Couldn't bring myself to get out of bed to use the hotel gym, so ended up waiting till I got home after a long day in a ballroom seminar and trekking to my usual gym, where I did NROLW Stage 6, workout B, and set some new personal records for lifting dumbbells. I'm pretty sure I'll be feeling this on Wednesday.
Life has gone on. On Tuesday I did not go for a walk, nor did I go blackberrying. Today I've done a very little gardening. Tomorrow will be a weights in the kitchen day with my tweaked programme.
Life has gone on. On Tuesday I did not go for a walk, nor did I go blackberrying. Today I've done a very little gardening. Tomorrow will be a weights in the kitchen day with my tweaked programme.
Birchie I really like what you're doing - and I'm finding it hard to explain what I mean. Your posts about walking to look at the Irish Sea and going blackberrying, gardening etc. as exercise. It sounds like a real integration of regular living and moving your body.
I don't post here much as I exercise for work and somehow I don't regard that as exercise - it's just life.
Please feel free to jump in and clarify what I'm trying to say here Jayell (if you're lurking) and saef and you too Birchie.
Good morning, Dagmar! I think your words are clear and absolutely fine. No clarification needed. It's the essential Dagmar coming through, loud and clear. And thank you for your kind words which are very encouraging to me at the moment.
I know what you mean about 'it's just life' and exercise. I try to move as much as I can, even when things conspire against me. I know that I do best when I try to push myself - increasing my deadlifts from 4kg to 5kg kettlebells, walking longer and over rougher and steeper ground - but that's not always possible.
It's particularly not possible when doing that kind of exercise pushes something else out badly and I end up rushing or forgetting or having a headache. I won't do that any more. I have enough 'stress' anyway so I try to prioritise calm above jamming in a workout.
As you read yesterday, today's exercise plan was weights in the kitchen. But I discovered this morning that I've run out of anti-histamines. (This lack of organisation is connected to a very full summer - good - and a house in disorder because I agreed that the DB could be in charge of painting downstairs - also a good decision.) And I can't find the repeat prescription form. So I have to go to the surgery which doesn't open until 9am and I am in town at 8.15am. So I've rescheduled the day to be at the office rather than be driving around from pillar to post all day. But it means that I shan't be doing weights today. Or possibly any harder exercise at all.
I shall garden this evening, though, and I'll try to buy 5kg kettlebells. 'Try' because there is only one place which may have them, and is likely not to have them.
All I can do is move forward slowly, without doing my head in.
Done. Weights in the kitchen. In fact, this is more than weights. It's a strength, stamina, suppleness prog. I didn't do the whole thing as I added in the new bits + the 5kg deadlifts, and I do need to get through the rest of the day! Too much, too soon wears me out and that is not the point.
Just having the peanut butter and apple (protein + carbohydrate) and will be going into the sunny, autumnal garden.
I am waiting for three pieces of information or decisions before I can move on with work projects. It would be easy to fritter away the time but I'm not going to. September weather won't be here for ever.
NROLW Stage 6, the last "A" workout. This confirmed that I've made some gains in strength over the past three weeks. I doubt I'll be able to do an unassisted chin-up when I make the attempt in a few days' time, but I'm closer than I've ever been.
15 minutes Stairmaster, really tough after doing weighted split squats
60 minute yoga class, what was I thinking? Probably how calm I feel after class. It went really well through the first part of the class, and felt much-needed, but it was not so good in some of the lunges and warrior poses. (Remind me not to do vinyasas after doing 75 pushups in the workout just before it.) Also in warrior pose, all I can see is my pronounced anterior pelvic tilt.
Saturday 13th - a good day in the garden, working in half-hour to hour-long stints and then a rest. No aches and pains this morning.
Sunday 14th - shaping up to be another good day in the garden (just on a break now).
On the calendar, I've designated September as Family Hedge Month. The idea is that we all set to and cut our hedges (and the rest) back before winter. On schedule, the tractor and flail came round yesterday to do the field hedges. That's encouraged everyone.
Finished Stage 6 of NROLW.
I still cannot perform an unassisted chin-up.
I can, however, perform a chin-up with just 22 lbs of assistance, which is setting No. 5 on the Gravitron machine.
So I am wondering, if I lost 22 lbs, could I manage a chin-up?
Also 15 minutes on the StairMaster
And then 60 minutes stretching and yoga. Even worse at warrior today, as I had trouble keeping my balance. My legs were probably done for the day after the StairMaster.
I took my DH and the dog I'm sitting out for a walk in the nature area close to our house. Both of them enjoyed it very much as it was crisp and sunny and there were lots of new scents for the dog (she usually goes to the beach and did so this morning). Then we all went back to our house and we brought Nattie out to hang on the deck with the dog for awhile (this is a dog I totally trust).
Nat is quite curious but a bit cautious about dogs - that's good!. Max is a smallish standard poodle so she could really injure Nat. We are prepping Nat for the eventual dog we adopt and she seems to be able to tolerate dogs well.
We all enjoyed the sun for about 15 minutes and then I brought Max home.
Max is almost 11 years old and she's always been slim and athletic. She is now passed out on the floor but kept up with me for both walks today - a total of about 12K. I think she's a fine example of how being in shape and at a good weight carries across species.
I anticipate her being able to still walk at a good clip for at least 2-3 more years. Me too!
(tongue-tied)
I think your words are clear and absolutely fine. No clarification needed. It's the essential Dagmar coming through, loud and clear. And thank you for your kind words which are very encouraging to me at the moment. 
