I think we are all doing really good! We definitely do need a strong finish to the month.

Lala - the work you are doing on your abs is just awe-inspiring!! I'm starting to do a bit, but boy it would be almost next to impossible to beat your total! You are on FIRE - FANTASTIC work! Too bad they don't have a small icon for bowing - I'd use it here!

dgpebbles - how can you possibly work an HOUR on weights - and after 30 minutes on a bike?? I think after about 20 minutes of lifting, my arms are about to fall off!! You are HOT HOT! And then afterwards mowed grass? (I mowed mine for the first time this year and couldn't believe how tired I was afterwards). Do you have a large "S" on your chest? LOL

ellis - you sound on the road to better health - great news! I have to admit I've not been walking - and no treadmill either I think I need to switch to another form of exercise (not that spinning is getting easier) but I am getting used to it. Stay well...

jodi - At my 2 year check up with the surgeon, I would love to show that I've lost 100 percent of my weight (which would be 104 lbs). Right now I'm about 73 percent lost, if I'm calculating that right. Not too many people make it to the 100 percent. I sure hope your back is doing better - I sure know how painful it can be. Take it easy...

You all are doing so terrifically - I know we will have a super strong finish at the end of April. So lets get out there and (I just love these little guys...)

For good health's sake... kitty

g'morning everyone!

Chaoskitty - i can't take credit for the 4000 crunches, I was inspired by plb. She set the goal for herself first and I told her I'd do it with her. I started out in January only doing 20 or 30, 10 at a time. In Feb I got up to 100 and by March was doing 150. I got up to 180 in April until I took up plb's challenge, and have pushed to doing 200 every morning, 25 at a time. Holy cow, does it hurt, though! I feel really good afterward, however.

dgp - You work out like a fiend! And mowing the lawn on top of that. Good grief! I hope I can get to that level of commitment someday...

jodi - Oooh, sorry 'bout your back! I so know how that feels, I put my back out relatively frequently. Take good care of it and don't overdo it, you don't want to end up with permanent back problems...

ellis - We're still here with ya, luv! I've got enough boogie back to lend if you'd like to borrow a little!

as for me: Weds: AM stretches, crunches, squats; lots of walking, but nothing intense; PM stretches, 20 minute elliptical.

Good luck and have fun everybody... Happy Thursday!

-Lala

i just got back from the Y, i soaked in the hot tub and then did the water class. feeing real good right now. i also had to stop and get a new pedometer i bandged into something at work and smashed my old one to bits. this one talks, very odd!! i'm trying to program it to say "get off yer arse chubby"

nothing planned for exercise tomorrow but i'll go back for the class on saturday, more spring cleaning this weekend and then there is the tennis game on sunday.
trying to think of a new little goal to add for May??? hmm maybe some weights? we'll see.

donna- my back is much better thanks! sheesh what a workout!! who needs to remember the crunches after all that. keep up the great work!!

chaos- keep working hard you'll get to your goal! i think the amount you have lost so far is just inspiring! kudos to you!!

lala- i know all about back problems been dealing with it since i was 16, i'm feeling much better now just one of those angry muscle things. your crunches are just amazing to me!! i have to ask are you noticing a big difference?? i really need to tone up my tummy maybe i'll make that my goal for may 10 crunches a day to start and work up from there.

keep up the great work everyone!!! have a great evening!

Good Morning!

Jodi - I can't say that I notice a "big" difference, no... I'm just too darn big to be able to see the muscles building there, unfortunately - I have a 47" waist and 53" hips, so the abdomen is pretty fatty still. The changes are more subtle. When I exercise I feel like I can kinda-sorta "see" shadows of indentations of the upper abs where before was just a roll. When I lay down my belly is a good bit flatter and... ummm... well, my husband and I can get much closer now, let's just say that. I have also lost 3 inches in the waist, 3.5 in the hip/lower abdomen area, and 1 inch at the chest (under the boobs), but I can't attribute all of that to the crunches. So anyway, it's more things that I feel than things that I see, I guess. But I know it's building muscle under there, and that's gotta be a good thing!

Thursday: I did all of my usual scheduled stuff, AM/PM, squats, crunches, etc. Well, I could only manage 150 crunches - I was feeling fuzzy headed so I had a spoonful of peanut butter before I went back to exercise, then I wanted to throw up whilst doing crunches and had to stop. Blech... Then when hubby got home from school we went for two laps around the neighborhood, about 3 miles.

He and I were talking last night and I'm a bit frustrated... I have seen a lot of improvement in all of my exercises except for the elliptical. I have been doing between 20 and 30 minutes at the lowest level for... two months, now, and I can't seem to get any better. Level 2 kicks my butt too much and I can't seem to make myself do any longer than 30 minutes... heck, sometimes I really force myself to stay on a whole 30 minutes. Maybe it's just not the right exercise for me, but it's the only cardio I have available right now... hmmm... I'll have to think on it a bit...

