Oh, me too. I'm in the pool four times a week these days, but I'm not sure what I'm doing can really be called swimming yet. I still use flotation devices while practicing strokes. Hopefully with the lessons I'm doing I'll be able to call myself a swimmer soon though.

I am starting to feel comfortable calling myself a cyclist though! My husband and I just got home from a 28 mile ride. It was hard, in part because it was all new routes and we got lost a couple times and had to ride in scary traffic from time to time. I'm glad we did it though, and I did have fun during some parts.

wow, the cycling sounds like fun agave! i like to ride the bike, what I hate is the SEAT. talk about pain.

urthwurm, agave and bighog I love to swim and I have been doing it pretty much all my life. I took lessons at an early age, but was a natural so I started teaching younger kids to swim when I was a pre-teen.

one of the best ways to get the breathing technique for the crawl down is to do this. you can practice it whenever you go: stand in the shallow end. bend your body over so that your head can lean in the water. blow bubbles out your nose as your head is in the water. The timing of the bubbles and when you come up keeps the water out of your nose. Once you got the feel of that. Do it again this time start your arms. Do this by keeping your fingers tight together in a semi cupped position--slapping the water just makes it more awkward. keep your arms bent and tight. you are kind of scooping water out of the way...bring your arms up and down, maybe do 1, 2 turn your head to the side right there at the top of water and breathe. Then do the 1, 2 breathe, 1, 2 breathe. it is rhythmic. keep your head turning in the same direction--so you can feel the rhythm. after a while, you can do your arms and breathing simultaneously.--i would teach you for free if you could come to where i am.

well, i decided since i worked my legs so well, i would swim today. It turned out to be really aggravating to get to the point where I could finally swim. I had to clean the pool, then i had issues with the filter i had to fix---finally i got in and started doing laps.

the pool isn't very wide--just 15 ft--but i could still do laps. I did 20 breast stroke, 20 crawl, 20 back gliding, 20 ( i call it guppies) just swiming underwater one side to the other, 20 more back stroke, 20 side stroke. it started thundering after 15 min...but i stayed in and enjoyed myself.

um, I'm pretty sore from my abs to my legs, i guess i will work my arms some tomorrow. should i work my abs sore? i wonder about that, because don't they need time to rebuild?

what a great idea!!! love it! thanks for starting this idea Wild vulpix.

I'm definately going to be posting here!!

well posting much later after my exercise. today was the first day i've done any exercise after a few weeks. i was on holiday for the past 5 weeks, the first few weeks, i managed to get some running in a couple of times a week. but later on in the holiday didnt get the time. so felt very sluggish getting back into exercise today. but glad i took that first step! gained like 6lbs though! oh well, no matter, had a great time hehe

felt very sluggish - but prevailed. went walking for 1 hour and 10 minutes, and for a fraction of the time, i did some jogging intervals. burned 356 calories. i'm glad i got out there and went for the walk in the park, it was a lovely day!
i now plan to exercise first thing, as its nice to get it out of the way.

Had a great walk/run today I felt really really good! Tonight I'm off to the gym for some weight training

jendiet, I can picture clearly what you are saying because my 7 year old is an awesome swimmer and those are the things I've seen her coach teaching her. (In fact, I always thought I knew how to swim until last year when my daughter starting taking lessons from this particular woman!)

I don't think I am going to be able to try it this summer. My 5 year old son broke his arm and so far, I've let my other kids go swimming with friends but I have not taken them swimming because I can't make him sit on the sidelines in the heat and watch everyone.

I'm back from my run/walk. I did more walking than I wanted to, but still managed my 5K neighborhood loop in 39 minutes, so I'm happy enough with how it went. Later today I'll hop on my spin bike. It is hot outside and I don't feel up to a real bike ride today.

**hog, i am so sorry about your son--i know as a mom--that has to really suck. I feel for you. and for him of course. I'm glad i still remember how to properly teach. I taught my son to swim and he's a little shark.


