Monday, Sept. 12:

Stairmaster, of the "stepper" or "climber" variety rather than an actual escalator-like staircase, resistance at eight, then at six, for 48 minutes

Whew, this thing wore me out.

I am trying a hot yoga class tonight, and will be thinking of Michele before I get to it. Or rather a warm bathwater yoga class, since when I called the place to inquire further, the woman who teaches it said it would be maybe 80 degrees or 85 degrees and would be geared toward people who've never taken this kind of class before. Yep, that would be me.

I also signed up for a 5K race that runs through our village this coming Saturday afternoon. I have not done a 5K in like, forever, but having out for two runs on our local roads over the past week, I think this might be fun and doable. And it's a goal to work toward in the immediate future, to keep me moving when I'd rather not get out of bed in the morning.

Also on Monday, Sept. 12

90 minute yoga class, vinyasa with the room's temperature in the 80s

Once a month, on the second Monday of the month, a tiny yoga studio in a small town just to the north of the other small town where I grew up hosts a "hot yoga" class with a visiting teacher. I happened upon it while Googling resources in this area. It was so close that I had to try it, for a $12 drop-in fee.

So I was there tonight, with four other students and the regular teacher. It's a nice space, a smooth hardwood floor and curtains, inside a 19th century brick storefront that looks a little like the Edward Hopper painting "Sunday Morning," only turned funky, with a cafe and tattoo parlor nearby. The class was great. I kept up with the vinyasa flow. I always learn things about my body in these classes, humbling things, mostly about what is tight and what won't stretch. I sweat a lot. My mat got wet. At the end, it felt good to just lie there. And the teacher massaged our temples with lavender oil, which smelled heavenly.

Ah.

I really, really needed this.

Saef-- that sounds divine! Where do I sign up???

My class is 108 degrees and humid! Talk about sweating! I had a friend try it with me yesterday for the first time. She brought her daughter even though I suggested she try it herself first because she didn't really know what to expect. Her daughter is 12 I think. The instructor says to just stay in the room and lay down if you are too exhausted. She and her daughter laid down for 90 percent of the class. She couldn't believe how hard it is. A lady afterward described it as doing 90 minutes of yoga in a sauna. I think that's a good description! Surprisingly she and her daughter both said they'll try it again.

September 11: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga

September 12: 60 minutes Body Pump class

Totals:
12 days
866 minutes

saef Gald to hear you're channeling things into positive areas, rather than curling up in a corner with your hand in the chips bag (:o that would be me :o). I'm going to think of what you're doing and what you're going through whenever I head towards the chips.

Thank you and continue to take care of yourself.

Both you and michele have convinced me to give hot yoga a try and to revisit my Sunday afternoon yoga class (which is moving into a new location next month - exciting!)

Dagmar :yoga:

Catching up . . .

9/10: 25:52 1.6 mile doggie powerwalk

9/11: 15.3 mile 1:07:20 bike ride (13.7mph)

9/12: 15 min dog walk

9/13: 26:48 dog powerwalk (1.84 miles)

Tuesday, Sept. 13:

All is not well with me, Dagmar, though I'm trying to settle in. I couldn't sleep last night, after waking up abruptly at 3:15 AM. I just worried about things that I needed to do, terrified I would not get them done. So I was out at the gym early.

15 minutes Stairmaster, the stepper type, aerobic setting, resistance at six, still trying to get the hang of this & attempting it hands-free
60 minutes back & biceps routine
45 minute Nautilus elliptical, intervals, resistance at eight and three

September 13: 60 minutes elliptical

Totals:
13 days
926 minutes

Wednesday, Sept. 14:

Ran about 4 miles, clockwise, again along the usual circle of Whiskey Hollow, County Route 48 & then Hencle Boulevard (which used to be Hencle Road until they widened it to accommodate trucks coming & going from Budweiser brewery, which is by far the town's largest employer).

saef, your new avatar is just too sad! Please change it to something else... To someone who doesn't know why you're wearing the mask, it looks like you are on death's doorstep!... A person from "Contagion"... :(

I think it's great that you are managing to keep up with fitness and good food choices in the midst of all this! Hang in there, saef...