Happy Friday!

-Lala

crap i slept in and missed my class, needed the sleep though so i'll find a way today to make up for the exercise. supposed to be a beautiful day here and i have a kitchen and laundry room calling out for a good spring cleaning. i'm still on for the tennis match tomorrow with DH. i know i'll beat him this time! hope all of you chicks are doing well!!

Here comes Ellis... creeping back into the exercise thread...

Hi, girls!

Jodi, you're killin' me, darling... ... you're just killin' me.
Are you serious?! Your pedometer TALKS!?!? That's too freakin' creepy, man. Next thing you know, we'll all have chips implanted in our foreheads giving us shock treatment if we don't do the required exercise for the day. (which might not be a bad thing...)
Have fun playing tennis with DH!!

Lala, thanks for the kick, hon! I just got back from my exercise class. First one in a week.
I hope you can figure something out with your elliptical. You know, I find that when I run, it doesn't matter how much I do... I'm burnt. So I could run for 5 minutes and be burnt, or I could run for 30 minutes and be equally burnt. Sometimes it's just a matter of pushing myself a bit, you know? I'm not implying that you're not pushing yourself... only that sometimes we think we can't do more than we're doing. Oh, heck... am I making any sense here, hon? Anyhow, big hugs...

Kitty, I'm glad the spinning is going well! You must be in fantastic shape, girl!! That such a great workout!!

Donna, dear, how are the crunches going? Are you exercising right this minute?

May is almost here, eh? My gosh... it's almost shorts/capri weather! (thank God for capris. I always hated them when I was younger. And thinner. But now they're a life-saver.)

Well, it's mostly still morning here, so... Good morning!

Jodi - Good luck with the tennis match... kick his butt!

Ellis - Welcome back! Have a cup of mojo! You are probably right about the not pushing myself part. I really don't like the elliptical much, so I am probably subconciously sabotaging it. Or "so suitably subconciously sabotaging"... hehehe... sorry, couldn't resist... I may shake things up a bit after I start my new job. Once my schedule is settled I may work in time at the university gym instead of at home and use some different machines. The place I'll be working is only about 10 minutes from campus.

Oh yeah, I seem to have a job! It's not official yet, I still have to go to the temp agency and pass the typing test, but they want me. I comfortably type at about 60 wpm and I need to get to at least 65 wpm on the test. I'm practicing, but I think it's do-able.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

-Lala, boogie-ing again...

oh ellis you sound so upbeat today!!! good for you!!! the class must of been a good one! yes the darn pedometer talks ROFL i had to put it on mute though. yesterday at work during a meeting it very inappropriately (sp?) announced "you have walked one thousand two hundred and fourteen steps, you have burned one hundred and twenty five calories, you are one tenth of the way to your goal for today" very loudly in an almost silent room OMG !!! was my face red. thank goodness it didn't tell about how much i weigh, that's programmed in there too. flippin little traitor!!

oh good luck with the typing test lala!! how exciting getting a new job!!

Lala, good luck with the job!! Let us know how it goes...

Jodi...

I'm gardening, and yes, I'm counting it as exercise.

just a quick little hello...I've been really busy lately...I be back on tomorrow

lala- good luck getting the job..I'm sure you will do great on the test...

Crapola! I decided to be a lazy bum yesterday... and I completely forgot about the 4000 crunches! Now today is the last day of the month and I'd have to do 395 crunches to make 4000.... hrmmm.... I wonder how badly that would hurt... ugh... I guess I could do my usual 200 regular and 30 reverse ones, then do 50 at a time at other times throughout the day. I'd only have to do about 3 more sets. Maybe....

-Lala

I've had a few bad days of eating earlier this week but I'm back on track.....I also missed a few days of workouts...my trainer worked out my abs really good on wed and I was so sore on thursday I couldn't hardly move..all better now and ready to workout thoses abs again..

I'm in a great mood today...I went through my clothes today and I have a huge bag of stuff that is now too big to give to charity....All of my old clothes that I wanted to get back into fit great....It's such a great feeling...

Jodi-love your pedometer story...

Oh, my gosh. After my lengthy post yesterday, I realize that I neglected to mention the fact that I exercised yesterday.
30 minute exercise class, plus two + hours of gardening.

played 1 1/2 hours of tennis this morning, mind you we are not very good so this mainly consists of me running after the ball (lots of exercise!!) also shot some basketball with DS. got called in to volunteer at bingo (walking for 2+ hrs) and then did my normal sunday shopping cleaning laundry etc. so very active sunday here. my pedometer is at 17000 steps for the day, sheesh can't wait to go back to work for a rest lol.

great job this month all of you exercising queens!!! everyone gets a gold star!!