Exercise Yard
 

:strong: Thought we could come here to talk about our love-hate relationship with exercise. Hope we can help each other out and get some strong motivation going. What do they say "Use it or lose it"? :tread:

Star, great thread idea! Only when I first read "Exercise Yard," you know what I immediately thought of? Prison! :rofl:

Fiona

Star- Great topic! I'm up to about 4.5 miles per day at least five days a week, alternating between walking and jogging. I feel so much better when I do it, I often dread getting started but am so proud of myself when I'm done...no other feeling like it ;-)

I'm the same way about exercise. I dread it every minute until I actually get to the gym & start. Then I feel so good during & after. I lift 3x per week, mainly upper body because my legs are already so big & the cardio usually builds enough lean muscle in my legs. The cardio is 4x per week, & now I'm starting tai chi one night per week.

Soon I'll start softball, too!

Here are my exercises for the "Yard" today... :dancer: :barbell: :tread: :workout: :kickcan: :strong: :faint: Don't I wish.... :lol:

I do have to admit though, once I get my butt in gear and actually do something, I do feel better and have more energy. Sounds like a good reason to keep it up huh?

Amen RustyK!

By the way, my exercise so far this week: I went to yoga on Tuesday night and it kicked my butt. And I missed two weeks ago because of a schedule conflict, so I'm going again tonight! Except I'm "taking it easy" and going to the beginner-level class because it's the only one that fits my schedule. I told DH it's too bad we don't have a sitter or he could come, too. ;)

The SELF challenge calls for 3 days x 30 minutes of cardio and 2 days x 25 minutes of strength training per week, and since my only exercise right now is the yoga class (which I found out counts as a strength and not a cardio) I decided to look into the gym thing - I love my commercial-quality elliptical machines! Actually treadmills aren't too bad either, although I'm always afraid of pulling one of these: :tread: LOL!

Fiona

You guys Rock! :cp:
Jen - you have really been working it girl! I plan on starting to jog again when the weather gets nice. Years ago I jogged three miles a day, could eat anything that got in my way (that was then, this is now :( ). You keep it up and you will have one hot pair of legs ;)

Fiona - Well you know inmates have the best bodies :lol: They have all the time in the world to workout...... :strong: There is nothing like going to a good gym, you get motivation, learn new stuff and meet same minded people. Doing it with DH is another plus, more together time :love:

Travkitty - I lift 2 sometimes 3xper week all upper body. Like you I get plenty leg work on the cardio. My arms have made a huge improvement in the last year (I love to ride Sleeveless). Lifting to me is so inpowering, just love it :strong: I'm getting definitioin in my upper arms, back and chest.

Rusty - You have quite the 'icon' routine there, work it girl! :cheer: Like others have said, just get dressed to workout and start - you end up going furter everyday......

PLUS - daisy duke season is almost here, we need to get ready :tread: :strong: :workout: :coach: :grouphug: Let's do it :cp:

Star...Tell me if this is okay...Since I'm just starting out slow, here's what I'll be doing. Monday through Saturday- cardio-10 minutes. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday-ultra track- one set. I'm taking Sunday off... :lol: I'll do this for 2 weeks and then start adding more. I've also put a calendar up on the wall to keep track of what I'm doing..How's that.. ;)

Go Rusty!!!!
 

Rusty -
For someone starting out that is great! I can offer a change up, if you like. This might just help ease you into your routine.
Monday-Wed-Friday - Cardio Only :tread:
Tues-Thrus-Sat - Ultra Track Only :strong:
Sunday - Day of Rest

Now for cardio, try and increase your time to 15 minutes. Work up to eventually 30 minutes (down the road)
Ultra Track, try to do two sets (How long does a set take?)

This way you will have one thing to do aday until you are use to it then you could possibly mix them both in again.

How does that sound to you?

The calendar will help you to stay on track and motivated. I keep track of my exercise program in my day planner. At the end of the month I can see a month full of big X's and I feel very strong and proud......

One set on the ultra track takes about 10-15 minutes, I think. I'll have to time myself on it in the morning and see how long it actually takes... :)

Rusty - How many different exercises do you do on the Ultra Track?

Here's a question for you exercise chicks - do you eat something before you work out? Or do you do it on an empty stomach?

I try to eat something light - toast or fruit, something like that - half an hour to an hour before. Exercising on either a totally empty stomach or a full one makes me feel sick.

Fiona

I have been going to the gym and walking 2 miles :tread: , but I only made it there 3 times this week. One of the days this week I did the Easy Steps. I also try to do my ab dvd, and once this week I did my arms too. I do Tamilee Webb's I Want That Body, very hard for me, but did the Abs tape in the past and had great results. Although honestly I haven't been able to make it through either program all the way :( . I am going to try and go the gym Mon-Fri and walk 2 to 3 miles each day and then I want to do my abs and arms :workout: at least 4 times a week.

Have a question for you exercise :queen: 's, do you think I need to also do leg and buns exercises, or should the walking be enough? Any info and/or advice is always much appreciated :) , you ladies are just the best :D !!

