Well, I am glad I am not the only having a problem visualizing Lydia's exercise. But I was too chicken to admit that LOL.

And I thought 8-day weeks were the norm in Alaska??? :

Mel, how much snow did you get? My beast (aka the snow blower) did not want to start this morning even with electric start so I had to kick it into action manually (even that did not go very smoothly). The wind (and snow) are blowing in all directions so when I was done I resembled a snowman as I was covered in snow from head to toe. Gotta get goggles - I wear glasses and it's so not fun to have snow blown behind the glasses. By the time I was leaving for work, all the cleared area was white again. A couple more inches today, then it should [hopefully!] taper off.

A tidbit of useless info: I just found out that I missed on an important celebration, over a year ago. LOL
Quoting from Wiki: "On February 13, 2009 at exactly 23:31:30 (UTC), the decimal representation of Unix time was equal to '1234567890'. Parties and other celebrations were held around the world, among various technical subcultures, to celebrate the 1234567890 day."

Ok, time for the next item on my agenda:

Have a good day, all!
Shannon, I envy you the run in the park - I wish the weather here resembled Atlanta's!

Alena

Morning. It's snowing here as well. We got 6-7" yesterday, and so far today it's just slow lazy flakes falling.

I need to get up and go to the gym. I have a full body workout scheduled, but my hips are still sore from Zumba on Wed. But if I wait til tomorrow (and do cardio today instead) I'll only have a day between FBWO and LBWO, and two is so much better. I just need a

Alright! I officially declare winter to be over. Enough of the "white death" I'm so freakin' sick of the snow and it almost did our poor Mel in. Enough. And until this actually takes effect, Mel, you are only allowed to use public transportation. I'm thanking all the "Powers that Be" that you survived this insane incident. Weren't you the one who had the car fire on the way home to Pennsylvania a year or so ago...or something...

K. About that exercise. Its something I came up with as a way to make less noise in the gym. I don't know if there is a name for this but if there is I'm certain Delpalma will be posting a link to the video soon.

Get seven 5lb plates off the rack. Place each plate about four to six inches apart in a vertical row.

Lower yourself into the plank position beside the row of plates.

Assuming that the plates are on your right, reach with the left arm under your abs while in the plank position (yes you are now balanced in a plank by only your right arm, the one closest to the plates) and grab the first plate.

Move the plate to the other side of your body. (You are grabbing it with a "pronation" grip and releasing it in a "supination" grip.

"Walk" the plank backward one step and grab the next plate and place under the second plate on the opposite side. "Walk" the plank back another step and grab the third plate.

Once you have reached the last plate, you will notice the plates are now in a vertical row on the left side of your body. Take your right hand and grab the bottom plate and place it on the right side of the body.

"Walk" the plank up to the next plate. Continue this pattern back up till you reach the top. Then....do it all over again.

After about three or four times up and down these rows you're feeling pretty good in the deep abdominal muscles. I also think it's a great exercise for the shoulder and upper back mobility.

But I warn you...tape up the forearms first. Else, you will develop serious friction burns on your forearms and it really isn't attractive in sleeveless tops and dresses. But of course no one is going to notice the burns because they are too busy wondering how you got those awesome shoulders and abs right?

I leave for my trip next week. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to this. I had to reorder the dress and it won't be here in time. Oh well. Maybe I'll find something there.

We will also be doing some house hunting in the D.C. area before I fly back to Ohio. I'm going to need some serious lifting therapy when I return from that little adventure. It's going to be heavy and I'm getting a babysitter so I can take my time. Grrrrr.

Okay. Chant with me...NO MORE SNOW. (Mel, I know you have a ski trip planned. Great. Just take all the snow with you. )

Is this a Crossfit chat thread or just an exercise thread?

Mel,

I completely overlooked your post at the bottom of the previous page.
Yikes! I had goose bumps all over when I read that. I have been in a few situations like that and it's just awful. I fear nothing like I fear icy roads.
Deep snow is bad, but ice is much, much worse.
I'll tell you, I would have been a write-off for the rest of the day.

This is a very eclectic thread.

Eeek, Mel! I'm glad you're okay!!! Scary!!!