**desert good job on getting out there! I think doing any amt. of running out there is A HUGE accomplishment!

ok, so yesterday I was so busy doing housework for like 8 hours. This place was a pit. I logged 31, 345 steps on my pedometer. wow. but since that is not traditional exercise, and my goal is to do traditional exercise--i did my arm routine.

i used both weights and tubing and the floor and my bathtub (tricep dips)

I don't really focus on sets. I work on the muscle with say 10 reps a set, but if I go to to do the muscle and I can only get barely through 5--then 5 is it. I mean I push myself to get those last 5 in.

working with 5 lb weights.

modified pushups 1 set of 10, 2 sets of 5
bicep curls 2 sets of 15
tricep dips---whoo! 2 sets of 5
overhead press--2 sets of 10
chest press-2 sets of 12
chest fly- 2 sets of 10
standing row- 2 sets of 12
reverse fly-2 sets of 12
lateral raise-2 sets of 10
upright row-2 sets of 12
don't know name-hold weights with elbows ben, wrists up and push arms out.--works boobs--all i know.-2 sets of 10

felt pretty good burn after it. I am barely sore today, and not really sore from legs or abs--means I have some condition after all. heh.

I went for a depressing 30 minute walk jog. Depressing because I just bought some shoes at the running store which I didn't realize were awful for me until this run.

Stress, stress, stress at work. E-mails popping through every three minutes, or every minute, and then analysts sending me IMs, or wanting a phone call & everyone demanding immediate attention, unable to wait even a minute for my reply. Which left me moving back & forth between four projects of mine, unable to stop for more than a minute because when one moved to the next stage, there was something I could do on another. No downtime without guilt. It's been like this for two days.

I knew what was coming. So I got up at 5:20 AM & went to the gym & did some weights. To a Led Zeppelin soundtrack. That was the kind of thing I was in the mood to hear. I tried to move up to the next most heavy weight for each movement, though nothing stupid. You know, I almost wanted it to hurt me a little.

How I hated to walk back home, to my laptop, and resume what I knew would be a relentless day. How I dreaded each step toward that laptop & phone.

Then, when the day was ending, and me sitting here in my chair practically shivering with nerves, and so very angry, yes, ANGRY at all this pressure, at the UNREASONABLENESS OF IT, which I feel unequal to, I went back to the gym for a spin class at 7:30 PM. It was either that, or eat something, which would do nothing to help me. I hardly spoke to anyone. I warmed up at a pretty good pace for 10 minutes beforehand. And when it was over, a woman on the bike behind me said, "My God, you were really hitting those pedals during the sprints."

Yes. Because I wanted to punish something. Me, the bike, the pedals. I don't know what. Anything would do. Thank goodness for insensate metal & my own arms & legs. Thank goodness for workouts. Thank goodness for the gym.

blind--that sucks! too late to take them back?

saef--sounds like good therapy. hope it helped, even if a little!

Just back from water aerobics, after a long, active day.

80 min incline training
20 min UB workout
10 min abs
50 min walk with the dog
60 min water aerobics

Whew! Gonna sleep well tonight!

i got back on the treadmill today after 3 days off. i really needed that boost. i was so tired. i feel so much better now.

Saef - way to take charge & beat the cr@p outta your stress. I'm learning the beauty of that exact therapy myself. It is empowering, freeing, FABULOUS! Nicely done - I hope it helped.

Mandalinn82 - I just have to say that I read your posts & am in awe. I don't know how you do as much as you do - both physically & in terms of time. Bravo!!


As for me, it was a day of PTO where I did nothing but work. Personal appointments, phone calls, house chores, errands, and (of course) actual work-work, too (really, what would a day off be without having to login & work??). My hubby is traveling & left the house at 5am, so no morning workout for me - kiddos were up too early looking for my attention. It was an uber productive day, but not working out was weighing on my mind. So at 10pm, I popped in my new favorite Pilates DVD & just pushed hard through 60 minutes of serious core & leg work. Wow.

I am hungry. Seems to always be the case for me now. Maintenance is tough to figure out. I either stuffed or ravenous. I think I'll drink a gigantic glass of water & just go to bed.

Tomorrow - Jillian Michaels. I will do it. No excuses...even it if is 10pm again.

Today, I fit it in like this:

80 min incline training - before work
20 min UB workout - lunch break
10 min abs - lunch break
50 min walk with the dog - right after work
60 min water aerobics - evening

Came home, dinner, and I'm done.

I work from home at that helps, because I don't have to worry about starting work sweaty or a commute, and can often work out on my lunch break. And I don't have kids, so I have more time! Otherwise, though, today I was either working, exercising, or eating, and soon, sleeping!