Jay

But saef's a person who just ran 4 miles! I hope I'm that fit at death's door - I'll probably be able to take the grim reaper out with one punch!

Sorry, trying to inject a little humour into what is a hard situation.

Dagmar :dizzy:

I've done some stretching and physio exercises today.

Saef, there is such sadness in your new avatar. By showing us the picture, I think you are asking us to bear witness to your loss and grief. We cannot share your feelings but we can bear witness. I'm pleased that I can do this small thing for you.

And four (4) miles? Crikey. You go, girl.

9/13 addendum: swiss ball crunches and some other core work in the PM

9/14: 6.75 mile 32 min bike ride, 10 min dog walk

September 14: 95 minutes Bikram Yoga

Totals:
14 days
1021 minutes

Okay, after some reflection, I changed my avatar.

[Lengthy explanation for this moved properly to the Chat thread where it belongs.]

Something is wrong this morning. I haven't made it to the gym yet. I got dressed and planned to go, put on iPod, piled up stuff on table to take (pushup handles, list of exercises, water bottle, towel sans lace edge) and then never went. Got trapped at my laptop, writing a letter to the insurance company.

Must go to the gym tonight, right after work. Must go. Must not get in this habit of stalling out in the morning while brooding on What Happened.

Thursday, Sept. 15: I did go.

15 minutes Stairmaster stepper, aerobic setting, resistance at six
60 minutes arms & shoulders routine
45 minutes back on the Stairmaster stepper, same setting

Oh, is that machine difficult. Because you have to keep up the momentum, or you sink downward.

And I don't like being in the free weight area right after work, when Zumba is going on upstairs drawing all the women, and I'm the only woman handling dumbbells among the guys. I feel conspicuous. And like a wimp with my 10 lb and 12 lb and 15 lb weights.

Oh, and I'm not pleasant to be around when I skip my morning workout. I felt depressed and mopey all day. Apparently my day has become dependent on the serotonin boost.

September 15: 60 minutes Zumba

Totals:
15 days
1081 minutes

Friday, Sept. 16:

60 minutes on Nautilus elliptical, intervals, resistance at eight and four, half backward


How I miss my old gym, with all its classes, and the familiar faces, and the walk over there in the mornings alongside the commuters making their way to the train station, past the bagel shop, the various dry cleaners, the nice Italian bistro, the nail salons and the Korean grocer with the buckets full of seasonal flowers set out in front.

45 minutes hack down to the shore and back. I'm glad I got it in as it's pouring with rain now.

Glad you got to a gymn, saef. It'll stand you in good stead today. Have you been able to form any idea how long you'll be in exile?

9/15: none
9/16: 28 min dog power walk.

Saef, I love your new avatar. :hug:

September 16: 45 minutes elliptical

September 17: took the into to scuba diving class. 60 minutes plus of diving and swimming......

Totals:
17 days
1186 minutes

Saturday, Sept. 17:

Just over an hour of a Kripalu Yoga beginners' class at a large yoga center about 20 minutes away from here. I signed up for the session that starts Monday. I want to attend two to three classes each week. There wasn't a lot of effort here; I wasn't sweating like in Monday night's class. I felt so good at moments during this class. And had some realizations during one or two poses: I try too hard sometimes. What would life be like if I didn't try as hard?

Then I went to an enormous farmers' market, where parking was insane, reminding me of Saturday shopping near the city. Many people who have been brought into the city of Syracuse through the Refugee Resettlement program seem to do their shopping there, either because it reminds them of shopping in markets in their native countries or because produce costs far less there. I saw women in head coverings of various types and shawls and people of color whom I never see in the village where I grew up, which is just 15 minutes or so away from the city.

