|
Sunday, April 17:
15:06 rowing on the Concept 2 for 5,978 meters at 2:29 for 500 meters, 38 s/m for a projected total of 5,978, and I was sorry not to break 3,000 meters & puzzled by today's performance 60 minutes weights, partly doing the arms & shoulders sequence from P90X 45 minute spin class |
Monday, April 18:
60 minutes arc trainer, intervals, resistance at nine 60 minutes circuit training class After circuit training class, in the ladies' locker room, one of the women was showing around "before" pictures of herself. "Don't you remember what I looked like when I first started coming to the gym?" she said. Actually, I didn't. I've seen her so often there & she has lost weight in a healthy gradual way that I hadn't realized that she'd lost 30 pounds. It took "before" pictures in a bathing suit for me to see it. Also, she has the same body image problem that so many of us have. She cannot seem to "see" her current size. I was exclaiming to her how small her midsection & her waist are. (Being relatively short-waisted myself, I envy women with longer torsos.) She couldn't see it at all. So we got a tape measure from the boy at the front desk. We measured around. She thought the number was big. (She had that 36-24-36 thing in her head.) But when I made a noose of the empty tape measure to show her what size her waist is, she was astounded at how small it actually was. Also she was surprised that the boy at the front desk -- he really is just a boy since he isn't even 18 yet -- is just one inch smaller around at the waist than she is. She couldn't conceive of that; she'd thought of herself as being so much larger. She told me she envied me because my stomach is flatter than hers. There we were, in the locker room, showing each other our stomachs, just like that thread here with the stomach photos. There is something weirdly liberating about this. |
Quote:
April 18: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga Totals: 15 days 1327 minutes |
Morning! Exercise here is of the gardening and core work variety at present. I'm still moving heavy items round the garden and, you'll be pleased to hear, have just built a sliding door for the wood shelter. I think I'll build another this year.
Michele: if you think the cramps are related to lack of potassium, could you increase some other potassium-rich foods? Random selection: dried apricots, salmon, beans, spinach. Saef: thank you for your Pilates remarks. I agree about seeing moves rather than only reading about them. I saw the appearance of the Pilates book at the school bring and buy sale as a Sign. I'm now working out how to fit more core work into my life. The scene in the locker room and at the front desk sounds fun! It sounds like a reward for both of you. Did you share any of your experience with her? And I'm so pleased you're developing your consultancy! Ditch the day job? (Just joking...) I must start my day. Lounging in bed with a boy and an out-of-date plane book does not raise the heart rate. |
Tuesday, April 19:
15:05 rowing on the Concept 2 for 3,003 meters at 2:23 for 500 meters, 36 s/m for a projected total of 6,126 60 minutes weights 45 minute evening spin class Again, I did the P90X sequence for arms & shoulders, all except for the tricep side rises (which is probably not what they're called), the last bonus exercise in the 15-exercise sequence. I couldn't figure out the form for them. I was doing weird side-planks. I need to watch the video again & to try it in my living room instead of relying on memory. Birchie, it was fun, but no, I didn't share as much about myself as the woman at the gym shared with me. I am a bit more private in person. (Far more than I am online.) It felt good, but there was a slightly wistful undertone, the same old plaintive sound of women rueful over their appearance & longing after beauty. Yeats is absolutely right about the hard labor involved in creating beauty. "To be born woman is to know -- Although they do not talk of it at school -- That we must labour to be beautiful." |
Good quote Saef!
