March 25:
90 minutes Bikram Yoga

Totals:
19 days
1350 minutes

March 26:
30 minute walk to and from gym
40 minutes stair master (20 min at resistance of 8, 10 minutes at 9, 10 minutes at 10)

Totals:
20 days
1420 minutes

Catching up:

Tuesday, March 27:

Ran four miles along the usual route. I woke up with my arms still aching badly from Sunday's workout and decided it might not be a good idea to do my usual routine for this day of the week, which is a lot of lat pulldowns and pullups on the Gravitron. Also, I nearly fell asleep after logging into my laptop. So I decided to wait till the end of my working day to run. As usual, this made me uneasy and indecisive all day. I wanted to go out at lunch, but email inquires kept popping through that I had to answer promptly. I did not feel at ease till I'd done my run.

During my run, I found that spin has given me quite decent cardio fitness, as breathing was easy. But this time I never hit my stride, so to speak. The hard thing is figuring out the gait and dealing with the pounding. I run too heavily. There has to be a way to run lightly. Also, I run like a girl playing horsie, with that one-two-three, one-two-three beat. My left knee and big toe joint felt the worst. I think it's due to the unevenness of running on the roadside, which is slightly graded.


Wednesday, March 28:

45 minute spin class, with the heavy resistance that this instructor loves. Now, in this class, I do a lot of heavy breathing. I really need to get a heart rate monitor -- I'm tired of taking my pulse on my neck with my finger.

March 27: none

March 28: 30 minutes Turbo kick, 30 minutes (supposed to be Amped Up Abs, but it was more boxing, weights, and abs-- hard!)

Totals:
21 days
1480 minutes

Thursday, March 29:

15 minutes Stairmaster stepper, aerobic setting, resistance at eight
60 minutes back and biceps workout, the usual lat pulldowns, some military presses and also some final pullups on the Gravitron
45 minutes Nautilus elliptical, manual setting, resistance steady at nine, going backward for 30 minutes and forward for 15 minutes

My arms felt fully recovered, so I went back to my free weight routine. I've gained too much weight while living Upstate, and most of it is fat, not muscle -- but damn, my arms look fairly decent because of my focusing on upper body since moving up here.

March 29: 60 minutes Zumba

Totals:
22 days
1540 minutes

Friday, March 30:

45 minute spin class, much easier than earlier this week, which apparently isn't a sign of increased fitness on my part but rather than the instructor took it a little easier on us.

Then some Pilates moves afterward, though not quite a full routine. It appears that I've lost strength in the lowest part of my abs while gaining it in my upper abs, which makes sense because I have been doing a lot of upper body work with free weights. I am anxious about returning to Pilates class where everyone's been working out without me. I had been getting good at it, and had taken some private half-hour classes here and there to improve my form. Now I'm going to feel like a beginner.

Traveling Michele, I have a question for you if you don't mind answering. How did you decide on your goal weight of 118 to 120? What is your size and body fat %. You and I are the same height and I have 6 lbs to go till 130 for goal weight. I am at 24% body fat and fitting into size 2's and size 4 pants and jeans. I am wondering if I should go lower than 130.
Thanks in advance.

Hi... I answered your PM but since you also posted here-- I'll copy my reply in case anyone else is interested:

Hi. My original goal was 135 because that was what I weighed when I got married at age 20 and it was my lowest adult weight. I was happy at 135, but I kept toning, working the program, etc. and I have gradually lost more over the last 2 years. I am small on the top but larger on the bottom so I am happier around 120. I don't actually know my body fat, but I had it done a year or so ago at a health fair-- I don't know if it was accurate at all but they said it was 12%. How have you figured yours out? I wear a size XS or S tops, and usually a 0 or 2 pants depending on the brand. I am 45 years old.

I truly believe that you have to maintain a weight that doesn't drive you crazy. If, at some time, my weight becomes too hard to maintain, I (think) I'd still be happy with 10-15 pounds more on me.

Good luck and congrats on your loss!!
Michele

March 30: 38 minutes stair climber
30 minutes walk to and from gym

Totals:
23 days
1608 minutes

March 31: 70 minutes spin

Totals:
24 days
1678 minutes

March 31:

45 minutes Stairmaster, aerobic intervals, resistance at eight

Really pouring sweat as this progressed. I probably could have done an hour but I needed to get home, finish packing and get on the road for the long drive downstate.