What kind of thread do you want it to be?

All kidding aside, some folks here do Crossfit and some don't. We all like to lift weights, and we share and learn and have a good time. But mainly this is just the thread where the cool kids hang out. So you are very welcome to join right in!!!

This is an everyone thread! Blame Cheryl for the current Cross Fit mania

Honestly, many years ago, it started as a Body for Life forum, and has evolved into a very eclectic thread with the common theme of weight training. Some of us do Cross Fit, some do Body for Life, some do programs based on New Rules of Lifting for Women, some of us do our own thing, and I'm sure there are a lot of others out there reading who are more quietly doing....umm...whatever it is that Lydia is doing!

I had an initial vision of Lydia walking across a plank carrying weights Now it makes slightly more sense.

morning all. Well, it's not snowing (as it did Thurs/Fri) but it is down to zero! THat's 0F for all you non-US folks!

Yesterday I did the puniest full body workout I've done in awhile. I just felt like a slug with heavy limbs (okay I know slugs don't have limbs, just work with me people!). Almost ashamed to call it a workout.... Cardio today which had better go better.

Lydia - I need to get lots stronger on planks before I could even attempt that! Thanks for the explanation. I was envisioning the plates stacked one on top of another....

Mel - scary near-miss you had there. I'm with Alena, I'd be done for the day.

In to Anchorage tonight with another couple to go square dancing. Otherwise, the day is filled with taxes, paying bills, laundry, etc. Thank goodness I went grocery shopping yesterday. And whoops, I bought a whole chicken - at $.88/lb, a great buy for here - and it needs to go in the crock pot.

Next week a group of my former collegues (library directors from around the state) are going to be in Anchorage for the state conference. They have invited me to a dinner to celebrate my retirement - so nice. I'm going to miss them. I'm having lunch with 2 others on Wed, since they can't make the dinner. Better have some good eating/heavy lifting days to compensate.

Yesterday, I did 50 minutes on the treadmills and this morning, my lower back did not seem very happy. I originally planned to try an hour and a half of Bikram yoga (= hot yoga) but I was worried that perhaps 90 minutes may be a tad long (I was mentally so ready to go, my back seemed pretty good yesterday) but I found out there is an hour long yoga class at my gym at 11 am so I went there instead. It was a really good class, I liked the instructor. A young guy (after the class, I found out he's studying to be a massage therapist) and he himself doesn't exercise but he walks in between people and corrects their poses. That's what I really appreciate because I thought, a few times, that I had the position right until he came to me and gently corrected me. To my surprise, I find that I am a lot more flexible than some of the people who have taking the class for a while.
For example, one of the poses - I am sure Lydia will come with the proper name for it (I guess it will be at least 6-7 syllables) - is to stand with your feet as straight as possible while bending down in the waist and fingers of your hands UNDER your toes (as if you were grabbing your toes but instead you slide your fingers under your toes). I can slide my entire palm under my toes.
My back is very flexible going forward but it is not so cooperative in the opposite direction. I had to only half-@$$ cobras as I was worried that would set me further back with the lower back pain.
We shall see tomorrow.

Nice day here - I think it's above zero, blue sky with some clouds and a bit of sun. Whatever was on my driveway is almost all melted.

Wishing you all a nice rest of the weekend.
Alena

Alena: I'm thrilled you had such a wonderful yoga instructor. It makes a WORLD of difference to have your posture corrected. Even the most subtle adjustments feel fantastic. There are a couple of poses where I was so close to touching but it felt like I was forever from that progression. With a little assistance I could complete the position and increase my flexibility. The running joke in my house on Saturday afternoons was, "Did you get sat on today?"

So, the name of the pose is Padahastasana. Its one of my favorites. We would give ourselves little wrist massages while in this pose as well. Feels great doesn't it?

Here's a link that might help everyone take a look at this:

http://www.discover-yoga-online.com/padahastasana.html

Yoga is such a graceful compliment to strength training with free weights. I could totally geek out in yoga if I had more time in my day for training. Enjoy the classes Alena!

Sunday. Rest day and my father stopped by for a visit. Nice to chat with him. Especially since I will be leaving town on the day of his 65th birthday.