nordic Track for 4.99 which was awesome. Totally hard workout.

[FineyMcFine]

Typing one handed so will be brief.

You do know the most common reason why internet users type one-handed, right? I guess that qualifies as exercise...

[JustSkipIt]

You do know the most common reason why internet users type one-handed, right?

Have you been doing the research yourself?

[FineyMcFine]

Have you been doing the research yourself?

Yes, I implanted a camera into the kittenboard. Smile, y'all! Note: my research shows that the most one-handed typing happens in the NC-17 sections of the Pens. Smut Bunnies readers, I'm watching YOU!

Okay, even I can't continue with this joke forever, haha. So I didn't run this morning - been feeling a little run (ha!) down. But I walked to the Metro instead of driving halfway (lazy-ass) and felt good. Now I have a 1.2 mile walk home from the Metro also. Some is better than none!

[Tarababy77]

Have you been doing the research yourself?

Yes, I implanted a camera into the kittenboard. Smile, y'all! Note: my research shows that the most one-handed typing happens in the NC-17 sections of the Pens. Smut Bunnies readers, I'm watching YOU!

Okay, even I can't continue with this joke forever, haha. So I didn't run this morning - been feeling a little run (ha!) down. But I walked to the Metro instead of driving halfway (lazy-ass) and felt good. Now I have a 1.2 mile walk home from the Metro also. Some is better than none!

LOL!!!

[HalfCamel]

I found some old Tae-Bo tapes the other day and two days ago I decided to try it. I only did the instructional video and I ended up being really sore yesterday. Today I lifted weights for about half an hour and then I did the "Basic" Tae-Bo video. I actually liked the workout so I think I'm going to start doing it everyday after I lift weights.

[Tarababy77]

Because the military wants me to be this ultimate runner airmen, I'm at the gym 6 days a week. I get there about 0345am, lift weights for 2:30 hours (two main muscle groups), then 45 minutes on the treadmill. It's weird, I am so use to it that now I beat my alarm clock before it goes off.

But I have found that doing 10 minutes of cardio prior to weightlifting helps with the circulation of blood in your muscles and joints. It's hard work trying to maintain 238lbs @ 12% BF and still run a mile and a half in 11 minutes.





BUT tomorrow is sushi night.... time to indulge, heehee. =)

[Trom DeGrey]

Why Aaron, you burly man, you. Ah, yes, I fell for a man in uniform once. I wonder if I could get a woman in uniform now. Oh, wait, Jr's in the White House. Nevermind. And you may be in Hurricane central, sweetie, but I'm just glad to see you back over here.


I picked up the 20th anniversary addition of Bob Anderson's book Stretching. It's full of all kinds of stretching routines. For everything from just getting up in the morning to stretching before riding in a rodeo! He provides full length routines, mini versions of each routine and also gives substitutes for anyone with any sort of limitations. He even has PNF stretching worked in which just made my little massage therapist's heart flutter with joy. I highly recommend!

[HalfCamel]

Today I did about 20 minutes of weight lifting and then I did Tae-Bo.

[Tarababy77]

Today I did about 20 minutes of weight lifting and then I did Tae-Bo.

Tae-Bo is awesome! I did that for 3 weeks in the desert and talk about AMAZING!!! Then there is the whole Yoga thing. First week I hurt'ed everywhere. Then it got better...... ~whispering~ then building got hit. Took all that fun away. I feel so much better after working out! =)

[MemsMapper]

Trom DeGrey Thanks for the suggestion of the gaiters for walking/running in winter. I hadn't thought of those.

Here's something else that is useful, especially in the freezing rain we've had here in Ottawa a couple of times in the last 2 weeks.

http://yaktrax.com/

I've worn these several times. They're great on slightly soft ice, or ice with water on top, or snow. On pure, slippery, cold ice the traction wasn't quite as good, but I'd still recommend them as way better than only boots.

For anyone who is out at night (as I am when I walk home from work in the evenings in winter), I'd also suggest making yourself as visible as possible. I've got several things that reflect/flash/shine hung all over myself. Here are some possibilities:

http://www.niteize.com/

In Canada, Mountain Equipmen Co-op (MEC) (http://www.mec.ca/index.html) has a great selection of bike lights that can be used by non-bikers as well.

I'm enjoying following this thread, even though the walking hasn't been that great in my neck of the woods lately. However, we have a fitness centre where I work which is fairly cheap to join. I'm considering it for next winter (treadmills) and perhaps to use their weight/strength equipment as well. Thanks for all the inspiring stories.

Mems