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Maintainers Moving in April
This thread just keeps on going, as we proceed inexorably toward the months when everybody will be showing a lot more skin.
Friday, April 1: On this day, last year, I got hit by a car while crossing the street on the way to Pilates class. A year later, I'm fine. Just an occasional twinge down the back of my elbow when I'm doing hammer curls with a heavy weight. 15:06 rowing on the Concept 2 at 3,045 meters for 2:27 for 500 meters, 39 s/m, for a projected total of 6,083 60 minutes weights 45 minutes arc trainer, intervals, resistance at nine Also I ordered a used P90X arms disc (can't remember which number that is) through eBay. Just one disc. I want to change up my arm routine. I think I can use that one at home without harming my flooring or alarming my neighbors or knocking over a 150-year-old piece of dried-out mahogany furniture. |
I lost track of where I ended up on the last thread, but I know I didn't post yesterdays so I'll do it here even though it's the wrong month now.
March 31: - 2x15 deadlifts at 40# - 30 day shred DVD (level 1) |
Saturday, April 2:
45 minutes spin class, which was nearly full by 7 AM yesterday, when I remembered in the middle of a weight session to go to the desk & reserve a bike. They've added two more lunch-hour spin classes during the week to meet demand. 60 minutes Pilates, with my right outer hip muscle spasming a bit & practically failing toward the end. Whew. I need a nap. |
Hoping you curled up somewhere nice, saef. I'm glad that anniversary has passed. How is your hearing now?
9,000-odd paces today on various jobs. All good and mostly outdoors. |
Birchie, I didn't curl up. I feel groggy afterward if I nap during the day & I never quite recover my bearings. So I just drank more coffee to keep myself fueled & went to a museum & then into the theater district to pick up tickets for plays. (Actually, both plays that I'll be seeing are recent imports from the U.K.: "War Horse" and Stoppard's "Arcadia.")
As for my hearing. Thanks for asking. I have permanent hearing loss of 85% in my left ear from the virus last June, unfortunately. My right ear is fine, thankfully. So it's not always a problem. It is a problem in situations with a lot of ambient noise, because my hearing is no longer stereophonic -- I'm not able to filter out background noise & fix my attention on what's in the foreground. Everything comes in all at once on the same ear & it tends to drown out whoever is talking to me. It's really annoying in crowds. Under those circumstances, I try to make sure people sit very close on my right side. Sunday, April 3: 15:05 rowing on the Concept 2 for 3,120 meters at 2:20 for 500 meters, 38 s/m, for a projected total of 6,311. (That 2:20 time for 500 meters is a new personal best) 60 minutes weights 45 minutes spin class |
April 1: none
April 2: none April 3: swim workout: - 5 laps warmup - 2 laps drills (touch and go, fingertip drag) - 4x50's (beat my PR again, 58 seconds for the first one this time then I got slower on the other 3) - 4 laps with hand paddles - 2x100's - 1 lap cooldown |
Saef - that is bad luck about your hearing. I do sympathise. I understand a little as mine deteriorates badly when I'm under stress. War Horse was at the National Theatre in London for ages and got rave reviews. Friends saw it and were amazed. The DB has read the book. Michael Morpurgo was our Children's Laureate a few years ago (an honour concerned with children's literature). He is prolific: his books all deal with difficult situations and emotions and are very well thought of. The DB has read most of his stuff, often with very big eyes.
Let's call today a rest day. Weights tomorrow. |
Thanks, Birchie, that's made me look forward to "War Horse" even more.
My gym sent a team of runners to a half-marathon this past Sunday which consisted of running twice around Central Park. One friend from spin class did not finish; she apparently pulled something. But she's signed up for tomorrow night's spin class. I hope she cancels & rests some more. I would have liked to run with them, but my bad feet & knees will not stand up under such pounding. Monday, April 4: 60 minutes arc trainer, hill intervals, resistance at nine 60 minutes circuit training class |
Tuesday, April 5:
15:07 rowing on the Concept 2 at 3,099 meters for 2:26 for 500 meters, 45 s/m, for a projected total of 6,158 60 minutes weights 45 minute spin class, on a wonky bike that I don't usually use, and I hated sprinting on it. I feel like I used myself up in the morning weight session & did not have much to give in the evening. But it may be mental. |
New weights workout yesterday. I am kiboshed today.