Yes, Birchie, I am working on getting potassium in other foods in. I am tracking my potassium level in what I'm eating and I'm hitting the targets now. I have also experienced muscle cramps and spasms when my thyroid has been off and I have an appointment with that doctor coming up so I'll get that checked too. |
Wednesday, 20 April
45 minute spin class 30 minutes Pilates routine on my own I've got a bruised pinkie finger from 6 AM spin class. Our instructor has decided to add light weights to two songs during class. But our bikes weren't set up with that in mind. During the first weight routine, we were doing lateral side raises when my right-hand neighbor got out of synch, raising her left arm instead of her right & smacked her two-pound weight into the side of my hand, which was also holding a weight. So I've got an inky blue pinkie. |
Quote:
April 20: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga Totals: 16 days 1417 minutes |
Maundy Thursday, April 21:
50 minutes arc trainer, hill intervals, resistance at nine 60 minutes Pilates class, with lots of butt & inner thigh work The Pilates instructor was speaking approvingly of Tracy Anderson's so-called babyfood diet. All the food is apparently in a masticated state (as if someone had chewed it for you before you were served it) because of the "stress on your body" of digesting unchewed food. I tried to keep straight-faced. Maybe this idea has merit of some kind. I haven't even Googled it yet. This woman is a genius with the mat work & machines & partly because of her weekly guidance, my body's got muscles where it never had them before. But I cringe inwardly through her talk of nutrition & diets. |
Quote:
Last day of my month of unlimited yoga. Now I have to decide if/how much I want to commit and pay for. My dd is coming home from college tomorrow. She *might* try it with me but I wouldn't be surprised if she backs out. Totals: 17 days 1507 minutes Um... Gross Saef.... just gross..... |
Good Friday, April 22:
15:06 rowing on the Concept 2 for 3,085 meters at 2:25 for 500 meters, 39 s/m, for a projected total of 6,162 meters 60 minutes weights 45 minutes elliptical, resistance at eight, half backward I'll be interested to hear how you feel about your Bikram experience, Michele. The people I know who like it, really like it. The ones who hated it never go back. I don't know many people who are lukewarm about it. (That is not really a pun, though it sounds like one.) I really have to give it to you for shaking up your routine & trying something new like that. |
Saef-- I was surprised but I really did enjoy it. I tried to go into it with an open mind. Realize that I live in N. California, so while not too hippie-ish, there are plenty of "natural" people here for lack of a better word. I am not a Californian either (from Texas) so I was a little hesitant to try it for many reasons. That being said, I truly did enjoy it. I feel it is an amazing workout and I can see some positive changes from it-- my back and joints feel better and I am more flexible. It is HARD. I really have zero yoga experience so I didn't have much to compare it to. I can see continuing it as you can constantly improve each pose. I was getting very burned out at the gym so it was a nice change of pace. I will probably add the gym back in a few days a week and continue the yoga a few days a week. There are some odd birds there. I had to learn the "rules" like no talking in the room, you aren't supposed to drink water except at certain points (unless absolutely necessary), they don't want you to leave the room during class, etc. The teachers are an interesting bunch as well. I'm really hoping my dd will try it with me but she is very overweight and I'm not sure she is willing to try as it is hard to get her into a gym at all.
|
Saturday, April 23:
60 minutes elliptical, resistance at eight, random intervals, half backward 30 minute Pilates routine on my own I felt guilty as a high school student cutting class at the gym this morning, trying to get my cardio & movement for the day done early, on the equipment, and finish just when exercise classes customarily start. I need to pack the car & get on with the long drive Upstate. As is usual before such trips all I think of during cardio is, "Remember to take the ham out of the freezer & bag it to thaw in the car on the drive up ... remember to visit the post office & stop the mail ... I need to pack more socks this time." Michele, thinking of you, as I'm the daughter returning to visit her mother today. I was once far more overweight than my mother. Now she's clinically obese & I am the one urging her to walk in her neighborhood or try paddling in the pool at the local gym, which has a Silver Sneakers senior program. I hope your daughter tried Bikram with you, but that is a more forbidding form of yoga than some of the other types, don't you think? But I have seen chicks on this board talk about loving Bikram when they are still early in their journeys & have 30 pounds or more to lose, so I do think anyone with the will to show up for class regularly could benefit from it. |
Easter Sunday, April 24:
Ran 3.68 miles on country road near my mother's house 30 minutes P90X arms & shoulders routine (just once through) The gym near her house isn't open for the holiday today. |
Also at my mother's for Easter.