Star..One set on the ultra track only takes 7-8 minutes instead of 10-15. I guess it just felt longer.. :lol: There are 5 different exercises and 4 of them you have to do it for each leg and then I do the one for the stomach twice.
Julie...I don't eat anything before I do my little workout but I do it so early in the morning that I couldn't possibly eat before. :p

I always have something light before exercising...
 

Julie: I normally go to the gym between 4:30pm and 5:00pm (after work). I go home and change, and have a fruit and/or starch. Save my 2 veggies and protein for dinner after exercising. My second LA Lite bar for the 7:00pm timeframe - sometimes with decafe tea. Then I'm good for the night.

Julie - I get up at 5 a.m. and so no I don't eat first. I do however drink water as I work out...
Athena - I would say since you are getting use to your routine and walking quite abit, no need for legs and buns (IMHO). But do remember to skip a day between any strength training, you muscles need to recover.
Rusty - So are you gonna add in another set on that Ultra Track? Your doing good - keep it up....
Sy - Did you get those new daisey dukes yet?

Question Star - I have no exercise equipment nor a gym to work out in around here other than my treadmill. WHen I do the WATP they use weights for about 15 minutes of the program. Other than that what other lifting weights or strength training could I do? What are pilates??? What tapes could you suggest? I need more variety - walked on the treadmill 45 min tonight. Thats getting easier to do so I know I need to do something different with that. :tread:

I would love to go sleeveless this summer - arms are good but I want that muscle to show. Thanks

GO GO GO :cb: :cb: :cb:

Beverley - go to www.self.com/challenge - there is a GREAT whole-body strength training routine that takes about 25 minutes. You need whatever size hand weights you are comfortable with, a towel and preferably an exercise ball ($15-20 at Target). (Okay, I'm realizing you need to sign up for the challenge to access the specific workout I'm talking about, but it's FREE to sign up and there's lots of good information in the "challenge" part of the site, so I'd go for it!) Also, if you just click on "Fitness" on the Self.com home page, it takes you to a whole page of links to different suggested workouts. :D

Fiona

Star, no daisy-dukes, or at least not this year. LOL! You and Julie would have been proud of me last night. I did an hour on the elliptical, every 5 minutes I would turn the tension up to 9 (the highest) and then down for the entire hour. Man, does make a difference and I was sweating (which always proves to me a good workout as I don't sweat that much in general). Then, I did the weights for the arms and that general area (where I needs lots of help), and a few floor exercises for the butt and legs. Slept like a baby last night and woke up so refreshed.

Target Heart Rate for Working Out
 

Bev - I'm so glad you found us! Sounds like you are working out and if I remember correctly, you have always done cardio (walking, treadmill).
The perfect refrence regarding light weight, toning and strength training for you is the 6WBMO. I know you have it, just look thru the exercise cards for the body parts you want to work on (amrs, back, etc). The cards show you what to do with the toning bands, remember? Plus, if you got light hand weights you can use those instead of the toning band.
About getting you arms in shape, with muscles showing. That actually takes awhile to accomplish, so start right now....lol That's exactly what I have been focused on for the last year, since I viewed my high school reunion tape of me in a sleeveless pantsuit!
I'm very-very proud to say, that I have made tremendous imrovement. But remember you need to do about 3 arm exercises, 3 sets with 12 reps each,like I said this takes effort and desire.....You go girl!!!

Sy - Aboutthe daisy-dukes, that's an inside joke of Rusty and mine...lol We talked about designing some that were capri daisy-dukes, just for us.......cute huh? Sounds like you are taking it up a notch and sometimes that is just what it takes. Did you mean squats and not swats, right? Squats are great for you thighs and buns, I do those also....But in my basement with no horny little jocks around....(in my case, they would be laughing)..lol
When I get alittle time I plan on posting some information here about your target heart rate. It is info that we learned from 6 week body makeover and Michael Thurman, very helpful info to make your cardio really work. He just says the you need to do cardio at 60 to 65%, which is your target heart rate for fat buring. I have the formula to find what your rate should be for your age. What I found is that I was working out too hard and burning blood sugars and not stored body fat. So I had to slow it down, which to me was alittle hard to do, but once there I loved it! Bev, Rusty you already know all this. But if anyone else wants to know the numbers for your age, you can PM me......
Fiona - Doesn't that gym have floor employees that can help clients with using the equipment and proper form? It has been my experience that most gyms do? Since you don't work out that much or on a regular basis, once you start with the basics on a schedule, your body will respond.
Later fit chicks.....

Target Heart Rate is a great idea...
 

Hi Star: When you can Karen get done with the DD capri's I'll be the first to order. I have to admit, my ankles don't look bad at all! LOL! My legs wouldn't either if my knees were not sagging. And, yes - I meant squats! LOL! The owner at my gym did tell us about the heart rate being very important and has a portable heart rate monitor we can use to checkout things while we are working out. The treadmill can be setup for heart-rate which makes it easy to know where your at. I never knew this before joining the gym.

Sy - My recumbent bike shows where your heart rate is, I love that. My treadmill computer is out of order so I have to time it myself, I do the 10 second version. I think Rusty has her own monitor.
Recently I had stopped checking that out and remembered how important it is. I would much rather burn stored body fat than blood sugars! So now even though I might think I can guess-ta-mate I will do it the right way. Why waste even one workout, right?