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Late joining the party as I've been traveling!
April 1: flew to Vegas! Exercise consisted of much walking (I'll count 60 min. though it was much more I don't really count more than an hour of walking) and swimming for about 30 minutes (mostly treading water). (total 90 minutes) April 2: Walked up and down the Vegas strip for hours (count 60 min) April 3: we had one day in the gym as we had massages this day and therefore gained access to the fancy hotel gym! 30 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes weight lifting, more hours of walking (count 60): totals 105 minutes April 4: more hours of walking! I wish I had remembered my pedometer as we figured out it was approximately 3 miles each way each time we went up and down the strip. count 60 minutes April 5: back home and to Bikram Yoga (90 minutes) Totals for April: 5 days 405 minutes |
Wednesday, April 6:
45 minute spin class 30 minute Pilates mat routine on my own Welcome back, Michele. How was the massage & the gym? The website made it look positively sybaritic. And you came back from Vegas & promptly went to Bikram Yoga. That's pretty wonderful, that a life can encompass both experiences within a 24-hour period, isn't it? ;-) |
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Total: 6 days 495 minutes |
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The gym was nice. For a hotel gym it was amazing-- it had all of the same equipment as my gym without the crowds! Plus bananas, water, towels, etc. The best part of the day (besides the massage of course) was the access to the whirlpools, saunas, etc. The only bummer was that it was segregated by sex so I couldn't hang out with dh (for the massage too). I hung out in there for a while feeling very zen and then took a great shower! I NEVER shower at the gym but it was a huge shower with all of the amenities-- razor, hairbrush, deodorant, you name it! I didn't know where to put my plush robe while I was showering and I put it on the floor outside the shower. Two seconds later I see an attendant come by and hang it up in its proper place! |
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Total: 7 days 585 minutes |
Oh, Michele, that sounds so lovely. Those Vegas hotels have some of the nicest gyms I've ever been in.
Thursday, 7 April 60 minutes arc trainer, intervals, resistance at 9 60 minutes Pilates class |
Friday, 8 April:
15:07 rowing on the Concept 2, doing 3,028 meters for 2:24 at 500 meters and 37 s/m with a projected total of 6,142 60 minutes weights 45 minutes elliptical, resistance at 8, half backward |
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Totals: 8 days 675 minutes |
Saturday, April 9:
45 minute spin class 60 minute Pilates class And me running back out the door afterward, changed into freshly laundered street clothes but unshowered, to get my thrice-yearly highlights & a haircut for the wedding I'm attending tonight. That was the only appointment I could get with Patrick today, and I don't miss Pilates class ever, if I can help it. I hope I am not too aromatic while seated in the chair. I've sprayed myself with a nice light L'Occitane cinnamon orange cologne. The chemical smell of the stuff put on my hair may overwhelm any other scent. (Oh, I am sooo not a European.) |
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Saef-- I'm sure you didn't smell too badly! Since I've started Bikram Yoga, I try to go right home after to bathe as I drip sweat like nobodies business. I have almost no sense of smell (nerve was damaged) so I have no idea if I smell though I must. Some days (like today), I make a brief stop but I try to steer clear of everyone around me! |
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Totals: 9 days 765 minutes |
Re bathing daily - that's something I have to do 2X per day. Part of waking up for me (and I work out in the a.m. too) is having a hot shower. I also have to shower off after work or I smell like a mix of sweat and dogs (not DH's favourite). I am usually also covered in grime, sand, saliva, and worse. :p
From what I've experienced/heard about in a lot of countries other than North America is that the plumbing is not as efficient as ours. Nor is there an unending supply of hot, hot water. I had to go several days without a shower in both Morocco and Peru and no one seemed to really notice. But if everyone doesn't bathe fanatically then they all smell about the same, yes? :shrug: Dagmar :cheese: |
I do not mean to generalize to all people of a certain European country; however, in my younger days I was once trapped in a meeting room for a long meeting with some male programmers from this unnamed country, and we were all ready to faint by the time the meeting was over. This meeting was in the U.S., and the programmers were being put up in a local hotel by the company, so the availability of hot water was not an issue.