I forgot my swimming costume so made an emergency purchase in a charity shop. I poured myself into a gorgeous lime and black striped number which fitted so well round my curvy/lumpy bottom. Fantastic! Got it home and saw the 'dancewear' label. Ah. Well, friends, I washed it and then checked it in the shower for transparency. No worries. Phew. And I seemed to be on better form than last time in this pool which I'll accept with a good grace. Off to France with the DB on Tuesday so I'll take the leotard with me. I do look pretty good in it, even though I say it myself as shouldn't. Thighs still enormous but I'll narrow my eyes and ignore them. We'll be walking a bit and possibly biking. |
Monday, April 25:
60 minutes on a stationary bike at the gym near my mother's house, hill intervals, resistance at 10, did about 18 miles. 45 minute Pilates routine on my own. Late in the afternoon & evening oh Lord, how sore I was. A delayed soreness from running the day before. This took me by suprise; I mean, I am exercising just about 14 hours a week. So I should be able to run the equivalent of a 5K & a little more without a problem, right? Wrong. Hubris on my part, sheer hubris. Running apparently stresses the joints like no other exercise I do. My shins hurt, my knees hurt, my quads hurt, my obliques hurt. Running appears to be a law unto itself. |
Quote:
April 23: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga April 24: 31 minutes running on treadmill No, dd didn't make it to Bikram Yoga with me. I don't know that she could have handled it and I wasn't going to push it. There was a younger girl there on Saturday that had to be 350 pounds. She could only do roughly 25% of the poses, and laid down for the rest of class. I think it would have been good for my dd to see someone larger there. Oh well. She thinks she may buy an elliptical as she is not a "gym person". I know that I never used gym equipment I bought but I know it works for some people. She went back this morning. She said she is going to devote most of May and this summer to getting healthy and getting into an exercise routine. She will be out of school in a week or so and won't have much work to do for a month (besides moving) so she will have time to devote. Totals: 20 days 1718 minutes |
Tuesday, April 26:
60 minutes on Startrac elliptical, half backward, hill climb, broken out as a 15-minute warmup before going down to the free-weight area & then the remainder afterward 60 minutes weights following the P90X routine for arms & shoulders, only for one round, with some other dumbbell exercises added. I was, for once, not the only woman in the free-weight area of the gym near my mother's house. There was another older woman there as well, who knew all the guys & joked with them while exercising. I got some curious glances but didn't talk with anyone. For my routine, I was missing the 12-lb weights and the 7-lb weights and the 17.5-lb weights. Also I was missing the fixed barbells and the plyo boxes. Still this place has lots & lots of weight benches, which I availed myself of freely. |
I got a little bit of exercise the past few days . . .
Saturday April 23: - 20 min 3.75 mile bike ride Monday April 25: - 27 min stationary bike hill program (~7 miles) - core exercises |
Wednesday, April 27:
60 minutes Startrac elliptical, half backward, hill climb setting, resistance at eight 45 minute Pilates mat routine on my own This jouncy elliptical felt like it wasn't much of a calorie burner, but hey, I was moving, and it spared me from the shock of another run. The humidity was high, despite the fans. Weird weather they're having up here, with thunderstorms & flooding. |
Quote:
April 25: too tired!:mad: April 26: was going to go after my second job but just exhausted.:( April 27: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga Totals: 21 days 1808 minutes |
Thursday, April 28:
60 minutes elliptical, resistance at eight, half backward 60 minutes Pilates class Back home, back at my gym, with its gorgeous relatively new & immaculately maintained equipment. There is **such a difference** between a gym that's financially profitable & with a growing membership, and a gym that's barely hanging on, and has very little to sink back into the equipment & facility. Particularly when the latter is in a more sparsely populated area where fewer people work out & those who do aren't willing (or more likely, able) to pay very much for doing so. |
Quote:
Totals: 22 days 1853 minutes |
Friday, April 29:
