Easter Sunday, April 8th:

15 minutes Stairmaster, resistance at eight, aerobic intervals
60 minutes shoulders, triceps and biceps routine, with me trying to use 15-lb weights as much as possible
45 minutes arc trainer, hill intervals, resistance at nine


All the big guys who usually lift weights alongside me on Sunday morning were at church or watching children enjoy Easter baskets. Or, who knows, maybe enjoying their own Easter baskets.

April 8: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga

Totals:
5 days
310 minutes

Monday, April 9th:

45 minutes spin class, a challenging class as usual, though not the sweatfest I'd been experiencing in my past few sessions.

About 20 minutes doing Pilates moves. I am no good at the corkscrew and I still can't keep my legs turned inward enough for that one move where you balance on your butt with your legs elevated in the air & arms reaching forward. But I'm not bad at scissors -- I can grab my ankles without trouble. And I'm good at the criscross. I will keep working on this. Can't wait to get back to class.

Tuesday, April 10th:

15 minutes Stairmaster stepper, aerobic intervals, resistance at eight
60 minutes shoulders and triceps routine
45 minutes recumbent bike, steady resistance at nine, peddling at 70 rpm or above


Out to the gym by 5 AM because I had an 8 AM meeting with two new trainees in England. I did bench presses rather than pushups, with high reps (about 16 each time) at weights ranging from 55 lbs to 45 lbs toward the end, or whatever an unloaded bar is.

April 9: 90 minutes bikram yoga

April 10: 90 minutes bikram yoga

Totals:
7 days
490 minutes

Falling behind again!

April 5: none
April 6: 2 mile (just under 24 min) run
April 7: 75 min yoga class, longish dog walk in the park
April 8: long dog walk
April 9: just over 2 mile, 25 min run
April 10: 25 mins yoga on my own, 15 mins pilates on my own (using POP Pilates printables!)

Wednesday, April 11:

45 minute spin class, at a quick pace, with sprints, hill sprints and tabatas. One of those where I just wanted to make it through to the end.

20 minute Pilates routine afterward, and feeling yesterday's lifting session in my shoulders and chest any time I had to use my arms a little. Wish I had the teacher around to check & correct my form. There are no mirrors in the stretching section of the gym where I perform this routine, so I miss the guidance. At least I'll be practiced in the classic sequence once class resumes and I can move from one exercise to the next.

April 11: 90 minutes bikram yoga-- 4 days straight!

Totals:
8 days
580 minutes

Michele, wow, you are on a streak with your yoga classes. As a curiosity, how many yoga outfits do you have? I think of my daily gym clothes hanging over a towel bar in the shower to dry out a little before I throw them into the hamper for the wash. I wash gym clothes probably every three days.

Thursday, April 12:

15 minutes Stairmaster stepper, resistance at eight, why does this never get any easier?
60 minutes back & biceps routine, with me moving up to 75 lbs for the various forms of lat pulldowns, still squeezing out about 17 reps, though with occasional pauses
45 minutes backward on the Precor elliptical, intervals, resistance at nine and six

Saef-- I wear the same clothes to yoga that I do to the gym-- usually a gym top and nike tempo shorts. I have probably 4-5 pairs of shorts and at least that many tops-- we wash clothes 2-3X a week usually. My yoga clothes get washed quicker because they are soaking wet!

April 11 - 16 min run, haven't measured distance yet, plus short dog walk

In terms of gym clothes, I have two pairs of shorts, two pairs of capris, and three pairs of long pants, plus five short-sleeved shirts and three long-sleeved shirts. I find that since I'm doing regular yoga instead of bikram, I don't get super sweaty, so it's not a big deal to wear my yoga clothes multiple days in a row. My running shorts dry out super fast so I reuse them (and the long pants), but I go through the short sleeved shirts pretty quickly. For me the limiting factor is how many uses I can get out of my two sports bras before they need to be washed. I figure if I'm just going to exercise nobody will care if I'm stinky so I usually only do laundry once a week.

April 12: 60 minutes Zumba, 15 minutes run to gym, 15 minutes fast walk home.

Totals:
9 days
670 minutes

Oh, Jessica, I'm afraid to tell you how many sports bras I've got, but it's at least eight, and that's because when I'm living in my apartment, I do laundry just once a week. It's not as convenient as living in a house with a washing machine right on the premises. This particular item of clothing is always wringing wet when I finish my workout. And I'm nearly always exercising in a gym, so I'm trying not to impose too much funk on neighbors in spin class & on the machines.

Michele, yes, I was thinking that with daily Bikram, you are definitely not suffering from any form of fluid retention. As for the clothes, if I were one of your daughters or your DH, and wanted to earn "points" with you, I'd be buying you some Lululemon. People in NY are obsessive about Lululemon for yoga class & even second hand, the clothes have a decent resale value.

As for me ...

Friday the 13th, the April Edition:

45 minute spin class, lots of standing and crouching in Position 2 & 3
20 minute Pilates routine afterward. I will never, ever, ever be able to do the Teaser, in which you balance on your butt with your legs and arms outstretched. I've got some of the form right but I just can't keep my legs sealed together & aligned. (Which sounds like the start of a dirty joke, but really denotes some obscure physical weakness.)

Saturday, April 14:

60 minutes on the Stairmaster, resistance at eight. How this machine wears me down, gradually but relentlessly as time passes and the steps keep coming at me and coming at me. Nothing makes me sweat like this. And not just my face and hairline. My forearms are running with sweat. I've no idea what I would look like if I didn't keep swiping myself with a towel. I climbed over 200 floors, or so the digital readout told me.
Then about 15 minutes stretching, including pigeon and shoulder stands.

I feel pretty much done for the day, but no, I have to pick up my antique clock and get instructions on running it, and there's a charity antique show at a middle school. I wonder what kind of lunch stuff they'll have there. It's an affluent area so more likely to be health-conscious. I hope, anyway. And, too, there's a Panera in the general area if I hate their fare.

Sunday, April 15:

15 minutes Stairmaster, resistance at eight, aerobic intervals, much easier after yesterday's long endurance climb
60 minutes shoulders, biceps & triceps routine
45 minutes hill intervals arc trainer, resistance at nine

In the weight area, I was finding the 12-lb weights too easy for 16 to 17 reps, and as if to admonish me to push myself, there was a guy lying on a bench to my right who was bench-pressing dumbbells, each one 110 pounds. So this guy was basically pressing 220 pounds. Only then did I realize how massive his upper body was: He was a truly triangular, wedge-shaped person, like a toy action figure. The other guys in the weight area were covertly watching him. I felt I didn't have to hide it: Me and my 12-lb dumbbells.