Maintainers moving in January
 

New year
New goals?
Join us to track your exercise and keep each other motivated!:carrot::carrot:

Jan. 1: 90 minues bikram yoga

Totals:
1 day
90 minutes

Yesterday - yoga for 20-30 minutes at home.

I tried a new routine but didn't like it as well. I need to expand my repertoire, though, so I will work on that today. Yoga is my winter exercise as it is too cold to get outside and walk or ride my bike as I do during the warmer months. Generally this time of year I don't exercise at all, so I decided yoga would be better than nothing. I do yoga at home as I don't have time or money to take a class, and I very much prefer self-directed exercise over following along with someone else (via dvd or class). I messed around with yoga during December and seem to have found somewhat of a routine for WHEN I do yoga. Now I need to work on building my repertoire so I have a solid practice. That is my goal for January.

New Year's Day:

Ran four miles, again in unseasonably warm temperatures, delighted by the absence of cars on the road.


Jan 2:

90 minute spin class, a special "endurance ride" which the gym plans to offer twice a month. I held up much better than I'd thought.

Jan. 2: 60 minutes body pump

Totals:
2 days
150 minutes

Jan. 3: 60 minutes Boot Camp class
I don't usually do this class because I'm normally working at this time. It was a great and hard class! Of course, full with everyone after the New Year. The instructor came over to me during class and said "Can I embarrass you?". I had no idea what she was talking about but I said yes. She then showed the class my abductor muscles and used me as an example-- so cool! Made my day!!:carrot::carrot:

Totals:
3 days
210 minutes

Did yoga last night. The routine that took me 30 minutes last week only took 20 minutes so I obviously wasn't holding the poses as long. This morning my weight was up 1.4 pounds. I would say the two are related. So I started the day with yoga this morning since I felt rather sluggish and have felt much better since. I'm hoping I can also walk when dh gets home from work as it is unseasonably warm outside.

travellingmichelle - congrats on being the "example" in class. That is really cool!

1/1: dog walk
1/2: 22 min bike trainer ride w/dvd, 30-ish min hike with the dog
1/3: 20 min wog 2:30 each run/walk 4x, 3ish min cooldown

Tuesday, Jan 3rd:

In an unsettled mood today and low in spirits because of the eight inches of snow that kept me from heading to the gym until later tonight. (And it was still snowing lightly then ...)

20 minutes warmup on Stairmaster stepper, resistance at seven
60 minutes back, chest and biceps routine
40 minutes recumbent bike, manual setting, resistance at nine

Well, I didn't get to walk when dh came home but did do some yoga again in the evening. Inserted some downward dogs into the routine between warriors and now I'm sore. But I do feel a bit better this morning. I think my body is messing around with the water weight thing with my cycle and thus my ugh feeling. Fun...

1/4: 20 mins weights, basically NRLW S1W1, some stretching

Wednesday, Jan, 4th:

60 minutes on Precor elliptical, interval setting, resistance at nine, changing from backward to forward peddling for each 15-minute segment

I couldn't go to my regular 5:45 AM spin class, because it conflicted with a scheduled 6 AM phone call with an analyst in Twickenham,in the U.K. So I had to wait all day & head to the gym after work, at about 6:30 PM.

And wow ... the gym was an alien place. Busy, busy, with mayhem in the parking lot, despite the ice and snow. Packed with a completely different crowd, much MUCH younger and much more self-conscious about attire, hair, appearance. Okay, it felt a bit like a bar. The same slight tension caused by watching and consciousness of being watched, of assessment, of potential. And I felt lucky to get a machine, so I ended up on a Precor elliptical, rather than the Cybex arc trainer. The action felt weird and my calves and hamstrings felt it. We'll see how I'm doing tomorrow.

Whew.

I ended up doing 20+ minutes yoga in the morning and then was sore all day from downward dogs. I went to knitting in the evening and left early because I was tired. Went to bed right away when I got home - no more yoga. Slept okay but then dh got up at 4:30 to work out so he could build ds's pinewood derby car with him this afternoon - it's supposed to be 60 degrees and the norm for this month is about 20. Didn't sleep much after that. We have to leave for a field trip this morning so maybe I'll do some yoga this afternoon. If not, definitely this evening.

Thursday, Jan. 5th:

15 minutes Stairmaster stepper warmup, resistance at seven
60 minutes chest, shoulders and triceps
45 minutes on a creaky bouncy Nautilus elliptical, interval setting, resistance at eight and four, alternating backward & forward. This didn't feel like a real cardio workout.

I was able to get up just after 4 AM, but it was so hard to put on the layers and the boots and leave the warm house for the snowy outdoors. The roads between here and the gym were messy but not treacherous. My morale about gym-going is running dangerously low, for the first time in four years. It isn't about the gym-going so much as a post-holiday low and a sense that I'm spinning my wheels.

I am getting back into focused exercise gear. I went to the gymn and did a relatively tiny amount. This was sensible as I almost always get a terrible headache when I return after a stint doing something else. What actually happened was that I lost my glasses which I need to write in my book. I keep notes of my performance and progress in a book with a red cover proclaiming "Handbook on Structural Steelwork. Properties and Safe Loads. 1964.". I am actually 1955 myself but I like this cover which was my dad's.

Anyway, mislaying the glasses and forgetting which treadmill I'd been on meant I lost the zen part of the plot. And the floor area was full of New Year bodies. A couple of hardcore gymn-goers found the specs so that promoted a bit of community bonding. But I quit whilst ahead and feel pretty good now.

Saef, how about actively planning a day or a few days off from the gymn, either now or when there's a big snowstorm? I know there are reasons why not to do it but there are good reasons to do it, too.