I decided to continue with the bike for 10 minutes, Monday-Saturday with one set on the ultra track Tues, Thurs, Sat. Next Monday I'm going to do what Star suggested. MWF 15 minutes on the bike and TTS I might up the ultra track to two sets. I'll see when that day gets here. ;)

Karen, you are doing great..keep up the good work. You are gonna look hot on that boat this summer....

Oh Dear God, talk about practice what you preach. I just started timiming my heart rate when I do cardio again. I had to slow down quite abit and for me that's almost harder than speeding up......lol So now that I know I'm going at the wrong pace I have to keep a really close eye on that - which might mess up my tv viewing....lol

I love my easy days, those are the ab tape, bun and thigh roller, recumbent bike and treadmill days. I guess becuz that's all stuff I don't have to think about too hard. The weight days are alittle different, have to think about sets, reps, form (can't watch tv).......lol. I think I was really cut out to be a certified couch potato...

later chicks.....

Star...You could never be a "couch potato" you'd get too bored. You love working out way too much for that... :D

So, I went to my yoga class last night and my arms and legs still have their wet-noodle-ish qualities this afternoon. Wow! It made me think of the guy who gave us the tour of the gym last week - he commented that the club's "yoga" class is really a combo yoga-pilates class, "so that it's a little more active rather than just relaxing." I thought about saying something to him, but if I took the time to re-educate everyone I meet who thinks that yoga is just lying on the floor going "om," I'd never get anything else done. ;)

Fiona

Fiona - Don't you just love it when you workout and your body says "ouch"....lol
About the Lifetime employee that made the "comment," I'm surprised a trainer would in a round-about way diss any form of exercise. Shame on him! He's lucky you were in a reserved mood that particular day....lol

Sy - lol! :lol: Yeah, he was one of those giant no-neck guys that probably can't touch his toes to save his life, and has obviously never attended a REAL yoga class. I pretty much just mentally shake my head and forgive them their ignorance. :angel:

Fiona

I wanted to comment on the "I walk-should I do leg/bun exercises" thing a few posts back. :)

If you are doing regular walking-like treadmill or walking outdoors then YES by all means do lower body strength training. If you are doing Walk Away The Pounds or something similar-you may find that you are getting more all around leg and bun toning.

The reason is because regular walking tones and works mainly your quadriceps (front thighs) hamstrings (back of thighs) and calves (back of lower legs). Regular walking will get the buns some IF you are using the incline on your treadmill, or the outdoor path that you walk has some places where you are going up hills.
This is all well and good, but your inner and outer thighs aren't used all that much.
Walk Away The Pounds, Denise Austin Trimwalk, and other walking videos also incorporate knee lifts, side steps, and other things that involve a little more inner/outer thigh muscles and hips/buns. Leslie Sansone has designed the program that way on purpose.
I hope that helps. :)

Aphil, Good advice about the inner/outer thigs. I could use some toning on my inners,, I get alittle with my bun and thigh roller, but always room for improvement!
Maybe I will incorporate my toning bands in somewhere for inner thighs. (There just isn't enuf time in the day....lol)
Today I started out with weights, about 40minutes. Then when I went on my recumbent bike I really had to keep it s-l-o-w to keep maintain my target heart rate.

Hi ladies:

Well, have been adding exercise (with Julie, the workout-buddy from **** - LOL!) and Fiona - I'm right there with you. My body hurts in places that I didn't know I had. Especially the ABS/Stomach area and I'm loving it as I know that it's working! LOL!

I added an extra set on just the stomach on my ultra track. It kicked my butt up one side and down the other this morning. But I did it...Yippeeee :D

Hey...Does anyone else have the walking tape from LA. I have it but of course I haven't looked at it yet. I was just wondering if it was any good... :o

Hi Karen - I do have the walking tape - Easy Steps - it is really only 20 minutes, it's not difficult or hard to follow - I did breathe harder when I did it, but didn't sweat.

Does this help?
Julie

Hum.....Today was abs/buns and cardio day. Usually my favorite workout, but I did notice that I had to work harder to get and keep my heart rate on target. I guess when I lift weights, it is higher by the time I start the cardio and that's why I have to slow it down. Today I had to work to get it high enuf - oh well, just thought I'd share.....lol

Star, do you do some sort of cardio to warm up before the weights? The P:Y stuff suggests the cardio before the weight training portion.

Julie - I do the weights first and then cardio, it is a time thing.
Thanks....

Heart Monitor
 

Hi Star and Julie:

My workout buddy has a heart monitor, she purchased her's for $50 at Dick's (if you have that store in your area - it's a Clothing and Sporting Goods store). I'm thinking of getting one myself. She compares are rate on her monitor to the one on the machines at the gym and she said they are always both at the same rate. She has a strap of some sort that snaps around her torso in the area of the bra band (if you wear one) - she licks it, I guess it must have something that sticks to your body? The other piece looks like a watch. She can hang it on a machine or wear it. She loves it and says it's the basic model in case your looking before I do.

Sy