On the other hand, according to rumor, the reason the company I worked for gave out so many free new-product T-shirts was that it was the only way to get the tech guys to change their shirts. So... Make of it what you will! ;) Jay |
Oh, dear, I have put my foot in it, haven't I? I'll try to explain. My comment is really about my experience working during my one of my grad student summers "off" at a B&B in Greenwich Village which served people visiting Manhattan from all over the world. To generalize, based on my interaction with a clientele looking for economical accommodations & likely to prefer the charm of an old red-brick 1830s B&B with a walled garden over a luxury hotel, the Germans, Belgians & French were **not** the most fanatical showerers & users-up of the hot water supply. They were quite clean but seemed to "wash up" or "bathe" more than showering -- and I'm comparing their habits with some of the American females who showered in the morning & then again in the evening before going out & whose habits got others who shared that floor's bathroom very irritated. These frequent showerers, I used to think of as the Antiseptics. My problem was the house's plumbing was still akin to a one-family house, instead of one that now had five guest rooms when running at full steam & only two bathrooms. When we were busy, I used to practically pray that the bookings included guests from the continent.
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Interesting reflections. Thanks. There are many different ways of getting clean, of course, and the boundary between what is clean and what is dirty shifts about between cultures. I'm a bath person myself (at home) and I'm thinking about starting a new bar of soap after reading this. Only thinking about it as yet ...
(Joke) I use the shower at the gymn. Thanks again, saef. Great topic. Illuminating. |
Sunday, 10 April
15:06 rowing on the Concept 2 for 3,067 meters at 2:22 for 500 meters, 37 s/m, for a projected total of 6,218 meters 60 minutes weights 45 minute spin class Up at 4:30 AM in a Marriott hotel room, and having not been very pleased with the contents of the so-called fitness room, I checked out at 6 AM & drove home in a beautiful pink sunrise -- which looked autumnal from the red buds on the maples in the Connecticut Hills -- and went straight to my gym at 7:45 am. I had just four hours of sleep so I will be dragging later, but oddly enough, my rowing time seems unaffected compared with other recent times. |
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Totals: 10 days 817 minutes |
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90 minutes Bikram Yoga Totals: 11 days 907 minutes |
Monday, 11 April:
60 minutes arc trainer, hill intervals, resistance at nine, which felt easy tonight 60 minutes circuit training class I felt unusually good walking out of the gym, partly because the weather had turned mild, but some of it has to be those exercise-induced endorphins. The forsythia bushes on my apartment property nearly glowed in the dark. A lot of people were out walking the streets of the village, and everyone seemed happier. Tuesday, 12 April: 15:06 rowing on the Concept 2 for 3,072 meters at 2:27 for 500 meters, 37 s/m for a projected total of 6,125 60 minutes weights 45 minutes arc trainer, half backward, resistance at eight I'm going out to dinner after work tonight -- one of the work-from-home people is in town for a few days for some kind of training & meetings, so my dept is taking him out to dinner. Since I'm up for that managerial job, it seemed to behoove me to say yes. Which means no evening spin class. :-( So I got to my gym at 5:30 AM to do my routine before work. Tried to hurry my morning commute in, but of course one lane was closed on I-95, which made me arrive really late for work. So I feel slightly behind & disoriented. But hey, I got my workout in. Now I just have to live up to the other part of the maintenance pact with myself, which is to choose judiciously at dinner tonight. |
Wednesday, 13 April
30 minute private Pilates session on the reformer 45 minute spin class |
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April 13: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga I usually recover quickly after Yoga, but tonight I had a weird experience. I sure hope I'm not getting sick. As soon as I started, my feet felt puffy and swollen but I hadn't noticed anything earlier in the day. Then, during class I was just dying! I've never sweat so much and I was struggling to catch my breath. After class, I had to sit down for a few minutes before I could leave. Then, once I got home and bathed, I had the chills. I ate dinner and still feel weird but better than I did. I checked my blood pressure and it was fine. The only other thing I can think of is that I drank two energy drinks today-- usually I have one during Yoga, but I had one earlier in the day too. Maybe it was too much for me. Glad I made my doctor appointment! Totals: 12 days 997 minutes |
Thursday, 14 April:
60 minutes arc trainer, hill intervals, resistance at nine 60 minutes Pilates class Still reflecting on a conversation that I had with the Pilates instructor at the gym. She has invited me to become a private student of hers at her home studio, which she says has much better equipment than the gym's. At a lower hourly rate than my gym charges for personal training. Because, of course, we'll be circumventing the gym; I'd be paying her directly. She was very careful about making this offer. There is the ethical issue of whether she is poaching or siphoning off a trainee from the gym. I'm thinking of taking her up on this. My only issue is that I just want to get Pilates training from her; I don't want her to be my overall trainer in my life. Some of her training beliefs don't align with mine. For instance, she believes in the low-weight/high-rep theory. Also, she was warning me against thickening my upper thighs from high resistance on the elliptical. So I do not want her advice in those areas. I just like how Pilates works my "core" or rather, in particular, my abs & other large muscles in the trunk of my body. Finally, her rates still aren't cheap. (There goes my tax refund.) I hate feeling indecisive & uncertain. |
Saef-- maybe try just one session with her. I find it hard to believe that she has better equipment at home than the gym but I guess you'll have to see to know.