The 5K race -- my second 5K ever -- ran right through my little hometown village, so it seemed only fitting that I enter it. Last time I ran a 5K back in 2008 (well, I speed-walked some of it), my time was 38:10. I had a timer thingy attached to my shoe laces, so my slowness is official. This time, I believe that I went faster, but we'll see. For this race, my entry number had two strips pasted along the back, which apparently the sensors read at the finish line. This advance in technology interests me a great deal.

I found a race calendar & can't believe how many 5K races will be run during the coming weeks in the villages & towns & small cities around here. It's this crisp weather that seems to make them proliferate and every area is celebrating Oktoberfests or the harvest, particularly the apple crop coming in, or Halloween. I want to run in them all, but of course, I won't. I'll be checking on how my feet and my knees feel, particularly my arthritic big toe joints.

Sunday, Sept. 18:

My feet actually feel pretty good today. It's my lower back that's bothering me. Perhaps from some of the asanas in yoga?

15 minutes, Stairmaster stepper, aerobic, resistance at six
60 minutes Chest, Shoulders & Triceps routine, a completely new routine for me based on the P90X video. This did not go very well. I had to move my mat and pushup handles out of the way for a big guy using a weight bench & felt self-conscious doing my girlie pushups in the very masculine weight area where all the guys who see each other every Sunday morning were fist-bumping & shoulder-slapping. I forgot some of the moves from the P90X video, though I've watched it several times. And my arms just gave out on me while doing pushups -- I got barely any reps in toward the end.
45 minutes on Nautilus elliptical, half backward, at eight and four, intervals

My time in yesterday's 5K was 32:21:80, a definite improvement over my first 5K run time back in 2008. This is not a very good time. But I've gone running out-of-doors just six times so far this year before running in this race. Until a few weeks ago, I relied solely on spinning and the elliptical and arc trainer for my cardio fitness. It's okay to be slow. I'm a beginner. Who nevertheless ran every step of the way. I've got the breath for it. I have to get used to the pounding and how to pace myself.

That isn't that slow Saef! I think it's pretty awesome......

Sounds like you may sign up for some more races??

Feeling like crap still:?::(
Walked with dh and Dewey. Dewey was hot and tired so I had to carry him much of the way. I worked up a good sweat so I'll count it as a workout! ;)

60 minutes plus walking

Totals:
18 days
1246 minutes

Michele, thanks for the kind words on my running time. And I meant to tell you that your Intro to Scuba class sounds SO COOL. If you have a vacation planned for tropical waters this winter, you are going to be all set.

Monday, Sept. 19:

Ran the usual route, counterclockwise, which has an added grade, so it's harder. Also at certain moments the sun was in my face. It was chilly, which was okay for my arms in short sleeves as I warmed up, but at the end, my hands were stiff and slightly numbed with cold. I need some kind of light gloves. Now I'm drinking my second mug of flavored decaf coffee just to wrap my stiff hands around the warm mug & get them moving again.

saef and michele, I think you are both totally :cool: :cool:.

I am getting back to the gymn this week. I was there this morning.

TM - 5 mins
Bike - 5 mins (I really enjoyed this which I don't remember happening in the past. New machine, perhaps?)
Physio exercises (what still? Yes.) - say 20 mins.

As I've remarked somewhere else, the important thing is Not To Overdo It.

Saef, that is an excellent time. You run only a few times after no running in years and you already are blasting away my PR on a 5k! :lol: (For the record, my PR is somewhere around 34:30.)

Yet again I wonder if there is some crucial gene I am missing which makes me the world's biggest slowpoke at all sporting events.

Also Saef, is the arthritis in your toe something that you have had SINCE your weight loss or before? Because if it was before, it may have been gout instead of arthritis and may be gone now with your improved diet.

9/17:
15.5 mile 1:12:35 bike ride

9/18:
28 min dog powerwalk

Off to the gym for some pilates now...