15:06 rowing on the Concept 2 for 3,055 meters at 2:31 for 500 meters, 41 s/m, for a projected total of 6,014. 60 minutes weights 20 minutes elliptical, all backward, set intervals at six and 10 60 minute yoga class This is the problem with rowing (TMI warning ... TMI coming ...): Often, I skin my butt while doing it. What I mean is, I rub it raw & actually have blood spots in my underwear afterward. It's the equivalent of a runner getting a blister. I'll be in the middle of exerting myself & I can feel a crisis with my underwear riding up. But since I'm well into it, I don't want to stop & besides, I've never enjoyed watching people publicly extricating themselves from a wedgie, and that's what I'd have to do. So, being a masochist, I keep going. But my time suffers from the discomfort as that makes me not go all out & rather just wish for my 15 minutes to be over with. Today, I feel guilty for not doing 45 minutes of cardio on the elliptical & instead settling for 20 minutes. But I wanted to take the Friday yoga class, which I usually can't make because I'm working then, And I'm still trying to hold to my resolution not to add more, but rather to swap out, since 2 hours daily in the gym is enough & I cannot continually add on other things. That way lies madness. Oh, and yoga was great. But I am not very flexible. And when we're in the warrior poses & our hips are squared to the mirror, I can't believe how much junk is packed in my trunk. Yoga has a way of making me feel really chunky, rather than long, lean & streamlined. |
Saef-- have you tried multiple (at least 2) pairs of underwear? When I first started spin classes, I wore two pairs to try to keep my bum a little more padded. Or would that make it worse?!?!
|
Saef - what about a different style of knickers? We are talking about the need for technical underwear here. You wouldn't row in the Oxford and Cambridge boat race wearing a thong. So I suggest full coverage and up to the waist, and/or made out of "wicking" fabric. But whatever you do, you can't carry on like this. Don't be a masochist. Care for yourself. You're lovely.
|
Saef, have you considered bike shorts or tri shorts? They usually have a chamois pad to reduce chafing and are intended to be worn without underwear.
|
Something must be wrong. Unless someone is being pursued by a pod of great white sharks, it makes no sense to row until their butt bleeds... ;)
Jay |
Quote:
Quote:
I can see it in myself when I'm feeling that I ought to exercise even more -- but then I stop myself from doing it -- but couldn't see it in this behavior, which I thought was just like a runner keeping going despite feeling a blister forming. I am still working on this self-care thing. Someone had a brilliant post about this in Chicks in Control, about understanding it's about self-care rather than always being about steely will. I wrote a post agreeing with that observation. But it seems I slip up in practicing what I really do know to be true. I guess I don't really need underwear beneath my workout capri pant & long pants. I must wear them from some kind of reflexive modesty. (And Birchie, I love the word "knickers." I picture a naughty Edwardian lady in knee-length cotton battiste drawers with all kinds of lace trim.) |
We're working on a Need to Know basis here, I think.
Quote:
However, turning back to the subject under discussion, I see knickers as protective as well as an item of modesty. They certainly protect one's private parts from seams. Could be ooh ouch ooh otherwise. |
Jessica's suggestion of wearing my bike shorts while rowing was a very good one, I think. (I own five pairs because I take spin class four days each week.)
Saturday, April 29: 45 minute spin class 60 minutes Pilates Spin class is feeling like boot camp on a bike, as the gym's director (who is also one of the spin instructors) has incorporated three weight intervals in each class & is having us do an additional move, a kind of squat in which we lower ourselves back & touch the seat, then come up again. You keep your weight in your feet rather than in your upper body, so I think it's more of a squat than a push up. We do 16 of those at a time. Anyway, between that & endless leg lifts in Pilates, I'm wiped out today. I'm making ham & bean soup with leftover Easter ham & watching the re-run royal wedding. The TLC commentators are idiotic. It's like the Kardashians are marrying into the Trumps. |
Quote:
April 30: none (10 hours in the car to pick up puppy!!) Totals for April: 23 days 1943 minutes |
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:40 PM. |
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.