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Totals: 13 days 1087 minutes |
Michele, I think that I have to try it. If I didn't try something new periodically in the way of exercise, I think I'd get sick of my routine & do it really half-heartedly & then finally quit.
I think the only way to keep this going is to change it up periodically -- as you're doing with Bikram yoga, and as I'm trying to do with Pilates & also by adopting the arms & shoulders dumbbell routine from P90X to change up my free weight session. |
Friday, 15 April
15:06 rowing on the Concept 2 for 3,034 meters at 2:27 for 500 meters, 34 s/m (which is pathetic) for a projected total of 6,073 meters 60 minutes weights 45 minutes elliptical, resistance at eight, half of it backward Today in my dumbbell routine, I eliminated four of my sets & replaced them with exercises from Tony Horton's "Arms & Shoulders" routine from the P90X series. (It's disc 03.) As a person who takes comfort in routine & rituals, but then, as her dependence grows, starts to feel trapped by the necessity of enacting the whole ritual, I always find it hard to change things up, even as I recognize that I must do this for my mental health as well as physical health. My fear is always, "What if I don't get as good a workout?" So I tend to add & add & add. I don't want to do that. I want to swap out. Still, one thing I know is, I need to keep some exercises for chest & back, since this particular routine does not address those body parts. My reminder to myself: Don't add more minutes. You said you never wanted to exceed two hours a day in exercising. So don't. Give up something; replace it with something else. Change it up, keep it fresh & keep it challenging. |
Thanks for thinking aloud, saef. I recognise your dilemma with the Pilates instructor. I could do with a few sessions with a trainer but do not want all the nutrition and lifestyle stuff, on and on. There's not much choice of trainer round here. Add to this that my chiro told me I have to do more work on my core and posture and I am out of sorts today. There's only so much exercise I can do before the rest of my life (this includes my health, of course) suffers.
Movement so far today: little. A very little walking. Weeding later. Reasons: all good. I am over-stretched. Silver lining: had to make an appearance at a fundraising sale at DB's school & found a book about Pilates. |
Saturday, April 16
45 minute spin class 60 minute Pilates class Birchie, have you looked online for Pilates videos, particularly on YouTube? If you aren't working with an instructor, the demonstrations could help you perhaps more than an inert photograph or illustration in a book. You must take care of your neck & lower back, and I found an instructor invaluable for suggesting slight changes in position & modifications until those parts of my body grew stronger. I looked at things like this online but I have found nothing quite so helpful as being coached in mat classes (& individually on the Reformer & Tower, which has helped me with form on the mat). http://pilates.about.com/od/pilatesr...e_Routines.htm http://pilates.about.com/od/pilatesm...rExercises.htm |
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April 15: none April 16: 60 minutes boot camp, 90 minutes (fast) walking with dh (got sunburned too!) Totals: 14 days 1237 minutes I'm also thinking I'm going to have to change my fitness goal for the year. I think 300 days was too ambitious for me to achieve in a year. I am at 88 so I'll never make it. I was thinking I would miss one day a week but some weeks (like this one), I miss two. I think I'll change it to 200 and see how much beyond that I can make. :carrot: |
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