Also on Monday, Sept. 19th:

75 minute Beginner I Kripalu Yoga class


After all, I am very fortunate to find that my mother's house is within a half-hour drive of an excellent yoga studio, where I've signed up for the session that just started today. If the weather holds, and the Saturday class that I'm slotted for doesn't conflict with all the 5K meets in the area, I should be showing up there three times each week. I always meant to try being more serious about yoga.

Jessica, the problem with my toe is called a dorsal bunion, or hallux limitus (or something like that) and has to do with genetics and the physical structure of my foot. Nope, it isn't gout. My father had gout and took medication for it. But my issue has been diagnosed by a podiatrist and confirmed through x-rays of my feet. I told my podiatrist we'd treat it conservatively, that is, that I'd avoid surgery on my foot as long as possible. I have found ways to exercise around it without being in too much pain. I think my feet and legs and body in general are a lot stronger, so maybe that will help me with my problem.

I recommend these gloves (field-tested by me at various different fleece weights and also in nylon)

http://www.manzella.com/

Dagmar :cool:

Saef, you will love the title of the pilates video I did yesterday...

9/19 pilates:
15 min Beyonce Bootylicious Bum Butt Badonkadonk Bonanza
10 min Crazy Core Workout

9/20:
30 min dog powerwalk (about 2 miles)
planning bike ride this evening.

Gee, Jessica, which body part did that Pilates video focus on? ;-)

Tuesday, Sept. 20:
15 minutes Stairmaster stepper, resistance at six
60 minutes back & biceps routine
45 minutes Nautilus elliptical, half backward, intervals at eight and four

Okay, I am officially unpleasant to be around when I plan a morning workout for 6 AM but can't make it due to work deadlines and have to go after 5 PM instead. I'm on edge all day. Partly from anxiety at maybe not getting to do what I'd planned to do, partly from not burning off my usual base level of anxiety from cardio, and partly from lack of the serotonin jolt, which I badly need these days, as on many mornings, I awaken feeling low.

Listening to "Da Butt" on replay on the machine, thinking of becoming Bootylicious.

Actually that's one of my most hated body parts because of something my mother once said:

"You've got a big ***, but it's flat."

I can still remember her telling me this. I think I was 17 & in a dressing room somewhere. Since I was a slim child who became a fat teenager, many horrors took place in that setting.

Anyway, after that I knew I was deformed in some way, and really hated my backside. Now it's smaller but it has that cellulite texture. It is not Bootylicious unless you are a large curd cottage cheese lover.

Wednesday, Sept. 21:

Again, I had trouble launching, not leaving for the gym till close to 7 AM. But once I got there:

60 minutes, Stairmaster stepper, aerobic intervals, resistance at 4


I dropped the resistance lower to see if I could last an hour, hands free. I was mostly hands free, though not completely, not on the steepest grades. This machine is the devil. I have to press down my feet and lift up quickly & very shallowly to prevent the whole contraption from sinking downward. I was trying to keep my weight on my mid-foot, rather than toe or heel. The small of my back didn't like this exercise much. That's a surprise. My core muscles aren't really weak -- three hours of Pilates mat work weekly for the past year means my core is actually doing okay. Must be a posture issue: I have to figure out a better posture. Or maintain a steady gaze forward rather than glancing down at the instrument panel all the time. Also, the machine is not placed well in the gym for mirror checks.

This gym doesn't make me happy. I do not look forward to going there, the way I did to my old gym. Time to scout out other gyms, and put up with having to make a half-hour drive to get to them. I'll just have to get up at 4 AM instead of 5 AM. Ugh.

9/20 addendum: 7 mile bike ride (easy, ~35 min)

Saef, if you are considering butt workouts definitely check out the one I mentioned on youtube! :lol: I totally couldn't keep up with it at all. The first 7:30 or so of the 15 min video has you in a one-legged bridge without any breaks. I think my butt was maybe half an inch off the floor if I could get it off the floor at all.

Also, re: the stairmaster. The stairmaster is a punishing machine. I think this is why I love them so much and am so sad that most newer gyms don't have them. If you are stepping very shallowly or have to use your hands, you have the level turned up too high. I wouldn't call it "resistance" because it is really a *lack* of resistance when you level up (more like an assisted pull-up machine, where more weight means it's easier to do). The work should be done by the leg that is on the "top" step. Rather than pushing the step down, imagine that you are on a real staircase and are lifting your body up. When you step shallowly it's like climbing a very shallow staircase. The deeper you step is basically like a steeper staircase. The trick is to find somewhere in the middle, where you are still stepping high enough to get some glute action in there but not so high that you can't keep up and start to sink.

You know I talk about doing physio exercises? This is one I'm working towards being able to do. At all. 7.5 minutes? :faint:

I didn't go to the gymn this morning as I decided to move a load of old computers and so on out of the office and over to the tip. Weight training, you see. My back is moaning that I didn't unjam it properly at the gymn first.

Just my opinion, but 60 minutes on a stairmaster is too much. It's no wonder your back hurts, saef. Is 60 a "magic number" for you? That is, you feel compelled to do machines for that long?

I have never gone more than 15 minutes on a stairmaster. I go from the stairmaster to 20 minutes walking on the treadmill, or I'll go from 20 minutes on a bicycle to the stairmaster, or I'll do 15 minutes rowing machine, 15 minutes stairmaster, and then some number of minutes on the treadmill walking. I'm not saying this a better way--just listing it to show that there are different ways to approach exercise machines.

Jay

I think I'd agree with Jay. Especially from a standing start.

:o I can be so witty. :o

I build up slowly to about 15 minutes on the stairmaster when I haven't been on it for a while. And I also use a range of cardio machines, none for more than 15 minutes at a time. I've just found that the bike, rejected by me for months, is actually rather good.

One of my problems with this gym, and one of the reasons I've resorted to the Stairmaster stepper, is that many pieces of cardio equipment are aging, worn out or broken.

The two rowing machines have stretched-out drive chains that offer no resistance at all. I could probably get a better workout leaning back & forward rhythmically in my Aeron at my desk during the day.

The bikes are all missing the footstraps or have broken footstraps, which hinders peddling, and the gears slip on them periodically.

The ellipticals were a cheaper brand to begin with, but they're also creaky and again, the resistance is way off on many of them. I found one better quality one, which, once fixed, seemed to work well.

I dislike treadmills. Since I'm in the country and the roads are quiet, I may as well be outside, rather than on a treadmill. I'll change my mind about that once the bitter winter sets in.

During the winter here, peoples' habits change or if they insist on doing what they always do, they have to learn patience & the skills of winter driving.

This area averages almost 115 inches of snow each winter.

During the winter just before I left town for grad school, the area experienced 170.9 inches of snow.

I hear your frustration, saef. Sorry to say, many gyms are like this. It seems a lot of people don't like the straps on the exercise bike pedals. At my current gym, about half have them and half don't, so at least a person has some choice. And I hear you about the heavily used equipment, etc. One is sometimes lucky to find rowing machines at all, let alone ones with good resistance. The one at my current gym is pretty good--water resistance--but as long as I can achieve my rate of 500 m in under 3 minutes, I'm OK with that.

However, regardless, I think 60 minutes straight on the stairmaster is too much... :)

Hang in there, saef...

Jay

You've mentioned the snow fall in that part of the world before, saef, when we had 'heavy' snow here. That really is a lot but it hasn't fallen yet. :hug: Does cross-country skiing take over from running? That's a very good workout.

September 19: none. Sick...

September 20: still sick....

September 21: feeling somewhat better. Went to Bikram Yoga-- went okay though I was somewhat dizzy and nauseous!
95 minutes Bikram Yoga

Totals:
19 days
1341 minutes